Page 13 panel 8
Narrator: It was not a dream. For no good reason, the Fultons had to go home early, their vacation cut short in the worst way. The family is all gone now.
Show the dead family being loaded into an ambulance.
Page 13 panel 9
Narrator: Almost.
The fifteen-year-old girl is now lying in a hospital bed, the only survivor of the crash. She is surrounded by machines and monitors and I.V.'s, stuck with hordes of tubes and electrodes. She is in a coma, from which she will emerge in the Dream Zone as Lullaby.
Page 14 (8 panels)
Page 14 panel 1
The Dream Lord and the Stranger are seated at opposite ends of a long table, eating their dinner. The table is covered with plates of food, sumptuous delicacies and elaborate decorations. They are dressed as they were in the study.
Dream Lord: So, what do you think?
Stranger: A great many things, Kubla. I couldn't begin to unfurl them all now, though. It would be more, I fear, than you could comprehend.
Page 14 panel 2
Dream Lord: I meant, what do you think of the meal?
Stranger: I'm sorry, I misunderstood. My answer still applies, however.
Page 14 panel 3
Dream Lord: What?
Stranger: Did I lose you again? Please forgive me, Kubla, I get carried away. I simply mean that all food creates a host of thoughts in the eater.
Page 14 panel 4
Stranger: There are many physical sensations from food, both pleasant and unpleasant. There are comparisons, to food you have eaten in the past. Foods invoke memories, feelings, even, sometimes, mystical experiences.
Page 14 panel 5
Dream Lord: Did you like it, or not? That's all I want to know.
Stranger: Is that all you want to know? Have you finally given up wondering who I am?
Page 14 panel 6
Dream Lord: As a matter of fact, no. Have you finally decided to unveil yourself?
Stranger: In answer to your question, Kubla...yes. Yes, I have enjoyed the dinner.
Page 14 panel 7
Dream Lord: What's your problem? Why are you so evasive? If you have something to hide, then why have you brought yourself to my attention? Until now, I had no idea that you even existed.
Stranger: Oh, yes you did.
Page 14 panel 8
Dream Lord: What do you mean?
Higgins (entering the dining hall behind the Dream Lord): Excuse me, Dream Lord sir. Is the wine satisfactory?
Page 15 (9 panels)
Page 15 panel 1
Dream Lord (irritated, not expecting Riggins' question--or entrance): Of course it is, Riggins. If I had any qualms, you know I could correct them myself. The Bordeaux is fine.
Riggins: Very good, sir.
Page 15 panel 2
Dream Lord (turning back to the Stranger): Now, what were you saying about my knowing you before?
Stranger: You're putting words in my mouth! I said no such thing!
Page 15 panel 3
Dream Lord: Yes, you did. You said that I knew you existed, and...
Stranger: So, tell me about yourself, Kubla. Who are you? Where do you come from?
Page 15 panel 4
Dream Lord (quietly, subdued and angry): You know, this is beginning to annoy me
Page 15 panel 5
Stranger: Now, Kubla, is that any way to behave with a guest? Innocently and openly, I inquired about your past...and you snap off like a turtle. Now why should I trust you with any of my secrets, hmmm?
Page 15 panel 6
Dream Lord (still angry): Yes, you are a guest, aren't you? An uninvited guest, as I recall...perhaps unwelcome. Maybe, if you would confide your identity and purpose here, I would be more open as well.
Stranger: I never submit to blackmail, Kubla. My secrets have much greater value than yours.
Page 15 panel 7
Dream Lord: How so?
Stranger: Oh, check your bluebook, Adams! The prices are all listed, and mine are much higher. You won't swindle me, you horse trader!
Page 15 panel 8
Dream Lord (grim and threatening): Sid...maybe I should remind you. You're in my domain, now. If I tire of you, I can simply blink you away.
Page 15 panel 9
Stranger (smiling, cocky): I'd like to see you try...sleepyhead.
Page 16 (8 panels)
Page 16 panel 1
Closeup of the Dream Lord's stern, angry face. He looks nearly emotionless, but is boiling inside.
Page 16 panel 2
Another, identical closeup of the Dream Lord, as he calls out.
Dream Lord: Phelps? Come in here a moment, will you?
Page 16 panel 3
Phelps (entering the chamber): Sir? Funny, your ears must have been burning! We were just now discussing you, and Marietta pointed out how wonderfully wise you are!
