Original Air Date on September 18th, 2008

Jor-El: I sent you to earth for a purpose, Kal-El.

J'onn: You've learned a lot from your time in Smallville. Your father would be proud.

Lex: It would be tragic if the DDS decided Chloe was a thr*at to national security after all.

Jimmy: Will you marry me?

Man: Don't move! Chloe Sullivan, you're under arrest.

Chloe: Jimmy, get Clark!

Lana: I need you. But the world needs you more. Please don't come after me.

Martha: Just because I'm leaving doesn't mean you have to stay.

Lois: I got your application right here.

Clark: That's never gonna happen.

Oliver: This isn't the end of the story, Clark. This is just the beginning.

Chloe: I can heal people.

Brainiac: What the hell are you?

Lionel: Kal-El, you must save yourself, or your destiny will fall into the hands of another man.

Regan: Sir, the last few teams have all disappeared.

Lex: We leave now. You hold the future of the entire planet in your hands. I'm here to take it back.

Clark: Lex, don't!

Lex: Clark, I'm sorry, but it has to end this way.

[ Crashing, rumbling ]

And now the season premiere of "Smallville." 

Arctic Tundra - four weeks later

Tess: Who's Regan? What have you been doing all this time, building snowmen?

Regan: Who do you think you are? This site is off limits.

Tess: Tess Mercer. My access is unrestricted. Per Lex's written instructions, I'm now the acting C.E.O. of LuthorCorp and all its subsidiaries.

Regan: You're nothing but an obscure regional V.P. You actually believe you're qualified?

Tess: Lex believes it ... and that's all that matters. I want a complete inventory of everything you've found ... footprints, snowmobile tracks, any sign of an escape.

Regan: Escape?

Tess: [ Chuckles ] Trust me, Lex Luthor did not meet his end on some dwindling ice cap.

[ Computer beeps ]

Man: Sonar's picking something up. 6.4 meters deep.

Tess: What is it?

Man: Not sure, but based on the imaging, it could very well be human remains.

[ Electronic beeping ]

[ expl*si*n ]

[ Indistinct shouting ]

[ Sonic whirring ]

Man: Ugh!

[ Computer beeps ]

[ g*n cocks ]

Regan: There's a reason the cowboys won the West. Playing with bows and arrows can only get you so far.

Oliver: Nice toss ... for a fish out of water.

A.C.: Thanks.

Dinah: You two gonna keep stroking each other, or are we gonna go find Clark?

Oliver: Well, it looks like they found something in that trench. Check it out.

Dinah: Oh, no.

[ Wind howls ]

Oliver: Clark, where are you?

[ Motor whirring ]

[ Door opens ]

Tess: You missed a spot.

Lois: Oui, oui, madame.

Tess: And the floors ... they've lost their sheen. You're not getting lazy, are you?

Lois: [ Chuckles ] I didn't realize Lex's secretarial staff could spot a speck of dust from across the room.

Tess: I'm as much a secretary as you are a French maid. I have been so looking forward to meeting the intrepid reporter Lois Lane. So, you like to play dress-up?

Lois: If you're not a secretary, who are you? Lex's 4:00 P.M. booty call?

Tess: I realize Mr. Luthor gave you quite a bit of journalistic rope, knowing you'd eventually hang yourself. Me, on the other hand ... I'm a little less patient.

Lois: I'm not here as a reporter. I'm here to find my cousin, Chloe Sullivan.

Tess: I doubt she's hiding under the furniture.

Lois: Lex had her arrested by the Department of Domestic Security, but the DDS claims to have no record of her. I want access to Lex's phone records from the day he made the call. I want that agent's name.

Tess: Mr. Luthor is a firm believer in truth and justice, Miss Lane. You can rest assured, if he had your cousin arrested, she was guilty.

Lois: The only thing Chloe's been guilty of is standing up for what she believes in.

[ Footsteps approach ]

Woman: Ms. Mercer?

