From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9710B" ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 19:28:51 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Burch Subject: L&C: The New Adventures of Superboy Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hello, My name is David Burch, and I am currently working on creating a fan-fic spinoff series called "L&C: The New Adventures of Superboy". I'm at the point where I need to get together a group of writers and editors. So far the writing staff is composed of three people. If you would like more information on the series visit http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/2191 David A. Burch "I'm worried about Bart. Today, he's sucking people's blood, tommorrow he might be smoking." -Marge Simpson ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 12 Oct 1997 18:25:07 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alyssa Mondelli Organization: Brought to you by the legal firm of Deceive, Inveigle, & Obfuscate Subject: Now airing at the Season 5 website... Comments: To: loiscla@vm.ege.edu.tr MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Whew! Okay, it's an hour late, but better late than never, right? :-> Tune in at the website for Episode 3, "Reconstruction", written by Leanne Shawler. While you're there, check out the new "no-frills" version of the main page by clicking on the icon in the upper-right-hand corner. Or you can go directly there at http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm As always, we are at http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm and we live for feedback! ==Alyssa in St. Paul== (agmondelli@stthomas.edu)(AlyssaM on the IRC) http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/index.htm Web-hostess, Lois & Clark Season 5 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 05:19:43 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Question time Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" What do we know from the show (not the comics), about Jimmy's mother, other than he has one and she's alive? Debby Debby@swcp.com who's already written something but there's time to change it if need be... ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 07:45:29 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: Question time In a message dated 97-10-13 07:20:06 EDT, you write: << What do we know from the show (not the comics), about Jimmy's mother, other than he has one and she's alive? >> She's overweight and has allergies. (from Madame Ex where Jimmy wants to buy herAri's book on subliminal advertising and he explains to Perry why he's not buying candy or flowers). --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 21:49:58 +1000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Genn Subject: Re: Question time MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Debby asked: > What do we know from the show (not the comics), about Jimmy's mother, > other than he has one and she's alive? Er, just plucking from memory, from ME... she's overweight and has allergies; and from HIWTHI... she was planning to spend at least one Christmas in Vegas. Leanne. ========================== Leanne Genn [lgenn@powerup.com.au] "Despite his repeated attempts to explain things to her, Satan could never dissuade his mother from offering cookies and milk to the accursed." ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 16:49:55 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: The Zoomway Subject: Re: Question time In a message dated 97-10-13 07:20:06 EDT, debby@SWCP.COM writes: << What do we know from the show (not the comics), about Jimmy's mother, other than he has one and she's alive? >> Overweight, allergies (apparently to flowers and chocolate) Lives in Vegas (or at least that is where Jimmy is to spending Christmas with her) She didn't know her ex-husband Jack was a spy (kind of sounds like True Lies ;) That's all I can remember. I don't recall any mention of Jimmy's parents from 1rst or 4th season, but there may have been. Zoomway@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 20:03:28 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: Question time Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 09:49 PM 10/13/97 +1000, Leanne G wrote: >Debby asked: >> What do we know from the show (not the comics), about Jimmy's mother, >> other than he has one and she's alive? >Er, just plucking from memory, from ME... she's overweight and has >allergies; and from HIWTHI... she was planning to spend at least one >Christmas in Vegas. Then Zoomway wrote... >Overweight, allergies (apparently to flowers and chocolate) Lives in Vegas >(or at least that is where Jimmy is to spending Christmas with her) She >didn't know her ex-husband Jack was a spy (kind of sounds like True Lies ;) >That's all I can remember. I don't recall any mention of Jimmy's parents from >1rst or 4th season, but there may have been. Laurie also confirmed this. Thanks to all! I'm going to pretend that at the point I mention her, at least a year after ME, she's lost weight. Considering the career I've given her, being on her feet a lot, she's too busy to be fat anyhow. Jimmy's estimation of her in ME (being that he had just undergone plastic surgery himself...) maybe a bit off. ;) If she lived in Vegas, she's moved to Midvale :) She may simply have vacation there and asked Jimmy to join her. I don't plan to have her "appear" in my work anyhow, she's just referred to. I bet she did know about Jack's career... what with Jack disappearing all the time probably (I wonder if she looks like Lois...) Also, since HIWTHI doesn't/didn't/won't appear in my universe, I don't have to worry about Vegas anyhow. Whew! Debby :) Debby@swcp.com who notes on Buffy that the bad guy is named Makita and all I can think of is K with power tools... ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 07:30:24 +1000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jenny Stosser Subject: superman nightwear Comments: To: LOISCLA@vm.ege.edu.tr Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Those of you who have been chatting with me on IRC know that I got a wonderful present for my birthday on Monday - a Superman nightie. I realised that the shop that Joe got it for me has a mail order catalogue, and althought they don't actually list the superman design in the catalogue, it may still be available by mail order if you wish to contact the store. Just briefly, a description of the item: The style of the one I'm wearing as I type is described in the catalogue as a cotton (knit) chemise. That means it's sort of like a singlet/vest in navy blue, with red straps and binding on the neckline. There is a Superman shield in the middle of the chest area. I'm pretty sure this was also available in a summer pyjamas design: ie short t-shirt and matching shorts. I know for sure that the nightie was also available in black with white straps and a silver superman shield. (I'm having great trouble typing this as "shield" for some reason it keeps coming out as "child"!) The nightie is available in S/M/L sizes. I take a size 16-18 on top and the L fits me nicely to give you an idea. The price of the nightie (I think... i'm getting this from the catalogue, and the price sticker was OFF the present I got! ) is $29.95. I Anyway... The name of the store is Bra's N Things, and if you're in australia, there's a 1-800 number to call to order by phone with a credit card: 1-800-810-031, or in Sydney call (02) 9792-2000. From overseas that would be 61-2-9792-2000 You can also order by mail, sending the order to Bras N'Things Private Bag 1504 Bankstown NSW. Australia 2200 You can also order by fax on (02) 9773-9811 (from o/s 61-2-9773-9811. Postage is listed as being $6.95 for orders up to $50 and $7.95 for orders $50-$100, and $9.95 for orders over $100. But note that this is in Australian dollars, and I suspect that the postage would be more to the US or the UK or anywhere else... You can pay by Amex, Bankcard (australian), Visa, Diners &/or Mastercard. PLEASE NOTE: I NEITHER WORK FOR NOR HAVE ANSWERS ABOUT THIS STORE. I'M JUST VERY HAPPY WITH THE PURCHASE JOE MADE THERE FOR ME! ALSO NOTE, I'M NOT OFFERING TO PURCHASE THIS ITEM FOR ANYONE ANYWHERE! Hope all of this helps! -- Jenny Stosser -*- jenerate@ozramp.net.au -*- (Jenerator or MoiAussie on IRC) This message is umop ap!sdn -*- David is 5 and Megan is 2! Photos on the Stosser Family HomePage: http://www.ozramp.net.au/~jenerate Please Visit! ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 22:13:17 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Ethel \"Terri\" Addison" Subject: Send me your web sites! (from CAROL) Comments: To: addisonr@concentric.net Comments: cc: m2morgan@mail.oeonline.com, kbrown@toolcity.net, DLBuss@am.pnu.com, jchase@andrew.cmu.edu, 0007561229@mcimail.com, kcook1@flash.net, Rozemarijn.deJonge@96.STUDENT.WAU.NL, JSList8@aol.com, fchisham@indiana.edu, joyceef@mcs.com, Alderaan69@aol.com, mwg@pobox.com, sgator@msc.net, drtom@umich.edu, dthoward@sprynet.com, djordan2@ford.com, jkaplan@wwnet.net, supergrl@ix.netcom.com, Curby@umich.edu, LeighRagln@aol.com, CraigByrne@aol.com, LOISCLA@vm.ege.edu.tr, M.M.Lawson@mailbox.uq.edu.au, missschatter@rocketmail.com, katy_loebrich@hotmail.com, folcworld@aol.com, SouperLdy@aol.com, ladyfolc@aol.com, RPini@aol.com, reeves@centre.edu, debby@swcp.com, klast@mcs.com, ljteller@aol.com, PGTeller@aol.com, theodore@voyager.net, PatrThom@aol.com, bentley@umich.edu, youngriders@hotmail.com, donwenzel@juno.com, zoomway@aol.com To whom it may concern: The Addison Clan is about to get U of M Online! This means we will FINALLY be able to access web sites! Please send any web site addresses for sites you think might be of interest to us. Please e-mail the information to us privately, as we are not subscribed to all the lists (yet!) that received this message. Thanks for your help! We look forward to seeing everyone's handiwork! Sincerely, Carol A. Addison And Parents p.s. Our interests include: WB's Lois & Clark, Star Wars, ElfQuest, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Fanfic of all types, music of all types, reading, nature, pets, writing, medicine, dentistry, nutrition and fitness, cooking, movies, hunting, history, genealogy, and many more. If you know us, you shouldn't have any trouble picking sites to tell us about. Remember: we're new at this! ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 07:13:48 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "K. M. Reyes" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Well, I have a question of my own but it's kinda stupid. I was wondering if anybody where they film Lois and Clark. Specifically the scenes outside the Daily Planet. And where do they shoot the brownstone scenes inside and outside. Just curious cause. And I just wanted to add that I think Teri and Dean make a perfect couple. To bad Teri is already married and Dean's about to get married. Their on screen chemistry is incredible and so real. What do you guys think? Katina Reyes _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _-_-_-_-_-_- "If the earth opened up at my feet, I wouldn't move until I said this-- Lois will you marry me?" ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 17:58:53 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Season 5: Episode 3 now really upcoming Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi! You're probably all wondering where Episode 3 is -- well, I *did* post it on Sunday ... it turns out though that because my work email address (as opposed to the one I'm currently using) was in the From field (I was redirecting email that I'd sent myself from work) ...the listserv didn't like it -- and I didn't find out about it until I got to work today. So -- the following 5 emails is Episode 3 of Season 5 -- "Reconstruction". Leanne Leanne Shawler volterra@sd.znet.com http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html ************************************************************** Lois & Clark: Season 5 http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm text only version at: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm ************************************************************** Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 17:59:48 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Season 5: Episode 3 (part 1 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Reconstruction By Leanne Shawler (edited by Donna Hafner) (with thanks to Kathy Brown and Sheila Harper) Rated: PG-13 (Author's Note to American readers: The spellings contained herein are British English spellings, which, you know, did come before American English spelling, and so are completely correct! *grin*) TEASER A dark alleyway. Past the collection of rubbish cans and loose garbage, and towards the back, far away from the intersecting street, two figures struggle. One is a petite woman, with short, brunette hair. The other is a large, heavy-set man, his face in shadow. The woman's scream is cut off before it even begins, muffled into silence by a heavy, gloved hand. The larger figure drags the other out of sight. **** Lois Lane and Clark Kent, the Daily Planet's top reporters, entered the newsroom. "Clark Kent, I am not obsessive," Lois was saying as they exited the elevators and went down the ramp. "Lois, every time you get your nose into a story, you get obsessed!" Lois poked out her tongue. "That's not obsession, that's work!" She skipped ahead a little and then waited for him to catch up. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered. "Wait until I get you home and show you what obsession is." "Lo-is!" Clark grinned. Perry White was waiting for them at their desks. "Well, you two, what do you have for me today?" Clark shrugged. A mistake when Perry was around. "Good!" said Perry. "Frank has called in sick with the flu. His story is due to crack today." "He was working on the Jackson case, right?" "Right, Clark. And the jury is due out today. See if you can get down there and cover what's happening." "I'm on it, Chief." "Lois?" "I'm going to have lunch with Bobby Bigmouth. The streets are too quiet and I want to know why." Perry nodded, trusting his star reporter's instinct. "It feels like something is about to blow." He patted Clark on the back. "Well, I can trust you both to pick up the scent when the wind starts blowin' the right way. Bring me a story." Jimmy made the mistake of coming in from the photo lab. "Jimmy!" Perry hollered, turning away from the Kents. "Where's that shuttle landing you promised me?" Jimmy waved a manila file. "Right on it, Chief!" Perry drifted away to speak to another of his staff. Clark and Lois smiled at each other. Clark whispered, "I'll get Superman to make another visit to Dr. Klein this afternoon after the press conference." Lois smiled at him. "I hope he can figure this out for us." "Dr. Klein is the best, Lois." Lois and Clark moved to their individual desks, smiled across at each other again and began to work. Lois waded through her email-box, cluttered more with junk mail and administrative memos than any real news. "Ms. Lane?" Lois looked up to see Henderson standing by her desk, a manila folder under his arm. This was most unusual. Lois was usually the one who had to hunt down Henderson, not the other way around. 