6.09 Treacherous

by &

Original TwoP air date 8.14.06 When Lois’ accidental knowledge of a recent LuthorCorp cover-up proves to be dangerous she seeks out Chloe for help. But when Chloe asks for a favor in return Lois turns to Lana instead.

Lois's Office. She's on the phone. Throughout the conversation she alternatively shoots Nerf basketball, putts on an Astroturf putting green or plays hacky sack. Occasionally we cut to outside her office where either curious co-workers walk by and peek in or her secretary shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "Look, I can't confirm or deny any specific LuthorCorp project... LuthorCorp complies completely with federal, state and local laws... Yes, we are involved in several top secret government contracts. Ever since the alien threat was revealed LuthorCorp has more than tripled its defense contracts with not only the United States government but many foreign allies as well. But I can't comment directly on any such project... I can confirm or deny employment, yes... Dr. Maliki?... No I'm not personally familiar with the field of human bio-engineering nor do I have access to the criminal records of current employees. You can look that up yourself... I'll try to contact him." Lois looks up an extension and dials. Cut to a laboratory office. A man lies dead in front of a desk. Extensive damage has been sustained on the facility. Back to Lois, "Dr. Maliki isn't in right now. Can I contact him and get back in touch with you? You shouldn't print that without talking to him personally... I promise I'll find him personally... I'll get back to you this afternoon... Pleasure talking to you." Lois hangs up and yells loud enough to be heard outside her office, "Arrgh!" Several people in the hallway outside stop. She picks up a dart and throws it at the dart board. It hits a picture of Lex already riddled with darts. [ED takes a long drink of water]

Lionel comes to the door and knocks. She motions him in. Observing all the sports equipment, "I must say your approach is a bit... unconventional."

"Stress relievers, better than smoking or drinking at least."

Lionel studies the dart board with Lex's picture.

"You didn't say I had to be nice to his picture."

Lionel smiles. "I don't think it would help company morale if other workers were to see that."

"You want better moral give everybody more vacation and a raise. And don’t turn pictures of the CEO sacred cows."

"With your straight talk it's a wonder you don't give away all our secrets."

"I'd have to know a few before I could give them away, boss."

"Fair point. Maybe once you've proven yourself we can let you in on a few."

"So do I have to pop somebody to get into the inner circle?"

"Please don't be so crude Lois. It's unbecoming in a lady."

"Lady?” Lois smirks, "I suppose you want me to wear a dress and cross my legs too."

Lionel eyes her casual pants as she sits straddling her chair. "Would that be too much to ask?"

"It's not who I am."

"Sometimes, Lois, we pretend to be something we're not in order to complete the task at hand."

"That sucks."

"So does unemployment." Lionel exits.

"Yelling after him, "I thought I was supposed to be making Lex angry! Guess what?" She points to her office, "This is working."

Lionel spins back around. He's actually angry, "You need to get your act together young lady." Lionel begins to leave again.

"Fine, but when he sees me suffering in some pant suit it's just going to make his day." Lois walks up to the dart board and extracts the darts. She turns the picture over to reveal Lionel's face and starts throwing. When she's out of darts she walks out her office door and shouts to her secretary, "Hold all my calls for the rest of the morning, Helen, I've got to track down Dr. Maliki. End the teaser...

I've got a question. Is that supposed to make people like Lois or hate her?

Neither, it just shows she doesn't fit in the corporate world.

She's such a jerk it makes you want to hate her.

But because she does it to the Luthors it makes you want to love her.

Nobody should be able to make the Lionel angry. I know it makes me hate her.

He has other things on his mind. Lex is working to out flank him and he took it out on Lois.

That's the best news I've heard all day. I hope Lex gets to bask in his victory.

Does that scene make anyone else hate Lois?

I know, let's make her this jerky to Lana and the fans will shower her with love.

Yes, but the love would be extremely short lived as soon afterwards Lois would suffer a slow and horrible death.

LuthorCorp lobby. Lois gets the run-around from the front desk but finally figures out where the doctor's lab is located. Unfortunately her ID badge won't let her in because security clearance is required. A few delivery men are having difficulty standing a huge replica of Atlas holding up the world upright in the lobby. The people at the front desk give Lois the brush off to go help. She bumps into Lana who carries an overnight bag.

Lana is excited about going out of the country on LuthorCorp business. The place she's headed is completely off the grid. She'll be totally cut off from civilization for next couple of days.

