- Clark Kent: Are you okay, mom?
- Martha Kent: It's just... I told myself the world needs Clark Kent even more than I do. But the truth is, I was so afraid of losing you.
- Clark Kent: You'll never lose me, I'll always be here for you.
- Martha Kent: You don't understand. The Book of Rao can be used to transport the Kandorians to another plane of existence.
- Clark Kent: That may be the answer we need.
- Martha Kent: Clark, if the Book of Rao is used to send the Kandorians away, all Kryptonians will be exiled from Earth, including you.
- Clark Kent: When will Watchtower be up and running?
- Chloe Sullivan: Well, I can't exactly call the Geek Squad, Clark. And I haven't really had much time to...
- Clark Kent: I've seen you overhaul Watchtower in one night, Chloe. What's the holdup?
- Chloe Sullivan: Watchtower's ready to go. I'm not. Clark, I found that footage of Jor-El and the Book of Rao months ago.
- Clark Kent: Why didn't you tell me?
- Chloe Sullivan: I'm sorry. You know, I got tangled in my own little world-wide web and I just lost track of what was important. Clark, when you disappeared from my life, I retracted into Watchtower. And as I became Big Brother, I... I guess more like Big Sister. It's easy to think that having all the information is the same as having all the answers. But I can't be the eye in the sky anymore, Clark. And now that I have Ollie, I... I wanna plug in to the real world. Virtual reality bites.
- Clark Kent: Chloe, what you've created here... It's bigger than both of us. It'll go on to serve future generations.
- Chloe Sullivan: I'm not the hero here.
- Clark Kent: You may not be saving people from train wrecks, Chloe, or shootouts, but you are just as much of a hero as the rest of us. We're on the brink of war, Chloe, and the world needs you. I need you.
- [There is a pause while Chloe looks touched and thankful for Clark's words. Then she pulls out a remote and pushes the button on it, and everything in Watchtower is back to normal]
- Chloe Sullivan: Clark, I just want you to know that even when I hurt you, I was trying to protect you.
- Perry White: [to Lois] This is your lucky day, kid. The big break most people dream about. You get to write a story with Perry White.
- Clark Kent: I wish you could come back and visit more often.
- Martha Kent: I had to let go of this place for a while, Clark, but I never let go of *you*. I'll be back soon.
- Clark Kent: Maybe next time you can ease up on the kryptonite.
- Martha Kent: Clark, what on earth are you talking about?
- Clark Kent: You kept me in the house for dinner so your people could track down the Book of Rao. Once you learned that Perry and Lois were onto you, you had to throw them off the trail. You're the Red Queen. Why didn't you come to me with this?
- Martha Kent: Because I didn't want you in the line of fire.
- Clark Kent: So you dragged Perry White along instead?
- Martha Kent: I had no idea he was on the trail. You know, he makes me laugh. He makes me feel like everything's gonna be okay. But I can't afford that luxury right now.
- Clark Kent: I can't believe you have to go back to being Senator Kent today.
- Martha Kent: When it's just the two of us here, I'm your mom and nobody else.
- Tess Mercer: The Red Queen, I presume.
- Martha Kent: Don't turn around. Slowly set the disk on the floor and slide it back to me.
- Tess Mercer: Sorry I sent your mind-reader packing.
- Martha Kent: Don't be. I'm not a fan of his tactics, but he got the job done.
- Tess Mercer: You meant for me to get away. How did you know I'd come here?
- Martha Kent: You're predictable.
- Tess Mercer: You may be really good at staying one step ahead of Checkmate, but you don't know the first thing about me.
- Martha Kent: You say you're saving the planet, but you really only care about yourself. You figured out Maxwell's charade because you know in your heart that Oliver's declaration of love was a lie. You can't comprehend what it means to truly protect someone you love. And stay away from Clark Kent. If you're not careful, you'll end up on the wrong side of the coming Apocalypse.
- Takeout Guy: Taco Dan's. What can I get you?
- Lois Lane: I know this phone is a direct line to Checkmate, so here's my order. Red queen. Nothing on the side, just her.
- Takeout Guy: Ma'am, this is a Mexican restaurant.
- Lois Lane: Oh, right. Taco Dan's? That the best you can come up with? I thought all you spy guys went to Yale.
