"Sorry, Dirk." " Come on!" " Who the hell are you?" "Lucas, I'm your brother." "Well, come on!" "Sure is peaceful in here this early in the morning." "I never took you to be a coffee junkie but I have the first pot brewing, if you want to wait a sec." "Anything else I can get you?" "Just a job." "Here?" "If I'm gonna work, why not do it where my friends are?" "Don't take this the wrong way but you don't have the best track record when it comes to keeping appointments." "But talk to Hank, I hear they're hiring over at the hardware store." "Ouch." "Guess that was kind of harsh." "I can put you in the running with the other applicants." "No, no, no, it's a very important vote tomorrow." "I'm not moving the day to accommodate Dobkin's fetish for antique clocks." "I want him back from Prague now, Steven, do you understand me?" "Hello, Dad." "Lex." "To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?" "I thought you might be interested in meeting your youngest heir." "Lucas, this is your father." "Mr. Luthor." "Lucas." "Lucas." "Son." "At least biologically speaking, right?" "I see we both share a passion for Asian weaponry." "By the placement of the dragon, it must be worn on the right hip." "A rare left-handed sword." "But it's a fake." "That's a very keen observation." "Especially from someone you told me was dead." "Imagine my surprise to learn that Lucas was alive and well, living in Edge City." "Come on, Dad." "You knew he was alive." "Lucas?" "Tell my secretary to take you to the executive dining room." "We'll join you shortly." "My chef will fix you anything your heart desires." "Don't talk about me behind my back." "So the prodigal son returns." "But unlike his envious brother in the gospel it looks like you have welcomed Lucas with open arms." "What do you expect to get out of it, Lex?" "Just a new brother." "One who's just turned 18, if I remember correctly and is now entitled to claim his inheritance." "It was generous of you to set up your living trust so heirs automatically get 10 percent of your LuthorCorp shares." "It's the vital 10 percent you need to vote me out of power." "Is that why half my board has suddenly found a myriad excuses for not taking my calls?" "Oh, my word, you're staging a coup." "Careful, Lex there are parables of many kinds to be found in the Good Book." "Selma get me my next call, please." "Working at the Talon." "Could you be any more obvious?" "What happened to the Pete Ross rule of proximity?" "You wanna get in the game, you gotta get on the court." "Clark, Lana will be your boss." "She's gonna take out her frustrations for all the times you've ever let her down." "You won't be in the game." "You'll be in the locker room cleaning the toilets." "I'm probably not gonna get the job anyway." "Guys I want you to meet somebody." "This is Lucas." "My brother." "What's up, guys?" " Lucas, you wanna shoot some hoops?" " Yeah, sure." " Here you go." " Come on." "All right." "Didn't mean to drop a bombshell on you." "I thought he was supposed to be, well, dead." "Just buried by my father." "I've been looking for him for several months." "Why didn't you say something?" "Because I wasn't sure what I was gonna find." "I've gotta straighten something out with the bank." "Lucas, we have to get going." "Hey, you can hang out here if you want." "Give me a chance to get to know him a little bit." "Yeah, sure, absolutely." "I'll be back in an hour." "Here you go, Pete." "So you and Lex seem close." "What, are you kidding?" "They're like brothers." "So, Lucas, where'd you grow up?" "All over." "Must be kind of weird not knowing your mom or your dad." "Not really." "Parents always try to make you versions of themselves." "Grow up without those constraints, you can become your own person." "It's an interesting theory." "I don't think I buy it, though." "All right." "Let's..." "Let's take you and Lex, for example." "If he was raised by your parents and you by Lionel you wouldn't grow up to be different people?" "Trust me." "You'd be rich and miserable and he'd be wearing flannel." "But if you were left alone, abandoned how do you think you'd turn out?" " I'm not sure." "That's when you find out what you're really made of." "We gonna stand around and chitchat, or are we gonna play some ball?" "Clark, let's see what you got." "Check it up." "Is that all you got, Clark?" "Be cool, man." "Hey, Rocket