Chapter 31

When taking a quick nap in the Barn Version of Fortress of Solitude, neither Clark nor Leonardo would guess they would be pulled into the dreamland. For when they woke up, Leonardo was looking at Clark who was opposite of him at a picnic table by the lakeside. Who was just as surprised as he looked back with wide eyes.

"Leo?" Clark's mouth moved.

"Clark." Leonardo nodded. "So, we were dragged into a dreamland if we aren't in the same body after a quick nap."

"You look vastly different from what I imagine you to look like." Clark said.

Leonardo stood up and walked on his own two legs after more than two years. Even if it was a dream, it was an amazing feeling. Before he looked down at the water to see his reflection. While he still had his dark curly brown hair, his near gray wolf eyes were now deep blue almost inhumanly so.

He also felt like he had grown a few inches and was of a similar height and build of Clark. It is not that it was bad since he had a set of abs that while not yet marble carved, weren't looking like they were barely visible. His arms were a bit thicker and muscular, but weren't quite bulky. Thus giving him a muscular and near perfect symmetrical build.

While his face was a bit more defined, but still held a high resemblance of his old one, just without the pores and acne markings. Thus making him quite handsome almost like a movie star or someone turned on camera filters making him look with great skin.

"Well, I can say I look a bit different from my last life, but that is to be expected I guess." Leonardo nodded. "Now why are we at a lake that had a sign saying no swimming only a few years ago?"

"They took down the sign last year. Anyways, I have the sudden urge to go skinny dipping." Clark said strangely.

"It can't be because of Lana." Leonardo jabbed his thumb towards the docks.

There Lana appeared silently as neither saw her previously, yet there she was pulling her shirt off. Making Clark divert his eyes, while Leonardo grumbled. Since if it was any other female, Leonardo would cheer, but since Lana his interest was zero if not negative.

"If this is a dream, where is your fantasy?" Clark tried to divert the topic.

"It seems whoever pulled us here, must have latched onto you somehow. Since we aren't on a party bus, free falling off buildings or having various creatures running rampant in the streets." Leonardo rubbed his bare chin. "I miss my beard."

"You have some strange dreams." Clark rolled his eyes.

"Can't be helped. My mind usually wanders when it is not making a glimpse into the future or I am thinking hard on a broad topic like a fanfiction or novel." Leonardo said. "I think we found our dreamscape kidnapper."

While Leonardo was saying this, a teenage girl around sixteen or seventeen came running out of the trees. Behind her, a creature of some kind hovered in a red cloak slowly reached out for her. Then after rushing over, Clark went to ask what was wrong and she was suddenly sucked into the ground.

"That was strange." Clark frowned, scanning the ground. "She is also gone. No trace."

"I would imagine not since this is a dream." Leonardo frowned. "Since she is connected to you,I will try to leave and find out what is going on. You investigate this side and if I can investigate the real world. Made we can end this before it gets too out of hand."

"Ok." Clark said as Leonardo rocked into the sky and vanished.

--

Setting up in the Loft that startled Jonathan and Martha as they were looking down at him. Leonardo looked around to see if there was anything nearby that could drag them into the dreamscape realm. However, he was disappointed as he couldn't find anything.

"Son, you're awake?" Jonathan said, grabbing his attention.

"Clark is still sleeping, but not sleeping. We were somehow pulled into the dream realmed by something or someone." Leonardo tried to explain simply.

"That explains why you guys were sleeping for more than ten hours and wouldn't wake up for nothing." Martha said after a moment.

Leonardo was slightly surprised at how long they were asleep, but chose not to dwell on it. Right now, he needed to figure out how to not be pulled into the dream world. Not to mention release Clark from there, and the teenage girl that was swallowed by the ground it is a good place to start.

Grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil, Leonardo quickly sketched out a drawing of her. "Do either of you recognize the girl? I believe she is the cause of this."

Jonathan looked troubled as if trying to recall where, but Martha beat him to the punch. "If I am not wrong, it is the girl who moved into Lana's old house. Only from what I heard she has been in a coma for years and being taken care of by her uncle."

"Yes," Jonathan said. "Only I want you to go nowhere near that place."

Leonardo didn't agree and since it was night, now was the best chance since the girl uncle should be asleep. He needed to check the place out and if he could, figure out how to stop the girl so she could release the hold on Clark.

--

Standing in the Barn Loft after putting both Jonathan and Martha worries to rest. Leonardo narrowed his eyes as he looked in the direction of Lana's old house. Then almost as if he was using a zooming in function, he began to peek around the house as he x-ray the place.

Before he frowned at the cabinet full of various drugs, many of which he recognized. Mainly due to his various branches of studying medicine a few months back. For most of what he was seeing was what was used to keep her asleep and in a drug induced coma.

Tapping on the wooden gate, he wondered how he should go about solving this. He couldn't very well just send the sheriff over. First of all, the guy who dosed her clearly knows how to cover his tracks. Not to mention he doubted the sheriff would be able to tell what the drugs were, not to mention most had prescribed labels from various doctors.

'Well, I guess a more simple and brute force method.' Leonardo thought.

Frowning as even then how he could do it required timing. Since he couldn't very well kidnap her and drop her off at the hospital, the chances of her uncle getting her back before the drugs wear off is fairly high. Then he began to look around to see if there was any indication of when the last dose was given.

"Talk about a Gary Sue moment." Leonardo snorted seeing a timesheet.

Then after a bit of debating, Leonardo vanished from the barn and scooped up the girl after getting in through the window and rushing off to the hospital in Metropolis. For it is a three hour drive there at minimum. Hence it would give plenty of time for her to wake up and be tested for drugs in the system. Afterwards, he rushed back and covered his tracks and returned to the barn within a few minutes.

Starring up the night sky, Leonardo let out a depressed sigh. A not too uncommon thing in his last life, but a habit he tried to change or keep hidden. However, each time he looks up at the night sky, it reminds him it is not the sky he used to look at as a child with his grandparent. Instead it was a different one in another world, a world that truthfully didn't need him.

All he has done in this world since arriving was learning to control Clark's growing strength, bickering with him, and pushing Clark so he doesn't fall into his self-loathing state. Not that Leonardo thought he was doing much better as he knew Clark would still do things he was pushing the teen to do. Just on his own and at a later time.

Patting his checks, Leonardo tried to hype himself up. 'Come on, Leonardo. You chide Clark all the time for falling into a depression or self loathing, now you can't do it yourself. Otherwise, it might undo the progress Clark has been making in stopping his self-loathing and self-blame.'

In the end, it only semi-worked as Leonardo just busted out his painting kit, Clark bought him as a present. Using the cool and near depressing colors, he painted the night landscape shoving his mood into each brush. Thus making himself feel better, until he looked at the painting and wondered what he should do with it. In the end, he decided to use it as a cover as a future book.