A Hero's Saga

HERO
By Sean Cox

CAST:
Jane Turner (phone voice) A reporter
Jonah White (phone voice) A newspaper editor
Adam Allgood/Black Lightning A reporter and superhero
Ma Allgood His mother
Johnny Quick Adam’s sidekick
Martin Bleakman A detective
Doctor A doctor
David Donaldson/Dark Archer A villain

The phone calls are performed in darkness. They are heard, but there is nothing to see. It is, in essence, eavesdropping on a telephone call. All phone calls are between Jane and Jonah.

The first scene, “A Moment of Doubt” is set in an apartment that has recently been moved into. It takes place at night.

The second scene, “A Turn of the Victim’s Knife,” is set in a police interrogation room several years later.

The third scene, “Phoenix Rising,” is set in a hospital room, approximately 20 years after “A Moment of Doubt.” It occurs during the day.

NOTE: Each of these scenes were written to be performed either together or separately.
PHONE CALL #1: HERO

JANE:(frantic) Pick up, pick up, pick up.
JONAH: (answering) Hello, White residence. Jonah speaking.
JANE: Jonah?
JONAH: Jane? Aren’t you supposed to be at that super train thing?
JANE: I am, just- clear the front page, Jonah!
JONAH: For the train story? Forget it.
JANE: I’m serious. Haven’t you been watching the news?
JONAH: Why should I? I got my star reporter out there gonna give me seven hundred words on it for tomorrow’s edition.
JANE: Would you let me talk for a minute, Jonah?
JONAH: Did something happen?
JANE: “Did something happen?” Of course something happened! Do you think I’d want the front page for some damn train story?
JONAH: Easy, kid. Slow down. Tell me what’s going on.
JANE: The train. It… the conductor lost control.
JONAH: Did it wreck? (as if reading a headline) “New Bullet Train Derails” –how many people were on it?
JANE: A couple hundred, I suppose.
JONAH: “Hundreds Killed.” And the Daily Herald’s own Jane Turner has the story.
JANE: Damn it, Jonah, it’s bigger than that.
JONAH: Was the Pope on board or something?
JANE: No. Just… shut up and listen.
JONAH: Shut up and listen? I’d bust your chops if I knew you weren’t sitting on what could be the biggest story of the year.
JANE: Are you going to pay attention or do I have to take my first hand, eyewitness account to the Tribune?
JONAH: Speak away, Jane.
JANE: We were saved.
JONAH: So it’s a human-interest piece? Hero story? “Local Train Conductor Saves Hundreds.”
JANE: Oh, it’s bigger than that.
JONAH: Bigger?
JANE: Much bigger.
JONAH: I’m listening.
JANE: We… I don’t know how to say it without sounding foolish.
JONAH: Then maybe the front page isn’t for you, or perhaps you’d like just tell it to me from the beginning?
JANE: (calm but getting increasingly excited) We were on the train. It started going. Fast. Too fast. The conductor was screaming and we were going so fast and… I look out the window and there’s this man running along side the train. In some costume.
JONAH: A man?
JANE: Yes, a man!
JONAH: Faster than a speeding bullet train?
JANE: I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. He came out of nowhere like a streak of blue lightning.
JONAH: “Blue Lightning?” I like that name. Let’s get a copyright on it. Make sure you include that in your article.
JANE: (continuing) He just kept running. Got in front of the train.
JONAH: Did he get killed?
JANE: No. He stopped it.
JONAH: Stopped it?
JANE: Yes! He was more powerful than the locomotive. Are you hearing me, Jonah?
JONAH: I’m hearing you. I’m just having a hard time imagining it.
JANE: You don’t have to imagine it, Jonah. He’s real.
JONAH: Did he say anything?
JANE: No. I tried to ask him a few questions but he was gone, hand prints crushed into the front of the train.
JONAH: You’re serious about this?
JANE: I never lie about a story.
JONAH: If you’re saying what I think you’re saying…
JANE: What do you think it means?
JONAH: I think this city’s got a new hero. A dyed-in-the-wool hero.
JANE: (in awe) A hero…
JONAH: Put away that schoolgirl fantasy. You’ve got a story to write.
JANE: Front page?
JONAH: Front page. Don’t make me regret it, kid.
JANE: I won’t. (hanging up) A hero…

A MOMENT OF DOUBT

CHARACTERS:

ADAM ALLGOOD – A young reporter and rookie superhero
MA ALLGOOD – His mother

(The lights come up on a small partially furnished apartment. A small kitchen sits upstage, with a window staring out to the city beyond. There is a door stage right. Cardboard boxes lie about the room. Obviously the owner recently moved in. The owner, by the way, one ADAM ALLGOOD, sits on the couch looking tired. He is in his late twenties or early thirties. He has short dark hair. He wears a blue jumpsuit and black combat boots. Over the jumpsuit he wears a black vest that zips up to the neck, or at least it would if it were zipped up. The top of his jumpsuit is undone some and his sleeves are pushed up. A black vest hangs undone on his shoulders. Some black athletic arm guards and a black mask lay beside him on the couch. He looks tired.)

ADAM: Come in.

(The door opens. A woman in her fifties or sixties, MA ALLGOOD, walks in.)

MA: I never have to knock when I visit. You always know I'm there.
ADAM: Well, Ma, I can hear you coming from a mile away.
MA: Yes you can.
ADAM: Have a seat.
MA: Thanks. (She sits) So how are you, Adam?
ADAM: I'm surviving.
MA: Just surviving?
ADAM: I'm fine, Ma. How are things back home?
MA: Oh, things are going all right. Your father is feeling a little under the weather. Otherwise he'd be here too.
ADAM: Tell him I hope he feels better.
MA: I certainly will.
ADAM: How's Lisa?
MA: Why, Adam Allgood, are you still sweet on her?
ADAM: Ma...
MA: What? I'm just asking a simple question.
ADAM: You're prying. That's a personal matter.
MA: Fine. If it bothers you, I won't ask.
ADAM: Thank you.
MA: She called the other day. She got so excited when she saw you on the news.
ADAM: Are you sure it was me she saw?
MA: Dark hair, six foot three, running really fast. Who else could it have been?
ADAM: So what did she say?
MA: She told me how proud of you she was. The way you saved those people on that train.
ADAM: Tell her thanks for me.
MA: I knew it. You do still have feelings for her.
ADAM: You're embarrassing me, Ma.
MA: Why should you be embarrassed? There's no one here but you and me.
ADAM: Still...
MA: Besides, there's no shame in caring for Lisa. She's a nice girl.
ADAM: I know she is.
MA: Then what's wrong?
ADAM: It wouldn't work. That's all.
MA: And why not?
ADAM: Remember when she and I dated in high school?
MA: Yes, dear. I remember.
ADAM: Remember what happened when I told her about...you know...
MA: About your gifts?
ADAM: Yeah. She didn't take it well at all.
MA: Come on, Adam. You two were a lot younger than you are now. She was scared. She's fine with it now.
ADAM: I don't know. Just let me come to my own conclusions about my love life.
MA: Ok, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.
ADAM: It's all right.
MA: So how's big city life been?
ADAM: Busy.
MA: Is that a good thing or a bad thing.
ADAM: I don't know. I guess it's just a thing.
MA: So tell me about work.
ADAM: Which one? Suit and tie or suit and mask?
MA: Suit and tie first.
ADAM: Kind of hectic.
MA: How so?
ADAM: Well, Mr. White is...he's a no-nonsense kind of guy.
MA: Adam, newspaper offices revolve deadlines and hard-hitting facts. He has to be tough.
ADAM: I know. It's just that everything is so different from Middleton. It’s a big change going from a small town to a big city. Middleton was slow and laid back. Everything’s so fast here.
MA: This coming from a guy who can run ten miles in two minutes? You'll be fine, Adam. You've only been here in Chicago a month. City life will grow on you. It's just going to take some getting used to.
ADAM: I'm not sure that I want to get used to it.
MA: What do you mean?
ADAM: Well, there's this woman at work. Jane Turner.
MA: Is this why you were avoiding the subject of Lisa? You've met someone?
ADAM: No, Ma. It's nothing like that. I mean, Jane is beautiful, but she doesn't have the most endearing personality.
MA: And you think city life has made her like this?
ADAM: Yeah, Kind of. I'm sure she's the way she is from being a reporter for so long. When you do the news in a city like Chicago, all you ever really see is the dark side of humanity. If it isn't a criminal act or some natural disaster, it doesn't make the paper. To be honest, I really don't blame her for being so cynical.
MA: What does that have to do with city life? There are crimes in Middleton, too.
ADAM: Well, there's so much more crime in big cities. In Middleton, the big headline crimes are farm equipment getting stolen or kids tipping over cows. Most everything else is how the corn festival went or who bought a new house. But it’s not like that here. Every day, the paper’s filled with rapes and murders and car jacking and bank robberies. It's getting to the point where people just don't care anymore. They're desensitized to the suffering of others.
MA: I see. And you don't want to become jaded like this Jane?
ADAM: No, I don't. I guess I like looking for the good in people.
MA: There's nothing wrong with that.
ADAM: She seems to think so. She calls me "Middleton." Not Adam. Not Mr. Allgood. Middleton. And she says it like it's a bad thing. It's almost condescending.
MA: Don't ever be ashamed of who you are or where you come from, Adam.
ADAM: I know, Ma. I'm not.
MA: Well, I'm sure, that deep down inside, she wants to see the good in people. She's just forgotten how. You should give her another chance.
ADAM: Maybe...
MA: You'll see. I've got a good feeling about Jane.
ADAM: You've never even met her.
MA: Even so...
ADAM: I guess time will tell.
MA: So how about your other job? I like the name "Blue Lightning." It has a nice ring to it.
ADAM: It’s so cheesy.
MA: It’s a perfectly fine name.
ADAM: Jane came up with it.
MA: Really?
ADAM: Yeah. She was on the train I saved. She was quoted saying "some guy came out of nowhere like a streak of Blue Lightning and saved everyone.” I guess the name stuck.
MA: Is that why you don’t like it? Because how the name came to be?
ADAM: No, I don’t like it because it’s silly. Blue Lightning?
MA: Well, I think it's a great name.
ADAM: I just wish it'd have come from someone else.
MA: What's wrong with Jane coining the name?
ADAM: It's just, well, how can someone be so optimistic and enthralled by someone who stands up for what's right, and still call me naive when I do it?
MA: Well, son, there’s something about a man in uniform…
ADAM: Ma, I’m being serious…
MA: Don't worry about it so much, Adam.
ADAM: Sometimes I wish I'd have just stayed in Middleton.
MA: Why do you say that? Don't you like being a reporter?
ADAM: It's not that.
MA: Then what is it?
ADAM: Well, life was so much easier there. I could have just married Lisa, started a family, taken over the farm when dad died.
MA: That life would never have been enough for you.
ADAM: How do you know?
MA: Because you always try to do the right thing.
ADAM: What's not right about it? That's what dad did.
MA: That's different.
ADAM: You mean I'm different.
MA: You're right, Adam. You are different, and by living your father's life you're denying who you really are.
ADAM: So just because I have these super powers, I'm not allowed to follow in my father's footsteps?
MA: This has nothing to do with your powers.
ADAM: Really?
MA: Yes, Adam. Really.
ADAM: So if I had a brother, would he be denying who he is if he took over the farm?
MA: You as a person are capable of so much more. We've sacrificed so you could have a better life.
ADAM: Maybe I don't want a better life. What's wrong with the life I've been living?
MA: Nothing is wrong with it. But you could live anywhere and do anything, Adam. Why keep yourself locked up in Middleton?
ADAM: I like Middleton. I want to be like dad.
MA: Son, you have so much potential. Too much for you to waste on being a farmer.
ADAM: So you're saying dad wasted his life?
MA: I'm not saying that.
ADAM: Then what are you saying?
MA: I'm just saying you could be so much more.
ADAM: He's a great man, Ma. I look up to him. He's my hero. If I could be half the man he is, I'd be happy.
MA: I know, Adam. He's been my rock through more hard times than I can count.
ADAM: I think he'd be proud to have me follow in his footsteps.
MA: You're right. He would be proud, but he'd be even more proud of you if you became the best man you could be. He always does the best he can. If you want to be like your father, why don't you start there? You have a gift, son.
ADAM: That's all I ever hear. "You have a gift." You think I don't know this?
MA: I was talking about your writing. Besides, your father and I raised you to use your powers to help people.
ADAM: Maybe I don't want to help people anymore. Maybe I wish I never had these powers.
MA: What?
ADAM: You heard me. I'm tired of it all. I want to live a normal life.
MA: We did what we could to make things normal for you.
ADAM: It has nothing to do with you or dad. I missed out on so much because of my powers. I couldn’t play sports. I scared off Lisa. I don’t have any scars. Ma.
MA: Oh what do scars have to do with anything?
ADAM: They’re proof of life. People get hurt. They get scars. They have physical reminders, physical proof of what they went through. I don’t get hurt, Ma. I don’t get scars. It’s like there’s nothing to prove that anything I’ve ever done really happened. I have no war stories to tell my grandkids when I’m old, no scars to show off to say, “I was there. I survived.”
MA: And you think a scar would change all of this?
ADAM: Yes. No. I don’t know. It’s something people, real people, have. I don’t have any. What does that say about me?
MA: You’re a real person, Adam.
ADAM: I want to be an ordinary person. I’m tired of sacrificing what I want, tired of giving up my shot at happiness so that other people can enjoy the ordinary life I want so desperately.
MA: You weren't meant for an ordinary life. You were meant for greater things.
ADAM: Greater things? Ma, you don't know what it's like. I don't want these abilities anymore. They're a curse.
MA: A curse? I don't think those passengers on that train you saved thought so. I don't think that woman you saved from those muggers thought so.
ADAM: I hear every cry for help in this city, Ma. Every single one.
MA: What do you mean?
ADAM: A subway crashed today. Twenty-seven people died in those subway cars and I heard each and every one of them calling my name. Pleading for Blue Lightning to save them. Crying in pain for me. I heard their cries slowly get quieter and softer. I heard twenty-seven people die.
MA: Why didn't you save them?
ADAM: This is exactly why I want out of here.
MA: What's wrong?
ADAM: Do you think I chose not to save them?
MA: Of course not.
ADAM: Then why do you ask why I didn't save them? Believe me, if I could have helped I would have, but I was rescuing someone else from a burning building. Twenty-seven people. Fourteen men, nine women, and four children. They all died because I was busy saving one person.
MA: Adam, I'm so sorry...
ADAM: Do you have any idea what it's like choosing who will live and who will die?
MA: No, I don't.
ADAM: Their screams have been haunting me all day. They needed me. Their lives depended on me, and I failed them. I couldn't be there because some building downtown chose a bad time to catch fire. I have millions of people expecting more from me than I can give. I'm not perfect. I can't be everywhere at once.
MA: I know, Adam.
ADAM: But they don’t, ma. They want too much from me. More than I can give them. Even heroes have their limits.
MA: I know this, Adam.
ADAM: Of course you know it. You raised me. They just know I appeared out of nowhere and saved the day a few times. They assume that just because I can do more than them, that I can do it all. I’m afraid of heights, ma. What kind of super hero is afraid of heights?
MA: The kind that does the best he can to save people.
ADAM: I just want to go back home. There were fewer problems and no one expected me to save the day. I'm not Blue Lightning there. I'm just ordinary Adam Allgood.
MA: You were never ordinary, Adam. You were always willing to help. You always wanted to do the right thing. I think that makes you better than ordinary, mask or not.
ADAM: Thanks, Ma. You want some milk or something?
MA: Sure.

