Author's Note: Well, here's the AU story that I was talking about. I hope that you all enjoy this. This is my first Smallville multi-chapter fic, so I hope that it's not too terrible. I'll, uh, try not to Lana-bash too much. She's not a terrible person, really—I just hate her relationship with Clark. Please don't hold my dislike of the character against me… At any rate, please enjoy this first chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Lois Lane had just been rejected.

Well, maybe that was a bit of an over-exaggeration. But that still didn't change the fact that once Lana Lang had walked into the room, Clark Kent's attention had been completely captivated by her.

And Lois understood that… a little bit, at least. Things between the golden couple had ended rather abruptly and unfairly. All Lois knew was that Lana had torn Clark's heart out over a DVD. Things had been left unresolved between them.

Even so, there was a large part of her that was angry with Clark for just completely forgetting her when Lana walked in. It happened every time Lana's name was even mentioned. Clark just couldn't seem to get a grip on his feelings for the raven-haired girl.

She saw their eyes connect over Chloe's shoulder. Lois felt herself shrinking into the background, and she hated herself for it. But she couldn't help but feel her heart break. So she turned away and went to drown her sorrows in a bottle of champagne.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Lois looked up to find Oliver standing in front of her, his hands deep in his suit pockets. She raised the champagne bottle in greeting before she took another swig.

"Seriously, Lois." Oliver took a seat next to her and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you out here?"

"I could be asking you the same question," Lois quipped. She was clearly avoiding the question, but she didn't really care at this point.

He was one step ahead of her. "I'm out here to find you. Why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding," Lois mumbled into the bottle.

"You're full of crap, Lane," Oliver said affectionately. "You're hiding because of what just happened in there."

Lois didn't say anything. Instead, she just took another sip of the bottle. It had been half empty when she had gotten it; she didn't exactly want to be smashed for her cousin's wedding.

"I've never known Lois Lane to hide away from something."

"Lois Lane isn't good at facing heartbreak."

She didn't have anything to hide from Oliver; it was obvious that he knew how she felt about Clark. She couldn't say that she had exactly been discreet today.

"Lo, Clark needs you," Oliver said he gently. He reached over and covered her hand with his, squeezing comfortingly. "Don't doubt that."

"Yeah," Lois muttered. "But the question is, does he need me like I need him?"

Oliver gave Lois's hand a reassuring squeeze before he let go and disappeared into the crowd. She couldn't believe that she had let Oliver talk her into doing this. And then he just left her! She was so going to get him back after this.

Even as she was thinking of ways to get revenge on Oliver, Lois's eyes swept the reception area. She couldn't see the tall, broad form of her farm boy anywhere. Nor did she see the petite, raven-haired girl, either. Lois tried not to think too much about what that meant; instead, her attention was caught by the happy couple.

They were beaming at each other as they cut into the cake. Lois found herself wishing that she could find a love like that; a love that made her glow with happiness.

God, she was turning into such a sap.

Even so, she couldn't help but grin at Chloe and Jimmy. They had been through so much already. They definitely deserved their happiness, and she hoped that they would have it easier from now on.

As she was thinking this, there was a distant thud. The floor shook and Chloe and Jimmy stopped in the middle of cutting. They glanced at each other and looked up as the crowd broke out into murmurs. Several people wondered if this was just another Smallville meteorite phenomena; nothing to be too worried about.

But then there was a thud again. And this time, that thud was accompanied by a crash. Then it fell silent for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality it was only a few minutes.

Suddenly, something dark and big crashed through the far wall, sending splintered wood everywhere. The wedding guests screamed and began to dark in every which direction as the monster let out a roar and knocked a few people aside.

Lois's first instinct was to duck and cover. But then she saw that monster slash Jimmy across the chest, and she heard her cousin's screams.

Lois was up and running towards them without even thinking about it. She crouched down next to Jimmy as soon as she got to them, reaching one hand out to touch her cousin's shoulder.

"Chloe—"

The rest of her sentence was choked off in a scream when she felt something tear across her back. The force of the blow from the monster sent her flying into the wall. She landed on her stomach, face pressed into the floor as she felt warm blood begin to pool around her.

