"Hello?" "Is someone there?" " Damn it, boy, what were you thinking?" " I'm sorry, Father." "It won't happen again." "What is the one rule we live by in this house?" "Byron stays in the cellar." "And why is that?" "Because Father knows what's best for Byron." "How the hell did you get out?" "I swear, you'd better give me an answer right now, or I'm gonna..." "I pried open the lock." "Get out again, boy, there will be more than a tranquilizer in that gun." "The sentiment's nice but the fact that you found this in a graveyard seems a little Amityville." "I think it's romantic." "I haven't gotten a love letter since third grade." " Seems like a lost art." " Not true, not true." "This morning in trig, I intercepted a note from a wrestler to a cheerleader." "It wasn't exactly poetic, but he definitely got his point across." " Who do you think wrote it?" " I have no idea." "Hey, guys." " So, what's going on?" " Lana has a secret admirer." " It's nothing." " What do you mean, nothing?" "What happened to romantic?" "Just let the boy read it." " It's a little mushy." " I almost forgot." "Clark Kent, the man of steel." "I'll see you guys later." " Bye." " Bye." "If you ask me, it sounds more like a stalker than a secret admirer." " Thanks." " No problem." "That's kind of personal." "Go ahead and read it." "You'll probably agree with Clark that it's sappy." "The imagery's a little naive, but the meter's actually quite sophisticated." "Who wrote this?" "Either an admirer or a psychopath, depending on who you ask." "That had a little edge to it, is everything all right?" "Everyone's giving me a hard time about the poem." "I guess I'm just a little defensive." "Take me to you" "Imprison me" "For I never shall be free Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me" "John Donne." "He's one of my favorites." "If I didn't know better, I'd say I found your Achilles' heel." "I didn't realize you were so into poetry." "It's nice some people appreciate artistic expression." "It kind of raises the bar for any other contenders, doesn't it, Clark?" " I know things aren't great between us..." " I'm fine, Clark." "Lana, I want to apologize for ragging on the poem." "Guess poetry's not for everybody." "I was just surprised that you would show Pete and Chloe and not show it to me." "You can't expect me to share everything if you're not going to be open with me." "Don't you think it's weird?" "This guy's sneaking around watching you." "Come on, Clark." "Tell me you've never watched somebody from afar." "So as you can see, sir or maybe not actually see in your case it was an honest mistake and one that I promise won't ever happen again as long as I'm working for you." "Thank you, Tad." "That was a very heartfelt, if not interminably long-winded, apology." "And I'm going to help you keep that promise." "Tad your things will be mailed to you." "Are you letting me go?" "Never lose that grasp of the obvious, Tad." "It's one of your strongest attributes." "That's the fourth one you've devoured this month." " Where you finding these people, Lex?" " Little schools, like Harvard and Yale." "I spent hours going over resumes, looking for the perfect fit." "You mustn't be fooled by a resume, Lex." "You have to look into their eyes to see if they're up to the challenge." "I need your eyes to look for me, son." "I see." "So somehow the failure of your assistants is my fault." "Forget the self-pity, Lex, I wasn't criticizing." "I was critiquing." "There's a difference." "And if I recall, I didn't ask for help." "You offered." "I'm glad to see your condition hasn't softened your paternal side." "My condition has nothing to do with it." "You're not the master of your universe anymore, and it's killing you." "Just get me an assistant who meets my criteria." " I don't think I would fit your criteria." " Probably not, but nobody's perfect." "At the sound of the opening bell on the stock exchange floor Monday morning LuthorCorp stock adjusted dramatically after weeks of speculation as to..." "I couldn't listen to another word of that droning either." " Who is that?" " It's Martha Kent." "I hope I'm not disturbing you." "No, no." "It's a welcome interruption." "I came by to pick up the produce check from Lex." "He usually leaves it out for me." "I'm afraid my presence here has thrown Lex's regimented routine into a mild chaos." "Well, I'm sure he's happy to have you here, even if he doesn't know how to say it." "Your assumption's very generous." ""The plummeting stock sent a ripple through investment houses." "CEO Lionel Luthor attributed the drop to this quarter's anticipated deficit."" "It's a smoke screen, isn't it?" "To make investors nervous so when LuthorCorp posts less impressive gains the stock will have already adjusted." " I had no idea Martha Kent had such keen business acumen." "I wonder if your talents aren't being wasted on organic produce." "I'm going to take that as a compliment." "You