Dream Lord: Oh, thank you, Phelps.
Page 16 panel 4
Closeup of the Dream Lord's eyes, as he blinks.
Dream Lord: By the way, I'm afraid we have to let you go, Phelps.
Page 16 panel 5
Phelps (as he is consumed by a brilliant burst of energy--the Dream Lord's attempt to intimidate the Stranger with a show of force): Sir? Couldn't I just give you my two weeks' notice?
Page 16 panel 6
Phelps is gone, leaving behind a pile of ash and a plume of smoke.
Stranger (laughing uproariously): Ha ha ha! Excellent, Kubla! Such an intimidating display!
Page 16 panel 7
Dream Lord: Now, I'll tell you my story. Yours will follow, I'm sure.
Stranger (still giddy): Oh yes, of course, mighty one! Ha ha ha ha!
Page 16 panel 8
Dream Lord: I'll conjure some images to help you follow along.
Stranger: How magnanimous, Kubla! Will there be Dolby stereo sound as well?
Dream Lord: My name is Emmett Adams, and I was born on Earth.
The Dream Lord motions over his shoulder, and a swirl of mist appears. There is an opening in the center of the mist, where the scenes he describes are shown. The first scene is a baby (Adams) in a crib in a hospital viewing room, surrounded by other babies.
Page 17 (7 panels)
Page 17 panel 1
Dream Lord: I was always quite intelligent, and grew up to become a researcher at UCLA, specializing in sleep disorders.
The memory image shows Adams as a young man in a lab coat, carrying a clipboard and checking equipment in a lab.
Page 17 panel 2
Dream Lord: The work fascinated me, and I gave it my total attention and devotion. Eventually, my efforts paid off: I came up with a device that could actually tap into people's dreams and project them visually on a screen!
Stranger: Oh, really?
The image this time shows Adams watching someone's dream on a big monitor screen. The subject of the monitoring sleeps on a couch beside him, with a strange apparatus strapped around his head.
Page 17 panel 3
Dream Lord: It was an unprecedented breakthrough! I worked feverishly to conclude my experiments and perfect the mechanism. When I finally revealed the Dream Screen, I would become the most prestigious and sought-after scientist in the world!
Stranger: Not to mention the wealthiest, eh?
The image shows Adams laboring over parts of a dismantled monitor, working late at night with a single light glowing over his bench.
Page 17 panel 4
Dream Lord: Then, I was interrupted. Government agents stormed into my lab and dragged me and my equipment away. I was taken to Washington, D.C.
Adams is hauled, kicking and screaming, from his lab. Agents tear apart his Dream Screen device behind him.
Page 17 panel 5
Dream Lord: In a secret lab somewhere, my abduction was explained. The president of the United States was sick, submerged for 48 hours in a deep sleep, nearly a coma. Nothing had been able to rouse him, and his life signs were growing steadi
ly weaker. Doctors predicted he would die within a day.
Stranger: Incredible! So they brought you to help?
The image shows Adams talking with doctors over the President's comatose body.
Page 17 panel 6
Dream Lord: Yes. They believed that the President was trapped in a Gordian Nightmare, a dream sequence which somehow took control of his mind and would not release it. The nightmare would have to be severed by someone other than the dreamer himself.
The image shows the President's contorted, dreaming face.
Page 17 panel 7
Dream Lord: That someone was me. The doctors and scientists planned to connect my Dream Screen to apparatus developed by something called Project Goodnight. In this way, they hoped I could enter the President's nightmare and release him from his coma!
Scientists fire a particle beam at Adams, who is dressed in a body suit studded with electrodes and devices.
Page 18 (8 panels)
Page 18 panel 1
Dream Lord: It worked! I was physically transported into another dimension, where dreams have solid form! I discovered I suddenly had super powers, and used them to destroy the President's nightmare and free him from his sleep.
Adams, in his protective suit, punches a huge nightmare creature to the ground, while the President watches with relief and joy.
Page 18 panel 2
Dream Lord: Of course, it was a one-way trip for me! I was stuck in the Dream Zone...but there are worse fates. Not only did I have super powers, but I found that I could create anything I wanted here, just by imagining! I made the Dream Base as my headquarters, and produced a whistle which gave me power over all nightmare creatures.
