"Hey, Sasha, say something presidential." "Whoa, Chloe, slow down." "The election hasn't even started yet." "What do you think Sasha's chances are?" "Well, she knows the most about student government, she's worked her way up she's on a ton of committees, but she's more of a worker than a leader." "How about Paul?" "He's certainly the most qualified but elections aren't about merit, they're about popularity." "Which brings us to Felice." "Head cheerleader and president of the drama club." "That definitely gives her an edge, not to mention that she's really hot." "Yeah, but her name rhymes with the French word for luggage." "Okay, glad to see you're not reaching for reasons to hate her." "I saw you taking Sasha's picture." "Why haven't you taken mine?" "That qualifies as biased." "I plan on running photos and bios of all the candidates, including you, Felice." "Hey, Chloe, what about the editorial?" "You can only endorse one candidate, so who's it gonna be?" "Who cares?" "No matter what she says, people are gonna vote for me." "Never underestimate the need for the clinically ambitious to pad their resumes." "You want to avoid the pain and humiliation of losing?" "Drop out now." "Ow!" "That's gotta be my all-time worst nightmare." "I get stung by one bee, I swell up like a grapefruit, but over a hundred..." "How'd they get into Paul's bathroom?" "The Center for Environmental Protection is sending a team from Metropolis to investigate." "Guess that's gonna shake up our class election." "Not really." "I mean, Paul's name is still on the ballot and he wouldn't take office until fall." "He could recover by then." "Out of sight, out of mind." "My call, he gets a few sympathy votes." "That's it." " Nice to see the softer side of Pete." " Seriously." "Anyway, there's a new candidate on the horizon who is gonna make things interesting." "Oh, yeah, who's that?" " What have you done?" " I see a big future ahead of you in politics." "You're straightforward." "People like you." " No way." "Definitely not." " You've got the whole package:" "Looks, brains, and that whole farm-boy charm." "Did I mention the perks of power?" " If it was so great, why didn't you run?" " I know my strengths." "I'm more the power behind the throne." "The guy behind the guy." "The one who makes it all happen." " Pete Ross, the kingmaker." " Exactly." "All you gotta do is show up, shake a couple hands, give a speech." "It's easy." "And we wonder why our politicians aren't great leaders." "Clark, Clark, Clark, Clark..." " You look like you could use some help." " No, I'm fine." "Hans, I need you out on Route 90, two miles east of the mansion." " A red Mustang with engine trouble." " What are you doing?" "Calling my mechanic." "Not that I don't appreciate your attempt at postmodern chivalry, but I said I was fine." "Dolce  Gabbana and a vocabulary?" "You've got Metropolis written all over you." "What brings you to Smallville?" "You're the sheriff come to run me out of town?" "Did the attitude come with the couture, or was it an accessory?" "If you must know, I'm thinking about moving here." "I'd ask you what it's like, but you don't look like a local." "I've lived here since last fall." "I couldn't wait to get out, but it's growing on me." "Well, why the change?" "The Norman Rockwell ambiance seduce you?" "Appearance is deceptive." "Nothing around here is what it seems." "I'm intrigued." "What do you mean?" "All these questions." "This is beginning to sound like an interview." " Who do you work for?" " I don't know what you're talking about." "If I toss these into the woods, you really are gonna need a tow truck." "Carrie Castle." "I'm a staff reporter for the Metropolis Journal." "I don't grant interviews, Ms. Castle." "I've spent most of my life taking back entrances to avoid people like you." "Wait." "Just listen." "I want to write an article about you." "That's your pitch?" "There are articles written about me all the time." "But you're either dismissed as a wild child or the spoiled son of Lionel Luthor." "You've gotten some good press in the Inquisitor but the Journal is not a tabloid." "It's respected." "It could help change your image." " What did you have in mind?" " A cover profile on your work in Smallville." "It will be fair and accurate and will give you the legitimacy you need to get out of your father's shadow." "Launching my career and conveniently your own." "I admire the effort, Ms. Castle, but I have to decline." "You get points for style, though." "I can't believe Pete did this." "Some men are born to greatness, others are dragged into it, kicking and screaming." "Clark?" "What's going on?" "Why are you running?" "You've never shown interest in student government." "Don't worry, it's just a gag." "Pete nominated me." " So you're taking your name off the ballot?" " Yeah." "Well, good, because this election is way too important to turn into a joke." "It's bad enough with Felice." "I hear she's throwing a pre-election bash with a band and catering." "She is trying to buy this election like one of her Prada bags!" "Talk about tightly wound." "Not that I'm planning to, but if I ran, you think I'd have a shot?" "Yeah, right after I'm elected head cheerleader." "Clark Kent for president?" "Oh, don't worry, I'm