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Lex
I thought we had an arrangement.
Why this sudden urge for a face-to-face?
You don't look well.
Why did you pull me away from
my research? I hate progress reports.
I hear you're having
personnel problems at Cadmus Labs.
They quit when you turned violent,
started throwing equipment.
No.
They were incompetent.
I thought our relationship was clear.
You write the checks,
I have free rein to do my work.
I hired you to research the meteor rocks.
Instead of results,
you provide potential lawsuits.
Frankly, doctor, you've become a liability.
Look, I'm afraid we've reached
the end of our road together.
Now that I'm running my own company,
I don't have time
to pursue projects that don't bear fruit.
I suggest you see a doctor.
I'll take care of the expenses.
I don't need your doctor,
and I sure don't need your condescension.
It's you who needs me.
You're just a little too
myopic to see it.
Hey, man.
Are you all right?
Clark, you're dreaming if you think
you're gonna make a basket from there.
No, no, the ball rolled out here.
- Wanna play a game of horse?
- Forget it.
We're borrowing your dad's truck.
- For what?
- I'll explain on the way.
There's no time.
- What's going on?
- You gotta see it with your own eyes.
Pretty mind-blowing, huh?
What do you think it is?
Oh, Clark, it's a spaceship.
What the hell else would it be?
I didn't know if it was some downed
specialty aircraft or a Russian satellite.
No, no, no, this thing's got
extraterrestrial written all over it.
I bet there's little green guys
running around the cornfield too.
I'm serious, Clark.
Have you ever seen anything like it?
If aliens came, they'd find a place
more exciting than Smallville.
No, no, think about it.
Crop circles, cattle mutilation.
They'd be like kids in a candy store here.
Come on, man, let's load it into the truck.
- Wait, you're not just gonna take it.
- Clark.
When the sheriff questioned me, I told him
I couldn't remember where the truck
went off the road, but it's only
a matter of time before he shows up.
Come on.
- Come on.
- All right, we'll take it to my house.
No, Clark.
I know your dad.
- He'll make us give it to the authorities.
- He won't know it's there.
We're taking it to my house.
We'll hide it
in the tool shed.
No one goes back there.
Pete, my house would be perfect.
It'll be safe there.
Clark, last time I checked,
I found this thing.
You're acting like you got license
and registration on it, man.
Lighten up.
We're taking it to my place.
Right here.
Lex?
- Are you in here?
- Yeah, Dad, I'm right here.
I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you.
No.
Get out.
Is everything all right?
Doctors tell me
your recovery's going well.
Oh, it is.
So well, in fact, that
Dr.
Rawlings suggested I
take a break from the
rigors of
physical therapy.
He
He thought that some time away from the
stress of living and working
in Metropolis would be more
beneficial right now.
And of all the places
you could have gone
you decided to come here?
- We'll have a chance for some
father-son bonding.
You've always told
me I've been lax in that department, Lex.
How long you planning to stay?
A few days.
Maybe a week.
Are you sure you wouldn't be
more comfortable at the beach house?
I think the sea air would be invigorating.
I'm getting the distinct impression, Lex,
that you don't want me here.
No, Father, I just want what's best for you.
Stay as long as you like.
No.
Hey, Lana, I was just thinking
if you moved those tables away from the
counter, it'd open up space for extra stools.
- More customers, more cash flow.
- That's a wonderful idea, Dean.
I gotta go.
- I'll see you tonight.
- Okay.
- Bye, Lana.
- Bye.
- Isn't he wonderful?
- Yeah.
He's great.
- Hi.
- Hey.
- Hi, Chloe.
- Hi.
Oh, how did the sleepover go?
Did you two get a lot of studying done?
I have to be completely honest
with you, Nell.
We didn't study.
We had a Keanu DVD-a-thon.
Once you get lost in those brown eyes,
geometry loses its appeal.
Well, I'm just glad you two had fun.
Don't let the grades suffer.
- Okay.
Bye.
- Bye.
Thank you so much, Chloe.
Sure.
If you'd given me a heads-up
I could've come up with something
a lot better than a Keanu DVD-a-thon.
Sorry, I had to get out of the house, so
I told Nell I was staying at a friend's place.
You were the first person
that came to mind.
- Really?
- Really.
So where were you last night?
Is there a new guy in Lana Lang's life?
Yeah.
His name's Dean.
You passed him on the way in.
- You're dating an older man?
- Relax.
He's Nell's boyfriend.