(ADAM rises and goes to the kitchen. He begins to pour two glasses of milk.)

MA: So, I see you haven’t finished unpacking yet.
ADAM: I've been busy.
MA: You can move at the speed of sound, and you couldn’t unpack your apartment?
ADAM: I said I’ve been busy.
MA: Is that why you sit in your apartment in your super hero costume?
ADAM: I’m wearing this costume because I’ve got to be ready at a moment’s notice to go save the world.
MA: You can get dressed really fast.
ADAM: Have you ever tried tying your shoes at six hundred miles per hour? The friction sets the laces on fire, if it doesn’t break them first.
MA: Can’t you get different boots or something? Superman has the kind that fit his feet perfectly. He could wear shoes over them.
ADAM: I’m sorry, ma, but whoever this super hero tailor is who makes all the costumes for all these heroes, I’ve never met him. So I have to make due with what I can buy at an army surplus store.
MA: Ok, ok. I get the point. Any dates?
ADAM: Ma, please. Didn’t I just say to leave my love life alone?
MA: A mother wants grandkids. Is that too much to ask?

(ADAM comes back from the kitchen with two cups. He gives one to MA and sits back on the couch.)

ADAM: Grandkids? I’m not even seeing anyone, let alone seeing someone seriously, let alone married. I’ve got work to do. I’ve got a city to protect. I have boxes to unpack for crying out loud. I don’t have time right now for romance.
MA: You were quite the charmer back home. You always had time for romance then. Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you.
ADAM: I'm worried. That's all.
MA: About what? You're a nice, handsome young man. I'm sure lots of women would love a guy like you.
ADAM: That's not what I'm worried about. What if someday I actually do have someone special in my life?
MA: Then you'll live happily ever after, I hope. With grandkids for me?
ADAM: But what happens when I tell her? I mean, I'll have to eventually. What if she is frightened away like Lisa was?
MA: Then it wasn't meant to be, Adam.
ADAM: Or what if someday she's in danger and across town some bus is hurdling off a bridge? What will I do? If I save the bus, I'll never be able to forgive myself for letting my girlfriend or wife or whatever die. But if I save her? Who am I to decide my wife is more important than those ten or fifteen or fifty people on that bus? I don't have the right to choose people's fate. It's too much responsibility for anyone.
MA: Adam, you can't let some hypothetical situation that may or may not happen years down the road stop you from living your life.
ADAM: Still, things like that worry me.
MA: When the time comes, you'll make the right decision.
ADAM: What is the right decision?
MA: I don't know, son.
ADAM: What if it were you?
MA: What?
ADAM: What if when the time came and I had to make a decision like that, I had to choose between you and a bus full of people?
MA: Numbers alone should answer that question.
ADAM: But in that situation I may not be reasonable. Who knows what I'll do? I may get so worried about making the right choice that I won't do anything.
MA: Calm down, dear. It hasn't even happened. Stop worrying about it.
ADAM: Ok, suppose it's you and one other person. Then what do I do?
MA: I don't know, Adam. I don't have all the answers.
ADAM: Then who does?
MA: No one. This may come as a surprise, Adam, but I've never had any lessons on the proper procedure for saving people. You know just as much as I do about this. More so, in fact, because you're the one actually out there doing the saving.
ADAM: Then how am I supposed to know what to do?
MA: I don't know, son. You have to learn the rules as you go, I guess.
ADAM: I shouldn't be doing this. It's not right.
MA: Not right? Letting people die when you can save them isn't right. Saving someone when they need you? There's nothing more right than that. Fighting for truth and justice? Helping the helpless? Defending the defenseless? That's the American way, Adam.
ADAM: I know, Ma. But it’s not just that. Sometimes I'm afraid when I go to help people.

(ADAM rises and begins to pace about the room.)

MA: Why would you be afraid? Who could hurt you?
ADAM: I'm not worried about who could hurt me, Ma. I'm worried about who I could hurt.
MA: You wouldn't hurt anyone.
ADAM: Not intentionally. But what if I got carried away? I mean, I can get angry, just like anyone else.
MA: I know that, Adam.
ADAM: Ma, people could die if I get angry. I'd be a danger to everyone around me, including those I'm trying to save.
MA: Then you need to learn to control your feelings.
ADAM: I'm not allowed to feel anything because of my abilities? If I love someone, I may let innocent people die. If I'm angry, I could kill someone. You were the one telling me not to deny who I am. If I deny what I'm feeling, isn't that the same thing? I'm sick of it!

(ADAM punches a hole in the wall in frustration.)

ADAM: See? That’s what I’m talking about. I lose it for a second, and someone could get hurt.
MA: Then you’ll have to be careful, Adam.
ADAM: I helped a woman the other day. Her husband was beating her. I was so disgusted at the man that I just wanted to hit him over and over. I wanted him to know what it felt like. I couldn't help myself. So I punched him. He went through a wall, Ma. When I got to him, he was bleeding and broken. It made me ill just to look at him. I could have killed him. It's too much. No one has the right to take the life of another, not even me. Especially not me.
MA: Adam, any person with a gun has the same responsibility. Everyone has the potential to be good or evil. It's not about whether you can do something. It's whether you choose to do good or evil that matters.
ADAM: And if I choose to do neither?
MA: There's no such thing as neutral. All it takes for evil men to win is for good men to be indifferent. You're a good man, Adam, but if you do nothing, you may as well be killing the innocent yourself.
ADAM: Well, the city got along fine before I got here. They can survive without me.
MA: You have a responsibility to them, Adam.
ADAM: What about their responsibilities? I'm only one man. If I keep coming to their rescue, they'll expect me to save them all the time. What if I can't be there for them? Everyone expects me to solve all of their problems. If I keep helping them like this, I'm teaching them that they don't need responsibility and they don't need to help themselves. They'll just call out for me to make everything right again. I mean, that's what they have me for, isn't it?
MA: I know you don't believe that, Adam.
ADAM: All these expectations, all this pressure …it’s been giving me nightmares.
MA: What kind of nightmares?
ADAM: I don’t know. The frightening nightmare kind. I can't sleep. I've been having them almost every night since I got here.
MA: What about?
ADAM: Well, sometimes I'll dream that I'm in a burning building and I see someone trapped at the other end of a hallway, but the harder I try to save them the longer the hallway gets and the slower I run.
MA: Oh my...
ADAM: Or the one where I'm standing in a large cemetery with graves stretching out as far as the eye can see. And these corpses climb out of the ground and they come at me. They're all trying to grab me. they're all pleading with me, asking me why I didn't save them and no matter how hard I try to tell them that I couldn't, they won't listen. They just keep coming with their sad eyes.
MA: That's terrible...
ADAM: And the worst part of it is, there were people I knew in the cemetery among the dead. You and dad were there. You kept telling me you called for me and that I wasn't there for you when you needed me most. You kept saying, "After all we've done for you, Adam. You wouldn't even save your own parents..."
MA: Oh, Adam....
ADAM: And then there's this recurring dream I've been having. I'm flying over Chicago and I hear this cry for help. So I go and save this woman, but no sooner do I help her when I hear two cries. So I help one of them, only to hear more. For every person I save, two more need me until finally the whole world is calling out to me and I can only save one of them.
MA: That is a disturbing dream.
ADAM: I can't take the pressure anymore. It’s driving me crazy.
MA: Don’t give up, Adam.
ADAM: I can't save everyone, Ma.
MA: No one expects you to.
ADAM: Yes they do.
MA: Adam, I'm going to tell you a story I used to tell you as a child. I guess you've forgotten it, and now seems like a good time to remind you.
ADAM: Ma, please...
MA: Just listen, Adam. Once there was a little boy walking down a beach. As he walked, he saw these starfish lying all along the shoreline. There were hundreds of them. Thousands even. So one by one, the boy begins picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. A man sees the boy and walks up to him. "What are you doing?" the man asks. "I'm saving these starfish," the boy tells him. "They were washed up on shore, so I'm throwing them back into the sea." The man laughs at the boy and he points out that there are thousands of starfish and the beach goes on for miles and miles. "You'll never make a difference," the man tells the boy. The boy looks at the man. Then he stares at the starfish and the vast oceans. He bends down, picks up a starfish, and throws it into the water. He then looks back at the man and says, "I made a difference to that one."
ADAM: Lovely story.
MA: The point is, it's not about the ones you can't save, but the ones you can. If you focus on every single cry for help, of course you'll feel insignificant and discouraged. It seems like an impossible task, and you know what? It is impossible to save everyone. But if you look at it one person at a time, if you see what good even one person can make, it's inspiring. You save lives, Adam. You make the world a better place.
ADAM: I guess.
MA: Remember what you said about city life? The apathy and despair? They need someone to believe in, Adam. They believe in you. They need you. You give them hope. People need to remember how to look for the best in each other. You can show them.
ADAM: Yeah...
MA: The hero is a hard role to play, son, but it's worth it. We need heroes to show us the way when we've forgotten. Don't ever be ashamed of who you are.
ADAM: You're right, Ma.
MA: Besides, I'm sure Jane will start warming up to you when she sees that maybe your high ideals aren't so naive after all.
ADAM: Knock it off, Ma...

