Lois and Chloe peered out from the haystacks they'd taken cover behind, and exchanged a glance. When Peter had said he'd provide a distraction, this was the last thing they'd have thought of. Both girls clapped their hands over their mouths to stifle a chorus of laughs. 

Outside the doors to the stable, Peter held a rake in his hands, with the handle up near his lips like a microphone as he danced around. 

“Woah-oh-oh-oh oh-a, oh! Mysterio, bring your ass outside and face me.” He sang aloud. “Woah-oh-oh-oh oh-a, oh! Mysterio, I don't wanna be close to you.” 

“Is he… serenading his enemy?” Lois whispered loudly.

“I don't know what to think, this was his big plan?” Chloe whispered back. 

“Better hope it works.” Lois shrugged, and turned back to Peter's performance with the biggest grin on her face.

“Woah-oh-oh-oh oh-a, oh! Mysterio, bring yourself here and face me like a man.” He continued to sing. “Woah-oh-oh-oh oh-a, oh! Mysterio, I'd gladly fight you now.” 

“Do you hear that?” Clark raised an eyebrow.

“Peter…” She whispered, the faintest hint of a smile tracing her lips. 

“What the-” 

“Sounds like someone has come for us.” Clark interjected. 

“Impossible.” Mysterio murmured, and beneath his helmet, his eyes darted back and forth between the kids and the entrance. Then he heaved a sigh. “I will be back once I have dealt with this imbecile.” 

As soon as he'd disappeared from sight, Clark turned to Gwen with a smirk. “Think we can use this distraction to get out of here?” 

“Worth a shot.” She nodded. “Wanna try burning through these wires again?” 

Clark drew in a breath, wincing at the ache in his head caused by the kryptonite that was still lodged in the chains that bound him. He closed his eyes for a brief second, then opened them and focused his stare on the wires that tied Gwen down to the chair. But just as before, nothing happened. 

“This isn't working.” He huffed. 

“There has to be some way of triggering it.” 

“Got any… spicy magazines?” He raised an eyebrow, then snorted a laugh. 

“Do I look like I have?” 

“I'm not sure I should answer that, I may be near invincible but something tells me that answering that question might prove to be a fatal mistake.”

Gwen opened her mouth to speak but before she got a word out, the double doors of the fire exit burst open and Lois, accompanied by Chloe came running in, each wielding a piece of jagged wood. The two girls exchanged a look, and dropped the wood as they saw no immediate threat. 

“I'll get Clark, you get her.” Both chimed. “No, I'll get Clark and you get her.” 

“Ladies, you can fight over me later when we're all safely back on the farm, for now just flip a coin.” 

Both Chloe and Lois stepped towards him, but as the latter shot the former a warning glare, she retreated with a sigh and started over to where Gwen was tied. As Lois reached Clark, her eyes fell upon the chains and the lime glow of the kryptonite attached. It would be easy to dislodge the stones, but there were many of them and not enough time. 

“Over there.” Clark said, nodding towards a discarded axe leaning against the wall. 

Lois ran quickly to retrieve it, made her way back to where he was chained and raised the axe high in the air. With her eyes screwed shut, she brought it down on the chains with as much force as she could muster. The clang of metal hitting metal forced her eyes open again, and as she saw the chain in two halves, a wide grin spread across her face.

“Great, now the other side.” He prompted.

Across the room, Chloe snapped through the last of the wires that bound Gwen to the chair, and finally free, she sprang to her feet and bolted towards the door. 

“Wait!” Clark yelled. “If you go out there now, you'll be putting yourself in great danger.” 

“But-” 

“We're not in a good position to fight him and win right now, we need to focus on getting out of here.” 

“But we can't just leave Peter to fight him off alone.” Gwen protested.

“Don't worry… we're not leaving him alone.” Clark assured. “You three are going to get out of here, and I am going to go help Peter.”

“What?” Lois exclaimed, a little too loudly. “No, Clark, you can't go and join in, this place is full of kryptonite.” 

“I have to.” He insisted. “I'll be fine, it shouldn't be too hard to lead the fight away from the stable.”

Gwen folded her arms across her chest, inching slowly towards the door as she waited impatiently for them to settle the dispute. As Lois swung the axe again, snapping the last of the chains in half, she let it fall to the ground with a loud clang, and offered her hand to help Clark back to his feet. 

Clark dug his heels into the dirt as Lois attempted to pull him towards the double doors, where Chloe was already on stand by to open them. He looked from Chloe to Lois and then to Gwen, knowing that no matter what he said, there was no convincing either of them.

