"Previously on Smallville... but what's with the wardrobe malfunction?" "What?" "Where are you going all dressed up?" "When a guy likes a girl, he asks her out." "I'm a true believer in this red-and-blue superdude." "Can I count on you to publish that letter if anything happens to me?" "I have to see you." "How do you feel about phone booths?" "Let's say midnight." " Tess Mercer, acting CEO of LuthorCorp." " You're my boss?" "If you don't want to admit your true identity, that's fine." "But we both know that Davis Bloome isn't a man." "He's a beast." "Lex knew that orb wasn't from this earth." "There's life inside it that can't be released until the traveler kills the beast." "Use the ring." "Send doomsday to the future." "Oliver crossed the line." "He killed Lex Luthor." "You're making a big mistake." "You're not one of us anymore." "Say that Clark Kent, buttoned up in a starched shirt and tie, but then, when he's playing the hero, he steps out of the shadow into his red and blue, creating two completely separate identities?" "I love you." "May Henry James Olsen rest in peace." "Jimmy wanted to know that no matter where I was in this city," "I could look up here and see this beacon... the watchtower." "I'm the reason Jimmy's dead." " What are you saying?" " Goodbye, Chloe." "Clark Kent is dead." "And now the season premiere of "Smallville."" "My cousin has been missing for three weeks." "Yes, I'm the same woman who called yesterday and the day before that and pretty much every day for the last few weeks because I have not been getting any answers to my question." "Don't worry about the second cursor on your screen." "I just hacked into your system because you have been so completely unhelpful that I can't..." "I wouldn't come any further unless you're interested in an impromptu nose job." "Dr. Hamilton." "If you would be so kind as to lower the 9mm Jericho 941." "I prefer "Emil."" "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to scare you." "I've just been haunted by my own share of ghosts lately." " And the gun?" " After everything's that's happened and being here alone, it's the only way I can sleep." "Did Ollie send you?" "I've been calling him nonstop lately." "I know." "But you can stop calling." "Obviously he's not gonna answer." "They're gone, Chloe..." "all of them." "They're not gone." "Ollie, Dinah, Bart... they're just vanished off the grid." "They don't want to be found." "Jimmy died because they turned on each other, and now they have to live with that guilt." "I'm sure that Jimmy's death is haunting Clark every day, but he still does everything he can to make sure that the streets of Metropolis are still protected." "And he seems to be doing an adequate job without his sidekick." "What the hell?" "Smallville 901 ~ Savior ~" "Synchro:" "Flolo [small edits: ekoboy@subscene]" "Kal-el, my son, you are distracted." "When you decided to return to your training," "I assumed you were ready." "I've been coming here for weeks." "I've done everything you asked." "Why are you questioning me now?" "Until today, you had focus." "You had cleared your mind and heart of those who had kept you tethered to the human realm." "If there's anything that's keeping me tethered, it's that I still can't fly." "Have I not earned the same powers that Kara has?" "Your powers lie within you, Clark." "Your physical composition is no different than your cousin's." "You're saying it's all in my head?" "You still see yourself as a human." "You're wrong." "I gave up everyone I cared about." "I gave up everyone who was important to me." "I wear the symbol of our family every day to remind me that I have a different destiny." "Perhaps you've tried to move on too quickly." "The test of a true hero is to struggle with feelings of loss and to overcome them, not to avoid them." "Something or someone is holding you back." "No." "I've come this far, and I'm not looking back." "I can do this." "Can I get a doctor over here?" "The desk nurse called me." "Where have you been?" "What happened to you?" "Tess was rambling about some alien orb and then we threw down in the middle of the daily planet and wham, I wake up in a monorail car with some ninja chick after me." "Alien orb?" "I think maybe you just bumped your head in the accident." "Wait." "Where have I been?" "You were the one who was playing "Thelma  Louise"" "with the creature from the black lagoon." "How did you manage to ditch Davis?" "I didn't exactly ditch Davis." "It was the red-blue blur, wasn't it?" "I knew it." "He promised me he'd save you, and he did." "That means he's still alive." "The train... he saved the train, too, didn't he?" "You've been talking to the blur?" "Yes, he sort of confides in me." "Of course he does." "Holy..." "it's almost