Alan held his breath. There was silence on the line for a few seconds. Finally he heard Jason's voice again.

"I'll answer your question," said the boy from the future, "but I expect something from you in return."

"What is it?" asked Alan.

"People in your time period get suspicious when they see a kid wandering around alone," Jason went on. "I need you to convince your parents...my grandparents...to come to my hotel and pretend that they know me."

"I'll do it," said Alan, gripping the receiver tightly. "Now, answer my question."

The line fell silent again. A few seconds later, Jason spoke.

"This may be hard for you. You mustn't let this knowledge affect your actions. Otherwise, I may not have a family anymore when I return to my time."

"Answer my question!" Alan exclaimed.

"Yes, Alan," came Jason's quivering voice. "Dora Winifred Read is my mother, and your future wife. Are you satisfied?"

Alan's heart sank within him. Quaking nervously, he put down the receiver and started to walk back to his bedroom. He sat down at his desk and placed his hands over his face.

"Idiot," he muttered to himself. "Why couldn't you have left well enough alone?"

That night, Alan tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep for several hours. Terrible fantasies passed through his mind, such as the following...

In a distant space station, Alan, wearing his blue pajamas, stood at the edge of a metal escarpment. Looking down, he beheld a yawning chasm that seemed to stretch on for miles. The sound of heavy breathing behind him grew louder and louder. Turning around, he saw a terrifying figure dressed in a black cape and mask, walking slowly toward him.

"It is useless to resist," said the figure in a booming voice. "You cannot escape your destiny."

"I'll never join you!" exclaimed Alan vehemently.

"You have already joined me," said the mysterious fiend. "It was you who trained me in the ways of the Dark Side."

"That's impossible!"

The black-clad figure drew closer. "Search your feelings, Alan. You know it is the truth. YOU ARE MY FATHER."

"NOOOOO!" cried the horrified Alan.

"And this," said the figure in black, gesturing to one side, "is my mother."

As Alan watched in terror, a metal clamp descended from the mass of girders and cables that filled the upper part of the space station. Secured within this clamp was a small head. It resembled D.W.'s head, but was bald, pale, and punctuated with cybernetic implants. The clamp came down almost to the floor, then attached the head to the top of a child-size, partially mechanized torso. An automatic power tool activated itself and riveted the head in place.

The finished product, a diminutive cyborg girl, started to walk toward Alan. "You're such a nice boy," she said in a metallic voice. "And smart, too. You'll make an excellent drone."

In despair, Alan turned, threw himself from the ledge, and plunged into the abyss. "Aaaaaarrrrgh..."

The black-clad figure and the cyborg girl looked down from the escarpment as Alan vanished into the darkness. "He'll be back," said the girl ominously.

The fantasy ended, and Alan awoke in a cold sweat.

The next day at school, he struggled to keep his eyes open during a tedious lecture on American history by fifth-grade teacher Mr. Baker.

"On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed," droned the teacher. "Now, can anyone tell me what the Declaration of Independence says?"

Marina raised her hand and started to speak. "When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them..."

Suddenly Alan wasn't sleepy anymore. The entire class listened raptly while Marina quoted the entire document word for word, without pausing or stuttering. When she reached the end and started to recite the list of signers, Mr. Baker raised a hand to stop her.

"Thank you, Marina, that's very good."

"Very good?" Alan interjected. "That was perfect. I think so, anyway."

A short while later the class let out, and all of Marina's classmates commended her on her remarkable memorization skills.

"That was amazing," Alan said to her. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to be The Brain instead of me?"

"It's tempting, but..." Marina managed to say before Prunella pulled her aside. The two girls started to converse in hushed tones.

"This isn't normal," Prunella remarked. "You're terrible at memorizing things. How did you get so good all of a sudden?"

"I don't know," said Marina anxiously. "I just read something, and then I remember it without having to read it again. It's like I have a photographic memory."

While Marina discussed her growing abilities with Prunella, Fern hurried into Mr. Baker's classroom to talk with her theater coach.

"I'm really sorry for missing the play," she told him.

"That's all right, Fern," said Mr. Baker pleasantly. "If you're grounded, you're grounded."

"I'm not grounded anymore," Fern responded. "I want to be in the next play. Can I? Please?"

The hippo teacher placed a pudgy hand on Fern's shoulder. "Of course you can. We're putting on A Christmas Carol next."

