"Plan on coming up for air?" "I'm thirsty." "Is that a crime?" "Come on, I'll give you a ride." "I'm waiting for someone." "Lana Lang." "Very original." "I hear she's single again." "They post that on her official stalker website?" "I'm not stalking her." "No, you just have her entire schedule memorized for fun." "That girl's got so many guys tailing her she should qualify for Secret Service protection." "Hi." "Hi." "Very smooth." "Maybe in about 1 0 years you'll actually be able to get a complete sentence out." "I'll catch you later." "Hello?" "Help!" "Help!" "Looks like you got yourself a pinch hitter in the hero arena." "I don't know if I'd call him a hero, Pete." "I'm just glad Lana's okay." "Yeah, I know." "Have you seen her?" "I'm not exactly the person Lana wants to be around right now." "Keep it moving." "I still can't believe Jake turned Swimfan on Lana." "Yeah, I didn't peg him as a poolside-slasher type either." "But I don't think Jake Pollen was exactly like your average teenager." "Why would you say that?" "Other than the meteor rock labeled "freak" laid next to his body?" "You remember that field trip we took down to Crater Lake the one where I dropped my keys off of the pier?" "I thought you were gonna call the Navy SEALs." "Jake fished them out." "Right." "He was underwater for six minutes." "Unless you're David Blaine or a Himalayan yoga master, that's impossible." "Hey, what's with the list?" "It's just my hunches, you know...." "Sort of anything that's off the charts." "It's a purgatory before you get to the Wall of Weird." "You have a full file of Jake?" "I started suspecting a while ago that he had amphibious abilities due to the meteor-rock exposure for a while." "You don't think you're stretching with this one, Chloe?" "I don't think Jake is the mysterious one." "I mean, don't you think it's a little strange?" "Rifle-wielding commando shows up right when Lana's getting attacked?" "If you wanna help track down the enigmatic vigilante I would be willing to explore the Jake angle." "That would be assuming I actually had a job here." "Yeah" " It was never clear about whose choice it was for you to quit." "Look, Clark, I could say that I'm swamped with the Daily Planet column but the truth is, it would just be really nice to have you back." "All right, doctor, I'll have Lex stop by for an examination by the end of the week." "All right." "And Bob, thanks." "Lex." "Welcome back to LuthorCorp, son." "Feels like I never left." "You'll have the office next to mine." "You've got the river view." "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not here to enjoy the scenery." "I'm here to generate profits." "Lex, you already have the job." "And now you've entered the executive ranks you need to fill out some paperwork." "Coffee?" "I'm good." "Corporate life insurance?" "Standard for all upper-level employees." "Is $50 million standard?" "Don't underestimate your own value, my son." "You seem reluctant, Lex." "I don't understand." "It's hard not to consider the implications when your mortality has a dollar sign attached to it." "Lex, I'd hoped we'd moved beyond this distrust reflex of yours." "It's called common sense." "No, you're a corporate asset, Lex." "If something should happen to you the company needs to be compensated for its loss." "All right." "That's unacceptable to you." "I understand." "You can give your security card to Nelson on your way out." "Hey, Lana." "How you doing?" "Hi." "I haven't seen you in a while." "I thought it might be easier that way." "Easier on whom?" "I didn't come here to upset you." "I'm doing a story on Jake for the Torch." "That's great, Clark." "What do you want to know?" "You told the police he had a friend with him and I was wondering if you could point him out." "I think that's him." "Van McNulty." "Thanks." "Glad I could be of help." "Lana." "Is this on or off the record?" "I'm sorry I haven't stopped by." "Clark, I know we're not together anymore but you don't need an excuse to come see me." "Hey." "So we can rule out the Himalayan yoga masters." "Check out what my connection at the coroner's office gave me." "You're not gonna see any of this in Jake's official autopsy report." "Believe it or not, they're gills." "That's disgusting." "Personally, I find the gaping bullet wound more disturbing." "Okay, if that shooter hadn't shown up when he did, I'd be dead." "So forgive me if I don't have more sympathy for the gill-boy who tried to drown me." "Jake was exposed to the meteor rocks." "He didn't ask for them." "No, just like Greg Arkin didn't ask to become a bug-boy and Tina Greer didn't ask to become a bone-morpher." "The fact is, when they got their powers, they went psycho and tried to kill me." "Tina even came back for seconds." "Chloe's been attacked by more of them than me." "You remember Justin Gaines and Sean Kelvin." "Yeah." "One tried to psychically impale me with farm implements and the other just wanted my body heat." "Thanks for the memories." "I'm just saying a shot in the head is more extreme." "What about the times that you saved us from these people?" "What makes you