Smallville Season 2

The **second season** of *Smallville* began airing on September 24, 2002, on The WB television network, and concluded its initial airing on May 20, 2003 with 23 episodes.

### Vortex

*Vortex* begins with the following story lines in play: Roger Nixon has proof of Clark's powers on videotape; Lex is trying to orchestrate an employee buyout of the LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant Number Three; Lana Lang, Lionel Luthor, Roger Nixon and Jonathan Kent are in danger from a tornado; and the ship has been activated.

The ship heads straight for the tornado, where Clark happens to be trying to rescue Lana. The key is dislodged from the ship by the tornado winds, and the ship deactivates and falls to the earth.

Clark makes his way to the truck Lana is in, which is up in the air. He climbs inside and holds her in his arms, protecting her from the flying debris all around them. The winds actually take the truck apart.

At the Luthor Mansion, Lionel Luthor is trapped under a column and has to call out to Lex several times before Lex helps him. When Lionel arrives at the hospital, he is suffering from multiple injuries, including "severe trauma to his optic nerve". He cannot be transported to Metropolis General, so specialists are being flown into Smallville. Lionel is well enough to give his son a hard time about hesitating before saving him. Lex apologizes.

Near the Kent Farm, Roger Nixon flees from Jonathan Kent with a videotape of the ship. He takes the tape out of the camera and puts it in his pocket. Jonathan finally catches up with him in an old churchyard cemetery where a mobile home falls on them and pushes them into an underground crypt. In the underground crypt, Jonathan finds Roger pinned under a monument and lifts it off of him.

The Smallville Medical Center is full of patients who have been injured by the tornado. Clark arrives with an unconscious Lana. When the doctor quickly determines that she is going to be all right, Clark rushes off to check on his parents. He finds his mom in the storm cellar. She tells Clark that his father was outside when the storm hit. Clark rushes off to search for him. Chloe Sullivan finds Lana at the hospital. Lana tells her that she is sure Clark was there saving her, but it seems impossible. Chloe is glad to know what happened to Clark after the dance.

Lex arrives at the Kent Farm. He tells Clark about what happened with his father. He's worried that his father will ultimately interpret his help as a sign of weakness. Then they set off together to search the woods for Clark's dad. When they find Roger Nixon's car in a tree, Lex recognizes it, but tells Clark that he doesn't. Lex suggests that they might cover more ground if they split up.

In the underground tomb, Roger Nixon is searching for his cell phone, arguing with Jonathan Kent about revealing Clark's secret to the world. When the phone rings, it's Lex Luthor. When Jonathan realizes that Lex is involved in the conspiracy to expose Clark, he grabs Roger's phone and smashes it against the wall. Clark hears Lex talking with Roger, and he's so angry that Lex has lied to him that he storms off to continue searching on his own.

The next day, Martha tacks Jonathan's picture on the bulletin board of missing persons. The Red Cross has converted the Talon into a disaster relief center. Lana asks Clark how he found her, but they are interrupted. Martha tries to reassure Clark that this is not his fault.

Back in the underground crypt, Jonathan worries out loud about the lead in the foundation and tells Nixon that Clark can see through solid objects, but not lead. They continue to argue about the value and harm that revealing Clark's secret will cause. Jonathan has found a possible way out, but he won't reveal it to Roger until he hands over the videotape. He does, and they start to tunnel their way out where the mortar is weaker.

Lex goes to apologize to Clark. He tells Clark that Roger approached him last night, offering to sell him information about the Kent family, but Lex warned Roger to stay away from the Kents. He has brought a map that shows the location of the cell towers in the area. Since only one cell tower survived the tornado, they can narrow the search area to a one-mile radius. Pete and Chloe join Clark in another search of the woods. While they search, Clark takes the opportunity to apologize to Chloe for leaving the formal. Chloe accepts the apology, but when Clark asks how he can make it up to her, she says that they really ought to go back to just being friends. Clark seems happy with her decision. However, she is obviously upset and begins to cry when she tells Pete what they decided. Pete just looks sympathetic. When they come across the mobile home, Clark searches with his X-ray vision, but he doesn't see the crypt. Jonathan and Roger hear the kids' voices and start to dig faster, but it caves in on them. Jonathan is able to pull Roger from the falling debris, but they are both rendered unconscious, and the soil that has fallen into the crypt is full of meteor rocks.

At the Talon, Lana is watching a news report of her miraculous survival. Martha Kent reminiscences about how similar this disaster is to the meteor shower of 12 years ago. She tells Lana a story about that day. When Martha visited the flower shop, Lana was dressed as a fairy princess. She asked Martha to make a wish, and not long after that, the Kents adopted Clark.

Underground, Roger regains consciousness and realized that the cave in has cut off their air supply. Jonathan remains pinned under the debris, and tries to explain why they keep Clark's abilities a secret. He tells Roger the story of how when Clark was a toddler, he crawled under a 500-pound bed. Jonathan went to get him, and he just picked it up over his head. He and Martha decided to take him to a specialist who would be better equipped to deal with his abilities, but Martha realized that if they took him to anyone, they would want to keep him, so they decided to keep his abilities a secret.

Lex Luthor has to decide whether to let doctors operate on his father's optic nerve. One doctor believes that surgery must be performed as soon as possible; the other believes it should be postponed until his other injuries have healed. As a man of action, Lex decides to go ahead with the surgery immediately.

Pete has brought some old maps from the county planners office to the Kent Farm. He, Martha and Clark are going through them when Clark notices an old church near Hobson's Pond. It was destroyed during the meteor shower, but Martha speculates that Jonathan might have known about the crypt in the basement and sought refuge there. Clark rushes out to the site and lifts the mobile home off the entrance to the crypt. He enters the crypt and begins to pull his father from the debris when the meteor rocks overcome him. Jonathan explains to Roger that they make Clark sick and asks him to get Clark out of there. Roger takes one of the meteorites and puts it in Clark's pocket, then drags him out of the crypt, saying that Clark himself will make better proof for his story than the lost videotape. When he gets him out of the crypt, he finds his car in the tree. Before he can make his next move, Jonathan tackles him. The two exchange blows until Roger gets his hands on a steel fence post. Just before he thrusts the post through Jonathan's heart, Lex Luthor shoots him in the back.

After being checked out by a paramedic, Jonathan compares notes with Clark. Roger told him that Lex paid him for information about the Kents. Clark says that Lex told him he wanted Roger away from the Kents. Jonathan concludes (incorrectly) that since the stories conflict, one of them must be lying. Clark points out that one of them just tried to kill him and one of them just saved his life. When Lex finishes giving his statement to Sheriff Ethan, he and Jonathan shake hands, determined to forge a new relationship.

Chloe is at the *Smallville Torch* office. She is still upset about Clark, and considers deleting all of her photos of her and Clark at the dance together. Finally, she decides against it.

Lionel comes out of anesthesia after his surgery and tells Lex that there is every chance that he will regain the use of his legs, but the surgery to repair his optic nerve failed. He says he is blind and wishes he were dead. Lex is devastated by the news and he leaves the room without saying a word.

Clark talks with his father about saving Lana from the tornado. He says that he was propelling himself towards Lana in her truck and that it felt like he was flying. Lana finds Clark in his loft waiting for everything to get back to normal. She admits to Clark that she has always expected to die young, but Clark has saved her so many times, she is starting to think that there is more to him than it seems. He tries to brush her off, but Lana is unconvinced, and leaves, disappointed. He seems tempted to call her back and reveal his secret, but he doesn't.

Meanwhile, the ship sits in a cornfield somewhere waiting to be discovered.

### Heat

It's the first day of sophomore year for Clark and his friends, in the middle of the worst heat wave in Smallville. Lana is making a video letter for Whitney who has shipped overseas. Pete is on the football team again this year. Chloe arrives fresh from Metropolis and her *Daily Planet* internship, and Clark tells her how much he missed her. She counters that he didn't write very much and she met a cute boy that made her forget about Smallville all summer. They meet their new biology teacher, extremely attractive Desirée Atkins, who is wearing very little and puts on a sex-education video. Clark tries to pay attention, but he keeps glancing at Ms. Atkins. Suddenly, the projector screen bursts into flames.

After everyone is evacuated, Lex Luthor drives up. He introduces a confused Clark to Desirée as his new fiancée, gives Clark a wedding invitation for that night, and asks him to be the best man. Clark is shocked, but Lex seems sure of his decision. Later that day, Lex asks Desirée to sign a pre-nuptial agreement and she agrees to do so, but then kisses Lex while blowing a purple substance into his mouth. Lex suddenly tears up the pre-nuptial agreement.

Clark tries to explain the fire to his parents and they suggest he stay close to home and just wait and see what happens next. However, Clark doesn't want to let Lex down and serves as his best man. At Lex's reception, Clark and Chloe acknowledge that her fear that Clark would leave her alone at the dance came true, but she claims there are no hard feelings because Lana's life was in danger.

That night, Clark goes to the Talon with Lana to finish his portion of the video letter. They talk about Whitney and how he asked Clark to look after Lana. Lana admits that she feels uncomfortable about putting her life on hold while Whitney is away. She brings up Lex's recent wedding. She muses that it is a little strange, but she admires Lex for following his passion and suggests that someday perhaps she and Clark can follow theirs. Suddenly, Clark sets the espresso machine on fire with a blast of heat from his eyes, and he uncontrollably singes the walls of the coffee shop. They manage to put it out, but are both shaken.

Jonathan finds Clark alone in the barn the next day and Clark announces that he isn't going to school because he doesn't want to set any more fires. He is upset that he has put people in danger until Jonathan tells him how they will learn to control it. In an open field, he encourages Clark to control the fire by learning how to set it off. After practicing setting fire to several scarecrows, some water barrels, and the mailbox, he is able to control it well enough to pop corn (without thinking about sex). He is still practicing lighting candles when Desirée Atkins shows up in his loft. She tries to seduce Clark, saying that Lex is standing in the way of them being together, and breathes a purple mist into Clark's face. However, he is unaffected and uncomfortable about the situation. He says he won't betray Lex. She seems embarrassed and apologetic and asks him not to tell Lex as she runs away.

Clark tells Chloe what happened and she is skeptical, even after she finds out that Desirée Atkins has an alias: she was born Alison Sanders, 02/12/1974, in Smallville, Kansas. Clark insists that she has a hold on Lex and goes to talk to him. However, Desirée has already talked to Lex and told her own version of what happened that night. Lex is angry because he thinks Clark is obsessed with his wife. He doesn't believe anything Clark says and throws him out. Desirée tells Lex that she simply changed her name, and changes Lex's focus with more purple mist.

At the Talon, Chloe trades a message to Whitney for an interview with Lana (about the fire). They talk about Chloe's summer in Metropolis and Chloe admits that it was a mistake to indulge in her feelings for Clark by going to the spring formal with him because ended up getting hurt. She also admits that she made up the story about meeting somebody in Metropolis. Lana assures her that Clark still cares for her and Chloe boldly counters that Clark simply cares for Lana more. Lana and Chloe decide that in order to keep Clark from ruining their friendship, they will define themselves by what they do instead of by who they date.

Lex arrives to inform Lana that he's closing the Talon in 24 hours. Lana is upset and tells Clark, who knows Desirée is behind it. He confronts her and she admits that she can control whomever she wants, but Clark doesn't back down. That night, Desirée blows up her own car. Clark tells his parents what's been going on, but they are interrupted by Sheriff Miller, who reports that Ms. Atkins claims Clark blew her car up. He explains that he is to take Clark down to the sheriff station for questioning. Clark reluctantly goes along with him, but Jonathan assures him that they will find a way to solve the problem.

Lana and Chloe visit Clark in jail to tell him that Desirée was with her boyfriend when the meteors hit. A few weeks later, Desirée's boyfriend murdered her parents and Desirée inherited everything. Five years later, she has become a teacher and one of her students murdered her wealthy husband in a jealous rage. Unfortunately, she invested in dot coms and is now broke and going after Lex. Clark guesses that the reason she went after him was to convince him to kill Lex. Clark knows that his father has gone to talk with Desirée and he hatches a plan to get out of jail. After the girls leave, he sets a small fire and when Sheriff Miller lets him out, he super speeds away to find his dad.

Martha Kent is looking for Nell Potter at the Talon, where she runs into Lex. Lex tries to express concern for Clark, but Martha shuts him down. She reminds him that Clark has been a true friend for over a year, and he's only known Desirée for a week. Jonathan goes to talk to Desirée, who is swimming topless. Angry with her, he turns to leave, but she manages to catch him with a stream of purple mist, causing him to instantly become smitten with her and fall under her control.  She only obliges his kiss after he agrees to do something for her.

Back at the Luthor mansion, Lex asks Desirée why he feels so lost since meeting her, and she lets Jonathan in, who is wielding a shotgun. Under her influence, Jonathan shoots Lex, but Clark arrives in time to vaporize the bullet in the air. Jonathan is undeterred, and Clark has to knock him against a wall to stop him. As they fight, Desirée sets Lex's shirt on fire. Clark heats the door handles to prevent her escape while putting Lex's clothing out.

Back home, Jonathan explains that Sheriff Miller is letting Clark go with just a warning. He and Lex are not discussing his attempted murder. Desirée has been taken into custody. Lex goes to visit Clark and tells him that he is getting an annulment. He mentions that he should control his feelings as well as Clark controls his for Lana. Clark goes to visit her, and she explains that Lex gave her back the Talon. She admits that she is going to tell Whitney the truth, and when Clark leaves, records herself breaking up with Whitney.

### Duplicity

Dr. Steven Hamilton arrives at the Luthor Mansion, twitching uncontrollably. He complains about the problems he is having doing his research. Seeming even more unstable, Dr. Hamilton leaves and causes a traffic accident in which a van goes off the road and overturns into a cornfield. Pete Ross comes upon the scene just as Dr. Hamilton speeds away. Pete runs into the field to check on the other driver and finds him staring at a spaceship.

Clark is shooting hoops when Pete pulls up and asks Clark to borrow his father's pickup to get the spaceship. Clark wants to bring it back to his house, but reluctantly agrees to store it in Pete's tool shed because he can't come up with a reasonable excuse. Pete wants to call Chloe so she can write an article and make them famous, but Clark convinces Pete to keep quiet until they investigate further.

Lionel tells Lex that since his therapy is going so well, his doctor gave him a break, so he came for some bonding time. Lex tries to wiggle out of it without actually saying he doesn't want his father there, but eventually gives in.

At the Talon, Aunt Nell is smooching with her new boyfriend, Dean, an insurance adjuster she met after the tornado. When Chloe Sullivan walks in, she has to make up a lie that she and Lana were together last night. In reality, Lana spent the night at the Talon because she didn't want to be around Nell and Dean. Chloe assures Lana that she can come over any time she likes.

Jonathan suggests to Clark that they try to steal his ship back, but Clark tries to convince them that he should just tell Pete the truth. Martha advises that the burden of his secret might be something Pete is not ready to bear.

Dr. Hamilton hears about a man who claims to have seen a spaceship in a cornfield-- Ray Wallace, the same man he ran off the road. Hamilton knows the ship is no longer in the cornfield and demands answers from Ray. Ray tells him that Pete Ross pulled him out but when he recognizes Dr. Hamilton, he kills Ray with a lethal dose of morphine. Clark and Jonathan arrive at Pete's tool shed but the ship is gone. Pete sees them drive away.

The next morning, Pete accuses Clark of stealing and lying about it. Clark tries to make excuses but Pete is unconvinced and drives off. Clark hesitates a moment and then makes a decision. Pete glances at Clark through the rearview mirror and suddenly Clark is right in front of him, stopping the car with his bare hands.

After Clark has told Pete his secret, Pete is hurt that Clark did not trust him and storms away.

In his barn, Dr. Hamilton is frantically trying to open the spaceship when he discovers a space which reminds him of a piece he found during the excavation of Miller's Field. He goes to the mansion to retrieve the disc from Lex, but Lex no longer has it. On his way out, Hamilton runs into Lionel in the corridor and persuades him consider funding his research. Guiding Lionel's hand around the ship, Dr. Hamilton tells him about the missing piece. Lionel promises that when Hamilton finds it, he might get his funding.

Clark tries to talk to Pete, but he is still angry. Chloe wants to interview Pete for his heroic actions at the accident site. She asks if Pete can corroborate Ray's claim of a spaceship. Pete does so sarcastically, and Chloe takes it as a joke. That afternoon, Clark finds Lex at the farm. Lex wants to be out of the house and away from his father; he also mentions the "paperweight" missing from his desk, to which Clark feigns ignorance.

In the evening, Clark finds Lana in his loft, spying on Aunt Nell and Dean. Clark tries to tell Lana about Pete, but he can't go into details, and Lana becomes annoyed, especially after she tells Clark about breaking up with Whitney. Clark encourages her to tell Nell how she feels about Dean. Lana takes Clark's advice and makes a date with Nell to discuss her feelings for Dean. Nell seems sympathetic, but then she tells Lana that she has accepted Dean's proposal.

Pete finds Hamilton searching his tool shed. When threatened, Pete accidentally blurts out something about the ship's owner. Newly determined, Hamilton kidnaps Pete and hauls him back to his barn.

