Original subtitles

Look, there's a door up there.

Help! Help!

You check that area over there. There's got to be a sign...

...something.

What are we supposed to be looking for?

It's like digging for clams... you have to know what you're looking-

Right here! Here we go. Yeah, this is it.

Hey, guys! Over here.

Somebody!

Help! Help!

Oh, God...

It's bleeding all over. What do we do?

Does that hurt?

No!

It's okay, it's okay. We just fix the problem...

No!

Gosh, it's bleeding.

Okay...

I guess calming people down is one of the skills they teach firemen.

One of the skills.

We're going to keep moving. We're going to find another way out.

Please...

I know you think you can't, but you can. Okay?

Okay.

Okay. Come on.

Ow... okay. Oh...

Okay... okay.

Okay, great. Easy... easy. Hang on a sec.

Let me see if I can just... grab hold of it.

There it is.

That's a beautiful specimen.

More like a beautiful warning.

Hey.

Who's that?

What's up, guys?

Hey.

Hi.

Come here. Come on. Come here, guys.

Oh, shh...

Hi.

Hi.

Sit. Sit. Stay.

Hi.

Oh, my God!

I pulled these examples off the internet.

So lightning is dangerous. So? Even dumb golfers know that.

The effects that you see here are caused by an average thunder cell.

Now, the Red Spot, that's what the press is calling it...

...has about a hundred times this potential.

Yeah, but there haven't been any lightning strikes since this thing started.

That's not so, John.

I dug this out of the grass. It's a fulgarite...

soil fused from the heat of an electrical discharge.

There was lightning inside those cold-air tornadoes.

Lightning inside a tornado? I've never heard of such a thing.

Neither have I... not on this planet.

I thought lightning could only be so powerful?

Well, that's true, there are limits to its voltage.

However, I am talking about a hundred times more hits.

A hundred times?

Plus, there are all kinds of high-altitude lightning phenomena...

...that we know very little about.

There're blue jets, red sprites, ball lightning.

Right, okay, what's the plan? I mean, when is

this crazy man going to launch his arsenal?

Can we trust him?

I've sent my people up to Garden State to help him.

Sunset provides the ideal conditions, so I've started a countdown clock.

Okay, that's good.

Now, I have to get back to my lab to start some seeding models.

I'll take you.

No way, Jim, I need you here.

Sir, I need to get out of this basement and up on the streets for a while.

I need to know what's going on up there, stuff the surveillance cameras don't see.

All right.

Lucy, grab a camera and some com gear.

Cassie... No rockets get launched without my authorization.

Yes, sir.

All right, let's get to work here.

We're worried about lightning strikes,

but we're going to one of the tallest buildings in the city?

Times Square Booker building has a highly-sophisticated lightning-arresting system.

Plus, my lab is double-insulated on top of that.

How's your sister holding up?

She's not.

And you?

Not so good.

As you may be able to see...

...from the view behind me, we're now on Liberty Island.

Sadly, we're moving from the rescue to the recovery phase...

a phase that this city never wanted to see...

...but unfortunately, is becoming all too much of a reality now.

You'll never get anything done if you keep watching that.

Yeah. You're right.

I've rigged three land lines direct to City Hall.

Good.

Cassie?

What?

Is this going to happen all over the world now?

Possibly... likely.

It's going to change everything. We'll look back on today and...

And wonder why we worried about our petty lives?

No. We'll wonder why we squandered the good things that we had.

Sunlight.

Help!

Hello!

Help!

Is anybody there?

So close.

Why don't they hear us? Why doesn't someone come?

Let me see your cell again.

Battery's dead.

Sometimes they have a little rebound in them. See? Mine's got a little power now.

Well, what? So we just call for help? It can't be that easy.

Nah, it isn't. We won't have enough power to call out.

It'll have to be a text message. A short one.

Okay... Okay. Um... Okay. "Under... arm. We are trapped. Please help."

Perfect.

Okay. All right.

I can't reach any further.

Then do it.

Okay. Oh, please...

Okay... Okay.

Oh, no...

What?

I sent the message with your phone.

Mine had the strongest signal.

Yeah, but I sent it to my Aunt Cassie. She doesn't know your number.

It's okay.

How goes it?

These models are huge. It's taking forever to run them.

Hey, what do you make of this?

"Under arm." Who's the caller?

I don't know the number.

Dr. Lawrence?

It's called "Saint Elmo's Fire." It's harmless by itself.

But it is an indicator of a high static charge in the atmosphere.

This building is going to get lashed.

It's okay, we're safe in here, we're engineered for this.

But we need to warn the rest of the building.