(ADAM suddenly looks blankly off stage right.)

MA: What is it, Adam?
ADAM: Someone is in trouble.
MA: Go. I'll be here when you get back.

(ADAM runs off right, putting his mask on as he goes.)

BLACKOUT

PHONE CALL #2: SIDEKICK

Phone Rings
JANE: (answering, tired) Hello?
JONAH: Hello, Jane. Am I interrupting anything?
JANE: Damn it, Jonah, I was asleep.
JONAH: I bet you were, Jane, and that’s the problem.
JANE: What are you talking about?
JONAH: I’m saying while you’ve been sleeping at night, someone stole the Holy Grail right out from under your nose.
JANE: Would you stop being so cryptic and tell me what this is about?
JONAH: The interview of a lifetime.
JANE: Who?
JONAH: Blue Lightning.
JANE: Ha! Seriously, Jonah, what’s this about?
JONAH: I am serious. It’s right here in my hands.
JANE: And who landed this mythical interview?
JONAH: Allgood.
JANE: Adam Allgood? Now I know you’re lying.
JONAH: I’m dead serious.
JANE: Adam Allgood?
JONAH: That’s what I said.
JANE: Middleton? The Boy Scout?
JONAH: The one and the same.
JANE: But how?
JONAH: Don’t be so surprised, Jane. You know he keeps tabs on Lightning better than anyone. Almost every article we print on the guy, he writes.
JANE: How do you know the interview is real?
JONAH: Are you saying Allgood faked it?
JANE: Sure. Small town boy wants to make it big. What better way to make a name for himself than land the impossible interview?
JONAH: Perhaps. But it’s very rude of you to call into question the journalistic integrity of a co-worker. Just as it would be foolish of Allgood to print anything about someone as fast and strong as Blue Lightning that Lightning didn’t want printed.
JANE: A risk any naïve, small town kid like him might take.
JONAH: You mean any small town, wholesome kid like him?
JANE: What can I say, Jonah? As a reporter, I doubt everything until there’s proof.
JONAH: He brought that photographer kid Johnny along and got a picture. Is that proof enough for you?
JANE: Johnny got to tag along? Damn it!
JONAH: Feeling inadequate?
JANE: It’s infuriating. Where did he get the connections?
JONAH: I don’t know and I don’t care. All that matters is he got it.
JANE: Why him? Why not me? I’ve interviewed presidents! Kings! I’ve been present at two major peace treaty signings!
JONAH: Unless he’s from another planet, I’m sure he knows all about your credentials.
JANE: I don’t get it. Why chose him?
JONAH: (teasing) Maybe because he knew Allgood wouldn’t be as arrogant as you?
JANE: Or maybe it’s because Allgood sucks up to him. Have you read those articles? They’re practically love letters to the boy in blue.
JONAH: This is coming from you? I’ve seen your knees shake when you see him, and you were practically planning a wedding in your head when he saved you from those terrorists. You’re just as guilty of hero worship as everyone.
JANE: Perhaps I am a little guilty of it. And whether or not I was planning anything in my head is none of your business. I don’t let it affect my work.
JONAH: If I recall correctly, your first article on him was also quite the love letter piece.
JANE: Jonah…
JONAH: I’m just saying, we’re all at least a little guilty.
JANE: And why not? The guy’s a hero to just about everyone in Chicago. He’s saved the city countless times.
JONAH: You know, he’s even got himself a sidekick now.
JANE: The guy’s done more good for this city than probably anyone.
JONAH: Even so, it’s only a matter of time before people start turning against him.
JANE: Why would anyone do that?
JONAH: There are two kinds of victims, Jane. Those who are glad to be saved and those whose egos get hurt because they need saving.
JANE: Who would get mad about having their lives saved?
JONAH: Plenty of people. There are those who hate being seen in vulnerable positions and will no doubt want a little payback.
JANE: That’s ridiculous.
JONAH: Plus there are those who feel incompetent because he succeeds where they fail.
JANE: You’re suggesting the cops will turn against him for making their job easier?
JONAH: I’m not suggesting anything. I’m just saying that what he does will no doubt bruise a few egos, and some egos you don’t want to bruise.
JANE: Do you really think this could happen?
JONAH: Could? It’s inevitable. It’s just a question of when.
JANE: But people love him.
JONAH: Most people. Sooner or later, it’ll all catch up with him. Like they say, no good deed goes unpunished.
JANE: Is there anything we can do to help him?
JONAH: As reporters, it’s our obligation to be objective. (beat) However, if one were to hypothetically try to keep him in an objective light, one would cover his actions with as much subtle praise as possible, and play on the good he does while waxing over the fact that what he does is technically illegal. After all, the more the public loves him, the greater the public outcry should anyone try to thwart him.
JANE: Hypothetically.
JONAH: Hypothetically.
JANE: If what you say is true, let’s hope that’s one damn good interview Allgood has.
JONAH: It’s damn good. But is it good enough?
JANE: I’ve got a lot to think about. Can I talk to you later, Mr. White?
JONAH: Of course.
JANE: G’night. (hanging up).

A TURN OF THE VICTIM’S KNIFE

CAST (in order of appearance)

JOHNNY QUICK, a sidekick
MARTIN BLEAKMAN, a detective
ADAM ALLGOOD, a superhero
GUARDS, two policemen

(Lights come up on an interrogation room. There is a simple table in the middle of the stage with a folding chair on the left and right sides. On the stage right wall there is a mirror and a door upstage of it. Other than this, the walls are bare. The light is pale and bleak. A pitcher of water sits on the table. There are two empty glasses. JOHNNY QUICK sits on the stage left chair. He is a lean but athletic young man in his early twenties. He wears fairly loose pants, tight boots, and a tight shirt with a lighting Q emblem. His mask lies on the table. He is handcuffed. He is fairly antsy. This could be because he has been sitting here for a while. It could be because he is used to working for a hero with superspeed. MARTIN BLEAKMAN enters. He is a gruff detective in his forties. He wears the standard slightly unbuttoned shirt with a shoulder-holstered pistol. He carries a file folder.)

