Just in case you didn't read the preview I had up, Ira is actually a borrowed character from Batman Beyond. He's also known as Spellbinder, my favorite villain ever (cept for Lex of course).

Thanks a bunch for your kind reviews!

Ok folks...this is when the 'fantasy' really begins...

That night, Lana lay wide-awake in bed, worrying. Not worrying about things like school or work, but the very last thing she ever wanted to be worried about – Clark.

Ever since Friday, she'd considered him an invisible man. She no longer wanted to see or have any to do with him. He was playing with her feelings – making her believe he was the one she needed. How was she ever suppose to find who her real true love was if all she thought about was Clark? Was she wasting time by thinking about him? Or was it a lost cause trying to find someone else when he really was the one she needed?

"Hey…Lana?"

She slowly looked up from her spot on the bed and noticed Chloe leaned against the door frame, knocking on the bedroom door quietly.

"Hey. Come on in."

She pulled herself up into a ball, her arms wrapped around her knees, and Chloe cautiously sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Couldn't sleep?" Lana wondered.

"Everytime I try, I keep seeing those disgusting snakes. Ira's definitely going to earn his spot on the Wall of Weird ASAP. I actually fell asleep for about five minutes a while ago and ended up dreaming that I was in the pit from Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Lana smiled weakly.

"What's bothering you?"

"Oh…" Lana swallowed uncomfortably. "Just everything…I use to call Jason in the middle of the night sometimes when I felt like this. We'd talk for hours before I'd finally go to sleep. And now we broke up and it's just…hard to get any sleep without those calls…"

"Lana, it's been two months since the whole Jason phase. I thought you told me he was a French water rat who no longer meant anything to you," Chloe stated with a smirk.

Laughing, Lana shrugged. "He was…he is…" She then flipped a piece of hair out of her face. "…I guess it wasn't the fact that it was Jason I called…it was just…that I had somebody there to talk to whenever I needed. Day or night I had someone to lean on."

"Am I invisible here?" Chloe asked, pretending to be offended. "Was it not me that offered you this room to stay in when you decided to repaint your apartment two weeks ago? Is it not me that you're leaning on right now?"

"Yes, you're right. And I am indescribable grateful," Lana said nicely, "but…girl talk is different then…"

"Girl-guy talk?"

Lana nodded, then began to trace over the Happy Bunny designs on her pajama pants with her finger.

'Time to put Clark's favor into action,' Chloe thought as she moved into a more comfortable position. "What about Clark?"

Surprised, Lana looked up at her friend. "Clark?"

"Yeah, last time I checked he was a guy."

"I know…" She went back to tracing the bunnies. "…we're not really on that great of terms right now, though."

"Come on, Lana. We both know that Clark can be a bit strange sometimes, but deep down he's only ever just trying to do the right thing."

At first, Lana considered her friend's words, then looked up at her curiously. "He told you to tell me that, didn't he?"

Chloe opened her mouth to argue, but Lana's stare stopped her and she sighed defeatedly. "Okay, I admit that he wanted me to talk to you. But seriously, Lana, you have know idea how heartbroken he is right now."

"Why should I care? It was him who kissed me, not the other way around."

"I know and I don't even think he knows why he did that." Chloe took a breath, hoping she didn't regret what she was about to say. "And even if he did, you keep running away from him and not even giving him a chance to explain. The least you can do is go talk to the guy."

It was quiet as Lana considered this.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow at school…maybe."

Chloe nudged her friend playfully. "Gees, you have got to be the most stubborn person I've ever met. If I didn't know you better, I'd say your just avoiding him because you don't want to admit the memories that kiss brought back from last summer."

"And if I didn't know you better I'd say you are entirely too nosy for your own good," Lana joked, giving Chloe a smile.

"Well, I better leave you alone so you can sort out what you want to say to that bonehead – I mean guy."

"It's all the same isn't it?"