Fern smiled with excitement. "Can I be Tiny Tim?"

"I think you'd make a better Ghost of Christmas Past," said Mr. Baker.

Meanwhile, Marina confided in Prunella about her uneasiness with being able to hear the thoughts of other people.

"If I don't try really hard to shut out their thoughts," she said, "I can learn secrets about them that I shouldn't know. It's embarrassing."

"Isn't it confusing to have all those thoughts coming into your head?" asked Prunella.

"No, it's not. I can listen to one person's thoughts and shut out the others. Sometimes I can even listen to two people's thoughts at the same time and understand both of them. It's like my brain capacity is increasing as I develop new abilities."

"Hmm..." Prunella appeared to be deep in thought, but she was really fantasizing...

...about a circus tent with a sign in front saying, MADAME MARINA THE BLIND SOOTHSAYER. YOUR DEEPEST SECRETS REVEALED. $5 A POP.

Inside the tent, Arthur was seated in front of a crystal ball table opposite Madame Marina, who was dressed in gypsy garb.

"Some of your friends came to see me before you did," she told Arthur. "I saw in their minds that they also like to watch Love Ducks. It's nothing to be ashamed of, Arthur."

"Wow," said Arthur, stupefied. "That's a load off my mind. Thank you, Madame Marina."

"You're welcome," said Madame Marina, holding out her hand. "Now cross my palm."

Prunella awoke from her fantasy.

Suddenly Marina looked offended. "Don't you even think of trying to make money off of my talents," she said sharply.

"What?" Prunella gaped with surprise. "I'd never consider doing that."

"You did just a second ago," said Marina. "I saw it in your mind. You're a greedy little girl, Prunella."

Prunella's voice grew in volume and anger. "If you were really my friend, you wouldn't accuse me of such a thing."

Marina also became angry. "I know what I saw," she insisted. "And if you don't want to be my friend because I tell the truth, then that's fine with me."

As the other fifth-graders watched curiously, Prunella and Marina turned their backs on each other and walked away in a huff.

----

That evening, as the bleary-eyed Nadine sat in front of the TV watching Mary Moo Cow reruns, her mother puttered around the small apartment, watering the plants. Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Mrs. Harris put down her watering can to answer it.

To her surprise, Marina Messersmith stood at the door, cane in hand.

"Oh, hello, Marina," said Mrs. Harris, who impulsively started to fix up her unkempt hair with her hands.

"You don't need to do anything to your hair," said Marina. "I'm blind, remember?"

"Oh, yes." The woman's tail, which emerged from a hole in the back of her jeans, started to wag. "Please come in. You've never visited here before."

Marina stepped into the apartment, holding her cane in front of her but not tapping with it.

Nadine climbed down from the couch. "Hi, Marina," she said in a drowsy voice.

"Mrs. Harris, I'd like to spend some time with Nadine," said Marina. "I have an idea for helping her get rid of the nightmares."

Mrs. Harris smiled hopefully. "I hope this idea works. The doctors can't do a thing for her. She hardly sleeps at all now."

Nadine walked up to Marina, her expression one of astonishment. "Can you really make the nightmares go away?" she asked.

"I'm going to try," Marina told her. Mrs. Harris went into her bedroom so that the two girls could be alone.

Marina crouched down and looked directly into Nadine's eyes.

"I think the time we spent in another dimension affected our brains," she postulated. "My brain was affected more, because I spent more time there. I've gained new abilities."

"What kind of abilities?" Nadine asked.

"I'll show you. Now lie down on the couch."

Nadine complied, while Marina laid down her cane, joined Nadine on the couch, and used the remote control to turn off the TV.

"Now what?" Nadine wondered aloud. "Are you gonna levitate me or something?"

"No, nothing like that." Marina waved her hand slowly above Nadine's face. "Now sleep, Nadine. Sleeeeeep."

Before Nadine knew what had happened, she was strolling down the sidewalk in front of her apartment building. Her heart filled with dread, as this was how the nightmares always began. Then, to her surprise, she heard a sweet, comforting voice, coming as if out of nowhere.

"Don't be afraid, Nadine. This time I'm with you."

Nadine looked to her left side and saw Marina walking next to her, dressed in a superhero-like mask, cape, and tights. A large letter H was emblazoned on the chest of her uniform, and the mask obscured her eyes.

"Marina?" said the bewildered Nadine. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm part of your dream now," Marina answered. "You have nothing to fear as long as I'm by your side."