He's an insurance
adjuster she met after the tornado.
He's always around, and they're in this
lovey-dovey daze all the time.
Yeah, and you want to tell them
to get a room, but it's her house.
After I caught them slow dancing,
I decided to stay at the Talon.
Next time you need to clear out of the
love shack, you don't have to lie.
You can stay at my house for real, anytime.
Thanks.
- This thing weighs a ton.
- I know.
- I'm gonna go call Chloe.
- Wait, wait, don't.
Why not? To her, this thing's
like the Holy Grail.
- She'll write an article.
- That's the point.
We'll be famous.
We'll write a book,
go on all sorts of talk shows
and then we'll sign a big movie deal.
Don't you think we should keep this
between us till we know more?
Why are you gun-shy? We gotta
move before the driver tells someone else.
Suppose we tell Chloe and it turns out to be
some high-tech crop-duster or something.
She'll never let us live it down.
Exactly.
We'd be the subject of her next
"Eat Crow" column for sure.
I don't know about you,
but I'm not willing to risk it.
Well, how do you think you open it?
I'm not sure.
Here.
You work on that.
I'm gonna go see if
anyone's put up "missing spaceship" flyers.
- I'll meet you back here tomorrow morning.
- All right, cool.
So where is it now?
- In Pete's tool shed.
- He hasn't told anyone about it?
I convinced him to hold off
the press conference.
Very funny.
We're just gonna have to get it back.
What are we gonna do, Dad, just steal it?
- What if he asks me where it went?
- You'll have to play dumb.
- I'm sick of lying.
- You don't have much of a choice here.
- Well, I can tell Pete the truth.
- Clark.
He's not gonna tell anyone.
Look, people slip sometimes,
even the most trustworthy of friends.
This information is too dangerous for Pete.
We understand that this secret
is a huge burden
but if you share it with Pete
you might be giving him
a responsibility he's not ready to take on.
I know this isn't the type of bizarre cellular
mutation I normally call you with
but I knew you'd be interested.
- What's the room number?
You know, the interest
on my med-school loans is killing me.
- You really should have that looked at.
- What's the number?
Who are you?
Dr.
Hamilton.
How do you feel?
Like my head got bashed in by a bulldozer.
Dr.
Glenn tells me you saw a spacecraft
in a cornfield last night?
Must have been babbling.
They got me pumped full of morphine.
Who else did you babble to?
- What's it to you?
- Let's say I have a professional interest.
I went to the field, I saw the impression in
the cornstalks.
Whatever made it is gone.
Damn.
I knew I should have kept my mouth shut.
- Someone must have taken it.
- You did see a ship last night?
Who else knows about it?
No one.
Oh, the kid, the one who
pulled me out of my truck.
Pete Ross.
- Have we met before?
- I don't think so.
You were out on the road last night.
You're the crazy son of a ***
who forced me off the road.
Nurse!
What are you doing?
Nurse!
I don't believe it.
Someone must have gotten here before us.
Well, we're not gonna find out
who it was tonight.
Pete.
- Hey, I was just gonna come talk to you.
- Really?
About the ship
Someone broke into my shed
last night and stole it.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Did you tell anyone it was there?
No.
Did you?
- No, my lips have been sealed.
- You're such a liar.
- What do you mean?
- I saw you and your dad driving away.
I kept telling myself, there's gotta be some
explanation.
Clark Kent would never do this.
Pete, I swear, we didn't take the ship.
And all these years,
I used to think you were my best friend.
Pete, wait.
You don't understand.
What don't I understand?
Go ahead, explain it to me, Clark.
That's good, really illuminating.
Wait till Chloe hears about this.
I can already see the headlines:
"The Real Clark Kent Exposed.
"
Pete, we need to talk.
So you're some sort of?
What, you're not a human?
I don't know what I am.
I don't know where that ship brought
me from.
I grew up in Smallville
and everything and everyone
that I care about is here.
If you care about me,
how come you never told me?
Believe me, I've always wanted to tell you.
My parents thought it was too dangerous.
- Not just for me, but for anyone who knew.
- You didn't think I could handle it?
Can you?
Another reason I didn't say anything
is because I knew people would
look at me the way you're looking at me.
- Yeah, how's that?
- Like a freak.
Pete, I've tried my whole life
just to blend in.
I've tried to be more normal
than anyone else.
Look, just say something.
Call me Call me an alien, call me
a monster.
I don't care, just say something.
It's like I don't even know you.
