Linda giggled uncontrollably as she performed a few aerial loops, twists, and turns, Jimmy's expression still fresh in her mind. She always enjoyed visiting Jimmy, especially when her powers made it so easy to see him. He always had a way of taking her mind off things, making her feel better…making her feel normal. The young woman paused for a moment when she realized she was thinking about being normal—while flying twenty-thousand feet above the ground—and she dissolved into another fit of loud giggles.

"Something amusing?"

Linda's eyes shot open as she halted in midair. Still hovering, she whirled around to see her brightly clad cousin floating right behind her. "Clark!" she replied, smiling, trying to sound calm and collected. "Nice night for a relaxing fly, huh?"

"Yeah," Superman replied, nodding his head, "and it might be the last one you do for a long time." He gave her a knowing look, and Linda knew she'd been caught.

"Look, I can explain," she said quickly.

"Good," Superman replied, floating over and grabbing her arm, "because I'm sure our parents would love to hear it."

"Aw, come on, Clark," Linda said, frowning as she jerked free from his grip. "It wasn't like anyone saw me."

"So, I guess Jimmy had his eyes closed, huh?"

Linda looked at him, incredulous. "Were you spying on us?" she demanded.

"No, I was over Centennial Park when I spotted you heading west," Superman answered, folding his arms. "As far as I know, there are only two people you'd visit in Metropolis, and it wasn't me. So, what were you doing there?"

Linda sighed and rolled her eyes; she hated when Clark acted like her father instead of her cousin. "Look, I just went to talk to him about a bad dream I had, that's—"

"What kind of bad dream?" Superman interrupted, looking a bit worried.

"Doesn't matter," Linda muttered, folding her arms. "I'm still gonna be in trouble—and it's not like you'd believe me anyway."

"That's not fair," Superman replied.

Linda knew it was a low blow. "Sorry, Clark, it just rattled me, and I needed someone to talk to about it."

"Why didn't you come to me?" Superman asked, looking a bit hurt.

"Because I don't need you to freak out about it and tell Mom and Dad," Linda said, "and then they freak out about it like they have everything else—and I end up grounded again."

"Don't you think that's overreacting a little?"

"Considering how you guys normally react when I do tell you, no."

Superman looked a little wounded, but he couldn't blame her for saying that. He knew he and his parents were a bit more protective of her and reacted differently to certain events, but it was because she had been through an entirely different set of life experiences over Clark—a harsher one—and they just wanted to keep her safe. He sighed.

"You're right," he replied, "but it doesn't mean we don't care." He tilted his head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Linda glanced over. She could see he was being genuine, and her demeanor softened. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she closed her eyes, seeing the images from her dream in front of her, hearing the screams once more. "It was about death," she replied after a few seconds.

"Death?" Superman asked.

"Death and pain and terror and hopelessness," Linda continued. "It was awful, like I was there, watching them all die—and couldn't save them."

"Save who?" Superman asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I don't know," Linda replied, frustrated. "I don't know who they were, but they seemed familiar—I recognized them, I recognized the cities that were falling apart, I even recognized the red sky."

Superman grabbed her shoulders firmly, causing Linda's eyes to open as she faced him. "You actually dreamed that?" he asked.

Linda's eyes widened in shock. "Yeah," she replied slowly. "Why?"

Superman stared at Linda for a few seconds, trying to process what his cousin had told him. "I had that exact same dream," he finally replied.

"So, you're saying that it was your dream," Linda said, "and you just telepathically connected to me—and I had the same dream?" She sat next to her cousin (who had changed back into regular clothes) on the roof of the barn, facing east. She glanced at Clark in disbelief. "You really think that's what happened?"

"Unless you can come up with another explanation for why we both had the exact same dream about the destruction of Krypton," Clark replied. "I mean, it's not like you were there. I was."

"Yeah, but you were a baby," Linda pointed out.

"I've had memories of Krypton before," Clark retorted. "Vivid memories," he paused, "but never like this."

"Okay, if this is your dream," Linda said, "why are you having it now? And why bring me into it?"

"I don't know," Clark admitted. "I mean, I've never connected to anyone in their dreams—well, except for this one girl when I was younger, but she actually pulled me into her dreams." He noticed Linda's strange expression. "I never told you about that?"

"No," Linda replied slowly, "and I'm not sure I want to know, either—at least, not right now. My life is finally starting to have some normalcy," she shrugged, "well, as normal as it gets for us, anyway."

"I couldn't agree more," Clark agreed, "and I have to admit it's nice seeing you and Jimmy comfortable around each other." Linda opened her mouth, but Clark held up a hand. "Just don't get too comfortable around each other, okay?"

"Okay, Dad," Linda replied, amused. Clark tried to give her a stern expression but failed. "And speaking of Jimmy…."

Clark smiled. "I won't tell Mom and Dad," he said, referring to her unasked question.

"About the dream or me sneaking out?" Linda asked.

"Both," Clark answered. "I mean, seeing how it's my dream it wouldn't really be fair." Linda looked grateful. Clark opened his mouth, then he paused, unsure. After a few moments, he sighed. "You know, since I have you here, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something—before I talk it over with Mom and Dad."

"Okay," Linda replied slowly. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong," Clark reassured her. Linda didn't look convinced, and Clark sighed, smiling. "I wanted to talk to you about Lois."

Linda raised an eyebrow. "Okay, unexpected. What about her?"

"What do you think of her?"

Linda furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, I, haven't really spent much time with her, but she seems nice. Why?"

"I was thinking of asking her to marry me." Linda just stared at him, and Clark looked worried. "Linda?"

"Uh, wow," Linda said slowly after a few moments. "That's…that's… wow."

"I know," Clark replied, "it's a pretty big step, but I know she's the woman I want to spend my life with."