Both the girls shared a short laugh before Chloe got up and exited the room.

Lana finally sighed and turned onto her stomach, making a weak attempt to calm herself down. It wasn't working. In her heart, she knew that avoiding Clark was making it worse. Whether he deserved it or not, she had to talk to him. Sooner than later.

She glanced at her clock – 11:55. She hoped he would still be up.

Clark sat up suddenly in his sleep, sweat drenching his clothes and face. He took in large gulps of air before slowly lowering himself back down into his bed.

He'd had the nightmare again. Everytime he had stress or worry in his life, the nightmare always seemed to come back into him…haunting him. Even when he was a little toddler he could remember waking up screaming because of it.

It always went the same way:

A dark blackness engulfed him and cold chills ran up his spine like ice. He could hear muffled noises moaning somewhere in the distance. After a few moments, the moans became clearer…

It was his mom…

His dad…

Lana…

Everyone he loved...

They were all calling out to him…begging for him to save them…

But as soon as he tried to move to help, the blackness exploded into a bright white oblivion. A figure stood in front of him…huge and menacing, it reminded Clark of the Grim Reaper. It's face was forever concealed in it's dark hood. Whether it had the face of a monster or of Tweety Bird Clark was unable to tell, but in all the years he had dreamt of it, Clark never wished to know what was behind that hideous black clothing. The thing was scary enough just standing there in front of him.

When it spoke, it's voice was wispy and rough like dry ice. It pointed scornfully at Clark with it's long dangling fingers.

"Look at what you've done…everyone you loved is in danger in it's all your fault. You caused this havoc. You caused the meteor shower that brought this on them…you should've never been born…you weren't meant for a world like Earth…you're nothing but an unwanted alien…"

"I'm sorry Lana…I'm sorry mom and dad…Pete…Chloe…I'm so sorry…" Clark feel to his knees. He wept endlessly as the screams of help from his friends and family cried out to him.

Hard metal chains wrapped around Clark like vines and tightened on his arms and legs. He begged them to stop, but they only pulled tighter and forced Clark forward to the feet of the Phantom. It was laughing now.

"Please…leave me alone!"

The white fire behind the Phantom burned and crackled and Clark swore he could actually feel its heat radiating off his face. The chains pulled and tugged, dragging the weakened Clark closer to the fiery hotness…

Now, Clark was lying in his bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.

He hated that Phantom. He hated it and everything it told him. He never meant to hurt Lana. It wasn't his fault.

But deep in the back of his mind, he couldn't deny that the Phantom was right. If the meteor shower never came, people would be better off. Why did he have to be here on Earth? Why couldn't he just have died on impact? Then he wouldn't have to feel so left out and rejected even by the people who claimed to love him…

Clark sighed and turned to look at the picture on his nightstand. It was Lana's junior year picture. It was stuck in a frame that was too big for it, but it was the only one he could find without asking his mother and sounding like a love-struck little kid. As long as it was propped up so he could she her beaming face staring at him each morning and night, it looked absolutely perfect to him.

Reaching out to touch her cheek delicately, Clark smiled. Even when he felt as terrible as he did right now, Lana was there to help him stand again. Even when she was angry with him, she was there.

He remembered the kiss at the football game. She still hadn't talked to him. It was beginning to get a little ridiculous. It was one tiny kiss! She had to realize that.

'I have to talk to her…I'll never get any sleep if I don't. This whole thing has triggered that stupid Phantom dream again…I have to get through to her somehow,' Clark told himself determinedly.

He stood up, feeling a little nervous, but determined to not to back down. He had to speak to Lana.

"Keep driving. How are we suppose to get to the game in time if you don't speed up?" Mikail snapped angrily.

"I'm driving as fast as I can. There are cops around, ya know," Ira yelled back.

The two then became silent. What they were doing was risky, but it had to be done. Mikail had made a few bets on a Metropolis Sharks game and in order to get his way, he had to be at the game.