Yes, you do.
I'm the same kid
who used to camp in your backyard.
We used to ride bikes, play basketball
with your brothers.
Nothing has changed.
- Yeah, right.
- Pete.
Back off, man.
Pete, I would never hurt you.
Too late.
There it is.
Right there.
Listen, I thought I made it clear
that our business together was over.
I've come for my severance package.
The
octagonal disk that I found in the field, Lex.
- Why?
- What does it matter to you?
I don't have it.
It disappeared during the storm.
Liar! It's a key! I know you have it!
This isn't over.
- Mr.
Luthor?
- Yes.
I'm Dr.
Steven Hamilton.
I've been doing
confidential research on the
meteor rocks for your son
at Cadmus Labs.
All right, you've got my attention.
Well, unfortunately, Lex has become
shortsighted and impatient.
We've severed our relationship.
But you
You have a reputation as a
- A man of vision.
- Apparently, doctor
you haven't noticed that I'm blind.
A man like you doesn't have to have eyes
to see the future
or to recognize a opportunity.
- Don't flatter me.
Get to the point.
- I discovered something that
can only be described as earth-shattering,
and I'd like to show it to you.
Come on.
Hey, Pete.
Look, I know you freaked out.
Don't you think
I freak myself out sometimes?
All right, look, you have every reason
in the world to hate me
but I need to find that ship.
The guy you pulled out of the truck
must've told someone.
I thought maybe
The other day, when we were moving the
ship, you said it was heavy.
You were lying.
You'd miss the bus and end up
at school ahead of me.
You said you got a ride,
but you never got rides, did you?
Our whole life, you were the person
I could tell anything
and I did, all my secrets.
But you,
everything you ever told me was a lie!
Maybe I was right in not telling you,
the way you're reacting.
Clark, you don't get it, do you?
I don't care if you're from the moon.
You never trusted me.
What kind of friendship is that?
Hey, guys.
Why didn't you tell me
about the superhero deal?
Pete pulls a guy from a mangled truck
and rushes him to the hospital?
That's got Torch exclusive
written all over it.
So how about an interview?
Maybe later.
Your reluctance wouldn't be part of
a vast conspiracy
designed to cover up a whole
spaceship thing, would it?
- What?
- My source from the medical center called.
He said the guy was rambling on about
some spacecraft that landed in a cornfield.
You don't really believe that, do you?
I don't know, not unless
Pete can corroborate the story.
Sure, Chloe, I saw a spaceship.
- I even met an alien.
- Really?
- Would you like to describe it?
- Actually, he looks a lot like Clark.
I thought aliens were little and green.
I guess things aren't always
what you think they are.
Okay, what's up with him?
It's just guy stuff.
You're not really looking into this story,
are you? It sounds like Inquisitor stuff.
Maybe, but if there is some truth to it,
that's front-page news
for the Daily Planet.
- Lex?
- Your mom said it would be okay if I waited.
Yeah, what's up?
I just needed to get out of the mansion.
It's getting crowded.
- Doesn't it have, like, 75 rooms?
- Well, my father takes up a lot of space.
When's he going back to Metropolis?
Not soon enough.
Is he really being that difficult?
Just the opposite.
He's the picture of civility.
Says he wants to work on our relationship.
Is that such a bad thing?
He's lied to me so many times, it's hard to
believe he doesn't have an ulterior motive.
- Maybe give him the benefit of the doubt.
- No, no.
If a person's deceived me, I find it hard
to give him a second chance.
By the way, you remember that paperweight
I had on my desk, the octagonal one?
Kind of, why?
Came up today,
made me wonder what happened to it.
- When did you lose it?
- During the storm.
Probably got carried away with all the
other debris from the mansion.
You know?
Yeah, I'm sure you're right.
Good luck.
Forgive my skepticism, doctor,
but for all I can tell, this could be
a postmodern coffee table.
Why should I believe you
that it's a spacecraft?
The alloy you're touching is composed
of elements not on the periodic table.
Certain chemicals in that alloy
are present in the meteor rocks.
Get me the proof.
Here.
- Feel this?
- Yeah.
There's a piece missing.
Lex and I were investigating a meteor site,
and I found an octagonal-shaped disk
that is the exact size and shape
of that impression.
- And you think it was?
- It was a key
that opens the ship and will provide
the proof you're asking for.
Unfortunately, Lex won't give it back to me.
- Maybe Lex doesn't have the disk anymore.
