- Alec Abrams: I wrote this when you were still Red and Blue. And I didn't really know what you looked like then, so... I like the S better.
- Clark Kent: I do too.
- Zatanna Zatara: Sorry my locator spell wasn't more accurate. Like I said, I'm gonna need all the help I can get. He should be... close?
- Clark Kent: I guess you can't expect magic to be an exact science.
- Zatanna Zatara: Was that a clever play on words? Wonderful wit *and* sparkling theatrics. Mr. Blur's really upped his game.
- Lois Lane: Stop gawking and prosper.
- Clark Kent: That's what was in your bag?
- Lois Lane: Well, this Amazon princess won't get nerd-walled again. But I still don't understand how this qualifies as Amazon, but whatever.
- Zatanna Zatara: Remember how you said magic wasn't an exact science? Well, there's a catch too. And my dad rally outdid himself on this one. There's a monster at the end of the book.
- Clark Kent: Not surprised your dad's friend had trouble selling this. This isn't the origins of a superhero, it's the birth of a villain. In the original story, Warrior Angel becomes Devilicus.
- Zatanna Zatara: And the moment our hero feels the slightest betrayed...
- Clark Kent: He becomes a monster.
- Zatanna Zatara: I could swear there's a twinkle of magic in your eyes. Or is it just pride in a job well done?
- Clark Kent: I think I always gain a bit of perspective when you blow through town.
- Zatanna Zatara: Careful. A girl might just start to crush on you.
- Clark Kent: [Going through Lois's closet] Okay. This is what I got - some red leather thing.
- Lois Lane: Nope.
- Clark Kent: Salute the flag?
- Lois Lane: Less gabbin', more grabbin'.
- Clark Kent: French maid outfit?
- Lois Lane: Need-to-know basis.
- Clark Kent: [looking around] There's a garment bag.
- Lois Lane: Finally. There you go. Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?
- Clark Kent: Yeah, piece of cake.
- Lois Lane: You're my hero.
- Stephen Swift: Can you at least tell me which heroes you know? No, wait! Don't! That would compromise their identities. I can't believe I asked that.
- Chloe Sullivan: Let's just focus on what makes Stephen Swift so super. So, were you exposed to meteor rock? Or maybe you were actually born this way. That would make you meta-human. Or maybe you're from space. That last one was a joke. Kind of. Oh, God. You're not actually from space are you?
- Stephen Swift: No. Just - sorry. I'm an orphan, and I got sent to Metropolis to live with my aunt when I was... little... and then a couple weeks ago, I got caught in a - in a chemical fire, and, well, here we are. It's common to the archetype.
- Lois Lane: [speaking to Clark] Did you and Chloe both just swear off whimsy? Was there a memo? Look, a costume isn't just about hiding who you are, it's about seeing the world in a way that you haven't before. What's your dream? Getting swept away in a little fantasy might do you some good every once in a while.
- Zatanna Zatara: [referring to Lois' previous comment] Lady's got a point. Without a dash of fantasy, life's just life. Where's the magic in that?
- [Lois nods in agreement with Zatanna]
- Clark Kent: [surprised] Zatanna, when did you...?
- Zatanna Zatara: We need to talk, Blue. Alone.
- [turns and speaks to Lois]
- Zatanna Zatara: I hope it's okay that I borrow him for a bit.
- [Lois is confused but nods okay]
- Clark Kent: Lois, Zatanna. Zatanna, Lois.
- Zatanna Zatara: Even though we live lives that everyone else thinks are fantastic, doesn't mean we don't get to take a break from the real world and then.
- Clark Kent: We don't get to take breaks.
- Zatanna Zatara: Which is why us Super Friends gotta stick together. I think I have a spell for that.
- Alec Abrams: [looking at comic] Warrior Angel.
- [to Harry]
- Alec Abrams: Hey, Harry, is it true that no one's ever read it before? I read on the Internet that no one in the whole wide world knows what the Warrior Angel's secret battle cry is. You've got to let me take a look at this.
- Harry: No, no. You know better than that. Anybody opens that book, the value drops.
- Alec Abrams: I know. But aren't you at least curious what's inside?
- Harry: Of course. I mean, who wouldn't?
- [opens comic display to clean it]
- Harry: But if I so much as breathe at it funny, my boss would kill me. Besides, there's nothing in that fantasy world that's gonna make a lick of difference out here in the real one, kid.
- Lois Lane: I'm cashing in a rain check. You cannot renege on a rain check.
- Clark Kent: Lois, can I rain check on your rain check?
- Lois Lane: No. You have been cashing in so many rain checks lately that I am soaking wet with disappointment.
- Chloe Sullivan: I know a superhero when I see one. I'm sort of in the business of helping superheroes.
- Stephen Swift: I don't think anyone's dad talked about that on career day.
- Clark Kent: I just don't get all this - the colors, the costumes. It's like everyone has a popcorn image of what being a hero's all about.
- Lois Lane: It's called fantasy, Clark - an escape, something, I don't know, more magical than what we have in our normal lives.
- Clark Kent: The reality of being a hero, it's about sacrifice, responsibility, and accountability... From what I've heard.
