The Support Group
Disclaimer: I do not own ?Smallville? or the Superboy comic books of DC Comics.

Chapter One: The Support Group

?It?s a travesty, I tell you! A travesty!? said the magical imp from the Fifth Dimension. ?What were they thinking? Making me into a Russian foreign exchange student? It?s ridiculous!?

?Have a seat, Mxy,? said the blond freckle-faced handsome young teenage boy. ?At least they didn?t write your character out of the series like they did mine.?

?They could always bring you back, Pete,? said the pretty red-haired teenage girl. ?You only went to go live with your mom. They didn?t kill off your character.?

?Lana, when I first saw this series I thought they had changed my name to Whitney. Then I realized they made me black. Okay. I can live with that. It?s the diversity thing.?

?As far as I know, I never had a boyfriend named Whitney. And why didn?t they want to keep me with red hair? Are there no talented beautiful actresses with red hair who could play my part??

?A-hem,? interrupted the bald young man seated in the corner. ?Actually, I have no problem with what they?ve done with my character. I like being made into a spoiled playboy son of a billionaire. I get to live in a beautiful mansion. And best of all, I actually get to be laid by beautiful young women! Can you beat that? I love it! This is way better than being sent to juvenile hall for being a young criminal mastermind!?

?It wasn?t all good, though, was it, Lex?? asked Pete.

Lex was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke.

?Well, no. Being stranded on that island, the forced shock therapy, getting kidnapped, and almost getting killed numerous times, well those weren?t fun at all for my character, I?ll have to admit.?

The white-haired older couple seated on the other side of the table glanced at each other.

?I guess it?s nice that they made us younger and living on that big farm out in the fresh air,? said Ma Kent.

?The Kent Farm,? said Pa Kent. ?Yep. It has a nice ring to it. It was either that or be working in that small grocery store.?

?We still haven?t heard from the main man himself. Where?s Superboy?? asked Lana. ?I thought he?d be here.?

?That?s why I called this special meeting of this little support group,? said Mxy. ?I sent our Superboy, a.k.a. Clark Kent off on a surprise trip. And his counterpart will be sent here to take his place. It should be very interesting for the both of them.?

?You did what??!!? cried Pete, Lana, Ma and Pa Kent and Lex.

"Yip?!" cried the white dog wearing the red cape.

"Poor Krypto. They left you out completely," said Ma Kent as she petted the super canine.

Chapter Two: Trading Places

It was seven o?clock in the morning. Ma Kent set the table for breakfast. Then she began preparing the batter for pancakes. She glanced at the clock on the wall.

?Land sakes,? she said to herself. ?Those boys better get ready for school. They have that field trip today.?

Her husband had already left the house to go to work at the grocery store. He had inventory to do.

Ma Kent wondered if her son Clark and his best friend Pete Ross had stayed up late last night talking about today?s big field trip. Their class was going to visit the museum in Metropolis. Pete had been invited by Clark to stay over last night for a study session/sleep-over.

She headed upstairs to check on the boys. She reached the second floor landing and was about to knock on the door when she heard a loud yell coming from inside Clark?s bedroom.

?What on earth?? she muttered. She quickly opened the door without knocking, fearing the worst.

She saw her son Clark dressed in his pale blue pajamas. He was shaking and standing with his back pressed up against the wall. He looked very confused and afraid.

Pete stared at Clark. Pete was still in bed. He was dressed in white and blue striped pajamas.

?Clark? What?s wrong? Why?d you yell at me like that?? asked Pete.

?Son, what is it, dear?? asked Ma Kent.

Clark looked all around the room. His eyes darted about. He finally spoke.

?You know my name,? he said. ?But I don?t know you! Who are you? And where am I??

Ma Kent and Pete exchanged worried glances.

Clark looked directly at Pete and said, ?Why were you in bed with me? Did anything happen between us that I should know about??

?Clark, dear. You invited Pete over for a sleepover. Remember? Maybe you?ll feel better after you?ve had some breakfast.?