Tess: Please escort Miss Lane out.

Woman: Yes, ma'am.

Lois: Hands off.

Tess: By the way, next time, might want to try microfiber. Works wonders.

Lois: I'll keep that in mind.

Black Creek, Montana

[ Keys clacking]

Ray: Pattern. Take your time with this one. It's especially difficult.

Chloe: Barn, tiger, car, hammer, tree, building, cup, phone, toaster, house, doll, football, book, umbrella, bench, paper clip.

Ray: And the logarithm?

Chloe: The seventh image moves forward by the power of four every six cycles.

Ray: My God.

Chloe: Okay, so, I'm smarter than the average, but that doesn't mean the government has the right to treat me like their own private guinea pig.

Ray: You're special, Chloe.

Chloe: No, I'm not! All I am is a halfway decent hacker who took a wrong turn down the information superhighway.

Ray: A hacker whose cognitive thinking just b*at our fastest supercomputer. It's hard to believe that such a dramatic increase in intelligence could occur practically overnight.

Chloe: Ray, I've told you a thousand times. It just happened. I passed out, and when I woke up, I was different.

Ray: Okay. Let's do another.

Chloe: I have a better idea. How about no more games or puzzles until I have something called a court date and a little friend called a lawyer?

Ray: Chloe, we've gone over this.

Chloe: Have you looked at a map recently? This is America! I know my rights!

Ray: The day you hacked into the NASA mainframe and downloaded classified information ... that was the day that you gave up those rights. You committed an act of treason.

Chloe: I'm not a spy! I don't deserve to be held in some low-rent Gitmo wannabe.

Ray: You can stay here, and you can use your ability to give back to your country and walk in 12 months, or you can go to court, get convicted, and rot in a Federal prison for 20 years. That's your choice.

Dinah: I ran his photo through every surveillance camera north of 60 degrees latitude. Face recognition hasn't come up with a single h*t.

A.C.: Every dock and coastline east of the Siberian Sea to the Baffin Bay ... they're Clark Kent-free zones. It's like he just disappeared.

Oliver: Well, that leaves us with Chloe's hard drive, which is full of a lot of fun facts, but not one lead on Clark.

Dinah: Oliver ... we've searched practically everywhere. I think it's time to accept the fact that maybe something happened to him.

Oliver: No. No. You don't understand. Clark's not like us. It's gonna take a Hell of a lot more than a little snow and ice to bring him down.

Dinah: Victor and Bart have been covering the entire southern hemisphere. They haven't found anything. What makes you think we will?

Oliver: Clark would never give up on us. We're not giving up on him.

[ Rain pattering ]

Man: [ Russian accent ] You! [ Shouting in Russian ]

Clark: Let me make a phone call.

Man: I told you. When you pay me back.

Clark: I'll get you your money. I can get you whatever you want if you let me make the call. I need to let people know that I'm okay.

Man: Why don't you send them message by carrier pigeon?

[ Truck engine revs ]

Man: [ Laughs ]

[ Conversation in Russian ]

Clark: [ Grunts ]

[ Engine revs, tires squeal ]

[ Machine-g*n f*re ]

[ Tires squeal ]

Clark: [ Grunts ]

Man: You try that again [Speaking Russian] I'll be not so nice.

Tess: What's the news from your elves at the North Pole?

Regan: Satellites picked up an encoded communication signal from the group that att*cked us.

Tess: Well, they're not the only ones that are good at concealing information. Don't you remember your little journey up North in the LuthorCorp jet right before Lex disappeared?

Regan: I honored Mr. Luthor's request for absolute discretion.

Tess: Have you been searching for Lex, or are you just covering your own tracks?

Regan: I did my homework on you ... girl who taught herself to read in a Louisiana swamp house, got into Harvard at 15, goes deep-sea diving in her spare time. But I don't give a damn about any of it. Nobody questions my loyalty.

Tess: If I ever discovered that someone withheld information that could help me find Lex, I'd be forced to respond accordingly.