Ira had offered to drive him because he'd also made a few bets with people and wanted to do a little manipulating of his own. Testing out his abilities on Chloe only confirmed his thoughts. Maybe he could hypnotize the Sharks into thinking that the opposing team was a bunch of fire-breathing dragons. Whatever he came up with, he knew it would work and he knew it would make Mikail and him rich.

"Keep going…keep going…" Mikail was continually looking behind him to make sure that no police cars were following them. After all – Ira was driving 90 miles per hour on a country road.

"Relax nobody's gonna be out here at midnight," Ira explained, clicking on the cruise control.

"Shit, I think there's one," Mikail exclaimed, not listening to anything Ira had been saying.

"Nu uh. Where?" Ira glanced in his review mirror. After realizing he still couldn't see what Mikail was talking about, Ira twisted his head around. "Dude, where is it?"

"Hm, must've been a – " Mikail turned his head back towards the front. Just then, he noticed a raven-haired girl walking along the road. "IRA LOOK OUT!"

Lana looked up in horror as two blazing headlights began flying towards her. She screamed and tried to move, but her legs were frozen to the ground. She was going to die. Her last memory would be those two lights and the two guys in the car. She was leaving the world in three…two…

"Lana!"

Clark's voice came from somewhere and she suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap tight around her. She fell hard to the ground and closed her eyes. Her eyelids filled with a bright white light and her head was pounding. The arms were still enveloping her protectively and she wrapped her arms around them also. A loud rush filled her ears and made her feel as though she was directly under a screaming freight train. And then, in a matter of seconds, everything left. The light and the sound were gone.

Lana was still clinging to the arms and closing her eyes. Was she dead? Was this what death felt like? If it did, this certainly didn't feel too bad….

"Lana?"

She opened her eyes cautiously.

Clark was the object that she was clinging to, his arms linked tightly around her waist. His face was worried. "Are you okay?"

"I guess." Lana stood and began to brush herself off.

Clark stood also, but didn't take the time to clean himself off. He looked around him curiously. Under his breath, he thought aloud, "Where are we…?"

Lana looked up at him, hoping he didn't have amnesia, but suddenly she noticed her surroundings and found herself asking the same question.

They were in the middle of a large field full of bright green grass. Where the country road had been that connected Smallville to Clark's farm, there was now a narrow path of yellow dust winding around the field. The sky was a beautiful shade of pale blue and the sun shined as bright as Lana had ever seen it.

"Where's that car? Where's Smallville?"

"I have…no idea…" Clark asked, concern dwelling in his tone.

"What are we suppose to do?" Lana wondered curiously.

"We have to find out where we are first," Clark explained. He looked down at each end of the dusty road in turn.

"How are we – "

"Lana, I think we would save a lot of time not asking questions that we know we'll never get the answers to."

Lana frowned angrily. "I'm sorry, Clark. Getting hit by a car and then being magically sucked into Teletubby World doesn't usually happen to me. I'm a little scared."

"Look, Lana, I know you don't really want to talk to me right now, but we have to stay together until we find stuff out. I think it'd be a lot easier if we didn't argue," Clark urged.

"I'm not arguing. You're the one that's being all macho and pretending you're not worried about our current situation."

"I am worried - very worried. If I wasn't worried I wouldn't be trying to figure out which way we should go on this damn road!" Clark snapped, pointing in each direction of the yellow dust path.

"Well, which ever way you go, I'm going the opposite," Lana stated, folding her arms.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to talk to you."

"Why?"

Lana sighed, her temper growing shorter. "Just leave me alone." She quickly turned on her heel and randomly selected a direction in which to walk down the road.

"Did you not just hear me when I said we should stay together?" Clark wondered as she walked.

Lana didn't show any sign that she even heard him.

"Lana? Come on, Lana!" He ran up behind her and stood in her way. She tried to walk around him, but he blocked her every time.