Chapter Three: The Face in the Mirror

Clark decided to play along with this bizarre scenario. Perhaps some clue would emerge to explain what was happening.

"Breakfast. Yes. Breakfast sounds good," he said to the white-haired woman who called him 'son'. "I'll take my shower and get dressed. I'll be down in a few minutes."

Ma Kent smiled and nodded. She left the room and went back downstairs.

Meanwhile upstairs in Clark's room Pete did some morning stretching exercises.

"Save some hot water for me, okay, Clark?" he said loudly through the closed bathroom door.

"Sure thing, uh, Pete," answered Clark. He felt odd calling this unfamiliar-looking blond freckle-faced boy 'Pete'.

Clark wondered if he had somehow entered another dimension. He had noticed earlier that the schoolbooks on the nightstand were labeled with the name 'Pete Ross'.

As Clark showered he planned on a course of action. After breakfast he would head over to school and look up Chloe Sullivan at the Torch. He would need her investigative reporter instincts to help him figure out what was going on. She was no stranger to odd happenings. That is, if there was indeed a Chloe Sullivan in this odd world that he had somehow entered. What if she was not there? Clark did not want to think about it.

Clark got out of the shower. His hair and skin were still damp. He looked in the bathroom mirror and almost fainted. Who was that boy in the reflection?

That's not me, thought Clark. I don't look like that!

The reflection was that of an unfamiliar handsome young boy with short dark hair. A lock of hair suddenly curled downward on his forehead. Clark combed it back.

Clark stepped out of the bathroom and went toward the closet. Pete smiled at him.

"My turn," said Pete as he brushed past Clark and went into the bathroom.

Clark could not believe what he saw inside the closet. There were ten sets of identical outfits: white shirts, red v-necked sweaters, navy blue trousers, dark socks and black loafers.

"Guess it saves time in figuring out what to wear," he muttered to himself. He donned the clothes.

Later as Clark and Pete finished eating breakfast there was a knock at the door.

Ma Kent got up to see who was there.

The boys could hear her greet the visitor.

"Good morning, Lana."

"Good morning, Mrs. Kent. Are Clark and Pete ready to walk me to school?"

"They should be ready in a few minutes. Would you like to come inside for a moment?"

Lana! Clark's heart raced. He rushed over to the living room to see for himself.

Clark was disappointed to see she was not the girl he knew from Smallville. This was a stranger with red hair and dressed in a yellow sweater and green plaid skirt. The clothing style appeared to be from the late nineteen fifties.

"Hi, Clark," the girl said as she smiled warmly. "Are you looking forward to the field trip? I can hardly wait."

Pete emerged from the kitchen.

"Good morning, Lana. I guess we'd better get going. Come on, Clark."

Pete turned to Ma Kent and gave her a hug.

"Thanks for your hospitality, Mrs. Kent," said Pete. "I had a nice time. Considering."

He glanced toward Clark who stared back at him.

I don't know who this faux-Pete is, thought Clark, and this faux-Mrs. Kent and this faux-Lana. But I'll find out who's behind all of this, and when I do, well heaven help him. Or her.

Clark felt like punching something really hard. It took a lot of self-restraint to keep from knocking down a wall. Any wall. He just wanted to close his eyes and wake up back in his familiar surroundings. His Smallville filled with the faces of his family and friends. Not these strangers.

Clark had an eerie feeling as he walked to school with Pete and Lana. The streets, houses and inhabitants of this faux-Smallville reminded him of something. What was it? Suddenly he knew. That movie! What was the title? Oh, yes! Pleasantville! Except in color.

They arrived at the school. It didn't take long for Clark to find out there was no Torch. No Chloe Sullivan.

He and his classmates boarded the yellow school bus that would take them on their field trip to Metropolis.

The driver made sure all the students were seated before he started the engine. The bus pulled away from the curb.

As the bus approached the outskirts of Smallville Lana turned and smiled at Clark.

"Hooray!" said Lana. "This is such a nice change from sitting in a classroom."

Clark gave the faux-Lana an icy glare.

"What's with the funny look, Clark? Did I say or do anything to offend you?"