Man, we don't want anybody to get hurt." " All right." " All right." "Come on." "Sorry, man, no hard feelings, right?" "It's just a game." "Right." "Felt like you had a steel plate in there or something." " Any chance I can get a ride back?" " Yeah, I'll give you a lift." "Hello, Lana." " Hey." "Almond mocha with extra whip?" " Yeah." "And can you add an extra jolt of caffeine?" "I'm in my postlunch-predeadline coma." "Thank you." "Katrina, could you get me an almond latte, please, with extra whip?" " Clark Kent applied for part-time?" " Yeah." "And he didn't put me as a reference." "What's up with that?" " Doesn't matter, I'm not gonna hire him." " Why not?" "You work with him at the Torch, isn't it strange supervising your friend?" "Are you kidding?" "Bossing around Clark is the highlight of my day." "Besides, he always comes through, even if it is in his own special Clark time." "Yeah, that's kind of what I'm worried about." "Lana, you and I both know that Clark can do this job." "What's the real reason you don't want him here?" "I..." "Yeah, that's what I thought." "I just spent the last two hours at the bank." "Any idea why my accounts would be frozen?" "You know, Lex, I'm tired of your constant attempts at mutiny." "You didn't leave me too many options." "It was that or the plank." "It wasn't wise of you, son, to wager all of your assets as collateral against LexCorp when you took out your loan." "You see, now that your company is a LuthorCorp property everything you own belongs to me." "I want you out of the mansion." "Come on, Dad, isn't this a little futile?" "Lucas and I will be back home after we vote you out." "Don't be so sure about that, Lex." "Lucas and I had a very interesting father and son chat." "Long overdue." "It'd be hard for you to imagine, Lex but some sons don't ever question their allegiance to family." "You're being incredibly naive if you think you can trust him." "Something you pick up at the tables, Lex." "You size up your options." "You never know when you might have to change your strategy midhand." "Well, Lex, looks like you lose." "I'll get it." " Hey, Lex." " Clark, I'm sorry to bother you." " No problem." "Is everything all right?" " No, it's not." "Lex, what is it?" "According to my father, I'm no longer a Luthor." "He's left me with nothing, not even a place to live." "So I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while?" " You're up early, even for you." " I couldn't sleep." "Does that have anything to do with our new houseguest?" " Can you blame me?" " We can't turn our backs on Lex now." "Believe me, I have no intention of turning my back on Lex now." " Morning." " Good morning." " Anyone seen Lex?" " Yeah, he's out in the barn." "He got up at the crack of dawn and insisted on doing some chores to earn his keep." "You got him mucking out the stalls already?" "Yes." "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" "Yeah." "Hey, son." "All kidding aside, I don't want you to forget that he did investigate you for a year." "Remember what's in the storm cellar?" " Dad, I trust Lex." " Clark I don't want him left alone on this farm." "Well, I was gonna give you some tips but it looks like you have everything under control." "My family had a ranch in Montana." "I used to go there in the summer with my mom." "Sounds like fun." "We would work right alongside the ranch hands." "Everyone did their fair share." "It was the only time I felt... normal." "Did you ever go back?" "After my mother died, my father sold the property." "I guess you could say he was never a man of the people." "Let me give you a hand with that." "Thanks, but I'd like to prove to your father once and for all that some Luthors pull their own weight." "Lucas?" "We've got to talk." "Sure, Dad, what's up?" "What's up is that you have yet to sign over your shares to me as we'd agreed." "Please, turn that off." "Lucas, please, turn that off." "Now!" "Let's see, what's wrong with this picture?" "I trick Lex, I play along with your little game, and you offer me, what 10 million dollars to walk away?" "I'd say it's a little more lucrative than your card scams." "Well, Dad, the deal sounded really good at the time but that is until I realized what a Luthor goes for these days." "You see, I went through the LuthorCorp financials and it turns out I'm worth five times what you're offering me." "And