midnight." "I promised I'd meet him." "I'm gonna be late!" "You are way beyond late, okay?" "You just need to slow down." "There's something that you need to know." "He is the only one who could help me escape from the jaws of crouching tigers." "I'm sorry, whatever it is, it's gonna have to wait." "No, you need to wait, okay?" "I've got kind of a big bomb I need to drop on you." "You know what?" "You're right." "I probably just took one on the noggin, and now I'm flipping out." "I think I could use a sedative." "It's been kind of a long day." "I'll get you two." "Hello?" "Oh, no, no." "Maybe you're not calling because you're here." "Hello?" "Look, I know what you did for Chloe." "At least let me thank you." "Look, I'm sorry I'm late." "I promise you can trust me!" "Please?" "!" "I know you're out there somewhere!" "Where are you?" "I didn't realize that humiliation was one of your tests." "Your determination is strong, son, but just as your passion will be your greatest strength, so, too, will it be your greatest obstacle." "Jimmy died because of me, and I can't afford to let another mistake like that happen." "You sent me here to fulfill a destiny." "Tell me what you need from me." "Kal-el, you do not need me to tell you what is standing in your way." "You already know, and you know what you need to do." "I have to say goodbye to her." "I lost their trail." "There must be more of us out there." "What about the woman?" "Has she spoken yet?" "No, sir." "Permission to speak freely." "Major, the woman isn't an ally." "She's hiding something." "And you think I am, too." "Why don't we have the powers we should have under yellow sun?" "My authority is being questioned by two budding cadets." "We deserve to know what happened to us." "How did we get here?" " That is enough!" " Does anybody know we're here?" "Salute." "Kneel!" "Kneel before zod." "Oliver, I don't know where you've disappeared to, but I'm already low on one superhero today," "Chloe thinks I'm crazy, and I'm low on clues as to why some she-ninja is after me." "Call me." "Man: good find?" "Look, on a scale of 1 to 10 of illegal things I've done in my life, this doesn't even hit the radar." "Okay, that didn't exactly come out right." "All I'm saying is you and your big boys in blue have bigger fish to fry than this little guppy." "So, I'm just gonna... how about a name?" "Lois Lane, Daily Planet." "You're the reporter that's been missing for three weeks?" "Missing?" "What the hell are you talking about?" "What day is it?" "It's friday..." "the 25th." "What?" "Where the hell have I been for three weeks?" "I was kind of hoping you'd tell me." "You were MIA" "Until your name came up on the list of crash victims." "Now, do you remember anything last night that would explain how a 7-ton skytrain belly flops onto main street without a single fatality?" "Guess we just need to chalk it up to a modern-day miracle." "We could, or we could chalk it up to a vigilante on an ego trip." "Is that what we call courage these days?" "The infamous blur." "You know, the ends don't always justify the means." "You might want to stick to your night job, detective." "Graffiti's not exactly the red-blue blur's style." "You're right." "It never used to be, back when the guy was happy pulling off a few modest saves, but then suddenly there was no red or blue." "It was just the blur." "Now he feels the need to leave his mark all over the city to..." "I don't know..." "prove something." "Liberty 25." "Great, the rest of your posse to interrogate me j... you two want membership in the mile-long club, you might want to try one that's still on the tracks." "Get out of here." "Okay, officer." "Not bad." "Oliver may be awol, but his funds aren't." "Shouldn't you be mothballing a lab or packing up Oliver's pleather collection?" "You made a solid argument earlier." "Sometimes we try to forget, but... there are things... there are people worth fighting for." "I don't know what to say." "I'd be more comfortable if we just got down to work." "My cousin Lois vanished for three weeks and then suddenly appeared, claiming that she was being chased by a ninja-clad assassin." "Where was she?" "That she has no memory of, but luckily she did leave a souvenir from her trip." "Now, I know this may sound crazy to you, but I think I know where she was." "The future." "Transversing chrono-anomalies." "I ran some scans at the time of the monorail crash and discovered two rips in the temporal aperture continuum." "Okay, I've never actually said this before, but could you dumb that down just a little bit?" "Two rips in the fabric of our universe." "Lois explains one of them, but the other... maybe she's not delusional." "Maybe somebody came back from the future with her." "Who the hell