“Go.” He told them all firmly. “If you stay, there's no way that we're going to be able to keep you all safe.” 

“Oh no, I'm not leaving until-” 

“I mean it, Gwen! Do you want Peter back alive or not?” He snapped.

Gwen's eyes softened as she accepted her only option, and reluctantly, she stalked over to the fire exit. Lois wasn't so easily swayed.

“As much as I love to argue with you Lois, that order applies to you too.” 

“I'm not leaving unless you're with us.” 

“Hmm.” He hummed. “Alright.” 

A wide grin spread across Clark's face and he swooped down suddenly, scooping Lois up and throwing her over his shoulder. Chloe pushed the door open ready and held it as he walked through despite how much Lois struggled in his grip in a feeble attempt to get free, and as soon as all of them were out of the stable, she let it go and started ahead, leading them back to her car.

“Put me down, Smallville!” Lois seethed, smacking his back as he followed Chloe's lead.

“Sorry, no can do. Please don't break up with me.” He answered, more amused than he cared to admit.

“Don't tempt me.” 

“Heh, did anyone ever tell you how cute you are when you're mad? This would totally be hot if we weren't in danger.” 

“Are you mocking me?” She huffed. 

Clark tightened his grip to keep her from slipping and bit back a laugh as they finally reached Chloe's car. All of the kicking and screaming proved to be ineffective against his strength, and at long last, her tantrum ceased. 

“Open the doors, Chloe. When I put her in the back, get in as fast as you can and lock yourselves in.” He instructed.

“On it.” 

“That's all for tonight, ladies and gents. Please give a round of applause for our special guest… he's over there with a fish bowl on his head.” 

Peter finished up his performance with a slither of sarcasm as Mysterio emerged from the front of the stable. His shoulders tensed and he mentally kicked himself for not thinking this far ahead. He had successfully drawn the enemy away from the others, but he couldn't fight him. The power of his illusions was too great to break through. 

“What is the meaning of this tomfoolery?” 

“Tomfoolery? I take that as an insult.” He fired back. If he could just keep him distracted for a moment longer then he'd be able to think of a plan. 

“That's how you're supposed to take it.” 

“You know, coming from a guy who wears his aquarium on his head, it doesn't cut very deep.” 

“Enough of the chatter, I have no time for your theatrics. I have-”

“Alright, alright!” Peter chimed in. “You wanted me here and now you have me, so there's no need to hold on to Gwen, or Clark.” 

“Oh, on the contrary. You are of no interest to me anymore, I have set my sights on someone else.”

Mysterio advanced towards him menacingly, exuding an air of malice. His steps were heavy and with purpose, as though he were a royal and could not be refused. Not even the helmet shrouded in smoke that sealed away his face, could hide his cruel intent. Peter backed up, and he searched the vicinity frantically for anything he could use as a weapon, though his eyes never quite left the enemy. In an attempt to slow him down, he aimed and shot a web that attached itself to Mysterio's calves, and with a harsh tug, he was swept off his feet. 

“Gotcha!” 

Peter wasted no time putting some distance between them, and grabbed the nearest object he could find to use as a makeshift weapon; a worn-down, rusted rake. It wasn't much, but it would have to suffice. But when he turned around to face him again, Mysterio had disappeared. Peter's eyes darted back and forth, scanning the area for any sign of him. 

“Peter!” 

Clark's voice echoed through the open air as he appeared beside Peter, and the latter shivered at the breeze that came with him. The two boys exchanged a glance before looking out again, with Clark facing one way and Peter the other. 

“I don't see him.” Peter whispered.

“Me either.” Clark sighed.

“And would now be a bad time to admit that I don't have a plan?” 

“Sort of.” Clark shrugged. “But maybe we don't need one… as long as our eyes are closed, his illusions won't work and it'll buy us a moment to think of a way out of this pickle.” 

“Wait…” Peter frowned, backing away from Clark and glaring accusingly at him. “How do I know that this is real, that you're real? How do I know you're not really him?” 

“I could say the same about you, but come on, Peter. Really?” 

“My eyes have been open this entire time, I am not protected from the illusions, and your response isn't inspiring much confidence.” Peter backed up a little more and raised the rusted rake, ready to use it if Clark moved any closer.

“Well, I don't know how to prove it to you.” He sighed. “But don't you think this is what he wants? To divide us?” 

“And how do I know that this isn't his way of making me walk into a trap?” Peter argued.