pulling my name out tomorrow." " I think this is a terrific idea." " You do?" "You always say that you don't get a chance to shine because football is off-limits..." " ... maybe this is your opportunity." " I assumed you'd say no." " Student government is such a public thing." " It doesn't require you to use your gifts and it's a school activity you can make your own." "Hey, what's the matter, son?" "You don't look too happy about this." "Hey" " Hey." "I've always tried to stay out of the spotlight." "Well, nobody's saying you have to run." "You can quit if you want, but remember, quitting's a very hard habit to break." "No pressure." "Wow, the place is..." "Empty?" "Deserted?" "Vacant?" "Well, I was searching for a euphemism to say that, but... yeah." "The Beanery's tried to put us out of business since we opened." "I have tried coupons, price cuts, even ads in the Ledger so far nothing's worked." "At this rate, we'll have to close the doors in a month." "Have you spoken to Lex?" "He's an investor, I'm sure he can help." "He's been uncharacteristically silent." "Besides, this is my battle to win or lose, and I am determined to win." "Speaking of which, I hear you've got a battle of your own on your hands." "Oh, yeah, the election." "I'm not really running." "That's too bad." "I think you'd make a great class president." " Really?" " Yeah." "You're honest, people trust you." "And you have this innate sense of justice." "I can see it on your face how upset you get when you think somebody's being mistreated." " You see all that in me?" " Yes, I do." "Clark Kent for president." "How'd you know I was running?" "I found this on my windshield in town." "I have an overzealous campaign manager." "I didn't realize you had political aspirations." "I don't." "I just figured I could make a difference." "Did you swing by for a campaign contribution?" "Actually, I was wondering if you knew about the Talon." "You mean the fact that it's been empty the last two weeks?" "Do you plan on helping Lana out?" "She's tried everything." "She's doing an admirable job." " If the Talon goes under..." " Clark I won't subsidize a money-losing operation." "The Talon has to find its own feet." "Well, you could at least stop by and show some solidarity." "See?" "You're already working for your constituents." "You want some advice?" "I think you need a better slogan." "Everybody's used this one, including me." " You ran for student office." " Once." " But my aspirations weren't very noble." " Did you win?" "Of course." "Do you have any tips?" "You don't need my methods." "You'll win on your own terms." "Competition's pretty stiff." "There's nothing wrong with a good fight." "Remember the man of tomorrow is forged by his battles today." "Could I use that?" "I mean, "the man of tomorrow," for my slogan?" "Knock yourself out." ""Clark Kent, man of tomorrow." Kind of presumptuous, don't you think?" " I like it." " I thought you were bagging the election." "I had a change of heart." ""Man of tomorrow." Very catchy." "Thank you." "And thank you for the encouragement." "You've got my vote." "I could have my election rally at the Talon, help bring people by." "That sounds great." "You know where to find me." " Bye, Lana." " Bye." "You're running because of Lana." "Why am I not surprised?" "I'm running because I think I can do a good job." " All right, Clark, whatever." " Pete has faith in me and so does Lana." " It's interesting that you don't." " What do you stand for?" "I stand for truth, justice and other stuff." "You wanna be a little more specific, tell me where you stand on the issues?" " What issues do you wanna talk about?" " There's the plan to cut the arts budget the appalling nutritional value of cafeteria meals, the dress code and not to mention the student privacy issues with the locker searches." "Slow down." "I just decided to run last night." "Okay, well, I think the man of tomorrow needs to get a platform for today." "Okay, there's a girls' volleyball game this afternoon." "You can make an appearance, court the jock vote." "Keep Friday clear, there's a band concert." "They suck, but you've got to be seen..." " ... as a friend of the arts." " What about my platform?" "Who cares?" "If people like you, they'll vote for you." " What am I gonna say in my speech?" " I don't know." "I don't do speeches." "See you at lunch." "We can canvass the cafeteria." "Who do they think they are?" "Stop!" "Not now." "I have work to do." "Any chance you could help us hang some posters?" "Pete's convinced if he puts my name on enough wall space, I'll win." "Besides needing to be an impartial member of the fourth estate, I'm doing my bee story." "C.E.P. find anything new?" "The swarms didn't migrate from any of their usual places." "Beekeepers all over the state have found their hives empty." "It's like the colonies just up and left." "That's weird." "Bees are followers." "They wouldn't desert their hive without reason." "My mom's addicted to Discovery Channel." " So how goes the platform?" " I haven't started working on it yet." "I've been so busy meeting people." "I even got invited to parties this weekend." "I can't believe it took one day for you to be compromised by the lure of popularity." "Remind me to pull your funding after