that only takes into account what you report to Uncle Sam." "Don't be getting delusions of grandeur, my boy." " Tell me something, Dad." " What?" "Why didn't you try and find me before I was 12?" "Because your mother lied to me." "She told me you'd died as a baby." "But I'm still not worth your time." "I took care of you the best way I knew how, Lucas." " At arm's length with a checkbook." " There are worse scenarios." "Lucas now it's your turn to live up to our agreement." "Please." "Just sign." "Please, son." "Okay." "Okay, Dad." "You might want to have your lawyers look over that." "No, I trust that everything is in order." "Dad." "Lucas?" "What the hell are you doing?" "You could have killed me." "We both know you saw that ball coming." " You're way out of line, son." " When blind man pours a drink he holds his finger on the inside rim to feel when the glass is full." "Yesterday, you didn't do that." "And just now, you couldn't hide your reaction to my lack of signature." "What do you want, Lucas?" "Lex is the past I'm the future." "Lana, I got your message." "What's up?" "Oh, I just wanted to let you know that I filled that position." "Great." " You didn't have to consult me about it." " Yeah, I did." "Congratulations, Clark, you got the job." "Really?" "What changed your mind?" "A glowing recommendation from the editor of the Torch." " So the job's yours, if you still want it." " Of course." "Are you sure about this?" "No." "But I remember Lex believed in me when I wanted to start this place." "We all need someone to take a chance on us." "So when can you start?" "Don't you think you should check with the boss first?" "Lana, this is Lucas, Lex's brother." " Lex never mentioned he had a brother." " I wasn't exactly on his Christmas card list." "I like the whole Egyptian/ Assyrian vibe." "It's clear you put a lot of time and effort into this place." "Yeah, so did Lex." "Well, Lex, is..." "He's not exactly in the picture anymore." "Lionel threw Lex out of the mansion." "How's he doing down on the farm, Clark?" "He's doing great." " He's a survivor." " I hope that he can survive on nothing because anything that was his is now mine." "Including this place." "You should know that Lex wasn't my boss, he was my partner." "Even better." " Hey." "I didn't know the Talon delivered." " I decided to make an exception." "I assume you got the job, then." "Apparently, the editor of the Torch put me over the top." "So how does it feel to be a minimum-wage earner?" "Great." "Though there seems to be some personnel changes at the Talon." "Are you talking about Lucas Luthor?" "Yeah, how'd you know?" "Are you kidding?" "The prodigal Luthor son returns." "And to top it all off, the new heir has taken over the castle." "That's a story that could land you a byline on the front page of the Daily Planet." "I just..." "I don't trust Lucas." "I think he's hiding something." "Come on." "Cut the guy a break." "He's had a really tough life." "He bounced from foster home to foster home." "He never got adopted." "When you were looking at his past, you didn't find anything weird at all?" "Just the source." ""Metropolis United Charities. "" "Chloe said Lucas' file didn't even exist two weeks ago." "Suddenly, there it is." "Like somebody wanted him to be found." "The detectives I hired didn't say where they got their information." " Think your father knew about Lucas?" " Do you even have to ask?" " Lucas was in on this from the beginning." " Why would he suddenly let you find him?" "Because ever since he took LexCorp, he knows I've been looking to get back at him." "He co-opted Lucas before I could." "While I've been playing checkers, my father's been playing chess." "Wow." "Say, I love what you've done with the place." "Is this your newest scam?" "Corporate titan in training?" "Unlike you, Lex, I don't live in my father's shadow." "My training's over." "What can I do for you?" "Feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you?" "I got to admit, you and my father played me brilliantly." "Just out of idle curiosity, when did he contact you?" "Three weeks ago." "He told me who he was said you were looking for me, wanted to use me for some corporate raid." "Let's face it, Lex I'm the son he wants." "Careful, Lucas, you're showing your hand." "Come on, what is it you're really after?" "His affection?" "Do you really believe if you