You can tell me who you really are and what you did with the real Lana, you fake, Clark wanted to say. But he didn't. He just looked away from Lana and stared out of the window. That's when he saw it. His jaw dropped open. There it was. As big as life.

The huge billboard that greeted people driving toward Smallville.

It read: "Welcome to Smallville ... Home of Superboy!" There was a huge picture of a flying boy wearing some type of skintight costume in red, blue and yellow. Something about the flying boy's face looked familiar. Then Clark realized it was the face he saw in the bathroom mirror.

What the heck is going on? Clark panicked.

Chapter Four: How Mxy Switched the Two Clarks

Pete was lying in bed next to Clark. Mxy had assured Pete that the boy lying beside him was indeed the Clark from the Smallville Universe.

"But he doesn't look anything like him," whispered Pete. "I know what he's supposed to look like, and this looks like the same Clark I know who's my best friend."

Mxy whispered back, "Even though I'm a magical imp, there are limitations to my powers. I couldn't actually get the two Clarks to switch places completely, that is, with their physical bodies. But I was able to switch their souls. It's the best I could do."

"You'd better leave," said Pete. "I think he's about to wake up."

"Okay. It's showtime."

Mxy popped out of the bedroom.

Pete pretended to be asleep. He heard Clark slowly moving about in the bed. About ten seconds later he heard Clark yell and felt him jump out of bed.

Pete opened his eyes and turned toward Clark who was standing with his back pressed against the wall.

The door opened and Ma Kent stepped into the room.

Pete and Ma Kent played their parts beautifully. Poor Clark did not know what was happening or how he ended up in this unfamiliar room with these strangers who seemed to know him.

Chapter Five: The Bus Ride

Maybe these glasses are playing tricks on me, thought Clark. He removed the eyeglasses from his face. Ma Kent had handed the glasses to him earlier before he left the house and had reminded him to wear them .

These aren't even prescription glasses, thought Clark. He looked out of the window again. The billboard appeared to be getting smaller as the bus moved farther away, but he could still see the picture of the strange costumed flying boy.

I wouldn't be caught dead in such a ridiculous outfit, thought Clark. It's practically skintight.

He put the eyesglasses back onto his face and wondered why the Clark of this world bothered to wear them. A disguise, perhaps?

Suddenly the bus swerved. The teacher and students seated near the front of the bus screamed.

Clark leaned over to see what was happening. The bus driver was slumped over in his seat and the bus was now out of control.

Maybe the driver is having a heart attack, thought Clark. He quickly got out of his seat and moved forward. The other passengers were panicking and screaming.

Mxy's gone too far, thought Pete. We could get hurt or even killed! Will Clark save us? How can he do so without revealing his abilities to everyone?

Up above in the sky overhead Mxy observed the school bus as it swerved on the road.

Come on, Clark, thought Mxy. Let's see what you'll do.

Clark reached the driver who was still strapped in the seat. Clark bent down. He used one hand to push down on the brake pedal and the other hand to hold the steering wheel steady. The bus came to a halt. Clark put the bus into 'park' and turned off the ignition.

Within moments Lana and Pete pushed their way to the front of the bus.

"Clark! I can't believe you did that!" said Lana. "You were amazing!"

"Clark the timid mouse saved us!" shouted a boy seated several rows back. "I'd never thought I'd see the day when that would happen!"

"We have to help the bus driver," said Clark. "Does anyone have a phone?" Then he remembered where he was.

The teacher on board the bus gave Clark a puzzled look before speaking.

"A phone? Clark, why would anyone here have a phone? We're on a bus. But we could go knocking on a few doors of some of these nearby houses and see if anyone will let us use their telephone."

"Uh, right. I'll go do that. You stay here with the driver. Everybody else, please stay in your seats."

Clark opened the door of the bus and stepped outside. He walked toward a house up ahead.

No cell phones or computers or Internet in this Smallville. I sure do miss my own world, thought Clark. Will I ever be able to get back home?