The Kents discuss ways to retrieve the spaceship and Clark admits that he and Pete aren't speaking. Jonathan and Martha are shocked when Clark says he told Pete his secret. Jonathan says Clark has worsened the situation when Martha gets a call from Mrs. Ross; Pete has gone missing.

Pete is bound, trying to backpedal and say he just made up what he said about the ship's owner, but Hamilton doesn't believe him. He believes he is dying from prolonged exposure to the meteor rocks, but he is determined to establish himself as a credible scientist before he dies.

Lex walks in while his father is listening to Dr. Hamilton's research notes on the meteors, using a device that reads typewritten pages. Lex reveals that he spoke to Lionel's doctor, who in fact advised Lionel not to skip any more therapy sessions. Lionel speaks bitterly about the humiliation of being treated as a helpless object. Lex asks if this is also the reason behind his new fascination with aliens. Lionel tells Lex to go see what Hamilton has.

Chloe provides Clark with the link between Hamilton, the accident and Pete, so Clark rushes off to investigate Hamilton. Hamilton is about to inject Pete with a green liquid, telling him that it will cause the same tremors that he has. Pete bravely refuses to say anything. Clark bursts through the door just as he's lowering the needle.

Using his heat vision, Clark destroys the needle then throws Hamilton across the room. He tries to free Pete, but the meteor rocks all around the barn overcome him. Hamilton overhears a Clark tell Pete he's allergic to the meteor rocks and grabs a beaker of the liquid. He screams for Clark to tell him how to open the ship and threatens to pour the contents of the beaker on him, when Pete hits him over the head. As he falls, he knocks some of the meteor liquid onto himself and begins to have a violent seizure. At Clark's request, Pete tries to help him, but he dies.

After returning the ship to the Kents' storm cellar, Pete says he now understands why Clark hid the truth for so long. Clark explains to Pete that he couldn't have just let Hamilton die to protect his secret any more than he could have let Pete. Lex and Lionel arrive at the barn; the spaceship is gone, so Lionel says he plans to stay in Smallville a while longer and investigate and Lex appears ready to help. Clark and Pete play a game of super-powered basketball, and Clark proves that white aliens can jump.

### Red

Against his parents' judgment, Clark Kent purchases a very expensive class ring, set with what looks like a ruby. As soon as he puts it on, his eyes glow red and he suddenly starts defending Jessie Brooks, the new girl Lana is showing around school. He mouths off to Principal Gibbons as Pete and Lana look on in confusion.

Meanwhile in Metropolis, Ted Palmer is questioning Kyle about the whereabouts of his girlfriend Jessie Brooks. He is a U.S. Marshal, and Jessie and her father are fugitives he is assigned to recover. When he threatens to shoot Kyle, he finally admits that Jessie has been calling him. He doesn't know exactly where she is but suggests that the marshal can check his phone records. The marshal explains that he can't let Kyle go because he might warn Jessie, so he drops a radio into the tub electrocuting the boy to death.

After school, Clark tries to talk Pete into going to the Wild Coyote tavern, a bar that serves underage drinkers. Pete reluctantly agrees to check it out that weekend. Clark also invites Jessie. When Lana arrives, he flirts with her and tells her he's had an eye on her all day. She reminds him of the group study session at the Talon that night. Lana, too, is a bit taken aback by his behavior.

At the Kent Farm, Martha is chatting with Jonathan while he works on his motorcycle when Clark zooms in and shrugs off being late. Jonathan notices that Clark is wearing a class ring and they argue about the decision to buy it. Clark says it was his decision to make and that he is sick of worrying about every nickel and dime. When Jonathan attempts to continue the lecture, Clark storms off. Bewildered, Martha and Jonathan assume their not-normal son is having a fit of very normal teenage rebellion.

Over at the Luthor Mansion, Lex walks into what was his office to find Lionel redecorating and conducting business. Lionel says he assumed Lex would want him to be as comfortable as possible in his condition. Lex is annoyed that he was not consulted first, but ultimately, he caves into the guilt associated with his father's blindness and tells the workmen to give his father whatever he wants.

Meanwhile, Ted Palmer has found the Wild Coyote outside of Smallville where Jessie Brooks last called Kyle. He threatens the bartender with an investigation of underage drinkers and asks him to call him if Jessie ever comes back to the bar.

At the Talon, Clark shows up late and suggests to Pete, Lana, and Chloe that they blow off studying and go have some fun instead. Lana and Chloe get in line to get coffee and Clark informs a shocked Pete that he's using his x-ray vision for indecent purposes. Pete tells Clark he'll be happy to party this weekend, but right now they all need to study. Bored now, Clark wanders out.

The next morning, his parents discover that Clark has filled his loft with expensive electronics and clothes. When Jonathan and Martha confront him, Clark, dressed in a green t-shirt and a black leather jacket, admits to using his parents' credit cards, but fails to see it as stealing. When the lecture gets boring, he jumps out the barn window and speeds away to school on his father's motorcycle.

On the way to school, he runs into Jessie Brooks arguing with her father about her dress code. He rescues her by giving her a ride. Chloe, Lana and Pete are again astonished at the new Clark. Jonathan arrives at the school to continue their confrontation. Clark refuses to get in the truck with his father, telling him that he's not his real father and shoving him back so hard that he puts a dent in the truck. He turns his back and strolls into school while Pete helps Jonathan to his feet. Back home, Martha and Jonathan theorize that this new attitude might be a normal part of his alien development. They hope that Pete might be able to help them get through to him.

At the Talon, Clark flirts with Lana and asks her out. Although a little embarrassed by Clark's public display of affection, Lana agrees to go out with him. Meanwhile at the *Smallville Torch*, Chloe has discovered that the ring company substituted red meteor rocks found at Hob's Pond for rubies in the class rings. Pete tells the Kents, and the three of them agree that the ring must be causing Clark's erratic behavior.

Clark goes to visit Lex. While Lex observes Clark's new manner of dress, Clark breezily suggests that if Lionel is causing problems, Lex should just kick him out. He then asks to borrow Lex's Ferrari for his date with Lana. It takes a little convincing, but Lex lets him have the car. At the Wild Coyote, Lana is less than thrilled with the noise, the smoke and the thugs who are checking her out, but Clark loves it. Clark wants to dance, but Lana wants to leave. Jessie arrives and steals Clark away for a dance. The barkeeper recognizes Jessie and retrieves the phone number that the Marshal gave him. Lana leaves and Clark gets into a fight with some other patrons and overpowers them. Jessie becomes worried about being there when the police arrive and convinces Clark to leave by promising to show him the big bad world.

The next morning, Clark is packing his bags into the Ferrari while he tells his parents he is leaving. He plans to make millions with his abilities and he says he is sick of being used as a really useful piece of farm equipment. Jonathan and Martha try to convince him to take off the ring, but now that he knows the ring is influencing his behavior, he only wishes that he had discovered it sooner. At the mansion, Clark tells Lex that he'd like to keep the Ferrari until he and his new girl are settled. Realizing that Clark is not himself, Lex stalls Clark by saying he would like to come along; Lionel can have the mansion and he and Clark can use the penthouse apartment in Metropolis. Clark thinks this sounds great and agrees to wait while Lex ties up some loose ends.

Chloe and Lana are in the Talon talking about Lana's date with Clark. Lana admits that she was really attracted to the new Clark. She had hoped he could tell her all the things that the old Clark couldn't. A US Marshal is also there; he is on the phone tracking down the address for the owner of the Ferrari that Clark was seen driving the night before. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Pete have hatched a plan to recover Clark as Lex arrives to let them know that he is at the mansion. At the mansion, Lionel walks in on Clark playing pool. Clark is mocking his blindness and telling him that no one in Smallville wants him around when the marshal looking for Jessie interrupts them. Clark denies knowing her. When the man pulls his gun, Clark uses his super speed to take it away from him. He shows off his invulnerability by firing it into his palm and dropping the deformed bullets on the carpet. Lionel leaves to fetch security while Palmer attempts an escape. Clark pins him against the wall with the pool table and asks why he is looking for Jessie. He readily explains that they are fugitives from the Witness Protection Program. Mr. Brook's former employer has offered Palmer a million dollars to recover some incriminating evidence in Mr. Brooks' possession. Palmer offers to cut Clark in, but Clark decides to go after the evidence and the money himself.

Clark goes to Jessie's house to pick her up for their getaway, telling her that they can't leave until she gives him the disks. She refuses because her father needs them for his own protection. Just then the marshal arrives. He tells Clark he needs him to make the deal with broker. He threatens Jessie with his gun, and Mr. Brooks shoots him from the staircase. Clark disarms him and starts tearing the place apart looking for the disks, while Jessie sneaks out the front door. Clark realizes that she has the disks and chases her into a cornfield. He finds them sewn into the lining of her handbag just as Pete arrives. Jessie runs away as Jonathan arrives with a sledge hammer. Pete opens a lead box with green meteor rock inside. Clark falls to the ground and Jonathan smashes the ring.

At the mansion, Lionel finds that Lex has restored his office. They share their favorite brandy. Lex then reminds his father that when he lost his hair, Lionel told him not to sit around feeling sorry for himself, but to get on with his life. He suggests that Lionel take that advice himself now that he is blind. Lionel wonders aloud if Lex discovered the value of directness from his friend Clark Kent as he fingers the flattened bullets.

The next day, a very uncomfortable Clark tells his parents that Jessie and her father have disappeared. Clark tries to apologize to his father for the things he said and did under the influence of red meteor rock. Jonathan accepts, but insists that the feelings he expressed were real. Clark admits that he does sometimes miss having a lot of material things, but that he knows having parents who are always there for him is far more important. He also expresses concern that he feels like a split personality. He still wants to tell the whole world who he really is. When he tries to apologize to Lana, she doesn't make it easy for him. He won't explain himself, so she can't forgive him.

### Nocturne

Lana Lang rides her horse out to the cemetery to visit her parents' grave and finds an envelope on the headstone addressed to her. As she opens it, Byron Moore runs frantically through the woods. Byron falls on his back and his father, who appears to be out hunting him with a hound, shoots him with a tranquilizer and throws him back down in the cellar and threatens to kill him if he ever sneaks out again, and installs a stronger door on the cellar.

The next day at school, Lana shares the love letter with Chloe and Pete, but she seems less interested in sharing it with Clark. It seems like she is still mad at him for the way he acted under the influence of red kryptonite. Clark thinks the letter is from a stalker rather than an admirer.

At the Talon, Lana shows the letter to Lex. He likes the poem, and Clark comes in and tries to apologizes for criticizing it. He complains that Lana didn't want to share it with him. Lana says he can't expect her to share everything with him when he insists on remaining so secretive. He tries to warn her about her admirer, and she gives him a hard time about the way he's always spying on her with his telescope.

At the Luthor Mansion, Lionel Luthor is firing his fourth assistant in a month. It is Lex's job to hire them, and Lionel is unhappy with his choices. Lionel is *reading* the newspaper with a special mechanical device that reads typewritten pages. He become frustrated and throws the device across the yard, just as Martha Kent comes up the walk to collect the monthly check for organic produce. She greets Lionel, takes the paper from his hands, and continues reading for him. When she comments on the news story, Lionel compliments her on her understanding of the business world.

Byron is writing another letter to Lana when his mother comes down to the cellar to bring him a book. He complains to her about having to stay in the cellar, but she assures him that it is better this way. When she leaves, he moves a poster from the wall and removes several cinder blocks. He finds Lana at her parents' grave. She has fallen asleep waiting for him. When she wakes up, he runs away, but she calls out to him and stops him. When she shines her flashlight in his face, he raises his arm. Suddenly, Clark jumps out of the bushes, startling him. He falls back, hits his head on a stone, and faints.

Clark and Lana take Byron to the Talon and feed him chocolate cake. He quotes Shakespeare and explains that he has been home schooled. Clark notices scars on his wrists. When he hears the morning milk truck, he becomes very anxious to get home before his parents wake up. Clark and Lana drive him to his house but as he runs across the yard, his parents greet him on the porch. His father levels his rifle at him, so Clark and Lana jump out of the truck. Mrs. Moore pulls Byron into the house. Mr. Moore threatens Clark and Lana with the rifle, so they turn and go.

Martha tells Jonathan that Lionel offered her a job and she wants to take it, but Jonathan thinks it is a very bad idea. When Clark and Lana arrive, they tell them they are afraid the Moores are abusing Byron. They return to Byron's house with Sheriff Miller, but Mr. Moore claims that his son died eight years ago and he has never seen Clark or Lana and accuses them of playing a cruel joke. The sheriff leaves, but he promises Jonathan that he will get a warrant. Meanwhile, Byron is in the cellar, chained to the wall.

At the *Torch*, Chloe has found Byron's death certificate, signed by Dr. Emil Jenkins. Eight years ago, Dr. Jenkins supervised a medical trial over at Metron Pharmaceuticals in which Byron was a participant. All the children in the trial were being treated for antisocial behavior.

Lex is furious with Lionel for hiring Martha and warns him not to hurt the Kents and Lionel makes fun of him. Meanwhile, Clark and Pete arrive at Byron's house. They go through a boarded-up window and find the cellar door. Byron asks to be left alone, but Clark breaks his bonds and carries him outside. When he gets out into the sunlight he falls to the floor of the porch and growls. When he stands up, he throws Clark across the yard, and when he turns to Pete, his eyes are black. He throws Pete into a car and runs off. Clark takes Pete to the hospital where he is diagnosed and treated for a broken arm.

Clark and Jonathan return to Byron's house and speak with his mother. Byron's father is out looking for him. She explains that the change that came over him is a side effect from the drugs he was administered. Six other boys died while the doctors tried to reverse the effects, so they decided to bring him home and lock him in the cellar. Clark asks if he gets him of the sunlight, will he change back? She says yes, but that he is so strong now she doesn't know how anybody could do that. Lana is angry with Clark for going to Byron's house without her. Chloe arrives with information that the medication administered to Byron targeted his adrenal system. She also informs them that Lionel Luthor funded the research. Clark decides to ask Lex and Lana decides to join in the search for Byron. She finds him in the cemetery at his own grave. He insists that he is not going back down in the cellar. Lana tells him that the Luthors did this, and they might still be able to find a cure. He grabs her and Lana scratches him; he throws her against a stone. Lana falls unconscious and Byron runs off.

Lex promises Clark that he will look into Metron. Clark looks out the window and sees his mother getting into the helicopter with Lionel on her way to Metropolis when Byron arrives and prevents the helicopter from taking off. He pulls Martha and Lionel from the helicopter and might have done Lionel real injury, but Clark rushes down and pushes Byron down a well where it is dark, and Byron changes back to his true self.

Byron is taken to the hospital and is resting under special lights when Clark visits him and brings him a book of limericks. Lana visits as well. Her wrist is bandaged, but it will be all right. Byron apologizes for hurting her. She says she knows it wasn't really him. Clark leaves as they hold hands tenderly. Meanwhile, at the mansion, Lionel's arm is also in a sling. Martha informs him that the paperwork to fund research into Byron's condition is ready for him to sign. She has convinced him that funding this research will be less expensive than the advertising campaign that would be necessary to restore consumer confidence.

### Redux

In gym class during a swim race, Clark faces off against Troy Turner for the bragging rights to being the fastest in the school. Troy kisses his girlfriend Chrissy Parker for good luck before diving in. When he begins having trouble, Clark pulls him from the pool; everyone is shocked to see that Troy is suddenly 60 years older.

Martha and Jonathan are discussing the farm's financial problems, and Martha suggests she ask her father for help. Jonathan is resistant, and Clark loudly asks why he's never met his grandfather, and complains that every time he is mentioned, it is met with uncomfortable silence. Jonathan vaguely says there is too much bad blood between them.

Clark delivers muffins to Lana at the Talon. She is going through old boxes and finds a photograph of her mother hugging an unidentified man. The photo is dated after her parents were married. Lex shows up and gives Clark a ride to school. (Lana has the first two periods free.) As he exits Lex's Porsche, he encounters Terrence Reynolds, Smallville High School's new principal. He takes Clark to task for being tardy and expresses disdain for Lex. Lex reveals that Mr. Reynolds was headmaster at Excelsior Academy when Lex attended. Principal Reynolds also approaches Chrissy Parker and asks her for missing transcripts for her student file.

Clark tells Chloe and Pete about his run-in with the new principal, and Chloe reveals that Mr. Reynolds has an impressive résumé, and they wonder why he ended up in Smallville.

After school, Clark is helping Lana prepare for a school spirit week activity in the theater section of the Talon. They talk about Clark's family problems. Lana is still wondering about the mysterious photograph. When Nell shows up, Clark suggests she ask her about it. When she does, Nell merely says that Lana's mother loved her family. Later, Lana asks Lex to investigate who the man could be. Lex cautions that Lana might not want to hear the truth.

William Clark visits Martha at the farm, and she reveals that she asked William without Jonathan's permission. They talk about William's dissatisfaction with Martha's choices, but she maintains that she likes her life. Clark interrupts them and is introduced to William for the first time. He is disappointed when William does not stay. When Jonathan returns, Clark continues to question, and Jonathan finally reveals that William was resistant to Martha's decision to marry a farmer. Jonathan hit him, and they haven't spoken since. Despite this, Clark is optimistic that William wants to put it in the past.