"Argh! Clark! Leave me alone! Why can't you ever understand when somebody tells you to leave them ALONE!" Lana buried her face in her hands. She suddenly felt very tired and upset.

"Lana…Lana, I'm sorry."

She turned away, not wanting him to see the tears she was letting slide down her cheeks.

"Lana, please don't cry." He drew her into a hug. She was too shaken up to resist. "You're right. We'll go wherever you want. As long as we go together, okay? I don't want to lose you."

"No, don't apologize. God, I'm sorry I yelled I just…I'm really tired I guess."

"Maybe we can find somewhere to stay for a while and rest."

Lana nodded and looked up at the sky with curiosity.

"Why is it so bright out? Wasn't it midnight only a few minutes ago?" Lana rubbed her eyes which were now swollen and red.

"Well, this place doesn't exactly give off any signs of normal…which is why I don't want to stop moving until we find some safe place to stay." He noticed Lana's distressed look and frowned sympathetically. "But if you're too tired we can wait a while out here. You can sleep and I'll keep watch."

"No, I won't be able to sleep not knowing what else is out here." She sighed and nodded. "You're right. We have to keep moving."

"Then let me carry you."

Lana looked over at Clark strangely. "What?"

"If I carry you, we'll be moving and you'll get some sleep at the same time."

She was silent for a moment. She was pretty sleepy…

"As long as you don't drop me or anything…"

Clark smiled. "I promise I won't drop you."

Lana found herself smiling also. It was odd how Clark could lighten her spirits with only a simple gesture such as a smile.

He bent down and scooped Lana into his arms with ease. He tried to make it look as difficult as possible so as she wouldn't suspect anything, but after a few moments he found himself no longer pretending. His arms really felt like jelly under her thighs and back. He figured it was because she was suddenly so close to him- all he had to was move his mouth two inches and he'd meet hers.

She smiled meekly, then leaned her head onto his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. Within a few moments she was sound asleep.

Clark took a deep breath and stepped forward towards the unknown path in front of him.

The long screech of the tires pierced their eardrums and caused both Mikail and Ira to jolt forward, their faces only centimeters from the windshield. When the car finally came to a halt, Ira looked around reluctantly for the people in front of them, expecting to see a very gory sight.

"Where'd they go?" Mikail asked, still a little shaken.

Ira looked down with confusion. His brain felt like it was spinning and his palms were sweating. Eyes widening, he shook his head slowly.

"No…no…this couldn't have…they couldn't have been taken…"

"What the hell are you talking about? Taken where?" Mikail asked with fear.

Ira turned to his friend with fear in his eyes. His voice was barely audible. "Sogni Dromen."

"What's Soggy Dogmen?"

"No - Sogni Dromen! It's place in the mind…a place of no real existence…" Ira swallowed lump in his throat and ran a hand through his damp hair. "Oh man…this is not good…"

"What the HELL are you talking about, Ira! Where - are – they! I want a real answer!" Mikail's worry was driving his nerves into terror.

"We're in trouble. If we don't find a way to get them back into Smallville, we're in big trouble…"

"No shit! We just made two kids disappear!" Mikail shouted unbelievably. "It's impossible. I can't even do that with my powers!"

"No...Mikail it is possible. With both of us using our powers together...it is very possible..." Ira said, shaking. He then turned his attention back towards the road, taking a breath. He began to speak to himself. "My great-grandmother…said something about Sogni Dromen…what was it…"

"You have a shit-load of crap to explain to me," Mikail stated seriously. "Tell me where they are…and tell me how we get them back."

Ira didn't answer his friend for a few moments. He stared at the stirring wheel in a deep trance. Finally, he looked up at Mikail with determination.

"We have to visit my great-grandmother. Now."

After Mikail finally calmed down and let Ira's words sank in, Ira started up the engine and the large pick-up rumbled back down the country road to Ira's great-grandmother's house.

This time, they were driving at the speed limit.