Regan: Are you thr*at me?

Tess: Just giving you an opportunity to keep your job. I suggest you find Lex, or you will be summarily terminated.

[ Door opens ]

Chloe: Look, I'm all for helping my country, but what kind of secret government mission could an out-of-work newspaper hack pull off?

Ray: You're gonna help us catch a few bad guys, Chloe.

Chloe: By playing Sudoku?

Ray: No, these are scrambled transmissions that a group of t*rrorists used to communicate. And not one of our computers has been able to figure out the algorithm. And you are our best sh*t.

[ Whirs ]

Chloe: Let's do this.

Ray: Good. We're looking for three cellphone numbers hidden within the code.

Chloe: 429-555-0169.

Female voice: Target position acquired.

[ Dart g*n fires ]

Chloe: ... 5-0132.

Female voice: Target position acquired.

[ Air whooshes ]

[ Dart g*n fires ]

[ Tires screech]

Chloe: ... 555-0 ...

Ray: There's three more.

Chloe: These aren't the phone numbers of bad guys. You're not the DDS.

Ray: What's the last telephone number, Chloe?

Chloe: [ Grunts ]

[ Alarm blaring ]

Chloe: Ugh! No!

Man: Grab her!

[ Grunting ]

Regan: Find the third at all costs.

Man: How are you feeling?

Clark: [ Coughs ] [ Grunts ] Never better.

Man: Ready to get back to work?

Clark: [ Grunting ] [ Grunts ]

[ g*n cocks ]

Man: You are really determined, aren't you?

Clark: I just want to go home.

Man: Okay. Just tell us where to ship your body.

Oliver: (Speaking Russian) I hear you have the best black market caviar in Russia.

Man: (Speaking Russian) Who are you?

Oliver: (Speaking Russian) Roy Connor. Ivan Alexandrov sent me. He speaks very highly of your proudct.

Man: (Speaking Russian) Only the best. Osetra, Beluga, Sevruga.

Oliver: What are you looking at? You got a problem with me? Is my presence here bothering you?

Clark: Yeah, it's starting to.

Oliver: It's starting to?

[ Laughs ]

Clark: [ Grunts ]

Oliver: [ Grunting ]

Clark: What do you think you're doing?

Oliver: Just roll with it. Get up! What's the matter, huh? Your batteries run out?

Clark: I got a little more juice left.

Oliver: [ Grunts ] I'll take 100 cases of Beluga, 50 cases of Osetra, and this pathetic little punk here. I want the honor of finishin' him off.

Man: Be my guest. I'll throw him in for free.

Oliver: Very nice. Come on!

Clark: What took you so long?

Clark: How does an ice fortress disappear into thin air?

Oliver: I feel like there's a punch line to that question. It's good for you.

Clark: It all must be part of my father's plan. And as it turns out, his idea of controlling me was taking away my powers.

Oliver: Hmm. It's better than Lex walking around with a remote control to a Clark-bot.

Clark: Lex was there. He knows everything. He knows my secret.

Oliver: Well, Clark, Lex may be tenacious, but there's no way he survived that.

Clark: I did ... without my abilities.

Oliver: After the avalanche, did you see anything?

Clark: There was so much wind and snow, I could barely see two feet in front of me. I started hiking. I went as long as I could, and then ... the next thing I know, I woke up on a fishing boat in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.

Oliver: Clark, you coulda died up there.

Clark: Oliver, I really screwed up. I took my eyes off Lex until it was too late. I lost my friends, my powers. Chloe's in DDS custody because of me.

Oliver: I've had an army of lawyers on it, and, uh ... Chloe Sullivan was never arrested by the Department of Domestic Security.

Clark: It was Lex. Jimmy betrayed him, so he went after Chloe.

Oliver: Well, if Lex wanted to hide her, he's got a research compound in Montana. It's called Black Creek. It's the only facility we haven't h*t yet. Unfortunately, no one who's ever gone in has ever come out.