Clark opened his mouth to argue further, but any points he could make flew out of his head upon seeing the familiar shades of red and green advancing slowly behind Peter. If he yelled a warning, it was likely that there would be damage done, and with no regards for his own safety, Clark started forward in a haste too fast to be seen. He gave Peter a hard shove that sent him crash landing into an old haystack, but as he turned back to Mysterio, a lengthy sword pierced through his chest. His eyes dropped to the blade, emanating a green glow, and as it was withdrawn, he collapsed to the ground. 

Stumbling his way out of the mess of hay he had landed in, Peter's hand flew to cover his mouth as he gasped, taking in the sight. A scream from the near distance tore through the air, revealed to be Lois as she, Chloe and Gwen came running over, having witnessed everything. By the time the three of them reached the scene, Mysterio had vanished again. 

Peter's eyes drifted from Clark over to Gwen, and he breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she ran towards him. For a brief moment, as they threw their arms around each other, everything else ceased to exist. But as they drew back, the mess around them became impossible to ignore. Intertwining their hands, the two of them walked back over to where Clark was sprawled out on the ground, with both Chloe and Lois hovering over him. 

“Is he…” He started, but shut up as both girls glared up at him. 

“No!” Chloe snapped tearfully. “He's not!” 

“Oh.” He muttered. “But I thought he was-” 

“Yeah, but not when he's been stabbed in the chest with a blade stepped in kryptonite!” 

Peter heaved his next breath, the same crushing weight that came with each and every mistake already settling upon his shoulders. This hadn't been just one after all. It had been a series of mistakes that had each led up to this; the biggest of them all. His hesitation had come at the greatest cost.

“Chloe?” Lois cried. “Chloe, he's not breathing!” 

“Mr and Mrs Kent will have an idea of what to do, we should try to get him back to the farm.” 

Peter bit his lip, pondering his next offer, but made his mind up as he looked down and saw Clark's shirt, the red having been blackened with blood. “I can drive us there.”

“That won't be necessary, I will be driving.” Chloe barked. 

“Okay.” He sighed. “But if there's anything I can do to help-”

“You've done enough!” Lois yelled, and before he could say anymore, she jumped to her feet and stormed over to him, jabbing him in the chest with her finger. “See that?” She asked, gesturing over to Clark. “You did that! His life is hanging by a thread because of you, because you couldn't trust him! None of this would have happened if it weren't for you. Since you came along everything has been a mess and no matter what you do, it keeps getting worse. If you want to help then do us a favour and disappear, and take your fish bowl psycho with you! It should have been you, so I hope you're happy with yourself!” She ranted, finishing off by giving him a harsh shove.

“Lois, come on… help me get him to the car!” Chloe called out.

Peter stood, watching almost helplessly as Lois and Chloe struggled to lift Clark off the ground. It took everything he had not to go over and help them. But they didn't want his help. That much they'd made clear. Eventually, after several minutes trying, they managed to lift him, and without another word, they stumbled over to where Chloe's car was still parked. He made no move to follow them, and his attention was pulled away as Gwen squeezed his hand. When he turned to look at her, a deep frown had taken over his face and he briskly pulled his hand away. 

“You should go too.” He said flatly. 

“Peter-”

“I mean it, Gwen.” He cut in. “Before you get hurt too.” 

“Here we go again.” She muttered, rolling her eyes. “You have got to stop this. I'm not excusing your mistake here because it was a big one and it came at a great cost, but you can't keep dwelling on them. It's time for you to stop running and learn from them. Sure, it hurts. Who's mistakes don't? It's what you decide to do about it that counts.” 

“Just go.” He sighed. “At least you can help them without screwing it up.”

Gwen nodded, biting down on her inner cheek, seemingly considering it for a second. As much as she wanted to stay, she didn't want to have that same argument that came up every time. She had already made all the valid points she could think of, anything else would be a waste of breath. “You know, if you keep pushing people away then you're going wind up alone.” 

“Maybe that's not such a bad thing.” He shrugged.

With nothing left to say, Gwen turned around and forced one foot in front of the other. Every step was deliberately slow as she held onto the small shred of hope that he would call her name and take back what he had said. Though with each step, that hope flaked away piece by piece, and before she could really let it sink in, she was standing at Chloe's car and too far to hear him if he were to call her back. 

Peter waited until she disappeared inside the car and then let go of the breath he had been holding. As the car roared into life, his legs turned to jelly and he dropped to his knees as it pulled away.