- Takeout Guy: Lady, you have the wrong number.
- Lois Lane: Oh, no, Austin Powers. I have your number. I know that you work for a covert organization dedicated to defending the planet from an alien invasion, that your boss was Amanda Waller, and that that little chateau of yours in the Rocky Mountains was blown to bits, probably by aliens after the Book of Rao, which is why you better stop with this guac-and-chips act and get us some face time with the Red Queen right now.
- Perry White: Or else we'll yank Her Majesty off the chessboard and put her on the front page of the Daily Planet!
- Lois Lane: [Guy hangs up] Maybe that really was a Mexican restaurant
- Perry White: Between this and the dinner disaster, looks like we're both 0 for 2 tonight.
- Lois Lane: Oh, my god. Perry... you've raised the dead. You have single-handedly brought my flat-lined career back to life.
- Perry White: No big deal. I just put in a good word with your boss, Stern.
- Lois Lane: Well, I will never forget this. And neither will Clark.
- Clark Kent: I'm gonna need the Book of Rao. It was left here by Jor-El for me to save this planet. It's what you and dad raised me for. It's my destiny.
- Martha Kent: Your father always trusted you to do the right thing. It seemed easier then. But now, what you're up against... when I went to Washington, I found there were forces working against you. I wanted to protect you. But I couldn't do it as Martha Kent. So I became the Red Queen.
- Perry White: I got line on the Red Queen. Nairobi. I'm flying out tomorrow.
- Lois Lane: Tomorrow? What about you and Mrs. K?
- Perry White: Oh, I'm not giving up on her yet. Martha's one story I'm not sharing with anyone. So what do you say, kid? Africa?
- Lois Lane: Normally, I would jump at the chance at running away from my problems. But after one day in the trenches with Perry White, I realized I don't have to go anywhere to find my higher calling. I just... I needed to find the hero inside myself.
- Perry White: Goodbye, Lane. You're the real deal.
- Lois Lane: See you, chief.
- Perry White: Oh, and, uh, tell Clark we're even. I owed him one from a long time ago.
- Tess Mercer: You know, you had me going until you made Oliver confess his love. You just had to go that one step too far.
- Maxwell Lord: We know you have the Book of Rao.
- Tess Mercer: You try any more head games, and my torture won't be virtual.
- Lois Lane: [waiting for a meet with the Red Queen] So, is this what it was like when you busted the Star City Strangler?
- Perry White: Did I do that?
- Lois Lane: Yeah.
- Perry White: In the '90s. Ah, those were my fuzzy-navel years. I blacked out most of that decade.
- [a figure in a red coat appears on a nearby rooftop]
- Perry White: Bogey, 12:00 high.
- Lois Lane: Looks like we've got an audience with the Queen.
- Clark Kent: [stopping the Red Queen's limousine] The Book of Rao, where is it?
- [a hand holds out a rock of kryptonite; the limo leaves as its effects take hold on him]
- Clark Kent: This isn't over, Tess.
- Chloe Sullivan: I'm picking up a lot of high-level chatter. There's some big meet and greet going down, and the top of the guest list is Lois Lane and Perry White.
- Clark Kent: Who's hosting?
- Chloe Sullivan: Our pal the Red Queen.
- Clark Kent: Vala thinks the Red Queen is Tess' new handle.
- Chloe Sullivan: Clark, if this is Tess gone rogue, then Lois and Perry and about to get buried. And I don't mean on page ten.
- Clark Kent: I need your help.
- Vala: You killed my sister.
- Clark Kent: [she speeds away, but he follows and stops her] You don't really believe that, do you?
- Vala: What do you want from me?
- Clark Kent: Everything you know about the Book of Rao.
- Vala: It's the Kandorian bible. And it has all the knowledge and power of Rao. It will destroy our life on Earth.
- Clark Kent: Does Zod have it?
- Vala: He's cast a wide net. But someone called the Red Queen keeps blocking all of his moves.
- Clark Kent: This Red Queen, do you know who she is?
- Vala: Tess Mercer.
- Martha Kent: Talk about a recipe for disaster.
- Clark Kent: Well, it's all my fault. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin your wekeend with Perry.
- Martha Kent: Clark, Perry didn't leave because of you. I-I thought I was ready, but maybe it's still too soon. I guess we were all pretending things were better than they were.