Clark: We need to get her back.

Oliver: The problem with that is both Dinah and A.C. went off the radar, looking for you. And you're kind of ... useless.

Clark: With or without my powers, I'm not gonna let my friend rot in a LuthorCorp prison.

Oliver: Neither am I.

Pilot: Sir?

Oliver: Change course. We're going to Montana.

Pilot: Yes, sir.

Regan: It's a shame that Lex couldn't be here to see this. The elusive band of t*rrorists finally in captivity.

Dinah: Lex was never able to find us. How did his bozo zookeeper get so lucky?

Regan: Luck has nothing to do with it, Miss Lance. I have a new secret w*apon. You weren't up there scouring the Arctic for Lex. You were searching for someone else. The Traveler.

A.C.: Who's that, some frequent flyer?

Regan: He's an alien. He knows what happened to Lex. Who is he?

A.C.: Look, the only reason we headed up to that winter wonderland was to find Lex.

Regan: You're lying through your gills, Mr. Curry. If you won't tell me what I want to know, I'm guessing your hooded ringleader will.

[ Crossbow snaps ]

Oliver: The way I jammed the security system, we've got 15 minutes max. Stay behind me.

Clark: No. We'll cover more ground if we split up.

Oliver: And what are you gonna do if you get caught, bite someone?

Clark: I'm not gonna argue with you. Chloe's in danger.

Oliver: Fine, Clark. You be the hero. Just know I might not be there to save you.

Lois: I can't believe this. One alarm-clock malfunction, and suddenly you're demoted and shipped to Deliverance territory.

[ Sighs ] What the hell are you doing here?

Clark: I ...

Man: You know him?

Lois: Yeah.

Clark: No.

Lois: He wishes he didn't know me. I thought I dropped you at your cell.

Man: We'll take him back.

Lois: And send me to the Sahara? One demotion this week is enough.

Man: I'll handle it.

Lois: [ Grunting ]

Lois: What are you doing here?

Clark: I heard they had good espresso.

Lois: You disappear for a month and come back with a sense of humor?

Clark: I've been tracking Chloe down. The question is how did you get here?

Lois: Feminine charm.

Clark: [ Scoffs ]

Lois: Yes, I do have some.

Clark: Great job protecting your short supply of it.

Lois: Why don't you give your stand-up a rest and do exactly what I tell you? That way, we can find Chloe and stay alive at the same time.

Ray: Sweet dreams?

Chloe: More like my worst nightmare. I've been hunting down innocent people for LuthorCorp. That's who you work for, isn't it?

[ Door opens ]

Regan: Reading up on you in Lex's files. I knew you had a healing power, but your turbo I.Q. ... Well, that was a pleasant surprise.

Chloe: I'm not gonna help you. So, I guess you're gonna have to k*ll me.

Regan: [ Chuckles ] You know, you come from a talented family. Your mom had a real gift for making people do anything against their will. Lex had the foresight to draw as much spinal fluid as we could from Moira Sullivan. Add in a few million in research, and we have ourselves a way of making people do what we need them to do. Now, I won't say it's perfect. It doesn't last long, but ... it'll get the job done.

Chloe: [ Straining ] Stay away from me.

[ Whoosh ]

Chloe: [ Grunts ]

Regan: Find the final three digits.

Chloe: 173.

[ Beeping ]

Female voice: Target position acquired.

Regan: How thoughtful of him to come to us.

[ Whoosh ]

[ Water dripping ]

Oliver: Well done, guys. Everybody okay?

Man: Freeze! Don't move!

[ Whoosh ]

Regan: Do whatever it takes to find out what happened to Lex Luthor.

Clark: Would you mind not pointing that thing at me?

Lois: God, Clark. I'm not aiming at you. What? I'm not. Besides, it's only your kneecap.

Clark: Well, that makes me feel a lot better.

