- Lex Luthor: You work for me, Peterson. Don't forget that. There shouldn't be an opinion in your head that I haven't put there!
- Lex Luthor: As long as I have the rock, you can't stop me. But it is bothersome to have you always trying, so, the deal is this: you leave me and my operations alone, and I and my little green rock will leave you alone.
- Superman: I don't make deals with criminals.
- Lex Luthor: I control everything in this town, Superman. Your cooperation is not really necessary. The offer was merely a courtesy.
- Superman: [glaring] You will *never* control me, Luthor. Never!
- [flies off]
- Lex Luthor: Well, then, I guess I'll have to kill you.
- [Nito and Sam steal a diamond]
- Sam Coralli: What do you think we'll get for it, Nito?
- Superman: I'd say five to ten, with time off for good behavior.
- Professor Hamilton: The fact that your body chemistry absorbs the radiations so readily, leads me to believe that you share with it a point of origin.
- Superman: You mean it came from Krypton?
- Professor Hamilton: More than likely it is Krypton, or rather a small piece of it. 'Kryptonite' if you will.
- Lex Luthor: Ah, Professor, Mercy will see you safely home now, won't you my dear?
- Peterson: Please, no! I-I-I mean, I can see myself home, really!
- Lex Luthor: But I insist. Metropolis can be such a dangerous city, Peterson. I'd hate to wake up tomorrow and find out that something terrible had happened to you...
- Lex Luthor: [after Superman failed to catch two criminals] Well, next time you see one of my museums being robbed, call someone who can do something about it, like the police!
- Superman: You know, we can keep this up all day, or you...
- [feeling the effects of kryptonite, he groans and falls to the floor]
- Sam Coralli: You know, you don't look so hot. Maybe we should help him.
- 'Neato' Coralli: [sarcastic] Sure, we'll send him some chicken soup. Come on!
- Superman: [re: two robbers' fruitless attempts to stop him] I hope you're planning on cleaning up this mess.
- Professor Hamilton: The green radiation could have been created by the energy released in a cataclysmic explosion which destroyed your planet. There is one bit of potentially helpful data. Its radiation can be shielded by element atomic number 82.
- [he tosses a small case to Superman, who cowers upon catching it, but nothing happens]
- Professor Hamilton: Lead.
- Lois Lane: If only we had some lead.
- Tour Guide: [in Superman's memory] ... entire civilization was destroyed by systemic metallic poisoning.
- Superman: The cups... they're made of lead.
- [trying to get the cup, Lois is shocked by the security system; to avoid the T-Rex, she crawls across the floor and bumps into the kryptonite on the ground next to her]
- Lois Lane: Lane squares off. She aims. She shoots...
- [throwing it like a basketball shot, it rolls around the cup's lip and goes in]
- Lois Lane: Two points!
- Joey: Like I told your people over the phone, I don't do Metropolis. Not since the blue guy showed up.
- Lex Luthor: This job needs someone with your technical expertise.
- Joey: I pull this heist of yours, it's a sure bet I'll get caught.
- Lex Luthor: You don't understand. That's exactly what I want.
- Clark Kent: [Lois plays trash basketball] Does Perry know you're playing basketball on his time?
- Lois Lane: It helps me think. Why didn't he nab those two museum thieves? It doesn't make sense.
- Clark Kent: Who?
- Lois Lane: Who? Superman.
- Clark Kent: [at the kryptonite display case] Nothing's happening.
- Old Woman: You were expecting them to dance for you?
- Security Guard: I like the stuff they had in there before.
- Clark Kent: Before?
- Security Guard: Yesterday. They came in this morning and changed the whole display around.
- Joey: I guess I've flown myself into a corner. Okay, you win. I give up.
- Lex Luthor: That's right, make him come to you.
- Joey: Here.
- [as Superman moves towards him, he begins feeling the effects of kryptonite]
- Joey: Oh, what's the matter? Don't you want it? Here.
- [hitting him with the briefcase]
- Joey: Oh, gee. I'm sorry. Here. Let me help you up.
- [kicking him on the ground]
- Joey: Hey, I guess all that time in the gym is paying off.
- [throwing punches]
- Joey: Jab. Jab. Cross. Uppercut.
- Lex Luthor: What are you doing? Get him back to the center of that room.
- Joey: Maybe I'd rather just finish him off right here.
- [still weak, Superman finds the strength to grab him and throw them both off the ledge]
- Lex Luthor: Mercy, get the rock, fast.
- Waitress: Be with you in a second, sir.
