Chapter 1

Clark smiled at Lois and Chloe, giving them both a thumbs up as they climbed the two steps to reach the stage. The cousins smiled back at the Kryptonian (though only one cousin knew this particular fact). Lois', however, was more mockingly cheerful than sincere, opposed to Chloe's simply jolly grin. The Lane-Sullivan duo sat on the stools provided for them, and Lois' expression finally melted into one of genuine annoyance, complete with a roll of her hazel eyes. If Clark hadn't been her best friend and Chloe hadn't been her favourite cousin, she would have flipped the bird at them both and left the scene when they had volunteered herself and Chloe to be a hypnotist's lab rats. Hell, if it weren't for Clark, Chloe and their stupid puppy-dog eyes and whines, she wouldn't even be at this stupid Smallville County Fair!

"No offense, but I don't believe in this hypno-babble stuff. I think you should choose someone else. You know, someone who's gullible enough to actually fall for this kind of thing," she said to the approaching hypnotist, her arms crossed and hoping he'd just punt her off the stage, if only to stop the river of complaints frothing from her mouth. She gave a non-apologetic and pointed glance at Chloe as she spoke, but the small blonde only grinned impossibly wider and shrugged. "Personally, I think he should be up here – not me." Her gaze turned venomous as she turned her head to look at her blue-eyed partner. Mimicking Chloe, he just grinned and shrugged. What peeved her even further was that he looked adorable when he did that.

The hypnotist only smiled kindly at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes, seemingly unperturbed by her words. "You and your friend will do just fine," he reassured her, though Lois didn't need reassuring. No, what she needed right now was to punch a hole through Clark's perfectly lined teeth; he was smiling too much. "Just sit back and relax," he told them.

"If I sit back, I'll fall off this stupid chair," Lois grumbled, loud enough for only the hypnotist's and Chloe's (and, not known to her, Clark's) ears to hear. All three chuckled at Lois' comment, though Clark's mirth was disguised.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Chloe."

"Lois Lane."

Nodding, he turned around to face the audience of twenty or so people that had gathered under his tent. "Now," the hypnotist began. "What would you like to see these lovely, young women do?"

The small crowd shouted many suggestions at the amiable hypnotist. Some were suggestions that were commonly associated with hypnotists – "Make them act like chickens!" someone yelled – while others were suggestions so obscene, Chloe's jaw dropped, both offended and shocked, and Lois had to grip the seat of her stool so as not to jump off the stage and punch them in the faces; Clark had to close his eyes and perform deep breathing exercises, partly to stop himself from throwing the offenders out of the tent and partly to keep his eyes from burning down the tent when he thought of Lois doing..

'Just breathe, Clark. Just breathe.'

The hypnotist's stern voice cut through his mantra and grabbed him from his thoughts. "Keep it clean, fellas."

"Yeah," Lois piped in, her voice sickeningly saccharine. "Or you fellas won't be fellas for much longer."

Lois' threat successfully kicked everyone's minds out of the gutter, had they been in there or not.

There were a few seconds of silence before a voice hesitantly threw another suggestion the hypnotist's way. "Uh, make them act like kids."

No other suggestions were made, so the hypnotist nodded. "Kids, it is." Turning around and shifting until he was in front of both Lois and Chloe, his gaze slowly moved from one lady to the other. "Look at me," he ordered.

"What, no clock and chain?" joked Chloe. Halfway through her question, her words quieted and her eyelids fell to half-mast. Lois' eyelids fell as well.

Discreetly, the hypnotist hid his hand by his abdomen and waved his fingers, the brown of his eyes lightening significantly. "When I snap my fingers, you'll have the mindset of infants. When I say 'reverto', you'll return to normal. Nod if you understand."

They nodded.

The hypnotist waved his fingers inconspicuously once more, his eyes darkening to their normal shade. Immediately, Chloe's and Lois' eyes opened fully, just as the hypnotist snapped his fingers. Right off the bat, Chloe began bawling. Clark's eyes widened in shock as tears began streaming down the Sullivan's face. His attention was ripped away from the crying woman, however, when he heard a heavy thud. His gaze lowered and his blues found Lois on the floor of the stage, a look of surprise painting her features. As soon as he saw the minute trembling of her bottom lip, he jerked towards her – she was hurt, and she was about to cry.

