An Odd Place to Find Oneself

Chapter 10: Together Again

Clark chuckled. "H-hi, Jimmy," he said nervously. "Uh, sorry, I guess I didn't realize you were here. Now, uh, if you'll excuse me…"

He would've asked what Jimmy was doing – was he cleaning the toilet? Why? – but, well, he had to go. He walked into the next stall.

"Wait! Uh – Clark!" Jimmy said, sounding strangely urgent.

"Hm?"

"Clark, you, uh – y-you don't actually have to go to the bathroom."

Clark looked over his shoulder gave Jimmy as weirded-out of a look as you might expect such a statement to elicit. But suddenly, Clark…felt as though he didn't need to go anymore. Well, that's…awfully strange. He turned to face Jimmy completely.

Jimmy swallowed. "You see, Clark…a-actually, the only reason you're here is because, well, um, I wanted you to be."

"…Huh?" Clark said, completely baffled.

Jimmy sighed. "Er, well, I didn't want you to go to the bathroom, I just wanted you to be where I was, which is…in the bathroom." He chuckled lightly.

Clark blinked repeatedly at Jimmy, hoping to convey his total lack of understanding. What, is Jimmy saying he has the power to magically summon people now?

Jimmy sighed again. "In fact…just forget about the bathroom, okay?"

Out of nowhere, in the wink of an eye, the bathroom…literally disappeared. Clark and Jimmy were standing on…nothing. They were surrounded by nothing but blackness.

Clark gave Jimmy a look of sheer horror. "J-Jimmy?! H-how?" he managed to stammer. "Are you…are you doing…th-this?"

In his life, he had encountered a huge variety of strange phenomena and powerful beings, even done battle with them…but…but this? And Jimmy, of all the people? Since when had his best friend been a reality-warping god?

"Look, Clark," Jimmy said, "I…I know this might seem creepy, but, uh…actually…I mean…th-this isn't real life."

Clark blinked.

"Ya see…um…this is actually a dream. That I'm having," Jimmy said.

"…What?" Clark said. "How…what am I doing in your dream?"

Jimmy sighed and sat down cross-legged on the blackness. "That's…that's the thing. I know it sounds crazy, but…as far as I can tell, you're…in my mind. Stuck in my mind, in fact. I…think you might have been here for a while, actually."

"Oh. Um, okay," Clark said. What Jimmy had said didn't really make any more sense than anything else that was happening, but for once, Clark tried not to betray his total lack of comprehension. Cautiously, he imitated Jimmy and sat down as well. "So, um…h-how…did I get stuck here?" he asked. He decided it was best to assume that everything that was happening was, in fact, really what it seemed to be.

Jimmy took a deep breath. "I'll tell you in a minute, Clark, but first, um, let me try to get Lois over here too."

Clark was startled. "Wait – you're saying she's stuck in your head too?"

"Uh, I think so. Yeah. In fact – hey! There she is right now!" Jimmy said excitedly as Lois Lane materialized before their very eyes.

Lois looked around the empty blackness. "Wh-where am I?!" she stammered. "Clark – Jimmy – wh-what?!"

"Um, maybe this empty void is a little too creepy," Jimmy said. "Let's go…somewhere else."

Suddenly, they appeared at a table in Metropolis' Pizzarro, a pizza restaurant that was named after Bizarro for publicity and really no other reason.

Lois stared at Jimmy, mouth agape. "W…what just happened?" she stammered. "Why…?"

"Err, just the power of lucid dreaming! Heh heh," Jimmy said awkwardly. "Let's just get some pizza and I'll, um, try to tell you guys what's happening…well, as best as I know, anyway."

A huge pepperoni pizza suddenly appeared on the table, no waiter required.

"Oh, um…is that too creepy?" Jimmy said as Lois looked disturbed.

"Just tell me what the heck is going on!" Lois said, obviously extremely flustered.

Jimmy swallowed. "Um, right. Well, ya see…um…I-I was explaining to Clark here, that I think you guys are, well…trapped in my mind. If that makes sense."

"It…doesn't," Lois said, "but it makes slightly more sense than…this being real, I guess."

Jimmy took a deep breath. Meanwhile, Clark helped himself to a slice of pizza. Lois rolled her eyes at him.

"What?" Clark said as he swallowed his first bite. "It's what it's here for."

"Aaaaanyway," Lois said, "how did we get 'trapped in your mind'?"

"W-well," Jimmy said, slowly putting a piece of pizza on his plate, "do you guys remember that experiment Professor Hamilton did? The…thought transfer device?"

Lois blinked.

"I'm…not sure," she said, her words slow and measured, which was rather unusual for her. She turned to Clark. "Do you?"

"Um…" Clark scratched his head. "Er…when…did this happen?"

"Just a few days ago, actually," Jimmy replied. He took a bite of pizza. "Hmmm…could use a few olives." They instantly appeared on his slice.

"Mmmm! Could I have some too, Jimmy?" Clark said.

"Sure!" his pal replied happily, causing them to appear on Clark's piece.

"Guys!" Lois said, irritated.

"Err, sorry, Lois," Jimmy said demurely. "It's just –" He sighed. "It's not exactly a happy memory. And – well – I kind of wish this was just real. That this was just…us, eating at a pizza parlor. Everything, well, normal."

Clark looked at Lois, concerned. As confusing as everything was, as much as he had no idea what had happened, he knew that whatever it was hard for Jimmy. From the look on her face, Lois felt exactly the same way Clark did.

"Jimmy, I – I have no idea what happened, what's happening, but…well, we're here for you, now, and we'll figure it out, somehow," Lois said. She reached out and held Jimmy's hand "Now, can you try to, well…tell us what happened?"

Jimmy smiled a little. "Sure."