- Clark Kent: Listen, about Zatanna, Lois, I - let me preface this by saying that she is just a friend...
- Lois Lane: Spit it out, Clark.
- Clark Kent: When we were tracking down a lead for the comic, which was the truth and totally still is the truth, she and I got to talking about the fact that she was really stressed out about being on the road for so long, and I guess I got caught up in my own stuff so much that I didn't realize she'd gotten so close to me. She kissed me, but it's not what I meant to happen. Honest.
- Lois Lane: [Smiles] I was wondering how long it would take you to fess up.
- [He looks surprised]
- Lois Lane: Clark, for a guy without a single poker face, you've got like a million tells and you wouldn't look me in the eye and you smelled like a magazine insert.
- Lois Lane: [dressed as a stormtrooper from "Star Wars"] I can't see a thing in this helmet.
- Chloe Sullivan: [laughing] Lois.
- Lois Lane: This is not what I had in mind when Randall said I gotta be embedded journalist for the day.
- Chloe Sullivan: Come on. It shouldn't be hard for Lois Lane to nail down a human-interest piece here.
- Lois Lane: Save the hammer. Mama's gonna need a crowbar. I can't get anything out of these people. They keep looking at me like I'm from another planet.
- [a con-goer passes by dressed like an alien]
- Lois Lane: Which is saying something.
- Clark Kent: Lois, why are you in the men's bathroom?
- Lois Lane: You obviously haven't seen the line for the women's room.
- Stephen Swift: [playing a video game] I don't know why you didn't want to come up here. This place is awesome. It's way cooler than my room. I mean my pad.
- Chloe Sullivan: You know, I must have gotten my signals mixed. I certainly didn't think this is what you meant when you said you wanted to come upstairs.
- Stephen Swift: Why do you keep doing that?
- Chloe Sullivan: Doing what?
- Stephen Swift: You keep trying not to smile, like, the whole night. We're having fun, right?
- Chloe Sullivan: Uh, sure. I guess.
- Stephen Swift: You guess? Come on! Get up here.
- Chloe Sullivan: Eh, no. I-I've never even touched Lois' X-Box. I would look ridiculous.
- Clark Kent: [admitting that Zatanna kissed him] Let me assure you that this will never happen again. Lois, it's just this whole thing with us is... it's new to me right now.
- Lois Lane: Yeah? It's new for me, too. Do you think that I like... being insecure? I-I don't. I just have to get used to the reality that I'm not the only gal that thinks you're fantastic.
- Clark Kent: Well, this isn't the reaction I expected.
- Lois Lane: [nervous chuckle] Expect the unexpected.
- [as a Daily Planet staffer passes by, she grabs him and kisses him]
- Lois Lane: That look on your face? Remember how that feels the next time one of your sexy lady friends invades your personal space.
- Clark Kent: I'm gonna finish my apology now.
- Clark Kent: At the end of the con every year, there's a, um, costume ball.
- Lois Lane: You hate costumes.
- Clark Kent: Yes. But I was rethinking what I said about not understanding... fantasy. And, uh... you asked me what my dream was, and it's this. With you, Lois.
- Lois Lane: [taking the tickets] Now, that, my friend... is an apology. I get to pick out your costume.
- Chloe Sullivan: [taken aback when an arrow flies past] Slow night?
- Oliver Queen: Figured I'd squeeze in some target practice and a single-malt.
- Chloe Sullivan: Did you bring enough for the rest of the class?
- Oliver Queen: Running a little light on allegory tonight. Bumpy day?
- Chloe Sullivan: Not the smoothest. Someone asked me when the last time I had a good time was and I didn't have an answer.
- Oliver Queen: I don't think anyone can fault you for being on edge, Chloe. Well, if anyone can relate, it's me. I get it.
- Chloe Sullivan: Yeah, you can.
- Oliver Queen: You know, sometimes you gotta take your fun where you can get it. And sometimes... it's right in front of your face. You just have to want to see it. Come on.
- [he gives her his bow]
- Chloe Sullivan: How do I know when to let go?
- Oliver Queen: [tenderly touching her hand] It's all about your heart. Just listen, right there in between the beats. That's when you let go.
- Zatanna Zatara: Are you sure we can't keep this team-up rolling? I mean, you've saved me more than once now, and I'd love to return the favor.
- Clark Kent: As flattered as I am...
- [seeing Lois tangled up in her phone cord]
- Clark Kent: I think I'm interested in finding my fantasy somewhere else.
- Zatanna Zatara: It must be love. Make sure she knows just how lucky she is, Clark.
- Alec Abrams: How's Chloe?
- Clark Kent: She's been better.
- Alec Abrams: I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I've never felt like a, like a...
- Clark Kent: Like a bully before?
- Alec Abrams: Yeah.
- Clark Kent: No one starts out wanting to be the bad guy. Life can be pretty hard on you sometimes, huh? You know, the test of a true hero is not letting the sadness and the lonelieness take over.
- Alec Abrams: Especially when you have superpowers.
- Clark Kent: Especially. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
- Alec Abrams: That sounds hard.
- Clark Kent: It is.
- Alec Abrams: So, uh, why do you do it?
