"Mom ?" "!" "Happy birthday, Clark !" "Happy birthday, sweetheart." "Look... and Lois even made her world-famous rum cake for you." "From scratch." "Wow." "I never would have guessed." "You should have seen the first two." "Uh, come on." "Presents before cake." "Come on, birthday boy." "Come sit down." "Open it." "Wow." "Not that you're the "dear diary" type, but since you keep everything to yourself, I" "I thought it might help." "And since I'm on an intern budget, I figured" "I could just comp you a couple of those ious that you owe me." "Thank you." "That's dad's handwriting." "I found it in his desk." "Two tickets to the wolverines game in milwaukee..." "Right behind home plate." "Yeah, your dad and his baseball." "There was no one in the world he'd rather watch a game with." "Thanks for the tickets, dad." "I just wish that you were here to go with me." "Dad ?" "Listen, I'm sorry I couldn't be at your birthday party to see the kind of man you're becoming." " Dad, everything I am is because of you." " Not everything." "You see, there can be no more lessons." "You're gonna have to do this on your own." "I can't help you anymore." "You're gonna have to stop him." "Stop who ?" "He's much worse than we possibly imagined..." "So... so many people are gonna die." "I don't understand, dad." "What are you talking about ?" "I'm talking about Lionel Luthor." "What is he doing ?" "He's gonna do something terrible." "Tell me, dad." "What am I supposed to do ?" "I'm sorry, Clark, but to save this world You've got to kill Lionel Luthor." "Good bye, son." "Dad ?" "Dad ?" "Dad, wait !" ""Oracle"" "Clark, grief can play tricks on the mind." "Mom, I know what I saw." "It was dad..." "His spirit, his ghost, whatever you want to call it." "Sweetheart, I see your dad all the time." "Every morning when I wake up, I feel him beside me, but it's not him, and it's not his ghost." "It's my mind wanting it so badly, I think he's really there." "Right now, you're really angry with Lionel, and maybe you want someone to say it's okay to get back at him." "Mom, this isn't the first time I've seen dad." "It's a long story, but Lana was in trouble." "I tried to save her and had some sort of near-death experience." "I saw dad." "He was the one who told me Lionel knew my secret." "That wasn't my imagination." "What if this wasn't, either ?" "If that's true, if it really was your father..." "Then what Lionel's up to is a lot worse than just knowing my secret." "It would have to be, for your father to suggest taking someone's life." "One drip and one extra-hot double-cap with no foam." "Sorry again about the mess-up." "Don't worry." "I know how finicky that steamer can be." "Thank you." " Lois, hey." " Hey." "Running a delivery service ?" "Oh, no." "Actually, Chloe started short-circuiting, so I..." "Save it, Lana." "It's okay." "There's only one extra-hot double-cap no-foam in this town." "Runs by Lex, walks in here like he owns the place." "Actually, Lois, he does own the place." "So are you his new assistant ?" "Um, no, not exactly." "No way." "Well, I guess if you're in the market for a new boyfriend, why not Smallville's most eligible bachelor ?" "He's not my boyfriend." "Uh-huh." "Look, I know I'm not versed in the whole girl-talk thing, but I do have an unbiased ear, and I know what it's like to have a case of the bad-boy blues." "Okay, Clark, I am the president of ghost believers anonymous, but your dad "hamlet"- ing you ?" "Chloe, I know how it sounds." "All right, hand me a cloak and call me horatio." "Great..." "Now, what could be so bad that my dad would want Lionel Luthor dead to stop it ?" "Maybe it has something to do with him knowing, you know, where you really came from." "I think that's part of it, but there's got to be more." "Well..." "If Lionel is hatching some sort of an evil scheme, it would explain why he's been sitting on your secret." "I think something's already in motion." "Chloe, someone tried to blackmail my mom with security footage of me using my abilities." "What ?" "Guess which billionaire came to the rescue." "All right." "Say this ghost of your dad's is right and then we go and dig through Lionel's closet and we find a smoking gun..." "Then what ?" " It depends what it was." " Would it ?" "I mean, is there anything we could find that would make Clark Kent kill someone ?" "My helicopter's waiting, dad." "What's so important ?" "Obviously something you've got cooking in honduras, although I doubt it's the banana daiquiris." "You've been racking up quite a lot of frequent-flier miles, son." "Challenging upper management often leads to a bout of