Clark stands at the entrance of the alleyway of a bar. After a while, a cab pulls up a few feet away from the alleyway and stops. Lois gets out of the cab and pays the cab driver. Lois walks over to Clark.

"Mr. Kent?"

"Ms. Lane. It's good to see you again."

"Of course it is. So have you got something for me?" asks Lois.

"That depends." pushes back Clark.

"On what?"

"On who you're really reporting for." explains Clark.

"What do you mean?" Lois wonders aloud.

"These mobsters, whoever they are, they aren't getting their information from the pages of a newspaper. Which means there are only a few places they could be getting their information from. And since I'm pretty much convinced that the people hurt in the accidents aren't talking, and John's talking to reporters about this, that leaves only one place where they could be getting it from." insists Clark.

"Wow, you almost sound like a reporter." quips Lois.

"Well I took classes in school for journalism." suggests Clark.

"Then you must know that a reporter's first allegiance is to truth and justice. And the truth is that these criminals are exploiting regular working people for their own purposes. There's no justice in that." explains Lois confidently.

A shadowy figure walks towards Clark and Lois.

"Depends on whose justice we're talking about here." the figure declares.

Lois and Clark look towards the shadowy figure who steps out of the shadows.

"Who are you?" asks Lois.

"Someone with more important priorities then truth and justice." declares the shadowy figure as they pull out a gun and pulls back the hammer, loading it.

Clark moves in front of Lois to protect her.

"What are you doing?" Lois questions.

"I should think that would be obvious." the shadowy figure responds.

"Not you, him." points out Lois, shoving Clark, "What are you going to do? Catch the bullet with your hand?

"I was just..." tries Clark.

"Enough talk." the shadowy figure fires.

Clark grabs Lois and dives for safety as the bullets hurtle towards them. Several of the bullets bounces off Clark's back. Clark lands partly on top of Lois, stunning her slightly. Clark gets up to see the shadowy figure standing with the gun in hand.

"What the hell? I hit you. I know I hit you."

"Obviously, you missed." Clark says with a smile.

Clark chases the shadowy figure out of the alley. The shadowy figure runs right out into the street as an oncoming car speeds towards him. The car hits him at full speed, killing him on impact. Clark looks on, unable to do anything as the shadowy figure dies.

"Ow."

Clark turns around to see Lois pulling herself to her feet. Clark walks over to Lois.

"Are you all right?" asks Clark.

"Better than I could have been if you hadn't been the world's biggest boy scout and saved me from a severe case of lead poisoning." suggests Lois.

"Can I take that as a yes?"

"Yeah. What about you? Did you catch the bullets?" asks Lois.

"What?" Clark asks with a bit of shock.

"Did they hit you? Are you bleeding?" explains Lois.

"Oh. No, I'm fine. I think they missed." Clark says, trying to pass it off.

"Then why aren't we dead now?" wonders Lois aloud, then looks towards the accident which has just taken place, "Oh. Is he?"

"I think he's dead. Any thoughts as to why they were coming after you?"

"I'm a reporter. Take your pick of articles I've written and I'm sure you
can find a reason." suggests Lois.

"He seemed more professional then your average person though." offers Clark.

"You think it might have been a mob hit?" asks Lois, obviously concerned.

Clark and Lois look at each other before speaking the same words, "John."

Lois pulls out her cell phone and calls a phone number.

"You have his phone number?" Clark asks, surprised.

"I make it a point to know everything possible about the people I use as sources. It makes it easier to know if they're lying to me or not. He's not picking up." explains Lois, getting worried.

Lois walks up to the curb and signals for a taxi.

"We need to find him. He could be in danger too. Do you know his address too?"

"What do you think the taxi is for Kent?" Lois responds rhetorically.

"I can get to him faster." insists Clark.

"How?" Lois asks as she looks at him.

A cab pulls up in front of them. Lois opens the rear door for Clark.

"Come on, get in." offers Lois, making Clark somewhat uncertain.

Clark decides to get into the cab with Lois. The cab drives off.

*                           *                           *

Lex is standing at the main control panel of the Communications Room. Lex is entering equations into the main control panel and hitting the send button.

"Damn it."

On the main screen is a picture of the earth with Brainiac's space ship visibly in orbit.

