In 2004, Bart worked with a fence named Hanison, who had him steal goods for money. Often Hanison cheated Bart out of their true value. Bart happened to be in Metropolis when Jonathan Kent was about to get run over by a drunk driver. Before Clark Kent could rescue him, Bart rescued Jonathan at super-speed and also stole his wallet. Clark tracked his father's credit cards and located the hotel room in which Bart was staying. They had a "race in which they seemed to almost evenly matched in speed, Bart telling Clark: I will be gone before you can even blink", Clark replied "I don't know, I blink quick". Run. Bart was amazed to find another person with superpowers, just as Clark was to find someone with powers who was not from Smallville.

Bart and Clark bonded, but they argued because Clark tried to make Bart believe that stealing for any purpose was wrong. Bart believed that he only stole to buy food and shelter, and that he wasn't harming anybody because the company canceled the illegitimate charges. He followed Clark to the Luthor Mansion where Lex Luthor showed him a valuable Russian manuscript.

Bart later returned to the mansion and stole the manuscript while Clark was reading it, but Lex tracked him down to retrieve it. Hanison was willing to kill Bart over the manuscript but Clark saved him. Bart tried to make a getaway with it, but was reminded of Clark's warning that he should use his gift nobly. In the end, he returned the manuscript and left Smallville to find other special people like himself and Clark. At the very end of the episode, Bart demonstrated vast super-speed, when he outran Clark at virtually the speed of light.