Chloe would be angry and maybe embarrassed once she found out she had cried in front of a group of entertained strangers. But Lois? Lois would skin him alive if she found out she had cried in front of a group of entertained strangers because he had offered her as a volunteer.

He had to stop her from crying, or she would stop him from breathing, regardless of his Kryptonian heritage.

(And he didn't like it when she cried.)

Clark pushed himself to the front of the group just as the hypnotist spoke; "reverto." Chloe and Lois jerked, having snapped from their trance – Clark realised this a second too late, unfortunately.

"Boo!"

His cheeks burned as he realised what he had just unnecessarily done. But, when he heard Lois' laughter mingling with the rest of the crowd's, he found it didn't matter. As long as she was smiling and not planning his murder, he could handle the laughter and his embarrassment.

"Are you willing to sit through another one?" the hypnotist asked the two cousins, once Lois had seated herself once more and the crowd had quietened.

"If Smallville gets to embarrass himself again, I am all in." Lois smirked at Clark.

With her grin still plastered to her face, Chloe agreed. "I think I'm with Lois on this one."

"Okay," the hypnotist said. "Do you mind if I go with 'hypnotist's choice' here? Or, would you rather have the audience choose your fate?"

"You're kidding us, right?" Chloe asked in mild disbelief, her chilly, green gaze singling out one of the few men who had shouted out the inappropriate suggestions.

"We choose you and your scrubbed-clean mind," Lois said with a firm nod, glaring at the man Chloe had singled out. The man shrunk away from their gazes.

The hypnotist chuckled, but he quickly wiped his face of all feelings aside from seriousness. "Look at me," he told them, and the process was repeated. He waved his fingers and his eyes lightened, unbeknownst to everyone else in the tent.

Clark fixed his gaze on the family duo on the stage. Although he wanted to quite badly, he refrained from using his superhearing – he wanted to be surprised.

The hypnotist raised the volume of his voice, enabling everyone in the tent to finally hear what he was saying. "When I say 'reverto', you will both return to normal. Nod if you understand me."

When they both nodded, the hypnotist waved his fingers around and snapped them. Lois and Chloe jerked out of their trance, acting no different, much to the disappointment of the audience. The hypnotist stood back and waited, a small smirk playing with his features.

"This one's a bust!" someone exclaimed before he and his group of friends filed out of the tent. Others soon followed, ready to experience the fair's other entertainment components.

"Lost your magic touch there?" Lois asked with a raised brow, crossing her arms again.

The hypnotist shrugged, but otherwise remained silent, amusement still dancing across his face.

Clark, having not lost any faith just yet, waited for something to happen. Besides, even if he did believe this part of the hypnotist's show was a failure, he couldn't just leave Lois and Chloe behind! Suddenly, his phone vibrated against his leg. Fishing it out of his pocket, he looked at the text message sent to him.

From: Oliver Queen

We need Chloe, Boy Scout. Droppin' by the farm to pick her up in ten minutes.

Knowing that Justice League business was much more important than standing around and waiting for magic to happen, Clark called out to the girls. "Lois, Chloe, we have to go now."

The hypnotist looked startled, and opened his mouth to interject, but Clark didn't allow him to, pointing his next words at Chloe. As soon as he got her leaving, Lois was sure to follow. "Oliver just texted. He needs you for something having to do with Queen Industries."

"JLA business?" Chloe asked casually.

Silence ensued. Clark stared at her in shock. Chloe, finally realising what she had just revealed, looked equally as shocked. "I didn't mean to say that," she explained in a rush.

"'JLA business'?" Lois parroted. Her curiosity was piqued.

"It's nothing!" Chloe exclaimed hurriedly. "Come on, let's go."

Grabbing Lois' arm, she pulled her off the stage and out of the tent, adeptly deflecting her cousin's questions. Clark looked at the hypnotist, who looked panicked. Assuming it was because his audience was running out on him, Clark smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Your show was nice." And with that, Clark caught up to his friends, steering him in the direction of his truck.

Now alone in his tent, the hypnotist stared at the flapping entrance curtain of his tent, his face a bit pale. "Oh, crap."