"There are things called satellite phones."

"Lex insists I take one in case of emergency, but I can't stand them. I probably won't even turn it on."

"So you're working for Lex now too?"

"I'm working with Lex, not for him." Lois notices that Lana has Lex's ID badge "I can pretty much get anywhere I want."

"Lex sure trusts you a whole lot more than he trusts me."

Lana smiles like crazy. This is the biggest compliment you could possibly give her.

"Look, I'm supposed to get in touch with some scientist that works through those doors but my badge must not be in the system yet. Do you think you could get me in there?"

"You've already been here a couple of weeks. Your badge still doesn't work?"

"Lex is making sure I have to wade through more red tape than your typical LuthorCorp employee. I didn't have a phone until yesterday. He hasn't quite warmed up to me yet."

"Sure, I'll let you in." They walk around the people setting up the statue to the security door. Lana swipes Lex's badge and Lois opens the door. "By the way, I hear you haven't exactly warmed up to Lex yet either. Give him a chance, Lois. He's not as bad as you think."

"Thanks, you're a life saver!"

Lana grabs Lois' hand before she can go, "Hold on. And about Lex?"

Hesitant, "I'll try to be nicer from now on."

"I'd appreciate it." Lana turns around and nearly runs into the statue. Bitch mode to one of the front desk people "You're not going to leave this here are you?"

"It came early. Mr. Luthor will tell us where it belongs when he gets in."

"I'll tell you where it should go." She frowns, "That man and his stupid obsession with mythology!"

"At least it's not a statue of himself, 'mam."

"Are you kidding?” sarcastic, "Didn't you know the whole damn world is going to come crashing down if Lex Luthor isn't there to hold it up?"

The man at the front desk smiles, "If you say so 'mam."

Lois goes down the hall looking for the correct room. Once there she notices it requires yet another security card and sighs. She knocks on the door and it swings open.

She calls Dr. Maliki's name but no one answers. Once she's convinced no one is there she takes a look at the desk and puts a few CDs labeled classified into her purse. She decides to inspect the rest of the lab but when she comes around the desk she notices a man's body and takes a sharp breath. An explosion has disfigured the body horribly. Not turning around she backs out of the room almost blindly, hand over her mouth. As she gets to the door Lana opened for her a group of four medics burst in running for the lab. Lois slips out. Finally turning around she's started to find atlas staring down at her. Focus in on the tortured face of the statue.

Tortured? Has he been forced to watch our show?

No. He's carrying the weight of the world, Michael.

Lucky bastard.

Lex with a security person. "She never turns around sir. There's no way we can ID her." They are watching very poor quality security footage. We see the back of Lois' head as she walks in and then backs out. The image quality is such that about all you can tell is that a person with long hair entered the lab, took a couple of things off the desk, discovered Dr. Maliki, and left.

"Don't tell me that's the only security camera we have in that lab!"

"It's the only one that survived the explosion."

"Why is the picture so bad?"

"The explosion damaged the lens, sir."

Frustrated, "Can you tell what she put in her purse?"

"Some discs. There's no way to know what was on them but considering the lab they came from I don't think it was Maroon 5."

"Could she have come in with the medics?"

"I doubt it sir. She shows up a minute or two before they did."

"Who's the last person that accessed the security door?"

"You were."

"Me? I didn't get here until a few minutes ago."

"Maybe someone made a duplicate of your key. Do you know of anyone who would have an unauthorized copy of your security card?"

Lex hesitates. "What about video footage of the security door?"

"The view was obscured, sir."

Furious, "What?"

"That new sculpture in the foyer. It was blocking the view for over an hour." He switches to a camera view showing Atlas' hind end.

"I want you to go back through 24 hours worth of activity and give me a list of everyone who entered that door. Have every person on that list questioned."

"Yes sir."

That's funny. And I like that for once it's just bad luck instead of Lex being an idiot.

You might want to hold your praise.

[To ED] Now don't spoil it for him. Let him enjoy a small victory here or there.

Atlas better not fall on Lex.

Now that would rock! Can there be a chase scene where Lois jumps on top of Atlas and he tumbles to the ground?

On Lex?

Sure. It could be symbolic.

Of what?

I don't know. I'm sure some smart viewer would come up with a neat interpretation.

What? That Lex is evil and so he deserves to be crushed like a grape?

We show that every week. I was thinking something a little more esoteric.

Then how about this? The Earth represents Lana.