unemployment." "Well, the welfare of your workers is the least of my concerns." "You're involved with Milton Fine." "I know that he's been smuggling some of the deadliest viruses in the world into this country with your help." "Well, don't worry, dad." "We're not gonna put them in any halloween candy." "You're extremely nonchalant for a man whose collection of microorganisms could wipe out more than half of this country." "It's under control." "Your business partner's a man who seems to be able to appear at opposite ends of the earth simultaneously." "How much control do you have over him ?" "Your intel is impressive, but incomplete." "Shut the operation down, Lex." "Shut it down now." "Wherever you're incubating these viruses, you need to destroy them." "Milton Fine embodies a threat greater than you appear to realize." "You're the one who taught me." "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." "This is one enemy you don't know, and not knowing who you're in bed with can make for a very uncomfortable awakening." "Well, I'll present that nugget to the board when they ask me why I'm late." "Wait, Clark, the alarm." "I cloned the transponder from Lionel's keyboard so we could override the digital cipher." "I need a nightlife." "Look for anything my dad might be warning me about." "Okay, it might take a minute." "I can't exactly search for a file called "my evil scheme."" "Clark, have you thought about the fact that, if Lionel knows your secret, he might have told..." "Lex ?" "Knowledge is power." "Lionel would never level the playing field." "I guess this is one of those rare times when we have to put our faith in the Luthor family dysfunction." "Locked out." "Check his calendar." "I'm multitasking as fast as I can." "Leon Rowland ?" "Who's that ?" "It looks like Lionel has an interview scheduled tomorrow with the inquisitor's top reporter regarding something called "the weapon."" "And the pentagon." "Looks like the mysterious weapon is the hot topic this week." "Yeah, maybe it's not so mysterious." "Wait, you think that you might be the weapon Lionel's talking about ?" "I bought us coffees, but after a three-hour conversation with Lois, they got a bit cold." "Well, I can't wait to read all about Lex and Lana in tomorrow's early edition." "She's not like that." "Believe it or not, she's a great listener, and with everything that's been going on, she's been a wonderful outlet for me." "It looks like I'm not the only one who needs an outlet." "Lana, something's happened." "I've been wrestling with whether or not I should let you in on it, but when all's said and done, you're the one person in the world I can share it with." "I've been working on something..." "Something bigger than either of us." "Lex, whatever it is, I trust you." "This isn't about trusting me anymore." "It's about trusting you." "It's about knowing how deep you want to get involved and knowing when to say stop." "Lana, what I'm about to show you..." "Means you're all-in... 100%." "What is this place ?" "The future." "I'd like you to be by my side when it arrives." "You've been collecting viruses ?" "The most deadly on the planet." "What are you gonna do with them ?" "Change the world." "Lana..." "We've been able to alter the viruses transforming them into the ultimate vaccine." "One shot of this and, theoretically, you'd be protected from any disease that could be unleashed." "Unleashed ?" "By whom ?" "Well, according to fine, the cia believes the black spacecraft might be the first of many." "Listen, you need to keep this between the two of us." "Even Fine doesn't know we're developing the vaccine here." "I thought you two were working together." "Why don't you trust him anymore ?" "Because I think he might be reporting back to something a little higher up." "You found the ship." "I was tracking fine, and he led me directly to it, but that's not the intriguing part." "These two photographs were taken .01 of a second apart." "Where did he go ?" "Oh, my god." "Do you think he came out of that ship like the others ?" "That's why I was going along with him." "I thought I could buy some time to find his weakness, but" "I'm starting to think he doesn't have one." "He might." "After the meteor shower, when I found your dad in that strange trance, he grabbed me, and he told me how to stop them." "Hi, this is the Kent residence." "Please leave a message." "Martha, it's Lionel." "I know things are strained, but something's going on." "Clark needs to know about it." "Please." "Call me as soon as you get this." "Jonathan." "How long, Martha ?" "What ?" "How long have you had