'Scoop!' she thought. "May I help you, Inspector?" she asked. "Could we speak somewhere privately?" Henderson's tense voice and stance tipped off Lois that the inspector had not been having a good week. "Sure," she said, casually. She rose and gestured to the empty conference room. "Shall we go in here?" Lois led Henderson into the conference room, closely followed by Clark. He'd seen the look on both their faces. Henderson nodded approvingly. They were partners, it was right Clark should be there to hear this. He launched right into it. "Lois, I need your help." Lois looked interested. "You know that there have been a series of murders, all of petite brunettes, the first being a Christa Bell?" Lois nodded. "Only what the police have released. Young women, all brutally murdered, all found in the same place, as yet unsolved?" Lois paused. "You have an exclusive for us?" "In a way." Henderson looked at Lois closely, before shifting his gaze to Clark who was beginning to look uncomfortable. Clark knew there was more to come. "Lois, we've come up with a complete blank on this case. We have no witnesses and all our DNA sampling has proved is that it isn't someone who has priors. Christa is the one we have the most information on, but it still isn't nearly enough. We've been able to trace her day up until a certain point, thanks to her room-mate and a few helpful citizens." Henderson took a breath. "What we need is to jog the people's memory and we hope you can help." "You want us to write a piece on it?" Lois asked helpfully. Henderson didn't answer her directly. "Have you seen a picture of Christa before?" He pulled a large black & white out of the manila folder and laid it on the table before them. Lois nodded in recognition. "She looks like Sandra Bullock." Clark looked up from the photograph, disturbed. "She looks a lot like you, Lois." "Exactly," Henderson leapt ahead with his request. "Lois, we need to reconstruct the day's events, to see if we can jog some memory, somewhere. The two of you look very much alike. Will you help us?" "You want me to be Christa?" Lois asked. **** RUN CREDITS: ACT ONE "No!" answered Clark for her. "It's too dangerous!" He turned to Henderson. "Isn't this normally a job for one of your people?" "Normally," Henderson agreed. "I could pull one of the uniformed officers off the street, put her in a wig and what Christa was wearing that day. It would have a reasonable chance of success. But if your wife helps, there'll be no fake wig and her face is so similar it may spark that little extra. We'll have police tailing her in plain-clothes the whole time, she won't get hurt." "You sound desperate." Lois observed, watching Clark trying to calm down. "I am, Lois. The chief of police is down hard on my neck over this case. I haven't got a single suspect, let alone a result!" "What do I get in return?" Lois asked. "Lo-is," warned Clark. "You'll get an exclusive on some behind-the-scenes police work and if we crack the case, you'll be the first to know." Lois' eyes sparkled. An exclusive, she knew it! "Inspector," Clark knew that look all too well, "could we have a moment here?" "No problem, Mr. Kent." Henderson left the conference room and tried not to look through the window at the reporting duo. As soon as the door was closed, Clark began. "Lois, you can't be serious about doing this." "Why not, Clark?" Lois answered. "Henderson says I'll be safe. I've seen these on 'America's Most Wanted'. The whole thing is routine! Not only that, we get an exclusive and besides, I have *you* to protect me!" Clark folded his arms. "Lois, we've talked about this. You have to stop 'dangling over the jaws of death' to quote a certain adoption agency." "This is *not* dangling over the jaws of death. This is 'make-believe', Clark." "And what if the murderer is some twisted psycho who doesn't know it's make-believe? I don't want to lose a certain, very special petite brunette!" Lois paled slightly but rallied. "The police will have me in their sights the whole time. Think of the story!" "Lois, I'm thinking of you." Lois walked up to him and rested her hands on his folded arms. "Clark, six women have died already. I can help the police stop this once and for all. You help people all the time. This is my chance." "Lois, you help people by writing your stories and revealing corruption. You don't need to take this extra risk." "It's not an extra risk. I'll have police nearby. On most of my other 'helpful' stories, I've got into trouble all by myself!" Clark nodded, remembering, and reluctantly gave up the argument. "OK, we'll do it your way, Lois." "Our way, Clark, we're a team," Lois reminded him with a sparkle in her eye. Clark rolled his eyes and beckoned the inspector back in. "All right, Inspector Henderson, we'll do it." "We?" Henderson asked. "Not only is Lois my wife, but she's my partner here at the Planet. We work together." Henderson agreed. He respected Clark Kent and knew that his concern for his wife wouldn't interfere, too much, with the task at hand. "Please remember that this is a police operation." Henderson looked at his watch. "I have to go. Come down to the precinct station by 9 tomorrow morning, ok?" "We'll be there," said Clark. Henderson left. Lois turned to Clark. "*We'll* be there?" "Superman's taking the day off. I have a bad feeling about this, Lois, and I'm going to stick closer to you than super-glue. Besides, we're a team, remember? This is *our* story." Lois grinned briefly. "Thank you, Clark." She rested his head on his chest and looked up smiling. "But I'm pretty sure we won't need Superman." Clark tilted her chin, making her look up at him. His eyes twinkled. He knew Lois too well. "You wanna bet?" She smiled back. "Cooking dinner for a week," she countered. "Ow, is that if I win or lose?" Clark joked. Lois elbowed him in the ribs. Clark didn't even pretend that it hurt. "Seriously, Lois, I don't want to bet on your life. If you're in danger, you call for me." "You'll be right there, won't you? I won't have to yell too loudly." "True, but after all this is over, we're going to have to sit down and talk about this risk-taking." Lois sighed. She opened her mouth to reply when Perry burst in to the conference room. "What's the scoop?" he demanded. He saw their pose: Lois looking unhappy and leaning against Clark, who didn't look all that happy either. Perry softened his voice. "Bad news?" "Just a story, Chief," Lois replied. "We'll be getting an exclusive on those serial murders." "Those young women down by the railway siding?" Perry asked. Lois nodded. "The police want Lois to be Christa Bell, the first victim, in their reconstruction of the day's events tomorrow," added Clark before Perry could express his joy. "Lois, isn't that a little bit dangerous?" Perry asked, changing gears. Clark flashed an 'I told you so' look at his wife, who ignored it. "Perry, I'll be surrounded by police the whole time, I'll be fine!" Perry turned to her husband. "Clark?" "I'm not happy about it, Chief, but I'm