Lana knew they had searched every room they had passed by since they began this hallway. But despite their foul luck, she would not let go of the belief that Lois was down in this maze some place. And she kept reminding herself that there was much more to search through, many more rooms waiting for them. Maybe they did take the wrong path, initially, but that was okay really. Because they would search everything, no matter what, until they found her.

"Nothing in here," Lex declared as he stepped out of a room just ahead of her.

Lana shook her head. "I guess I was naïve enough to believe it would be much easier than this. That she would be right here. That she would just … show up."

Lex admitted, "I know. I even thought we would find her pretty quickly."

Ahead of them was just more hallway, and more rooms, set about twenty feet apart, waiting for them to look and be disappointed. But Lana would continue to look under every rock, in every space, and every closet until Lois was safe. If it took all night, which was not a new concept in this case, then so be it. Because time was still critical. And every second counts.

"Let's keep going," Lana insisted and walked past Lex to continue down the hallway.

Lex nodded and hurried to catch up to her. "I'm sure she can't be too far."

The next few rooms they searched revealed the same result, however, and Lana continued to be awed with the sheer size of this hidden level. Peterson really has quite an operation down here. Though she saw no Lois, Lana did see many different offices, rooms full of stolen merchandise, and conference spaces. Along with rooms with nothing inside, and Lana did not even want to know what happened in them.

Just as she considered the next course of action, possibly something that would make this search go faster, they approached another crossroads. Another hallway that branched out from the one they were currently following. And Lana just grimaced at the thought. Here we go again … more instincts, more decisions.

"Which way?" Lana asked.

Lex sighed. "I don't know."

After a few moments of silence, Lex took a few steps into the new hallway, seeing it cornered at a ninety-degree angle and then traveled further towards the middle of the level. "Maybe we should wait. Stay the course. I think we might come upon this hallway again."

"But what if we don't?"

"We will," he insisted.

Lana suddenly felt overwhelmed with their current task, knowing they could easily miss something in their search. And missing anything could be fatal for their case. Could be fatal for Lois.

But what else could they do? Because Lex was right … the best thing to do was stay the course and not get caught up in the tailwind of this complicated web. They needed to resist the black hole, the suction that could force them further into the depths of the unknown. Push them so deep as to lose themselves completely in this dreadful maze. And, in the end, be totally useless, and be of no help to Lois at all.

"All right, let's keep going," agreed Lana, though still unsure of their decision.

Lex nodded, smiled reassuringly, and continued down their original hallway.

Lana followed, but reluctantly.

------------------------

Chloe felt her frustrations rise in heart. Each room she searched revealed nothing, and the more she looked, the more frantic her actions became. Maybe Clark has had more luck … but wouldn't he have found me by now if that were true? That thought quickly convinced her that both she and Clark were in the same boat at the moment – no Lois yet. Though she usually trusted her instincts, Chloe finally began to entertain the possibility that Lois may not be down here at all.

And they were just wasting more precious time.

Chloe saw a room up ahead, sighed, and opened the door. Again, she saw nothing, save for a huge conference table in the middle of the room. After giving the room a careful scan for anything helpful, she shut the door angrily and continued down the hallway in a quick pace.

Just as she began to consider other scenarios, frantically flipping through her investigative skills for anything of use, Chloe eyes caught another doorway up ahead. She quickened her pace a bit, and in seconds realized it was just another gray hallway leading even further into the center of the floor. And for a moment, Chloe almost dismissed it; certain it would be a waste of time. It might even be the rabbit hole, waiting to send her to some unknown land, and she would be lost forever.

Overdramatic thought … yeah, I'm always over dramatic when I'm frustrated.

Yet something still attracted her to it.

Chloe sighed, knowing this divergent path would haunt her till the day she died, especially if they neglected to find Lois at all.

And the temptation became too strong.

In seconds, she gave in and stepped into it.

-----------------------

Clark felt the air rush by him as he sped further down the hallway. He stopped at each door, but his search was done in super speed. It took him half the time of a normal person to search the rooms he came across, especially when at least half of them he could look into with his X-ray vision. The other half he had to physically go inside, and come out disappointed for clinging to that ounce of hope still left in his heart. Lois, where are you?

He could tell he was finally coming to the end of the hallway, seeing it corner to the left to something he could not see. Maybe Chloe was right. Maybe we'll just meet up on the other side.

Just as he came upon and around that corner, however, his eyes found another door. To his surprise, Clark could see into the room, and initially saw nothing of suspicion or worth time to search further. Until, that is, he saw another door inside the room itself. And though he tried, he could not see passed that second doorway. And he knew if he just continued on his way, it would nag him until he knew exactly what was inside.

