Opening credits. Commercials. Man, am I bummed now. Not even Mary J. Blige singing about the Chevy Malibu can cheer me up.
Chloe's laptop screen. We see a map of the U.S. with a bunch of dots marking who knows what. We pull back to reveal that we're at The Daily Planet and Chloe is trying to track down some information for Clark. Chloe is wearing the top half of a shiny blue prom dress for some reason. She apologizes for not being able to track Kara and Braniac anywhere on Earth. It doesn't occur to her or to Clark that they're not on Earth? Clark, doing his eagle-postured forward desk lean, says he can't leave Lana in pain at the asylum. You'd prefer she sit in pain somewhere else? Clark can't believe they can't find Braniac. That guy's so smart! It's almost like he's got an excess of brainage! No fair! Chloe says there's no "bogey or blip" anywhere on radar. It's like they flew off the map. Into...space, maybe? Clark, looking a bit ragged, asks Chloe to check the power grid again for any surges. Chloe does. They hear sirens. Chloe turns, but Clark asks her to stay focused. Chloe and Jimmy come into the room. Lois tells Chloe that someone jumped out of the Luthorcorp building and that the rumor is it was Papa Luthor. That's a pretty fast-spreading rumor. Chloe grabs her coat to go. Clark just keeps leaning. Chloe has to talk Clark into going with her. But...the power grid! Braniac! Lana! Dammit!
Outside the newspaper building, there's a crowd of gawkers, police cars and flashing lights. Clark jogs to the scene instead of just zipping to the front because that would be a special effect. Budget cuts? We got 'em! On the stairs leading up to the building, a pulpy, bloody object is covered with a yellow tarp. A man with a jacket labeled "CORONER" is talking to a detective. Lex and the Metropolis Cop Lady we've seen before, emerge from the building. "I -- I just talked to him," Lex says. This is true. They talked and then Lex pushed his ass out. The cop tries to confirm that Lex was working down the hall from his father. Lex staggers down the stairs as he says, raggedly, "I heard him yell. And then he was gone." And the Daytime Emmy goes to...Lex Luthor! (Cheers.) The cop asks Lex to give a positive identification. Here, identify this exploded sack of human remains. Lex nods. She pulls back the tarp. We get a close-up of Papa Luthor's open eye. Blood around it. Lex turns away. Photographers take tons of photos. What a scoop! Lex starts to walk slowly and a bright flash turns the whole scene into hazy slow motion, like bullet time in Max Payne. Lex, breathing heavily, staggers forward. "You killed him?" a boy's voice says. Lex turns. It's Li'l Lex, the inner child, standing at the top of the stairs. "You killed Dad?" he asks. Yep. Pretty much. And thanks for not helping, little man. Big help you were! Lex ignores this and starts walking along the barricade where many people are standing. I guess it would be a little tacky to start signing autographs. Clark, sticking out like a sore red thumb, walks parallel to Lex on the other side of the barricade and they stare each other down. It's pretty much not the Gayest Look of the Episode. In fact, it's pretty creepy. Lex watches Clark watching him. It's hard to tell if Clark saw Li'l Lex or not, despite Clark's frown. Lex finally wanders away as we hear a helicopter approach. Chloe comes up behind Clark. She says that she doesn't want to speak ill of the dead, but that Papa Luthor left a lot of damage in his wake. Also, when he was going to bed. "Remember he locked you in a Kryptonite box?" she asks. Yes, Chloe. I was fucking there. Getting nailed with Kryptonite. Where were you? Clark doesn't think Papa committed suicide. Chloe says he seemed pretty bent out of shape when he visited her at the paper. Clark says he was rattled when he last saw Clark, too. Clark says Papa wanted to give him a locket. Chloe, uncharacteristically, fails to see the clue right in front of her. She asks what a locket has to do with Papa Luthor falling 40 stories from an office window. Chloe's brain is not connecting dots this week. Clark turns dramatically. This is my good side. Film here. Watch as I gaze up searchingly to the sky. Ah yes. That's good Tales from the Clarkside right there.