Lois: Look, I know that you're nervous, Smallville, but you got to remember I grew up around Green Berets and Navy SEAL's, not cornstalks and Jersey cows. You stick with me, I'll protect you. You'll be fine.

Clark: Chloe.

Lois: Out of the way, Smallville.

[ g*n ]

Lois: Chloe!

Chloe: Lois! Lois, look behind you! Watch out!

Lois: [ Grunts ]

Chloe: Clark, where have you been?! I've been waiting for you.

Clark: I'm sorry. I got held up in a Russian work camp. I'm so glad you're okay.

Chloe: What happened to you? You're ...

Clark: Human. Turns out, when Jor-el said there was a way to control me ...

Chloe: He meant taking away your powers. How are we gonna get out of here?

Clark: Don't worry. Oliver's with me.

Chloe: Security's closing in on him. They already have Dinah and A.C.

Clark: Watch Lois.

Chloe: Clark, you have no way of defending yourself.

Clark: I'll be fine.

Clark: Oliver, there you are. I knew these guys couldn't touch you.

Oliver: Where's Lex?

Clark: Lex? I told you. I have no idea.

[ Arrow whooshes ]

Clark: Aah! Aaah!

Oliver: That was a warning, Clark. The next one goes straight through your heart. Answer me!

Clark: [ Grunting ]

Oliver: Where is he?!

Clark: [ Panting ] I don't know.

Oliver: Start talking, or the biography of Clark Kent comes to a sudden, tragic end!

Clark: Oliver ... you're not yourself.

Oliver: I'll do whatever it takes to find Lex.

Clark: I don't know!

[ Arrow whooshes ]

Clark: [ Breathing weakly ] [ Groaning ] Oh, god.

Oliver: Clark, come on! [ Voice breaking ] I'm so sorry. I ... Clark, please. Clark, can you hear me?

Chloe: Oh, no!

Oliver: Clark!

Chloe: I can save him.

Oliver: I couldn't stop myself.

Chloe: Oliver, move back. I can save him.

Clark: [ Weakly ] No..Chloe.

Chloe: It's gonna be okay.

Clark: No. No, don't heal me. [ Labored breathing ] [ Grunting ]

Chloe: It's not working. Clark?

Clark: [ Grunting ]

Lana: Hi.

[ Heartbeat pounding ]

J'onn: I'm here, Kal-el.

[ Exhales sharply ]

[ Heartbeat stops ]

Chloe: [ Crying ] Clark? [ Sniffles ]

[ Air whooshes ]

[Footsteps]

J'onn: How does it feel to be whole again?

[Pops]

Clark: [ Sighs ] I was dying. You saved me. You brought me to some white light.

J'onn: The healing effect of the sun brought you back from death. I promised Jor-el that I would only be a watchful guardian, but I could not stand by and let you die.

Clark: Well, you shouldn't have had to.

J'onn: Jor-el knew he was sending you on an impossible odyssey ... to be given the power of a God ... ... yet exist among humans.

Clark: Sometimes I feel like I need to be two separate people. Either way, I can't keep expecting you to save me.

J'onn: Well, that was the last time. The burning sun may strengthen you, but it has the opposite effect on me. It stripped me of my powers. And we both know ... that yours is a greater destiny. But with The Fortress destroyed, you'll have to do it without Jor-El's guidance.

Clark: Or anyone else's. When I was dying, I saw my dad. He was right there in front of me. I saw my mom and Lana. They were there, too. So close, it was like I could reach out and feel them. [ Sighs ] I've written eulogies. I've seen people walk away from me ... but I've never really said goodbye. I've been holding onto a life on this farm that hasn't existed for years.

J'onn: So, what are you gonna do?

Clark: Let it go. It's the only chance I have of finding a new one.

[ Exhales sharply ]

[ Footsteps approach ]

Woman: Ms. Mercer ... it suits you.

Tess: This desk belongs to Lex, and finding him is the only thing that matters right now. Am I clear?