going to be involved in it every step of the way." "Don't you go getting into hot water yourself, Clark," Perry warned. Clark shook his head. "No chance!" He looked at Lois mischievously. "Well, maybe a small chance." Perry shook his head. "All right," Perry said, on his way out of the conference room, "you just better bring me back a Kerth award-winning story! Find out what the people think of these reconstructions." "You got it, Chief!" Lois and Clark chorused. **** Clark Kent stood at the foot of the steps of the Metropolis Justice building, surrounded by other reporters. They were all waiting for the District Attorney to announce the latest in the Jackson case. The court was closed to the press and the D.A. would be among the first to step out of the courthouse. Clark thoughtfully tapped his pencil against his notebook. He couldn't stop thinking about the danger Lois might be facing tomorrow. He remembered the first time he saved her life, when they were tied up together by Doctor Baines and having to surreptitiously use his powers to get Lois and Jimmy clear of the explosion. He remembered her clinging for dear life to a flag pole; being tied to a lightening rod; left dangling over a cauldron of toxic chemicals; held at arrow-point by a madman who wanted Superman's body; used as Superman bait by Trask and Intergang; kidnapped by Lex, Sr. and Jr.; and mentally tortured by Tempus. He remembered how after Lois suffered a concussion during the apprehension of Bob Fences, he'd been so scared of her getting hurt that he'd wanted to call it off. What he realised then and what he was forgetting now, was that deadly danger to Lois came from himself and Lex just as often as it came from her work. Lex was gone and he knew that any danger he brought to her, he could get her out of. A fanfare of popping flashbulbs interrupted Clark's thoughts as the District Attorney made his appearance. The D.A. approached the cluster of microphones. "As you all know, the charges against Mark Jackson are attempted murder, with the lesser charge of battery and assault. The jury is still out, still deliberating. We are certain that the verdict will come back in our favour. Questions?" A reporter from the Metropolis Star piped up: "Has Superman's early intervention damaged your case?" "Superman's intervention saved one woman's life and probably that of her children. Superman should be thanked for being so close by when the assault took place." The D.A. nodded to another reporter. "Daily News?" "Why wasn't Superman called to the witness stand?" "Superman is extremely busy. We felt that our case was so strong, that he was not personally required. We did submit a record of his report that he made to local police. Besides," the District Attorney wise-cracked, "have you ever tried to subpoena a superhero?" The reporters laughed. Clark put away his notebook. No story was going to break here today. Besides, it was time for Superman to visit S.T.A.R. Labs. **** "What do you mean you don't have anything?" Lois demanded, reaching out to snatch back the chicken drumstick from Bobby Bigmouth's hand. He held it out of reach. "That's just what I mean, Lois. Aside from the usual minor crimes and murders, nothing big is happening. No corruption, no gang-running. It's as if the Underworld has taken a one-week vacation." "You think something's cooking?" "Don't you?" Lois nodded. "Call me if you hear anything, ok?" Bobby Bigmouth looked pensive. "Two gourmet pizzas with the works." Lois added some incentive. "Wow, from MPK's?!" Bobby's face lit up. Metropolis Pizza Kitchen was legendary. Lois nodded. "You got it!" Lois rose from the booth at the back of the restaurant, leaving money to pay the bill. "I hope I hear from you soon, Bobby." Bobby waved a chicken leg in farewell. "So do I!" **** Over dinner, Lois asked, "How was your day?" Clark shrugged. "I think Frank will be well over the flu by the time the Jackson jury comes back with a verdict." Lois nodded in sympathy. "Did you make it to S.T.A.R. Labs? What happened?" Clark nodded, blushing a little from the memory. "He agreed to do another test. 'Better to be safe than sorry!' he said." Clark grinned. "He also told me that Superman's girlfriend should be taking precautions until these results are in." Lois laughed along with him. "Fat chance!" Clark stopped laughing and began to play with his ice cream for a moment before saying, "Lois? About tomorrow ..." Lois stopped playing with her ice cream too. Each of them had a lot on their minds. "What about tomorrow? I've already done some background work in the archives today for that. Oh, and Bobby Bigmouth had nothing for me but we're pretty sure something's up. Even Perry thinks so. The question is -- what? I guess we can track it down after I walk all over Metropolis tomorrow looking like someone else." "Lois, honey, you're babbling." Clark smiled gently. Lois opened her mouth to reply, shut it again and then opened it again. "It's not because I'm nervous, you know, because I'm not." She halted and sighed. "I don't want to argue about it." "Lois, I'm not going to try and talk you out of it. I did some thinking myself today." "And?" "And I remembered all the times your life has been in danger. Quite a few of them had to do with me, with Superman. Besides, this could be a great story. I've already thought of a couple of angles we can take." He paused for a moment. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think I was being a little unfair earlier." Lois nodded, agreeing. "I just don't want to lose you, Lois." "Clark, you won't lose me." Lois got up and went to Clark. She put her arms around him from behind. "You'll be there and we'll be just fine. You'll see." Leanne Shawler volterra@sd.znet.com http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html ************************************************************** Lois & Clark: Season 5 http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm text only version at: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm ************************************************************** Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 18:00:31 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Season 5: Episode 3 (part 2 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" **** ACT TWO: COMMERCIAL BREAK Lois Lane looked at the photograph taped to the mirror's surface and then at her image reflected in the mirror. With one last touch, she teased her hair into the same style as Christa, forming a stand-out halo around her head. Lois didn't think it suited her. She made a face in the mirror. Her transformation into the young woman in the photograph was complete. With clothes like the woman had worn on the last day of her life, Lois could easily be mistaken for her. The resemblance was eerie. Detective Julia Capra echoed this sentiment. "You're a dead ringer for Christa. Henderson was right when he chose you for the reconstruction." Lois grimaced at Capra's reflection. "Second thoughts?" Capra asked. Lois shook her head, not trusting her voice to say no. "Come on. They'll be waiting for you at the briefing." "Great." Lois's tone suggested anything but. "You'll be fine," reassured Capra. "We'll be backing you up one hundred percent." Lois smiled as they left the changing room. "Oh, I know that. I'm more worried about what they're going to say when they see me like this!" Capra chuckled. "Yeah, it's quite a change from your usual get-up. You'll