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"Quest"
Original Air Date on May 8, 2008
[ Flames flickering ]
Milash: [ Russian accent ] Unbelievable. Immaculate. The gears, the complications ... I-I have never seen anything quite like it.
Lex: What does it do?
Milash: Well, I am sorry to say I don't know.
Lex: I didn't come to the most renowned expert in antiquities in north America for more ambiguity.
Milash: Well, I just need more time. I-I need to take it to my workshop and take it apart.
Lex: No. The cryptograph isn't leaving this room. It holds great sentimental value for me. It's priceless.
Milash: [ Exhales deeply ] Well, if there is no way to decipher the meaning, it seems your priceless heirloom has no value at all.
Lex: I want a security detail on him 24/7.
[ Sighs ]
[ Clattering ]
[ Door opens ]
Oh, my god. Mr. Luthor.
Security breach! Lock down the mansion. Call an ambulance!
[ Monitor beeping ]
[ Groans ]
[ Sighs ]
[ Coughs ]
Sir, don't try to get up. I got everything taken care of.
Lex: Clearly that wasn't the case earlier this evening, was it?
Police ...
Lex: What do they know?
Nothing. I knew you wouldn't want us to cooperate. I have a private team tracking your assailant, but we don't have many leads.
Lex: It was the manager ... from the bank in Zurich. He must have been stationed at the bank, waiting for someone to open the -deposit box. Apparently I'm not the only one interested in its contents. [ Groans ]
Sir.
Lex: He was trying to kill me.
He was trying to do more than that. Symbols. He knows. He's after the cryptograph.
Chloe: I'm not gonna ask you where you've been or why you stood me up ... ... as long as you picked up some cheesecake to say "I'm sorry."
Jimmy: Oh, yeah. Well, the hospital cafeteria isn't known for its dessert list.
Chloe: Hospital? Are you all right?
Jimmy: Me? Yeah, I'm ... I'm great. I'm making page two. Lex is the one who's not doing so hot.
Chloe: What? Was there an accident?
Jimmy: Well, not unless tripping can cause multiple stab wounds. Look, I know it sounds sleazy, but it turns out that ambulance-chasing pays off. I got a candid shot of Lex being admitted to the hospital.
Chloe: I think I'll pass on an early peep show. But, um, you know, jimmy, there are ways other than cheesecake that you can make up for being late. As far as I could tell, Lex's security is not exactly cooperating with the police in the "let's find out what happened" department.
Jimmy: Don't you find this a little suspicious?
[ Chuckles ]
Chloe: given the large number of dead bodies rolling around lately, I, uh, thought that Lex had eliminated all of his enemies. Why would someone attack him?
Jimmy: Well, the why ... isn't as interesting as the how. Along with the stab wounds, the attacker chiseled a calling card into Lex's chest.
Chloe: Like a name?
Jimmy: No, it's like some freaky symbols.
Clark: Hey. Sorry I couldn't get here faster, but, you know, I have to drive. You dragged me out of bed because someone hurt Lex.
Chloe: They did more than just hurt, Clark. Jimmy snapped a photo. That was carved onto Lex's chest. What does it say?
Clark: They're symbols ... one for traveler and the other for savior.
Chloe: There's only one group that appointed themselves the savior of the traveler. Veritas.
Clark: But Queen, Teague, Swann, Lionel ... all the members of Veritas are dead.
Chloe: So, who else could know about the traveler? Or, more importantly, how to control him? I mean, Lionel said whoever had the two keys would find the device to control you. Now, what if Lex was attacked because he has both keys and he used them? While you were away, I tracked Lex and the keys to a safety-deposit box in Zurich.
Clark: Then we're too late?
Chloe: Well, as far as I can tell, you're still steering your own ship, which means that whatever was in that box hasn't taken the wheel ... yet.
Clark: Well, that's comforting.
Chloe: Well, maybe it's because Lex doesn't know who you are.
Clark: There's only one way to find out.
Chloe: You're not serious.
Clark: Looks like your q&a will have to wait.
[ Thunder rumbles ]
[ Cellphone beeping ]
I found it.
[ Thunder rumbles ]
It can't be.
I should have seen that before.
Magnificent. Do you want to take a look?
I think I'll pass.
Do you want a look? You are missing a treat, a real treat.
[ Breathing heavily ]
no, no, no, no. Here, take it. Take it, please. No.
[ Gunshot ]
[ Thunder rumbling ]
[ Click ]
Chloe: Savior. Traveler. I guess skywriting is passé.
[ Sighs ]
Clark: Chloe, the person who did this may have kidnapped Lex.
Chloe: If they did, they only did it to save you.