At school the next day, Clark and Chloe discuss what could have caused Troy Turner's death. Chloe has a report from the medical examiner, which states that his pituitary gland was empty. She says it was like the youth was sucked right out of him, but their conversation is interrupted when Principal Reynolds calls Clark into his office. He asks about his friendship with Lex. He drills him on what direction Clark wants to go in and assigns Clark an essay on where he thinks he will be in five years. After school, Clark works on the essay at the Talon when Chrissy asks him to help out for spirit week. She talks about how the future is unimportant because high school is the best time of your life. He declines, and Lex arrives. They talk about Principal Reynolds, and Lex says he respects his strict discipline. Later, Lex goes to visit Reynolds, and Reynolds reveals that he was fired by Lionel Luthor after Lex was almost expelled.

Chrissy is working backstage when she seduces Troy's best friend Russell. She delivers a kiss that seems to suck the life out of Russell.

Clark invites William to the farm again but Jonathan and William argue while Clark looks on in dismay. At school, he doesn't tell Pete and Chloe what's on his mind, but when Chloe announces Russell's death, Clark realizes that Chrissy was with both boys just before they died. They decide to investigate Chrissy and find aliases for her for various high schools dating back to the 1920s.

Principal Reynolds again asks Chrissy for her missing files and she tells him she will give them to him that evening at the spirit week performance. That night, Chrissy attacks Principal Reynolds, but Clark and Pete intervene. Clark is able to stop Chrissy and knock her out before she can kill Mr. Reynolds. Without a victim, she ages rapidly and dissolves into dust.

Clark goes to see William, bringing with him a photo album and urging him to see his family how they really are. William just gives him the check to deliver to Martha. Clark admits that he went to visit him, and says that William told him that he tried to get involved after his adoption, but Jonathan and Martha wouldn't allow it. They admit that they didn't know if they could trust William with Clark's secret when he was too young to control his powers. Clark is crestfallen to discover that he is the cause of their family rift.

Lana goes to visit Clark in his loft, who is finishing his essay. He tells her that he likes to find out the truth and will probably study journalism in college. Lana reveals that her parents were legally separated for over a year, and the man in the photograph could be her real father.

### Lineage

After the Kents have left for work and school one morning, a woman enters the empty house and looks fondly at their family pictures. The woman approaches Clark at school. Confused, he asks if they know each other and she introduces herself as Rachel Dunleavy and announces that she is his mother. Clark tells his parents about her and Jonathan and Martha go to the Talon to meet her. She insists that she gave her baby son, Lucas, to Metropolis United Charities, and since they only handled one adoption, Clark must be her son. The Kents try to dissuade her, but she is determined to have a relationship with him. Jonathan politely but firmly tells her to never bother his family again.

Rachel later tries a different approach and asks Lex Luthor to encourage Clark to get to know her. Lex is reluctant to get involved until Rachel mentions that she was a nurse for his mother and had an affair with Lionel. She says that Lionel got her pregnant and forced her to give him up for adoption, so Clark is, in fact, Lex's brother.

The next day, Clark finds out that Chloe posted some information about him on some adoption websites, to which Dunleavy responded. He is furious with her for prying into his life and she doesn't understand why he isn't even a little curious. They argue until Clark yells at her to "find her own mother" instead. Chloe begins to cry and tells him that she knows where her mother is, but her mother isn't interested in her. She also tells Clark that Lionel Luthor founded Metropolis United, as Clark angrily storms out.

Lana finds Chloe still upset. She is concerned, but Chloe doesn't offer any details about the fight. Lana shows her the picture she found, of her mother and a mysterious man, who is Henry Small, a descendant of the town's founders. Lana suspects that Henry might be her biological father and asks Chloe to help her find more information about him. Chloe agrees, but suggests that Lana simply go visit him.

Clark tells his parents that he knows Lionel was involved in his adoption and demands that they tell him the whole story. As Jonathan explains with more detail, it flashes back to 1989 when their truck flipped over with a toddler standing outside. The town was in chaos and Jonathan borrowed a truck from a victim to haul the boy and his spacecraft away. On the way, they encountered a shell-shocked Lionel, who begged them to help his son. Lex was unconscious in the cornfield and Jonathan collected him and transported them to the hospital. Lionel told Jonathan that his quick action saved Lex's life and offered his resources if there was anything he could do for him.

Jonathan's story is interrupted in the present when Sheriff Ethan arrives and informs them that Rachel Dunleavy has ordered Clark to submit to a DNA sample. After giving the sample, Clark and Pete break into the laboratory and replace it with Pete's DNA instead. He announces that the mission was a success, but is puzzled because Jonathan still seems upset. Martha explains that Jonathan is under a lot of stress from having to involve Lionel in the first place and Clark asks her why. She explains that in 1989, they suddenly had this new person and needed something to tell both the authorities and the town when they started asking questions. Lionel produced fake adoption papers that enabled them to keep Clark. Just then, Lex arrives and tells Clark about Rachel's theory. Both of them are doubtful.

Lana arrives at Henry Small's house and he is high-strung and belligerent. He tells her that he boycotts the Talon because of his disdain for the Luthors. Undeterred, Lana shows him the photograph and asks if he loved her mother. His wife Jennifer briefly interrupts them and Lana blurts that she thinks Henry is her father. He is put off, says he has a family, and asks her not to bother him again. Lana leaves in tears. Later, Lana visits Clark's loft and tells him about their disastrous meeting. He tells her a little about his and Chloe's fight and his troubles with Rachel. He urges her to try again because a chance to know her birth parent is worth the risk. Lana writes him a letter and Henry shows up at the Talon and says that he is willing to find out if he and Lana are related.

Rachel angrily storms in on Lionel, accusing him of switching the DNA samples and forcing her to give up her child. She threatens to expose him. Lionel flirts with her and offers to get her psychiatric help and she runs away. Lex is leaving the LexCorp building when she approaches him and injects him, knocking him out. He awakes strapped to a chair in Rachel's house. She calls Lionel and tells him that she will kill Lex unless Lionel calls a press conference announcing that Clark's adoption is a sham.

Clark approaches Chloe again and asks her to help him find Lex. He apologizes for their fight and Chloe forgives him. She tells him that her mother left them when she was five and her father never explained why. They find the address and Clark super-speeds away. Lionel begins his press conference, but refuses to give in to Rachel's demands. She becomes enraged and goes after Lex with an axe, but Clark appears underneath it and it shatters. Rachel realizes that Clark could not be her son and dissolves into tears.

Later, Clark asks Jonathan why he hates Lionel so much since he helped and Jonathan reveals that he and Lionel had another meeting in 1989. Lionel asked Jonathan to convince the Ross brothers to sell their creamed corn factory, and when Jonathan was reluctant, Lionel subtly told him that he should be careful with Clark's adoption papers. Jonathan blames himself for getting involved with Lionel and letting him get a hold on the community.

Lex confronts Lionel on his lack of action to save his life. Lionel tells him how Rachel showed up with a child, wanting Lionel to leave Lillian for her. He maintains that the baby died as an infant, but when Lex leaves, Lionel opens a locket containing a lock of hair and a picture of him and a smiling young boy.

### Ryan

Ryan James is seen strapped to a table with electrodes attached to his skull. Dr. Lawrence Garner is testing his mind-reading ability. When he complains of headaches, Dr. Garner urges him to continue. When Ryan's nose begins to bleed, he sends his assistant for coagulant. Ryan tells him that his assistant is about to steal narcotics and Garner rushes away after him. Ryan uses the opportunity to run away. He crawls through an air duct to an office with a phone. Clark answers the phone and Ryan begs him to come rescue him. Ryan reveals that he is at the Summerholt Institute before the line goes dead. Ryan has been caught and rendered unconscious.

Jonathan and Martha check up on Ryan and his aunt. They seem to have disappeared and there appears to be no such institute in Edge City. Jonathan decides to call the police to see if they've been reported missing. Clark offers that he got an email from Ryan a few weeks ago and everything seemed fine.

At school, Clark feels guilty for not realizing something was wrong. Chloe uses her contact at the phone company to trace the call and they locate the Summerholt Institute in Metropolis, a facility known for controversial brain research.

Meanwhile, Lex is meeting with Smallville's Mayor Tate for zoning approval of an expansion of the fertilizer plant. The mayor insinuates that it will take more than a simple request to get the approval and mentions Lionel Luthor's generous donations and speedy approvals. Lex maintains that LexCorp does not do bribes and Mayor Tate leaves, reminding Lex how much it would cost to shut down the expansion.

Nell arrives to pick Lana up from the horse stables and informs her that Dean has asked her to move to Metropolis with him. She has already agreed, and Lana is angry. She doesn't want to leave her school or her friends. When Clark arrives home, Jonathan and Martha tell him they have met dead ends. There is no record of Ryan being held at the Institute. Clark wants to go there but they tell him that he can't just go tearing down doors. Clark disregards his parents' words and goes anyway. As he questions the receptionist, Dr. Garner shows up and reiterates that there are no patients there. Clark turns to leave, but uses his X-ray vision to read files on the receptionist's desk. He sees a room number labeled "restricted." When he arrives, he rips the door off, takes Ryan's restraints off, picks him up and leaves.

Clark takes Ryan to the Luthor Mansion because he knew his "parents would freak" if he brought him home. Ryan explains that he started getting nosebleeds and migraines a few months ago, and his aunt couldn't handle the stress and medical bills. Dr. Garner offered to keep Ryan and treat him. In the hallway, Lex tells Clark that it wasn't smart to abduct Ryan, and Clark just says he wasn't thinking. Lex lets Ryan stay that night and says they will figure it out in the morning.

When Clark arrives home, he finds Dr. Garner and Sheriff Miller questioning his parents. Garner demands that Clark give Ryan up, and Clark says he needs until 9:00 AM the next day. Garner threatens to search the whole farm and put Clark's life under scrutiny if Ryan isn't there. Clark brings Ryan back to the farm and Ryan explains to the Kents that Dr. Garner told him that his mind-reading ability is the result of something wrong in his brain. Just after Jonathan tells them that they will have to give Ryan back, Garner and Ethan arrive. Garner threatens to press kidnapping charges on Clark. Just then, Lex arrives with a temporary restraining order allowing Ryan to stay with the Kents. Dr. Garner angrily spits that this is not over, and he and the sheriff drive away.

Clark takes Ryan to the Talon where they have thrown him a surprise welcome-back party. At the party, Pete says his mother signed the restraining order for the Kents. Ryan reveals that Pete is very stressed out about keeping Clark's secret, and that Lana is moving to Metropolis. He starts to feel ill and they leave early. Later, in his loft, Lana confirms that Nell has indeed decided to move. True to form, Clark offers to let Lana stay with them, even though it's already crowded with Ryan. He then advises Lana to stand up for herself. Later, Lana researches child emancipation because she has decided not to move with Nell. However, the process can take up to eighteen months. Chloe offers a simpler solution; Lana can stay with her.

The next morning, Ryan is with Martha as she does some quick work at the Luthor mansion for Lionel. He reads Martha's thoughts, telling her that she really does like her job, and that he knows "her secret," and asking why she hasn't told it to Jonathan and Clark. She just says she'll tell him when she's ready. Ryan asks Lex to show him his *Warrior Angel* collection. While they look at the comic books, Ryan reads Lex's mind, finishing his thoughts for him. Lex starts to asks him how he knew, but Ryan begins to moan in pain and his nose starts to bleed. Ryan passes out.

He wakes up in the hospital with Clark at his bedside. They talk about comics, avoiding Ryan's health problems, until Ryan admits that he read the doctor's mind—he has a brain tumor and will die. Back home, Clark is upset that he can't do anything to save Ryan.

Lex shows Clark an article on a doctor who has done cutting-edge research on brain tumors and ESP-like abilities. However, he is due to fly out of the country from Hub City in a few hours. Clark wants to visit him and Lex tells him that he too did research and fought against his mother's illness, but in the end, he wished he had just spent time with her and been there when she died. He advises Clark not to make the same mistake but Clark leaves anyway, superspeeding to Hub City.

Lex brings Ryan the rarest issue of "Warrior Angel", in which Warrior Angel's best friend turns against him. Lex muses that he probably did not even know he had become evil, since "darkness is a journey, not a light switch." Ryan advises Lex to remember that. Later, Lex meets with Mayor Tate again, this time showing him a political advertisement that details all of his shady dealings. He tells Tate that he will back the other candidate during Tate's re-election and the two exchange words. Lex warns Tate that he is prepared to fight against him in any way and suggests he resign first.

Clark arrives at the airport just in time, and the doctor agrees to do surgery on Ryan. The Kents wait at the hospital. Lana visits and tells Clark that Chloe and her dad have offered to let her stay with them so she doesn't have to move. Just then, Jonathan and Martha appear, about to deliver bad news.

In Ryan's hospital room, Ryan tells Clark about how he always wished he had an Aerodrome like Warrior Angel, so he could fly high above everything and escape all his troubles. He admits to Clark that the surgery only bought him a few more days. In pain, he mutters that it's so loud in the hospital. Clark promises to take him somewhere quiet. Despite his fear of heights, Clark gives Ryan a ride on a hot-air balloon. Ryan thanks him for the moment. He warns him about Lex one more time and tells Clark he changed his life, and will go on to change more people's lives, too. Afterwards, Clark is alone in Ryan's empty hospital room, sadly gathering up Ryan's beloved "Warrior Angel" comics. He walks out of the room and stares back at Ryan's bed, now empty.

### Dichotic

A bunch of students are in Mr. Frankel's foundry class in Smallville High, where Clark and Pete are partners. Frankel soon approaches Ian Randall, and is typically unimpressed with his work. When the class is over, Clark x-rays the gradebook to find that Pete got a B+ for his work (while Ian got a C and Clark got a C+). Later, Ian confronts Mr. Frankel and pushes him for answers about his grade. When he hears it's a C, he kills him, expressing his dislike for a C since he tried attending every class for a LuthorCorp scholarship.

Lex is exiting the Talon to find that he is getting a parking ticket. He argues with the meter maid to no avail, and suddenly and impulsively removes a golf club from his backseat and proceeds to bash the shocked meter maid's car with it.

Jonathan is repairing the tractor when the jack breaks, crushing his leg. Clark rushes out to help him and uses his X-ray vision to see that it is broken, and takes him to the hospital. Jonathan is treated by Helen Bryce, who gives him a promising prognosis. Martha rushes in and explains that she was in a board conference. Lex arrives with contact information for a high-profile orthopedist for Jonathan's care, and Helen bristles at being second-guessed, but takes it in stride. Clark tells Lex that he's worried that his mother feels guilty.

Ian approaches Chloe at the office of the *Torch*. He tells her that he's been taking night classes and extra-credit work to graduate as a sophomore and get into an ivy-league college. Chloe asks for an interview, and they talk at The Talon. He asks her out, and Clark arrives just as Ian and Chloe are leaving. He tells Lana (who has just moved in with Chloe), that he has to break their study date to do some of his dad's errands. Ian offers to help Lana instead. Ian goes into a back room, and produces an identical clone of himself. The two Ians then leave to go on their respective dates with Chloe and Lana.

The next morning, Martha announces that she is staying home, and she and Clark both try to persuade Jonathan to take it easy, but he insists on working. Martha says she still feels guilty. At school that day, Clark and Pete notice that Mr. Frankel is absent, and shop class has been canceled. They also see Ian and Lana in the halls. Ian leans in to kiss her, and Clark asks her what Chloe thinks. Lana is confused, and Clark explains that Ian broke the date with Chloe to study with Lana. Lana is doubtful, because Chloe didn't say anything, and tells Clark to stay out of it.

Lex arrives at his anger management class and sees a familiar face - Dr. Bryce. He asks her out, but she turns him down, cryptically saying, "You don't remember me?" Later, he finds her at the hospital, and he does remember- they had an encounter years ago in a Metropolis ER. She accepts his date.

Clark goes to the *Torch* office and asks Chloe if she likes Ian, because he saw him flirting with Lana. She gets defensive, and says Ian told her that Lana likes *him*, but not to say anything because he'd rather be with her. Clark is skeptical because he thinks Ian is playing both girls, but Chloe gets upset because she thinks Clark can't imagine that someone would choose her over Lana. She storms off.

Clark confronts Ian, and accuses him of using Chloe and Lana to win his scholarship. He asks Ian about the C he made in shop, and Ian simply says that the teacher never posted grades. Clark and Pete go the metal shop classroom to look around. They find Mr. Frankel's body in a cabinet, but suddenly a barrel of chemicals tips over and the floor lights on fire. They see Ian running away.

Clark goes to Chloe's house to find Ian and Chloe kissing. He tells them what he saw, but Ian and Chloe claim he's been at her house for three hours. He goes to talk to Lana, who is mad that he is still prying. He tells Lana that Ian is seeing Chloe, but Lana doesn't listen.

Clark and Pete gets information from the scholarship fund and realize that Ian was taking classes at community college at the same time of day he was in school at Smallville High. They decide to follow Ian to see how he is in two places at the same time.