should." "I bought you this." "At the used bookstore." "Edgar Allan Poe." "You really know how to pick them, Mother." "Well, I read a couple of pages." "I couldn't make heads or tails." "I'm surprised." "He writes about pain and suffering and people being buried alive." "Byron, I know you're upset, but things are better this way." "How can you let him do this to me?" "You have put your father through enough." "Just be glad things are back to normal." "Normal kids aren't hunted by their fathers." "I don't want to hear another word." "You just stick to your books and keep your mouth shut." "Everything will be fine." "What am I doing?" "This is crazy." "Wait!" "I got your other poem." "It was beautiful." "You really think so?" "What's your name?" "Byron." " Like the poet?" " Like my great-uncle." "But there's nothing poetic about him." "Why do you leave me these poems?" "Because you inspire me." "No, don't!" "Get away from her!" "Clark!" "Oh, my God." " Are you okay?" " Yes." "Fine." "I can't believe I passed out." "I'm sorry I scared you." "It's okay, Clark." "You were protecting a beautiful young lady." "It was chivalrous." "You're lucky to have a boyfriend who cares so much about you." "Clark's just a friend." "An overprotective one." "If I could write the beauty of your eyes" "And number all your graces" "The age to come would say "This poet lies" "Such heavenly touches Ne'er touched earthly faces"" "That was beautiful." "Which poet wrote that?" "Shakespeare." "I can't imagine being home-schooled and never seeing anybody." "You don't miss what you never had." "Seems like you don't get out much." "Are your parents pretty strict?" "They only want what's best for me." "Oh, my God." "That's our milk delivery." " What time is it?" " Quarter to five." "If my parents wake up..." "Do you want us to tell your parents what happened?" "No, I'll be fine." "Byron, hurry!" "I warned you not to leave, boy." "No!" "No!" "Byron!" " Go away!" " Come on!" "I'd better not catch you around my son again!" "Get out before I shoot you for trespassing!" " Lionel Luthor offered you a job?" " I was just as surprised as you are." " What'd you tell him?" " That I wanted to discuss it with you." "You know I've been thinking about going back to work for a while." "Why with him?" "You know he's got an ulterior motive for everything." "I know all about Lionel Luthor, but we could use the money." "And I could use a bigger challenge in my life." "Oh, I understand." "Farm life's gotten a little too boring for you, hasn't it?" "I didn't mean it like that." "This is a chance for me to put my education to use." "Even at the risk of losing our privacy here?" "You don't trust me to make that call?" "I want to do this." "Martha..." "Clark?" "Lana, you two been out all night?" "No, it's not what you think." "We met this kid and we think his parents are abusing him." "Mrs. Moore?" "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I'd like to speak to your son." " I'm afraid that's not possible, sheriff." " Where is he?" "Clark, let the sheriff handle this, please." "He's not in any trouble." "Look, I don't know what the hell's going on here, sheriff but our son is dead." "He drowned out in Crater Lake eight years ago." "We just met him last night." "My son says that you threatened him." "I've never seen these kids before in my life." "Look, it's taken all these years to get past this and then you show up and pull a prank like this." "What kind of parent would raise a child to do a wicked thing like that?" "We're awfully sorry." "Look, Jonathan, I think we should go." " They're lying." " We saw him go in that house." " This is a very awkward situation." " I know it is, Ethan." "But if that young man's in trouble, we wouldn't want that on our conscience." "I'll get a warrant." "It looks like your tortured artist is a member of the dead poets society." "The certificate of death was signed by Dr. Emil Jenkins." "It's gotta be fake." "Not that I don't trust your judgment, but could it be possible that goth boy is...?" "I don't think a ghost could polish off three pieces of cake and two cappuccinos." "I was just checking." "I mean, this is Smallville." "I ran Dr. Jenkins' name through the computer and found something interesting." "Eight years ago, he supervised a medical trial over at Metron Pharmaceuticals." "Let me guess, Byron was a participant." "Yeah, they were all kids who had exhibited antisocial behavior." "But that doesn't sound like Byron, he's so gentle." "Could it be that our new Shakespeare has stirred the heart of our young Juliet?" "It's nice to meet someone so honest, I don't have to guess what they're thinking." " We have to start looking for Byron." " No, we should see what the sheriff finds." "Chopin?" "I always thought you found him to be too sentimental." "No, Lex, I find that he sometimes lacks subtlety." "Sometimes." "I take it from your tone you're angry with me." "What