A violent explosion erupts from the mansion demolishing the building instantly, and the forceful shock wave sends the three reporters to the ground as Lois and Jimmy are trying to drag Clark to relative safety behind the car. The two reporters are both knocked out by the blast, and Clark manages to regain his senses just in time to prevent them from being crushed by flying debris. His reaction occurs in a fraction of second. Still situated between his two partners, he sees everything happen in slow motion as he acts at super-speed. The world slows down around him and, using his own body to protect his companions, he turns his head and triggers his heat vision to vaporize the chunks of walls and rubble hurtling in their direction, shattering his glasses in the process. A few pieces of rock hit him directly but crumble to dust on his back. Suddenly, an entire section of the mansion roof falls down onto them. Clark quickly stands up and effortlessly knocks it into pieces with his right fist, then he grips Jimmy and Lois and flies them to safety further away from the building. He waits patiently for the rest of the explosion to subside as time seems to regain its normal speed.
A few moments later, Lois wakes up, slowly registering where she is and what has just happened. She's lying on her stomach amidst rubble of all sorts. The air is thick with smoke, which burns her eyes and throat and makes her cough. She turns her head to her left and sees Jimmy lying by her side, trying to spit the dirt out of his mouth. Suddenly, everything comes back, clear in her mind. Clark, the bomb… Clark!!
Getting to her knees, she scans the area and quickly finds her partner, lying unconscious on his back a few meters away, half of a broken Greco-Roman statue across his legs. Horrified, she gets up and runs to him. "Clark!! Oh, God! Clark! Wake up!! Clark!!" She shakes him but he's not moving. He's covered with dust and ashes and his long coat is tattered. His face is unrecognizable through the ash, dust, and dried blood, and his glasses are gone. Panicking, she tries to pull the statue away from him but it won't move.
"Jimmy!! Help me!" The young photographer stumbles between the rubble and helps her grab the sculpture. Clark is still unresponsive. With tears falling down her cheeks leaving a pink trail on her dusty face, Lois shakes him again vigorously. "Don't you dare die on me, Clark Kent! Wake up!!" Jimmy falls to his knees, devastated.
When he thinks that they have had enough of his little act, Clark finally pretends to wake up, his eyes fluttering open, moaning slightly.
"Clark!! Oh, thank God!" She wipes away her tears quickly and puts her hand behind his neck as he tries to straighten up. He immediately brings his hand to his forehead and eyes, feigning a headache, to prevent his friends from looking directly into his eyes. Jimmy is by his side in an instant, hugging him tightly, almost making Clark choke. "I thought you were out cold, man!"
Hoarsely, Clark says, "What… What happened?" With trembling hands, he fumbles through the inner pocket of his jacket and retrieves a second pair of glasses, which he immediately puts on.
Lois and Jimmy stare at him, startled. He just flashes them a goofy smile, shrugging, "Well… I'm completely blind without my glasses; I always have a spare pair… Just in case…"
Lois rolls her eyes then turns her head to where the mansion used to be. "How are we going to explain that to the Chief?"
"And to the police?" says Clark, trying to get up with false difficulty.
Jimmy is by his side again and helps him get to his feet. "Hey, don't push yourself; you've been pretty seriously banged-up. By the way, what happened in the basement? What was down there?"
Clark pretends to be totally clueless. As he has yet to figure out what exactly happened, maybe it's best that Lois and Jimmy don't know about the crystal structure. "In the basement? What do you mean?"
Lois stares at him, her eyes wide. "You were investigating the basement, Clark. Then we heard you scream and we found you lying on the stairs, obviously in a lot of pain. See…" She rubs her fingers over his jaw where some blood is still drying, then shows them to him. "You're bleeding."
He looks at the blood on her fingers and his own eyes widen in genuine shock. He can't bleed… He quickly raises his hand to his left ear and then looks at his own bloodied fingers in disbelief. He remembers that horrible pulse in his head and the pain that came with it, but he had no idea that it made him bleed. If Lois and Jimmy hadn't brought him away from the pulse he might have died there, or his brain might have been irreparably damaged. He keeps forgetting that he's not invulnerable to Kryptonian technology.