They page him with the girls' pagers and he arrives at both the Talon and Chloe's house at exactly the same time. Clark calls Chloe to warn her, but she doesn't answer. Instead, Lana comes in and they realize they might both be dating Ian at the same time. When he shows up, they confront him, and he realizes Clark and Pete are onto him. He locks the door, and he and his double corner the girls. When Pete and Clark arrive at the *Torch*, they find a "suicide note" from both girls. Ian takes the girls to a dam and tries to throw them over. Chloe makes a run for it, but one Ian tackles her. She falls and is knocked out, and he throws her over. Clark super speeds to the scene and catches Chloe, who is still unconscious but unharmed. He knocks out one Ian while the other tries to throw Lana over, but both tumbles over the edge. Clark pulls her to safety, but Ian falls to the bottom.

Clark arrives home and reports that both girls are fine. Martha announces that she is probably going to quit, and Jonathan admits that he doesn't want her to quit her job, but feels like the Luthors come first sometimes. Martha assures him that that isn't the case.

Lana and Chloe agree not to keep secrets from each other (again). Later, they call Clark to the Talon to apologize. They discuss their complex friendship, but don't really resolve anything. Clark expresses disappointment that they both trusted Ian over himself, while Chloe and Lana admit the mistake but cite that it was their mistake to make. The conversation ends with Clark affirming that he doesn't think he should be treated like the jealous boyfriend, and would rather be treated like a friend. This marks the first time Clark takes a truly proactive and decisive role in defining the relationships between all of them.

### Skinwalker

LuthorCorp's latest project is a corporate plaza in Smallville offering high tech office space with a variety of amenities, including fiber optic internet, open office plans, and a rooftop heliport. Joseph Willowbrook shows up to object to the construction and the foreman, Dan Hammond, orders him off the property. Late that night, the foreman is filling the vehicles with gasoline when he hears a noise coming from the trees. He fetches and loads a flare gun just before a beautiful white wolf comes out of the darkness and leaps on him, knocking him to the ground. The vehicle is overflowing with gasoline when the foreman fires the flare up into the air. The wolf runs away as the flare falls back to the ground and ignites the gasoline, killing the foreman.
Clark and Pete are riding motor bikes near the new construction site. They notice several sheriff's vehicles at the site. Clark explains that there was an explosion last night, and Pete predictably expresses contempt for LuthorCorp. As they race back to Miller's Bend, Clark crashes and falls a hundred feet into a hidden cave. Kyla Willowbrook hears the crash and comes rushing to his aid from another part of the cave. She is amazed to discover that Clark has no injuries. She explains that she is doing research on the caves with her grandfather, Joseph Willowbrook. Pete shows up just as Kyla notices a painting on the wall of the cave that tell the legend of Naman. Her grandfather has been looking for these paintings his whole life. She tells Clark that Naman will come in a rain of fire, have the strength of ten men and be able to start fires with his eyes. Kyla rushes off to tell her grandfather and Clark notices a depression in the cave wall the exact size and shape of the key.

When Clark tells Jonathan about the cave, he is very skeptical. Clark pulls a silver rectangle about eight inches long and four inches wide from under a cloth. It is the ship's heart, which Jonathan pulled it out of the ship before it closed. The symbols on the heart are the same as the symbols in the cave and Clark wants to ask Joseph and Kyla to help him read them, so Clark invites them to dinner.

At dinner, Joseph tells the Kents more about the legend of Naman. He admits that he does not know how to read the symbols and is worried that LuthorCorp will destroy the caves before he learns how. Clark hopes Martha will speak to Lionel and she says that she will, but she also believes that the project is important because it will bring desperately-needed jobs to Smallville. From Clark's loft, Kyla points out a constellation of a wolf with only one eye. Legend has it that the wolf once had two eyes, but the other star is gone now. Lana arrives because Clark wants to ask her to get Henry Small involved in helping to protect the caves.

At the mansion, Sheriff Miller tells Lionel that Joseph Willowbrook has been involved in civil disobedience before, so they are investigating him in connection with the foreman's death. Lionel laments to Martha that he didn't do this project in Granville. Lionel asks Lex to be his partner in the office park, but Lex refuses.

At the Kawatche Caves, Kyla tells Clark that Naman will one day protect the whole world and that his brother Sageeth will turn against him. He notices another picture on the wall that Kyla interprets as the woman that Naman is destined to be with, and Clark notices that Kyla wears a bracelet fashioned very much like the picture. She tells him that it has been handed down through the women in her family for years. The bulldozers cause vibrations, which cause Kyla to fall from a height of about 10 feet.

Clark superspeeds down and catches her just as a large piece of the cave ceiling comes loose above them. He covers her and the rock breaks apart against his back. When she again sees that Clark is unharmed, she sarcastically asks if he can shoot fire out of his eyes. When he turns away and doesn't answer, she guesses that he is Naman. He admits that he doesn't know what he is, but he is pleased that she isn't freaked out. She admits that she knows what its like to be different. He tries to explain further, but she tells him it's unnecessary and that he'll have give in. They then share a passionate kiss.

Henry Small has started the protest against the development near the caves. He also tells Lana that the DNA tests are back, and they confirm that he is indeed her biological father. He wants to try to be a father to her if it's not too late.

Back at the construction site, Joseph Willowbrook is leading a protest when Martha Kent asks him to meet with Lionel. Joseph calls her a wolf in sheep's clothing. Henry Small arrives with a cease and desist order, and Joseph tells Martha that he will speak with Lionel in court. Then Sheriff Miller shows up to arrest Joseph for the murder of Dan Hammond. They found a towel in Mr. Willowbrook's trash with blood on it that matched the victim. Joseph accuses Lionel of framing him before he is led away.

Chloe arrives at the Talon to join the crusade to save the caves. She and Lana discuss Kyla and Whitney. Lana admits that they have been writing every week.

Clark asks Lex for bail money for Joseph while at the same time accusing LuthorCorp of framing him. Lex wonders if his newfound advocacy has more to do with Kyla than anything else and decides not to donate to Joseph's bail fund. To change his mind, Clark takes him to the caves. Lex is impressed, but when he sees the depression in the wall, he is convinced.

At the Talon, Joseph and Kyla thank Clark for raising the money and getting Joseph out of jail so quickly. Martha arrives to express her regret that Joseph has gotten mixed up in the murder investigation. Joseph is adamant that he has been set up, and he is offended that Martha continues to defend LuthorCorp. At the *Smallville Torch*, Chloe tells Clark that the autopsy report revealed that the foreman was bitten by a wolf. Wolves have been extinct in Smallville for 90 years, but Joseph's tribe, the Kawatche, translates to *"skinwalker"*, a reference to a Native American legend that humans can transform into animals. While sitting in her car in the parking lot of the LuthorCorp plant, Martha Kent is attacked by a wolf. She is frightened but not injured. Clark tells his dad that he has real feelings for Kyla, but he suspects she knows more about the foreman's death than she claims.

The next day, Lionel is upset with Lex for having bailed out Joseph Willowbrook. He complains that the project has become a public relations nightmare, and Lex offers to buy him out. Lex says he is interested in preserving the caves, but Lionel guesses that Lex knows something else about the land that makes it valuable. Kyla goes back to the Kent Farm to talk to Clark. He asks if her grandfather might be a skinwalker and Kyla is very upset by the accusation. She leaves crying that Lionel has corrupted everyone. At the Luthor mansion, the beautiful white wolf tries to attack Lionel, but Clark intervenes. When armed security arrives, the wolf jumps through a glass window. Clark chases after it and finds that it has been cut badly. Before his eyes, the wolf transforms into Kyla. Clark rushes to her and gathers her into his arms. She says she didn't want to hurt the foreman or Martha and dies in his arms.

The next day, at the construction site, Lionel and Martha arrive to find that work has been stopped again. Clark is somehow preventing the bulldozers from clearing the land. Lionel complains to Martha, but Martha agrees with her son. Joseph gives Clark Kyla's bracelet and tells him to give it to the one he is destined to be with. Lex arrives to tell Lionel that in light of the petition drive, the state of Kansas has decided to exercise the historic artifacts amendment and buy the project from Lionel. LexCorp has secured the contract for the preservation of the entire area. Lana finds Clark in his loft to offer her condolences about Kyla. She also tells him that Whitney is missing in action.

### Visage

Clark is trying to help Lana with a leaky drainpipe at the Talon apartment. She runs to get a wrench and Clark uses his heat vision to weld the leak. Lana is amazed that he fixed it and is visibly aroused by his physique when she looks through his wet T-shirt. Clark indirectly says he misses her living across the street from him. While cleaning up, Clark asks Lana about Whitney. Lana admits that she is scared because he's been missing for over a month and the military sent back his personal effects, including her meteor rock necklace. Clark asks if she's going to start wearing it again, but to his relief, she says it doesn't feel right.

In Aceh Province, Indonesia, Whitney is trudging through the wetlands with three comrades in arms. They talk about how no one is looking for them any more, but they are determined to get back to base and back home. They start taking artillery fire and start running. They are very near a point where they can get a signal to the scouts. One man is hit as the other three trudge on, double time. When the third man is hit, Whitney goes back for him and pulls him through the water, but when they reach shore they appear to take a direct hit.

The next day at school, Pete and Chloe are all upset about Mrs. Biserri's class. She has told them that Alexander Graham Bell didn't actually invent the telephone. They are disillusioned that they believed one thing about a person and then find out it isn't true. Chloe mentions she felt the same way in first grade when she found out that Betsy Ross didn't design the U.S. flag.

Clark asks Lana to go to a winter festival with him, but she says she has to take extra shifts at the Talon. He tells her that working herself to the bone isn't the best way to cope with worrying over Whitney and she changes her mind and agrees to go. Just then, Whitney himself walks into the school. Lana runs into his arms, leaving Clark alone in the hallway. Clark tells his parents that Whitney has returned, but admits that he's sorry Whitney is back because he was just starting to get close to Lana. Jonathan doesn't appreciate Clark's attitude and tells him that Whitney deserves a hero's welcome.

Lana and Whitney are catching up at his house. He tells her that the thought of seeing her again kept him going and Lana realizes he doesn't remember the video she made. Whitney says some of his memories are gone and Lana does not tell him what the video letter said.

At the Luthor Mansion, Lex confronts Helen with photographs of her with Lionel, despite her claims that she has never met the elder Luthor. Lex reveals that he's done a complete background check on Helen, and knows that Helen accepted thousands of dollars from LuthorCorp and demands an explanation. Helen is indignant and storms out.

Chloe and Lana talk before Whitney's Welcome Back party. Lana tells her that Whitney doesn't remember her breaking up with him and she can't dump him now that he needs her; she might even be falling in love with him again. He doesn't have all those annoying secrets. At the party at the Talon, Whitney seems changed, saying he's not interested in football or in giving the *Smallville Torch* an exclusive interview. Lana tells Clark she can't go to the festival with him after all, and Whitney asks if they saw a lot of each other while he was gone.

He excuses himself abruptly and goes into the bathroom to splash water on his face. He is enraged and rips a stall door off its hinges and throws it. Clark comes in and Whitney advances on Clark, accusing him of taking his girlfriend. Clark maintains that they are just friends, like he promised, but Whitney warns him to stay away from Lana.

The next day, Clark approaches Lana at school but she is angry with him. Whitney told her that "Clark" was the one in a jealous rage who tore apart the bathroom. Clark tries to tell her that Whitney is lying, but she is offended by the accusation.

A US Marine officer, Lieutenant McNulty, arrives at the Fordmans' to deliver the news that Whitney's remains had been found, but he is suitably confused when Whitney walks up to greet him, carrying a baseball bat. Whitney bludgeons the officer to death while his mother screams in horror. Whitney then takes Lana to visit her horse, Heisman, and notices that she is wearing her necklace again. He says he wants to be with her all the time and suggests they move in together. He gets upset when Lana disagrees, saying her hesitancy is because of Clark.

Lex vents to Clark about Helen over a game of pool and Clark tells him about Whitney's erratic behavior. Lex offers to set Whitney up with a specialist in post-traumatic stress disorder. Whitney terrorizes his mother for information of his old life, but Clark interrupts him by ringing the doorbell. Clark tells him that he needs help, but Whitney is still hostile and pushes Clark down the steps and across the lawn. Recognition dawns on Clark. He x-rays Whitney and sees a glowing green skeleton which he recognizes as Tina Greer. Back inside, Whitney morphs into Tina Greer in front of Mrs. Fordman.

Clark goes to the *Torch* office to tell Chloe and Pete that Whitney is Tina Greer in disguise. Chloe says it's impossible because Tina committed suicide in the hospital last week by burning herself alive. Clark is skeptical, and outside the office he tells Pete that Tina probably knows his secret. He tells Pete to go warn Lana, and Lana overhears them. Clark reluctantly tells her his theory. He asks her to stay with Pete while he goes back to the Fordmans' where his mother confirms that Whitney is Tina. Lana promptly walks away from Pete and when he tries to catch up, she throws him across the hallway and knocks him out, revealing herself to be Tina in disguise.

She goes to the Talon as Whitney, and proposes to Lana. Lana is overwhelmed and finally confesses that she broke up with Whitney while he was gone. He seems to accept her decision and asks her for her necklace and she gives it to him. Tina pretends to be Jonathan, subdues Clark with the necklace, and throws him into the storm cellar speculating that the meteor shower must have done something to him, too. She ties his arms behind his back saying that she knows whom Lana wants to be with, explaining that she loves Lana and she will do anything to be with her. She morphs into a copy of Clark saying how easy it will be to live as him. He has a perfect life: great parents, good friends. She leaves him languishing in the cellar.

Lex confronts Helen at the Talon and again asks for an explanation. She tells him that Lionel bribed her to dump Lex and even when she didn't, he paid her anyway. Lex is apologetic, but she is still angry and leaves.

In pain, Clark tries to work his hands loose. Suddenly, the ship lights up and emits a blast of light, neutralizing the kryptonite in the necklace. Shortly afterward, Jonathan finds him and Clark quickly explains that the ship saved him and superspeeds away to save Lana.

Tina is going through Lana's clothes and morphs into Chloe as Lana comes in from the shower. She says that she talked with Whitney, and she says that Lana belongs with Clark. This almost blows her cover.

Tina goes to the Talon disguised as Clark and tells Lana that he's in love with her. He starts to kiss her, and she pushes him away just as the real Clark arrives. Lana is confused until Clark says he's the one who fixed the drainpipe. Lana recoils from Tina, calling her a freak. Tina is enraged and throws Lana across the room, knocking her out. Tina throws Clark through a door and they battle in the alley, seriously damaging the greenhouse. Tina advances on Clark and he superspeeds out of the way. She is impaled on broken wood and dies, asking Clark to take care of Lana.

Jonathan brings Clark home and reports that Mrs. Fordman will make a full recovery, but Whitney died in combat. Clark wonders if he could be as brave as Whitney if he weren't bulletproof, but Jonathan assures him that they are positive that he would.

Lex goes to the hospital to apologize again and begs Helen to take him back, saying he needs her help to prevent himself from becoming his father. They leave hand in hand.

Clark takes the kryptonite necklace, or what is left of it, to the Kawatche Caves and Lana shows up. She begins to cry as she talks about Whitney's death and how everybody she's ever gotten close to has left her. She tells Clark that she is sorry she isn't a better friend to him. She says she doesn't care if Clark has secrets because he is such a good friend and a constant in her life. Clark hugs her as she cries.

### Insurgence

At the Luthor Mansion, Lex is berating one of his lawyers for leaking information which has lost him a 150-million dollar contract to Lionel. The next day, Clark arrives to find Lex tearing his place apart looking for high tech listening devices. Clark helps him find a tiny video camera in the stereo.

Jonathan Kent is preparing a picnic for his wife, but Martha has to go to work in Metropolis. Clark looks uneasy as his parents argue.

When Lex confronts his father about the listening devices, Lionel denies everything. When Lionel leaves, Lex places a call to a team he has hired to place bugs in LuthorCorp Headquarters.

Lana Lang arrives at the loft to talk with Clark just before her big date with Jennifer Small, Henry Small's wife. She's very nervous and excited about it, but Clark confides that even with a family, not every day is a picnic. He confides that his parents aren't getting along right now because they disagree on Martha's job with Lionel. Clark goes to the mansion to ask Lex for help putting together a romantic evening for his parents in Metropolis. When Lex realizes that Lionel and Martha are at headquarters, he calls his team to call off the operation, but unknown to Lex, the team has decided to become burglars.

Lionel and Martha are working in another office at LuthorCorp Plaza. Lionel gives Martha a beautiful watch and tells her that she has been promoted and she has her own office here in Metropolis. Martha is flattered, but admits that her job is already putting too much strain on her family. Before she can properly turn down the promotion, a member of the team enters the room with a gun.

Back in Smallville, Clark and Lex have arrived at the Kent Farm with a helicopter to take Jonathan to Metropolis to have dinner with Martha, but he is offended at the intrusion. When they hear the news report that Lionel and Martha being held hostage in Metropolis, they drive to the city. Clark encourages Jonathan to ask Lex for the helicopter ride, which he does, with great difficulty. In Metropolis, the team discovers that Lionel has already called the police with a panic button. They argue a good deal and Pine shoots and kills Kern. Lex talks on the phone with Pine, but he isn't taking orders from Lex.