"But how can you help me? You're blind."

"I have special powers." Marina pointed at the monogram on her chest. "I'm a superhero."

"Cool!" Nadine smiled gleefully. "What superhero are you?"

"Haredevil," Marina replied. Nadine groaned.

Without warning, a glowing, arch-shaped brass portal appeared above the sidewalk directly in front of the two girls. A hurricane-force gale erupted, threatening to drag them through the portal into the empty whiteness beyond.

"We're being sucked in!" cried Nadine fearfully.

"Hold on tight," said Marina, grabbing Nadine by the hand. "I'm going in with you."

Moments later, the powerful wind lifted them from the sidewalk and hurled them, spinning, into the portal that led to the imaginary dimension of Spiritus Mundi.

Suddenly the wind stopped. Nadine and Marina were thrown onto a cold marble surface that seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions.

"So what happens next?" asked Marina as she and Nadine pulled themselves to their feet.

Before Nadine could answer, a tall, emaciated man in a dark robe and hood materialized before them. In his hand was a polished wooden wand, which he raised and pointed at the two girls.

"Moldywart!" exclaimed the frightened Nadine.

"Nevada palabra!" boomed the evil wizard's voice.

Before he could complete his spell, Marina leaped forward and knocked the wand from his hand with a powerful karate kick. Then she vaulted into the air and grabbed the wand in mid-flight. Nadine smiled at her wonderingly as she came down and landed gracefully on her feet.

Without a moment's pause, Marina whirled and pointed the wand directly at Moldywart. "Shazam!" she cried, and the magical word echoed throughout the interminable expanse.

A cloud of rainbow-colored light flew from the wand and enveloped the now- terrified Moldywart. When the cloud dissipated, in place of the evil wizard appeared...a pink Teletubby.

"I'm fwee!" exclaimed the Teletubby, leaping and dancing with joy.

Nadine's mouth fell open with astonishment. "What did you do?" she asked Marina.

"Little-known fact about Spiritus Mundi," replied Marina as she turned her head this way and that, as if scanning the area for more evil. "Everybody here is a character from a kid's show who was turned into a monster by Pickles. But I know the spell to turn them back."

As she spoke, a wild-haired woman clad in skins appeared from the empty air.

"Look out!" yelled Nadine. "It's Morgan le Fay!"

The ageless-looking woman raised her arms as if to cast a spell, but Marina was quicker with her wand. "Shazam!"

An instant later, Morgan had transformed into a confused little blond girl wearing a blouse and skirt.

Suddenly Marina and Nadine heard the voice of a distinguished English gentleman from behind them. "You don't understand," came the silky voice. "I want to destroy Pickles as much as you do."

Marina turned quickly and raised her wand at the finely-dressed man. "Nice try, Moriarty. Shazam!"

"No, please! Let me help...woof...woof..."

Moriarty had morphed abruptly into a gigantic red dog. "My dog!" cried the little blond girl, who ran to embrace her oversized pet.

Marina looked down at Nadine. "Are there any more of them?" she asked.

"Gazillions," Nadine replied. "You'll never stop them all."

It seemed to Marina as if a veil had been lifted on all sides of her, revealing the presence of an enormous army of villains and monsters.

"Oh, right," she muttered. "I remember this part."

The hordes of evil drew closer, nearby deafening Marina with their marching.

"Do something!" cried the fearful Nadine.

And Marina did something. Spinning balletically on her toes, she waved her wand at the approaching host. "Shazam to infinity!" she bellowed.

Bolts of colorful light flew in all directions. One by one, the surrounding monsters vanished to be replaced by puppets, anthropomorphic children, and friendly dragons.

Marina stopped spinning and wiped her brow with her free hand. "Are we safe yet?" she asked Nadine.

Before Nadine could answer, an unseen enemy grabbed the wand from Marina's hand and scurried away. "There he goes!" cried Nadine, pointing.

Turning her head, Marina saw in the distance a fox wearing a bandanna mask and holding the magic wand. "Ha ha ha! You'll never find it now!" gloated the fox, who then hurled the wand with all his strength. The wand grew smaller and smaller until it became a speck on the horizon, then completely disappeared.

"Oh, no!" Nadine lamented. "Without the wand, how will you stop Pickles?"

"I'll have to use a little magic of my own," said Marina confidently.