MARTIN: Good morning, Johnny. Nice to see you.
JOHNNY: (sarcastic) Nice to see you too, officer. How’s the wife and kids?
MARTIN: Oh, they’re just fine, Johnny. How’s your mother?
JOHNNY: Can we cut the pleasantries so you can tell me what this is about? I have things to do.
MARTIN: I’m sure you do, Johnny. I’m sure you do.
JOHNNY: And could you please stop saying my name after everything? It’s getting annoying.
MARTIN: Whatever you say, kid.
JOHNNY: I’m waiting.
MARTIN: Patience is a virtue.
JOHNNY: So they tell me, but remember I work with a guy who runs circles around NASCAR racers without breaking a sweat. I’m not used to having to take my time.
MARTIN: Relax, Johnny. Have a glass of water. Unwind a little.
JOHNNY: I’ll unwind a little when I know what your game is, detective.
MARTIN: Detective? Now, now. There’s no need for formalities. I just want to have a friendly chat.
JOHNNY: Friends know each other’s names.
MARTIN: Martin. Martin Bleakman. And you are John Templeton, alias Johnny Quick, sidekick to the Blue Lightning. You live on 118 West Sycamore Avenue. You’re a photographer for the Chicago Globe. Your father is a mechanic and your mother teaches piano lessons. Yes, I think I know enough about you to be on a friendly basis.
JOHNNY: What is this about, detective?
MARTIN: Oh it’s about a certain suspect we obtained custody of recently.
JOHNNY: (relaxing) Oh, him. Do you really need my testimony? I was pretty certain you had plenty enough evidence to put away Doctor Slaughter for life.
MARTIN: Oh we do, Johnny. We do. No, this isn’t about Slaughter. This is about your friend the Blue Lightning.
JOHNNY: I thought you said this had to do with a suspect.
MARTIN: It does. I’m not sure if you are aware of this, Johnny, but we recently put out a warrant on your costumed comrade.
JOHNNY: What for?
MARTIN: Oh, there are a number of charges to choose from. Assault. Breaking and entering. Trespassing.
JOHNNY: Are you kidding?
MARTIN: Oh no, I’m afraid we’re taking this very seriously. It seems the two of you broke into a large apartment in the better side of town two weeks ago. There were a number of witnesses.
JOHNNY: Yeah, they were called mafia bosses. Who are now in custody and off the street thanks to us.
MARTIN: And recovering in the hospital from a number of broken bones. Thanks to you?
JOHNNY: What’s your point?
MARTIN: That you and your friend are criminals.
JOHNNY: For bringing killers to justice?
MARTIN: Justice?
JOHNNY: Yes, justice.
MARTIN: Justice has rules. Justice has regulations. Order must be maintained.
JOHNNY: The law has rules. The law has regulations. Justice won’t be bound by paperwork and “proper procedure.”
MARTIN: Did you or did you not break into the ventilation system of the Lexington apartment building?
JOHNNY: I told you, we were-
MARTIN: I didn’t ask for reasons. Just answer the damn question! Did you, or did you not break into the ventilation system of the Lexington apartment building?
JOHNNY: Yes.
MARTIN: Did you have a warrant?
JOHNNY: No.
MARTIN: That’s breaking and entering. Did you enter suite 28008 without the consent of the owner?
JOHNNY: Yes.
MARTIN: Trespassing. Did you or did you not attack the nine men in that room?
JOHNNY: They were Russian mob bosses!
MARTIN: That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you already have two offences against you and assault makes a third.
JOHNNY: Call it a citizen’s arrest.
MARTIN: I call it vigilantism, and the law is very strict against things like that.
JOHNNY: Your law?
MARTIN: Not my law. The people’s law. We’re all equal in the sight of the law.
JOHNNY: Murderers and victims alike, no doubt.
MARTIN: No one’s a murderer until a court of law has decided so.
JOHNNY: That’s where you and I differ, detective. You believe no one is a murder until a court finds them guilty. I know those men we delivered to you were murderers, whether the courts find them guilty or not.
MARTIN: So suddenly you’re judge, jury, and executioner?
JOHNNY: Not at all. We track criminals. We find clues, follow leads, solve crimes. We investigate. When we know someone is guilty, we deliver them to prison. And we never execute. We’re really not all that different, you and I.
MARTIN: We are nothing alike. I obey the law and you take it into your own hands.
JOHNNY: You mean we get results while your hands are tied in red tape? We act while you wait and give these thugs, these criminals a chance to get away.
MARTIN: Patience is a virtue.
JOHNNY: And indifference is a sin. We pick up the slack where you fall short. We’re effective. And we are not going to sit idly by while our streets are overrun by thieves and killers. If you won’t protect us, we’ll protect ourselves.
MARTIN: There is no room in this city for you costumed madmen. Your brand of justice is reckless. You are a danger and a menace.
JOHNNY: According to whose standards?
MARTIN: When the Blue Lightning first began his career, he nearly put a man in a coma. He punched that man through a wall.
JOHNNY: That man was a wife-beater.
MARTIN: That’s not what the courts said. The wife wouldn’t testify. So maybe your friend was wrong. Maybe he just wanted to hurt somebody.
JOHNNY: He saw that man hit his wife. He heard her cries, her screams. Hell, you saw the bruises on her. Isn’t that proof enough?
MARTIN: Bruises that could have come from Blue Lightning. We only have his word to go on.
JOHNNY: Isn’t that enough? I thought you cops loved eyewitnesses.
MARTIN: The testimony of a masked man is hardly credible. He could be anybody. If he is so wonderful, why does he need to hide his identity?
JOHNNY: You have no idea, do you? If people knew who he was, any thug on the street could get revenge by attacking his family.
MARTIN: Or maybe he has something to hide.
JOHNNY: And I suppose you would know all about his past?
MARTIN: We tracked you down, didn’t we? And like I said, we have him in custody. We know all about Adam Allgood’s double identity. We know he’s a reporter for the Chicago Globe. How do you think we figured out his photographer John Templeton was his sidekick Johnny Quick? It’s not uncommon for a hero and his sidekick to live or work together in their normal lives.
JOHNNY: You seem to know everything you need to know already. I see no reason for me to remain. If you’ll excuse me, detective…
MARTIN: You’re not concerned for your partner then?
JOHNNY: There’s not a jury in the world that will put him behind bars.
MARTIN: I think you underestimate the power of the law. Your friend could be going away for a very long time.
JOHNNY: For bringing killers to justice? Ha…
MARTIN: If you mean those mafia bosses, I wouldn’t count on it. They were released today.
JOHNNY: Are you kidding?
MARTIN: No, Johnny. I’m quite serious. Because you overzealous fools didn’t follow proper procedure, none of your evidence is admissible. We had their lawyers at our throats for perversion of justice even faster than your friend can move. It seems the only one going to trial will be Mr. Lightning himself.
JOHNNY: Whose pocket are you in?
MARTIN: What did you just say?
JOHNNY: You heard me.
MARTIN: No, I don’t think I did, because it would be very foolish for someone in your position to say something like that to someone of my position. So if you could just repeat that last little bit for me, I’d greatly appreciate it.
JOHNNY: I said, who bought you?
MARTIN: Shut up.
JOHNNY: Come on, Marty. Who has you in their pocket?
MARTIN: I am warning you.
JOHNNY: Which murderer paid for your new Lexus?
MARTIN: (slapping Johnny) Enough!
JOHNNY: Sounds like I’ve hit a nerve.
MARTIN: Shut up!
JOHNNY: Oh, a dirty cop! How cliché.
MARTIN: (slapping him again) I told you to shut it!
JOHNNY: Tell me, Judas. Did you sell out Lady Liberty for thirty pieces of silver or do they have something on you?
MARTIN: (punching Johnny to the ground) How dare you say that to me, you little prick! I didn't dedicate my life to the law so some smart mouth little shit like you can accuse me of being corrupt!
JOHNNY: Keep it up, Marty. I know you guys record these things. I just got you on tape for assault.
MARTIN: Those guys? Nah. You see they work with me. They’re my friends. They’ll back me up against the wild accusations of a kid in a costume.
JOHNNY: You truly are a disgusting individual.
MARTIN: (pouring water over Johnny’s mouth) Oh? Nothing to say? No smart remarks? (he stops pouring water) That’s right, kiddo. You’re in my house now.
JOHNNY: Bastard…
MARTIN: Pick yourself up off the floor. Someone might think I’d been abusing a witness in here.
JOHNNY: (rising) I demand to see my lawyer.
MARTIN: The favored cry of the guilty. Don’t worry, Mr. Templeton, we’ll get him. Meanwhile, how about you and I talk about our little dilemma.
JOHNNY: You mean this sickening corruption of justice? Yeah, let’s talk.
MARTIN: (cheerful) I don’t know what you mean.
JOHNNY: You just assaulted me. That’s police brutality. I have rights, you know.
MARTIN: I don’t care, because as long as you’re in this room, you’re on my turf, kid.
JOHNNY: So you can pick on anyone you want, so long as it’s in the name of the law?
MARTIN: My interrogation room. My rules. I’ll hit criminals if I see fit.
JOHNNY: Yet, when I do, it’s illegal.
MARTIN: Try working on the legitimate side of the law someday, punk.
JOHNNY: I would, but I was under the impression that if you were too intelligent, they wouldn’t let you join.
MARTIN: Laugh all you want, funny boy. The law is on my side.
JOHNNY: Are you going to charge me or not?
MARTIN: Well, that depends on how well you cooperate, doesn’t it?
JOHNNY: You already have everything you need to know. What more do you want?
MARTIN: Your testimony.
JOHNNY: Against Lightning? Fat chance.
MARTIN: So protective of his friend. It’s all too sentimental.
JOHNNY: Why is my testimony so important? Why not just charge us both?
MARTIN: I don’t just want to put that “hero” of yours away. I want to destroy him.
JOHNNY: He’s invulnerable. You might have a hard time of it.
MARTIN: Oh, Johnny, Johnny. There are other ways than violence to bring a man to his knees.
JOHNNY: So if you’re not going to attack his body, what’s your aim?
MARTIN: I want to destroy his reputation.
JOHNNY: Why would you want to get rid of the best protector this city has ever had?
MARTIN: That charlatan? No. He’s not the best protector we’ve had. He’s nothing but trouble.
JOHNNY: Since when is fighting crime trouble?
MARTIN: Because criminals have rights and lawyers nowadays. He beats someone and brings them in, and we have to let them go because we didn’t follow protocol. Those mobsters he captured… I invested large amounts of department resources into getting enough evidence on them to put them away once and for all. That was supposed to be my bust! But because the two of you charged in there and made a mess of months of work, I'm forced to let them all go. You make me look like a failure every time you bring in some crook and I have to let him go.
JOHNNY: So this is about your pride?
MARTIN: No. There’s no room in our legal system for your brand of heroics, your way of “getting things done.”
JOHNNY: We wouldn’t have to resort to our brand of heroics if you did your jobs right.
MARTIN: Don’t you dare tell me how to do my job. I was putting crooks away while you were still crapping your underwear, which at least then you wore inside your clothes.
JOHNNY: So what’s this really about then?
MARTIN: It’s about the safety of this city. Having a hero like you around only leads to copycats, who only get themselves hurt or take things too far and hurt innocent people. And do you think your antics go unnoticed? No. Your very presence makes the city unsafe.
JOHNNY: Where are you going with this, Detective Bleakman?
MARTIN: You watch any westerns, Johnny?
JOHNNY: I can’t say I do, officer.
MARTIN: Well, in westerns, any time a guy is proclaimed fastest gun in the West, everybody wants to get a piece of him. Everybody wants to be the man who outgunned Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Butch Cassidy. You see where I'm going with this?
JOHNNY: I reckon I don't, boss. I'm just a dumb sidekick. What do I know?
MARTIN: It’s the problem of the fastest gun in the West. If we have a hero, every super villain and criminal organization in the world is going to come here trying to be the one to kill the mighty Blue Lightning. It puts the lives of innocent citizens in danger having him here.
JOHNNY: Pardon my language, detective, but that’s bullshit and you know it. Chicago has had problems with organized crime long before Lightning showed up, and even if he wasn’t here, the world would still have villains. Untouchable criminals you couldn’t dream of catching. Are you telling me you would rather live in a world where there’s no one standing between you and them?
MARTIN: We’ll be standing there.
JOHNNY: The police?
MARTIN: Yes the police. (Johnny begins laughing.) What’s so funny?
JOHNNY: When the Blood Brigade came to town, who stopped them, the police or Blue Lightning? When Mr. Madness decided to begin his global conquest in Chicago, where were the police? You and your men were helpless and unarmed. You didn’t stand a chance against him. Who had to save the day? Why, I believe it was Blue Lightning. Face it, detective. You need him.
MARTIN: I need no one, and I will not rest until this city is returned to the rightful hands.
JOHNNY: Your hands?
MARTIN: Yes, my hands.
JOHNNY: And what do you think will happen when he's put away, Detective Bleakman? Don't you realize that once the threat of Blue Lightning is gone, criminals will be less wary about breaking the law? They know how ineffective you can be.
MARTIN: I have taken that into consideration and I have it all planned out.
JOHNNY: And where do I stand in your plan?
MARTIN: The people love him, this fake. He gets all the glory, and all my efforts for them are in vain. You’re going to testify against him. You’re going to bring him down for me.
JOHNNY: Are you kidding? I won’t testify. Besides, what information could you get out of me that you don’t already know?
MARTIN: Testify that he coerced you to fight with him. That he knowingly endangered your life.
JOHNNY: Never. I risked my life of my own will.
MARTIN: And when you fought, when you were taken hostage, when you were a decoy in his plans… was this too your own idea?
JOHNNY: We’re a team, he and I. We both share the risk.
MARTIN: Wise up, Johnny. He shares no risk. He’s invulnerable. You’re the one who’ll die when things get bad.
JOHNNY: I don’t give a damn if I do get killed, because at least my life will mean something.
MARTIN: What will it mean? That you failed to save the day? Do you think the city will make a martyr of you? Maybe raise a statue of you in the park?
JOHNNY: It will mean that I refused to take the evils of the world lying on my back. That I did something to improve this place so that maybe one day, guys like me aren’t needed.
MARTIN: That day is today, Johnny. We don’t need you. And I will not rest until every single one of you is gone.
JOHNNY: Well, why not arrest me too, then? Don’t I stand in your way?
MARTIN: I don’t want you, Johnny.
JOHNNY: Why not? I’m a costumed crime fighter. Don’t I make you look like an idiot every time I succeed where you fail?
MARTIN: You have no power. It’s Lightning I’m after.
JOHNNY: Why?
MARTIN: To make an example of him. If I can put him away, it’ll show the world that we mean business. That we’re taking power back from these freaks and putting it back into the hands of humanity. To show the world that Blue Lightning is nothing more than a man in a suit and I can bring him to justice.
JOHNNY: With my help?
MARTIN: Of course, Johnny. You’re proof that he’s no good. Look at yourself. You’re twenty-three years old and you’re wearing a mask. Didn’t you grow out of these games as a child? Do you realize they sell costumes of that vigilante of yours at Halloween?
JOHNNY: So?
MARTIN: So he’s corrupting the city’s youth! Kids want to grow up and fight crime.
JOHNNY: Heaven forbid they should want the streets safe.
MARTIN: Not that way. Testify. Save these kids from this foolish nonsense.
JOHNNY: Why should I?
MARTIN: You wouldn’t want to go to prison, would you?
JOHNNY: I can handle it.
MARTIN: Can you? Because that place is full of men just dying to get their revenge against you. And guess what? Your good pal Adam Allgood won’t be there to save you. Is that what you want?
JOHNNY: I’m not afraid of you.
MARTIN: You should be, Johnny. I will end you.
JOHNNY: To keep some kids from wearing some masks?
MARTIN: He leads them on. He promises them salvation, but he will fail them. Eventually, he will fail and then where will they be?
JOHNNY: He won’t fail everyone!
MARTIN: Yes he will. One by one, he will let them all down. He let you down once.
JOHNNY: Shut up.
MARTIN: When your fiancé was raped. Doesn’t it eat you up that he didn’t save her? And yet, you still follow him, this failure. Is that what you call a hero?
JOHNNY: Yes, because he keeps trying.
MARTIN: I know what it must have felt like, Johnny. I, too, have been disappointed by him. Years ago. He let me down when he didn’t save my parents. They were coming home from a show when the subway train they were on crashed. You know that train was sabotaged by a street gang trying to lure Lightning into a trap? I saw through his lies the moment he ran into town.
JOHNNY: You expect me to turn traitor against my friend because of some vendetta you have against him?
MARTIN: If he's so amazing, why is there still crime in this city? And each victim calls to him. What happens when he doesn't come? He abandons us. He fails us. Can't you see? He brings disappointment.
JOHNNY: Do you honestly believe that?
MARTIN: Yes, I do.
JOHNNY: Then you’re even more wrong about him than I thought.
MARTIN: Oh? And what’s your opinion on the matter?
JOHNNY: He brings hope.
MARTIN: Come now. Are you really that naïve?
JOHNNY: I sleep better at night knowing that there's someone looking out for us. Someone making sure we aren't murdered in our sleep.
MARTIN: And your Blue Lightning does this for you?
JOHNNY: Yes, he does. Just about everyone in this city is comforted knowing there's some great powerful being out protecting us. He gives us hope when nothing else can.
MARTIN: Is he your God now?
JOHNNY: No, just a good man selflessly doing everything he can for the good of others.
MARTIN: How altruistic of him.
JOHNNY: It would seem so. Not as though any of this matters. You'll never catch him anyway.
MARTIN: Oh? Do tell.
JOHNNY: You know good and well he's too fast and too powerful for villain to take down, let alone you.
MARTIN: And you tell me this Champion of Goodness would never submit to any injustice, am I right?
JOHNNY: Not if there's still a breath in.
MARTIN: (laughing) And therein lies our problem.
JOHNNY: What's so funny?
MARTIN: You keep overlooking one very simple, yet very important detail.
JOHNNY: Oh really? And what's that?
MARTIN: Like I told you earlier, I had some questions to ask you regarding a suspect we already have in custody.
JOHNNY: You're a liar.
MARTIN: If, as you say, he would never submit to injustice while he was still alive, I suppose this means one of three things, Johnny. One, that we simply have the wrong man. Not likely. Two, the man we have is dead, which I assure you is not the case. Three, perhaps he knew he was in the wrong and saw that he had to pay for his crimes just like everyone else. Now, do I have your attention?
JOHNNY: You would, except there's a hole in your story that needs filling.
MARTIN: Oh?
JOHNNY: There's no possible way you could have caught him.
MARTIN: Johnny, Johnny, Johnny. We didn't have to. He turned himself in only five hours ago.
JOHNNY: But... that can't be...
MARTIN: I'm afraid it's true.
JOHNNY: But why? It doesn't make any sense.
MARTIN: He knew the game was up. He did the smart thing, and so will you if you know what's good for you.
JOHNNY: No... I can't do it. I won't testify.
MARTIN: Come on, Johnny. It's like I said. Eventually, he fails everyone.
JOHNNY: But he's my hero.
MARTIN: And you're his sidekick. We know. That's why your testimony is so crucial.
JOHNNY: No, this has nothing to do with being his sidekick. He saves people. He saved me. I look up to the man. I can't be the one who brings him down.
MARTIN: He brought himself down, Johnny. Don't let your hero-worship drag you down too.
JOHNNY: He's a good guy. In all my years of working with Adam, I've learned one thing if anything. The innocent are to be protected. He's an innocent man, detective.
MARTIN: Then answer me this. Why did he turn himself in? (beat) Well?
JOHNNY: I don't know...
MARTIN: You don't know or you won't admit it to yourself? You don't want to believe that he turned himself in because it means he knew what he did was against the law.
JOHNNY: He really turned himself in?
MARTIN: Yes. We couldn't have taken him down ourselves. You were right about that. But I think in the end, he saw the harm he and his perverse vision of justice were doing and made the first rational decision of his life. Now, it's time for you to make a rational decision. You don't have to go to jail, son. Just cooperate. We already know everything. All we need is for you to confirm it.
JOHNNY: (beat, defeated) I'll do it.
MARTIN: Wise choice, son. You're doing us all proud.
JOHNNY: Don't rub it in. Just... what do you want to know?
MARTIN: Did you or did you not, at the insistence of Adam Allgood alias Blue Lightning, break into suite 28008 at the Lexington building without permission from the tenant or management of the building.
JOHNNY: I did.
MARTIN: (handing JOHNNY a stack of nine photographs) Did you or did you not assist Adam Allgood in the assault on these nine men?
JOHNNY: I did.
MARTIN: On past occasions has Adam Allgood ever knowingly placed you in a situation in which your life would be in danger?
JOHNNY: That was of my own free will.
MARTIN: Answer the question, Mr. Templeton.
JOHNNY: Yes, but it was-
MARTIN: A simple yes or no will suffice.
JOHNNY: Yes.
MARTIN: At what age did you begin working with Adam Allgood, alias Blue Lightning.
JOHNNY: I started sidekicking for Blue Lightning at age seventeen. I took a job as Adam Allgood's photographer at age nineteen.
MARTIN: Mr. Templeton admits that Blue Lightning was endangering the life of a minor. Please, for the record Mr. Templeton, state the name you used during your time with Blue Lightning.
JOHNNY: Johnny Quick.
MARTIN: Now, during your time with Mr. Allgood, did you ever find that you and your partner were acting in violation of the law?
JOHNNY: For example?
MARTIN: Don't be coy, Mr. Templeton. Breaking and entering. Assault. Vigilanteism.
JOHNNY: Yes, we sometimes had to engage in illegal activities to get the job done.
MARTIN: Please state for the record the job.
JOHNNY: Busting bad guys. Stopping muggers. You know. Crime-fighting.
MARTIN: Vigilanteism?
JOHNNY: Basically.
MARTIN: Do you know if Mr. Allgood was aware these actions were of a criminal nature?
JOHNNY: How should I know? I mean, maybe...
MARTIN: Did either of you ever remain at the scene to give a report to the police after one of your acts of vigilance had been committed?
JOHNNY: No, we usually just left the criminal tied up or something.
MARTIN: Yes or no, Mr. Templeton.
JOHNNY: No.
MARTIN: Then it would stand to reason that perhaps Mr. Allgood knew he was in violation of the law and acted against it anyway.
JOHNNY: Yeah, I suppose. Whatever. Look, I've told you what you want to know. Can I please be released?
MARTIN: Of course, Mr. Templeton.
JOHNNY: (rising) Actually...
MARTIN: Something to add?
JOHNNY: No, I was just...
MARTIN: Yes?
JOHNNY: Could I see him?
MARTIN: Any particular reason?
JOHNNY: Answers.
MARTIN: Very well. I'll have the guards bring him in. You'll have five minutes and then we'll have to put him back in his cell.