stick around he's gonna love you?" "Trust me, you don't know him at all." "Get out, Lex." "You lost." "I found you because he wanted me to." " High school kids can track you down." " You mean your friend Clark Kent." "I bet a lot of people are out looking for you." " Like your friends from Edge City." " Oh, wow, Lex." "Is that a threat?" "You know, Lucas, the Luthor gene pool is a shark tank and our father's just chummed the waters." "Good luck." "There you go." " Where's Clark?" " Good question." "Lana!" "Sorry I'm late." "Don't worry about it." "You can make it up by taking these lattes to table three." " I want you to fire him." " Fire me?" "For what?" "You're half an hour late to work." "Were you helping Lex dig up more dirt about me?" "Lucas, I am not gonna fire Clark." "Okay, then I'll fire you too." "Check our partnership agreement." "You can't do that." "Lex made sure of it." "Lex is history, and so is this place." "You can count on it." " Lucas, wait." "You can't do this!" " I'm a Luthor." "I can do anything I want." "If you want me to quit, I will, just leave Lana alone!" "Too late." "You okay?" " Dad." " Lucas." "I heard about last night." "Well, you know, you wouldn't be a Luthor if somebody wasn't trying to kill you." "It didn't hurt that Clark Kent was there." "I don't know how he reacted so quickly." "Well, Clark is a very special young man." "Did you recognize the shooter?" "His name's Dirk." "I did some business with him back in Edge City." "Interesting euphemism." "You don't sound too surprised." "Where do you think you are, Walton Mountain?" "Come on, Lucas, think a minute." "You walk in here, you take everything that belongs to Lex." "You think he's just gonna give up without a fight?" "You know, that's funny because Lex said that you wanted me out of the picture." "Of course he did." "But you're my son." "Why should I believe you, Dad?" "Lucas." " Look..." " You wanted me out of your life." "You even tried to buy me off." "Why the sudden change of heart?" "It was a test." "But you stood up to me turned the tables, showed me your strength." "That's what it takes to win." "Lex doesn't have that." "Why do you think he's afraid of you?" "You've thrown down the gauntlet, Lucas." "You willing to go the distance?" "Lex obviously is." " Hey, Clark." " Chloe, what'd you find out?" "So they caught Lucas' shooter outside of Metropolis." "His name is Dirk Lee." "They tracked him down with the license plate you gave them." " Did he tell the police who tipped him off?" " Not exactly." "Somewhere between the booking desk and a holding cell, Dirk mysteriously keeled over and died." "Someone didn't want him to talk." "Yeah, someone who had enough power to kill him in a police station." " You have anyone that comes to mind?" " Cover for me, okay?" "No, Clark." "I drink coffee, I do not serve it." "Clark!" "Mr. Kent." "I wanted to say thank you for everything you and your family have done for me." "What, you going somewhere, Lex?" "Well, I need to talk to my brother and you know what they say about fish and houseguests after three days." "You're welcome back anytime." "That's nice of you to say." "Look, I gave you every single crappy farm job I could think of." "But you did them all, you didn't complain, not once." "You would have made one hell of a farmer." "Thanks, Mr. Kent." "Sure." " Lucas, what are you doing?" " Finishing what you started." " Who is that?" " It's Clark Kent." "Clark." "Oh, Clark." "I'm sorry, I meant to call and thank you for saving Lucas." "Your rescues are becoming a bit of a Luthor family tradition." "I understand they caught the shooter in Metropolis." "Yes, I heard that." "So I can assume you've also heard that he died while in police custody?" "That's unfortunate but it happens." "It's just awfully convenient, isn't it?" "Kind of like how Lex was able to track down Lucas." "I think you've inherited your father's paranoia." "We're not talking about my family, Mr. Luthor." "We're talking about yours." "Good night, Clark." "Send my regards to your mother." "Yeah." "What?" "Lucas, where are you?" "All right, all right, I'll take the chopper." "Be there in half an hour, my office." "Don't do anything rash, you understand me?" "Lucas?" "Glad you could make it." "What the hell are you doing?" "Come on, Dad." "This is exactly what you wanted." "Pitted us against each other, and we played