are you?" "Major zod." "I don't understand." "They talked about you like you were their leader." "Before they lost their faith." "I ordered them to find out what you know about the circumstances surrounding our arrival." "No wonder they weren't successful." "They took the wrong approach with you." "Let's leave the getting-to-know-you part" " for later." " It's obvious you've become accustomed to abuse over the years." "It only triggers an obstinate reaction." "A more emotional approach would have been my preference  preying on your vulnerability." "You're not the same voice as the orb." "Who was that?" "You don't know, do you?" "And you expect me to fill in the missing pieces?" "I have no expectations of you." "I was told... that you would come here and save this planet from its own destruction, that you'd have certain abilities... but you don't even know what you're doing here, do you?" "They think you're holding out." "But when they find that you're just as confused as they are... they won't need you." "I think if we work together, we can get past the guard... escape." "You'll be shot before you reach the yard." "After the last few days  it'd be a blessing to be shot to death." "I never said they'd kill you." "I, on the other hand, will not hesitate." "For three weeks I've been trying to track you down, and you're completely off the radar." "Lois shows up for one day, and you're as predictable as clockwork." "It wasn't that I didn't want to come by and see that you were okay." "I know." "Leaving everyone behind... it's not what I wanted." "It isn't about what we want, Clark." "It's about what the rest of the world needs." "I get it." "I was lucky to be a part of your life for a little while, but we both know that..." "you'd have to move on one day." "I started the training jor-el always planned for me." "With everything that I've learned and he's showed me, my old life seems very far away." "You're doing the right thing, Clark." "You can't look back." "It's the only way I can stay focused, stay objective... by letting go everyone that I care about and cutting every attachment that may influence the choices that I have to make." "So, what part of that involves skulking around a phone booth, looking for Lois?" "It's not like that." "Yes, I came back to find her but only to say goodbye." "Well, let's hope you still have a chance." "I think Lois found your lucky charm and hitchhiked to the future." "Is she..." "she's fine." "She doesn't remember anything, but she didn't come back alone." "And it looks like her excess baggage might be trying to kill her." "Okay, just give me a second, all right?" "I'll be back." "Hello, legs." ""Legs," really?" "Is that a good idea?" "You're drunk." "What are you doing here?" "Where you been?" "Didn't you get my messages?" "Yeah, my phone's been kind of m." "I. a." "For awhile now." "Ohh." "How'd you find me?" "It wasn't that difficult to track down the tabloid prince of Metropolis." "I just had to follow the paparazzi." "But your little, uh, lame, sexist boy club wouldn't let me in, so I had to improvise." "I should forewarn you, I'm not having my best round here... this guy." "I noticed." "Look, you may be on some death-wish fast track, but I could really use a little dose of hero about now." "Hey, lady... listen to me!" "I blacked out three weeks ago, turned up in a monorail car that's jumped off the tracks, and now some assassin woman is after me." "Can you repeat that?" "Everybody, down!" "I knew you'd be watching her." "I was never after Lois." "I want you." "You followed Lois from the future to come after me... why?" "!" "Because you betrayed us." "My father's watch." "The date is set one year in the future." "How'd you get this?" "You gave it to me." "How do you know about... blue Kryptonite takes away my abilities, too." "We're of the same world, Kal-el." "Why are you risking your own life?" "Because it's the only chance I have to defeat you... before you destroy our world." "I'm so sorry." "You're a mess." "Yeah." "Why don't you just come out with it, Lois?" " I'm disappointed." " There you go." "See?" "You sound like every other ex-girlfriend I ever had." "Yes, but I'm not like every other ex you've had." "You're not." "I can't seem to get you back in my bed." "You know what?" "You can't fool me." "You risk your life to help strangers so you can plaster that frat-boy grin across your face." "But I know that you're a real hero underneath." "When are you gonna learn, okay?" "I'm nothing more than a shallow playboy." "I got the tabloid covers to prove it." "Then how do you explain the whole green arrow thing?" "Yeah, the hero thing kind of distracted me for a little while." "So did you." "You're an obnoxious jackass." "There you go." "See?" "Now