That's a pretty good start actually.

The sun might be better, but go on.

Atlas represents Lex. But even Lex can't live up to the expectations of Lana and the weight begins to crush him.

I think you're on to something.

I like the crushing metaphor. But I'm thinking we need to be more specific about what Lana is crushing.

I'm guessing it's not his spirit?

No. But that's a good idea too, Tom.

So what I'm hearing is you want a giant replica of the sun to fall from the sky and land on Lex's crotch.

Mmm. Pretty much. But he needs to look like he thinks it's a good thing. Erica, do you think we can fit that in?

[Writing furiously] So the sun is going to block out the security camera now?

No. You're not paying attention. The sun is going to fall out of the sky.

So what about Atlas?

He'll still be there.

Where's the sun coming from?

Out of Lana's ass.

So Lana's up in the sky now?

You know what? Forget it. Good try Allison, but I don't think trying to pull off visual metaphors is worth it if Michael is going to be such a jerk about it.

Too bad. I should be a jerk more often.

Is that even possible?

Lois' office. Chloe sits at Lois' desk frowning. "So why are you so worried about spy ware? Afraid they're going to catch you surfing for porn on the internet?"

"I just like my privacy."

"Well, I can practically guarantee they're keeping track of almost everything before even looking. If you’re so concerned why did you take this job anyway?"

"It was supposed to help out Martha, remember?"

Looking at the screen, "Well, cousin, it looks like they've got you under the microscope. Basically short of which brand soda you've spilled on your keyboard they have a record of everything you've done on this computer." She starts looking around the room, "Unless..."

"Well that's just great. Can you take the spy ware off?"

Inspecting the ceiling and walls, "I could but it'd be back on the next day. That is if you still had a job."

"What are you looking for?"

"Cameras. There don't seem to be any but I wouldn't rule out that they have video surveillance on you. In that case they would know what brand soda is in your keyboard."

"That's an invasion of privacy!"

"Welcome LuthorCorp, the closest you can get to hell on Earth."

"So you're telling me you wouldn't have taken this job?"

"And have Lex Luthor for my own personal Big Brother? I don't think so. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless Daddy Warbucks is really the one you should be worried about."

No one trusts poor Lionel, do they?

Should they?

He's only shown kindness towards Chloe.

He tried to have her killed!

I mean since then.

He faked her out with the kiss in Transference.

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

A motto Lionel is proud to live by.

"Lionel? Why would he be spying on me?"

"Why does Lionel do anything? He might be able to use it to his advantage some day."

"Talk about a dysfunctional family. While you're here could you take a look at something for me?"

"What is it?"

"It's a disk I found. But you have to promise me you won't report on it."

Wary, "Is it juicy?"

"I don't know. It's encrypted."

Chloe pulls her laptop out of her bag, "Now I'm intrigued." Lois hands her one of the disks and Chloe reads the label, "'LuthorCorp confidential.' My Lois, you have been a bad girl, haven't you?"

"Like I said no reporting. I don't know what's on the disk but just having it could get me fired."

"Or worse. Remember you're dealing with the Luthors."

"You don't seem concerned."

Smiling, "We could take them any day of the week."

Lex's office. He's talking with a dick.

A what?

A dick. You know, a private eye.

Glad you cleared that up.

We'll call him Guy Noir, private eye.

Lex thinks confidential LuthorCorp files have been compromised and doesn't want it getting into the wrong hands.

Do we know who the wrong hands are?

He claims it's the competition. To a certain degree this is true. Lex is building a mind boggling fortune on LuthorCorp's Kryptonite expertise. Governments are pumping defense money into LuthorCorp like there's no tomorrow.

Because Lex has them convinced there won't be one unless adequate defenses are created against the aliens.

And everybody else wants a piece of the pie. Meteor rock knowledge is LuthorCorp's most valuable asset.

"Is it's OK to 'bend' the rules?"

"Bend but don't break. This is a top secret military project being funded by the NSA so the law is on LuthorCorp's side. I can bring them in if necessary but I'd rather not have the feds involved because they're liable to snoop in other areas."

Wow. The law is on Lex's side? A strange turn of events, isn't it?

Well sort of. Technically the project is legal but they way it's being run is...

A little more ambiguous. The point is Lois is in big trouble because she's stolen government secrets and she going to piss off her cousin because she won't let Chloe use the material for an article.

But wouldn't Chloe face legal problems herself if she published details top secret military program?