"Come on, I know you're up there. I know you're receiving this. All you have to do is answer me."

Lex tries again by entering equations into the main control panel and hitting send. Brainiac appears on the main computer screen.

"And what possible motivation could I have for taking such an action?" asks Vril Dox rhetorically.

Lex gets angry at the question, "What did you find? What is it about that drawing that made you leave so quickly? What's a Kryptonian?"

"Something far more powerful and more interesting then what you could possibly offer me. And while I really must thank you for providing me with the sensor upgrade I required to locate the power source and its owner, our business transaction is completed. Further communication is now pointless. As a courtesy, I will not destroy Luthorcorp Tower if you cease and desist in your transmissions." explains Vril Dox.

"That ship could be the answer to questions I've been asking myself most of my life. I need to find it and understand it." insists Lex, trying to get somewhere.

"Then as a further courtesy, I will extend to you a glimpse at the answer you long for." offers Vril Dox.

Vril Dox is replaced on the main screen by a black and a white Superman "S" symbol that appears to fill up the screen.

"What the hell?" is all Lex can say.

"If you can find the owner of this symbol before I do, then you may yet find the answers to the questions you seek. If not, then you die a frustrated, angry, unfulfilled human being who can not begin to comprehend the magnitude of what it is he is involved in. End transmission."

Lex enters commands into the main control panel in an attempt to get the Superman "S" symbol to go away. The symbol continues to display on the screen, "What is this?"

Lex walks over to several computers, and gets the same Superman "S" symbol every time he enters a keystroke.

"How do I locate the source of this symbol?"

Lex moves to another computer, and as soon as he enters one keystroke, the Superman "S" symbol appears on that screen as well.

"Answer me."

Eventually, he picks up the computer monitor closest to the main computer screen and throws it at the main computer screen.

*                                 *                                       *

The cab with Clark and Lois in it pulls up to the building. The building has people running out of it as the fire alarm sounds. Lois and Clark get out of the cab.

Lois pays the cab driver, "Thank you."

"No problem." says that cab driver before the cab drives off.

Clark and Lois look up at the fourth floor window which has smoke coming out of it and flickering light.

"What do you want to bet?" asks Lois curiously.

"What floor is he on?"

"Fourth. Apartment 419." offers Lois.

Clark runs into the front door everyone else is running out of.

"Kent!"

Lois stays behind outside in front of the building.

*                               *                           *

Clark runs up four flights of stairs past others running down. When Clark reaches the fourth floor, he runs to the door with the smoke coming out from under it.

"John! John Smith?"

Clark doesn't receive an answer from behind the door, so he backs up two steps and then breaks the door down with almost no effort. Clark walks into the apartment with fire everywhere and smoke leaving through the now open door.

Clark walks through the apartment unaffected by the smoke and fire around him.

"John?"

"Clark?" responds John with difficulty.

Clark walks through the flames to the sound of John. John is lying in the middle of his one room apartment on the floor.

"Clark, what are you doing here?" asks John.

"Lois and I were attacked when we met. We came to rescue you." explains Clark, trying to figure out what to do.

"A little late for that." points out John, still on the floor.

"Come on, I'm getting you out of here." Clark says as he kneels down and tries to pick John up.

"No, Clark. It's too late." John tries.

"It's never too late." insists Clark.

"Clark." says John as he moves one of his hands down to his chest, revealing several bullet wounds bleeding heavily, "It's too late."

"John." Clark says, uncertain what else to do.

"Just promise me one thing. Don't let me die in vain. Do the right thing. Make sure that whoever did this doesn't get away with it." John asks as he struggles to say anything.

"I won't. I promise. But hang in there with me and I'll make sure that we can bring them down together." promises Clark.

Clark picks up John and carries him out the door. Clark begins hurrying down the hallway towards the stairs.

"I guess you really are meant to be a hero, aren't you Kent?" John says.

John dies. Clark carries John out of the apartment building and down to the front door. A paramedic brings a gurney over and Clark sets John down on the gurney.

"Is he all right?" asks the paramedic.

"He's dead." Clark says matter of factly.

Lois rushes over to Clark as the paramedic checks on John while wheeling the gurney away.

"Is he?" asks Lois, knowing the answer in Clark's response.

Clark doesn't answer.