Write the speech that Superman would have given before the Senate in BvS

[adkal]

I might do another one for BvS directly, but an alternate take I did a while ago (no desert warlord stuff) is:


Several large crowds have gathered outside the Metropolis Courthouse. Their chants are loud and passionate. Barriers have been set up in order to separate the various groups and keep them back from the steps to the courthouse.

One group brandishes placards with slogans such as:

Superman = Illegal Alien
Aliens are Un-American
Earth belongs to humans!
God Hates Aliens
Aliens Doom Nations

Another group has:

Thank You Superman
We Are Grateful
You Are Not Alone

Another has:

The Savior Is Here
He Walks Among Us
We Are For Kal-El

'Today is a day for truth,' says Senator Finch, addressing the Committee members and the public observers. 'For months, there have been stories and rumours and supposition. All those things have led to division and distrust, anger and hatred. The world has changed. The world needs to know what happened, and to know what he stands for.

'We have extended an invitation to him and he has accepted. We have also extended invitations to some of those who were directly affected by his actions in Metropolis and some of them are here today.'

Outside the building, Superman descends and lands in the cleared area in front of the steps to the building. The chanting crowds are silent for a few seconds and Superman takes in a breath and begins to walk up the steps.

The crowds roar and surge and some of the police horses whinny and snort. Policemen hold on to the barriers and try to push people back and, the further up the steps he walks, the crowds begin to calm and revert to their various chants.

'…yet, so far, it seems it seems he has been using that power to do positive things,' says Senator Stearns. 'I firmly believe this being could be our greatest ally. He has saved hundreds of lives in such a short time. Is there potential geo-political impact? Of course, but we can all, collectively, work through things like that. We can.'

'One could well argue that the world has been so caught up with what he could do that no one has asked what he should do.'

'Is that the reason for this committee? To put forward ways of policing this man.'

'He isn't a man, despite the name he has been given. He is, in essence, the most powerful being on the planet. That kind of power is very dangerous.'

'Perhaps, yet what right do we have to stop someone from doing what they can do naturally?'

'The same right we have when we discover someone is inclined towards murder.'

'That's a preposterous comparison to make.'

'Senator, what happened in Metropolis changed the world more so than any event in history. In less than a day, the world and the human race learned how powerless we are. People have dreamed of flying under their own power long before Daedalus and Icarus, and people have dreamed of having the strength of Samson long before there was ever a form of writing.

'Since that day we have learned that not only are there beings out there who are immensely strong and can fly, but that they can scorch the planet with a glance, and our weapons do nothing to them. More than that, the best minds from across the globe have been working tirelessly to find out what these beings did to our planet with their machine. As much as many people dismissed the threat of global warming, there is now no denying that the world is falling apart.'

'Or it's correcting itself. We can't let fear and arrogance blind us or lead us astray.'

The doors to the courtroom open and the Committee falls silent. The press and the members of the public in the room turn and watch as Superman is ushered in. He walks tall, looking straight ahead towards the Committee members, his head turning ever so slightly as he looks over them. Senator Finch gestures towards the lectern and Superman makes his way over to it.

'Superman, thank you for coming. I'm Senator Finch, Chair of this Committee.'

'Senator. Committee Members.'

'Given the nature of scope of this Committee there are certain things we cannot address at this point in time and, for that, we have had no choice but to request your presence.'

'I'm here to help, Madam Chairwoman.'

'Thank you. For the record, please state – sorry, let me rephrase that: what is your name?'

'The whole world heard my name, Ma'am.'

'"Kal-El", yes, but what is your actual name. The name you use when you're not flying around or wearing that…suit?'

'With respect, I don't think that is relevant.'

'With respect, you told military personnel you have been living on Earth for thirty-three years, I believe it is absolutely relevant that the world knows who you really are.'

'I decline to answer.'

A murmur spreads through the room.

'Will you at least explain why?'

'I think it's pretty straight forward. What you're asking me to divulge doesn't just affect me. It will impact every person I have ever interacted with, and that is not fair on any of them.'

'Because they believed you were human rather than what you actually are?'

'Because they have a right to their privacy.'

'Very well. Kal-El it is.