so different from the shooter?" "I've never killed anyone." "Then how do you explain Tina Greer?" "They found her body impaled in the alley." "What happened to her, she did to herself." "I was protecting you." "Spoken like a true vigilante." "Miss Sullivan." "What a nice surprise." "Have you brought me an addendum to your report on Clark Kent?" "It's my final article for the Daily Planet." "I'm turning in my resignation today." "Our agreement is terminated." "I'm sorry." "Clark's friendship just means too much to me." "I can't say it's unexpected, but it will be disappointing." "I'm sorry." "I guess some people are just better at leading double lives than others." "You misunderstand me, Miss Sullivan." "I'm not the one who's going to be disappointed." "That'll be your father." "What does he have to do with any of this?" "I guess he wanted to surprise you." "But your father just made a sizable down payment on a new house overlooking the golf course." "My dad still hasn't paid off the new water heater." "I seriously doubt he's moving us to "brat flats."" "Well, it must be his way of celebrating his new promotion." "When I rewarded him for his hard work and his dedication to LuthorCorp he was just brimming with pride." "He'd be devastated if he suddenly found himself unemployed." "You can't do this to him." "Yes, I can." "But I won't, which is why I think we are going to enjoy a long and fruitful partnership, Miss Sullivan." "Van McNulty?" "Hey." "Clark Kent." "I'm sorry to hear about your friend Jake." "Thanks." "He was always chasing girls, but I still can't believe he attacked anybody." "Police scanner." "I just want to hear when they catch Jake's killer." "I'm doing a story for the Torch." "I was wondering if you could give me some background on Jake." "Everything I know is in the police report." "Never seen so many medals before." "Is that your dad?" "Must be a real hero." "He was." "And he was a great father." "We used to do everything together." "I'm gonna be late for class." "Hey." "Remember the rock that was tossed next to Jake's body with the word "freak" written on it?" "It wasn't the first the police found." "Meet Leonard Wallace, local mechanic gunned down two weeks ago." "Someone put a similar rock next to his body." "Why do you think he was killed?" "I can't be sure, but last month, when my VW Bug was in the shop I swear I saw his arm reach for a wrench three feet under my car." "I started a file on him just in case he had some sort of stretching abilities." "But unlike Jake, Wallace never went psycho." "So Lana's mystery hero isn't out to save anyone." "He's hunting them." "Smallville's own version of a hate crime." "But why?" "Revenge." "Van McNulty's father was a Marine recruiter who was killed by Tina Greer." "Tina's dead, so he decides to go Terminator on the rest." "Van's fighting his own personal war." "Clark, my definition of "hike" stopped two miles ago." "We have to get evidence for the police." "He came here with his dad." "It'll just take a minute." "Yeah, that's what you said when we broke into his locker and his car and his house." "Jake was killed by a hunting rifle." "Like you can't find one of those in the back window of every truck in town." "Now, this place needs some serious Lemon Pledge." "All right, Clark, that's enough." "Let's go." "There's nothing here." "He's pretty tight with his dad." "Clark, the last time I checked, there's no offense in father and son bonding." "Pete, there's a serious arsenal in here." "Clark, it's a hunting cabin." "What do you expect?" "What's Lex Luthor's picture doing there?" "Pete, call the sheriff." "Lex, get down!" "Someone's trying to kill him!" "Get him inside!" "Get on the perimeter." "Go!" "Move it!" "Let's go!" "You're one of them." "I saw you catch that slug." "It was in your hand." "What are you, some kind of bulletproof freak?" "What's wrong?" "Does this stuff make you sick or something?" "Look at you." "How about a nice big bite of meteor rock?" "How's that feel?" "Lex." "It's all right." "Clark." "How'd you know someone was gonna try to kill me?" "It's the same person who shot Lana's attacker." "What would he want with me?" "Look, I know this is gonna sound bizarre, but this kid Van he's convinced that the meteor rocks in Smallville have altered certain people." "What do you mean by "altered"?" "He thinks they've developed different abilities than us, and he's hunting them." "Lex, he had a hit list." "They found it in his cabin, and you're on it." "My only abilities are playing the market and falling for the wrong women." "He's obviously crazy." "There must be some reason he picked me." "Think about it, Clark." "Lex survived the meteor shower a near-fatal car accident and a plane crash." "Even he doesn't have enough money for a guardian angel like that." "Check this out." "His medical records show he has a white-blood-cell count that is off the charts." "It's more than enough to raise an eyebrow." "You've been keeping a file on Lex too." "Didn't you learn your lesson about keeping secret files?" "They're my own private notes." "Since when is curiosity a crime?" "Since