turn a few heads, no doubt about it." She smirked. "And your husband will love it." Lois Lane was dressed in a black mini-skirt and a skin-tight sleeveless corset top, which pushed up Lois's breasts to their full advantage. Thankfully, Christa had also worn a tailored bolero jacket covering the top which Lois personally considered to be too revealing. Her normal work wardrobe consisted of stylish skirts and jackets, accompanied by low-heeled shoes that enabled her to chase after villains (or run away from them) instead of tottering about on high heels. Lois followed Capra into the briefing room. The small space was packed with uniformed police and the entire Criminal Investigations Department squad. Wolf whistles and catcalls shattered the stunned silence. The police force had not quite caught up with the modern way of thinking, it appeared. The two women exchanged disgusted looks as they found themselves a place to stand in the crowded interior. The male members of the C.I.D. team at least behaved themselves. They knew they'd have to answer to Henderson for it later if they didn't. "A beauty like that," said one officer. "Little wonder she ended up the way she did." This sobered all those in hearing. Lois was relieved that somebody was taking this exercise seriously. All the same, she thought, giving the officer an angry look, a woman's beauty, or the way she dressed, should not make her a target for murder. She vowed to write up a report on sexism in the ranks. Inspector Henderson entered the briefing room. A respectful hush fell immediately. He commanded, and got, loyalty and respect from every one of his subordinates. They all knew he played by the rules, straight and fair, and came down hard on anyone who didn't do the same. "Right," he began. "As you know, Christa Bell was murdered some time after leaving her apartment at 10 a.m. The coroner estimated the time of death to be in the early afternoon, so our culprit dared to do this in broad daylight." With a shiver, Lois wondered if he would dare to do it again. "Lois Lane, reporter from the Daily Planet, has kindly accepted the role of Christa Bell for what we think were her last movements on that day. Your role will be to question passers-by. Her partner at the Planet, Clark Kent, will be assisting us in our enquiries. You've been assigned to your teams. Are there any questions?" Of course there were none. Henderson dismissed the assembled staff. Police in uniform and detectives began filing out of the room. Lois, Clark and Capra lingered behind. "Nice outfit," Clark managed to say, worry written plain upon his face. Henderson finished a cursory tidy-up of his files and looked up at the waiting threesome. "I see they managed to get the bloodstains out of that jacket," he commented. "No, they didn't, sir. Forensics refused to release it, so we had to make up a copy," Julia Capra told him. "Can't be expected to destroy evidence." He grinned, watching Lois' disconcerted look disappear suddenly. She narrowed her eyes at Henderson, knowing her leg had just been pulled. Henderson continued, "Lois, keep your eyes peeled at all times. You'll be on the spot and you'll see people's reactions long before any of us catch up with you. Clark will be shadowing you and will deal with anyone who wants to speak with Christa." He was trying to reassure her, Lois realised. "Yes, Inspector." Julia Capra came to her rescue. "We'd better get moving if we're to keep to schedule," she gently prodded. She was going with Clark and Lois to Christa's apartment where she would stay until the reconstruction finished, in order to further question the tenants of the building. "Good luck, Lois," Henderson said. Lois pulled Clark aside, letting Detective Capra walk ahead. "You're coming with us?" she asked frowning. "What about the suit?" "I thought about it," Clark replied, "but then if the murderer sees me floating above you, it would drive him underground, not reveal him, and I wouldn't notice that. Besides, I have a story to write too! I'll stick real close, I promise." Lois nodded and holding hands, they hurried to catch up with the detective. **** Led by Detective Capra, Lois and Clark climbed the stairs to the tiny apartment where Christa had lived. The young woman who answered the door, smiled and nodded as she recognized Capra. Then she saw Lois. "My God!" Annabelle turned pale. "You look so like her!" Julia Capra took Annabelle's hand, patting it. "It's all right, Annabelle. You've seen a picture of Lois Lane from the Daily Planet before, haven't you?" Annabelle nodded. Lois took the initiative. "Hi Annabelle," she extended her hand and Annabelle numbly shook it. "I'm sure Detective Capra has told you we're doing a reconstruction today?" Annabelle nodded again. Clark stepped forward. "Lois and I are also here to write a story about Christa's case and how hard the police work at solving them." He got a little nod of appreciation from Julia for that one. "Why don't we sit down and you can tell us in your own words?" Annabelle recovered. "Of course! I'm sorry! Come in, come in. I'll make us all some coffee." Lois and Clark surveyed the tiny apartment each in their own way, Clark looking over the tops of his glasses. There was barely enough room for one person let alone two. Christa's room-mate, Annabelle, set a kettle over a tiny gas plate. They sat and sipped the hot coffee. "Christa was the best friend I could ever ask for," Annabelle began. "This place is so tiny that we had to be the best of friends in order to survive it!" "How long had you known each other?" Clark asked. "Since high school. We went to community college together, did the same courses, we even had part-time jobs at the same workplace." Annabelle attempted a small smile at Lois. "Christa loved to dress up, even if it was just going to pay the rent ... like she did that day ..." Annabelle hid a sob. Detective Capra ineffectively patted her hand. "Dressing up made her feel good," Annabelle continued. "She didn't do it to attract men. She'd had her heart broken by this married man in Vermont when she went there on vacation ..." "Getting appreciative looks made her feel better?" asked Lois. Detective Capra interjected. "Did she ever have contact with this married man again?" "Once or twice after she came back. He called her a couple of times. I don't think Christa ever saw him again." Annabelle stared down into her coffee cup. "She was so smart, she had so much life! Why did someone have to go and kill her?" Annabelle put down the coffee cup and began to cry in earnest. Julia did her best to comfort her. Clark secretly took Lois' hand and gave it a squeeze. Lois got up to make some more coffee. Annabelle raised her head and watched her, frowning and finally exclaimed, "You move just like her!" "Do I?" responded Lois casually, although the remark had startled her. "I'm glad. Maybe it will stir a few more memories than it would otherwise." "Yes," Annabelle replied softly. Grief and shock at seeing Lois as Christa had worn her down. "I hope you find and hang him." "We'll find him," said Clark gently, "and justice will be done." Nobody got hanged for murder these days and the jails were so crowded that it was likely that the convicted person would get out on parole if he was well-behaved inside. But mentioning this now wouldn't help Annabelle deal with her grief. Detective Capra looked at her watch. "Time to go." "I'd better get moving then." Lois stood up, smoothing