transgression have I committed now?" "I wasted yesterday interviewing more prospects only to find you've hired Mrs. Kent." " What's your angle, Dad?" " Angle?" "Martha Kent is a very capable woman." "Unshakable honesty like hers it's hard to come by." "She just happens to be one of the few pillars of this community who could ingratiate a despised tycoon to the citizens of Smallville." "I hadn't thought of it in those terms." "I suppose that is an unexpected benefit." "I don't know what your sudden interest is in the Kents but I want you to stay away from them." "They mean a lot to me." "And I wonder what they would think of your trying to meddle in their affairs." "You think if you're a very good boy, they'll welcome you into their family?" "Well, it would certainly be a step up." "You know, Lex, Zeus had a son an adopted son, who thought he could find a home among mortals." "You know what happened to the well-intentioned Prometheus?" "His dad had him chained to a rock and his liver was eaten by vultures." "Why?" "Prometheus was immortal, Lex." "No matter how much he wanted to escape the world he was born into the world of the gods, he never could." "It wasn't possible." "If I find out that you have any agenda that could hurt the Kents this amiable father-son detente will come to an abrupt end." "What happened to waiting for the sheriff?" "I need to know if Byron's in here." "You're a regular Dr. Doolittle." "This place is like an NRA petting zoo." "There's something under this rug." "It's lead, that's why I couldn't see through it." "That's good to know." "You ought to think about publishing an instruction manual." "Watch the door." "Byron, what did they do to you?" "It's not what you think." "I have to get you out of here." " How did you do that?" " Rusty lock." "Come on!" "Don't!" "Last time I went out during the day, I hurt my dad!" "No one deserves to be locked up like this." "You don't understand!" "Trust me, Byron." "I understand more than you know." "No!" "Leave me alone!" "Byron, you okay?" "You should have listened to me." "What are you looking at?" " Byron, it's okay." " Get away from me!" "Pete?" "Pete, I saw your mom downstairs, are you all right?" "Yeah." "The doctors say it's a hairline fracture which is ironic because it hurts everywhere else except my hairline." "Oh, sweetie." "Being part of this family should come with its own group health insurance." "I thought we agreed you were gonna wait for Sheriff Ethan." "Dad, they had Byron locked in the basement, chained to the wall." "When Clark carried him out, he went Jekyll and Hyde on us." " I tried to stop him." " You tried?" "How big of a change are we talking about here?" "You really shouldn't be here." "My husband is out looking for Byron, but he'll be back soon." "My son feels responsible." "We want to help." "You just..." "You can't imagine how hard it was for both of us." "You probably think we're horrible parents." "When I took Byron out into the light, why did he change?" "It was one of the side effects of the drug." "He can't be out in the sun." "I wish we'd never gotten involved in that mess." "They promised that the drug would make him better would make him normal." "There's gotta be somebody somewhere that can help your son." "We tried everything." "Dr. Jenkins watched six other boys die trying to reverse the side effects." "They had Byron hooked up to all those machines like he was some sort of alien." "Is that why you faked his death certificate?" "We didn't know what to do." "Finally, we locked him in the cellar." "He cried, for days." "He didn't understand why we had to keep him down here." "We felt like the monsters." "If I get Byron out of the sun, will he change back?" "Yeah." "He's so strong now, I don't know how anybody could do that." "I just got back from seeing Pete." "He told me what happened." "Thanks for the call." " Look, Lana, I..." " Why did you lie to me, Clark?" "Byron's my friend, and I wanted to help." "You cut me out." " I didn't want you to get hurt." " Is that it, or don't you trust me?" " You haven't seen Byron, have you?" " No." "But if I had, you'd know already." "I'd have been honest with you." "Okay, I think I figured out why our would-be Shakespeare went all pro-wrestler on you." "Jeez, is it just me, or did it get cold in here?" "What'd you find?" "The drug that Byron was given during the medical trials targeted his adrenal system." "It says they were looking for a cure." "We need to track down the company." "It's too late." "Metron was shut down before they even finished their research." "Why would they do that?" "I don't know." "Maybe Clark should ask his mom's new boss." "Lionel Luthor owns Metron." "Just one of the many LuthorCorp subsidiaries that promises a brighter future." "I'll talk to Lex." "I'd love to help you, but Pete just sent out an SOS for his PlayStation 2, so good luck." " Where are you going?" " To look for Byron." "Wait, Lana." "My