- Clark Kent: I do it because I wanna help people like you. Not because I have to, but because I choose to.
- Alec Abrams: What do I do now?
- Clark Kent: [returning his backpack] You... should go home and be a kid. And remember, the next time you run into a bully that there is some goodness in there.
- Alec Abrams: 'Cause everyone's worth saving.
- Clark Kent: And a hero's work is never done.
- Zatanna Zatara: I think we're a little late to the party. Can't find my guest of honor yet.
- Clark Kent: Well, the computer's doing a facial recognition search based on the age progression from Alec's photo.
- [a match is found]
- Clark Kent: Abracadabra.
- [seeing photos of Warrior Angel saving Chloe at Met Con]
- Clark Kent: Chloe? Why didn't she say something?
- Zatanna Zatara: If you found out your hero was really a 12 year old, how would you have reacted?
- Clark Kent: If I were Chloe, I'd try to fix it myself.
- [his super-hearing picks up Chloe's cries for help]
- Clark Kent: Please tell me your counter-curse is ready to go.
- Zatanna Zatara: As ready as it's gonna be. Bring our girl home.
- Clark Kent: Lois, you know, you don't have anything to worry about with Zatanna.
- Lois Lane: Of course I don't. Wanna know why? Jealous women worry. Me? Not jealous, not even a little. See, I know that I have nothing to worry about because Clark Kent, he is the most honest man that I know. So if anything were to happen between the farm boy and lady fishnets, Lois Lane would be the first to know about it. Not the last. Right?
- [into the phone before he can say anything]
- Lois Lane: Well, you can tell your supervisor that I find it highly ironic that I can't find anyone worth talking to in missing persons.
- Clark Kent: When did we drift from missing comic to missing persons?
- Lois Lane: We course-corrected when our thief's aunt filed a report.
- Clark Kent: Aunt? How old's our thief?
- Lois Lane: Meet Alec Abrams, our pre-teen pre-convict. He's been AWOL ever since he stole the book. Not that I can blame him. It's worth thousands and thousands of dollars. The cops are still looking for him.
- Clark Kent: The police are the least of his worries. Lois, we need to find him as soon as we can.
- Lois Lane: Don't think I haven't been trying. His ID was flagged in the Planet database as a potential story. He kept sending letters to the post office addressed to the Blur.
- Clark Kent: [unfolding one] "Your world is so much better than mine. I wish I could be a hero, so I wouldn't get bullied at school. I wish I could be a hero like you so I could have saved my parents. I used to think heroes weren't real until you showed up."
- Lois Lane: Looks like our little juvie is in desperate need for a big brother.
- Clark Kent: He's just looking for someone to understand what he's going through.
- Clark Kent: [surprised to see Oliver at the Daily Planet] Oliver, what's up?
- Oliver Queen: Me? Just, uh, owed Lois some Sharks tickets. But you, buddy... you may be bulletproof, but you might wanna duck and cover in there.
- Zatanna Zatara: I always knew you were packing some heavy artillery under that tie, but... seeing through walls? Now, that's a showstopper.
- Clark Kent: All in a day's work, I guess.
- Zatanna Zatara: Wait. With powers like yours, how can you possibly say "all in a day's work"?
- Clark Kent: I don't really think about it. Just being like this is almost like breathing now.
- Zatanna Zatara: And with a gift like that... comes responsibilities.
- Clark Kent: Exactly. I've spent so much time trying to do what's right that I guess I haven't had any time for anything but reality. And these people... out here with their capes, I don't know, they just don't get it. That...
- Zatanna Zatara: Right there with you. Magic, fantasy. It's all in a day's work. Day in, day out. What I create as everyone else's fantasies is... become so... normal. I suppose even the illusionist can become disiullusioned. But, hey, at least we have that fiery space trooper to stargaze with at the end of the day.
- Clark Kent: Based on my last relationship, I'm afraid I'm keeping Lois at arm's length.
- Zatanna Zatara: You're afraid that if you let that spark ignite, you're gonna get burned again.
- Clark Kent: Right now, everything's under control.
- Zatanna Zatara: Fantasy isn't about being in control. And fire... doesn't always have to burn, you know? Maybe what you need is a tiny moment of true fantasy, to remind you what sparks are all about. Doom eht tes.
- [the room is filled with romantic candles]
- Clark Kent: I'm good, thanks.
- Zatanna Zatara: No. No, you're not. Sparks lead to flames, and fire... is what keeps us alive.
- Chloe Sullivan: You know, after that heroic hit and run, it would be hard for even the most distressed damsel not to take offense.
- Stephen Swift: [more to himself] Oh, what would a hero say?
- [turning to face her]
- Stephen Swift: You're welcome, citizen.
- Chloe Sullivan: Uh, and you left a not-so-subtle trail of breadcrumbs on your way over here for the quick change.
- Stephen Swift: I'm sorry. This is all kind of new to me. I-I didn't realize how fast I was. No sonic boom. So not that fast, I guess.
- Chloe Sullivan: Think this through. You want to be a hero, right? This isn't something a hero would do.
- Devilicus: Lethal enforcers are way more interesting. They were big in the '90s.