down her skirt. She gave herself a once-over in the full-length mirror near the door, biting her lip apprehensively. "You look fine," Clark reassured her. Lois mustered a shaky grin. "Should wear clothes like this more often, eh?" "Only for me." Clark winked and Julia Capra chuckled. Clark took the walkie-talkie that Henderson had given him out of his coat pocket. "Shadow One to Central." Henderson's voice crackled from the receiver. "This is Central." "We're leaving the apartment. Out." Lois took her cue and left the apartment, going down the front stairs and onto the street. Clark watched her walk down the pavement for a few moments before following her. The street was deserted except for a few children playing football in the centre of the road. The main thoroughfare through the community was further down the road and it was there that both he and Lois would need to pay closer attention to those about them. A police vehicle and policemen on foot tagged them, stopping pedestrians on either side of the road. The P.A. system strapped to the police vehicle blared into life. "This is a police reconstruction of the events that occurred a month ago. If any one saw a woman fitting the appearance of the model ahead of this motor vehicle, please make yourself known to any of the policemen present." After a moment's pause, the message was repeated, and Lois, no longer safely anonymous, felt the eyes of the street upon her. Lois stood at the bus stop, all too aware of the police car parked down the street, of Clark standing at a shop window behind her (she had looked behind her for support), and of fellow commuters looking her up and down as if she were an alien from outer space. 'We better get this guy,' Lois thought, keeping her exterior calm and friendly. Unlike the out-going Christa who made conversation with the elderly as they waited in the queue, Lois wasn't to talk to anyone unless they approached her to ask about the dead woman. Nobody was certain that Christa had spoken to anyone at the bus-stop that day and despite Lois's best attempts, she couldn't mimic Christa's flat mid-west accent. Her bus pulled up at the kerb and Lois self-consciously boarded it, Clark not far behind her, to find all eyes upon her. She stood in full view of the passengers as Detective Jarvis, who had travelled with the bus from an earlier point on its route, gave the by-now familiar spiel about the reconstruction. When he had finished, she found herself a seat and the bus moved off. Clark was at the back of the bus, absorbed in talking to a woman holding a baby. Jarvis and a policeman were moving up and down the aisle to give the passengers plenty of time to observe Lois and rack their brains for their journey on this bus a month ago. She had four stops to go. An old lady piped up. "Oh yes, I knew her!" Jarvis quickly went to her side. Lois looked over hopefully at Clark. Maybe this would be over sooner than they thought. "How did you know her, ma'am?" The old lady dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "She often helped me out with my groceries. Such a nice girl. She always had time for me, always!" "Did she help you on the day she died?" Jarvis pressed. The old lady had to think. "Why ... yes. I believe she did. Does that help?" "It helps immensely. Now if I could get your name and address, ma'am." In moments, Jarvis had beckoned to Clark and they moved over to where Lois stood. "There's been a change of plan," he said. "The old lady?" Lois asked. Jarvis nodded. "Christa helped Mrs. Hirdarren with her groceries. It means that Christa got off the bus before we thought she did and cut through the housing project to reach the real estate office." That was the last place where she was seen alive, paying the rent on her apartment. Lois didn't fancy walking through the housing project as Christa Bell, for the high-rise flats were frequented by young adults with plenty of time on their hands to make trouble. She touched Detective Jarvis's arm before he moved off again. "Listen," she said. "Do you think you can stop those announcements while I'm walking through the project?" Detective Jarvis frowned. "It's part of the procedure." "You know that neighbourhood. It's going to be bad enough with a whole caravan of police trooping behind me. To announce the reconstruction as well -- it's sheer incitement to trouble." Lois was suddenly nervous about the whole reconstruction. The entire idea of pretending to be a dead woman was spooky. Not to mention hearing the phrase 'dangling over the jaws of death' repeatedly in her mind. "You may get some wisecracks but they're not going to harm you, not when there's enough police presence to arrest half the project. Here's your stop." It was actually the stop before the one they had thought Christa had alighted at. "Don't forget to help Mrs. Hirdarran." She flung him a look which plainly said, "As if," and got off the bus, taking Mrs. Hirdarran's full plastic grocery bags in either hand. "Lead on, Mrs. Hirdarran." "Are you sure you're all right with those?" the old lady asked, as she led the way, leaning heavily on her stick. Lois wondered how Mrs. Hirdarran would manage without the kindly assistance of people like Christa Bell. "Perfectly fine, thank you." As they walked the old lady chatted to her about what little she knew of Christa Bell. "I wish she could have told me what she was going to do with her day beyond just shopping. It would have helped you a lot, wouldn't it?" "Yes, but I should think Miss Bell had no idea where she would go shopping. Her room-mate told us she loved to window-shop." Lois added. "And we know she paid the rent." "It's a pity." Mrs. Hirdarran sighed. "How is the case progressing?" "Well, you've been an immense help with the case already," Lois replied startled. "But do they have any clues, any suspects?" "That's why we're doing this reconstruction, Mrs. Hirdarren, to get more clues and suspects." "It must be strange, being another person." Lois thought of the time she was Wanda Detroit. She didn't remember much of it. "Yes, it's pretty creepy actually. But it's nice to be of assistance to the police department. We've discovered a little more of Christa's day, thanks to you." The old woman glowed under Lois's praise and at the door she said, "Won't you come in for a coffee?" "Er, no, I really have to stick to Christa's timetable," Lois said apologetically. "Oh, but Christa came in with me!" "She did?" "She put all the groceries away while I made her a cup of coffee. She sat and talked to my son until she had to go. She had to be somewhere before lunch." "She talked to your son?" Lois beckoned to Clark. "Well, OK. For a few minutes then." Clark reached them. "This is my husband, Clark Kent of the Daily Planet. May he come in and talk with your son?" "You're Lois Lane?" Mrs. Hirdarren was delighted. "I love your stories! And your friendship with Superman! How thrilling." She lowered her voice, but not low enough. "Does Mr. Kent mind?" Lois exchanged a quick grin with Clark. "Not at all. We're all very good friends." Leanne Shawler volterra@sd.znet.com http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html ************************************************************** Lois & Clark: Season 5 http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm text only version at: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm ************************************************************** Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 