- Where else would it be?
If you can answer that question, doctor
you just might get your funding.
Lana?
What are you doing?
Just using your telescope to see
if it's safe to go home.
Hiding from Nell.
Her new boyfriend, Dean.
Oh, you're not crazy about him.
Oh, long story short, not really.
But I'm a
terrible liar, so I've moved on to avoidance.
Well, you've come to the right place.
What's wrong?
Have you ever had anyone resent you
for telling them the truth?
Yeah.
Whitney, when I told him how I felt
and we broke up.
Wow, you really did it.
I didn't think
you'd follow through on that.
So do you think you'll ever be friends again?
Someday.
I hope.
I just wish I'd been honest
with him sooner.
Yeah, Pete and I, we had a big blowout.
I don't know if our friendship is gonna last.
What did you guys fight about?
I wish I could tell you.
Typical.
What?
Clark Kent starts a discussion
about telling the truth, no less
and when it's his turn to open up,
everything is suddenly a deep, dark secret.
Well, the stuff about Pete
is kind of personal.
Unlike what I just told you about Whitney.
Have you ever thought that some people are
more comfortable opening up than others?
I don't think it's ever comfortable
for anyone.
But if you care about somebody,
you owe it to them.
Then you should talk to Nell,
tell her how you really feel.
You're right, Clark.
Hiding the truth only keeps people apart.
Hey, what do you think you're doing?
- There's a piece missing.
- You stole the spaceship?
It's octagonal in shape, the size of my palm.
Tell me where it is!
I know you.
You're Dr.
Hamilton.
You don't know
who you're messing with!
That spaceship belongs
to someone a lot tougher than you
- You know who it belongs to.
- Look, I don't know anything.
Tell me.
Tell me who it is!
I checked the papers, the police wires and
UFO sites.
There's no mention of the ship.
I don't know if that makes me
relieved or worried.
I was thinking about Ray Wallace.
If Pete visited him before he died, maybe
Maybe he told Pete something
that could help us.
I assume it's a possibility.
Clark, I want you to talk
to Pete one more time.
I can't.
Why?
Pete's not speaking to me.
What happened?
Look, I don't want you guys
to freak out, all right?
But I told Pete.
Everything.
- I didn't have a choice.
He saw us
- What do you mean?
- You could have come to us first.
- And come up with another lie?
Clark, at least tell us
Pete's not gonna tell anybody else.
I'm not sure what he's gonna do.
He's upset.
Hello.
No, he's not here.
Oh, no.
Okay, whatever we can do.
Bye-bye.
That was Pete's mother.
He's missing.
This is a wonderful idea, Lana.
I realize we haven't had much time alone
since I started seeing Dean.
Actually, that's kind of what I wanted
to talk to you about.
- Dean's a really, really great guy.
It's just
- Let me guess.
You liked the tables the way they were.
Am I that transparent?
Well, I've already had a long talk with Dean,
and I told him you're very independent
and before he goes offering
any more unsolicited advice
he should
Well, he should get to know you better.
Thanks, Nell, I really appreciate that.
Lana, your feelings
are very important to me
and they're important to Dean too.
That's why we'd both like
to spend more time together.
The three of us, as a family.
Family.
Lana, Dean didn't want me to say anything
until we were all together
but, well, you know me,
I can never keep a secret.
Lana, Dean's asked me to marry him.
- What did you say?
- I said yes.
The spaceship, I need to know!
Are you gonna tell me
who this belongs to?
Look, man, I was just fronting.
I was trying to scare you.
- I have no clue whose ship that is.
- You're lying!
Look, you're sick.
Just let me go!
I'll bring back help.
Sure.
You think anyone's gonna help me?
The doctors don't even have a name
for what's killing me!
- You're dying?
- Yes.
But not before I prove I am not some
sideshow freak, a quack doctor who sells
meteor rocks on the side of the road.
And if you don't tell me what I want
to know, then you're dying too!
Hamilton reports finding large
concentrations of meteor fragments
spread over a large area
south of County Highway 17.
These fragments vary in circumference
from 24 microns five to 500
and 62 millimeters.
Interesting reading, Dad.
Lex.
I didn't hear you come in.
I'm surprised.
Dr.
Rawlings says he's seen improvement in
your other senses since you lost your sight.
You spoke to Rawlings?
Imagine my surprise when he told me how
worried he was that you'd gone AWOL
and missed your last several
physical-therapy sessions.