Clark: That's the last thing I need ... someone going around killing people in my name.
Chloe: That's probably how god felt about the crusades.
Clark: Why carve Kryptonian symbols into Lex's chest?
Chloe: Lex got himself into this.
Clark: Yeah, but I let him.
[ Whirring ]
Clark: Wait. Go back. Right there, where the symbols overlap. Chloe, it creates a third symbol ... sanctuary.
Chloe: Like this?
[ Chiming ]
Clark: Yeah. There's no Kryptonian word that translates directly to church. Sanctuary would be the closest match. And if you look at it that way, then savior could be ... angel or ... saint. The patron saint of travelers is ... St. Christopher. Hand me your phone.
[ Beeping ]
Perfect. Everything you need at your fingertips. That'll take you where you need to go.
Chloe: Okay, there's only one St. Christopher's cathedral on this continent, and it's in Montréal.
[ Thunder rumbles ]
Milash: That man was going to kill me.
He was after the cryptograph.
Well, I guess I underestimated its value.
Milash: I am not surprised, considering what I found.
Lex: Go on.
Milash: Every artist leaves his mark ... his individual signature, if you like. This piece was designed by a renowned German watchmaker named Dietrich Brauer.
Lex: A watchmaker?
Milash: Brauer catered to European noble families, making hundreds of timepieces. And then, one day, he just went into seclusion. Rumors swirled that an unknown patron had commissioned him to make not ... not a watch but a magnificent clock. Brauer's standard ... his masterpiece.
Lex: So, what does this masterpiece have to do with the cryptograph?
Milash: Only one sketch existed of the clock after it disappeared during the second world war. The gears on that sketch match this exactly.
Lex: So nobody knows where the clock is now?
Milash: It was lost for decades. But recently, it resurfaced as a donation from a wealthy philanthropist.
Lex: What was the philanthropist's name?
Milash: I believe the donor's name was dr. Swann. Virgil Swann. Swann posthumously donated this standard to a church ... St. Christopher's cathedral in Montréal, Quebec.
"Cast your eye beneath the surface."
It appears you've found what you were seeking.
Edward: I've been expecting you. There are few who can read the inscription and only one with ability to follow the instructions.
Clark: Who are you?
Edward: I'm Edward Teague, the last surviving member of Veritas.
Clark: Teague.
Edward: I've waited a lifetime for this moment ... to serve ... the traveler.
Edward: Do you want to confess something, my son? I know what it feels like to be worshipped.
Clark: I didn't ask to be worshipped. Putting me on a pedestal ... that was something Veritas did, not me.
Edward: All the members of Veritas are dead. Lionel Luthor wanted you all to himself. He killed the queens, Swann. I went into hiding after I ... lost my wife ... my son.
Clark: They all died because of me.
Edward: No. They died for you.
Clark: Why? They didn't even know me.
Edward: It was a sacrifice they were happy to make. That the difference between believers and nonbelievers. We believed you would be the next savior. We took an oath under Swann to protect you.
Clark: And your way of protecting me was attacking Lex?
Edward: Lex is a nonbeliever. He cannot be trusted, and his intentions are harmful. Once he'd reached the safety-deposit box in Zurich, I knew he was too close.
Clark: Lionel said there was something out there that could control me. What is it that Lex was so close to finding?
Edward: Swann kept that secret to himself. He scattered clues around the world in the hopes that whatever controls you wouldn't wind up in the wrong hands. One of those clues ... is here ... in this church. I don't know where, but I was afraid Lex did.
Clark: So you tried to kill him. But why carve my name into his chest?
Edward: Lionel kept your identity hidden. It was my only chance. I hoped you ld se and come find me. I had to warn you. Please, you must believe how evil Lex is.
Clark: I know who Lex is. I know what he's done.
Edward: Then ... why? Why didn't you take care of him before? We have sacrificed everything ... years of our lives, our families ... for you. You don't want to fulfill your destiny. You don't even want to save yourself!
Clark: [ Groaning ]
Edward: People want to see you as their savior, but you can't be so naive. For every beacon of light in the universe, there is a pit of darkness. We must fight to keep that darkness from overwhelming us all. Lex Luthor cannot be allowed to control you. No one can ... ... no matter the cost.
Lex: We land in three hours. I hope that gives you enough time.
Milash: Those guards are dead, I was almost killed, and I have told you everything that I know. And still you have practically abducted me. What have you got me into?
Lex: It's better you don't concern yourself with it.
Milash: You have put my life in danger, and now you refuse to let me go. I have a right to know what is the truth, considering there's a decent chance that you are going to kill me before I even get off of this plane.