(Detective MARTIN rises and undoes JOHNNY's handcuffs. Then he exits the room. Johnny props himself against the table and takes a glass of what little remaining water there is. From the way he slouches, we can tell he is disappointed in both himself and Lightning. The doors open. ADAM Allgood, alias Blue Lightning, enters in a pair of special high-tech looking handcuffs. He is escorted by two guards.)

ADAM: They told me you wanted to see me, Johnny.
JOHNNY: (hurt and angry) How could you?
ADAM: I had to.
JOHNNY: Had to? What the hell is that supposed to mean, you had to?
ADAM: It means I had to.
JOHNNY: You didn't have to do anything, Adam. You're faster than them. Stronger than them. Don’t tell me you had to.
ADAM: There's more to it than that, Johnny. Just because I'm faster or stronger doesn't automatically put me above the law.
JOHNNY: But...
ADAM: Might doesn't make right, Johnny.
JOHNNY: I know, but it doesn't make wrong, either.
ADAM: I promised long ago that I'd use my powers to protect this city and its institutions, to uphold the law. If the law decides I'm wrong to do so, then so be it.
JOHNNY: But it isn't right. Why should you be punished for protecting others?
ADAM: Because these officers seem to think I'm in the wrong, that our methods are unacceptable.
JOHNNY: We do good out there, unacceptable or not. I bet you none of those people we've saved think we did anything wrong.
ADAM: Johnny, most people, even when they're wrong, believe they are right.
JOHNNY: You think you actually deserve to be sent to prison?
ADAM: Of course not. I think I did the right thing. But we've never been judges.
JOHNNY: Sure we have. Every time we nab a crook, we're judges. We see what's happening, judge them guilty, and do something about it.
ADAM: If that's what you've been doing, we've not been fighting on the same side. No, Johnny. What we do, what we are, we're witnesses. We see things happen, bad things, and we do something about it. We apprehend. We deliver bad guys to the authorities. A citizen’s arrest, if you will. But we aren't judges, we aren't juries, and we're never executioners. That's out of our jurisdiction.
JOHNNY: And it's in the hands of whack jobs like Detective Martin? He's the kind of guy we trust ourselves to? That man has it all wrong.
ADAM: And yet he believes he's right. He thinks he's doing what's best for the city. And maybe he is. But the point is, when anyone in this city breaks the law, we've always brought them to justice. If he says I've broken the law, I have to turn myself in.
JOHNNY: But he's wrong.
ADAM: Even so, I can't turn my back on the law now. I can't ignore what I've been fighting to protect just because it's inconvenient.
JOHNNY: But what do you think will happen?
ADAM: They'll probably acquit me. The purpose of the law is to protect people. Deep down inside, I think people know that the law, though well intentioned, isn't perfect, and that sometimes you have to break the letter of the law to protect its spirit.
JOHNNY: And if they convict you?
ADAM: Well, then maybe the battle we've been fighting all along is already lost.
JOHNNY: And even if they do, they'll release you once things get really bad again.
ADAM: Probably. We're skeptical of saviors when they're here, but boy do we cry out for them when they're gone.
JOHNNY: (beat) Adam...
ADAM: Yeah, Johnny?
JOHNNY: I told them everything... I testified against you.
ADAM: I know. I heard. Super senses, remember?
JOHNNY: Do you forgive me?
ADAM: Of course. You did your duty to the law. You gave your honest testimony against a criminal.
JOHNNY: Are we criminals, then?
ADAM: I suppose so.
JOHNNY: (bothered) Oh...
ADAM: But so was Robin Hood. Sometimes justice is more important than the law.
JOHNNY: I suppose you're right. They're letting me go.
ADAM: I know.
JOHNNY: So what do I do now?
ADAM: You go.
JOHNNY: No, I mean... what about justice and fighting crime?
ADAM: Do you believe it's the right thing to do?
JOHNNY: Yeah, I do.
ADAM: Even though it's against the law?
JOHNNY: Yeah.
ADAM: Then keep fighting.
GUARD: Time's up.
JOHNNY: I'll see you soon.

(ADAM is lead away by the GUARDS. JOHNNY picks his mask up off the table and looks at it thoughtfully. MARTIN enters with a coffee and leans on the table.)

MARTIN: Did you find the answers you were looking for?
JOHNNY: And so much more.
MARTIN: I meant to ask. If you had the chance to do it over, would you?
JOHNNY: In a heartbeat.
MARTIN: That wouldn’t look very good on your release papers, Johnny.
JOHNNY: You asked me to testify, Detective, and I have. But I will not lie for you.
MARTIN: What do you see in him? Hope? Salvation?
JOHNNY: The big brother we never had. He cares for us. He looks out for us, and when we've given all we've got and can go no further, he picks us up and carries us the rest of the way.
MARTIN: Touching.
JOHNNY: (beat, looking at his mask) Now, if you'll excuse me, Detective, I have a lot of work to catch up on.

(JOHNNY begins to exit.)