Since she's not going to it's a moot point.

It's not moot. If Chloe couldn't use the stuff anyway then why would she get mad at Lois?

I guess we could come up with a different yet equally irrational reason for Chloe to get mad at Lois.

I don't like where this is headed.

DP. Chloe works to crack the encryption on Lois' disk. Clark watches.

He wants to know what Lois is doing with confidential LuthorCorp files.

"Maybe curiosity has finally gotten the best of her." A courier comes by with an envelope for Chloe.

She has to show her ID and sign before he'll hand over the package.

"What's which all the fuss?"

"I don't know. It's from Oliver."

Clark rolls his eyes. "What kind of guys gets spy vs. spy over a love letter?"

"Give it up, Clark. The witty quips are my shtick. Stick with silent moping. It suits you better." She opens the letter and starts reading. It's at least twenty pages long.

Before she's done with the first page Clark can tell she's upset. "What's wrong?"

Flipping through a lot of photo copies of various kinds of records, "It's about my mom."

"And?"

"It turns out Lionel is footing the bill for her treatment."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Clark. But I'm going to find out."

"Why didn't you uncover this before?"

"It was well hidden. Look at all this paperwork! It's enough to make your head spin."

"So how was Oliver able to figure it out so fast?"

"He has a lot of resources at his disposal."

"Maybe. But what is he going to find that you couldn't given enough time? It seems suspicious to me."

"You think Oliver is faking the evidence? Half of this is my research. He just filled in the gaps."

"Maybe Lionel was hiding it before and now he's ready for you to find it."

"He is the one who brought it up to Lois in the first place. But why now?"

Why now indeed.

Indeed, Why now?

Because Chloe is finally 'legal'?

She is indeed.

That's just gross. Lex and Lana are bad enough but Lionel is old enough to be Chloe's father.

So is Green Arrow if we're able to get Sting.

Which we won't if I have anything to say about it.

I'm sorry I told him you were Kristen Bell but it's not like it's the first time someone's made that mistake.

Shut up.

Chloe's dorm. She's reading a blurb about Dr. Maliki to Lois. He was a violator of human rights in his native country. "Several attempts to contact LuthorCorp failed to get any statement other than to confirm Dr. Maliki is an employee."

"I knew I was forgetting something!"

"Lois, Dr. Maliki was a criminal LuthorCorp hired knowingly. You have to let me write a story about this."

"Chloe, I'm in bad enough trouble as it is."

"Well on the bright side I finally cracked the code. Dr. Maliki was a little sloppy with security. The encryption wasn't nearly as strong as it should have been."

"What do you mean?"

"He was running a top secret NSA project code named 'Ambrosia'. The number of people who know about it could probably fit into a telephone booth."

"They're making a top secret dessert?"

"Ambrosia is the nectar of the gods. It's supposed to..."

"...turn you immortal. So this project is supposed to produce an invincible soldier?"

"In effect. They are trying to replicate the super strength of the aliens in humans. We know it's possible thanks to the number they did on Lex. The thing is I seriously doubt Dr. Maliki had the required security clearance. This should have been encrypted with standard government algorithms which would have taken me months if not years to crack. Dr. Maliki was using shareware."

"So why was he working on the project?"

"He had the required skills and a willingness to do what had to be done. A number of the subjects weren't entirely volunteer."

"The government wouldn't sanction that. It's illegal."

"Take off the rose colored glasses, Lois. There's no telling what the government will do, especially in the name of 'national security'. Without public outrage it might as well be legal. That's one of the reasons we have to print this. Does Lex know these disks are missing?"

"I don't know."

"In that case I should get started on an article right away."

"I don't know, Chloe. Let me think about it. Can I have the disks back?"

Disbelieving, "Lois. You can't be serious."

"Chloe, one of those aliens nearly choked me to death. I don't agree with experimenting on people against their will but this project is vital to our protection. I don't want it jeopardized if there is another way to make sure it gets handled ethically from now on."

"You trust Lex Luthor to do that?"

"We'll see."

Handing Lois the disks. "I can't believe you're siding with Lex Luthor."

"Chloe if you have any evidence you can share with me that these aliens aren't as dangerous as I think they are I'll be happy to let you plaster this story all over town."

Chloe looks conflicted. After a pause, "Lois, you always say trust your gut. Does your gut tell you that every single one of these aliens is evil?"