18:01:33 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Season 5: Episode 3 (part 3 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Mrs. Hirdarran inserted the key in the lock and opened the door. Clark held her back. "What's going on, Lois?" "You weren't ..." Lois gestured to her ear. Clark shook his head. "Too distracting." "Christa talked to Mrs. Hirdarran's son. He may know something she doesn't." Clark nodded and led the way inside. Mrs. Hirdarran's son sat in front of the television. He was a huge hulking man in his forties with a stupid look on his face. If his appearance was a true indication of his intellect or from being hypnotised by continual TV-watching, Lois couldn't say. He ignored his mother and the newcomers until Clark bent down to turn the television off. Lois disappeared into the kitchen with Mrs. Hirdarran to help put away her groceries. With the dedication of a Stanislavskian actor, Lois was shadowing every one of Christa's known movements. "Hey!" exclaimed Hirdarran, looking up at the intruder. "What do you think you're doing?" "Clark Kent, Daily Planet. I want to ask you a few questions about Christa Bell." "Don't know her," Hirdarran said truculently. "Now, come on," Clark said in a friendly manner. Listening from the kitchen, Lois admired the way he turned on the charm. "She was here a month ago. Helped your mother with the shopping?" "As I said, I don't know her. She's just a nosey good Samaritan that lives off people like my Ma." "What do you mean?" Clark sounded faintly puzzled, although he was fully aware that people such as Hirdarran resented charity in any form except what was given out by the government. "She asked all these questions. Do I get out much? How long had I been out of work? Like a damn social worker she was, although she talked about herself plenty." Lois chose that moment to enter, followed by Mrs. Hirdarran with the tray loaded with coffee mugs, cream and sugar. "Hello, Mr. Hirdarran," she said softly. Hirdarran leapt out of his seat with a start. "Jeepers!" he exclaimed. "Christa!" Lois shook her head. "Don't be silly, dear," said Mrs. Hirdarran, putting the tray down on the coffee table and proceeding to pour. "Christa is dead. This young woman is -- what did you call it, dear?" "It's a reconstruction of the day's events, Mr. Hirdarran," said Lois, sitting down beside him. "We're trying to get the public to come forward with any information they may have about her. If you could help us, we'd be much obliged to you." "M'name's George," muttered Hirdarran, still stunned by Christa's return to life. "Christa called me that." "All right then, George," said Lois, in a similar soothing voice to the one Clark had used on him earlier, concealing her impatience. It wasn't easy, but this was important. "Do you know where Christa went after she left here?" "She had to go pay her rent," George Hirdarran was still defensive. Lois figured him for a very quiet, reclusive man. "She had to get there before the fellow knocked off for lunch, so I told her about a short cut through the project that would get her there on time." Lois and Clark simultaneously looked at their watches. It was after eleven now. By the time Christa had finished her coffee, she would have needed to know it. "And what was this short cut?" Clark asked. The directions George Hirdarran gave them wasn't the shortest distance from point A to point Z but it would get Christa to the real estate agent's in plenty of time. Clark left the room to report the latest news to Henderson. He added, "Get Detective Capra to find out whether Annabelle knew the Hirdarrans or not." "Did Christa tell you much about herself?" Lois was asking the Hirdarrans when Clark re-entered the room. "It was mostly small talk," confessed Mrs. Hirdarran. "Isn't that right, George?" George nodded. "The smallest thing may help us in our enquiries, Mrs. Hirdarran," pressed Clark. The Hirdarrans looked at each other and shrugged. "You didn't forget anything in your shopping and ask Christa to get it for you?" Lois was always forgetting something or other on her hasty shopping trips after work, so it seemed fair to assume that the elderly Mrs. Hirdarran had the same problem. Fortunately, she had a super-fast husband who could zip out and back again for that missing ingredient. Mrs. Hirdarran shook her head. "It was so long ago. I can't really remember." "That's all right, Mrs. Hirdarran," soothed Clark. "You've been of great assistance to us already." "Wait a minute, Ma," blurted George Hirdarran. "You did forget something. The sugar remember? That's why I had to have lots of milk in my coffee." To the detectives, he explained: "I hate strong coffee." "So Christa offered to get it for you?" asked Clark. "I ... I guess so." Mrs. Hirdarran seemed uncertain. "She did, Ma. I remember." Lois rose. "Well, if I'm to get that sugar for you, I'd better be going!" Mrs. Hirdarran looked at her, startled. "Funny," she said, slowly. "That's exactly what Christa said." Lois felt a chill run up her spine. "Did Christa come back with the sugar?" "George?" Mrs. Hirdarran turned to her son. "Do you remember?" "Of course she did," he growled. "She left it by the front door." "She didn't come in?" Clark was perplexed. "Ma wasn't home. She was at Bingo. I was upstairs in bed asleep." "What time did you leave for Bingo, Mrs. Hirdarran?" "Oh, the usual time. It starts at one so I leave here at quarter to." "Well, that certainly gives us something more to go on." Lois only half-listened to Clark saying goodbye to them, her mind whirling over the latest development in the case. It further narrowed the time for Christa's murder. Between quarter to one and, say, three in the afternoon, Christa had been murdered. Across the road, the police vehicle waited, with uniformed officers leaning against it, waiting for them to move on. They resumed their activity as she walked off along the short cut. Lois walked diagonally across the park, towards the alleyway where the short cut began. Clark followed a few steps behind her, casually, yet purposefully. Lois winced as the loud police announcement began all over again. Out of nowhere, youths appeared, circling Lois and jeering catcalls. Some were on foot, but most were on bicycles and skateboards. Word had got around, it seemed and the youth of the area were out to enjoy the show. Her face burning with the unwanted attention, Lois raised her chin and continued as if nothing was amiss, leaving it to the police behind her to deal with the boys as they got bored of their jeering. The short cut through a series of alleyways between the high-rise buildings was ill-lit, even for almost midday. Garbage littered the shadowed entry ways to the underground garages. With a shiver, Lois realised it was an ideal place for a mugging, if not murder. Was that what happened? Had Christa been mugged on her way back? No. Lois recalled that Christa had made it back to the Hirdarrans. She made it to the real estate agent's just in time. Lois waited for Clark to catch up before she entered the agency. The secretary behind her desk gave a little squeal of horror. "Oh," she exclaimed. "For a moment I thought you were her." Disappointingly, she was the only person in the front office of the place. "Does it spark any memories?" prompted Clark. "You're Clark Kent of the Daily Planet, aren't you?" "Yes, ma'am. Lois and I are helping the police with their enquiries." The