MARTIN: Got to get back to the paper, eh?
JOHNNY: (pausing and turning to MARTIN) Of course.

(JOHNNY exits. MARTIN sits at the table drinking his coffee.)

BLACKOUT

PHONE CALL #3: VILLAIN

Phone rings
JANE: (very upset) Please, Jonah… pick up.
JONAH: (answering) Hello?
JANE: They killed him!
JONAH: What?
JANE: They killed him?
JONAH: Who?
JANE: Blue Lightning!
JONAH: Someone killed Lightning?
JANE: Yes!
JONAH: Impossible. The Blue Lightning is invulnerable. Everyone knows that.
JANE: It was awful.
JONAH: What happened?
JANE: So awful.
JONAH: Jane, pull yourself together and tell me what happened.
JANE: He was standing there and… and then he was lying on the ground.
JONAH: Where was he standing? Who killed him?
JANE: There was a robbery. He was saving a kid who was still inside. He got shot.
JONAH: But I thought bullets just bounced off of him.
JANE: They do. Did. I don’t know.
JONAH: Who did it?
JANE: The Dark Archer. Got him with an arrow. In the chest.
JONAH: But… how?
JANE: I don’t know… must have figured out some weakness.
JONAH: Did the cops get the Archer?
JANE: No… everyone was… we couldn’t focus. He killed the Blue Lightning! It was impossible! He was supposed to be invincible, immortal!
JONAH: No one can fight forever, Jane. Sooner or later, we all fall down. I guess he was sooner.
JANE: What do we do now?
JONAH: We survived before he came along. I guess we’ll just have to remember how. (resuming his newspaper manner) I want you and Allgood to write an obituary for him.
JANE: Adam was also shot.
JONAH: What?
JANE: He was trying to get a better look. For the story. He got shot. In the chest. The Dark Archer did it.
JONAH: Will he be all right?
JANE: (crying) The doctors aren’t sure. They rushed him off to the hospital. They don’t know if he’ll make it.
JONAH: I’m so sorry, Jane. Is there anything I can do to help? Either of you? Your kids?
JANE: I don’t know, Jonah.
JONAH: Take some time off. Be with your husband. I’ll give the story to someone else.
JANE: (composing herself, resolute) No. I’ll do it. We’ll do it. Adam and I.
JONAH: I thought that-
JANE: We lost Lightning. I will not lose Adam too.
JONAH: If only it worked that way.
JANE: Say a prayer for us?
JONAH: You know I’m not religious, Jane.
JANE: Neither am I, but if something like this can happen… well, I’m trying every hope I can find.
JONAH: I’ll say a prayer for you guys.
JANE: Thanks. We’ll get that tribute to Lightning to you as soon as possible.
JONAH: You and Adam?
JANE: (pause) I’m at the hospital. I gotta go, Jonah.
JONAH: Of course. Say hello to Adam for me.
JANE: I will.
JONAH: And Jane?
JANE: Yes?
JONAH: Take care of yourself.
JANE: I will.

PHEONIX RISING

CHARACTERS:

ADAM ALLGOOD – A fallen superhero
DOCTOR – Adam’s physician
DAVID DONALDSON – The villain who defeated Adam
JOHNNY QUICK – Adam’s sidekick

(The lights come up on a small hospital room. It is clean and sterile, accented only by the color of fake personality that the coffee shop landscape painting provides. There is a door UP RIGHT. A window in the center of the stage has sunlight pouring in. Its hopeful rays are a contrast to the stale fluorescent lighting. In the middle of the room is a hospital bed, and in this bed lies ADAM ALLGOOD. He is middle aged, and yet still the epitome of health. His hair is slightly gray but otherwise fairly young. His chest is bandaged. It is clear he’s been shot recently. He stares out the window at the city. He has a bittersweet smile on his face.)

ADAM: You’re so quiet. Somewhere out there, someone’s car is being stolen. Someone’s house is on fire. Some cat is stuck in some tree. And yet from here, you look so peaceful. It’s strange.

(A DOCTOR enters the room and stands at the door. ADAM takes his attention from the window and looks to him.)

DOCTOR: How are you this morning, Mr. Allgood?
ADAM: I’m good, doctor. Thank you.
DOCTOR: Good, good.
ADAM: So what’s my status, doc?
DOCTOR: Excellent, Mr. Allgood. You should be out of here in a few days, a week tops. After that you’ll have a few months of physical therapy, and then you’re in the clear. We just have to run a few tests.
ADAM: I’m glad to hear it.
DOCTOR: You will have a scar on your chest. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about that.
ADAM: Don’t worry, Doc. A scar is fine.
DOCTOR: You’re lucky to have survived, you know.
ADAM: I know.
DOCTOR: If that arrow would have hit just a hair off in any direction, it would have killed you.
ADAM: So it would seem.
DOCTOR: We couldn’t remove the arrowhead, unfortunately. It’s lodged in too tight and it would destroy your heart to try to remove it. I’m afraid you’ll have to learn to live with it.
ADAM: That’s not a problem at all, doc.
DOCTOR: You won’t be able to play sports or anything like that. The risk of the arrow shifting is too great. However, if you limit yourself to low exertion activities, you should be just fine.
ADAM: That’s good to hear.
DOCTOR: Strange thing, that arrow. Solid gold tip. What kind of nut puts such an expensive tip on an arrow and then doesn’t bother to retrieve it afterward?
ADAM: The guy robs banks with arrows. Who knows what kind of things pass through a mind like his?
DOCTOR: Who indeed.
ADAM: Is that all?
DOCTOR: Well, there is a visitor waiting for you in the hall.
ADAM: Who is it?
DOCTOR: A man named David Donaldson. Do you know him?
ADAM: By reputation.
DOCTOR: Should I send him away?
ADAM: No, it’s fine. I was expecting him.
DOCTOR: Very well. I’ll bring him in at once.

(The DOCTOR exits and then returns soon after with DAVID DONALDSON, a thin man in his mid twenties with a shifty face. There is something not right about this man. He seems both thrilled and uneasy to be in this room. His hands fidget in his pockets.)

DOCTOR: Would you like me to stay?
ADAM: No thank you. I’d like to speak to Mr. Donaldson in private, if you don’t mind.
DOCTOR: Are you sure?
ADAM: Yes, doctor.

(The DOCTOR exits. DAVID stands awkwardly, unsure of what to do.)

ADAM: Please. Sit.
DAVID: (nervous) No thanks. I’ll stand.
ADAM: Suit yourself.

(DAVID begins to pace nervously before staring out the window. He glances at ADAM from time to time, still amazed that they are both actually here.)

ADAM: Anything wrong, Mr. Donaldson?
DAVID: (clearly agitated) No, nothing. I’m fine.
ADAM: Are you?
DAVID: Of course. What would I have to be worried about?
ADAM: What indeed.
DAVID: You, uh… you gonna be alright there, chief?
ADAM: (looking at his wound) Oh this? Yeah, I’ll be fine. (implying) I’ll never run again. But then, I figure you’ve guessed that already.

(DAVID looks away guiltily. He again turns his gaze to the city below.)

DAVID: Pretty peaceful out there, eh?
ADAM: It sure looks that way, doesn’t it? But that’s just how it looks. Underneath that calm exterior, the streets down there are teeming with crime. Thieves. Muggers. Every sort of villainy that can be imagine is out there. Pedophiles. Murderers. They’re all out there, just beneath that serene picturesque surface you’re so nervously looking over.
DAVID: Yeah… I guess so.
ADAM: You guess so, or you know so? (DAVID is silent.) You know why you’re here.
DAVID: (lying) No, I don’t. What’s going on?
ADAM: Let’s not be coy, David.
DAVID: (worried) I don’t know what you’re getting at, man, but you’re starting to freak me out.
ADAM: You know who I am, don’t you David?
DAVID: Sure, Adam Allgood. You’re that hotshot reporter for paper. You got shot with that arrow by the Dark Archer when you were doing a story on Blue Lightning.
ADAM: Something like that. But I know that’s not all you know.
DAVID: I swear I don’t know nothing else.
ADAM: Anything else. You don’t know anything else. But I think you do.
DAVID: No, I don’t. Honest.
ADAM: I think you know who I really am, and you’re afraid to let me know it. You’re afraid of what I might do.
DAVID: And what is it I’m afraid you’ll do?
ADAM: You’re afraid I’ll leap out of this bed faster than you can blink and punch you so hard you fly into the next room. You’re afraid that gun in your pocket won’t save you, that your bullets will just bounce off my chest.
DAVID: What makes you think I got a gun?
ADAM: David, David, David. I think we have far more important questions to answer, like how you know who I am, and how I know who you are.
DAVID: (frightened) And who am I?
ADAM: David Donaldson. (DAVID relaxes) Also known as the Dark Archer, the man who killed Blue Lightning.

(DAVID panics. He backs up quickly and runs into the wall. He slowly tries to make his way toward the door.)

ADAM: Come now, David. There’s no need to leave so soon.
DAVID: Stay away from me, man. I’ll scream. I’ll call the guards in here. You can’t hurt me. They’ll know it was you.
ADAM: I didn’t bring you in here to kill you. I’m a protector, a guardian. A superhero, if you will. I don’t kill, even those who have come closer to killing me than any other living soul on this planet. I’m not going to attack you.
DAVID: Then what do you want? This room bugged? You gonna turn me in to the cops?
ADAM: No, David. I have much bigger plans for you.
DAVID: What plans? What do you want from me?
ADAM: I called you here to make a deal with you.
DAVID: Why do you keep saying that?
ADAM: Saying what?
DAVID: Why do you keep saying you sent for me?
ADAM: Because I did.
DAVID: You’re crazy. It was a friend of mine told me to come finish you off now when you’re weak.
ADAM: I know. I had a contact of mine put the idea in his head. I made sure your friend was so convinced that I’d leave the hospital determined to have my revenge on you that you had no choice but to kill me now. That’s how I knew you were coming. That’s how I know you’ve got a gun in your pocket.
DAVID: What the fuck is wrong with you?
ADAM: You’re really going to have to learn to watch that language of yours.
DAVID: I’m dreaming.
ADAM: No, David. You’re most decidedly awake.
DAVID: Then this is all some big joke, right? Where are you, Tito, you bastard?
ADAM: I’m afraid this is no joke. And I really do want you to stop using that language. The sooner you do, the better it will be for you in the end.
DAVID: What’s your game, Lightning?
ADAM: Adam.
DAVID: What?
ADAM: It’s Adam. Blue Lightning is dead.
DAVID: What are you talking about? You’re him. I mean, if you’re alive, isn’t he?
ADAM: We both know that he is no more.
DAVID: So if you know I’ve got a gun, if you know why I’m here, why did you let me come?
ADAM: I have my reasons. I know you.
DAVID: (Pulling out the gun) You think you know me? Well, who the hell are you, huh? You think you’re so fucking smart. (holding the gun to ADAM’s head) Tell me, Einstein. If you’re such a damn genius, why did you deliberately bring in a man with a gun you know is out to kill you?
ADAM: Because I know you won’t.
DAVID: (cocking the pistol) Are you so sure of that?
ADAM: (confident) Absolutely. (beat) Go on. I’m in the hospital recovering from a near fatal injury. You know I’m vulnerable. Take your shot. Do it now.
DAVID: (wavering) You suicidal or something?
ADAM: No. I really want to live, actually. Now stop playing around and shoot me.
DAVID: I’ll do it.
ADAM: Then do it. Get it over with. Kill me.

(DAVID hesitates and then finally drops the gun to his side. He slumps in the chair.)