He begins to stammer uncertainly, "I… I don't… The last thing I remember is walking into the mansion and…" but is cut off when the familiar sound of sirens gets louder.
Soon, they are surrounded by police cars and firetrucks.
Later in the afternoon, in the editor's office, Lois, Jimmy and Clark are huddled on the sofa, waiting for the unavoidable reprimand. Clark is seated between the other two, cotton stuck in his right nostril. When the paramedics arrived at the still burning ruins of the Vanderworth mansion, he had done his best to insist that he was fine, but at Lois and Jimmy's continued urging, he finally let them at least give him a once over and clean up the blood around his ears and nose, at least to maintain his cover. He finally refused any further ministrations, signing off that he'd refused treatment. The last thing he needed was a trip to the hospital and a bunch of confused doctors trying to bring down his 'fever.'
In front of the trio, Perry paces the floor, obviously pissed. "I gave you a simple assignment and what do you bring back? Nothing! And to top it all off, you almost managed to get yourselves killed in the process!! Now I have the police commissioner hassling me on the phone for an explanation as to what three of my reporters were doing at the Vanderworth property!"
Lois immediately tries to defend their actions. "I already told the police everything, Chief. We went to investigate the origin of the first EMP, which I had traced to the Vanderworth mansion, then just as we arrived, the whole mansion blew up on us… Well I didn't tell him that we were already inside before it exploded, but that's just a minor detail, and as long as Clark doesn't remember what he saw in that basement, I don't see any reason to risk trouble with the law to write an article about finding nothing…" She looks sideway at her partner who lowers his head, ashamed.
Perry flashes a stern look at her then at Jimmy. "Olsen, I hope you still managed to get some good shots of the mansion on fire."
The young man straightens and stammers, "Y…yes Ch… Sir! My first camera broke during the explosion but I had brought a second one with me." He tries a smile but Perry just glares at him. With a whispering voice, Jimmy adds: "The photos will be on your desk in five minutes, Sir."
"They'd better be. Lois, you write me a report on this. I want it in fifteen minutes on my desk!" he barks.
"But, Chief…" she begins, but is silenced by his deadly glare. She stands up and starts to leave.
Just then the office door opens, revealing Richard, with Lee at his side. They're both obviously worried. Without any consideration for Perry, Richard walks to Lois and hugs her while Lee stands in the doorway, calling, "Clark? Mr. White, is he ok?"
Perry begins to speak, but Clark is immediately at her side, grabbing her hands in his to let her know he's here. He speaks softly, "I'm here and I'm fine, Lee. Don't worry." He hugs her gently, not noticing Lois's scrutinizing look.
She returns his hug, feeling indeed that everything seems to be ok with him; his heartbeat is normal and his voice assured. Relieved, she stays a little longer in his arms, taking advantage of the comfort he provides her.
Perry looks at the two couples awkwardly. He cracks a smile then suddenly returns to his usual self, barking, "Where do you all think you are, people!? Get out of my office and get back to work!!"
They all rush out of his office, blushing. Richard, just about to close the door behind them, looks back at his uncle and says, "Perry, don't you think that Clark should take the rest of the day off? He's been through a lot today."
The old man looks at the tall reporter walking slowly away, kindly guiding his blind colleague to her desk. "Kent's a big guy; he can handle a little headache," he says with a little smirk on his face.
A few hours later, Clark is sitting at his desk, thinking. Why those dark crystals suddenly exploded is a mystery. If only he still had his own crystals… He decides to return to the Vanderworth property as Superman to try and find some clues later tonight.
Suddenly a hand on his shoulder startles him. Richard White is just behind him, holding a cup of water and two pills. Clark looks at them, stunned.
"Take these. There's nothing better for a headache, trust me," he says, smiling broadly.
Clark realizes that, considering the situation, Perry's nephew must have misread his dark expression as pain. He considers the offer of the painkillers for a moment, and realizes he's really starting to like this man. He seems so genuine and kind. Clark feels honestly happy that Richard happens to be his son's Dad. With a slight smile, he takes the glass and swallows the pills, thanking Richard. They obviously won't do him any good, but they won't hurt him either. Richard looks at the reporter while he finishes washing down the pills, and finally says, "I also want to apologize for Lois's behavior toward you lately."