Somebody, get the super on the phone. Tell him to evacuate everyone.

If he gives you any trouble, get Jim to pull rank. Jim?

Cassie! I called that text message number. I got Brian Flynn's voicemail.

The message came from his phone!

Brian Flynn.

Oh, my God! Lori? What, do you think... "Under arm?"

My god, they're under the arm of the statue.

Hey! Hey! We're in here!

Oh, my God.

Hello...

Hey.

Hey.

I'll see you at the hospital?

Yeah, later.

Later?

Yeah. I'm not hurt. I've got to rejoin my company.

What? Brian...

You'll be okay.

Brian...

Can the building take it?

I really don't know. This kind of lightning? I just don't know.

Come on, spit it out, you piece of...

Okay...

Well... that answers that.

Cassie Lawrence for Mayor Leonardo.

One moment...

...please. I'll transfer you to the Mayor.

Yeah, put her through.

John, is that you?

Cassie? I can barely hear you.

Okay, listen, I've figured it out.

We're going to load the rockets with dry ice... CO2. Target altitude 65000.

You got it?

Did you say dry ice?

Yeah, dry ice, and nothing but dry ice, and no less than 65,000 feet.

John? John, do you hear me?

Look, I'm going to have to get back to you, Cassie. I've got NASA here.

NASA? What the hell do they want?

Well, we're going to fire off some rockets.

John, NASA doesn't own the atmosphere. Okay?

They're a bunch of bureaucrats. You'll get absolutely...

Hello? Hello!

Cassie?

Damn it.

C-Cassie, I...

She's pretty certain we're going to have to fire up the, uh, cloud-seeding...

CO2, 65,000 feet.

Correct, you do, but not CO2, and not 65,000 feet...

where it will do nothing. Silver iodide is our decision. That's what we'll do.

No, wait. Cassie Lawrence and this Liggenhorn guy.

We know Lars Liggenhorn. He's a nut job with a huge file.

No reputable firm will hire him.

And we suspect that he's hoarding contraband materials.

Undoubtedly, he talked your Dr. Lawrence into this scheme...

If you think that, you don't know Cassie Lawrence.

All right, then, maybe she believes it, but she's wrong.

We've tried CO2 before, with diminished results.

Mr. Mayor, we only have one chance to make this work.

Now, our flights are loaded and ready to fly.

To do what?

Silver iodide at 35,000.

No.

As a matter of fact, sir, I don't need permission to make this work.

The skies are national property...

and this is a matter of national security. I'm here to inform and to get your blessing.

My blessing?

My brother is the priest in the family. No, what you want from me is the illusion.

The illusion?

Of civilian control.

Let's go, man. The sun is setting.

There's no signal.

Oh!

Damn it!

Damn it.

What? What is it?

I lost the connection to the Mayor.

He's got NASA there doing a federal swarm over him.

Oh! If he doesn't stick to this plan, then the whole thing won't work.

In fact, it may even make it worse.

I think all the phones all over the building are dead.

Yeah. Well, then I've got to get down the street. I've got to go.

Go.

Excuse me, please. Sorry. Excuse me.

Come on, come on, let's keep moving!

Back! Back up!

Dr. Lawrence?

No, I'm her husband, James Lawrence.

I'm Tony Lefferts, with maintenance.

These folks can't get down the central stairs. It's blocked, it's full of electricity.

Electricity? Uh, come on, come on in. Come in.

Make yourselves comfortable. There's coffee, there's water. Come in.

Your place is double-grounded, right?

That's right. We should be safe in here.

Thank God.

How far down before the blockage?

10 floors.

Jim... uh... I don't think we should get too comfortable in here.

I thought you said this place was grounded?

I thought it was. Whatever that thing is, it's found a way inside.

Step back! Step back slowly.

Get back, get back, get back, get back, get back...

Jesus.

Back up! Back up! Everybody, back up! Get out! Get out! Everybody, out! Go, go!

Wait! My building...

Where to?

East stairwell.

Come on!

How far down does this rail go before there's a break?

Another 10 floors down, there's a smoke door.

It's possible the current will find another route at that point.

And we can walk down the rest of the way...

if we can make it down there without frying.

I've got an idea!

We use all of them.

Pass them out, guys. Take off any metal... purses, briefcases.

Mission Control, target optimum reached. Permission to engage.

What you are witnessing right now is something that we have never seen in this city.

In fact, I guarantee you, you'll have never seen this anywhere on Earth.

Hit after hit after hit...

Wow.

There is nothing that fire and rescue can do for them here.

Now, most people have been evacuated...

...but the fate of the handful who remain is still unknown.