"No. And there were plenty of Germans willing to risk their lives to hide Jews from the Nazis. That didn't mean Germany was any less a threat. It wasn't reason enough to call off the invasion of Normandy or refuse the help of the Soviet Union."

"Need I remind you Stalin ended up killing millions of innocent people."

"How many more would have died if the Nazis had won? I'm not saying I feel good about this, Chloe. But Lex Luthor is not Joseph Stalin. Let me try to handle it my way, OK?"

"Be careful, Lois. Letting Lex in on the fact you know about this at all could be dangerous."

"Maybe he doesn't have to know."

Cut to a cluttered office. Guy is on the phone.

Is he on twelfth floor of the Acme Building?

He can be. Is there an Acme Building in Metropolis?

Is Metropolis a city that "knows how to keep its secrets?

I guess.

Then there is an Acme Building and Guy Noir has an office on the twelfth floor.

[Looks at JG and AoT like they're a little odd] OK. [Continuing] The article Chloe was reading earlier lies on top of his desk. "You say someone in LuthorCorp P.R. promised to get Dr. Maliki in touch with you and you never heard from her again?" Pause, "When was your last conversation?" Pause, "I see. You don't happen to recall her name do you?" We see him write down Lois' name. "Thank you. You've been a great help."

Lois' apartment. Lois comes in and shuts the door. When she turns back around Guy is waiting for her in a nearby chair with a gun.

"So what do you know about Dr. Maliki?"

He needs to tell Lois she's easy on the eyes.

What? Why?

That's what Guy would do.

Plus Lois is easy on the eyes.

John, I've never seen you so interested in a character other than Lionel. What gives?

Somehow I feel like I know who this Guy Noir is, almost as if I've heard his voice before.

Fine, Guy says Lois is easy on the eyes and then asks about Dr. Maliki.

Defiant, "Who are you?"

Cocking his gun, "Someone without a lot of patience. Just answer the question."

"He's a scientist that used to work at LuthorCorp."

"What do you mean, 'used to'?"

"He's dead."

"I see. I find it very interesting you know that considering LuthorCorp hasn't made it public information."

"I'm the head of P.R. I'm in the loop about that sort of thing."

"I doubt you were supposed to be in the loop on this. Where are the disks you took from the lab?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Guy fires a shot and shatters one of Lois' house plants. His gun has a silencer on it. "Like I said, I don't have a lot of patience, but I'm willing to look for them on my own if for some reason you're incapacitated."

Lois gulps. "I'll get them."

Fortress. Clark holds the Papa crystal. In the other hand he holds one of the phantom zone bracelet traps.

Where did he get the trap?

I don't know. Does it matter?

Of course it does.

The fortress manufactured it for him.

So he knows how to use the fortress now?

He's learning. Sit tight and listen.

In slow motion he slams the crystal against the main console and it shatters into hundreds of pieces. Two 'spirits' emerge both moving very quickly. One seems to be chasing the other the other seems to be trying to get to Clark. Clark dodges a couple of times and the two spirits entangle each other a couple of times. Clark throws the phantom zone trap at the one trying to get him. The spirit shape shifts to avoid the trap and reaches Clark. It flows up into his nostrils and he starts to shake.

He's not supposed to let Jor-El out yet.

Calm down Mr. Control Freak. All is well. You're about as trusting as Clark himself.

Shouldn't I be?

Well this time you can relax. The light in the fortress suddenly lowers significantly and the second spirit disappears. Clark stops shaking. A computer like female voice announces "simulation failed." Clark frowns. He looks back over to the console where the Papa crystal lies still intact.

So the ice fortress is equipped with a holosuite now?

Why not?

I don't think we want to be sued by Paramount.

As if Star Trek has ownership of all virtual reality environments.

I just want to be cautious.

Like when you lie to potential guest starts about who's in the cast?

Another legal problem is the last thing we need.

Another? Is Sting suing us?

[Nervous] Have you heard something?

No.

[Relieved] Then he's not suing us.

Lois' apartment. Lois heads for her closet.

Holding up his gun. "I'll get the disks. You just tell me where they are."

"They're in the closet." Lois' phone rings and she looks at Guy.

"Let the machine get it!" He goes to the closet.

Lois tries to take him from behind as Chloe leaves a message asking her to reconsider allowing her to do the article. The story is way too important to leave covered up.