Lex: He ... why should I help you? If you remember right, I saved your life back there.
Milash: That was because you still needed me. And I ... and I think you are still needing me now. Mr. Luthor, in antiquities, providence is everything. The history of an object, the reason why it was made ... that is its true value. There was a rumor that Brauer was commissioned to make the clock by a secret society of wealthy patrons. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?
Lex: [ Scoffs ] My father was one of them. My father was ... was fixated. Everything he did, every act he made, was all aimed at one goal ... finding the truth, no matter what the cost. My father's obsession ... made me an orphan long before he died. I've always wondered why. That cryptograph ... that cryptograph is gonna give me the answer.
Chloe: Hey, Clark, it's me. So, the LuthorCorp jet just left Smallville for Montréal, so what ever you can find up there, I suggest you find it fast.
[ Beep ]
Jimmy: what I found.
Chloe: Uh, I take it you're over the whole sleep thing.
Jimmy: The symbols like the one hacked into Lex have been appearing around Smallville for years, uh, on cave walls, burned into barn doors, even drawn in the fields like crop circles. It's incredible.
Chloe: No, jimmy, it's a hoax, just like those crop circles in England.
Jimmy: Well, hey, the jury's still out. Those crop circles could have been made by aliens.
Chloe: People have been playing with the Kawatche cave paintings for years, just trying to get on the 6:00 news.
Jimmy: Wow. Get a little competition in the story department and suddenly you go all Scully on me.
Chloe: It's not that. It's just I don't think Smallville is destined to be the next Stonehenge.
Jimmy: Even if it turns out it's a site of ritualistic killings? I pulled this from some research on the cave. It's an exact match to the carving on Lex's chest. And it's above a drawing.
Chloe: Yeah, I've seen this before. It just looks like a guy in a doorway to me.
Jimmy: Well, sure, it looks that way. But according to the number-one website on primitive pictography, it's actually a human sacrifice.
Chloe: Oh, my god.
Clark: [ Groans ] Why are you doing this? I thought you were supposed to protect me.
Edward: Because it is my duty. You let the secret of Veritas fall into the wrong hands. This is the only way to guarantee you don't come under someone else's control.
Clark: It won't happen. I can stop it.
Edward: I will now bestow upon you ... an ancient Kryptonian ritual. Before your race were a people of science ... they were warriors. This ceremony was a sign of respect for the mightiest of their enemies.
Clark: You don't know anything about krypton!
Edward: I was Swann's disciple. He taught me everything.
Clark: He must have taught you that I was good ... that I'm not a threat. He wouldn't want you to kill me.
Edward: Swann was an idealist. He said you would rule us with strength. But for every passage Swann quoted of the traveler coming to save earth, there was another interpretation that cast you ... as our destroyer. If Lex takes control of you, that's exact what will happen ... ... something your father Clark: [Grunts]
Edward: Couldn't have foreseen.
Clark: What does this have to do with Jor-el?
Edward: He had high hopes for you when he sent you to this planet. But your father understood the risk of setting a god among men. If you were ever to turn against humanity, we wouldn't stand a chance. That's why he sent the device.
Clark: He never would have sent something to control me.
Edward: His only other option would have been to destroy you, but he couldn't bear the thought of his son's death. I pray that you find peace in this act of selflessness.
Clark: [ Groans ] Aah! [ Groaning ]
[ Bell tolling ]
[ Ticking ]
[ Ticking continues ]
[ Ticking stops ]
[ Ticking resumes ]
[ Ticking stops ]
Edward: You're too late. So strange to see you without those warrior-angel figurines clutched in your little hands.
Lex: Mr. Teague.
Edward: Alive and well ... no thanks to your father.
Lex: Seems we all have a score to settle with him.
Edward: I believe you already have.
Lex: I'm just sorry to see that you've inherited your father's obsession.
Edward: Obsession? You're the one who did this.
Lex: You tried to kill me. Why?
Edward: The prophecies state that the traveler would have a powerful adversary. I could never have foreseen that it would be little Alexander.
Lex: You know who he is.
Edward: The traveler's identity is no longer relevant.
Lex: Maybe not to you, but it's everything to me. You have no idea what it's like to live every day of your life feeling like an afterthought. I've sacrificed too much.
Edward: No. Your sacrifice has just begun. The world can exist only in balance. If there is no traveler, there can be no destroyer.
Chloe: He Clark. Oh, my god, Clark.
Clark: [ Grunts ] Chloe. How did you ...
Chloe: Oliver's jet ... fringe benefit of being a hero.
Hi.
Aah! How'd you do that?
I didn't.
The traveler.
Priest: Oh, my goodness. What happened here?