'Months ago, the world was attacked in a way that it had never been before. Within the space of a handful of hours, thousands of lives were taken and a city was almost wiped off the map. The lives taken were not just American, and the impact of the attack continues even now, with tens of thousands of people displaced across the world. One of the reasons we've asked you to be here is so that we can hear from you what happened that day.'

'One of the reasons?'

'We will now hear from some of the survivors of the attack in Metropolis. People who have been impacted significantly by what happened.'

My name is Jeremy Miller.'

'Cynthia Rose.'

'Omar Hussain.'

'Rebecca Forester.'

'Kent Matthews.'

'Kasia Erickson.'

'When the broadcast happened we thought it was a hoax.'

'It was something out of a movie.'

'My parents were visiting me.'

'When the news channels started reporting that that broadcast had been heard around the world.'

'We were scared. I'm not ashamed to admit that.'

'We didn't think anything would happen, though. Why would it?.'

'They wanted this "Kal-El" person and it was obvious that the world would hand him over.'

'It was the simplest and easiest thing to do.'

'When the spaceship came down and hovered over Metropolis.'

'We ran,'

'The roads were jammed.'

'There was no way out of Metropolis then.'

'Should we have tried to leave sooner? Perhaps.'

'My fiancée got pulled from my hands and I saw her fly up into the air.'

'And then down.'

'I heard the…'

'I'm sorry, I need a moment.'

'Then he came and put a stop to everything

'I heard some people say that he had saved us but I could only wonder

'Where had he been when they were using that beam?

'What took him so long?'

'Thank you,' says Senator Finch. 'I can only imagine how hard this has been for you. For all of you.

'And that brings us to one of our main questions, Kal-El: where were you when Metropolis was being attacked.'

'The Kryptonians were attacking on multiple fronts, Ma'am, and it was agreed, with certain members of the US military, that I would tackle the problem in South East Asia.'

'And what problem was that?'

'An immense machine called a 'World Engine' had been deployed and it was believed I was the only one who could handle the situation there.'

'Believed. Based on what?'

'The relative ineffectiveness of the military weapons we used earlier in Smallville. Nothing had been able to affect them and with the machine being what it was it was reasonable to-'

'What was the machine? Why was it considered so dangerous?'

'As I'm sure you've all seen in the reports and the various articles, the machine was designed to and capable of terra-forming the planet. It was the intent of the Kryptonians to change Earth so that it would be like Krypton.'

'And how would this machine have done that?'

'By breaking down the structure of the planet on a molecular level and then rebuilding it. By increasing the planet's mass and its gravity.'

'And what of us, or the ecosystem or-'

'Everything would have been wiped out. It's what some called an "Extinction Level Event".'

'But what tactical reason was there for you to attack that machine and not Zod and his ship?'

'Even if I had stopped Zod directly the World Engine would have continued. It needed to be destroyed so that the gravity beams and other effects would then be stopped. The Black Zero – Zod's spaceship – tempered the World Engine.'

'So you chose to abandon America,' interrupts one of the other Committee members.

'Excuse me?'

'You brought the Kryptonians to our homes and then left us to deal with them.'

'By your own admission,' says Senator Finch, 'the Kryptonians came here because you activated an ancient scout ship and it sent out a beacon.' She holds up a hand before Superman can interject. 'That the ship may have been activated after we excavated it from the ice is something we can never know. The advanced nature of Kryptonian technology is such that it is unlikely that that would have happened.

'Your escape negated any tentative peace agreement that had been achieved through your surrender to General Zod, and it is arguable that he would have chosen an alternative planet to terraform.

'You knew of the existence of World Engines but did not inform the likes of General Swanwick or Emil Hamilton until after it had been released.

'I think we are in agreement here, Kal-El.

'Let the record show that this committee holds him responsible for the deaths and injuries that occurred in the Metropolis Incident. Let the record also show that this committee holds him responsible for the destruction and damage to property and infrastructure in Metropolis and elsewhere in the world.

'This committee hearing is adjourned. Thank you.'













Yeah, I don't think they would have really given him a chance to say much, really...

[Lightning Rider]

Wow, that's a very believable scenario and brings up points I never considered with respect to holding him responsible. Very creative write-up.

[adkal]

Wow, that's a very believable scenario and brings up points I never considered with respect to holding him responsible. Very creative write-up.

Thanks, and thank you for reading.