someone took your database and turned it into a personal hit list." "Van had a printout of the same file on his bulletin board." "Van helped network half these computers." "He must have cracked my password." "Oh, God, Clark." "This is all my fault." "Chloe, I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to blame you." "It's not like you pulled the trigger." "No." "I just loaded the gun and pointed it in the right direction." "Where is he?" "Lex." "Thank God you're all right." "You're now covered by my personal security." "I appreciate the gesture but I'm not gonna let some adolescent assassin disrupt my life." "Don't take that cavalier attitude, Lex." "I wouldn't worry about it, Dad." "I'm insured now." "Not yet." "There's some difficulty getting you underwritten by Lloyd's of London." "On what grounds?" "Your tendency to attract near-death experiences has made you too great a liability." "I would think surviving would count for something." "You're right." "I'll get it straightened out." "Don't worry." "Dad." "Before the meteor shower was I ever sick?" "When you were a child, you had asthma." "But other than that, no." "Nothing serious." "Don't you find it a little strange that I've never been sick a day in my life since?" "What's all this about, Lex?" "Nothing." "I obviously inherited strong genes." "Sheriff Adams, have you found Van yet?" "We're looking, but there's no reason to think he's come back here." "I think there is." "Take a look at this." "One of these people will be Van's next target." "Are we in the psychic business now?" "Just look at the first three names." "Where'd you get this?" "A friend who believes these people are linked to a certain phenomena in Smallville." "A phenomena, huh?" "It's a little out of my jurisdiction." "Well, you don't have to believe it's true." "Van McNulty does, and these people are in a lot of danger." "Can't hurt to be cautious." "How's Lex doing?" "Okay." "I guess." "It's not the first time he's been in the cross hairs." "Are they sure Van was the shooter?" "I am." "Lana, I know he saved your life, but I don't think that was his intention." "No, it was just a happy accident." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean it like that." "Clark, I really thought I was going to die." "You've been through worse." "Because you've been there to protect me." "But I knew you weren't coming this time so when Van showed up, I was relieved that there were others like you out there." "He's not like me." "You have to see him for what he is." "He's a killer." "Lana, it's okay to be mad at people who tried to hurt you." "But it's not fair to take it out on everyone affected by the meteors." "It's not their fault." "No one asked to be different." "Life would just be so much better for everybody if the meteor shower never happened." "1 97, 1 98, 1 99." "I've searched everywhere from here to Metropolis." "It's like Van disappeared." "Clark, he can't hide forever." "Every police officer in the state's looking for him." "They'll find him." "I just hope he doesn't find his next target first." "Dad, do you think I'm like Van?" "Well, I think you know my answer to that question, son." "The real question is, do you think you're like Van?" "It's just, I've come into contact with a lot of kryptonite-infected people and it never ends with us being friends or shaking hands." "I gave Lana this whole tolerance speech." "I always assume the worst about them too." "There could be lots of people out there who've been infected who lead perfectly normal lives." "They're forced to live with their secret." "And they could be using their abilities for good too." "I'm gonna get cleaned up." "Clark?" "Clark!" "Dad." "Clark." "I got you." "Help!" "How's that coming, sweetheart?" "I got it." "It's okay." "It's all right." "Hang in there." "It's okay." "It's all right." "He's dying." "The poison is spreading so fast." "Okay, Clark, I'm gonna...." "I'm gonna get it out." "Clark, you gotta stay still, son." "Hold on, baby." "Hold on." "Dad's gonna get it." "My God." "He's not breathing." "All right, hand me those." "Don't you give up on us now, son." "Do you have it?" "Martha, it's in there so far." "Wait a second." "I think I got it." "Okay." "Hold on, baby." "He's got it." "Get that thing out of here." "Clark." "Come on, son." "Come on, Clark." "Lana." "It's me." "Van." "I'm the one who saved you." "Yeah, I know who you are." "They've got the roads blocked off, and they're casing my house and my cabin." "I need you to help me get out of here." "Van, I think you should turn yourself in." "To the police?" "They're useless." "I'm mean, they should be protecting us." "I thought you'd understand." "You owe me, Lana." "I saved your life." "I know." "But Lex didn't do anything to you." "I'm sorry about what happened to your father." "But going after innocent people won't bring him back." "These freaks aren't people, Lana." "No matter how much they seem like it." "Look at Jake." "All right, he was best friend for three years, and I had no idea." "And you're being fooled just like I was." "What do you mean?" "Clark Kent is one of