While working as a volunteer with Pete at Smallville Youth Center, Clark receives a distress phone call from Lana, who is shot by Adam. His further investigation shows that the call was made from the future because of a time/space porthole created by a massive electrical surge from a downed power line fitted with meteor rocks, during a coming thunderstorm. Clark must try to save Lana and change the future. Meanwhile, Lionel Luthor shuts down the obscure Merton Laboratory and the research that Dr. Lia Teng is developing with blood platelet, which were finally revealed to have been developed from the vial of Clark Kent's blood. Adam becomes aware that he has less than 12 hours to be injected with the serum, otherwise he will die. He escapes, kills Dr. Teng and her whole team, and Lex is framed as responsible for the mass murder. Adam then sets out to find Lana to know if she still has an extra vial of serum for him. Lex later meets with an FBI agent, named Frank Loder, who enlists his help to bring down Lionel Luther, who also confides in an associate of his about his research and reveals the reason for it: Lionel himself is dying from a rare liver disease.