"Yo, Andy McAlister here." "It's me, Andrew." "Andrew, you still there?" "Yeah." "Listen, I can't talk right now." "I'm, uh, I'm studying for this exam" "I have tomorrow." "Why?" "That figures." "Why would you call me if you weren't in trouble?" "Where are you?" "I'm on my way." "Andy, I don't mean to pry, but is everything okay?" "Everything's fine." "It's just this guy that I used to know, and he wants to talk." "It's no big deal." "I mean, if there's anything I could do" "Nah." "It's a hopeless case." "Believe me, hopeless." "You in there, Pop?" "Try the back door, Andrew." "So who are we running from this time?" "The IRS, the bookies, the mob?" "I can't see a thing." "That's weird." "This is weird, Dad." "What, have you gone nuts?" ""Nuts," Andrew?" "Is that any way to talk to your father?" "Come on, Clark, Clark" "Yo, uh, could I have a moment?" "Yes, you're-you're Kent, aren't you, the-the student who's always studying?" "And-and you're Lana, the girl who's got the thing for the Superboy?" "Um, excuse me, should we know you?" "The name is McAlister, Jack McAlister." "Hello." "You're Andy's father, right?" "Ha, give a big cigar for the little lady." "Did you ever think about going into modeling?" "Andy didn't tell us you were coming." "Well, Andrew didn't know." "You see, we sort of lost touch a few years ago, uh, after I was--uh, well, how shall I put it?" "Sent up?" ""Sent up" for...?" "He means after he went to jail." "See, I-I had some gambling debts." "I got in a little deep, so I ran this embezzling scam to pay off the $200,000." "But, before I could pay it off, I got caught." "No big thing." "Anyway, after the kid's mother died, he-he went to live with his uncle." "He raised him while I was in the slammer." "When I got out, he showed me Andrew's letters." "So I've read quite a bit about you two." "Mr. McAlister, we'd love to help you find Andy, but...he didn't come home last night." "Yeah, you know, he's not the easiest person to keep track of sometimes." "Sounds a lot like his old man." "Actually, I came here to contact Superboy." "Why Superboy?" "Well, I need his help." "You see, I witnessed a murder yesterday." "Wow!" "I saw the killer, the killer saw me, and I panicked and ran." "Well, why didn't you just go to the police?" "With my record, and the story I've got to tell?" "Ha, no-no, no way, little lady, not at all." "They'd probably end up booking me." "I think Superboy would- would understand." "I think he'd be different." "I think he'd listen to my story." "And I think he'd try to help me clear my name." "It was Andrew's letters that led me here to you, Clark." "They said that you know how to contact him." "We keep in touch." "Then you've got to give him a message for me." "You've got to tell him to meet me at 4:00 today-- sharp, that is-- between 6th and main." "It could be a matter of life and death." "You tell that to Superboy." "Life or death." "And give my regards to the kid." "Tell him I'll talk to him..." "Later, if I'm still around." ""Give my regards to the kid"?" "Golly." "Doesn't really sound like Andy and his father are all that close." "I don't really think that's any of our business, Lana." "But I do think Mr. McAlister really needs Superboy's help." "Maybe they both do." "I mean, the longer I don't hear from Andy, the more I worry." "Me too." "Aaahhh!" "Superboy stood you up?" "It's not the end of the world." "At least you and I still have each other." "Get in, Jack, or you'll never make peace with your son." "I have Andrew." "Now, get in." "What the hell have you done to him?" "Dad, Dad!" "That's not a great idea." "Listen to him, Jack." "If you don't let go of that wire," "I will send 5,000 volts through it and kill you both." "Bad mistake, Jack-- running to Superboy." "Now that you've tried to put him between us, you force me to get nasty." "I'll just have to eliminate him." "How did you know I was going to be down here?" "I calculated the probability at 97.4%." "And as one betting man to another, not too shabby odds." "All right, all right, so you've got me here." "Now you don't need Andrew anymore." "Let him go." "Maybe..." "Maybe we can strike a deal." "Jack, Jack, Jack." "You're a man after my own brain-- or is it the other way around?" "Good afternoon." "How's the world been treatin' you?" "No complaints, huh?" "Yeah, I know what you mean." "That's funny, I don't see any maintenance schedule this afternoon." "I've gotta call this in." "That won't be necessary." "Are you going to tell me why we're breaking into a power plant?" "This is where Andrew is going to watch you die." "You, and Superboy." "Open the gate, Jack." "Open the gate." "Look at him." "The first machine on earth to think like a human being-- that's what he said." "He said this machine would blow the lid off the entire computer industry." "But why'd he choose you?" "This..." "In-home test, it's sort of a psychological profile." "I paid a shrink to give me the best answers." "So you let this quack plug his midget Frankenstein into your brain night after night?" "Dad, didn't you wonder, didn't you ever think, what-what you were