Now, my question is, where is the Mayor?

Hey! I'll tell you one place he is not, is hiding in the basement.

Would you get my car ready? Care for a tour of New York, Doctor?

Something's changed. It's pulsing on and off now.

Pass me another one.

We're going to walk down? Look, it's coming through the steps!

But it won't if we insulate ourselves from the building.

All metal out of your pockets?

Good. Like I said, the rubber will insulate us from the water and the charged metal.

Don't touch anything but each other.

If any one of us touches the stairs or the walls...

...a ground circuit will be created and we may all die.

Okay? Clear?

Pass me more.

Easy does it.

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay.

I'll go first.

No.

My building.

My city.

Here! We need another one.

Lucy! Lucy!

No! Stay back!

She's still alive!

No! No, stay back! No!

Keep moving. Keep moving! Don't touch anything.

Control, this is 77. I have reached the target. Over.

Right. Yeah. Right. Good. Good. Good news.

Mr. Mayor, seeding... 100% success.

Oh, that's excellent.

We should see results pretty quickly.

Jim!

John...

Aw, Jim, what's it like inside that spark plug?

We lost some people, John.

Oh, no.

What happened on Liberty Island?

They found your kids. Cassie's niece has been taken to the hospital, but she's okay.

Thank God. Where is she?

Cassie? I don't know. I didn't see her come out.

What do you mean? Did she call you back?

When? No.

No, no, no! She came down ahead of us. At least 10 minutes ahead of us!

Cassie! Cassie! Cassie Lawrence!

Jim.

Give me your tank!

Jim, no! Not alone! No, Jim! Not alone! Don't go in alone!

Please, go in with him. Go in after him!

Cassie!

Cass!

Cassie! Cass!

Cassie!

Cass... Cass?

Cassie...

Jim...

Breathe... breathe. You're going to be okay. That's it.

Did we make mud?

Come on, I got you. I got you.

Cassie! Cassie, thank God, you made it.

Saved her own life, clever girl.

How did the launch go?

We did launch, right?

We didn't launch.

We did.

I'm Dr. Quinn.

You listened to NASA?

Our computers showed that a different seeding pattern would be more advantageous.

Tell me, Dr. Quinn, what did your computers say?

No, wait, let me guess. Silver iodide at 32,000 feet. Right?

35.

Yeah, cause that's the standard pattern, right? That's what you always do.

One size fits all with government work, right?

Except, this time, this is a problem that one size is not going to fit.

This is something that we have never seen before.

Oh, my God. When did the sun set?

Just a few minutes ago. What's the matter?

Everything. They used the wrong seed and they put it too low to make it work.

In fact, it's just going to make things worse.

That's preposterous.

No, it's not! I want you to listen to me very carefully.

Planets with disengaged atmospheres are lightning machines.

We're not talking about dusting some thundercloud

over Kansas to make a little shower here.

Silver iodide at that altitude will create an incredible amount of static electricity.

When the upper atmosphere contracts, that rate will increase.

The Red Spot will become the biggest engine for the creation of static electricity...

...that the world has even seen.

And it will discharge itself straight through the streets of New York.

What happened here... will be a match in a forest fire.

I don't believe that. You're an alarmist.

Hey, hey, hey! She's been right about everything up to this point!

You ignore her now, you're just plain stupid.

Don't you call me names, Jim, or you will lose your job.

Well, at least you kept your job.

Because I need my job.

Because, with one word, that man can keep me out of the Emergency Center,

And, tonight, that's where I need to be when the sky falls.

I'm sorry. You're right, I'm sorry.

Yeah, I might be right, but we're still screwed.

No, we're not. Jim.

If we can launch our rockets from Garden State, like the way we planned...

we might be able to counteract the problem.

Come on...

You can forget that. We lost all land and cell phones 40 minutes ago.

This is just what I was afraid of. We need to get a line to Garden's spaceport.

I might be able to help you out with that inside. Come on.

This... is the old Cold War phone. Built to withstand you-know-what.

The antenna. It's radio. Here are the frequencies.

Okay. I'll keep trying.

I'll go play mayor.

I hope I'm doing the right thing.

Camera ready? Please stand by! In a moment, we're going to be going off to City Hall.

And checking with our Deputy Mayor, James Lawrence.

Who'll be delivering a very important community broadcast.

Good evening. This is Deputy Mayor James Lawrence speaking to you...

...from the Emergency Command Center at City Hall.

Scientists have predicted an unusually heavy

number of lightning strikes in the city tonight...

due to the disturbance in the upper atmosphere

which has plagued the city for the last 24 hours.