Clark sighed in frustration, and finally decided it would only take him a few seconds to decide that nothing was there. He opened the first door only to see the emptiness his X-ray vision revealed to him before. What I expected, Clark concluded. Yet the door directly in the center of the room loomed over his mind. He could tell from the walls that surrounded the door that the room seemed very small. Perhaps even too small to have a captured Lois Lane in there somewhere.

But he needed to look. And he knew it.

Clark stepped into the room at normal speed and walked right up to the lead doorway, and stretched his hand to the doorknob.

And with sigh, he opened it.

Only to feel a familiar sickness clench at his stomach, and feel himself double over in unbelievable pain. He then felt his blood begin to boil underneath the mounting pressure, and soon his knees finally buckled from the weight. In seconds, he fell to the ground with a loud thud, unable to support himself any longer. And when his hand glided across the floor, in front of his eyes, he saw his veins turn to ominous green.

Clark felt his cheek on the cold, concrete floor before him, and suddenly realized that there was an excellent chance he may not survive it this time. Not because his friends and family didn't care. Or because he couldn't fight it, just as he's always done before. But because the pressure, the pain that surrounded him seemed extremely strong. How much is in there? It feels … so much, so strong …

As the glow of green flooded his eyes, his consciousness, all Clark wanted to do was sleep. Let his pain drift, perhaps forever.

Yet the last thing that crossed his mind, before the pain took all rational thought completely, was Chloe.

Please Chloe … please find me …

Clark remembered the dinner Chloe promised him before they parted ways. And he almost smiled thinking of it, despite the likelihood that it may never happen. But the kryptonite took his mind away from the world before he could.

Chloe …please …

… I love you …

Then everything went black.

----------------------

Chloe turned the next corner in this new hallway, believing she really was in wonderland. The hallway did go on for quite awhile, with barely any rooms to search through. And once again, she questioned her decision-making, angry with herself for giving into her curiosity. If I don't find anything in here … if Lois is found dead … it'll be my fault, I know it.

The gray fixture of the walls did not help her mood any, and Chloe felt disgusted with the lack of décor. But she knew the feeling came with her own disappointment. How much time have we wasted?

Chloe had an overwhelming feeling to call for Clark, see if he felt the same way. Perhaps inquire as to what he would want to do next.

Then a doorway appeared before her, and she grimaced at the thought. How many of these have I searched through? And found nothing?

But once again, her curiosity would not let her go until she was satisfied. Clark always told her the curiosity she carried would one day get her into trouble. It has so many times before, and Chloe wondered if she would ever be able to rid herself of it. Though she often loved it, there were also times she hated it.

And today was one of those days.

Yet with a deep sigh, Chloe walked to the door and opened it.

Immediately, her eyes grew with shock, and excitement shot like a rocket through her soul.

She could think of only one word to say.

"Lois!"

Chloe finally found her. There were no words to describe her feelings, completely taken aback by how long it took her to get here. And though Chloe wanted to do nothing else but hug her cousin as long as possible, she also knew there would be plenty of time for that when all of this was over. Until then, Chloe could not let her emotions take hold of her. There was still too much to do, and this was not the time to make stupid mistakes.

When she moved into the room, she saw her cousin was clearly tied to a chair, gagged, and desperately trying to say something, despite her physical inhibitions. Chloe sensed something was obviously wrong, but threw the thought aside and rushed over to her. The first task was to untie Lois, and get out of here as quickly as possible. And just as Chloe's hands reached the ropes around the chair, working to undo the knots, she knew she needed to call for Clark. Clark can get us out of here quickly.

"It's going to be okay. We're going to get you out of here." Chloe's words were said softly, and used as an attempt to calm Lois down a bit. Lois was clearly agitated, and Chloe had no way of knowing why until the gag was taken out.

And when she finally untied her, Chloe removed the obnoxious cloth from Lois' mouth.

"Chloe!" Lois shouted, tears streaming down her face. Yet her throat was still a bit raw, and her declaration was said with great difficulty.

Chloe pulled Lois to her feet and hugged her tightly, grateful for her safety. Thanking God and anyone else who might be listening.

Though Lois hugged her back for a second, she pushed her away urgently, her eyes still wide with shock. Her voice still struggling to speak.

"Lois, I'm so glad you're safe."

"Chloe …".

Chloe then realized that Lois was still trying to tell her something. "Lois … what? What's wrong?"

Lois paused for a minute, took a deep breath, and desperately struggled past her raw throat. And shaking her head, finally she whispered it.

"You just activated the bomb."