Linda smiled, then she appeared confused. "Are you asking my permission?"

Clark smiled. "No, but if she says yes, it means I will be telling her the truth about who I am…and that means also telling her about you."

"You don't think she's already figured it out like Jimmy did?" Linda asked, amused.

"Lois is good at many things," Clark replied, "but a poker face is not one of them. I'm just a bit worried how she'll react."

Linda stared at the horizon, thinking. "Do you love her?" she asked after a few moments.

"Of course."

"Does she love you?"

"I don't have any reason to think otherwise."

"Then she'll probably be upset, but if she really loves you, she'll understand."

Clark tilted his head, smiling as he leaned over and hugged her. "Thanks, Short Stack."

Linda grinned and hugged him back. "No problem, Clark." She squeezed him a little tighter. "Thank you for finding me last year."

Clark smiled as he remembered what his father had said to him all those years ago. "We didn't find you, Linda. You found us." He felt her shift until she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder; Clark put an arm around her, leaning his head against hers. He knew the past year had been a rollercoaster for his entire family, more so for Linda having to adjust to a completely new way of life, but he was thankful that things seemed to be settling down for the time being.

"Jesse Chambers!"

Linda heard a smattering of applause as she squirmed in her chair. She was sandwiched between her mother and Clark in the gym of Metropolis High; Jonathan sat on Martha's other side, and both of Jimmy's parents sat on the other side of Jonathan. Lois and Perry sat on Clark's other side. The young girl had initially been fascinated with the whole idea of experiencing her first graduation ceremony, but she quickly became bored as soon as the long-winded speeches from the administration began.

"I wish I'd brought my sketch book," she muttered.

"Linda," Martha gently chided.

"I could be sketching this," Linda protested in a soft voice. Jonathan leaned back and gave her a look, and Linda sighed, as she leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. She could see Jimmy sitting with the other graduates on the gym floor, dressed in their caps and gowns. By the way he fidgeted, Linda could see he was just as bored. [Man, I can't wait until this is over.]

[Tell me about it.]

Linda glanced over at her cousin, who continued to look forward to the stage. Linda almost grinned and opened her mouth, but she quickly caught herself. [You're bored, too?]

[Oh, yeah,] Clark replied. [It's basically all pomp and circumstance while you sit around waiting for the name of the person you're here to see, and there's not much to do until then. Wanna play 'I Spy' until they call Jimmy's name?]

Linda loved that game, and grinned. [Sure!]

Silently, the two cousins telepathically took turns picking and choosing an object for the other to find. They blocked out the noises around them for what seemed like ages, then Linda felt a touch on her arm. She glanced over at her mother, who smiled.

"Jimmy's next," she said.

Linda turned back to the stage just in time.

"James Bartholomew Olsen."

Jimmy's friends and family stood and cheered loudly as Jimmy walked across the stage. He looked a little embarrassed, but he smiled as he shook hands with the school's principal as he took his diploma, then he switched his tassel to the other side of his hat before getting his picture taken by the professional photographer. As the young man headed down the stairs, he glanced over at his group of friends, locking eyes with Linda; he grinned, and she returned a proud smile, giving him two thumbs up. Linda breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms, still smiling as she waited for the end of the ceremony.

"And now," the principal spoke into the podium after the last speaker had finished her speech, "it is my pleasure to present to you the two thousand fourteen graduating class of Metropolis High!"

As the audience applauded and cheered, the graduates grabbed their caps and tossed them into the air, whooping loudly. The school band started up the ending fanfare, and everyone—graduates and audience—shuffled out of the stadium to the lobby.

Linda rocked on her feet impatiently as the graduates filtered out from the backstage, looking for her boyfriend. After what seemed like hours, she finally spotted him and grinned.

"Jimmy!" his father shouted, waving his hand.

Jimmy saw his group and smiled as he pushed his way through the crowd to get to him. Linda watched as he hugged his parents, who immediately started fussing over him, congratulating him—then Mary started taking pictures of her son. The rest of the group started in with their congratulations as Linda kind of hung back, smiling but unsure of what to say or do.

Amid interacting with everyone, Jimmy glanced over and saw Linda not participating in the celebrations. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he walked over to her. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she replied. "Honest." She gave him a quick kiss then a hug. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Jimmy said, smiling as he hugged her back. He had hoped the kiss would linger, but then he remembered that there were other people there. He saw his mother taking pictures of them out of the corner of his eye, and he sighed. "Don't you think you have enough?"

"You're my only son," Mary replied, smiling, "and after all you two have put me through, this is only fair. Now, take off your cap and gown—I want some normal pictures."

"No way," Jimmy said quickly.

"Aw, Jimbo, you're still not upset about that bowtie, are you?" Jacob asked, smiling.

"It's a bowtie!" Jimmy protested. "No one over eight wears a bowtie anymore."

"Young man, that was your grandfather's," Mary replied, still smiling, but her voice was more firm.

Jimmy sighed, hating the guilt trip. "Fine," he mumbled as he reluctantly took off his cap and gown, handing them to his father. He stood next to Linda, dressed in a nice button-down white shirt, black slacks and dress shoes—and a hideously yellow and red polka-dot bowtie around his neck.

"Wow," Lois said when she saw his attire, "that's…that's something." She had to turn her head as a snicker escaped.

Jimmy glared at her before he heard the snicker. He turned his head to see Linda's cheeks red, and he knew she was trying her best not to laugh.

"I think it looks cute," she replied, her voice cracking a little. "Bowties are cool, right?"

"You're a horrible liar," Jimmy muttered. Linda leaned over and kissed his cheek, making him feel a little better.

But he was still getting rid of that bowtie at the first possible moment.

(End of Chapter 2)