 Lord Nor still has Smallville under his control. Worse, he has managed to take Clark prisoner for treason, as he purposefully never consummated his marriage to Zara and has no intention to ever fulfilling his duty. The council sentences him to banishment. Just as he is about to be gone for good, a loophole in the system is found which states that Clark can challenge Lord Nor to a duel. While all this is going on, the military has other plans. They are convinced that the Kryptonians plan to take over earth and they have decided to kill them all, even if Superman might also be injured or die.