At the Talon, Jennifer Small tells Lana that she doesn't want her to spend a lot of time with Henry Small. Lana assumes she is jealous and doesn't want to share her husband with another daughter, but Jennifer explains that Henry loses interest in things easily and she doesn't want Lana to get hurt when he loses interest in her.

When Clark arrives in Metropolis, his efforts to enter the building are thwarted by the tenacious Captain Maggie Sawyer. Lionel and Martha talk about how each of them shared harsh words with the their loved ones the last time they saw them. When Jonathan arrives in Metropolis, Clark tells him he has a plan to enter Luthor Tower by jumping from the roof of the *Daily Planet* building.

When the burglars finally get the vault open, they find a pallet stacked with bricks of kryptonite, files on Clark, and the key. The burglars are very disappointed, but Martha is appalled. Pine gets on the phone with Lex and tells him what he found in the vault. Lex offers him a million dollars for the contents of the vault, but Lionel offers him two million dollars. Clark comes crashing through the window and reaches the room where his mother and Lionel are being held, he is then weakened by the kryptonite in the room. Martha pushes the kryptonite into the vault and closes the door. Clark burns up the files, and Martha pockets the key.

When the police arrive, Captain Sawyer is not happy to see that Clark has been playing hero. Lex tries to assure his father that he did everything he could to help him, but Lionel has already guessed that it was Lex that sent the team in there in the first place.

The next day, Martha has prepared her letter of resignation, but Jonathan suggests that if it weren't for Martha's job, they never would have known about the contents of Lionel's vault. It might be a good idea for her to stick with him a while more. After Jonathan and Clark leave the room, Martha puts the key in a can of flour and then hides the can under the sink.

### Suspect

At the Luthor Mansion, Lionel is reading in the library and making plans to return to Metropolis. He indicates that Martha Kent is no longer in his employ. Someone enters the room without identifying himself (but Lionel seems to know who it is) and shoots Lionel twice in the chest. He falls from the balcony and crashes through a glass table below. Sheriff Miller finds Jonathan Kent passed out in his truck with a bottle of tequila and pistol in his hand. He is placed under arrest and taken into custody.

At the county jail, Martha and Clark visit Jonathan. Jonathan says he only had half a beer the night before, but he started to feel sick as soon as he got in his truck. Then he doesn't remember anything until the police pulled him out. Clark says that the gun they found is the same caliber as the one that shot Lionel. Martha offers to ask her father to defend him, but they decide to ask Henry Small instead.

At Smallville Medical Center, Lex arrives to check on his father. He finds Dominic Sanatori instead. Dominic thinks Lex shot Lionel.

At the Talon, Henry Small refuses to represent Jonathan saying only that he isn’t the right man for the job. Lana tells Clark that she was at the mansion yesterday, and she overheard Jonathan arguing with Lionel about the watch he gave Martha. At the Kent Farm, Sheriff Ethan is serving a search warrant. He finds that the watch that Lionel gave Martha has been smashed. Martha admits that she hid it from Jonathan. Sheriff Ethan also says that the bartender at the Wild Coyote told him that Jonathan was berating Lionel Luthor and doing double shots of tequila last night before he bought the whole bottle and left. His blood alcohol level was 2.0 and there was gunpowder residue on his hands. Eyewitnesses at the mansion say they saw Jonathan's truck leaving the mansion after the shots were heard.

Clark and Pete go out to search the site where the police found Jonathan's truck. Clark uses his x-ray vision to find a bullet in a shed. He guesses that someone drugged his dad, followed him until he pulled over, put the gun in his hand and fired it at the shed, so that he would have gunpowder residue on his hands.

At the hospital, Lex has just learned that his father remains in critical condition. Clark arrives to tell Sheriff Miller about the bullet in the shed and the theory that his dad is being framed. The sheriff promises to follow up on it, but he doesn’t seem enthusiastic. Dominic Sanatori also approaches the sheriff with his version of events. He tells the sheriff that Lex and Lionel had an argument the night before. Lionel has been approaching the Smallville residents who invested in LexCorp and buying up their shares. Lex is furious at the prospect of losing his company to his father. Lionel seems to think of it as another training mission to make Lex a sharper and more ruthless businessman.

Lana finds Chloe at the *Smallville Torch* making up the front page featuring Jonathan Kent's arrest. Chloe also tells Lana that she did some investigating of Henry Small. It turns out that he used to work for a firm that provided criminal defense for LuthorCorp. He lost his job at that firm when LuthorCorp filed a complaint against him.

Clark goes to the mansion to confront Lex about the fact that he was also arguing with his father the night before. Lex refuses to discuss it with him and throws him out. Martha visits Jonathan in jail, and Jonathan laments that no jury is going to believe he is innocent.

The next day, Clark and Pete drive out to the Wild Coyote to ask the bartender a few questions. Clark thinks that someone drugged his father here at the bar, but the bartender is no help. He seems pretty sure Jonathan did it, and Clark gets pretty mad at him when he says so. On the drive back to town, a masked gunman in a big rig ambushes Clark and Pete. He runs them off the road, and then he shoots the gas tank, blowing up the car. Clark uses his super strength and super speed to get them out in time.

At the Smallville Medical Center, Pete gets checked out while Lex talks with Clark about his theory of who shot his father. Dominic Sanatori was not at all happy last night when he found out that Lionel was going to take Lex back into the company after he bought out LexCorp. Dominic was under the impression that Lex would be out and he would be in, but Lionel made it clear that, although Dominic has been loyal, Lex is family.

Henry Small comes to the Talon to see Lana. She confesses that she has been looking into his past and learned about how the Luthors had him dismissed from his firm. He's upset that she went snooping around, but he tells her that the real story is that the Luthors complained about him because he wouldn't go along with an unethical scheme. The real reason that he refused to take Jonathan's case is that he lost a capital case in which the defendant was innocent, but the defendant was executed before his family could get the evidence retested.

When Clark arrives at the jail to visit his dad, he finds Lana, who has convinced Henry to take the case. Henry has a plan to get Jonathan out on bail by the end of the day, but he can't keep the case from going to trial without poking holes in the testimony of the bartender. But he has disappeared, so Clark and Pete go back to the Wild Coyote to see what they can find out. They find the bartender dead and packed in a freezer, but they also find another clue that gives Clark an idea for laying a trap for the shooter.

First, they put out the word that Lionel was getting better; then they move him to another floor. Sheriff Miller shows up and shoots Lionel's empty bed. Clark disarms him and confronts him with everything he knows: the sheriff had a business arrangement with the bartender at the Wild Coyote, which is how he got away with repeatedly violating the law against serving minors. The sheriff also faked Jonathan's blood alcohol test.

The next day in the loft, Clark shows Lex his dad's old yearbook. Ethan and Jonathan had been friends. Lex has to decide if he's going back to work for his father. At the Smallville Medical Center, Lionel explains to Lex that it was the sheriff who got him the dirt on the LexCorp board members. Lionel used that information to blackmail them into selling their shares to him. He then threatened to expose the sheriff if he didn't continue to do favors for LuthorCorp from time to time.

### Rush

Chloe and Pete arrive at a wild rave that is being held in the Kawatche Caves. Pete knows Clark will be worried and tries to protect the cave walls, but Chloe wants to have fun. She is suddenly accosted by Travis George, her nerdy chem lab partner. He kisses her passionately, exclaims that he's high on life, and climbs a tall scaffold. The crowd cheers him on as Travis jumps to his doom. Annoyed, Pete sits down near a wall and is stabbed in the neck by a sharp object. Suddenly, he jumps up to join the party.

The next morning, Pete rides his dirt bike up to Clark—on the Main Street sidewalk, forcing pedestrians to jump out of his way. Clark yells at him to be careful, and Pete tells him that life is too short to play it safe. He urges Clark to take his chances with Lana now that Whitney is dead and speeds away. Clark goes into the Talon, and he and Lana talk about what happened to Travis. Lana also talks about being a spectator in life, and Clark blurts that they should go on a date. Lana surprises him by accepting. He tells her he'll pick her up the next day. Later, Chloe goes to the Talon and asks Lana if she wants to go shopping tomorrow, but Lana admits that she has a date with Clark. She seems reluctant, so Chloe assures her that she doesn't have feelings for Clark anymore. Lana looks unconvinced.

Clark is cleaning up the Caves when Lex arrives. They talk about the cave paintings, and Lex pulls a reference book out of Clark's backpack and sees that it is written by Dr. Frederick Walden, who researches hieroglyphics. He gives Clark unlimited access to the caves. Lex later meets with Dr. Walden and offers him a substantial amount of money to begin studying the cave paintings. Walden claims he cannot be swayed but changes his mind when Lex shows him photographs of the cave paintings.

Chloe and Clark talk about Pete's strange behavior. Chloe reveals that Travis had a puncture wound on his neck, along with two other kids who attended the rave and also died suddenly from extreme behavior. Clark is worried about Pete and finds him outside of the Talon, dodging traffic. Clark super speeds to knock him out of the way and tries to get him to a doctor. Pete refuses to go and threatens to tell the gathering crowd Clark's secret. Unsurprisingly, the crowd is unfazed by Pete's rantings about Clark being an alien, and Clark watches in dismay as Pete runs off screaming. Clark and Chloe go back to the caves, where Chloe sticks her hand in a crack and is pierced with something. Just then, Dr. Walden and Lex approach. Walden says that nobody can have access to the caves, including Clark. Clark goes to collect Chloe, who is petulant and rude to Dr. Walden.

Clark goes back to his loft to find Pete. He X-rays Pete and sees a parasite moving inside him. Pete resists Clark's attempts to take him to the hospital, finally incapacitating Clark with kryptonite and running off.

At the caves, Dr. Walden reveals that they found a nest of parasites behind one of the glyphs in the cave wall. Lex orders any live specimens to be sent to Cadmus Labs in Metropolis.

Clark goes to the *Torch* to find Chloe making out with some random boy. She ribs Clark about his date, and Clark thinks her strange behavior is due to jealousy. He asks her to help him save Pete. He then goes to the Talon to cancel his date with Lana because Pete is sick. Just then, Pete and Chloe arrive, and Lana thinks Clark lied to her and gets upset. Clark tries again to get Pete to the hospital, but instead, Pete slips a piece of red kryptonite into Clark's shirt pocket, and Kal takes over.

The three teens go back to Clark's barn, where he demonstrates his powers for Chloe. Lex interrupts them to tell Clark that Dr. Walden still won't agree to let Clark into the caves. Kal tells him he'll go into the caves whenever he "damn well pleases." They leave and Clark and Chloe make out in the backseat while Pete drives dangerously fast. Chloe and Kal continue the make-out session at the Talon and Chloe suggests they play strip poker (with imaginary cards) and takes Kal's shirt off. His senses returned, Clark jumps up away from Chloe and she gets angry. He X-rays her and sees that she has the parasite too, but Chloe forces a kiss on him at the same time that Lana walks in. Lana starts to cry, but Clark can't stay to explain because Chloe and Pete are in danger. Outside the Talon, he tries again to get them help, but Pete punches Clark with a meteor rock and knocks him out.

Clark is sprawled on the ground in the entranceway to the café, so Lana pours a bucket of water on him to wake him up. He speeds away to find them. He catches Pete's car just as they drive it off a cliff and gets them to the hospital. He visits them later and is relieved to learn that Chloe has no memory of their adventures. He runs into Lana, but she doesn't want to talk to him. She tells Chloe that Clark screwed up his date by making out with another girl, but doesn't tell Chloe who.

At home, Jonathan is talking to Clark about what Chloe knows and what Pete did when Pete comes to apologize.

Lex gets off the phone with Cadmus Labs and finds out that the parasite could be alien in origin. He tells Dr. Walden that Clark gets unfettered access to the cave because he is sure Clark knows more about the cave than he's letting on.

Clark later goes back to the Talon to apologize to Lana again, bringing her a rose. Lana is still upset and demands answers. She thinks Clark and Chloe still have feelings for each other, but Clark says they are just friends. Lana says she knows why Chloe was kissing him but asks, why was he kissing Chloe back. Clark doesn't answer because he can't tell her about red kryptonite and leaves silently, and Lana throws his rose away.

### Prodigal

A young man is playing poker in a seedy hall in Edge City. His partner, Dirk, is in the rafters using surveillance cameras to help him cheat by photographing the other players' cards. When security discover the cheaters, a gunfight erupts. The man escapes on a motorcycle with the thugs close behind him. He stumbles and is nearly overtaken when Lex Luthor shows up in a black town car stops in front of him, invites him to get inside and introduces himself as his brother.

Clark goes to the Talon and surprises Lana by asking for a job. She is reluctant because he doesn't "have the best track record for keeping appointments," and suggests he try the hardware store. Clark is dismayed and spots the rose that he gave her in the garbage can. Lana looks sheepish and tries to cover by offering him an application after all. Later, Chloe drops in for coffee and sees Clark's application. Lana says she isn't going to hire him, but Chloe guesses that it's not because Lana thinks Clark can't do the job.

Lex arrives at Lionel's office with the young man in tow, and introduces him to Lionel as his son Lucas. Lionel embraces him lovingly and a pang of jealousy crosses Lex's face. Lex asks Lionel why he told him Lucas was dead, when, in fact, he was alive and well. He correctly guesses that Lionel knew Lucas was alive. Lionel sends Lucas out and remarks that Lex has probably welcomed Lucas so warmly because he just turned eighteen, so he is entitled to the vital ten percent of LuthorCorp stock that is needed to vote him out of power. He realizes Lex is staging a coup.

Clark and Pete are playing basketball when Lex arrives and introduces them to Lucas. Pete invites him to play, but shortly afterward, Lex gets a page and has to leave suddenly. Clark asks if Lucas can stay a little longer and they continue their game and chat. Lucas says he grew up all over the place and not having any parents has made him strong and independent. Clark and Lucas' game gets more intense as they try to show each other up, and Clark uses a bit of his abilities to beat him. Pete reins Clark in, but Lucas intentionally tries to elbow Clark in the chest and hurts himself instead. The game ends and Pete takes Lucas home.

Lex storms into the library at the Luthor Mansion furious that his accounts have been frozen. Lionel patiently explains that Lex has put everything he owns into LexCorp, which is now owned by LuthorCorp, so Lex is now penniless. Lionel coolly informs him that he wants him out of the mansion. Lex says that it won't work because he and Lucas will vote Lionel out anyway. However, Lucas appears at the doorway and says that he is siding with Lionel. With nowhere else to go, Lex arrives at the Kents' doorstep. He admits that his father kicked him out and asks if he can stay with them for a while. Clark and Martha automatically defer to Jonathan, whose expression is unreadable. The next morning, Jonathan admits that he is amused at seeing Lex do farm chores but warns Clark that Lex shouldn't be left alone on the farm since he did investigate Clark for a year. Clark says he trusts Lex, but Jonathan is serious. Clark goes to help, and Lex explains that he used to spend summers on their ranch in Montana with his mother - everyone did their fair share. Lex is determined to prove to Jonathan that some Luthors pull their own weight.

Lionel approaches Lucas and reminds him that he forgot to sign over his shares to the company as they agreed. Lucas looks bored and doesn't want to stop playing video games to talk about it. He finally reveals that he knows the $10 million Lionel offered for the shares is substantially lower than what he's entitled to as his son. Lucas reveals bitterness and animosity towards Lionel for failing to look for him before he turned twelve. Lionel shrugs off his questions and insists he sign the agreement. Lucas scrawls "*bite me*" on the contract, and notices Lionel's visibly react. Lionel stutters that he trusts him, so Lucas tries again. He calls out to Lionel and forcibly throws a pool ball right at his head. Lionel ducks, revealing that he saw the ball coming. Lucas says he realized that Lionel was not blind when he first met him and he poured a glass of water without placing a finger inside to know when it was full. Lionel asks what he wants and he says he wants to inherit everything.

Clark goes to the Talon and is surprised to learn that he got the job. However, Lucas kills his excitement by arriving and announcing that since he owns everything that Lex once owned, the Talon is his. Clark meets Chloe at the *Torch* office to thank her for her recommendation. She already knows about Lucas, and tells Clark that he's been in and out of foster homes, since he never got adopted, and has lived a hard life. Clark admits that he doesn't trust Lucas and Chloe reveals that there was no prior record of Lucas, but his birth certificate suddenly appeared two weeks ago, stamped by Metropolis United Charities. Clark shows the birth certificate to Lex, who realizes that Lionel wanted Lex to find Lucas and the two of them have been working together to orchestrate Lex's downfall. He goes back to the mansion to confront Lucas. Lucas tells him that Lionel contacted him three weeks ago. Lex warns him to be careful of Lionel's games and to beware of his "friends" in Edge City.

