He couldn't breathe.

That was the first thing he realized. He couldn't breathe.

Lana was there. Lana was always there. Staring at him. Chained. Lana was chained. Lana was chained and he couldn't breathe. Small elegant tears fell from her almond shaped eyes. Her eyes…when did he get so close? He could see every detail on her face. Her long lashes, her small dimple, her tears, her eyes, her cute nose, her lips…she had a scar on her lips. Lana has no scar.

He couldn't breathe.

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Clark Kent woke up in a sweat. He glanced at his alarm clock. It read 4:30 am. Groaning, he felt his way down the stairs, towards the kitchen. He plunked himself down on a chair and waited for his foster world to awaken. It wasn't his world. His parent's world, his friends' world, but it wasn't his world. Clark, of course, couldn't remember what Krypton was like, but he was willing to bet that it was better than where he was now. He imagined Krypton to be a paradise. A haven for all. One day, he'd rebuild it. For him, and for Lana. This wasn't her world either.

Clark heard his father coming down the stairs. Clark started to make some coffee. Jonathon Kent was not surprised to see his son up so early. It had been like this for weeks, ever since Lana had been taken. The police had no leads to go on, and even if they did, that damn teleporter would just disappear. He hated to see his son suffer like this. He knew he had nightmares, knew he was going out of his mind.

Clark handed a cup of coffee to Jonathon. They each took sips, and watched the sun arise.

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"Hey Chloe, any news?" Clark asked hoarsely as he walked into the news office at his high school.

Chloe didn't look up from her computer, where she was typing furiously. She knew from his voice that he had another sleepless night, which meant another unproductive day from the fighting that was soon to occur. Oh, why did you have to have such an affect on him Lana?

"No Clark. When I do you'll be the first to know, promise."

"Well did you check thoroughly? You do miss things often in regular work y'know. Wouldn't kill ya to double check y'know."

When she didn't respond, only typed even faster, he pressed on. Oh, Clark. All you ever do is fight now. You're so angry. Does Lana really mean that much to you?

"Look at me Chloe! I'm being serious. This whole situation is serious! And you're not putting your best effort into this!"

Her fingers paused, then resumed typing in an average pace. Here we go. You asked for it, Kent.

"Clark," she said, her voice clipped. "I know you are worried about Lana. I know that you care very much for her. But never, ever try to imply that others, including me, care any less. I am trying my best. The cops are trying their best. Jimmy is trying his best. This whole school is doing its part to find her. And I know you're impatient, and just itching to knockout Alicia, and you're taking that frustration out on me. I understand that. I've been understanding for weeks, waiting for you to calm down. But you haven't. Your madness continued. But it has to stop. Now. I am doing my best."

He exploded as soon as she was silent. "IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! None of you, Jimmy, the cops, THIS WHOLE FUCKING SCHOOL! None of you are good enough!"

"GIVE IT TIME!" Chloe shouted right back, completely losing her cool. "Shit Clark! We can't do this in a day! We can't find her, bring her back in a day!"

"It's been SEVERAL days. It's been WEEKS! We're out of time God damn it. Lana's out of time." As he said her name his voice cracked. He slid to the floor in front of her. A group of students had followed the noise to see the commotion. Shooting them evil glares that made them scatter, Chloe slid down next to Clark.

"We're not done yet." She took his hand in hers and squeezed. His head was bowed but he listened to her. "You still have time to be her hero." He lifted his head and locked eyes with her. He had the same puppy dog eyes as the first time that I fell in love with him. Only now they were more wild than she remembered. Did Lana do that to you too Clark? Does she own your heart that much?

As they sat on the floor together, finding a rare moment of peace in the madness that had overtaken Smallville, they failed to notice a petite figure swivel on a spot outside the window. Ina second, the figure was gone.

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Clark laid on his back. Staring at his ceiling. God, I was such a jerk to Chloe. I'll apologize to her tomorrow. He tried to stop himself from falling asleep. I'll buy her something nice tomorrow. At Chelsea's. They have great stuff at Chelsea's…Lana loved that place…Lana… He tried to stop the tears from slowly leaking down his face. Lana…

He tried to hold out, but soon his eyes were closing themselves. He was too exhausted to fight it. Lana…

There was Lana. And he couldn't breathe.