Lois puts up a good struggle but Guy overpowers her and throws her against a wall. She falls unconscious. Guy rifles through her bag and finds the disks. "Bingo. I have a feeling these disks are a worth a lot more than what Luthor is paying me."

Back to the fortress. One of the crystals in the fortress console begins glowing. It hums softly. Clark whispers, "Chloe," before zipping away.

Dorm room, Chloe is on the phone as Clark zips into the scene. "What's going on?"

Hanging up, "I'm glad you finally figured out the Kryptonian version of call forwarding. You've been spending a lot of time at the fortress lately."

"I still can't figure out how to get Jor-El freed without letting Zod free too."

Hold on, Chloe can call Clark at the fortress now?

That's not a problem is it?

I think it's pretty neat. It's not exactly a bat signal, but it'll do.

It just seems like he's learning a lot about the fortress awfully quickly.

You're right, Tom. Clark isn't smart enough to figure that stuff out.

We'll have Chloe say she's glad she figured out the Kryptonian version of call forwarding.

You know what? On second thought just leave it as is, OK?

You sure? We could have her ask if those bracelets she found turned out to be useful or not too.

No, that's OK.

Maybe she should draw Clark a map to the fortress in case he ever got lost.

I said it's OK. Leave it as is. Geez.

You're pretty touchy today.

Referring to the idea of releasing only Jor-El Chloe says "Maybe it's not possible."

"And even if it is after all the pain he's caused me maybe freeing him isn't a good idea."

Chloe studies Clark for a second, "Are you going to leave him in there trapped with Zod forever?"

"I don't know Chloe. I don't even know if it's really his spirit or just some computer program like Fine."

"Maybe you should leave him in then."

"No. I've got to find a way." Clark is impatient, "If you called me at the fortress it's got to be pretty important."

"It's Lois. I think she may be in some serious trouble. She has some highly classified documents and I can't reach her at work, at her apartment, or even on her cell."

Clark seems put off. "She probably just isn't answering her phone. Let me guess, you pressured her to let you write a story about whatever these documents are about."

Chloe looks guilty. "Yeah, but..."

"Chloe, she just doesn't want to argue with you about it. I'm sure she's fine."

"Please check on her anyway? I have a bad feeling about this. It will take you to just two seconds, literally."

Clark frowns. He thinks Chloe is being paranoid, "OK. If it will make you feel better."

Peephole view through Lois' apartment door. It's Lex.

Cut to Lex's POV. Guy opens the door gun drawn. He looks up and down the corridor before letting Lex in and locking the door. He frisks Lex before holstering his gun.

"This had better be good." Lex sees Lois hog tied on the floor, duct tape over her mouth.

"There's your mole."

Lex chuckles, "I should have known. So you recovered the disks?"

"I did but the cost of doing business just went up."

"That's not how it's going to work."

"I think it is."

Outside Clark comes up to Lois' door. He super eavesdrops.

"I think this data is a lot more valuable than you've lead me to believe."

"That data is highly classified. You won't be able to fence it anywhere. To you it's practically worthless. What I'm paying you is more than fair."

"I'll take my chances."

Agitated, "Where are the disks?"

Clark's x-ray vision verifies that Guy has some disks in his jacket pocket. He hears footsteps running towards him and super speeds around the corner.

Cut to Lex's hand. He's hit a remote panic button.

"They'll be safe until I get my money."

Lex is backing towards Lois' kitchen so he can dive behind the dividing counter. "What do you want?"

Three men burst through the door and Lex dives behind the kitchen counter. They immediately start firing at Guy. He fires back.

Super slow motion. Clark enters the room and alters the path of the bullets so no one gets hurt.

Or rather no one gets badly hurt. He makes sure Guy and two of Lex's men are grazed on their gun hand which forces them to drop their guns. He knocks Guy down and pulls the disks out of his pocket. As the scene continues Clark starts sweating and breathing heavily.

Cut to Lex's ring faintly glowing. As Clark exits the room at super speed you can tell he's really straining. As soon as he's out of the room go back to real time. Clark leans over and rests for a second before zipping off screen.

Does Lex see the ring?

No.

No?

It makes an already convoluted plot even more convoluted.

And the only resolution is to make Lex look stupid.

Lex could see it glowing if you like.

No. You've already made him a coward. Don't make him stupid too.

How's he a coward?

He's hiding behind the kitchen counter.

He'd get shot.

Clark wouldn't let that happen.

Clark can't protect Lex anymore because of the ring.