I'm elected." "Speaking of which, where's the latest edition?" "No, no, no!" "I'm not done proofing it yet." "You shouldn't be looking at it yet." "It's not done!" "Come on, I've been correcting your comma issues since your first laptop." " You endorsed Paul?" " Clark, I had to be objective." "Paul's still in the race, and he'll be back by fall." "It's great that you're all gung-ho and slogany now but the truth is, you only ran because Pete suckered you into it." "Paul has a clear stance on issues you have yet to articulate." " It's nothing personal." " I understand, Chloe." "Hey, guys." "Taking a break from the campaign trail?" "It's amazing how many people at school I don't know." "This is a pit stop." "Wanted to take advantage of your two-for-one deal." "Figure that's the last step before I institute topless waitressing." "Well, here's to hoping it fails miserably." " It looks like you have customers." " They're here because Whitney forced them." "Yeah, I passed by the Beanery." "They're kind of busy." "The owner stopped by." "He said he's made it his mission to run this place into the ground." "Then he had the nerve to tell me that it wasn't personal, just business." "Why does everyone over 40 quote The Godfather?" "I don't know, but it's really annoying." " So how's political life treating you?" " It's definitely a challenge." " It shows you who your real friends are." " How's your speech going?" " I haven't started writing it yet." " Maybe I could help you with that." " Come by tomorrow." "We can work on it." " Really?" "That would be great." "You sure you have enough time?" "Look around." "Unless Whitney can coerce the baseball team, I think I can squeeze you in." "Glad to see business is booming." "It's hard when even your regular customers blow you off." "I haven't been blowing you off." "I've had my eye on the situation." " Waiting for me to fail." " Most new ventures don't make it." "Prepare yourself for that possibility." " I thought you didn't like to lose." " I don't." "But it's not my fight." " You have to know when to cut your losses." " So, what do you suggest I do?" "The Beanery declared war." "If you wanna hold on to this place, get creative." "Be willing to get your hands dirty." "Don't worry, I'm not suggesting anything illegal." "To quote The Godfather, "It's time to go to the mattresses."" "That movie should be banned from basic cable." "Don't ask." "All right." "Bye." "Felice, can I talk to you a minute?" "You've got 55 seconds left." "Go." "I've made a decision." "You're planning on dropping out." "No, I've decided you need to drop out." "Trust me, that's not gonna happen." "In case you haven't heard, I'm the front-runner." "That's because these drones wouldn't know a qualified candidate if they saw one." "That's the problem with this place." "It's like a hive with two queens." "Well, if you knew anything about nature, you'd realize one always goes down." "You know what?" "You're a freak." "Okay, have it your way." "But just remember, I did ask nicely." " Gabby, you're the best part of my day." " Thank you, Mr. Luthor." " You're not Gabby." " She couldn't make it." "Now would be a good time for you to leave, Ms. Castle." "Do people always do what you say?" "Is that unusual?" "I thought you said you appreciated persistence." "Besides, aren't I doing a good job?" "Lucky for you." "It took a while to figure out what would tempt you and then it hit me." "It's not your picture on the Journal cover so much as the words "Son Outshines Father" in the caption." "How am I doing?" "A little lower." "Let me guess." "Your editor promised you your own column if you land me." " You can imagine how appreciative I'd be." " I think I can." "Tell me, Lex, would you say my chances are above-average or below?" "Like I said, I always appreciate persistence." "You won't regret this." "Not yet, Ms. Castle." "I paid for an hour." "Felice Chandler, what's the problem?" "Vote for Clark." "Vote for Clark." "I thought meeting people would be the worst part, but it's actually kind of fun." "I'm glad you feel that way, because according to my latest lunchtime poll you've got a shot." "Hey." "Hey." "How's it going?" "Just answer "no comment." That way she can't misquote you." " You hear about Felice?" " Yeah, I was just at the medical center." "She was stung way worse than Paul." "She's in a coma." "Two candidates attacked in a week." " It's a pretty freaky coincidence." " I think we've moved past coincidence." "What do you think's going on?" "Remember last year, Sasha's accident, when she was stung by a hive of bees?" "You think because of that, she's controlling them?" "It's a theory." "Yeah, by several leaps and bounds, but I'll look into it." "In the meantime, watch your back." "I just heard about Felice." "Weird, huh?" "Sometimes things just happen for a reason." "She didn't care about this election as much as me." "She wasn't my favorite person, but no one deserves that." "Well, the good news is, you don't have to run anymore." "With Felice gone, the best thing you can do is let me run things." "What about democracy?" "People should have freedom of choice." "Look, Clark, I really need this." "My parents are riding me to win." "They think if I lose I won't get into a good college." "You