I assume Mliash is safely back on U.S. Soil.
I put him on the first commercial flight to metropolis.
I take it we won't be needing him in Scotland?
Lex: Not if you did your homework.
The library only had one book on St. Kilda, but I think you'll be pleased. You mind if I ask what's so compelling about a small island off the west coast of Scotland?
Lex: The clock. It played a melody from an old Scottish folk song ... "Birks of St. Kilda." When I was learning to play the piano, my father made me play it over and over. "Birks" means birches.
Well, there might be birches, but that's about it. The island's a bird sanctuary now.
Lex: According to the literature, there was a small town built up around a castle, until some wealthy American bought the castle ... hauled it back to the U.S. My father brought that castle to Smallville, stone by stone, but obviously never found what he was looking for. It must still be there. Tell the pilot to change course. We're not going to Scotland. We're going home.
Chloe: [ Chuckles ] Wow.
[ Door closes ]
Chloe: D I was only gone for 24 hours. Remind me to stay away for a week next time.
Jimmy: Well, I'm actually sort of celebrating myself. I just sold my first article.
Chloe: That's fantastic, jimmy! How?
Jimmy: Look, I know that you said that the symbols in the Kawatche caves are old news, but I kept digging anyways. And it turns out that I'm not the only one interested.
[ Cork pops ]
Jimmy: Phew. Apparently Lex is pretty taken with the symbols, too ... not surprisingly, since he's wearing one on his chest.
Chloe: So, tell me exactly what the article is about.
Jimmy: Well, it's all very Joseph Campbell ...
hero's journey and all that.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Jimmy: See, most of the stories on the cave walls are about good versus evil. Ey tel naman, the savior of the people, warring against Sageeth, the bringer of darkness.
Chloe: Yeah, the story sounds familiar. I think Clark wrote a paper about it in high school.
Jimmy: Well, in the beginning, Naman and Sageeth each have their own distinct symbol.
Chloe: Well, then, why does this one look like a combination of the two?
Jimmy: Well, I was wondering that myself, so I called the professor at met U. Who specializes in hieroglyphics. And according to him, the symbol of good versus evil is common in primitive cultures. It embodies the ... the push, the pull of the two sides ...
Chloe: a yin and yang. The hero-anti hero conflict.
Jimmy: Exactly. But here's what got Lex all jazzed ... this particular image portrays a resolution of that conflict.
Chloe: Remind me how you resolve a conflict that has existed since the beginning of mankind.
Jimmy: Well, in the Kawatche legend, the hero's journey ends in a final battle.
Chloe: So, according to your professor, who's supposed to win?
Chloe: Hmm. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Clark, but the writing is literally on the wall.
Clark: [ Scoffs ] You're buying into this whole Naman-Sageeth mythology?
Chloe: After seeing you strapped down exactly like the human sacrifice in the cave drawings? In a word ... yes.
Clark: It wasn't a myth that tried to kill me, Chloe. It was a man.
Chloe: And thanks to you saving him, that man is still out there.
Clark: when Teague was performing t ritual, I realized that on some twisted level, he actually thought he was doing the right thing. He thought he was protecting everyone ... from me.
Chloe: [ Scoffs ] Last time I checked, the world was doing just fine with you in it.
Clark: As long as there's something out there that can control me, I'm still a threat. And Teague reminded me how dangerous my abilities are. In the wrong hands, Chloe, they could destroy everything.
Chloe: Which is a really good reason why you can't let Lex just walk away.
Clark: It's not about Lex, Chloe. I x-rayed him. He didn't him anything on him. He didn't even find what he was looking for.
Chloe: Maybe not this time, Clark, but every battle has its victor. I know you don't want to take Lex out, but Lex will not hesitate to destroy you when he gets the chance.
Clark: What do you want me to do, Chloe? Kill him? If I do that, I'd just be turning into him myself.
Chloe: Whether you like being on this pedestal or not, you were put in this position. And someday, you're gonna have to play god.
Lex: It's been almost 24 hours. Why haven't they found anything?
It takes time to cover a structure this size inch by inch, Mr. Luthor. I got every available body working on the job. And it's only been20 hours.
Lex: I don't want excuses. I want results.
Yes, sir. I understand. I'll bring in more men, increase the shifts.
Lex: You do that. On the shores of St. Kilda, the birks sway in the wind from the left to the right again. You said the castle was in the west coast of St. Kilda?
Yes, sir.
Lex: Facing west?
No. The castle itself faced south.
Lex: So if I'm facing south ... to see the shore, I turn right. Above the heart of home shines the north star. Of course. Get out. Everyone out now! Everybody out. Let's go.
[ Whirring ]
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