The Mayor's office has now declared a state of emergency.

I am, therefore, issuing a first-stage alert.

All citizens are required to stay indoors...

...and keep tuned to emergency frequencies for further updates.

All public events are canceled.

What the hell?

Also, due to the nature of these electrical discharges,

we're advising New Yorkers not to use any appliances connected to the power grid.

Use only battery-powered appliances.

Where the hell is it?

I don't know, man. It hasn't rung in 10 frickin' years.

And consider some kind of ear protection from loud and persistent thunder.

Let us hope this night passes with good luck for us all. Godspeed.

There you go.

Uh, hello?

Herbert! I've been trying to get a hold of you!

Listen carefully. This is what I need you to do.

No. No! Use of fireboats is not authorized. I repeat, not authorized!

We don't know what grounding effect that'll create.

Who's this over here? Tell him to get a move on, for God's sake! The city is frying.

Did you get 'em?

I got them, they're going to try. God knows...

The storm is now passing 54th Street. Seems to be locked into Fifth Avenue.

What about the library and the Garden?

Library's still only one-half evacuated.

Light a fire under those people, for God's sake don't they know what's coming?

Redeploy companies 5 and 12...

TV service is out over most of the city.

Fire crews report Fifth and Central Park South, heavy damage.

Hey, look at this...

Damn. Turn company 12 around.

Pete, we're redeployed to the Village!

Got it.

A second electrical discharge storm has appeared in Greenwich Village, moving south.

Fire units are responding. I repeat, stay in your homes.

Stay away from electrical outlets. Use only battery-operated appliances.

Okay. Okay, great.

All right, get that thing on, let's go!

These electric tornadoes I don't know what else to call them...

...continue to cut a scar through the center of the city.

Now, with the only light coming from the storm itself.

We can't even begin to assess the damage.

These fire crews have never fought anything like this before-

Hey! Hey, news! Look out!

Come on! Move, move, move! Brian!

Uh, we... we... we need to take a break. There's been some kind of a-

Tim, we need to go back to the station now. Cut the transmission.

Brian!

Hang in there, buddy. Help is on the way.

Company 12 is down. That's Bleecker and West Broadway.

Water and hose carried the charge?

Make sure the other crews know that. Now. Right now!

Any word on the location of the Mayor yet?

You're Mayor now, Jim.

What? Can you confirm that?

Is it my imagination or is this storm headed east?

Affirmative. The storm and the Village are trending east.

Brooklyn, too? All three are moving east!

This is a good thing, right?

It means that it's working.

It means that the vortex is breaking down, the prevailing winds are returning.

It worked. Damn it, it worked after all!

Good work, everyone! Good work!

My wife, Dr. Cassandra Lawrence!

Whoo!

You did it. You did it.

Aunt Cassie!

Hi, baby!

I don't think I've ever been happier to see you.

Hey, Lori...

Has my mom calmed down yet?

Did you tell her I'm checking right out of this hospital to come home?

Yeah, we told her.

I'm going to have a very fashionable scar on my leg.

It was awful. I thought I was going to die.

It's all over now, honey.

Do you mind if I turn this up?

No, go ahead. I've been glued to it all afternoon.

Three giant scars on the city this morning.

Unknown billions in damage and loss of life...

...including that of Mayor Johnny Leonardo, whose body was found early this morning.

And in another division of City service, rookie fireman Brian Flynn also lost his life.

He lost it saving the lives of my film crew and myself...

Oh, God, no.

Damn it all.

I am so sorry, Lori.

In this one rescued person's not-very-objective opinion,

as long as this city has people like Brian Flynn and Johnny Leonardo,

it can take whatever the world...

...has to dish out.

And, finally, as acting Mayor James Lawrence predicted,

the storms and the Red Spot have moved east and dissipated.

I'm glad that night's over.

I'm not sure I want to see what's out there.

24 hours ago...

We were flipping pancakes.

Wow.

You know what I'm going to remember about this night?

Tell me.

Two things...

The moment that John told me that you were still in the building.

And the moment that we found you.

Utter, sickening fear... and utter joy.

It takes something like this to figure out what matters the most.

So, Mr. Mayor, did I tell you how magnificent you are in a crisis?

So, Dr. Lawrence...

Have I told you, when it comes to problem-solving...

...there's not a scientist in the city who holds a candle to you?

No, Jim, I mean it.

Mean what? What are you trying to say, Cassie?

Well, I think that you have a talent for this public servant hero stuff.

Plus, incumbents always win.

Well, maybe as a second job.

Second job? Why, what would be bigger? Governor?

Father.

Oh, God, I love this city.