have other activities." "This is my thing." " Why don't you just drop out?" " I'm sorry." "I have my own reasons to see this through." "You're making a mistake." "That sounded like a threat." "You wouldn't know how those bees wound up attacking Paul and Felice, would you?" "Are you accusing me of something, Clark?" "I find it interesting that a swarm of bees would attack two candidates in this election." "My thoughts are somebody's behind it." "Good start." "My trash bin has three drafts in it." "Nothing I can come up with sounds presidential." "You don't have to sound presidential." "Say what you believe." " Once you answer that, the rest is easy." " I've still got a lot of work to do, then." "Not as much as I have here." "I know you're having a tough time, but it's amazing what you've done with the place." "This was just going to be the start." "My dream was to restore the old theater completely." "The projector, the screen." "Show old movies." "Just not The Godfather." "Come on, get back to the speech." "You have to decide what you believe in." "I believe in my friends and their dreams." "What if their dreams come crashing down around them?" "Nothing's crashing down around you, Lana, not while I'm here." "Thanks, Clark." "Did you hear that?" "Yeah, it was coming from over there." "And there." "What is it?" "Come on!" "Get in!" " What about you?" " Get down!" "I still can't believe you didn't get stung." "Guess I have tough skin." "The insurance forms are gonna hurt worse than the stinger." "But I'm fine, thanks to you." "There's Nell." " I had a really nice time tonight." " Yeah, we should do this more often." " You sure you're okay?" " Sorry we didn't get further on your speech." "That's the least of my worries." "Right now, I need to find Sasha." " Do you think she did this?" " Yes." "I just don't know how she's controlling the bees." " You need to call Chloe." " We're still not really talking." "Can you believe she didn't endorse me?" "Well, if I were in her position, I probably would have done the same thing." "She's just being objective." "She endorsed the person she thought was most qualified." " Yeah, but still" " Clark you said you believed in your friends." "She only did what she thought was right." "Chloe." "Lana told me about the Talon." "Thanks for the call." " Sorry." " It's all right, I'm not mad." "Chloe I don't hold it against you." "The endorsement, I mean." "Thanks." "I could've warned you, though." "I just don't like being in a fight with you." "Yeah, it wasn't my favorite part either." "Everything has changed in my life in the last year, with my parents with Lana." "The only thing constant has been you." "I'm glad for that, Chloe." "Me too." "This feels like honey." "Yeah, that's what you usually find in a hive." "Don't tell me Sasha did all this." "No, her worker bees did." " How is she controlling them?" " I think she's emitting something called the queen mandibular pheromone." "She pick that up when she fell in the hive?" "She was stung over a thousand times." "They were Africanized bees." "Doctors didn't hold out hope, because she was allergic." "How do they account for the miracle recovery?" "They don't." "And neither could I until I found out the accident happened in Shuster's Gorge." " That's the deepest crater in town." " Yeah." "You do the meteorite math." "The bees did something to make her their queen." "All the bees in the state are taking a cue from her." "They're helping her make Smallville High her hive." "If she doesn't like the way the vote goes, it won't be a pretty sight." "Neither will she." "Bees are only loyal to a point." "Once she loses control, her scent will change, and the bees will know." "They won't be happy." "Thought you wanted to meet somewhere private." "Lately this has been passing for that." "Thanks for agreeing to see me." "I just want to get a few more quotes." "How's the article going?" "People are gonna see you in a whole new light." "Yes, I bet they will." " I've had a chance to read the rough draft." " Where'd you get that?" "I have my sources." "It's hardly the flattering expose you promised." " It's fair and accurate." " You twisted everything I said." "My journalism professor says, "If you wanna bring down Goliath you better know his Achilles heel." Yours is your ego." "I see they like to mix metaphors at East Tennessee Community College." "Am I supposed to be scared because you ran a background check on me?" " I have nothing to hide." " How much did my father pay you?" " You really are paranoid." " Why else would you sandbag me?" "I plan on making a name for myself as a hard-hitting journalist and you're a very visible target." "What's it gonna take to make this article go away?" "Unlike your whore at the Inquisitor, I'm not for sale." "Goodbye, Lex." "Thanks for being my first." "You wanted to see me?" "I've decided to drop out of the election." "I thought you should be the first to know." "Good." "I'm glad you finally made the right decision." "The fact that those people even considered voting for any of you guys just proves that this school needs a strong leader." "Now they'll have one." "You'll do anything to make sure that happens including putting your opponents in the hospital." "I see what this is." "You