He reached the house. There was a rocking chair on the front porch. Colorful marigolds filled the windowboxes. It looked like a friendly place where a stranger could feel welcome to call upon the occupants for help.

Clark rang the doorbell.

Chapter Six: An Unexpected Turn of Events

The door opened and a woman in her mid-thirties greeted Clark. She was wearing a white apron over her floral print dress. The smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies hit Clark.

Mmmm, thought Clark. Wait. No time to be drooling over chocolate chip cookies.

"Sorry to trouble you, ma'am," said Clark. "My name is Clark Kent. May I please use your telephone to call for an ambulance? Our school bus driver collapsed. He might be having a heart attack."

The woman smiled and gave Clark a puzzled look.

"Why, certainly, young man. But if your driver collapsed, then who's driving the bus now?"

He turned to see the yellow school bus pulling away and continuing on its way to Metropolis. Clark could see his classmates laughing and pointing at him through the windows. He used his super-hearing and x-ray vision to find out what was happening on board that bus.

The driver appeared to be in perfect health and was whistling as he drove the bus. All the passengers, including the teacher, were laughing.

"That was a good one!" laughed Lana.

"What do you think Clarkie-boy will do now that we've ditched him?" asked another classmate.

Pete smiled but did not say anything. He knew that Clark with his super abilities would have no trouble catching up with the bus. Heck, Clark could even beat them to Metropolis long before the bus arrived at their destination.

Clark stared as the bus moved farther away from him.

"How strange," said the woman. "I guess you won't be needing to call that ambulance after all."

I wouldn't say that, thought Clark. That's it. I have had it. Whoever is responsible for bringing me to this

strange place is messing with me. It's time to bring that someone out into the open.

Clark took a very deep breath and then blew very hard. The yellow school bus was hit by the super force of wind, flipped and rolled over a couple of times. The driver and passengers screamed very loudly.

Then Clark sent a beam of his heat vision directly toward the gas tank. The explosion was deafening. Pieces of the school bus scattered everywhere.

The woman standing on the porch with Clark screamed.

"I have to call the fire department!" she shouted as she ran inside.

Mxy was dumbfounded as he observed the events unfolding before his very eyes.

I must have pushed Clark completely over the edge, he thought. He's lost his mind.

While the woman was on the telephone frantically calling for help, Clark calmly went into the kitchen and helped himself to a plate of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and a glass of cold milk. Then he carried the milk and cookies into the living room, set his snack on the coffee table, found a comfortable spot on the couch and turned on the television.

Chapter Seven: Superboy in Television Land


Meanwhile in the Smallville television world, the Silver Age Superboy was having a much easier time adjusting to his new surroundings than his counterpart was.

He quickly recognized the episode playing out before him. It was the one that had caused Mxy to call for that latest meeting of the support group.

Silver Age Superboy of the comic book world in the body of Clark Kent of the Smallville television world simply went along with whatever the television script called for him to be doing. Since he had a super photographic memory it was very easy for him to remember what happened in this episode.

During the commercial break he could not resist doing some exploring. He used his x-ray vision to search the Kent Farm from top to bottom, but it was just as he thought it be. No trace of any of his five Superboy robots. No trace of his faithful pet Krypto. And no sign anywhere of his Superboy outfit.

Superboy had to stifle the urge he had to soar into the sky like he used to do in his own town of Smallville.

I can't believe that the Clark Kent of this world has a fear of heights, thought Superboy. He doesn't know what he's missing.

The commercial break was over and he resumed his role as Clark Kent. The episode was now at the point where he had to stop that Russian foreign exchange student from killing Chloe.

Superboy made a mental note to himself: Write to the folks in charge of this television series and ask them to explain why Clark's clothing which is made of Earth fibers does not burst into flames from friction when he moves at super-speed.

I'll bet they won't even reply, he thought to himself as he knocked out the Russian foreign exchange student before he could harm Chloe.

Consider that payback for almost choking me to death earlier, thought Superboy as he watched him collapse to the floor in an unconscious heap.

He then used his super-speed to return to the football field.

TO BE CONTINUED