feelings for Lionel Luthor ?" "It's not like that." "I want you to be happy, sweetheart." "I've always just..." "Just wanted you to be happy, but not with him." "Jonathan." "You know you're the only man I've ever loved." "It's been... so hard without you..." "Your voice, your touch." "I miss you so much." "I miss you, too, sweetheart." "Why did you have to leave me ?" "I'm sorry, Martha." "I didn't have any choice." "And soon, neither will a lot of other innocent people." "Are you talking about Lionel ?" "What is it ?" "What is he doing ?" "He's going to drown you all in your own blood, just like he did me." "Like he did you ?" "What ?" "Martha, I'm sorry, but you have got to tell Clark there is no other choice." "Lionel Luthor has to die." "Jonathan..." "He has to." "Jonathan ?" "He was standing right here, like he was still alive." "He said Lionel was gonna drown us all in blood." "What does that mean ?" "I don't know." "Mom, I think it might have something to do with Lionel using me as a weapon." "But, Clark, you would never go along with that." "What if he's found a way to control me ?" "Maybe that's what dad's come back to help stop." "All this time, I thought Lionel was making up for his past." "It's not your fault." "Lionel has been manipulating all of us." "Clark, he said something else." "I think he meant..." "Lionel had something to do with his death." "We've tracked Milton Fine to the midwestern region of the United States." "We're working to narrow his coordinates." "We'll let you know when we have them." "Sir, please be advise that an official ..." "Good evening, Mr. Luthor." "May I ?" "Please." "Help yourself." "Everybody else does." "Some say the toast came about by a man who feared that his drink had been poisoned, but he was a quick-witted man." "He joyfully clanked his mug with the mugs of his mates, sloshing his lethal beverage into everyone's drink with cheer." "A simple tap, then, must be a sign of trust." "I'm not really thirsty." "I thought we had an agreement." "You would inform me of the virus' progress, but I seem to be shockingly cut out of the loop." "A fact you've probably known for weeks." "Come on." "I mean, you must have assumed I would inherently believe your CIA bluff." "And that's why I chose you..." "For your insatiable distrust and your propensity for covering all the bases." "Then I'm sure you didn't waltz in here thinking I'd just roll over." "No, not you." "Not without a bone." "I'll take the truth." "I assure you the vaccine is processed and ready..." "But I'd be foolish to hand it over to someone whose agenda is still up for grabs." "Lex, it's a vaccine." "What threat could it possibly pose ?" "Now, that's a question I've been asking myself for weeks." "I'm hoping this will help me get a few answers." "Close..." "But I'm not one of them." "I was only made by them." "Where's the vaccine ?" "Okay, now, before I tell you any of this, you have to promise you'll keep a cool head and back-burner those "american psycho" instincts, okay ?" "Chloe, what is it ?" "I pulled up your dad's phone records, and unless Lionel was selling long-distance plans, he was desperately trying to get a hold of your dad." "There were at least 20 calls logged in those last few weeks." "My dad said he died protecting my secret." "Maybe that's how he found out Lionel knew about me." "When did the calls stop ?" "They didn't." "Lionel talked to your dad an hour before he died." "You think Lionel was just congratulating him ?" "Not unless he did it in person." "Lionel's cell call came through a tower in jansen's field." "That's only a mile away from your house." "Lionel was there ?" "Lionel was there the night my dad died." "Clark." "I'm glad you called." "Thank you." "We don't have much time." "Is this where it happened ?" "Is this where you met my father the night he died ?" "Yes." "Yes, it is." "I had to talk to him." "It was important." "He found out, didn't he ?" "He found out about your plans to use me as a weapon." "A weapon ?" "No." "Clark, no." "What did you do to him ?" "Clark, I wanted to help him." "He needed an ally, but he took it the wrong way." " You killed my father." " No, Clark..." "What happened ?" "He wouldn't go along with your plan ?" "Was that it ?" "You pushed him." "You pushed him till his heart gave out." " Listen to me, Clark." " I will never be anyone's weapon." "You're not the weapon, Clark, it's not you !" "Lies." "That's all he's gonna tell you, son." "You're gonna have to kill him before he gets the chance." " Listen to me, Clark." " Shut up !" "Do it, Clark." "Do it." "You killed him." "Yes, he killed