ADAM: You couldn’t do it.
DAVID: (patronizing) And you were so certain.
ADAM: I was.
DAVID: Yeah, well, what if I would have done it? What then?
ADAM: You wouldn’t have.
DAVID: And what makes you so sure?
ADAM: Because you didn’t do it before.
DAVID: Yeah? I came to finish the job, remember?
ADAM: I know all about you, David. You’re a phenomenal archer. It wasn’t a lucky shot that hit me, and it wasn’t lucky for me that it didn’t kill me. You’re a deadeye. You shot me where you knew it would strip me of my powers forever. You wanted me out of the picture for good. But you didn’t want to kill me.
DAVID: Why would I do something like that?
ADAM: Oh, I can think of a number of reasons. Maybe you had some kind of grudge against me. Maybe you wanted me to suffer through a life without my super speed, my strength, my invulnerability. I think you wanted to make a name for yourself. You wanted to succeed where so many others have failed. You wanted to be the one to defeat Blue Lightning once and for all. But you didn’t want to have to kill me, because deep down inside, I think you’re still a good person.
DAVID: What kind of good person runs around taking out superheroes?
ADAM: You know I was arrested once.
DAVID: I remember. It made all the papers.
ADAM: Detective Martin Bleakman was the one who put the warrant out. Now, would you say Detective Bleakman was a bad man?
DAVID: No. I mean, technically, you broke the law.
ADAM: So he’s a good man?
DAVID: I don’t know about all of that…
ADAM: Deep down inside, he thought he was doing the right thing. Even though he tried to take down a superhero, he’s still a good man.
DAVID: So, what? A guy’s not bad unless he knows he’s doing bad?
ADAM: Something like that. If a man, deep down, truly believes he is doing good by his actions, he isn’t evil. He’s ignorant.
DAVID: Ok, he’s ignorant. I knew what I was doing. How can you say I’m a good guy deep down inside?
ADAM: You didn’t kill me.
DAVID: You keep saying that. Wise up, man. I’m a criminal. I rob banks. I hold hostages. I took away your power and left you to deal with it. And the whole time, I knew it was wrong. Now how the hell can you say I’m not a bad guy?
ADAM: Yes, you robbed a bank, but witnesses at the scene claim when you came in, you told everyone to be calm and get down because you weren’t there for them, you just wanted the money. You held hostages, but you never once harmed any of them.
DAVID: Cops don’t deal with hostage killers.
ADAM: You never even threatened them, David.
DAVID: I shot you in the heart, knowing full well you’d never be able to use your powers again.
ADAM: Unless some new surgery made it possible for the arrowhead to be removed and science is progressing very rapidly. It’d be too big a risk for you, David. If you really wanted me out of the picture, you would have killed me.
DAVID: If I’m such a great guy, then why’d I do everything?
ADAM: I never said you were a great guy. I just said that you’ve still got some decency left in you. That’s why I arranged for you to visit me. That’s why I had the doctor send you in, even though I knew you were armed. Because I knew though you came to kill me, you wouldn’t do it.
DAVID: You’re a cocky guy, Mr. Allgood.
ADAM: No, I’m just a good judge of character.
DAVID: So, hotshot, why’d you send for me then? I doubt it was just to tell me thanks for not killing you.
ADAM: Who are you?
DAVID: Are you kidding?
ADAM: No, I’m being very serious.
DAVID: (confused) David Donaldson? The Dark Archer? You know, the guy who put you in here?
ADAM: Oh, I remember all of that. But I don’t think you know who you are.
DAVID: Of course I do.
ADAM: You may think so, but I’m willing to bet that the difference between who you think you are and who you actually are is enormous.
DAVID: Oh really?
ADAM: For example, I bet you’re feeling pretty cocky right now. Here you are in the hospital room of a superhero many others have tried to kill. You put me here when no one else could. I bet that somewhere inside you’re thrilled that you can shoot me and then talk to me face to face knowing I can’t do anything about it.
DAVID: So what if I am?
ADAM: I bet you’re feeling pretty confident right now, like you’re the greatest criminal mastermind ever. I bet you’re feeling pretty untouchable in your little hospital chair over there.
DAVID: I took you down, didn’t I?
ADAM: That’s the fantasy version of you. And you’re still basking in the glow of your victory, you’ve yet to feel reality slap you in the face. There are answers you don’t want to hear for questions you haven’t even thought of yet because you’re still up on your high horse.
DAVID: Oh really?
ADAM: Yes, David. Really. The fact of the matter is as far as criminals go, you’re second rate.
DAVID: Second rate? Heh. Tell you what, pops. You and me, we’ll race. Any first rate superhero like you should be able to beat a second rate criminal like me in a race, let alone in a fight. And yet, there you are in your hospital gown. Maybe it’s you who’s second rate.
ADAM: You’re a perpetrator of petty crimes in comparison to other villains out there. You think you’re some kind of big league player because you took me down. But the jobs you’ve been doing? That’s the equivalent of robbing candy stores compared to the guys I’ve faced. Amateurs want money. The real villains are out for power.
DAVID: I’m just getting started, Lightning. I’m thinking big.
ADAM: No, you’re thinking that your one break will be enough to keep you ahead of the game. That when everyone realizes what a two-bit amateur you are, you’ll still be able to wave around the hero-killer card and hope that it will give you the three second head-start you need to get out before they all turn on you. Even now, you keep calling me Lightning because so long as I’m still the hero, it makes you feel tough to talk back to me with impunity.
DAVID: If they’re so much better than me, how come I’m the one who finally managed to defeat you?
ADAM: That is an excellent question, David. How did you defeat me? Have you bothered to ask yourself that yet?
DAVID: I don’t have to. I already know. Pure talent.
ADAM: Your archery?
DAVID: Hell yeah, my archery. I’m a better shot than anyone else in the world.
ADAM: There’s no denying that, David. You hit me in exactly the right spot to disable me without killing me from a hundred yards using a bow and arrow. Well done. But how did it hurt me? I’m invulnerable, remember?
DAVID: That’s where my brilliance comes in. I found out your weakness. Gold. Oh the irony that the thing you came to keep me from stealing would be the thing that would do you in.
ADAM: You call it irony. I always felt it was the universe’s way of keeping me from exploiting my powers for personal gain.
DAVID: Well, ain’t the universe a bitch sometimes? Making you allergic to gold and letting me find out. Bad luck for you.
ADAM: And you discovered this all by yourself, eh?
DAVID: Damn straight I did.
ADAM: You mean your friend Tito didn’t help you any?
DAVID: That fool? Not a chance.
ADAM: He didn’t say something along the lines of, “Man, I wish I could be around after Lightning stops a robbery. He always leaves before the cops show up. I mean, there’s a good couple minutes where all that gold’s just lying about with no one guarding it?”
DAVID: What the hell are you talking about?
ADAM: Did he never say something like, “If I were Blue Lightning, I’d totally take some of that stolen gold, you know, as payment. But he never touches the stuff.”
DAVID: You spying on me now too?
ADAM: I haven’t been spying on you, David. I’ve been feeding you. If you send Tito an anonymous letter telling him that unless he does what you say, Big Tony will find out Tito’s been using what he should be selling, he’ll be offering to do backflips for you in no time.
DAVID: Isn’t blackmail illegal?
ADAM: Perhaps I wasn’t trying to get Tito to break the law. I just needed him to get you thinking.
DAVID: And you were so sure I’d figure it out?
ADAM: You’re a clever kid. You just need a jumpstart sometimes. I knew you figured it out when you met me in the streets a couple days before you shot me. You had few gold-banded diamond rings on your hand. You shook my hand and made sure the diamonds were able to scrape me. You discovered gold was my weakness, but you had to know for certain before you attacked me outright with your golden arrow.
DAVID: Yeah right. Like some hero would make sure his enemies knew his weakness. He wouldn’t tell them something like that unless it actually made him strong or something.
ADAM: Or unless it was to his advantage?
DAVID: And since you definitely aren’t at any kind of advantage right now, I’m gonna have to call you a damn liar.
ADAM: Maybe. But ask yourself this. I’m faster than that arrow. Why did it hit me?
DAVID: I caught you by surprise.
ADAM: Seems a little to convenient, don’t you think? You just happen to find my Achilles Heel where some of the greatest criminal masterminds have failed? You just happen to hit me with something that moves much slower than me? That seems very convenient.
DAVID: Right. So you’re trying to tell me…
ADAM: That I let you hit me.
DAVID: But that still doesn’t explain why you’d want to be taken out.
ADAM: I’m tired, David.
DAVID: (rising) Good. Then I’ll be leaving now. You were starting to freak me out anyway.
ADAM: No, David. I’m tired of the fight. I can’t do it anymore.
DAVID: Thanks to me and my arrow?
ADAM: No… time has taken its toll on me.
DAVID: But you were just as strong as you always were.
ADAM: Sure physically I could still do it, but I wanted out. I wanted to retire.
DAVID: (laughing) Retire? Yeah, right.
ADAM: It’s true. I’ve been fighting crime as the Blue Lightning for over twenty years now. Did you know that?
DAVID: Yeah, I know it.
ADAM: I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t go out risking my life day in and day out anymore. After twenty years, no one managed to figure out that I was mild mannered reporter Adam Allgood all along. No one discovered my weakness. And believe me, David. There were people looking. I’d been lucky up to now, but I knew that soon, very soon, someone would make the connection. Someone would find out who I am. They’d find out how to kill me and they’d come after me and my family. I’m married now. I’ve got kids. I’m on the PTA for Pete’s sake. If someone found out who I was, if someone really wanted to hurt me… I couldn’t put my family through that…
DAVID: Enter me, ready to strip you of your powers and take away that threat?
ADAM: Not only that. I don’t have to miss my son’s birthday parties anymore because some bank is getting robbed or a bus is careening off a cliff.
DAVID: Don’t you think saving lives would be more important than a rented clown and some cake?
ADAM: I can stop a robbery, David. But what good does it do if I’m a bad father to my own children? What good does it do if my kids feel the need to resort to criminal behavior to get my attention?
DAVID: So you decided to have yourself killed? Why not just quit?
ADAM: Too many people needed me. Too many people trusted me. Too many people relied on me. If I quit, it would destroy them. As long as I had the power to save them, they would never forgive me if I didn’t. They’d lose all hope. I mean, if you can’t trust your heroes who can you trust?
DAVID: But you couldn’t just fake it? Pretend you lost your powers or something? Pretend you died?
ADAM: My wife would know. Johnny Quick would know. But even if I could hide it from them, I would know.
DAVID: How is this any different? You knowingly gave up your powers. How do you justify that?
ADAM: Listen.
DAVID: To what?
ADAM: Shhh… Just listen.

(They listen for several moments. The only sounds are the gentle hum of Adam’s hospital machinery and the traffic outside.)