- Clark Kent: I'm sorry I wasn't more honest with you, mom. Even for a weekend, I just wanted things to be the way they used to be.
- Martha Kent: But they're not. We both need to face that fact, Clark. Anyway, I'm not the person you should be worried about.
- Clark Kent: I know, I really messed things up with Lois. It's just, it's so complicated. Right when we got fired from the Daily Planet, I started having problems with the Kandorians, and I... just couldn't stop lying to her.
- Martha Kent: Sometimes the hardest save to make isn't a stranger in a burning building. It's the person closest to you. Maybe you need to be honest with her.
- Clark Kent: Well, I mean, I sort of tried to tell her who I am, but she thought it was more important I protect my identity. Talking to her as the Blur, I... I've seen a different side of her. And it's made me fall deeper and... and it's just not a side she's decided to share with Clark Kent.
- Martha Kent: Clark, if you want her back, you're going to have to take the next step in your relationship. Otherwise, you'll have to let her go.
- Perry White: Tell us what it's like working together and dating.
- Clark Kent: It's never been better.
- Lois Lane: Hmm. It's kinda like being on a chain gang with your ball and chain.
- Clark Kent: And, you know, sometimes our job gets in the way, but we always work it out.
- Lois Lane: Except when we don't.
- Perry White: Didn't I read an engagement announcement in the Daily Planet?
- Martha Kent: [Lois chokes on her food] Uh, I thought we weren't gonna bring that up, dear.
- Clark Kent: Lois and I got our signals crossed.
- Lois Lane: Yeah, I don't know how that "I do" slipped out.
- Lois Lane: Mrs. K, I can't keep lying to you. Clark and I aren't working together at the Daily Planet. We were fired. And we aren't taking it slow. We're actually taking a break. The truth is, Clark, I need to find a way to make a difference with my life. And I realize now that I can't look to you or... or even the Blur to make that happen for me. I need to do it on my own. So maybe what we need right now isn't a break. It's a breakup.
- Clark Kent: [after she breaks up] Lois. Don't do this.
- Lois Lane: If you care about me... then let me go.
- Clark Kent: Mom, everything smells great.
- Martha Kent: Thanks, honey. Uh, could you two help me with the...
- Clark Kent: [seeing her become emotinal] Mom, what is it?
- Perry White: Who's up for a crackling fire?
- [she leaves, overwhelmed]
- Perry White: What did I do?
- Clark Kent: That was my dad's jacket.
- Perry White: Come on. Sit. Join me for a drink.
- [Clark glances at his glass suspiciously]
- Perry White: Club soda. Since that little wake-up call of yours years ago, I'm a teetotaler and utter bore.
- Chloe Sullivan: Listen, Clark, the Kandorians are still MIA.
- Clark Kent: What about the Book of Rao? I've searched the entire farm. It's not here.
- Chloe Sullivan: Yeah, well, lucky for us, my mini Watchtower that could is actually pulling off a monster wide web search. So if there's any mention of the Book of Rao anywhere...
- [a calling card for the Red Queen appears]
- Chloe Sullivan: Bad news, Clark. It looks like I just got a Red Queen virtual smackdown.
- Clark Kent: Red Queen? Chloe, that sounds like Checkmate.
- Chloe Sullivan: Yeah, well, despite her handle, the Red Queen isn't actually a figure on Checkmate's board. In fact, the rumor has it that her name has been filed under "big bad nemesis".
- Clark Kent: I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm, uh, sort of held hostage here until after my mom's family dinner.
- Clark Kent: Still chasing down stories, I see.
- Perry White: Oh, this is a little freelance project I'm doing on the side, with Lois, actually. I hope I'm not overstepping.
- Clark Kent: No. There was this one story she wanted my help on, but I... looks like she's traded up for a more... experienced partner.
- Perry White: [laughing] I'll let you in on a little secret. Experiene is overrated. I spent the first twenty years of my career living out of a carry-on bag, chasing every story that moved. I was saving the world.
- Clark Kent: That's a big job for a simple reporter.
- Perry White: Yeah, well, two ex-wives and an ex-dog later, it finally sunk in. What matters most is having someone around to share your life with. Someone like your mom. Clark, here's the thing. I'm gonna ask your mother to marry me. I'd like your blessing.