Lucas goes to the Talon and berates Clark for being late for his shift and tells Lana to fire him. Lana refuses, so he threatens to fire her too, but the new partnership agreement doesn't allow that. He leaves in a huff and Clark chases after him. Just then, Dirk (Lucas' partner from Edge City) arrives in the alley on a motorcycle and with an automatic weapon. Lucas turns to run and he shoots at his back. Clark super speeds ahead of the bullets and deflects them, saving Lucas' life. The next day, Lionel counsels with Lucas. Lex will not go away without a fight. Lucas wonders if, instead of Lex, it is actually *Lionel* who wants him out of the picture, but Lionel assures him that Lucas has impressed him with the way he has stood up to him, a strength that Lex doesn't have.

The next day at the Talon, Chloe reports to Clark that Lucas' would-be killer was caught but mysteriously died during his police booking. Clark realizes that someone didn't want him to talk, and leaves the Talon in the middle of his shift to go to the Luthor mansion. At the Kent Farm, Lex thanks Jonathan for letting him stay and Jonathan promises that he is welcome back any time. Then Lucas comes from behind and cold-cocks Jonathan with a gun. Clark arrives at the mansion to confront Lionel about the contrivance of the whole Lucas situation. Lionel dismisses Clark when he receives a call from Lucas asking for a meeting. Clark eavesdrops and learns the meeting will be in Lionel's office in Metropolis.

Lionel arrives at the meeting to see Lex tied to a chair and Lucas pointing a gun at him. Lionel pleads with Lucas to put the gun down, and Lex realizes that Lionel is no longer blind. Lucas points the gun at Lionel, gives him another gun, and tells him that he intends to make Lionel shoot Lex. Lex plays into Lucas' insecurities by pointing out that Lionel allowed Lucas to scrape by in foster care by preventing his adoption just to see how he'd turn out. Lionel bailed him out whenever he got in trouble, but he also tipped off the shooter. Lionel refuses to shoot Lex. Clark arrives, sees the confrontation, and climbs into a vent. When he is situated above the three Luthors, he uses his heat vision to burn Lucas' hand, causing him to drop the gun. Lionel instantly shoots Lucas, but the gun is loaded with blanks. Lionel realizes that both sons set him up and are united against him. They leave, and Lionel notices the melted hole in the ceiling.

Later, Lionel finds Lex moving back into the mansion. Lex asks how long he has been able to see, and he admits that his vision has been back for a few weeks. Lionel offers Lex his company back in exchange for keeping quiet about Lucas. Lex agrees with the condition that Lucas is now under Lex's protection. Lionel tells Lex that Lucas is a sociopath and will never be the brother he wants.

Clark goes back to the Talon to explain why he left his shift. Lana says she isn't mad, but she has to fire him. Lex goes back to the Kent farm to get the rest of his things. He tells Clark that he is keeping Lucas safe, and he and Clark talk about his complicated family.

### Fever

Martha is in the storm cellar burying the can of flour in which she hid the key. As she digs, glowing green dust spores kick up and she inhales them. A few minutes later in the kitchen, she passes out.

Clark and Jonathan rush her to the Smallville Medical Center where Helen Bryce manages her care. She informs them that Martha has inhaled some sort of toxin, but they are waiting on test results to determine what kind and how to treat it. Jonathan asks Clark to run the errands that Martha intended to do that day, which include managing a food drive at the Talon, and Clark reluctantly leaves the hospital. At the Talon, Pete, Chloe, and Lana are sympathetic and concerned, but Clark doesn't want to talk. He leaves abruptly to return to the hospital. While Clark is gone, Dr. Bryce informs Jonathan that Martha is stabilized and announces that she is also pregnant. Jonathan is stunned and informs Clark when he returns. They wonder why Martha didn't tell them.

Lex comes to visit Helen and notices that she has been offered a three-year research fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. She tells him she hasn't decided if she is going to accept it. He encourages her to do what's best for her.

A representative from the Disease Control Agency, Dr. Neil Moore, informs Jonathan and Clark that the toxin to which Martha was exposed is unidentifiable, and that the Kent Farm must therefore be quarantined and searched. Clark superspeeds ahead of them to move the ship. In the cellar, Clark is also exposed to the spores. Clark and Pete drive the ship away from the farm in the back of the Kents' truck. They plan to stash it in Pete's shed, but Clark begins to feel dizzy and drives the truck off the road into a ditch. His strength fails when he tries to push the truck back on the road, but he and Pete finally manage to get it out of a ditch before the DCA drives by on their way to search the farm.

During the search, Dr. Moore and his assistant Dr. Trenton finds the flour can and questions Jonathan and Clark about the key. They feign ignorance and in private, Clark tells Jonathan about his dizziness and loss of strength. Jonathan is worried, but Clark says it is nothing to worry about. The DCA orders a complete cleanup of the storm cellar. That evening, Martha awakens and Jonathan goes to talk to her. Martha confesses that she didn't want to tell him about the pregnancy because she thought saying it out loud would make it go away. When Jonathan asks how it might be possible, Martha tells him that on the night of the tornado, she felt a surge of energy from the ship go through her body. Jonathan concludes that the ship has the power to Heal, enabling her to conceive. Martha further explains that she hid the key from Clark because she was afraid that if he learns more about his origins, he will leave Smallville.

Lana visits Clark at home. He tells her how worried he is about his mother and she tries to reassure him. Suddenly, Clark collapses down the porch stairs. Dr. Bryce arrives to find Clark on the sofa and Jonathan sends Lana home. Dr. Bryce doesn't understand why Clark isn't at the hospital, and to Jonathan's surprise, she is able to draw a blood sample from Clark to examine it.

Jonathan pleads with her to do the testing herself and Helen agrees, promising to keep his medical file confidential. In the lab, Helen looks at Clark's blood under a microscope and is clearly surprised by what she sees. Lex arrives to inquire about the Kents. Helen does her best to protect their privacy, but she can't hide the fact that she is working on something important.

The next day, Chloe comes to visit Clark. She asks to sit with him alone for a while and reads him a letter she has written, confessing that she is in love with him and holds hope that he will one day feel the same way about her, seeing through the 'best friend' disguise. However, Clark mutters, "Lana" in his sleep and Chloe leaves in tears.

Late that night, Jonathan leaves again. Clark is awake and Jonathan tells him that Martha might not make it through the night, but he can't just sit by and lose his family. He has decided to go retrieve the key in the hope that he can activate the ship and heal Clark and Martha. Clark wants to help, but Jonathan instructs him to stay home. Jonathan breaks into the facility where the DCA took the samples from the farm, but a guard corners him. Still very sick, Clark appears and helps him escape. With the help of Pete as a decoy, the two manage to get the key and the ship outside of the hospital. Martha flatlines and is declared dead, just as the key flies out of Clark's hand into the ship and a bright burst of light is emitted — it rolls over Clark and through the hospital and both Martha and Clark are cured. The next day, Martha has made a full recovery and the Kents are overjoyed at the news that their future new arrival is also healthy.

Lex is seen paying Dr. Trenton for a file containing details on Martha's illness. He visits Helen in her office and gives her a key to the mansion, asking her to move in with him and give up the fellowship at Johns Hopkins. She answers him with a kiss.

In the *Torch* office, Lana and Chloe are getting ready for the food drive at the Talon. When Chloe leaves the room, Lana finds her letter to Clark and reads it. At the food drive, a now-healthy Clark thanks Pete for his help and even though he doesn't remember her visit, he thanks Chloe for coming. When she excuses herself abruptly, Clark asks Lana what's up. Lana cryptically says that seeing Clark sick affected everybody, but some people are better at expressing it. Chloe sees them talking and looks pained.

### Rosetta

Clark is having a dream of flying through the skies of Smallville into the Kawatche Caves. He stops in front of the circular etching surrounding the keyhole, stands upright, and puts the key into the hole. When he touches it, a burst of light wakes him up and he is confused to find himself in the middle of the road in his pajamas. A car speeds toward Clark, stopping just short of hitting him. Lex gets out, confused to find Clark in the middle of the road.

He gives Clark a ride home, and when Clark tries to sneak in his parents catch him and ask where he's been all night. Clark tells them about the strange dreams and says he believes the caves are calling out to him, trying to give him answers. Jonathan tells Clark that it is dangerous, but Clark wants to find out more.

Dr. Walden arrives at the Luthor Mansion, and Lex questions his decisions regarding the caves, thinking Dr. Walden is cutting him out of the process. He says the State Preservation Society is objecting to Dr. Walden's intention to remove a section of the cave wall and is on the verge of revoking LexCorp's custodianship of the caves. Lex believes his father is behind it. Dr. Walden says he is on the verge of a major breakthrough and Lex gives him three days to show results before he fires him.

At school that day, Pete is enthusiastic about a family tree project they've been assigned, but Chloe, Clark, and Lana are all collectively objecting because their families are so complicated. Lana suggests they get together at the Talon to start on it, but just then, Clark begins to hear a high-pitched ringing. He clutches his head, but Lana and Chloe don't hear anything. The noise continues and Clark doubles over in pain, says that he has to leave, and stumbles out. Looking worried and puzzled, Lana and Chloe watch him go.

Clark follows the noise to his barn where he finds it emanating from the key, glowing in its hiding spot in the tackle box. It stops glowing and ringing when Clark picks it up. He then goes to the caves and stands in front of the octagonal recess. When he holds the key out in front of him, the key flies into the recess and the symbols around it realign while shining red, yellow, and blue. A burst of energy shoots through Clark, lifting him into the air. When the beam stops, Clark collapses. Once again, Lex discovers Clark under unusual circumstances. Lex shakes Clark awake. He is disoriented. Dr. Walden appears and asks Clark how he got past the guard. Having found Clark unconscious twice in one day, Lex is worried and tells Clark he needs to get checked out. Clark says he just needs to get home and leaves. When he's gone, Dr. Walden tells Lex that Clark surely knows more than he admits.

Chloe is just finishing up at the *Torch* when Lana asks to borrow her computer. She leaves and Lana starts downloading her homework. She sees a download labeled "CK." Lana clicks it out of curiosity and finds photographs of Clark and Chloe at last year's spring formal. Chloe returns to see Lana looking at the pictures and gets upset that she is snooping. Lana is genuinely sorry, but Chloe is too upset to listen. She declares the *Torch* office off-limits and Lana leaves. As she is walking away, Chloe tells Lana that she did tell Clark how she felt about him when he was sick, but he murmured Lana's name in his sleep.

While Clark and Jonathan are loading hay in the pickup, Clark reports that he stopped having the dream. They talk about the new baby and Jonathan assures Clark that it will be a big adjustment, but a happy one. Martha comes out and Jonathan turns to go when Clark hears the ringing again. Suddenly his heat vision activates and he burns the side of the barn uncontrollably. When it stops, he and his dad rush to put the fire out just as Chloe drives up to take Clark to school. All four are shocked to see a Kryptonian symbol burned into the barn wall. Chloe takes a photograph. Jonathan covers the symbol up with boards and they send Chloe away. Clark feels guilty for almost burning the barn down and informs his parents that the symbol means *"hope"*. Martha and Jonathan are surprised that he can read it, and Clark reluctantly admits that he put the key in the wall and it "downloaded" him with the language. Clark thinks that the key disintegrated. Jonathan is concerned that Lex and Dr. Walden found him down there, but Clark says that to find the truth is worth the risk.

At the Talon, Clark is ostensibly doing his family tree worksheet, but he is really practicing his Kryptonian writing skills, putting symbols in the blanks for "father" and "mother," when Lana approaches. She admits that she and Chloe are not talking right now over a breach of privacy. Clark quickly assumes that Chloe is at fault, but is surprised to learn that it was, in fact, Lana snooping. Lana still feels guilty and says the incident reminds her that she isn't part of anybody's family. Clark tells her that he's been researching his roots and Lana advises he shouldn't stop. She notices the symbols on his family tree and Clark abruptly crumples it up, throws it away, and leaves. Lex arrives, and he and Lana are confused at Clark's hasty exit. Lex sees Clark's crumpled drawings and takes it with him. He shows it to Dr. Walden, who doubts that Clark could have deciphered the symbols. Lex shows him a photograph of the burned barn on the cover of the *Smallville Torch* but Dr. Walden says it's a hoax. Lex insists that something happened to Clark and tells Dr. Walden to work with him, saying he might be the Rosetta Stone he needs to decipher the language.

Clark is annoyed at Chloe for publishing the story because people have shown up to see the barn symbol. Chloe is not very apologetic because she thinks it is intriguing and deserves to be investigated. Clark myopically says he'll let it go if Chloe forgives Lana for snooping. Chloe refuses to let Clark save Lana from this. Their argument is interrupted when Chloe discovers she has dozens of identical emails from someone named "V. Swann", but they are all for Clark. They open the email, which is Chloe's picture of the barn wall, the word HOPE under it, and the message *"I have something for you"*. Clark gets Pete to bring his laptop to his loft so he can contact Swann without Chloe or his parents looking over his shoulder. He gets an instant message back from Swann that says "*I'm a friend"* in Kryptonian.

Dr. Walden finds the key wedged sideways in the wall of the cave and puts it in the hole. Clark arrives to see a burst of energy throw Dr. Walden back and when he rushes over to revive him, he quickly pockets the key. Dr. Walden is taken to the hospital completely catatonic, with cataracts over his eyes. Lex is there and questions Clark about his involvement with the three recent strange events in the caves. He is convinced Clark can read the language, showing him the family tree worksheet. Clark doesn't admit to anything, but Lex admits he believes that language is alien. Just then, a courier arrives with a letter for Clark, but Clark waits until he is alone to open it. It is a postcard from Virgil Swann, with another Kryptonian symbol and Swann's address in New York. Lex later learns that Dr. Walden's brain was fried from a sort of "information overload" and he will likely not regain consciousness.

Chloe informs Clark that Dr. Virgil Swann is a brilliant but reclusive physicist and has a company that maintains extensive space communication devices. He sold his company, donated his millions to charity, and currently devotes himself to searching for intelligent life in the universe. She tells Clark that the address is the New York Planetarium. Chloe guesses that Swann thinks the symbol on Clark's barn is important and urges Clark to find out why. Later, Chloe finds Lana at their home packing up her things. She doesn't want her to leave and apologizes for overreacting. She shows Lana her family tree, in which she has put Lana's name under the blank titled "sister," saying her family tree should contain the people that love her, instead of the people that aren't there. Lana is touched and she and Chloe make up.

Clark's parents object to his going to see Dr. Swann, saying that all anybody wants to do with Clark's secret is exploit him, but Clark insists that he can't rest until he learns more about his origins. In New York City, Clark meets Dr. Swann, who received a message thirteen years ago, the day of the meteor shower in the form of an encrypted transmission. He found the mathematical key to decrypt the message. Since then, he has been wondering what happened to the infant until he saw the symbol on the barn in Kansas and learned that couple who lived there had adopted a little boy. He assures Clark that he does not want to expose him, he just wants to know the truth. Clark turns to leave and Dr. Swann tells him that if he is satisfied, that's fine, but he will not have another opportunity to learn the rest of the transmission.

Clark is unable to contain his curiosity and Dr. Swann shows him the rest of the message. Swann reveals that he followed the message's origin from a planet called Krypton, but found nothing, only a space where it used to be. Clark is dismayed to realize that he is probably the only Kryptonian left.

Back in Smallville, Jonathan finds Clark in the storm cellar contemplating the ship. He offers to listen if Clark wants to talk and Clark admits that he now knows that he's totally alone. Jonathan tries to reassure him and Clark tells him that he figured out the other piece to the ship—it is the heart, but he didn't want to try inserting it alone. He puts the key into the ship and it opens. When he inserts the heart, another Kryptonian message appears. Clark says it's a message from his biological father, but he must be reading it wrong. Clark is horrified to learn that he was sent to Earth to conquer the human race. He starts to panic and Jonathan repeats Dr. Swann's advice that Clark must write his own destiny. Despite Jonathan's reassurances, Clark looks uneasy.

### Visitor

Clark and Pete are working on a science project showing that oranges have enough acid to act as a battery. Cyrus Krupp then walks up and plugs something into their electrical outlet. Chloe explains that Cyrus is a new transfer student. When he tries to use another outlet at another station, three other students begin harassing him. Clark intervenes, and Cyrus appears to set fire to the wall with his eyes.

Lana arrives at the Kent Farm on horseback with Whitney's horse, Tyson. They talk briefly about the scene with Cyrus, and Lana mentions that Whitney's mom wants to sell Tyson. She can't afford to board him, so Clark offers to board him at his farm.

Lex is playing pool when Helen walks in with a copy of yesterday's *Metropolis Inquisitor* with the headline: "Gold-Digging Doc Bags Billionaire Baldie!" Lex apologizes, but Helen is still upset. Everyone treats her differently since she started dating Lex, but she agrees to make today the day she finally moves into the mansion.

Chloe arrives at the Kent Farm in her Volkswagen to tell Clark that Cyrus Krupp told everybody in Granville that he is an alien. He spent some time in a mental institution. Chloe is willing to believe almost anything in the paranormal. She doesn't think Cyrus is an alien, but she thinks it would be very exciting if he were.

Clark goes to visit Cyrus at his foster home, and he follows the electrical cables out to the shed in the back yard. He finds Cyrus and convinces him to explain to him what he's working on. Cyrus says that he arrived on Earth during the 1989 meteor shower and that he can send a signal to his home planet. He claims to have received the coordinates in a dream, and that he used to wake up in strange places.

