An Odd Place to Find Oneself

Chapter 8: On the Cusp of Discovery

Clark and Lois! Okay! Jimmy was thrilled. So thrilled, he didn't even care about the suspicious stuff that was happening. They were back!

Clark scratched his head. "Well, yeah, I guess we're…back. I'm not exactly sure where we were before…I mean, we were comatose, of course, so I guess we wouldn't know." He chuckled to himself awkwardly.

"So, h-how are you? Are you, like, feeling completely okay?" Jimmy said.

"Uh, sure," Lois said. She seemed rather confused. Maybe that shouldn't be a surprise, considering she was recently comatose. "I…think…argh!"

Jimmy's heart dropped forty stories instantly. "Lois…? Are you…"

Before he could even finish his thought, he saw Clark clutching his head and groaning.

"No! It can't be! Wh-what's wrong? Where's…where's Professor Hamilton?" Jimmy shouted desperately and pathetically.

Suddenly, Jimmy felt his own head explode with pain. He tried to clutch his head, he tried to close his eyes, but everything was, in one instant, swallowed up in nothingness. He was alone…alone…

No! They were there! Clark and Lois…they were right there with him! But they…they were going away…leaving…disappearing…

No…please…don't go! Jimmy pleaded. I need you guys. I…I…I don't know what to do! I…I have to know you're alright! Please!

Maybe it was too late. They…they were being dragged away. They were being taken from him. Even over the course of this happening, he felt their closeness. As completely weird as it sounded, it was almost as if they were one with him…that the three of them were sharing the same pain. But as the pain intensified, his friends began to fade away.

No…no…no! I…I need you! he begged pathetically. Clark…? Lois…?

Jimmy?

Lois?! I-is that you?

Y…yes…I-I have no idea what's happening, but…

Lois! Yes! Don't…don't go away! I-I'll keep you here!

Um…okay…I'll…try to stay, I guess.

Jimmy?! Are you there?

Clark?! Clark, you're okay too! Please, please stay! Please!

Erm…I-I will, Jimmy, if I can. But…do you have any idea what's going on?

Not really…I just… Jimmy took a breath. Am I…am I dreaming?

Clark sighed. Maybe, Jim. Maybe this whole thing is a dream.

Um...what exactly is "this whole thing"? Jimmy asked.

Well, you know…everything in the world being so weird, and not feeling…well…real? Clark said.

Jimmy blinked.

Do you have any idea what we're talking about, Jimmy? Lois said.

Not…exactly? Jimmy said. I mean, you guys have been comatose since the demonstration…right?

Comatose? Well, um…not as far as I know. Unless…can you dream when you're comatose? I don't think you can, Clark said.

What demonstration? Lois said.

Jimmy blinked again. Wait, you guys are actually…conscious? I guess that might help explain your voice in my head, Clark…maybe…

My voice in your head?

Y…yeah…

Suddenly, Jimmy blinked his eyes open.

All the blackness had disappeared. He was lying on a cot. He felt a metal cap clamped around his head. Clark and Lois were nowhere to be seen.

Well…he glanced to the side. They were still on the cots next to him. In a way…

Professor Hamilton and Reginald were standing over him. Hamilton let out an angry sort of sigh. "We came so close…" He then seemed to realize Jimmy had just woken up. "Oh!" He cleared his throat. "Jimmy, how do you feel?"

"F…fine?" was all the cub reporter could say. "Where's…where's Ron?"

"Oh, Ron! Um…Mr. Troupe interviewed us, and then left," the Professor said. "Reginald will drive you back to work, Jimmy."

The helmet released its hold on Jimmy's head. The photojournalist pulled it out, sat up, and rubbed it.

"O…k-kay?" Jimmy said. "But…did you find out anything about my condition? Or my friends'…?"

Emil sighed gruffly and cleared his throat. "Nothing conclusive, I'm afraid. But…it was a step in the right direction. Here's your camera. You can head off now." He made a shooing motion with his hand.

It was all Jimmy could do to keep himself from sneering back. He restrained himself. If there was anything he had learned from the millions of times he and Lois had gotten in to trouble and needed Superman's rescue, it was that sometimes he should take a page from Clark's book and exercise a bit of caution. It was no wonder, Jimmy thought, that Clark never seemed to be around when Superman rescued them – he didn't get into sticky situations nearly as often.

Jimmy quietly received the camera and shuffled off. Reginald followed him, not even saying a word.

The photojournalist took one last glance at his friends' unconscious – supposedly unconscious – bodies.

The dream he was having mere moment ago was already beginning to fade a bit, but he knew one thing. They were in it.

They were really in it.

Clark found himself typing up an article about Superman saving the day.

He had a feeling that there was something more important going on. Something he should be worrying about. Something…

He shook his head. It was probably just a dream or…something.

He had better focus on what made sense: Writing articles. He was good at that.

Another thing I'm good at, Clark thought, is being cautious.

He wasn't exactly sure why he thought that, though.