- Clark Kent: Listen, Mr. White, I don't want to get in the middle of anything. I'm not sure she's gonna give you the answer you're looking for.
- Lois Lane: I gotta hand it to you, Mrs. K. Running Senate subcommittees by day, cooking rocking meals by night. You put the "M" in "modern woman". Me? I put the "T" in "takeout".
- Lois Lane: So, tell me all the news. How are you and Clark?
- Lois Lane: Uh... oh, you know, everything's... peachy. You know us. Chocolate and peanut butter, yin and yang, Tarzan and Jane. Okay, maybe not the pulling hair, jungle love of it all.
- Martha Kent: Perry mentioned you aren't writing together. Is everything okay?
- Lois Lane: Yeah. Have you ever wanted to do something really important with your life?
- [Martha smirks]
- Lois Lane: Right. The Senator thing kind of says it all.
- Martha Kent: It wasn't easy for me to leave Clark and go to Washington. But a part of me really needed to take that next step.
- Lois Lane: That is exactly how I felt when I was talking to... this friend. We used to work together. And when I helped him, it was like I had a higher purpose. Like I was... saving the world.
- Martha Kent: You know, after the glow of my wedding wore off, I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake following Jonathan to a small town where I didn't fit in. I went from a city socialite headed for law school to being a farmer's wife, marooned on an island of corn.
- Lois Lane: [snickering] Sounds like "Survivor: Smallville".
- Martha Kent: You can imagine how I felt when I was offered a job interning for a federal judge. I just jumped at the chance. It was such an exciting time in my life.
- Lois Lane: But in the end, you didn't stay.
- Martha Kent: I came home on a rainy weekend and discovered the river was rising. So I pulled on work boots and went down to the river with Jonathan. And we started throwing sandbags. We worked all night holding back a wall of water. When the sun rose... I got to tell twenty families that it was safe to go home again.
- Lois Lane: The city girl saves the day.
- Martha Kent: I didn't know what my purpose really was until that rainy day. I just needed to look inside myself.
- Lois Lane: Is that your next big story?
- Perry White: Yeah. I've been tracking this one for months. Big players. This thing is my white whale, kid. Sorry, I can't share any details.
- Lois Lane: Too bad, Ahab. 'Cause I've got something pretty big on the line, too. It's gonna cause quite a splash.
- Perry White: Oh, well, if it's as huge as you say it is... good luck reeling it in all by yourself.
- Lois Lane: That's true. I don't have Clark right now to help with the heavy lifting. But this puppy sells itself. It is gonna kick your story back to Arts and Leisure.
- Perry White: [laughing she shows him a picture of a Kandorian flying through the air] You've gotta be kidding me. This is a Goth guy on a trampoline in a jogging suit.
- Lois Lane: No, it's the real thing. I got a call from a... a guy who needed my help. And when I started investigating this shady redhead, I found the mother lode. There are aliens here on our planet. And they are looking for this.
- [showing him a hand-made drawing]
- Lois Lane: The Book of Rao.
- Perry White: The Book of Rao. Really? I've seen this before.
- Lois Lane: [he moves to take it] You gotta give some to get some.
- Perry White: A secret government complex in the Rocky Mountains was blown to bits. When I tried to investigate, I was blocked by an operative even the FBI doesn't know about. Code name, Red Queen. Now, I think she's shadowing a secret organization called Checkmate which is fighting some kind of terrorist invasion. And it's all somehow connected with this.
- [he shows her his own picture, which resembles her drawing of the Book of Rao]
- Lois Lane: Maybe our two stories are really the same story.
- Clark Kent: I think about him every day.
- Martha Kent: Your father and I had our first date in this barn. I made a surprise picnic, but his truck broke down, so we ate it in here.
- Clark Kent: I'm glad you made it home, mom.
- Martha Kent: Well, the Senate broke early for recess, and...
- [sighing]
- Martha Kent: Oh, Clark. The truth is I couldn't face the memories. It's hard coming back to this place.
- Clark Kent: [giving her a comforting hug] I'm just glad you're here now.
- Martha Kent: About Perry, I hope you don't mind. I bumped into him at a committee hearing a few months ago.
- Clark Kent: It's okay, mom. As long as he doesn't start looking for a story. I've had my hands full with the Kandorians.