me." "So go on, son, avenge my death." "Your father would never make you a murderer, Clark." "Kill him !" "Listen to me, Clark." "Listen to me." "Clark, I know this is difficult, but you have got to kill Lionel Luthor." "Clark Kent, kill him now !" "You know..." "I ask you to do one simple thing." "This is one a gall." "You're a tremendous disappointment to me, son." "You're not my father." "Oh, oh oh !" "..." "Well, it looks like I might have underestimated you..." "Kal-El..." "Catch !" "It would be so easy to snap your neck just like a twig..." "But I still need you." "Who are you ?" "I'm the guy that's gonna help bring this world to its knees." "Don't touch me." "Don't do it." "What... what just happened ?" "I was fairly certain milton fine was a kryptonian, but I didn't realize that shape-shifting was one of the kryptonian's miraculous abilities." "It isn't." "Then fine's not a kryptonian ?" "Clark, it is important to both of us that we keep this from Lex." "Look, fine was created by kryptonians, and he's already been destroyed twice." "Twice ?" "Some sort of self-replicating entity..." "That's incredible." "That's one word for it, but why was he so afraid of you ?" "And how were you able to destroy him just by touching him ?" "I'm not sure, but I feel the answers..." "Could lie somewhere..." "In here." "Where did you find all this ?" "I didn't find it." "I wrote it." "And whatever voice I'm channeling," "I believe that what I wrote..." "Is meant for you." "So hell freezes over and no one even bothers to tell me ?" "Chloe, listen." "Mr. Luthor has been writing these." "It seems to be some sort of warning, but I can't decipher it." "Well, unfortunately, my kryptonian's a little rusty." "I don't know what any of this means, miss sullivan." "I am simply the oracle." "I believe the answers could be found with a visit to your fortress." "The last time someone talked me into taking him to the fortress, it was a trick to release general zod." "I have plans, so if we could protect Smallville from the wrath of krypton's deadliest villain, that would be great." "Ancient hieroglyphics were deciphered by finding..." "Repeated patterns." "Yeah, I know." "So let me scan this and see if we got any." "Why would fine want to expose himself now ?" "He's afraid I'm going to help you to stop what he and Lex are planning to do." "Which is what ?" "Fine has been helping Lex to develop a virus so lethal it could bring humanity to the brink of extinction." "Luthorcorp scientists completed the project today." "So the weapon isn't Clark." "It's this virus." "Yes." "Maybe that's what this pattern is trying to warn me against." "I have a strong sense that this warning I have been entrusted to pass on is related to something more terrible even than the virus." "Maybe the virus is just a part of it." "Yeah." "Do you have access to the lab ?" "No, I don't know where it is." "I think we know someone who does." "What are you doing ?" "Smooth one, Smallville." "There's something I have to talk to you about." "How did you get in here ?" "I think I just heard a keg being tapped." "I'm gonna go check it out." "Lana, I shouldn't be going through your stuff." "I think you're involved in something extremely dangerous." "Are you worried that I'm involved in it or that I'm involved in it with Lex ?" "No, Lana, this has nothing to do with my feelings." "Lex doesn't know what he's gotten himself into." "Neither do you." "You break into my place and you expect me to believe anything that comes out of your mouth ?" "Lex is in trouble, and if you care about him at all, you'll tell me where that lab is... before it's too late." "Impressive." "Looks like I underestimated your willingness to tackle a nonprofit venture." "Well, Luthorcorp doesn't take the threat of an alien armageddon lightly." "You were never gonna create a vaccine for humans, were you ?" "Is that what you think ?" "It was gonna be your way of protecting your extraterrestrial guests when they arrive and unleash some horrible disease on us." "So you went behind my back and mass-produced the vaccine for mankind." "I wanted to give my people a fighting chance before you got your dirty hands on them." "I applaud your noble efforts to..." "Protect your species." "Unfortunately, it's all based on faulty assumptions." "I never intended to mass-produce the vaccine." "One dose is all I ever needed." "Let the rest of the world find its own killer." "I'm not sure what to tell you, mr." "Luthor." "Whatever you were injected with, it doesn't appear to have had any effect." "In fact, you've never been