Clark would still take a bullet for Lex.

You want to write your way out of that situation?

It's not my episode. I don't have to.

I know, "Clark, you must be hypnotized. How else could you suddenly appear out of nowhere and take a bullet for me?"

Behind the counter is good.

Suddenly Clark is back in Chloe's room. "I need you're help."

Cool, Clark needs Chloe!

Yeah, about that. Kristen I think you really screwed us over when you had Lex get the ring. He can't interact with the other main characters.

I'm sorry you feel that way, Tom. Didn't he talk with both Lana and Lex in the past couple of episodes?

Yeah, but how long can we have them talk all the way across the room before it starts looking ridiculous?

Let me suggest you employee a little creativity, OK? It's not a problem. It's an opportunity. Chloe starts to ask what the problem is but Clark has already carried her to the entrance of Lois' apartment at super speed.

"Lex is in there with his ring. You just need to make sure nothing happens to Lois."

Chloe gives Clark a nervous look but calls out Lois' name and heads into the apartment.

Lex is searching Guy's pockets and cursing.

Chloe sees Lois tied up, "What is going on here, Lex?"

Without turning, "Seems like your cousin has gotten in over her head."

Chloe goes to Lois and unties her. "What have you done to her?"

"I haven't done a thing. But guess what she did to me? She stole classified materials from my lab and she's going to suffer the consequences." Guy is coming to. Lex shakes him, "Where are the disks!"

Guy looks shocked. "What do you mean?" He checks his pockets, "You've already taken them you rat!"

Lex throws him to the ground and turns to Lois. "Where the hell are those disks!?"

Lois answers that she doesn't know what Lex is talking about.

Guy says, "She's lying! Play her phone messages!"

Chloe goes to Lois' phone and presses a button. The machine says, "All your messages have been erased." Chloe says "Opps."

Lex stares daggers first at Chloe and then at Lois. "This isn't over." Then to Guy "Did you ever have the disks?"

"I swear I did!" Pointing to Lois, "They were in her bag!"

"I told you to operate within the law. Consider yourself fired." Lex raises Guy's gun. Guy cowers. He flips it in his hand and gives it to Lois, "I'll let you figure out what to do with him." He leaves with his men.

Chloe looks at Guy, "Well I guess you're screwed. Lex has the disks and now you don't get paid." She looks over at Lois, "So you think he's worth waiting three hours for the MPD to show up?"

Lois answers, "We could just kill him. I've got plenty of space in the trunk."

Of her extra spacious Ford Fusion.

Guy looks at Lois like she's crazy.

"But if he leaves nicely I'll settle for this." She punches him in the face.

"Cousin, you've going soft in your old age." Then to Guy, "You heard the lady. Vamoose."

Guy slinks out of the apartment.

He should say he's going to go get a drink.

Why?

Wouldn't you want a drink after that experience?

OK. Guy says he's going to go get a drink.

At the "Five Spot".

The what?

That's the bar.

OK, whatever. Chloe shuts the door. "So you still think Lex is the good guy?"

"I'm a firm believer in the old adage 'chose the lesser of two evils'. Lex unlike the aliens hasn't tried to kill half the people I know. The Kents, me, Lana. Besides if you're right and Lex has the disks there's nothing we can do about it now." Sigh, "I guess I'll be cleaning out my desk tomorrow." Looks around her disheveled apartment, "I kind of liked this place. It'll be a shame trading it for a cell at the women's penitentiary."

"Keep your chin up, cousin. I don't think Lex has the disks. If they do show up..."

"If they do show up I need to figure out how to get rid of them."

"Lois, the public..."

"Chloe if I let you write about it Lex will know I'm your source. I'd end up in jail for who knows how long. There has to be another way to convince Lex to use only volunteer subjects."

Clark's room. He and Chloe are sitting by his desk. "So how close can you get to Lex's ring before you start feeling the effects?"

"I'm not sure. Ten feet maybe."

"Don't you think that would be valuable information?"

"Yeah, but Lex isn't going to let me experiment."

Clark might be surprised.

I agree. Lex seems open to experimentation.

"I assume you got the disks?"

"Yes."

"What did you do with them?"

Lois' apartment. She's on the phone.

"Hello, Lana? Could you give me a call as soon as you get back into town? There's something really important I need to talk to you about. Oh, and if at all possible please call me before you talk to Lex." pause, "Thanks." Zoom out. She's holding the disks.

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