Jonathan finds Martha in the storm cellar staring at Clark's ship. She's very worried about her pregnancy. Even though Dr. Baker tells her that everything is normal, she wants to see Dr. Bryce. Jonathan hates this idea because of her relationship with Lex.

At the Talon, Lex finds Clark reading about mental illness. He tells Clark that Lana turned him down when he offered to board Tyson for free. She must have been waiting for a better offer. When Clark gets home that night, he finds his father has just unloaded Tyson from a trailer, but the horse has collapsed in the paddock. Lana is very upset. Cyrus Krupp shows up to confront Clark about telling Chloe about his secret. When he sees the horse in distress, he places his hands on the horse's chest. His hands begin to glow, and Tyson jumps up completely Healed.

The next day, Clark tells his parents that he believes that Cyrus Krupp is from Krypton. At the Luthor Mansion, Helen is annoyed when she finds a room she cannot enter. At school, Kyle threatens Clark, and Chloe tells Clark that the fire marshals found strips of magnesium powder hidden in the electronics lab proving that Cyrus started the fire by use of a magic trick, giving a demonstration herself. At the Smallville Medical Center, Martha has arrived for her appointment with Dr. Bryce. Martha asks Helen not to tell anyone, including Johnathan. Helen assures Martha that she will keep everything in the strictest confidence, but the scene ends before we hear Martha reveal anything.

After school, Clark goes to visit Cyrus, but he finds Lex there waiting for him. Lex wants to meet Cyrus, too. He believes that the meteor shower would have been a perfect cover for an alien space ship landing and he found sketches of Clark's ship. After Lex leaves, Cyrus comes out from behind the door. Clark tells him that he believes him, and Cyrus shows him his transmission tower. He explains that he must transmit a signal at a specific time, but he needs help to get his transmitter back from the principal. Clark helps him break into the high school and get the transmitter, but on their way out, Kyle and his buddies confront them. Clark uses his heat vision to destroy one of the trucks. The bullies run away, and Cyrus guesses Clark's secret.

The next day, Clark is in his loft with Pete. He checks the coordinates that Cyrus is using. They are the same ones that Virgil Swann gave him for Krypton. Pete speculates that Cyrus could have got them from the writings of any scientist who has been studying the meteor shower. Lana arrives to tell Clark that Child Protective Services has taken Cyrus to the Smallville Medical Center for assessment. Clark goes to visit him. Cyrus asks Clark to help him get to his tower by midnight, so he can transmit his signal. When Cyrus invites Clark to join him, Clark says that he would rather stay on earth.

At the mansion, Helen complains about not being able to get into the locked room. Lex promises that she can pick out a room for herself somewhere, but she doesn't want Lex for a roommate. She wants him to share everything with her. Chloe waits for Clark in his loft to tell him that Cyrus has gone missing and that John and Maggie Burnet and their son William have been missing since the day of the meteor shower (10/16/89). They are presumed dead. Their house was destroyed, but no remains were found. The couple that adopted Cyrus lived only half a mile from the Burnets.

The bullies go to the tower just as Cyrus is preparing to activate it; when he does so, a beam of energy shoots into the sky. The bullies are trying to pull the tower down with a chain hooked to their truck when Clark arrives and stops them, but the chain snaps and badly damages Kyle's neck. Clark convinces Cyrus to heal Kyle, but when Cyrus realizes that he missed his opportunity to join his parents, he has a complete mental breakdown. No spaceship appears, only a Kansas State Police helicopter.

The next day, Clark's parents try to console him. Cyrus is not expected to recover, but Clark is inspired by his willingness to sacrifice what he believed to be his one opportunity to go home in order to save the school bully.

At the mansion, Lex shows Helen the contents of the locked room. He explains that this room is filled with his obsessions. There is a lot of stuff in there about the Kents.

That night, Lana meets with Clark in his loft. Lana says that Tyson continues to do very well. She admits that if Cyrus really had been an alien she would have been a little freaked out.

### Precipice

One night at the Talon, Lana asks three drunken frat boys, who have been spiking their coffee with liquor and getting loud and obnoxious, to leave if they will start drinking. She talks with Helen Bryce who complains about Lex, who just stood her up again. Helen sees someone she apparently knows across the room, but when she looks back, he is gone. When Helen leaves, one of the frat boys, Andy Arthur, makes a pass at Lana. She tells him to leave again, and when he sees her hit the alarm, he grabs her and throws her against the wall. Clark arrives, and the frat boys exit through the back into the alley only to find Clark waiting for them. Clark warns them not to come back to the Talon, but when Andy keeps talking trash, Clark loses his cool and shoves him to the ground. Andy's buddies throw a couple of punches which have no effect, and Clark throws them across the alley into a fence. When Andy takes a swing at Clark, Clark throws him on top of the sheriff's car. Clark tries to run away, but Lana has arrived in the alley. Sheriff Nancy Adams then charges him with misdemeanor battery and assault.

Inside the Talon, the sheriff asks Clark about the incident. She seems most interested in the fact that the paramedics are all over Andy and his buddies, as well the fact her police car is busted up, but Clark doesn't have a scratch on him. Later, she tells the Kents that he has been at numerous crime scenes. She has decided to charge him with misdemeanor battery, which will mean a fine of approximately $1,500, but she will drop the charge if he agrees to do 40 hours of community service.

At the Smallville Medical Center, Helen Bryce is surprised to find her favorite flowers on her desk. Paul Hayden walks in to take credit. He is in Smallville on business, and he read that she was getting married to Lex Luthor. Lex walks in and Helen introduces Paul as a former boyfriend from med school. Lex has to break his lunch date with Helen. Paul offers to fill in, but Helen gets a call from a patient.

Chloe arrives at the Talon with Pete and Clark. They are giving him a hard time about doing community service. Sheriff Adams walks out to the Talon at the same time. Lana is upset because the sheriff doesn't believe she has a case that will hold up in court. She asks Clark how he was able to keep three guys off of him. He explains that they were drunk and he was highly motivated, as Lana laments her inability to take care of herself. Later that night, she drops a dish when Lex sneaks up on her. Lex tells her about being teased in prep school about his baldness, and how he learned to fight from his driver.

Meanwhile, the Kents have received notice of a lawsuit from Andy Connors' attorney. He is suing them for one million dollars to cover a severe neck injury, punitive damages, pain and suffering, and loss of future earnings, claiming his mobility might be permanently limited.

At the medical center, Helen Bryce has finished for the day, but she can't start her car. It is dark and the parking lot is nearly empty. She calls Lex, and he is on his way from the Talon. Paul shows up looking for his cell phone and offers her a ride home. When Lex arrives, he accuses Paul of stalking Helen and suspects he tampered with the car. Back in his hotel room, we learn that Lex has a henchman, Meacham, following Paul. Paul says he'll do anything to be with Helen and then smashes his forehead into the mirror, injuring himself badly. In the emergency room, he tells Helen that Lex is responsible for his injuries. Helen confronts Lex about this accusation as the sheriff takes Paul's statement. Lex believes Paul must be unhinged to do that to himself. Helen recounts that she broke off their relationship when his ex-girlfriend told her that he beat her up. The sheriff questions Lex briefly.

The next day, Clark is finishing his sentence on Main Street when Lex offers him some coffee. Clark complains about the lawsuit, and Lex mentions that Lana is learning to fight. At the mansion, Lana and Lex work out on a punching bag, and Lex helps Lana direct her anger. Back on Main Street, Clark tries to apologize to Andy, but he doesn't want to hear anything, threatening further legal action if Clark violates the restraining order again. Using his X-ray vision, Clark sees that Andy removes his neck brace when he gets into his car.

That evening, Chloe comes to the loft, and Clark tells her that Andy is faking his injuries. They try to hatch a plan to expose him. Clark reveals that he's not too happy about Lana learning to fight. He says he doesn't want her to become overconfident and get herself into a situation she can't handle, but Chloe speculates that Clark's irritation is really because she won't need a knight in shining armor anymore if she can take care of herself. Later, Clark is keeping Lana company at the Talon when she offers to help Clark prove that Andy is faking his injuries, and they begin to plan how to bring the truth to the surface without getting Clark and Andy to butt horns.

Helen unexpectedly finds Paul in the pathology lab of the hospital. He tells her that he's been trying to make himself successful so she will take him back. She tells him that she loves Lex. When he tries to kiss her, she tries to run away, but he blocks her exit. Her phone rings. Paul lets her answer it, and she tries to tip off Lex who senses something is wrong and rushes to her right away. Paul guesses that she was talking to Lex and beats her to within an inch of her life. Lex arrives followed by Dr. MacIntyre to find bloody shoe prints leaving the lab. Helen is unconscious, but Dr. MacIntryre acts quickly to get her the medical care she needs. Sheriff Adams arrives and apologizes profusely to Lex, saying they are in the process of apprehending Paul Hayden, but she warns him not to become involved in the investigation. Lex is furious, and he can't reach Meacham. Clark arrives at the medical center to ask about Dr. Hayden. He sees Lex zoom out of the parking lot, and Sheriff Adams warns him not to become involved as well, but he overhears her asking another deputy about the warrant for Hayden's room at the Heartland Motel.

Clark super speeds to the motel and uses his X-ray vision to spy Lex climbing through a window. Clark confronts Lex. Lex explains that he had a guy following Hayden as he pulls out his cell phone and calls him again. They hear the phone ring and find Meacham in the bathtub with his throat cut and realize that Hayden must be driving Meacham's car. As the sheriff arrives, Lex grabs Meacham's gun and leaves with Clark. Lex uses the LoJack system to trace the car to a railway station. Lex spots Hayden in the crowd on the platform. Hayden runs behind the train, and Lex catches up with him between trains. Lex has a gun on Hayden, and then he gives him Meacham's gun to make sure it looks like self-defense. Hayden fires, but the gun isn't loaded. Before Lex can shoot him, Hayden kicks him to the ground and runs away. Lex follows him into an empty train car. It's a dining car with a kitchen at the back. When Lex makes it all the way to the back. Hayden comes out of the shadows and clobbers Lex with a frying pan. They exchange blows, but Hayden gets the upper hand. When Lex is on the floor, Hayden looks around and finds an axe on the wall. Clark sees what he's about to do and rocks the train car, so he loses his balance. Lex jumps up and knocks Hayden to the floor, sticking his gun in his face, but he can't pull the trigger, so he hits him in the face just as Clark and the sheriff show up. The sheriff is furious to find them there, but Lex claims to be making a citizen's arrest. The sheriff accepts, but warns Clark that there will be trouble if she catches him snooping in any more police investigations.

The next day, Lana asks Andy to meet her at the Talon. She confronts him with the fact that she knows he is faking his injuries. She advises him to drop the suit before he gets caught. He throws down his cane and makes a pass at her. She knocks his hand away and warns him not to touch her again. He grabs her, and she kicks him across the room. Humiliated that a girl lay the smack down on him, Andy drops the lawsuit on the condition she tells no one. Lana comes to the loft to find Clark, who has just received a call that Andy dropped the lawsuit, and knows about the kick, having been told by the sheriff. Clark thanks her for doing so, and Lana explains that she was returning the favor.

At the mansion, Lex finds Helen reading a book by the fire. He canceled his board meeting for personal reasons. He tells Helen that he wanted to kill Hayden for what he did to her. He probably could have gotten away with it, but he knew that she would always know the truth. Then he asks her to marry him. She answers with a kiss.

### Witness

At the Talon, Lana tells Clark that she is planning to invite the Smalls to her equestrian show this weekend. Chloe arrives to give Clark a hard time about not turning in his story about the debate team. Clark tries to apologize, but Chloe can't let it go. She's very upset that Clark always puts Lana first. Her words are harsh, and Clark quits the *Torch*.

Two guys with crossbows stand in the middle of the road with alien masks on, waiting for a cargo van. When it approaches they shoot the van. The crossbows were loaded with tow cables. When the van reaches the end of the cable, the guys pull hard and flip the van over. A third guy approaches in a truck, and they are just getting ready to unload it when Clark comes up on the scene in his pickup. Clark grabs one of the guys arms and notices a Smallville High School class ring before the guy pulls the door off the van and sends Clark flying 30 feet. Clark uses his X-ray vision to see a plate in the guy's head. The three guys unload whatever was in the van and drive off in their truck.

At home, Clark tells his father that the beating he took really hurt. He left the scene before the police arrived, but his father thinks he has an obligation to report the crime, but Clark isn't eager to interact with Sheriff Adams

The next day, Clark checks out everybody at school for a metal plate in their head. Finally he spots Eric Marsh. Pete tells him that Eric has the highest batting average in Smallville High history. He's responsible for getting the sponsorships for the new uniforms and equipment, and scouts have added Smallville to their route, but he used to be really terrible. Clark suspects he's using steroids or something.

At the Luthor Mansion, Lionel has arrived to congratulate Lex on his engagement and to complain about the robbery of his truck last night. Lex is appalled that Lionel would suspect him, but he is intrigued that he would come all the way down to Smallville to investigate.

At the Talon, Henry Small drops by, as he often does, and Lana invites him to the equestrian show. He accepts enthusiastically, but Jennifer will not coming with him. She has never really accepted Lana, but Henry is confident that she will come around when she gets to know her.

Clark discovers that Eric Marsh was a star chemistry student before he turned his attention to baseball. He was injured in an explosion at Kansas State University last summer during chemistry camp. Chloe and Clark bicker again. Clark says that every time Chloe sees him with Lana she looks at him like he's cheating on her. Chloe denies this, but says that if that's how he feels, then they shouldn't spend any time together at all anymore. Clark answers by turning his back and walking out.

Clark follows Eric to a foundry where he finds the other two guys heating the refined meteor rocks they stole from the LuthorCorp truck and pouring it out into glass vials. When they find Clark snooping around, they overpower him, work him over a little and then throw him into the blast furnace. Fortunately, the guys load up the kryptonite and drive off with it. When it is out of range, Clark is able to throw open the furnace. His burns heal in seconds, but his clothing does not survive.

He arrives home smudged with soot and wearing some coveralls he must have found in the foundry. He explains how the guys are inhaling the kryptonite to enhance their strength. They know that they have to tell the police, but they are worried about exposing Clark's secret. The next day, the sheriff arrives to arrest Eric. An anonymous tip led them to search his locker, which contained an alien mask, which the driver of the truck identified as the same as those worn by the guys who robbed him. Eric knows that the anonymous tipster was Clark.

Lana and Chloe are in the car when Chloe tells Lana that she and Clark have put their friendship on hold indefinitely. While waiting for a light, Lana spies Jennifer Small on the sidewalk, kissing another man. Jennifer turns and sees Lana watching. At the Talon, Jennifer explains that the man was just an old friend, but he is also her divorce attorney. She is divorcing Henry because he spends too much time with Lana.

Chloe arrives at the Smallville Medical Center to try to interview the LuthorCorp driver, but he has not regained consciousness. She snaps a picture and is surprised to find Lionel sitting in the room waiting for the driver to wake up. She's even more surprised that Lionel knows her name. He claims that he has been following her career for years, but he was particularly impressed with today's front-page scoop. Lionel tells her that it was never a secret that the truck belonged to him. He leaves a handwritten note for the driver and leaves. Chloe swallows hard and follows after him, asking him about the stolen contents of the truck. He dodges her questions and she lets it go.

Clark arrives at the Talon to talk with Lana. He tells her about getting into a fight yesterday and she tells him about her visit from Jennifer. Clark encourages her to tell Henry what's going on, so he can try to salvage his marriage. Lana suggests he take his own advice and patch things up with Chloe. Clark tries to explain, but he can't bring himself to tell Lana that she's the reason that this relationship is ending, too. Lana doesn't back off. She insists that his friendship with Chloe is too important to him to let it go. Clark finds Chloe at the Torch. It's been completely ransacked. Chloe is inconsolable. She storms out. As Clark follows he runs into Eric Marsh. Eric made bail ($250,000) with the help of Lex Luthor. Lex wants to know what Eric stole from his father's truck. Clark accuses Eric of trashing the *Torch*. Eric threatens to hurt Clark's parents if he testifies against him. Clark super speeds home to find his parents tied up against the wall in the barn 20 feet in the air. The place is a wreck. Clark gets them down and starts putting things back in order. He convinces his father to go to Metropolis for a few days. Jonathan reminds him that the guys only have his strength, but they don't have his other abilities.

Clark goes to the mansion to confront Lex about springing Eric. He tells Lex that Eric hurt his parents. Lex is truly sorry, but he had no idea the Kents were involved with Eric in any way. He tells Clark that the truck was full of refined meteor rocks. He suspects his father has resumed his Level Three experiments. Lex wanted to follow Eric to find the meteor rock, but he beat up the security guard he had on him.

They hatch a plan to lure Eric to rob an empty truck, but Lex refuses to involve the police. He still wants to find the meteor rock, so just as the plan starts in motion; Clark hits Lex over the head, rendering him unconscious. Eric hijacks the cargo van and drives it to a warehouse where his buddies are waiting. When they open the truck, they find Clark inside. At first, the three of them seem to get the upper hand over Clark, but then he uses his heat vision to drop a load of steel pipes on one of the guys. Then he uses his super speed to get around behind the other guy and wrap another pipe around him before he can react then Eric picks up a concrete barrier and smashes it on Clark. Clark then throws Eric into some pipes which then knocks Eric out.

