When Jonathan goes to Smallville Medical Centre for a physical examination, his doctor diagnoses arterial blockage and recommends a triple bypass heart surgery procedure. Meanwhile, Vince Davis, the older brother of Clark Kent's friend Garrett Davis, needs a liver transplant - but does not receive one and he dies. His body is sent to Metropolis to be the next test subject of Lionel's experiment by Dr. Lia Teng, who injects his dead body with experimental blood platelets and revives him. When Vince gets sick again (because he needs the life-sustaining blood injections on a daily basis), the unstable Garrett loses control and becomes a threat to the patients, employees, and visitors of the hospital by showing up at the hospital with a kryptonite-infused bomb strapped to himself, threatening to blow himself up unless his brother receives a new liver transplant. Clark must try to find a way to defuse the situation during Jonathan's heart surgery, while the overzealous Sheriff Adams wants to kill Garrett in any way possible... even at the expense of the hostages. Meanwhile, Chloe does some investigating for Lex of Dr. Teng and learns about the mysterious blood platelet serum she's manufacturing and about the first test subject: Adam.

After Jodi Keenan, the wife of a Special Forces soldier, sets off a pipe bomb in one of Lex's secret labs, Lionel is severely injured and Lex is taken hostage by the enraged spouse. Claiming Lex kidnapped her missing husband, Jodi threatens to blow up the entire lab with Lex inside unless he tells her where her husband is. Lex naturally denies knowing Jodi's husband, Wes, Clark sets off to rescue Lex, but is immediately felled by the kryptonite lining the earthen walls. Lex and Clark realize the only way they will make it out alive is by helping each other before the bomb detonates. Meanwhile, Lionel reveals to Lana why he forced her into marrying Lex, which leads her to investigate Lex's secret research of his 'Project 33.1' research as well as his work in tracking down the Phantom Zone escapees to capture and use one as part to create his army of 'super-human' soldiers.

Lex has been secretly trying to turn Wes Keenan, a military man who supposedly died fighting in Afghanistan, into a "super soldier" by injecting him with DNA pulled from the various meteor freaks he has captured. After a crooked senator, Ed Burke, who has been financing the 'Project 33.1', threatens to expose Lex's secret labs, he dispatches Wes to kill the senator. But Lois witnesses the attack and inadvertently becomes the super soldier's next target. Meanwhile, Clark tries to convince Lana to leave Lex, but she refuses and Clark becomes more suspicious about Lionel's involvement with Lana's motivation. Following Senator Burke's murder, Martha is asked to be his replacement in Washington D.C. which means leaving Smallville (and Clark) behind.