After Lana is almost assaulted by a college student, Clark injures the boy while helping her. When the Kents are sued for damages that could cost them the farm, Clark tries to find a way out of the lawsuit. Meanwhile, Helen's obsessive ex-boyfriend comes to Smallville to win her back but when she turns him down, he stabs her, prompting Lex to take the law into his own hands.

Attempting to stop a robbery, Clark is temporarily blinded when he shoots off a burst of heat vision that is accidentally reflected back into his eyes by a piece of kryptonite and soon realizes his body has developed super-hearing to compensate for his lack of sight. However, as it was in the beginning with his other gifts, Clark doesn't quite have his new power under control.