ADAM: Do you hear that, David?
DAVID: I don’t hear anything.
ADAM: Exactly. No cries for help. I don’t hear anyone that needs saving.
DAVID: Maybe it’s a slow crime day.
ADAM: I know you may not be able to understand the significance of hearing nothing but traffic, but I used to be able to hear a pin drop from ten miles away. It’s how I always knew when there was trouble. I don’t hear that now. I hear the same things you hear or the doctor hears. It’s like all the problems of the world have been lifted off of my shoulders. If there’s a problem in this city, I don’t hear it anymore.
DAVID: So, what? If you don’t hear it, it doesn’t happen?
ADAM: No, it still happens, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t have to know about it. When I’m playing with my kid, I don’t have to know that somewhere a bank is being robbed or a woman is getting mugged. Do you have any idea what that does to you as a parent to know every bad deed that goes on in a city? Ignorance is truly bliss.
DAVID: But don’t you have a responsibility to those people?
ADAM: Am I getting lectures on my responsibility to do good from the very villain who took me down in the first place?
DAVID: If I’m a villain, Adam, you’re worse. I shot you. I stripped you of your powers. For all purposes, I killed you. What do you think that’s done? People everywhere will lose the hope you fought so hard to preserve. And now that there’s no Blue Lightning to stand in the way, crime will only get worse. You’ve damned us all. And you did it knowingly.
ADAM: I did step down from the watchtower, yes, but every guard knows you don’t leave your post unless you know there’s a replacement.
DAVID: Johnny Quick? He’s your replacement?
ADAM: Do you know why I chose you, David?
DAVID: What?
ADAM: Do you know why I chose the Dark Archer to be the man who slays me?
DAVID: Because you knew I wouldn’t kill you?
ADAM: No.
DAVID: Ok, do I have to keep guessing or will you tell me?
ADAM: I chose you because you’re not as strong as my other opponents.
DAVID: Are you giving little guys a break now? Boosting up our self-esteem or something?
ADAM: Not quite. I see in you potential, David. Lots of potential. Deep down, you’ve got a good heart. You’re talented. Dedicated. But you’re flawed. You’re weaker than the competition. When you killed me, a lot of criminal egos got hurt. For you to succeed where they have failed time and time again is insulting. And they’re all going to try to gun you down because the only way to restore their fragile confidence now is to kill the man who killed me.
DAVD: What?
ADAM: They’re coming for you, David. What are you going to do?
DAVID: You set me up to be a target?
ADAM: Something like that.
DAVID: Do you realize what you’ve done to me?
ADAM: I realize full well the consequences of my actions, but the question is, “do you?”
DAVID: What is this about?
ADAM: Now that every major villain in the city will be after you, what will you do? Will you run and hide or will you stand and fight?
DAVID: Are you kidding? I can’t face all of them.
ADAM: Not at once, maybe. And not right now. But you can’t hide forever if you decide to run. They are many and their fingers are very long. They’ll find you no matter where you go. So the important thing to think about now is, when the time comes, will you be ready to face them?
DAVID: If I have to…
ADAM: But will you win?
DAVID: How am I supposed to know? I’ll give it all I got to survive if that’s what you’re asking.
ADAM: So when Dr. Nefarious comes after you?
DAVID: I’ll fight him off as best as I can.
ADAM: And when the Blood Brigade decides they want a piece of you?
DAVID: I guess I’ll have to fight them off too.
ADAM: And when you’re stalking the streets at night and some gang decides to try to win a little glory for their home turf?
DAVID: I’ll kick the shit out of ‘em. Damn it, Adam. Can’t you see what you’ve done to me? Every low life and cretin in the city is going to want to take me down!
ADAM: And you’ll have to fight them off on a daily basis, won’t you?
DAVID: Hell yeah, I will!
ADAM: You’re starting to sound a lot like a crime fighter to me, David.
DAVID: (slowly realizing) What have you done to me?
ADAM: I think the question is, “what am I giving you?”
DAVID: And the answer is?
ADAM: Redemption.
DAVID: What the-
ADAM: Language, David. Please. Like it or not, you’re about to become a hero. You really shouldn’t talk like that.
DAVID: Me, a hero? Yeah right. I don’t exactly have the cleanest reputation, if you know what I’m saying.
ADAM: It’ll be an uphill fight. And my death will always be a stain, however small, on your name. But I’m offering you the chance to undo some of the damage you’ve caused. I’m offering you the chance to be proud of what you do for a change.
DAVID: What makes you think I’m not proud of what I do?
ADAM: Because you’re listening to me. You came here to kill me and instead you’re listening to me. You didn’t want to shoot me and now I’m offering you an alternative.
DAVID: But if I go good, every criminal in the city-
ADAM: Will be after you? I was under the impression that they already were.
DAVID: But the cops will be after me too.
ADAM: Now you know how Spider Man feels. Even I was arrested for vigilanteism once. Don’t worry. They’ll eventually come to accept you if not trust you.
DAVID: But you said you picked me because I was weak. How am I supposed to take on all the crime in this city if I’m not even that good?
ADAM: We all have our flaws.
DAVID: You mean like you and gold?
ADAM: No.
DAVID: Then what?
ADAM: I’m afraid of heights.
DAVID: You? You saved people from the tops of tall buildings before. I saw you do it.
ADAM: And I was scared to death the whole time. But I did it anyway. We’ve all got weaknesses. We just have to overcome them with our strengths.
DAVID: You’ve got strengths. You can lift buses, outrun trains, take a shotgun to the chest and not flinch. What have I got?
ADAM: You’re talented with that bow. You’re in great shape. You’re smart. You just haven’t begun to hone your skills yet.
DAVID: And how do I do that?
ADAM: It’s a refiner’s fire. The only way to get rid of those flaws is to get out there and fight. One battle at a time. And each battle, win or lose, will make you a little bit stronger, a little bit wiser. A little bit better.
DAVID: (thinking) So where do I begin?
ADAM: (laughing) Start small. Get yourself a police scanner and a fast motorcycle, I guess.
DAVID: You’re really something else, Lightning, you know that?
ADAM: No, I’m just like everyone else. I’m just Adam from now on.
DAVID: No, you’re more than that. Powers or no powers, it’s not everyone who can turn his assassin into his replacement.
ADAM: No, the hard part was finding a replacement I trusted to be my assassin.
DAVID: Adam?
ADAM: David?
DAVID: I don’t think I can do it.
ADAM: What do you mean?
DAVID: I don’t have any kind of special powers like you did. I’ll never be able to save everyone.
ADAM: Neither could I.
DAVID: Really?
ADAM: My mom used to tell me this story about a little boy and a bunch of starfish on the beach.
DAVID: So did mine.
ADAM: Just take it one fight at a time. You may not make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but you’ll make a difference to some, and that’s better than nothing.
DAVID: Yeah, I remember.
ADAM: It’s like my mom told me once, “The hero is a hard role to play, but it’s worth it.” Don’t worry, David. You’ll be fine.
DAVID: Thanks. (beat) You knew this would happen right from the start, didn’t you?
ADAM: I told you, David. A good guardian doesn’t leave the watchtower until he knows he has a replacement.
DAVID: (laughing) You son of a bitch.
ADAM: Language.
DAVID: Oh no, Adam. I’m the hero now, and if I want to tell some villain he’d better drop the gun or I’ll kick his ass, than that’s just what I’ll do.
ADAM: Fair enough.
DAVID: So what are you going to do now that you’ve retired?
ADAM: I dunno. Spend some time with my kid. Coach a little league team.
DAVID: You’ll get bored of it, Adam. You were a hero far too long. You’ll miss the action, the thrill of the chase.
ADAM: You’re right. Maybe I’ll be a detective.
DAVID: A detective?
ADAM: Sure. I figure I’ve been hunting down bad guys for twenty years now. I imagine I know a little something about detective work. Plus there’s all that investigative reporting I’ve done. I imagine if anyone is qualified to arbitrarily become a detective it’s me.
DAVID: Me a crime fighter and you a detective? We could make quite the dynamic duo.
ADAM: You’ll lend me a hand when I’m stumped on a case?
DAVID: Only if you’ll do the same.
ADAM: Deal.
DAVID: You know, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
ADAM: First day as a hero and you’re already stealing lines. Now get out of here. You’ve got work to do.
DAVID: (leaving) Goodbye.
ADAM: (calling after him) Hey David?
DAVID: Yeah?
ADAM: Thanks.
DAVID: For what?
ADAM: You gave me something I’ve wanted for my whole life.
DAVID: What’s that?
ADAM: A normal life. Barbecues. White picket fences. Uninterrupted evenings with my family. I don’t have to be superman anymore. For the first time, I only have to be a man. Thanks.
DAVID: Any time. (leaving) See you around, Adam.
ADAM: See you around.

(DAVID exits. ADAM stretches on the bed. JOHNNY QUICK enters looking confused.)

JOHNNY: Was that-?
ADAM: The Dark Archer himself.

(JOHNNY begins to run out of the room)

ADAM: Don’t go after him, Johnny.
JOHNNY: But he-
ADAM: Don’t.
JOHNNY: (sitting) What did he want here?
ADAM: Let him go, Johnny. I don’t think he’ll be giving us any trouble from now on.
JOHNNY: How can you say that? The man tried to kill you! He stripped you of your powers! How can you be so calm about him being here?
ADAM: I trust him.
JOHNNY: You trust him? Are you sure that arrow hit your heart and not your brain?
ADAM: Call it intuition.
JOHNNY: You’re a strange man, Adam Allgood.
ADAM: Perhaps. It’s been a long day, Johnny. I need some rest.
JOHNNY: All right, Adam. (leaving) Do you want me to turn the light off?
ADAM: Sure. Tell my wife Jane I’ll be home in a couple of days.
JOHNNY: No problem. To be honest, I don’t know how you can sleep after all of this.
ADAM: With my eyes closed, Johnny. Just like everyone else.

(JOHNNY turns off the light and then exits. Only the sunlight streaming in from the window remains. ADAM sighs.)

ADAM: Just like everyone else.

(ADAM closes his eyes and goes blissfully to sleep to the sounds of the street below.)

BLACKOUT

PHONE CALL #4: REBIRTH

Phone Ringing
JANE: Pick up, pick up, pick up.
JONAH: (answering) Hello?
JANE: Jonah!
JONAH: Jane, how are you?
JANE: I’m good.
JONAH: How is Adam?
JANE: Good, good. Everyone’s good.
JONAH: You seem rushed. Is everything alright?
JANE: Yes, fine, great. It’s just…
JONAH: What is it, Jane?
JANE: The strangest thing just happened.
JONAH: What is it?
JANE: I saw the Dark Archer. And he was actually stopping a robbery.
JONAH: You’re kidding, right?
JANE: No. Some thugs were robbing a bank and there he was stopping them. Shooting his arrows around.
JONAH: The same Dark Archer that killed the Blue Lightning?
JANE: The one and the same.
JONAH: That doesn’t make any sense. He’s a villain, isn’t he?
JANE: I know! But there he was, saving the day.
JONAH: Do you think it was some kind of mistake?
JANE: No. The Archer may not be powerful, but he’s no fool either.
JONAH: Did it seem like they’d interrupted his plans or something by robbing the place?
JANE: No. The robbery was going on. He arrived on the scene, subdued the robbers and left. Didn’t even touch the money.
JONAH: Strange.
JANE: What do you make of it, chief?
JONAH: To be honest, I don’t know what to think. But after that stunt the Archer pulled a couple weeks ago killing Lightning, I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him, and you know I’ve got a bad back.
JANE: Maybe killing Lightning got him thinking. Changed him somehow. This isn’t the first report of an archer thwarting some crime recently.
JONAH: And to think I thought it might be some new bow-wielding hero.
JANE: Do you think he’s trying to turn over a new leaf? Trying to pay for what he’s done?
JONAH: I don’t know. I’m a newspaper editor. It’s not my job to come to conclusions. I just present the facts and let people make up their own minds.
JANE: So what do you want me to do about it?
JONAH: Write a piece about it for me for tomorrow. It’s news, isn’t it?
JANE: Yes sir.
JONAH: Any chance of convincing Adam to give up that private eye nonsense and come back to the paper?
JANE: I thought you presented the facts and let people make up their own minds.
JONAH: The fact is, he’s a damn good reporter and I decided I want him back. I figure no one has the experience to cover a complete occupation change of a super hero like he does.
JANE: (knowing) That’s the truth.
JONAH: Lightning was an amazing guy, wasn’t he? Even in defeat, he always lived up to the hype.
JANE: I suspect he always will. (calling off) Just a minute, dear. (to Jonah) Anyway, I’ve got a story to write and an injured husband to tend to. I’m going to keep an eye on the Dark Archer, Chief. I get the feeling we haven’t seen the last of his hero work.
JONAH: Goodnight.
JANE: Goodnight. (hanging up) A hero…

END