dad, Mr. Moore and half the sheriff's department are out searching." " So I should just stay here and pour coffee?" " I'm saying you should be careful." "Byron's not the same guy." "If you see him, don't get too close." "Call someone." "Byron." "It's me, Lana." "I want to help you." "I was down there for eight years, I'm not going back." "You could hurt people like this." "The Byron I met wouldn't want that." "I know who did this to you." "It was LuthorCorp." "Clark's talking to Luthor's son." "They can find a cure." "There is no cure!" " Byron, no!" " I want you!" "They made me into someone no one can love." "Not even you!" "Another mark on the Luthor name." "My father's leaving me quite a legacy." "You might give your mom a heads up." "If she's gonna work for my father, this is what she's getting into." "My mother can take care of herself, Lex." "Besides, I haven't seen her this excited in a long time." "To tell you the truth, Clark, I was a little surprised considering my offers to ease your family's financial situation have been met with a resounding no it stung a little to see her name on my father's payroll." "Well, to be honest, it wasn't exactly a unanimous decision at the Kent household." "My father's the poster boy for family strife." "I'm sorry it's spreading." "Look at it this way, Lex, at least my father's not upset with you this time." "I'll look into Metron, see where my father's hiding the proverbial bodies." "Now, I have to head over to the plant." "Some Luthors actually have to work for a living." "Wow, I didn't realize the traffic in Smallville had gotten so bad." "It's my father." "I hope your mom likes helicopters." "My family doesn't fly much." "Trust me, that's about to change." "I'll talk to you later, Clark." "Watch your head." "All right!" " It's this one here." " What?" "This one." "First time in a helicopter, Martha?" "I wasn't expecting a trip to Metropolis on my first day." "All right, Bob, we're off!" "Yes, sir." " What's happening, Bob?" " I don't know!" "What's happening?" "Bob?" "Oh, my God!" " What is it?" " We have to get out of here!" "Come on!" "Martha!" " Luthor!" " Who the hell are you?" "Oh, no!" "You did this to me!" "Did what?" "What are you talking about?" "I don't want to have to hurt you, Byron." " We gotta get you out of the light." " No!" "You can't stop me!" "Clark!" "Clark?" "It's okay, Byron." "You're gonna be all right." "Clark." "Hey, I brought you some light reading." "They're a lost art form." "I don't remember our fight, but I cannot believe I didn't hurt you." "Some people are just lucky." " Hey, how's the wrist?" " It'll be better in a couple of days." " I can't believe I..." " Hey, don't worry about it." "I know it wasn't you." "You were brave to come and find me." "A friend warned me to be careful." "I should have listened to him." "Let me see your hand." " Dad, I heard what happened." "Are you okay?" " I'm relatively unscathed thanks to Martha and Clark." "Clark?" "He's a rather extraordinary young man, don't you think?" "Hi, Lex." "I spoke to the foundation and they can transfer the funds into the new account." "Seven hours on the clock, and you're already laundering money for my father?" "I'm convincing him to fund new research into Byron Moore's condition." "You okay?" "I'm sure my father informed you LuthorCorp is not in the charity business." "I did, I did." "Then I explained that he'll spend less helping this boy live a normal life than he would on advertising to restore consumer confidence in LuthorCorp." "The papers will be here tomorrow for you to sign." " See you in the morning." " All right." "Lex I can feel your smirk from here." "Better watch it, Dad or your new executive assistant might start rearranging all your priorities." "You pulled one of your trademark disappearing acts last night." "I figured you could use some time alone with Byron." "Sonnets?" "Not exactly your usual reading." "Byron was really into them." "I thought maybe I could learn something." "What'd you think?" "They really weren't for me." "An honest answer." "I like that." "I'm sorry for not being straight with you from the beginning." "It's okay." "When I confronted Byron, I got so scared." "First person I thought of was you." "Really?" "I thought, "If Clark was here, he'd know what to do."" "Thought I could save him." "I just ended up making things worse." "You were trying to help a friend, there's no harm in that." "I hope Byron's gonna be okay." "It doesn't bother you that he's so...?" "Different?" "If you really like someone, you accept every part of them." "But you can't do that until they're willing to share every part with you." "I think people like Byron..." "He keeps a part of himself hidden so he doesn't scare people away." "If you want to get close to someone, you have to take that risk." "What if the risk is too big to take?" "Then you might miss out on something that could be pretty amazing."