An instant later, what appeared to be a huge glass dome descended over Marina and Nadine, cutting off their escape. Large white snowflakes rose out of the marble surface under their feet. The ground started to shake, causing the two girls to lose their footing.

When Marina looked up again, she saw a gigantic face peering at her through the glass. "It's Pickles!" shouted Nadine. "We're trapped in a snow dome!"

"Muwahahaha!" laughed the evil Pomeranian. "You were a fool to think you could defeat me in my own world, Marina."

Marina rose to her feet and glared at Pickles. "Okay, now you've pushed me too far," she said defiantly. "No more Mr. Nice Girl."

She held out her hand, and instantaneously produced a smaller snow dome, which she lowered so that Nadine could see it.

Inside the small dome stood Pickles, who held an even smaller dome in her hand. Inside of this smaller dome stood Nadine and Marina, who were examining an even smaller dome, inside of which stood Pickles, who held an almost invisibly small dome, and so on.

Pickles looked up and was surprised to see the enormous faces of Marina and Nadine staring down at her. Marina glanced up and observed that the gigantic face of Pickles that had been looking down at them was now looking upward with a surprised expression.

"This is so weird," Nadine muttered.

"It appears that we have reached a stalemate," said Pickles in a somewhat deflated voice.

"Oh, no," said Marina, her confidence unabated. "This is no stalemate. I'm only toying with you."

With that, she snapped her fingers, and the snow domes disappeared. Now Nadine and Marina were standing on the marble surface again, with Pickles standing before them and nobody else in sight. Pickles glanced in all directions, confused.

"We're over here, Pickles," said Marina flatly.

Fixing her eyes on the two girls, Pickles flew into a rage and charged at them. "NOOOO!" she roared.

"Yeeees," said Marina. As she and Nadine watched, Pickles moved toward them with less and less speed, despite the fact that her legs were moving at a constant rate. Soon she was running furiously, but only inching forward.

"In fifth grade I learned about something called Zeno's Paradox," Marina explained. "If you want to walk a certain distance, then you have to walk half the distance, then half the remaining distance, and so on. It should take you forever to get to where you're going."

Finally, the panting, exhausted Pickles stopped running and lowered her face demurely. "All right, I give up. What do you want?"

Marina looked at Nadine. "I don't know. What do we want?"

"I want you to stop being evil and be my friend again," Nadine demanded.

"Oh, but I like being evil!" Pickles whined. The two girls glowered at her.

Sighing, Pickles closed her eyes. Dark smoggy clouds seemed to rise up from her skin. They circled in the air around her, and at one point appeared to form the word EVIL. Then they dissipated, and a cheeky grin spread across Pickles' face.

"Nadine!" she cried gleefully. "My bestest friend in the whole world!"

"Pickles!" exclaimed Nadine, grinning. "Give me a hug!"

The girl and her Pomeranian friend rushed to embrace each other.

"My work here is done," said Marina as she faded away.

She was once again on the couch in Nadine's apartment. Looking down, she observed with her enhanced senses that her little friend was sleeping peacefully, with a smile on her face.

----

Also sleeping peacefully was Arthur, who awoke the next morning more refreshed than he had felt for a long time. As he climbed out of his bed, he noticed that everything seemed more...normal.

He rubbed his head with his hands. "Hmm," he muttered to himself. "The weird feeling's gone."

As Mrs. Read was feeding spoonfuls of strained peas to Kate in the kitchen, Arthur strolled in, clad in his pajamas. "Good morning, Arthur," she said. "You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed today."

"Mom, I think my head's better," said Arthur, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "I don't have the weird feeling anymore."

"That's wonderful, dear," said Mrs. Read as she wiped Kate's mouth with a napkin. "Now you can go to Africa with Sue Ellen."

Suddenly Arthur felt as if his brain was on fire. He gasped in horror.

"What's wrong?" asked his mother.

"A-A-Africa...S-S-Sue..." he stammered.

"That's right," said Mrs. Read. "You agreed to go to Africa with Sue Ellen, remember?"

Arthur struggled to breathe. Drops of sweat rolled down his cheeks.

"S-Sue Ellen's in love with me," he said in a quiet, terrified voice.

His mother shot him a confused look.

"I kissed her." Arthur's voice grew louder and more frantic. "On the lips! Multiple times!"

"Calm down, Arthur," said the suddenly concerned Mrs. Read.

"AAAAAARRRRGH!" he screamed.

(To be continued...)