In fact, he says the worst thing
for you right now
is to be away from your care providers.
Do you have any idea how degrading it is
to be poked and prodded by therapists?
How demeaning it is to be told
by a Braille instructor, "One day, one day,
all this will feel natural"?
You want the truth, Lex?
I was tired of being treated like an object,
an invalid.
I had to get away from that.
You thought a couple days of oedipal
mano a mano would make you feel better?
Your analogy's apt but flawed, Lex.
Blind Oedipus was the son, not the father.
I'll go back to Metropolis.
So your sudden interest in Dr.
Hamilton
was really just a coincidence?
I admit, I find his work
intriguing.
- He's sick, possibly delusional.
Never underestimate the value
of eccentrics and lunatics, Lex.
Every Arthur needs his Merlin.
Hamilton said that he found
some sort of
disk and that you had it.
- He's mistaken.
- Oh, even so
I think it may have been a bit rash
to terminate his contract.
Why do you say that?
Have you taken a look
in the good doctor's barn lately?
Hey, Chloe, have you seen Pete?
No, but the weird-o-meter
just kicked up another notch.
Hospital visitor log.
Yeah, I was looking into
Ray Wallace's death.
It turns out he had a visitor just before
he flatlined.
A Dr.
Steven Hamilton.
- The meteor freak?
- Yeah.
- I thought he left.
- So did I.
So Pete plays good samaritan,
Dr.
Hamilton visits the patient
Patient dies and Pete disappears.
It's not exactly smoking gun, but
It's good enough.
I'm gonna check out Hamilton.
He used to have a place down on
Allentown Road, maybe he's back there.
Clark?
Clark?
Clark?
- What are you doing?
- See how my hand spasms?
It's from prolonged exposure
to the meteor rocks.
I'm gonna give you
a dosage that's gonna make my tremors
look like a mild twitch.
I told you I didn't know anything!
I think you're lying.
You're protecting someone.
- I hope whoever it is, is worth dying for!
- All right!
You want me to talk,
here's what I have to say.
Take that needle and stick it wherever,
because I'm not telling you a damn thing!
Pete!
- Put the needle down!
- Not till he tells me what he knows.
Clark.
- What's wrong?
- I'm allergic to the meteor rocks.
This ship is yours, isn't it?
Open it!
Open it!
Open it!
Clark, come on!
We gotta get you out of here.
We have to help him!
It's too late, he's dead.
Come on.
We gotta get the ship.
So does it do anything?
We hoped we might
find some answers inside about Clark
but we haven't been able to open it.
Clark, look.
I know I sort of went postal
when all this started
but after what happened to Hamilton
I realized why you never told me
and I'm sorry.
Well, I guess you had a good reason
to be upset.
We're just glad you weren't hurt.
There's still one thing.
Hamilton tried to kill me, and
he could have told the whole world
about you
but you still tried to save him.
I couldn't let you die to protect my secret,
and I can't let anyone else die either.
No matter who they are.
Man
it's not easy being you, is it?
Well, good thing is, I got my best friend
to watch my back.
Pete
I'm proud of you.
But I hope you realize what a tremendous
responsibility knowing this secret is.
And believe me,
it's not gonna get any easier.
That's my dad's way of saying,
"Welcome to the family.
"
Does it look anything like
Hamilton's description?
What he says it was?
There's nothing here, Dad.
They must have moved it.
Or someone took it.
- Come on.
The helicopter's waiting.
- No, I'm not going back, not just yet.
- What about your treatment?
- I'm afraid those physical therapists
will just have to come to me.
I hope you're not staying because of
a sudden interest in alien spacecraft.
Of course not.
I'm staying because I want to spend
more quality time with my only son.
Good, because this could all be a hoax.
Hoax or not, I'm not the only one
who's suddenly interested in it.
So this super-speed thing, how fast
we talking? Twenty, 30 miles per hour?
Yeah, something like that.
What about the x-ray? Have you
used it to look through a girl's?
It only works when I focus, and I do not
use it to invade people's privacy.
- Come on.
- I'm serious.
So you're telling me, never once
have you looked in the girls' locker room?
Well
maybe once.
- That's my boy.
So you been holding back
on the court?
A little bit.
So, what are we waiting for?
Show me what you got.
- I don't think you want to go there, Pete.
- Bring it on.
- All right.
- Now, we all know
if I guard you,
you're not getting near this hoop.
I don't care what kind
of powers you got, let's go.
This is gonna be fun.