healthier." "Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence." "Thank you, doctor." "Are you okay ?" "Yeah." "Clark, I'm guessing my father told you everything that happened at the lab." "You know, if you had listened to your father's warnings, none of this would have happened." "None of what ?" "All the viruses were destroyed, and now Luthorcorp has the technology to create an extraordinary vaccine." "Lex, you were double-crossed." " Where's Fine right now ?" " I don't know." "My operatives are scouring the globe." "Clark." "I was the good guy here." "Luthorcorp spent over $10 million producing that vaccine." "One more thing, Clark." "Lana called me." "I don't want to hear you were rifling through her stuff like a crazy roommate again." "If you want something from me, don't go running to Lana to find it." "You really crossed the line." "All those years we were friends, were you just waiting for me to step aside so you could swoop in and make your move ?" "I don't know, Clark." "All those years you told Lana you loved her, were you just waiting to walk away and break her heart ?" "Look, there's a natural tendency to blame the person who's replaced you." "I get that, but I didn't take Lana from you." "You lost her all by yourself." "Lionel." "What are you doing here ?" "I have to make a confession to you, Martha." "Martha, the, um..." "The night Jonathan was elected, I, um..." "I called him." "So it's true ?" "I told him that I knew everything about Clark." "He was so angry, he..." "He never let me explain." "I" " I wish I had a heart as full of strength and goodness as your son, Martha." "I don't." "But I want you to remember that I was at least honest with you." "And in time, maybe you'll be able to forgive me." "I'm sorry if things got awkward." "I was really hoping that Clark wouldn't end up in all this." "I just don't want to hurt him." "I don't, either." "I care about him, too." "But then I have to remind myself that" "Clark's specialty is barging in where he's not invited and then somehow making you feel like you're the one who should apologize." "Okay, um, I have a great idea." "How about a moratorium on the Clark topic ?" "Twist my arm." "Don't tempt me." "I still can't make sense of all of this." "Why would you be asked to produce a supervaccine just to have it destroyed ?" "I don't know, but then again, I think like a red-blooded human." "Well, he was obviously preparing for something." "What happened ?" "What happened ?" "You okay ?" "Yeah." "Never better." "I thought you'd be outside Lana's dorm with your binoculars by now." "I appreciate the concern, but Lana and I are none of your business." "Please, Smallville." "I've had three exes put under military surveillance." "I'm hardly qualified to dish out post-relationship tact." "But it's time for some tough love." "Lana's going to move on." "She already has..." "With Lex." "And it sucks, but you got to trust your gut that you did this for a reason..." "Whatever reasons guys have for dumping hot, smart, fun girls these days." "Look, give her some space, Clark." "Your whole night-stalker routine..." "That is gonna ruin any of the good feelings that Lana has for you." "If there are any." "Look." "Sometimes you got to tuck your feelings away until it's the right time." "Like stuffing dollars into a piggy bank for a bike you can't quite afford." "Except I can't quite imagine there is anyone else out there." "Well, you never know, Clark." "Maybe when you crack open that piggy bank, you'll find that all this time you haven't been saving for a bike." "You've really been saving for a harley." "There are times when I think you don't know me at all..." "Then others where I think you know me better than anyone." "Well, that's what I'm here for, Smallville..." "One save at a time." "Speaking of saving things..." "My cake !" "Clark, your mom thought we might want to share some of the leftover birthday cake." "Well, I'm sure there's a goat on this farm that will appreciate my knack for batter." "You handled the whole party thing really well, by the way." "Thanks." "The baseball tickets, they, um..." "Hit me harder than I thought." "Yeah, but those tickets..." "They weren't your dad's only gift." "I mean, it didn't come with a big, pretty red bow, but your dad raised you to be your own man." "That was his real gift..." "And he gave that to you every day." "I thought you just came here to get tipsy off of Lois' rum cake." "Yeah." "Actually, I came by for your kryptonian dictionary." "Um, I ran Lionel's symbols in that program, and it came up with this pattern... 3 signs repeated 32 times." "What does it say ?" ""Zod is coming.""