She lifted her head just high enough to see that terrible monster—red, gleaming eyes; dark, dark skin; a number of horns—lift Chloe up and run out of the farm.

Then a piece of debris from the destroyed farm hit the back of her head.

And the world went black.

Clark had finished loading the last of the injured into an ambulance when Oliver joined him in front of the farm. Both men looked disheveled and tired, but neither of them was willing to stop just yet.

"Has there been any sign of Chloe?" Clark asked.

Oliver shook his head sadly. "None," he said. "She's completely disappeared."

Clark cursed under his breath. "And Jimmy?"

They had found Jimmy lying on the floor in the middle of the farm. Blood had been oozing from a severe wound to his chest. It was miracle that the man was still alive, and he had been the first one to get transported to Met Gen.

"The doctor called. They stabilized him, but it's not looking too good."

Clark let out a slow breath and nodded his head. He raked a hand through his messy hair and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe that this had happened to Chloe and Jimmy, of all people. And on one of the happiest days of their lives, too. The young couple just couldn't catch a break.

"We have another problem."

Clark's eyes opened. He turned to give Oliver a sharp look. "What?"

Oliver winced and gave Clark an apologetic look. "Lois is missing."

Clark froze. He felt his heart plummet. "What?"

"She's not with the guests inside. She didn't go to the hospital. She's completely unaccounted for."

How did he miss this? Clark combed a hand through his hair again. How? He had been watching her all night. How did he lose her in those few minutes? He thought back, remembering the events that had transpired before the attack.

He had been dancing with Chloe, and then he had asked Lois for a dance—

Right. He danced with Lois.

It wasn't so much as asking as it was taking her out onto the dance floor and into his arms. Whatever it was, he remembered that it had felt good. Really good.

And then Lana had walked in.

That, he realized, is when he lost track of Lois. He didn't remember seeing her after that. He had gone up into the loft to talk to Lana, to reminisce over what could have been, and he had still been up there when the monster had first attacked.

All of this was remembered in a split second. As Oliver began to list possible scenarios for where Lois might have ended up, Clark focused his hearing on the heartbeat that he had come to know so well over the past four years.

It was taking him longer than usual to find it, and that meant only one of two of things: she was either too far out of range, or she was…

No. He refused to let himself think that.

Suddenly, he heard. It was faint, but it was there. Without a word to Oliver, he super-sped into the farm, locating the exact place he had heard her heartbeat. To his horror, the sound was coming from under a large piece of the farm wall.

Clark yanked it off and froze at the sight that greeted him.

Her pretty orange bridesmaid dress was now a deep, dark crimson, torn to shreds at the back. Her arms were bruised and battered, and he was sure that her legs had received the same treatment. Her hair was tangled and covering her face. Clark crouched down next to her and gently brushed some of her hair away from her face. He almost wished that he hadn't, for he was greeted with a pale and still face; it was not at all like the lively one that he was used to.

Pushing his horrifying thoughts of 'what-if' away, Clark slid his hand down her neck to find her pulse point. He could hear her heartbeat, weak as it was, steady in his ears, but he had to feel it, too. He had to feel that she was alive.

A minute amount of relief trickled in when he felt it thrum weakly against his fingers. Without moving his hand away, he turned and bellowed over his shoulder, "OLIVER!"

The green archer appeared at his side a moment later; apparently, he had had the same idea. When he caught sight of their friend, lying face down on the ground, he instantly paled.

"Jesus," he whispered.

Clark nodded his head. "Call another ambulance. I don't want to move her, but I'm afraid of how much blood she's lost…"

"Clark…" Oliver cleared his throat. "Clark, you need to super-speed her to the hospital." He looked meaningfully at the hand that was still pressed to her pulse point. "She's been here for too long; I don't know if she can wait for an ambulance."

He didn't need to be told twice. Without another word, Clark lifted Lois up into arms. He was careful not to disturb her back for fear of making her wounds worse, but her dress had been ripped to shreds. He made sure that it was covering her as best it could before he sped away from the farm.

Author's Note: I know that it's not great, but it's just the beginning. It's going to get AU from here. Basically, it's what I think should have happened if Lois had remained in Smallville. I hope that you all liked it!