Stranger: Hmmm...how fascinating!
Image shows Adams blowing into a whistle around his neck, and a bunch of horrible-looking nightmare beasts dancing in a chorus line under his control.
Page 18 panel 3
Dream Lord: I even created the Snooze Tubes, which allowed me to travel to Earth once more. After a while, I decided to use my powers for the good of mankind, to protect the world from nightmare creatures who crossed the dimensional barrier.
Adams battles a dream monster on a busy city street.
Page 18 panel 4
Dream Lord: I became the Dream Lord.
Full-length shot of the Dream Lord in his red and yellow costume.
Page 18 panel 5
The flashback is over, and the misty images disappear as Adams addresses the Stranger.
Dream Lord: And that's it. That's my story. Now, how about yours?
Narrator: Dear Diary: In my dream on the beach, I told the handsome man all about my life.
Page 18 panel 6
Narrator: He only laughed.
Stranger (laughing hilariously, bent over and clutching the table): Ha ha ha ha ha! That's it, you say? That's your story? How amusing! Ha ha ha!
Page 18 panel 7
Dream Lord (surprised at the reaction): Excuse me, but did I miss something? I had no idea my life story was so humorous.
Stranger: Oh, but it is, Kubla! My, but you can spin a tall tale, my friend! You should be a grandfather, spitting tobacco on a front porch while you tell the children stories! Better yet, you should be a comedian!
Page 18 panel 8
Narrator: All of a sudden, the man was cruel. I couldn't understand it.
Dream Lord (angrily, intensely): You know, I believe I've had enough of you. I don't particularly care who you are or where you come from anymore.
Page 19 (8 panels)
Page 19 panel 1
Stranger: Oh, but Kubla, your story was so good! It was such a joke! It was all a fable, a grand lie! I know, Adams, I know!
Narrator: He was mean and made fun of me like the people I work with.
Page 19 panel 2
Dream Lord: You're insane.
Stranger (poking a finger at Adams): And you are full of it! You lie like a rug!
Narrator: He called me a liar.
Page 19 panel 3
Dream Lord: That's enough! I've had it with you! Ever since you got here, you've been playing games and avoiding my questions. I put up with it because I was glad for the company...but no more!
The Dream Lord is standing now, energy crackling around his furious form.
Page 19 panel 4
Stranger: Come now, Pinocchio! You're a damn liar! You speak with forked tongue, paleface! Why, it's plain as the nose on your ugly mug!
Page 19 panel 5
The Dream Lord gazes into a silver plate on the table, and notices that his nose is suddenly a foot long.
Stranger: You see what I mean? You ought to consider rhinoplasty, Fibber McGee! Ha ha ha ha ha!
The Dream Lord gasps in shock.
Page 19 panel 6
Dream Lord (staring unbelievingly at the plate): How did you...how could you...
Stranger: It's done with mirrors, of course! Isn't it neat? It's what a liar deserves!
Page 19 panel 7
Closeup of the Dream Lord as he looks up furiously at the Stranger, energy again dancing around his body.
Dream Lord: No! You are the liar! I'm the Dream Lord! I'm in charge here!
Stranger (off-panel): Oh, you're definitely ahead by a nose, I'd say!
Page 19 panel 8
Dream Lord: I am the Dream Lord, and I want you out of here.
He thrusts his arms toward the Stranger, pouring out bursts of surging power.
Page 20 (7 panels)
Page 20 panel 1
The energy envelopes the Stranger, bathing him in radiant light. He stands, unafraid, against the attack.
Page 20 panel 2
The Stranger holds his pose, completely unaffected by the Dream Lord's force. Smoke curls around his feet, and there are a few twinkles in the air around him, but otherwise, there is no trace of the incredible blast hurled at him.
Stranger (calmly, smiling): You can't get rid of me. You can't make me go away. The truth hurts, doesn't it, Adams?
Page 20 panel 3
Adams spreads his arms in the air, and, in a flash of light, his Dream Lord costume appears on his body.
Dream Lord: You're very amusing, but the game is now over. You have forfeited your right to exist.
Stranger: Oh, Kubla, must you be so difficult? This was not the dessert I had in mind.
Page 20 panel 4
Dream Lord: Dinner is over. Now, I have some friends I would like you to meet.
Mr. Sandman Page 3