- Martha Kent: I'm so proud of everything you're doing to help your people.
- Clark Kent: Well, it hasn't been easy. More than ever, I've been living two lives.
- Martha Kent: One of those lives is full of sacrifice, so I'm glad to see the other has Lois in it. I sleep better knowing you have someone special in your life.
- Martha Kent: Clark.
- Clark Kent: Mom. What a surprise.
- Martha Kent: I thought you'd be at the Planet.
- Clark Kent: [covering] I'm working from home. What are you doing here?
- Martha Kent: I need an excuse to see my own son?
- Martha Kent: Lois, hi. You'll stay for dinner, I hope. I've got plenty for the four of us.
- Clark Kent: The four of us?
- Perry White: [entering, dragging a suitcase] I don't know why you need all these clothes. With my help, you won't be wearing any...
- Martha Kent: [he stops short when he sees Clark] You remember Perry White?
- Lois Lane: *The* Perry White?
- Clark Kent: Chloe, the Book of Rao isn't here. I know you just came across that footage, but there's gotta be something more on it.
- Chloe Sullivan: I'm looking at it now, Clark. Jor-El put it in the north wall. I wish I could give you more, but thanks to Tess' little break-in, Watchtower can barely run a game of "Donkey Kong", let alone an image-enhancement program.
- Clark Kent: Chloe, if that book really holds unlimited power, then we need to find it.
- Chloe Sullivan: You know, Clark, this could explain why our favorite alien nation has gone AWOL. I mean, maybe Zod and the Kandorians are trying to track down the holy Rao grail before we do.
- Clark Kent: [hearing clattering in the farmhouse] Lois?
- Lois Lane: [startled] Clark!
- Clark Kent: I'm sorry. I thought you were a, um...
- Lois Lane: Thief? If you can't recognize my butt in a pair of jeans, then what are you thinking about?
- Lois Lane: Excuse me for getting between a man and his tractor, but our unemployment situation has just gone to DEFCON 1.
- Clark Kent: Lois, it's not a matter of life and death.
- Lois Lane: Actually, it is. My phone just got turned off because the Planet stopped paying my cell bill, and half my wardrobe is being held hostage at the dry cleaner's. To top it off, it's as if you're expecting me to single-handedly save our unemployed derrieres, which, lucky for you, I have. I have found a story that will get us corner offices at the Planet with parking on P1. We just have to start now.
- Clark Kent: No, look, I appreciate the offer, Lois, but I can't drop everything right now.
- Lois Lane: Whoa! Hey. I have been pounding back double-double espressos just trying to keep us on some kind of a masthead, and you've been doing what, exactly?
- Clark Kent: I just have some responsibilities that I can't ignore.
- Lois Lane: Well, here's something I can't ignore. I need a purpose. Some kind of bigger mission in life. You don't seem to need that.
- Clark Kent: Lois, you're under a lot of stress right now. I understand that, but maybe you're just overreacting.
- Lois Lane: To what? My life falling apart?
- Clark Kent: Lois, just give me a break.
- Lois Lane: You want a break? Maybe we should take a break. A break from this relationship.
- Tess Mercer: Zod. He burned you. Okay, we have to get out of here. Did this guy tell you what he wants?
- Oliver Queen: I don't know what the hell he wants. He said something about someone named the Red Queen and a gold disk, a bunch of aliens. Really great stuff. It sounded right up your alley.
- Lois Lane: Thanks for all your help, Perry. I really needed to get my head into a story right now.
- Perry White: [Sees her apartment is trashed] Well, either you've been robbed, or I missed a hell of a party.
- Lois Lane: My parties are never that good.
- Perry White: Look, Lane, if for some reason I don't make it and you do...
- Lois Lane: Don't talk like that.
- Perry White: It's not pretty but it has to be said. I think I deserve first position on the byline.
- Lois Lane: [taking a selfie with Perry] Oh, my god, you've gotta forward this to my high school journalism teacher. Check it out, Mrs. Kreitzman. Me and Perry White. Who's sorry now, biatch?
- Perry White: Sorry, kid. Last thing I need is a Mrs. Kreitzman on my ass. By the way, I've, uh, read some of your stuff. You and Clark are a regular Woodward and Bernstein.