getting into?" "I had my own problems-- I-I needed the money." "Dad, wake up!" "When are you gonna learn?" "This thing is your problem." "It thinks like you, it talks like you, and now it's trying to tap into the city's power?" "Someone's gonna get hurt." "We have to shut it down." "Andrew." "Didn't your father tell you I've already killed?" "He watched me kill my creator." "And now that I've tapped into unlimited amounts of energy, I am ready to kill again." "Tell detective Miller I want him down here tomorrow morning, 6 am sharp." "Marie, I'll get back to you." "This is an honor--Superboy." "I'm Detective Sloan." "What can I do for you?" "Detective, I need you to run a check on someone for me." "He's an ex-convict out on parole." "His name is McAlister, Jack McAlister." "My creator stumbled onto a new process for creating artificial intelligence." "Heinrich developed a computer that could be infused with input from the human brain." "Your brain, Jack." "Your emotions, inflections, even your personality." "I'm not you, and you're nothing like me." "I am your dark side, Jack." "You still don't get it, do you, Jack?" "There's a monster hiding in every man." "There was a flaw in Heinrich's process that brought out the monster in you." "Sad to say, a fatal flaw." "I would've settled for snuffing you out, Jack." "But no, you had to bring Superboy into this." "Now his blood will be on your hands, our hands." "Dad, no!" "Dad!" "Relax, Andrew." "Probably stunned him." "I want Jack to live, just long enough to see all the damage he's going to cause." "Parole violations are the least of" "Jack McAlister's problems." "He's wanted for questioning in a murder." "A murder?" "Who's the victim?" "Some computer genius, Heinrich Gibbs." "Neighbors say he spent a lot of his time in his garage working on some kind of experimental computer." "Jack McAlister was seen leaving there just hours before the body was found." "Wait a minute." "This says something about a van, loaded with state-of-the-art computer equipment." "Both it and the computer are missing." "Police upstate think that McAlister used the van to make his getaway." "What's going on?" "Excuse me." "What's with the lights?" "It's happening all over the city, sir." "Some sort of drain from the new substation." "Isn't that the new power plant that's run totally by computer?" "You got it." "Excuse me." "Andrew, I helped this thing get in here only if it would set you free." "Dad..." "It's not gonna live up to our deal." "You know that, don't you?" "Yeah, well, at least you tried." "What's that?" "What do you think the odds are that I can cut you loose before it turns at you, son?" "Zero." "Still better odds than we have now, don't you think?" "Welcome, Superboy, I'm Jack McAlister." "The real Jack McAlister." "I knew you wouldn't waste any time finding the source of the power drain." "Are you two all right?" "Be careful, Superboy, it's some kind of trap." "So you killed Heinrich Gibbs." "I had no choice." "He was going to take me apart." "I couldn't let anyone do that." "That's why I modified myself with tailor-made weapons, and now, my other half has to suffer." "He's going to watch me destroy you, Superboy, and then kill his son." "Why would a machine program itself to kill?" "You wouldn't have to ask that, Superboy, if you could imagine what it would be like to have the mind of a human and be trapped..." "Trapped in this." "You really think you're a match for me?" "What's to stop me from shutting you down?" "About 20 million volts." "Enough electricity is coursing through your body right now to light up half the country." "I can't begin to calculate the agony you must feel at this moment." "We can't just stand here-- Superboy's dying!" "It's now or never." "Brace yourself." "Now you die, Jack." "Dad!" "How touching." "First he tries to save your life, and now you're trying to save his." "So, both of you still care after all." "A pity you never had a chance to tell each other." "This cannot be." "By all my calculations, you should be dead by now." "That's my problem." "I never know when to give up." "Now it's time for a dose of your own medicine." "Nooo!" "Nice work, Andy." "It was nothing." "Ugh..." "Thanks, Superboy." "I never really meant to put you in any danger." "I know, you just did it to help your son." "My son." "...then, when we lost your mother," "I couldn't be there for you because, well," "I had to go away and-and do my time." "I mean, don't get me wrong, that's not saying anything against your Uncle Bob" "Dad...what are you saying here?" "All right, uh..." "Cards on the table time?" "Yeah." "Well, uh..." "I know I haven't been much of a father, and I feel awful about not being there for you." "I'd like to change that." "Starting now." "If that's okay with you, kid?" "Yeah, yeah." "Come on, let's get outta here." "I really hope it works out between" "Andy and his father." "You know, you and I have really had it lucky." "We've always had our parents around." "Have you ever wondered about Superboy?" "I mean..." "I wonder if he has parents somewhere out there." "Captioned by Grant Brown"