you're finally starting to catch on." "I'm sorry if you ever thought" "I was anything more than that, Lois, but it's not my fault." "You know what?" "That's okay." "Really?" "I guess you'd know yourself better than anyone, right?" "You know what?" "Maybe I don't really need you, Ollie." "I've already found my real hero." "At what juncture did you join forces with major Zod?" "I never met the major until today." "And what about the others?" "There should be hundreds of us." "We've only found dozens." "Where are they?" "I was taking orders..." "just like all of you." "I thought that I was saving your civilization." "Do you really think that a civilian with no super abilities would team up with one man instead of an entire army?" "If you want answers, why don't you try asking the one man who has left you in the dark this entire time?" "Impressive." "Major, the last thing we remember is our blood being taken in camp before the battle in kandor." "How did we get here?" "If we're here, there can only be one explanation." "Our home has been destroyed." "You've taken it upon yourself to betray us?" " Have you killed the others?" " What happened to our power?" "You dare defy me?" "I have saved the lives of half of the soldiers in this room." "You know I have risked more than any of you." "Not one of you has sacrificed what I have for our survival." "And you  do you want a leader who hides away in his mansion for weeks on end and complains?" "Or do you want a leader who ventured out alone, scouring a hostile world in search of your loved ones?" "!" "I have always been true to my word." "And I will find the answers we are looking for, or I will die in the quest!" "It's over." "Who was she?" "I don't know." "I have a feeling I'm gonna find out." "She's from Krypton." "Krypton?" "I don't understand." "What was she doing here?" "What did she say?" "She told me that I would cause the end of the world." "It's like I have a ticking time bomb on me, Chloe, and I only have a year to figure out how to stop it." "You can't believe everything an assassin tells you." "What does she know, anyway, right?" "The future." "Right." "The future." "What is it, Chloe?" "I want you to go back and save Jimmy." "Take the ring and stop him from being killed." "You can't ask me to go... you said that your sole purpose for giving everything up is so that you could dedicate your life to helping people." "So, help him, Clark." "Save him." "That would be changing destiny." "Whose destiny?" "Not Jimmy's..." "you and I both know that." "He didn't deserve to die, Clark." "He died because you and I screwed up, because we made a mistake." "Now you have to fix it!" "I'm not a god!" "And the last time that I tried to rewrite fate, my own father died." "He died right here in my arms because of me." "I've given up so much for you, Clark." "This is the only thing I've ever asked from you." "Please?" "Please do this for me." "Please save Jimmy." "I can't." "That's good." "It's good that you're embracing your Kryptonian side." "There isn't really anything human left in you." "Miss Mercer?" "How are you feeling?" "You should know." "You had a front-row ticket to the entire thing." "How the hell can they just disappear?" "Where's my video?" "You told us not to interfere under any circumstance when they came in and took you hostage." "And I'm sure that you enjoyed every moment of it." "Just tell me that my plan paid off." "Where are they?" "We recorded hundreds of hours of security footage while they were here." "I've only been able to sift through some of... the feeds." "Oh, my god." "It's all gone." "There's not even a trace of the video feed files." "They broke through our highest-security software." "I guess a few encrypted passwords won't stop someone who traveled galaxies to get here." "There are laws about stalking people." "You should know." "I'm not a cop." "Detective... whatever." "You guys are so touchy." "I don't work for the force." "You jumped to that conclusion yourself, which I hear you do..." "a lot." "Who the hell are you, then?" "I'm a field reporter." "I spent the last few years in Afghanistan." "Hopefully that gave me enough training to be your desk mate." "Don't bet on it." "And don't get comfortable in that chair." "Clark's coming back." "Really?" "I heard he was visiting family indefinitely." "Indefinitely?" "No." "The guy never takes any time off." "I'm sure he's just cashing in on some overdue vacation time." "Supposedly you've been fired." "Minor technicality." "I hope so." "I'm John Corben." "I'll see you in the trenches." "Hello?" "Thank you for saving me out there." "I was afraid you had disappeared for good." "I should have." "I'm supposed to." "But I can't." "Promise me this is just between us." "I promise." "No!"