- [as she trips, Clark speeds over, catching both her and her dishes]
- Waitress: Good catch. So, what'll it be?
- Lois Lane: [coming in] I'd like the turkey meatloaf, baked potato, no butter, no soup, salad, house dressing on the side. Give the whole thing legs. Sorry, Kent, I'm in a hurry.
- [seeing he doesn't look well]
- Lois Lane: Say, you don't look so hot.
- Clark Kent: I'm fine. What's the rush?
- Lois Lane: [taking a piece of kryptonite out of her purse] Take a look at this.
- Clark Kent: [dropping it] Aah!
- Lois Lane: Careful!
- Clark Kent: I'm sorry. Just clumsy, I guess. What is it?
- Lois Lane: Lex Labs got a hold of some kind of meteor that seems to have the ability to drain Superman's powers. This is just a small sliver. You sure you're not catching something?
- Clark Kent: I'm okay. Really.
- Lois Lane: I'm taking this piece over to S.T.A.R. Labs to let them have a look at it.
- [the waitress brings her order]
- Lois Lane: I'll let you know what they say. The gentlemen would like a large orange juice, chicken soup, and tea with lemon. You gotta take care of yourself, Smallville.
- Waitress: Yeah, you really don't look so good.
- Hanes: The other media samples were ordinary carbon-based elements. But this, its composition materials are not even on the periodic table.
- Peterson: We believe it originated in an alien solar system with properties totally divergent from our own.
- Lex Luthor: We'll need to test it out on Superman himself. See that it's in my office within the hour.
- Peterson: I don't think you realize what you have here.
- Lex Luthor: On the contrary, I know exactly what I have here: the very tool I need to completely control and humiliate Superman.
- Lex Luthor: As you know, recent cutbacks have forced the city to close the doors to many of its own museums, which is why the Lex Luthor Museum of Natural History is such a boon to the city's populace.
- Lois Lane: [watching with Clark] And a boost to Lex's popularity.
- Lex Luthor: In anticipation of tomorrow's grand opening, I felt that you, the elite of the Metropolis press, might enjoy a sneak preview of the city's newest state-of-the-art exhibition hall. The priceless artifacts are displayed in open cases, protected by electronic surveillance and an impregnable automated security system.
- Clark Kent: [hearing an explosion] Did you hear that?
- Lois Lane: Just typical Luthor blarney.
- Lex Luthor: And now, I will be happy to answer any questions regarding the museum and its displays.
- Lois Lane: How do you respond to charges that the museum is really just a large tax shelter for LexCorp?
- [Lex scowls]
- Lois Lane: Let's see him get out of...
- [seeing Clark isn't there]
- Lois Lane: Kent?
- Peterson: Ms. Lane, it's Peterson. Listen closely. Lex Labs is developing a synthetic version of the green rock. It's imperative I get this information to Superman immediately.
- Lois Lane: Yes, of course. Where should we meet?
- Peterson: The museum. Come in through the alley entrance.
- Lois Lane: But the security system...
- Peterson: I designed the security system, Ms. Lane. I know how to bypass it. The door will be open between 9:05 and 9:06. Make sure you're not followed.
- Lex Luthor: [he hangs up] Very convincing. You're certain he's there?
- Mercy Graves: Our men saw him go in two minutes after the Lane woman.
- Lex Luthor: Excellent. Superman will now insist on accompanying her to the museum.
- Lex Luthor: Nito and Sam Coralli. See that they're dealt with.
- Mercy Graves: Check.
- Lex Luthor: [seeing Superman feeling the effects of kryptonite] Wait. Go back.
- [the security tape rewinds]
- Lex Luthor: Interesting. As soon as he gets near the rocks in that display case, he gets all wobbly and weak.
- Mercy Graves: So weak, he let a couple of small-timers get away.
- Lex Luthor: And every one of those rocks belongs to me.
- Joey: Impressive, huh? I like to stay in shape.
- [flexing his muscles]
- Joey: Want to feel?
- Mercy Graves: Feel what?
- Lex Luthor: I don't think she's interested.
- Joey: Heh, sure she is. Aren't you, baby?
- Mercy Graves: [kicking his speed bag off its anchor] Don't call me "baby."
- Lex Luthor: That's right, put S.T.A.R. Labs on 24-hour surveillance. I want to know everyone who goes in or out.
- [Mercy comes in]
- Lex Luthor: My spies tell me that Hamilton has a piece of my rock. I'd like to know who gave it to him.
- Mercy Graves: I'm on it.