Clark looks at him, surprised. Richard adds straightforwardly, "I know she broke into your motel room yesterday and that she was spying on you. We had an argument about that."
"You know… Richard… That's nothing. I mean… I understand that… with all that's happened lately… well… she must be a little stressed and…" Clark stammers, not feeling really comfortable talking about Lois and what she did yesterday, especially with Richard. In order to put an end to this awkward conversation, Clark suddenly puts his right hand over his forehead, closing his eyes, as if the headache was coming back.
Richard reacts immediately. "Clark, are you all right?"
"I think I need to take a break…" Clark mutters.
"Ok, come on, I'll drive you home," Richard says without hesitation.
Clark certainly didn't see that coming. "Oh, I can take a taxi. I don't want to bother you… and besides… you have to take Lois home. Her car was wrecked by a piece of roof during the explosion and you have Jason to…"
Richard cuts him off, saying, "Lois left a half an hour ago with the rental car. She said she wanted to go home to clean and rest, and Jason is at a friend's party tonight. I have plenty of time before I have to go pick him up."
"But… I promised Aileen we'd share a cab this evening…" Clark says, then immediately adds, "We… we're neighbors… I mean… we live in the same complex."
Richard looks at him oddly. "You know… If I didn't know you, I'd think you're trying to avoid me, Clark."
Blushing, Clark finally says, "Oh, no… it's nothing like that, I… I mean… I just don't want to be a pain… well…"
Richard laughs openly. "Then come on, buddy! We'll take Miss Rogers with us. I was going to ask her anyway. You know, we talked a lot about you today. She seems to think pretty highly of you…" he says, winking at Clark.
Blood drains from Clark's face at that, but Richard doesn't let him answer and goes to his office to retrieve his things.
A few moments later they're in Richard's car, Clark on the passenger side.
"Thanks for driving us back, Richard. It's freezing outside tonight," Lee says cheerfully from the back seat.
"No problem, Aileen. Besides, it's part of my job to take care of my staff," Richard says, looking sideways at Clark, who shifts in his seat, quite embarrassed. Suddenly, Richard's phone rings. He answers quickly, frowning, "Richard White, here… yes… oh, ok. His mother will come and get him… Ok, thanks." He hangs up the phone and immediately dials their home number.
Having heard the conversation, Clark asks, "Is there a problem?"
"No. Jason's friend just ate too much birthday cake and now he's sick. We have to pick up Jason a little earlier. I'm calling Lois. Their house is just a few blocks away from ours," Richard says, amused.
Clark nods, thinking how much he wishes he were in Richard's place right now. To go home to a loving wife and a wonderful child... It's all he ever wanted: a place to call home…
The phone rings several times but no one answers. Richard is surprised. He dials Lois's mobile phone just in case. This time she answers. Clark, hearing her voice on the phone, can clearly tell that she's upset. Richard asks, "Lois? Where are you? I thought you were going home early."
"Ah, Richard… I had a little errand to run before… well, I'll be home soon." She says, not really convincing Richard or Clark.
"But where are you? We…"
Acting as if she didn't hear him, she says, "Well, ok, see you later, darling. Don't forget to pick up Jason at eight." She then hangs up, leaving Richard, mouth opened, stunned.
Clark looks at him with an inquisitive expression. "Is everything all right?"
Richard, still dazed, just says, "She's doing it again."
"What?" Lee and Clark say together.
"She knows that she's not allowed to go back to the Vanderworth property. The police secured the place for their investigation. Perry warned her about that but I saw it in her eyes when she was in his office. She wanted to go back there to find something useful." His hand punches his steering-wheel in frustration. "Sometimes she's so… so Lois."
Tell me about it, Clark thinks with a hidden smirk. But suddenly he realizes that she could be in danger. He has yet to figure out what really happened earlier, and he doesn't like the idea of her being there at night, all alone. "Richard, we should go look for her. We're not far from the Vanderworth property anyway, are we?"
"Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. I know that you guys would probably rather be at home right now…"
"Don't be sorry. It won't take long anyway," Lee says, feeling quite happy to steal a little more time from Clark.