haven't dropped out at all." " I know you're behind the attacks." " So?" "What are you going to do, Clark?" "Even if the police believe you they can't stop me." "No one can." "Try me." "That's what you want, isn't it?" "That's why you lured me here." "What were you gonna do, Clark?" "What are you doing?" "Teaching you that politics is all about sacrifice." "Where are you sending them?" "You may be thick-skinned, but what about your mother?" " Mom, you okay?" " Yeah, thanks." "I've never seen bees attack like that." "Where do you think they went?" "How'd you get here?" "What about your mom?" "My mom's fine." "It's over, Sasha." "No, it's not." "I still have a speech to make." "If you try and stop me, I'll be in front of an auditorium full of people..." " ... and you know what I can do to them." " You have to stop." " No election is worth hurting people." " I have to win, Clark." "My parents said there are two kinds of people in the world:" "leaders and followers." "And they expect for me to be a leader." "And that" " You have to stop the bees." " I didn't tell them to come back." "Ow!" "What's happening?" "You have to help me!" "I'm allergic to bees!" "Don't let them kill me!" "Let's get you to a hospital." "I can't believe Felice and Sasha both dropped out and you still lost." " Where did I go wrong?" " You ran a good campaign." "We had fun, met some new people, and we have enough T-shirts to last a lifetime." " Please tell me that's not for the Torch." " It's for Paul." "Since he couldn't attend his own victory party, he asked me to take pictures." "Chloe, you were right to endorse him." "He was the more qualified candidate and I got caught up in the whole popularity rush." "Don't gloat just because your guy won." "Well, my candidate may have won, but my friend lost." " I'm really proud of you tonight, Clark." " Why?" "Because you're exhibiting dignity in the face of defeat." "It's the quality that all great leaders possess." " Nice crowd." " We'll be having more nights like this." "How can you be so sure?" "Let's just say I went to the mattresses." "Check out page three of the Ledger tomorrow." "Can you give me a preview?" "Apparently, a rival coffeehouse has had several health-department violations..." " ... they've been trying to cover up." " How'd you hear about that?" "A vendor told me." "So Chloe had a reporter friend look into it." "And sure enough, it's true." "Very creative." "I'm impressed." "Hey, sorry about the election." "My father says you learn more about yourself when you lose." " What did you learn?" " I'm not destined to be a politician." "You need two different personalities." "You don't need to be an elected official to change the world, Clark." " You ever thought about getting into politics?" " Someday I'd like to be president." "In that case, you can have your slogan back." "It's okay, you can keep it." "Ms. Castle thank you for coming." "I should probably know better, but I had to hear this." "You won't mind if I record our conversation, for both of our protection?" "Feel free." "I only asked you here to congratulate you." "The truth is, I'm impressed." "Few people have caught me with my guard down." "Let me guess." "This is where you try and blackmail me to change my story?" "I wouldn't dream of blackmailing you or making you change a word." "My father says it's when they stop talking about you that you should worry." " Then I guess we're settled." " On the other hand it turns out there's an opening for managing editor at the Journal." "I work there." " If there was an opening, I would know." " We don't know the same people." "You could run your fair and balanced article word-for-word if you'd like." "Or you could show up to work tomorrow and walk into a corner office." " The choice is yours." " What's the catch?" "No catch." "Well, maybe one." "If someone ever tries to blackmail you, now you'll have something to hide." "I don't know if you're better or worse than your father." "What will you say when he sees you killed the article?" " Who says he's behind it?" " Please, Ms. Castle I've never insulted your intelligence, don't insult mine." "I'll tell him I got an offer I couldn't refuse." "Packing up campaign headquarters?" "Yeah, it's back to just being a barn." "Sorry we couldn't talk more at the Talon." "It was packed." "It looked better that way." " I'd assume that was a good thing." " It is." "It's just..." "I'm not sure I liked what I did, playing dirty with the Beanery." "Maybe the mattress isn't for you." "I had to choose between doing the right thing and being successful." "The weird part is, I kind of enjoyed being underhanded." "Lana Lang seduced by the dark side?" "Who would've thunk?" "Don't worry, we all get caught up." "I got so caught up in the popularity thing I almost forgot why I ran." "Did you ever finish your speech?" "Yeah." "Not that anyone will ever hear it." " I could hear it." " Yeah?" "When?" "Now." " Right now?" " Yes, Clark." "Speech, speech, speech!" "Nobody thinks that a class president can make a difference, but I disagree." "If we want to change the world, first we have to change ourselves." "My father always says that you learn life lessons whether you win or lose so I hope that my worthy running mates will work alongside me..."