Pete helps Clark bury the refined meteor rock out in the woods. The next day, Clark arrives at the mansion to congratulate Lex on the success of his plan. Lex tells him that his people had nothing to do with it. Clark asks if Lex knows who did it. Lex says that he has some suspicions about it. Lana meets with Henry Small at the Talon and tells him that his wife is hiring an attorney and he needs to spend more time with her. She goes out to the Kent Farm to talk with Clark. He convinces her that she should ride in the show anyway.

Lionel shows up at the *Torch* as Chloe attempts to put things back together. He suspects that the same people who robbed his truck are responsible for vandalizing the office. Chloe is not convinced. Eric has confessed to the robbery but not to the vandalism. It doesn't make sense. Lionel is intrigued by the Wall of Weird, then he announces that his foundation will be making a donation to the school specifically earmarked to rebuilding and updating the journalism department. He also offers her a column in the *Daily Planet*. Although she asks repeatedly, he is unclear as to why he is so interested in helping her.

### Accelerate

Pete, Clark, Lana, and Chloe are at the Talon watching an old horror movie. Pete keeps talking during the movie, and Lana grabs Clark's hand whenever she gets scared. Chloe is upset when she sees Lana wringing Clark's hand. After the movie, Lana is cleaning up when the theater lights suddenly go dark. An old home movie of Lana and her childhood friend Emily Dinsmore starts playing on the screen. They are about ten years old in the film and are having a tea party. From out of nowhere, Emily is standing in the aisle, still ten years old. Scared, Lana turns to run out and finds Emily suddenly in front of her. Clark arrives and asks Lana what happened, but Emily has disappeared.

Lana is sitting in her bedroom, looking at photos of herself and Emily when they were ten years old. Emily appears again and frightens Lana, who thinks Emily isn't real. She tells Emily that she died six years ago. When Clark enters, Emily is gone, and Lana is convinced she's seen her ghost. Lana takes Clark to a bridge over a river where she and Emily used to play together. According to Lana, Emily slipped off the bridge and drowned. Clark suggests they visit Emily's parents, reasoning that if she really is a ghost, she might be visiting them too.

Clark and Lana find Mr. Dinsmore at his home in Granville. He is not happy to see them, and less happy to hear that they have seen Emily. He leaves abruptly, letting them think they've depressed him by stirring up painful memories of his deceased daughter.

At the Luthor Mansion, Lex is trying to decide which cake to serve at his wedding. Helen isn't there, and it's only three weeks until the wedding. Lionel arrives to give Lex his wedding gift in person, since it's obvious he won't be invited to the wedding. Lex reminds him that he offered Helen $100,000 to leave him, but Lionel claims it was just a test of loyalty. The wedding gift is a Caribbean honeymoon on a private island, but Lex remains doubtful of Lionel's good intentions.

Meanwhile, Clark uses the school computers in the *Torch* office for research to determine what phenomenon Lana may have observed. When Chloe arrives, Clark explains the situation, but Chloe informs him that Lana has had a difficult life and may simply be imagining things.

Mr. Dinsmore finds Emily outside of their old house in Smallville. She is upset that the bunnies are gone. She asks her daddy to explain why Lana said that she died, but her father is apprehensive and doesn't explain it to her. He urgently tells her to get in the car, but Emily refuses, as she's tired of being locked up. When he tries to instruct her again, she super speeds away and stabs him with a rusted metal pinwheel.

Clark and Pete go to the cemetery to make sure that Emily's body is still buried in her coffin, they see Emily in the cemetery to. When she tries to run away, Clark uses his super speed to keep up with her and realizes that is how she is able to appear from out of nowhere. She gets away, but she leaves her necklace behind. At the Talon, Lana is locking up when Emily arrives and scares her again. By the time Clark enters, again Emily is gone. Clark shows Lana the necklace, reassuring her that she's not crazy.

At Smallville Medical Center, Lionel is visiting Mr. Dinsmore. Lex arrives to find out why he's spending so much time in Smallville. Lionel insists he's just trying to be a good father. When Lex goes into Mr. Dinsmore's room, he finds Emily in the room with him, seated near the door. She tells Lex that Lionel took the bunnies away. Lex turns around for a few seconds, and turns back and finds Emily gone.

Clark and Lana decide to search around Mr. Dinsmore's house, and they find a little girl's room with home movies and talking dolls. They also find Emily's diary, with the most recent entry stating that she and Lana are going to the river tomorrow. Clark x-rays the wall and sees an entrance which leads to a secret cloning laboratory behind the bookshelves. Inside the lab, they find two more clones of Emily, each about ten years old, locked inside glass coffins with monitors and breathing tubes. One of them appears asleep; the other opens her eyes as if she is conscious. Lana accidentally spills some green fluid that makes Clark sick, and they decide to make a hasty exit.

At the Kent Farm, Clark and Lana tell Mr. and Mrs. Kent the story of the clones. Sheriff Adams arrives to report that they went out to look for the lab, but there was nothing there. Clark goes back to the house, only to find the lab gone from the basement. He also finds Emily there, reading her diary. She asks why the sleeping girls look like her. Clark tries to explain, but Emily super speeds away when Lex arrives. Lex explains that Mr. Dinsmore was working on a way to accelerate cell growth. He could incubate a rabbit embryo to adulthood in a matter of days.

Lana finds Emily with her at the Kent Farm, and wants to go to the river. Lana doesn't want to go, but when Emily runs away, Lana can't help but follow her. Lex visits Mr. Dinsmore and offers to protect Emily. He learns that Emily is very dangerous because she has no moral conscience; no concept of right and wrong. Clark arrives home, but he can't find Lana. Instead, he finds the picture Emily drew of the two of them at the river. At the river, Lana tells Emily how she died. Emily is angry at Lana for not saving her, and she pushes her off the bridge into the river. The current is so strong, it holds Lana under. She loses consciousness, but Clark arrives just in time and rescues her. He pulls her out and resuscitates her.

At the mansion, Lex confronts Lionel about the Dinsmore project. He accuses him of continuing the Level Three projects, even though the project was thought to be abandoned. Lionel tries to deflect him, but when that fails, he confronts him with the fact that the state has placed the conservatorship of the Kawatche Caves under the control of LuthorCorp. LexCorp had a five year contract, but since there have been some accidents and even deaths, the governor has given control to LuthorCorp.

Jonathan is showing Clark the crib he's made for the new baby when Lana shows up. She takes Clark up to his loft and thanks him for believing in her when she thought she was going crazy. Lionel tells Pete Dinsmore that he can't work on the Emily Project any longer since he is too emotionally attached. Emily has been relocated to a new lab, and Lionel promises her that he will take good care of her.

### Calling

Dr. Marcus asks Lex to come visit Dr. Frederick Walden. There has been a complete normalization of his higher brain functions. Dr. Walden regains consciousness suddenly and announces: "The day is coming."
Lana brings Clark a birthday cake to his loft and tells him to make a wish. He says he doesn't have to because what he's wanted since he was five is standing in front of him. They share a kiss. The next morning, Lex arrives at the Kent Farm to ask Jonathan and Martha to sit at his table at the wedding rehearsal dinner in place of his parents. Jonathan accepts the invitation as an honor. After an awkward interaction with Lana at the Talon, Clark asks her to go out with him after the rehearsal dinner; Lana pulls back without explaining.

Helen and Lex are stunned to learn that someone has broken into her office at the hospital. Helen goes straight to the Kent Farm to tell Jonathan that the vial of Clark's blood that she drew from him when he was sick is missing. Helen suggests that Jonathan might have stolen it; Jonathan accuses Lex.

Clark asks Lex what to do about Lana. Lex says Lana is probably scared to take a chance. He suggests Clark try again and tell Lana that he's willing to risk it. Lana admits to Clark that she's worried about Chloe's feelings and if things don't work out, all three of their friendships will be ruined. Suddenly, Clark starts to hear a voice telling him, *"The day is coming,"* and he rushes away.

Dr. Walden is now walking around, muttering the same phrase over and over. His cataracts have faded over the course of a day. When Dr. Marcus tells Lex that Dr. Walden should be sedated, Dr. Walden destroys the large glass window of his room with a blast of energy from his palm and runs away. Lex discovers Kryptonian symbols written on the ceiling of his room and asks Clark if he knows what they mean. Clark reiterates that he can't read the symbols and Lex claims to believe him. Meanwhile, Dr. Walden has returned to the cave. He is able to use a burst of energy from his palm to activate the circle of symbols on the cave wall. He appears to be gaining additional information from the experience.

Helen runs into Lana at the Talon and they talk about their relationship problems. Lana says that Clark isn't being completely honest with her and Helen can relate. Later, she is snooping in Lex's study when Lionel catches her. He guesses that she is looking for whatever Lex took from her office and questions why she would marry a man she doesn't trust.

Clark goes to the Kawatche Caves looking for Dr. Walden when Lionel shows up. He remarks that he used to own a keepsake that would fit into the hole in the wall but it disappeared the day Clark rescued Martha from the siege at LuthorCorp. He informs Clark that he has taken over conservatorship of the caves. Lionel notices that the symbols surrounding the recess are in a different order. Clark warns Lionel that Dr. Walden is dangerous and goes home to tell his parents that Lionel controls the caves; Dr. Walden can read the symbols; and the symbols on the wall have changed. They now read, *"The day is coming when the last son will begin his quest to rule the third planet".*

Lex learns his restraining order to keep Lionel out of the caves was rejected. Just then, Dr. Walden shows up and announces that he has read the wall and the "last son" is Clark Kent. He tells them they have to kill Clark just before Dr. Marcus shoots him with a dart. On the way to the hospital, Dr. Walden comes out of sedation, shorts out the ambulance, and escapes.

Chloe visits Clark and tells him that Dr. Walden woke up. She attempts to repair their friendship by asking him to write a story for the *Torch* with her. Clark says he is busy with the rehearsal, but he also wants to be friends again. He says it will take time, and Chloe says that it will work out if they are honest. Clark agrees and they part on friendly terms.

In the newly repaired office of the *Torch*, Chloe is approached by Lionel. He tells her that he pulled some strings at the *Daily Planet*, and she is all set up to do a weekly column on current affairs from the young person's perspective, but her first assignment is a complete investigative profile of Clark Kent. Chloe gets upset and refuses. Lionel remarks that he wonders if Clark would be as good a friend to Chloe as she is to him.

At the rehearsal dinner, Lex warns Clark that Lionel heard Dr. Walden say that Clark will rule the world. Lex doesn’t think that Lionel will just let this go. Clark makes his toast as best man, seemingly aiming it at Lana, saying that true love is worth taking a chance no matter what the cost. Immediately after, Clark begins to hear a high-pitched whining sound, and leaves to get some air. He tells his parents that the key is calling him and rushes home to find Dr. Walden, still bent on destroying Clark. Dr. Walden blasts Clark through the barn wall with a beam of energy and holds him suspended until Clark uses his heat vision to burn his shoulder. He superspeeds away and Dr. Walden tries to catch him with the beam. He hits a gas tank, causing an explosion, which envelops him and burns him to death. Clark pries the key from his charred hand. Later, when Lionel examines Dr. Walden's body, he sees that the only part not burned beyond recognition is an outline in his palm, shaped like an octagon with symbols on it.

At the Luthor Mansion, Helen admits that she found a file with confidential medical information on Martha Kent. Lex admits that he got that file from a DCA agent investigating her illness. He reassures her that he had nothing to do with her office break-in. He tells her that if she believes he could deceive her, maybe she shouldn't be marrying him. She calls his bluff by saying maybe he is right, and leaves. It is revealed that Lex did indeed steal the test tube of Clark's blood from her office and has stored it in a box behind a bookshelf.

Apprehensive about the cave readings, Clark asks his parents what it all means. They reassure him that they know he will do the right thing when the time comes. Lana comes to check on him and remarks that he has so many secrets, but Clark just says he doesn't want his feelings for her to be one of them. Chloe walks up the stairs just in time to see them kissing and leaves unseen, in tears. As Lana walks away, Clark hears the voice of Jor-El, stating, "Kal-El, it is time." He sees a light from the storm cellar and enters to see what it is.

### Exodus

Clark Kent enters the storm cellar. His ship changes shape as it announces that it has been programmed with the memories and will of his Kryptonian father Jor-El. It tells him to return at sunset to leave his family and friends and fulfill his destiny. When Clark expresses hesitation, the ship says that he has no choice.

The next morning, Clark tells his parents what happened. They emphasize that his future is his to make. Clark loves his life with his family in Smallville, and he declares his intentions to stay. At the Luthor Mansion, Lex Luthor confesses to Helen Bryce that he did ransack her office to steal the blood sample. He apologizes and declares his love for her, but she seems unmoved.

Later, Clark and Lana Lang are sitting arm in arm in the meadow with the horses. Clark asks if Lana will officially be his date to Lex's wedding, and Lana agrees as long as they officially inform Chloe Sullivan of their new status. Clark says he wants to be the one to tell her, but first he has to go to the mansion to see a tailor. When he gets there he finds out that Lionel Luthor has tightened security at the Kawatche Caves and installed some sophisticated equipment. He also finds out that Lex canceled the tailor, since the wedding is off. Lex explains that Helen won't marry him because he betrayed her trust. He asks Clark not to tell anyone, so he can pretend for one more day.

Next, Clark goes to the caves to see some of this equipment Lionel has installed. Lionel is there and reveals his plan to use a duplicate key made of refined kryptonite. He claims that he had the key analyzed and the meteor rocks are the only substance on Earth similar to the key. He believes that by inserting the key into the wall of the cave, he will learn its secrets.

Lana is trying on dresses when Chloe walks in and teases her about upstaging the bride at the wedding tomorrow. Lana lies and says that she and Clark are going together as friends. Chloe knows this is a lie since she saw them kissing in the loft the night before. Lana asks if Chloe has seen Clark yet today. She says that Clark has something important he wants to tell her, but Chloe hasn't seen him. He is back at the farm watching the sun go down, worrying about Jor-El. Moments after Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent leave, Clark hears Jor-El's voice saying "it is time". When he goes into the storm celler the ship warns that if Clark does not concede to his destiny, he will hurt the ones he loves most. Then it gives him the scar of his ancestors.

A few moments after happened as Martha and Jonathan head off to the wedding early, Helen arrives at the mansion to find Lex dressed for the wedding. She forgives him, noting that she has made mistakes in her life as well. She still loves him. Meanwhile, Clark shows his scar to Pete Ross and shares his plan for destroying the ship; remembering how the ship neutralized the kryponite that Tina Greer had trapped him with, he has reasoned that the ship was trying to protect itself since it stands to reason that its as toxic to Kryptonian technology too. Knowing that, Clark intends to insert the Lionel's kryptonite key into the ship. Pete tries to talk Clark out of it, but its no use, so Pete creates a distraction in the caves by accusing Lionel of stealing his family's factory and Clark uses his super speed to zoom in and steal the key. While at the church, Jonathan gives Lex a compass as a wedding gift, saying that it is a Kent family tradition.

When Clark gets back to the farm, he finds Lana in the loft. She is ready for the wedding, but Clark has to do something first, so he sends her on ahead, promising to meet her there. When Lana arrives at the church and tells Clark's parents that Clark was busy with something important, they decide to return home to investigate. Jonathan encourages Lex to proceed without his best man. Lex goes ahead and marries Helen without Clark by his side.

Chloe arrives at the Kent Farm to confront Clark about dating Lana. It's ten minutes to noon, so Clark is too distracted to put any effort into the confrontation. Chloe is hurt and angrily storms away. Clark proceeds to the storm cellar and places the kryptonite key into its slot on the ship. Both are destroyed in a massive explosion, creating a shockwave that overturns the truck with Jonathan and Martha in it. It also disrupts electrical power throughout the county, briefly delaying Lex's honeymoon flight.

Clark finds his parents in the truck, and gets them to the Smallville Medical Center. Jonathan is fine but Martha has a mild concussion and loses the baby. Clark tells Jonathan what he did. Jonathan is very upset with Clark, and leaves him to sit with Martha. Lana finds Clark at the farm in what's left of the storm cellar. He tells her that he always causes pain and suffering for those he loves. He is convinced now that if he does not leave, he will continue to hurt them.

Meanwhile, Chloe visits Lionel at the mansion and accepts his previous offer to do an investigative profile on Clark in exchange for a weekly column.

Clark goes back to the hospital where he sees his father holding his mother as she weeps bitterly. Next, he goes to find Chloe's class ring. Pete catches up with him there and tries to talk him out of it, but Clark is in so much pain that he isn't thinking clearly. He just knows that the red kryptonite will make him feel better. When he gets back to the farm, Lana is still there. Tearfully, she begs him to stay, but he puts on the ring and rides off on his father's motorcycle.

Later, Lex awakens during turbulence to find the plane empty and speeding toward the ocean with all of its controls malfunctioning.

As Clark rides along the road out of Smallville, Jor-El's voice tells him, "You will obey me, Kal-El".