them." "Why would you say that?" "I know he seemed perfectly normal but I saw him catch a bullet, Lana." "In his bare hands." "He was a freak just like the rest of them." "What do you mean, "was"?" "Well, let's just say Clark Kent won't be able to hurt anyone now." "What did you do?" "I found his weakness." "I made special bullets." "No." "That freak got exactly what he deserved." "Clark is more human than you will ever be." "Get someone to the Kent farm, quick." "Clark Kent's been murdered." "You were in love with that disgusting mutant, weren't you?" "You know, there's only one thing I hate worse than a freak and that's a freak-lover." "He's coming to." "Clark, how you feeling, son?" "A little woozy." "Well, you need to lie down." "Take it slowly." "No, I need to find Van." "Your wound may be healed, but you still need to rest." "How can I rest knowing that Van's out there with a hit list in his hand?" "Clark, this boy is not like the others." "He has kryptonite bullets." "He already tried to kill you once, son." "I'll not let you give him a second chance." "I know what I'm up against now." "Mrs. Kent, is Clark all right?" "Yeah, Clark's fine." "Why, sheriff?" "Well, rumors of your death have been greatly exaggerated, Mr. Kent." "Are you sure everything's all right?" "Oh, yeah." "It was a barbed-wire accident." "What do you mean, rumors of my death?" "Dispatch got a call you'd been murdered." "Who'd make a call like that?" "Beats heck out of me." "I don't appreciate crank calls, especially in the middle of a manhunt." "All clear at the Kent farm." "Roger." "Over." "Where's your son?" "Van, I know you're listening." "You didn't get me." "If you want to finish this, meet me where I saw your dad's picture." "I'm on my way" "I don't know how he survived my first shot but we're gonna see how he handles a whole clip." "You may have survived one bullet, but I'm not gonna make that mistake again." "Lana." "Let her go!" "Not until she sees once and for all that her lover-boy is a freak show." "Clark!" "I told you he was a freak." "You're the freak." "Clark, how did you...?" "It's all about dressing for the occasion." "What is that?" "Lead?" "You can rest a bit easier." "Van McNulty's been taken into custody." "He's in the psychiatric ward." "I knew Van was misguided, but I'm not so sure he's insane." "What makes you say that?" "Churchill once said¡G" ""Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge."" "Maybe that kid was right about me." "Lex, he's a fanatic." "Oh, but Chloe Sullivan's not?" "How many times have I come face to face with death and walked away without a scratch?" "I've practically lost count." "Weirder things have happened." "I thought the reason I survived that Porsche accident was because of you, Clark." "Now I'm not so sure." "See, I've always tried to explain everything by looking outside myself." "But maybe the truth lies inside my own physiology." "Maybe I am a freak." "Hey, Lana, is everything okay?" "I thought we established that we didn't need a reason to come and see each other." "I didn't get a chance to tell you, but you really kicked ass yesterday." "Yeah, well, some hero I turned out to be." "You still got shot." "You must be pretty sore." "It still stings a little." "You know I believed Van for a minute when he told me you were bulletproof." "Is that what he told you?" "It was really comforting to hear." "Suddenly, everything made sense." "The tornado." "All the times that you've been there." "Everything I can't explain." "I wish the answer was that easy." "But I wasn't infected by the meteor rocks." "If you were it would be okay." "I have to get back to work." "What I don't understand is you're willing to walk into bullets for me but you won't share what's going on inside." "Clark, if you don't open up to the people that love you, you'll always be alone." "I can't believe you want to spend your life like that." "I may not have a choice." "You always have a choice." "You hit a glitch, Miss Sullivan?" "I know a very capable computer technician who might have some familiarity with your setup." "How could I be so idiotic?" "You donate the computers and then send your experts in to set them up." "Yeah, philanthropy." "I've always prided myself on that." "What about tampering with a high school student's personal computer?" "I think you'll find your personal computer is on loan to the school as the property of the LuthorCorp Foundation." "You are so low, you're subterranean." "Clark's files aren't on this hard drive." "Do you really think I'd be that stupid?" "My interest doesn't end with Clark Kent." "I'm intrigued by your whole body of work." "I hate to see your valuable research evaporate into the ether but I will not allow information that concerns my son to be made available to anyone who can hack their way into your personal files." "Mr. Luthor, I'm very sorry about what happened to Lex." "These files were never meant to be seen by anyone other than me." "I warn you if I ever catch you investigating a member of my family again a computer glitch will be the least of your problems." "Good night, Miss Sullivan."