Woman: Yes, ma'am. This was retrieved from the excavation site.

Tess: And the Montana facility ... ?

Woman: Completely dismantled. And the guests have been reassimilated.

Tess: Any word on Lex?

Woman: It's a footprint ... found in the Arctic. But it's not Mr. Luthor's.

Tess: That'll be all.

Chloe: What's happening to me?

[ Door opens ]

Chloe: Jimmy! Hey!

Jimmy: I've looked everywhere for you. I'm so sorry. I should never have let Lex get between us.

Chloe: No. It's in the past. Now, there's a little, um ... leftover business about a ring.

Jimmy: Please don't. All I want tonight is just to be with you.

Chloe: That's kind of a big diamond elephant in the room. Don't you think?

Jimmy: Okay. [ Exhales sharply ] I jumped the g*n in proposing to you, and I've had a lot of time to think about it. And, obviously, we're not in the same place. Let's just pretend it didn't happen.

Chloe: So, you're rescinding the offer?

Jimmy: No, I just ... [ Sighs ] ... I don't want an answer. I don't want things to change between us.

Chloe: Yes.

Jimmy: Great. Things will go back to the way they were.

Chloe: [ Chuckles ] No, Jimmy ... yes. All that time alone in a cell, I realized that ... what I wanted in the past kept me from seeing what I have right now. And that's you. You're perfect.

Jimmy: I am so far from perfect.

Chloe: Which is perfect for me. Mm.

Oliver: Clark, good to be back from a little "R" and "R"?

Clark: Guess you had to pull your own weight for a while. Seriously, though, I owe you all my life. I don't know how to thank you.

Dinah: Well, you would have done the same thing for any one of us.

Arthur: And we can't take all the credit. I heard those are some pretty sweet aerodynamics your friend powered up back there.

Dinah: Yeah, where you been hiding that guy?

Clark: It's a long story, but I'm sure he'll be back one day.

Dinah: Well, unfortunately, we've still got a minor problem out there.

A.C.: Yeah, you're not the only one thawing out from a little freezer burn there, boy scout.

Clark: Lex.

Oliver: Yeah. We sorted through all the arctic tests, and there's no sign of any human remains.

Clark: We need to find him. He knows my secret.

Oliver: It's not gonna be as easy as you think. The new C.E.O. of LuthorCorp's even more deceptive than Lex ever was.

Dinah: And now that our masks have been ripped off, we're seriously hampered.

A.C.: We might as well be wearing name tags.

Clark: We need to split up.

Oliver: We? I'd be careful, Clark. Pretty soon, you'll be sporting a homemade costume and leading a double identity just like the rest of us.

Dinah: You might want to try something a little more form-fitting.

Oliver: We split up and cut off contact with each other. We lay low, find out what we can about Lex. Clark.

Clark: [ Chuckles ]

[ Chair creaking ]

Lois: [ Sighs ]

[ Creaking continues ]

Clark: Oh, I'm sorry. Is this bothering you?

Lois: The chair or you in it?

Clark: Lois, I, um ... I wanted to say I thought you did well out there. You really earned your stripes at your dad's boot camp.

Lois: Thanks. And as for you ... you actually surprised me ... I mean, for your first attempt at heroism.

Clark: [ Chuckles ]

[ Name plate clanks ]

Clark: I better get going. I'll see you bright and early Monday morning.

Lois: Whoa, whoa. Why Monday? What do you mean "bright and early"?

Clark: Lois, you're the one who gave me the application. You're looking at the newest recruit to the Daily Planet.

Lois: That's great. What made you change your mind?

Clark: I guess I wanted to be in the middle of the action.

Lois: Good for you. So, are you gonna be starting down in the mail room?

Clark: No. I'm gonna be a little closer to home. Looks like we're gonna be neighbors, Lane. [ Chuckles ]

Lois: You've got to be kidding me. [ Sighs ]
{"type": "series", "show": "Smallville", "episode": "08x01 - Odyssey"}