in your Cain and Abel fantasy." "You put the gun down, Lucas." "Put it down." "How do you know he's got a gun?" "You twisted son of a bitch!" "You're the one who told me to finish what I started." "Well, as long as Lex is around, I'll always have to fight for my place in this family." "Lucas, you are not going to shoot your brother." "You're right." "You are." "What do you expect to achieve, Lucas?" "Tell me." "Isn't it obvious, Dad?" "Once we're both out of the picture young Lucas here inherits everything." " Pull the trigger." "Lucas, think." "Just think, Lucas." "Think this through." "I'm not your enemy, Lucas." "I'm not the one who deliberately kept you in foster care." " You're not helping things, Lex." " Ever wonder why you were never adopted?" "If you were in trouble, how you got bailed out at the last minute?" "Don't tell me you thought you were just lucky." "We're a social experiment." "One son gets everything, the other gets nothing." "That's ludicrous." "I would never do that." "You would." "Just like you tipped off the shooter." "Your friend Dirk was on our father's payroll." "Edge City was a setup." " You wanted to use me too." " Yes, I did and for that I am truly sorry." "But trust me, trying to gain his love and respect is not worth it." "Is it true?" "Is that what you did to me?" "We've got a lot to talk about, son." "After you kill Lex." "For once, I want the blood to be on your hands." "Time's up, Dad." " No." "I can't do it." " Well, that's just too bad." "Lucas, please, don't." "I will not kill my son." "Psychotic little bastard!" "It must be in the genes." "It's blanks." "This one too." "Checkmate." "Come on, Lucas." " Good night." " Thanks." "Lana." "I realize you're locking up, but I just need to explain." "It's not necessary." "I understand." " You're not mad." " Somehow, when you let people down you make it really hard for them to be mad at you." " Lana, I just..." " Clark, it isn't you..." "So I guess that's it." "The shortest career in the history of the coffeehouse business." "Second shortest." "Don't forget my one day at the Beanery." "Hope this doesn't change things between us." "I don't see how things are ever gonna change between us, Clark." " That can stay." " Yes, sir." "Lex." "Glad to see that you're making yourself at home again, son." "I read your fascinating piece of fiction in the Daily Planet." "People love to read about triumph over adversity." "And your stock jumped five points." "How long have you been able to see?" "Few weeks." "Playing the handicapped card is low, even for you." "But I was able to see more clearly than ever." "It's amazing what people try and get away with right in front of your eyes when they think you can't see." "I can only imagine." "All right, Lex." "How are we gonna repair this rift between us?" "You mean, how are you gonna keep the whole Lucas affair quiet?" "I was thinking of giving you LexCorp back." " Majority stake, no strings attached." " Except for my silence." "I've always believed that family business should be kept within the family." "And Lucas is under my protection now." "You remember the fable of the frog and the scorpion, Lex?" "Yeah, Dad." "The frog helped the scorpion across the river." "The scorpion repaid his kindness by stinging the frog." ""Why did you do it?" The dying frog asked him." "And the scorpion replied, "Because it is my nature. "" "Believe me, Lex, your brother will never change." "I've watched him over the years." "The boy's a sociopath." "And I wonder which side of the family tree he got that from." "Good night, Dad." "I'll be sure to give Lucas your love." "My mom told me you were gonna come back and get the rest of your stuff." "Surprisingly, my dad's had a change of heart." "Sorry Lucas didn't turn out to be the brother you wanted." "Considering his father, I'm surprised he's still alive at all." "Where is Lucas now?" "Safe." "But I'm gonna have some work to do to regain his trust." "You will." "You're not your father." "Sometimes, Clark, we're all held hostage by the will of our fathers." "The only difference is, your dad's a good man." "All my father does is push people away." "Your dad opened his home to me, no questions asked." "As long as I live, I don't think I'm ever gonna understand your family." "Neither will I." "Just remember my father may try and rule the world but yours will inherit the earth."