secretary peered closely at Lois. "Yes, I see the difference now." Lois spoke up. "Did Christa pay you her rent money or did she hand it over to Mr. ..." She couldn't recall the name from the files. "Mr. Montgomery?" supplied the secretary. "Yes, she always paid it directly to him. Although most of the time, our tenants pay me." Lois and Clark gave each other a meaningful look. Christa was the exception to the rule? "Shall I get him for you?" "Just do as you would do if it were Christa waiting to see him," Clark informed her. She paged Mr. Montgomery. "Mr. Montgomery, the ... ah, Daily Planet is here about Miss Bell." His response was almost indistinguishable: "Send them through." The secretary pointed them to a door. "Through there." Mr. Montgomery sat behind an impressive dark-stained desk. He rocked back in his chair as they came in, his face pale. "My God, the resemblance is startling!" Lois smiled politely. "So people keep telling me. Lois Lane, of the Daily Planet. This is my partner, Clark Kent. We're helping the police on some enquiries about Christa Bell." "Sorry to interrupt your business like this," said Clark, "but you understand that we have to go through everything exactly as it happened?" "Of course, of course. Anything to help. I've told the police everything I know." Lois made a mental note to check out the man's credentials sometime in the near future. Some people were just too effusive about helping and as Montgomery was a real estate agent, he made her doubly suspicious. After all, in spite of the smooth sailing she and Clark had in buying their new home, Lois was still sore at her previous real estate agent for making her sign an idiotic lease agreement that forced her to change floors far too many times! For ten minutes they discussed the transaction made between Christa and Mr. Montgomery a month ago. "Miss Bell always paid you directly?" Clark asked. Montgomery nodded, fingering his tie. "Yes, she often came in with a complaint about the state of her apartment. She insisted on seeing me every week." "The apartment is remarkably small," Lois commented. "What did she complain about?" "Wiring short-outs, roof leaks, cockroaches." Montgomery shrugged. "I told her it was a very old house and these kinds of problems were to be expected. At the price she was paying, she was getting a bargain." "Did you attend to these problems personally?" Clark asked, making a note. "No, I have a group of contractors that I use to deal with those kinds of problems." Further questions yielded nothing unusual. Clark made a note to check with Henderson of any possible connections between the real estate agent and the other victims. Outside the real estate agency, Clark looked up and down the busy street. The police vehicle was parked a short distance away. "Lunch?" he suggested. "We don't know where, or if, Christa had lunch. Besides, I want to go get the sugar first." "We don't know if she got the sugar first," Clark pointed out. Lois nodded. "True. But we don't know if she didn't either." **** Lois waited for Clark to emerge from the supermarket. She held the sugar in a brown paper bag in her folded arms. Clark came out, shaking his head. "No luck inside, but I've got us clearance for lunch," he told her. "Capra says that, according to Annabelle, Christa usually eats at a coffee bar near the real estate agency." "Let's go then, I'm starving." The mood-lit coffee bar, "A La Cafe", that Christa frequented was across the road from the real estate agency. Lois and Clark sat by the window so that passers-by would catch sight of her. Two policemen were idly stationed by a pole to round up any people who seemed interested in the couple sitting by the window. Inside, the pair decided on a quick meal, considering Christa's limited budget, and ordered sandwiches and coffee. "I talked to the manager while you were in the ladies room," said Clark, stirring sugar into his black coffee. "He vaguely remembers Christa, but he's not sure whether she was here that day." "Too bad." Lois blew on her coffee before sipping it. "I lost sight of you a couple of times in those alleyways," Clark remarked conversationally. "Nothing happened to Christa there." Lois was calm, trying to hide her sudden queasiness. "Hmm." Clark sounded noncommittal -- almost. "I'll be relieved when this is all over." "You can say that again. I'm looking forward to writing this up tonight." "Me too." Clark shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Why don't we go grab dinner somewhere afterward? I know I won't feel like cooking after today." "Why not skip dinner and head straight for dessert?" Lois grinned at him. He smiled back. "Deal." "Would you like me to wear this outfit?" "Not really ..." Clark looked disgusted. "Your clone had better taste." "I thought you liked it!" "Well, maybe the short skirt." "And nothing else?" "Don't take me there," said Clark with a grin. "We have too much work to do!" Lois sobered up. "It'll be good to stop behaving like Christa." "Christa. Now there's an enigma," Clark pronounced. "What's so mysterious about her?" "Why would such a beautiful woman be without a boyfriend?" Lois looked at him to check if he was flattering her and decided to answer him straight. "Annabelle said she was between boyfriends." "But her last boyfriend was a fling she had in Vermont. A married man at that." "Well, maybe Christa wasn't seriously interested in men at all," Lois challenged. Clark gazed at her evenly. "All right. You've made your point. Still, maybe she had a boyfriend Annabelle didn't know about." "Maybe. And maybe she was the ringleader of an international drug ring. Stop hypothesizing, Clark. You're giving me a headache." They ate in silence for a while, their casual verbal sparring put aside. The sandwiches were bland but the coffee more than made up for it. Clark's walkie-talkie crackled for attention. It was an irate Henderson. "Are you two going to sit in that coffee shop all day or go and do some window-shopping?" "On our way, Inspector." "This is where I feel like bait," she said. Clark gave her a quick hug. "You'll be fine." Lois left Clark to pay the bill. She walked out on the street and down towards the market area. The markets were teeming with folk browsing over the stalls that stood in the centre of the wide avenue. Shop displays on each side of the road enticed the customers away from the stall-holders. The continuous announcement startled both customer and vendor alike. "This is a reconstruction of the events leading up to Christa Bell's death a month ago. If you saw the woman walking in front of this vehicle on that day, please make yourself known to any of the policemen in the area." Lois felt all eyes upon her and actually managed a smile. The police vehicle could not follow her through the markets so the policemen were left to hoof it after her. People stared at her curiously as they passed by and Lois later heard that Christa had been seen at the markets before, but nobody could swear they had seen her on the day of her death. "Why," muttered Lois to the dead woman, "couldn't you have done something a little unusual that day?" Her feet were beginning to ache from the unfamiliar shoes and she began to wish for the comfort of her flat court shoes. By the time she had sauntered down and back up the markets, giving folk on both sides a good chance to look at Christa, and stopping on the pretext of examining wares to rest her feet, it was after one o'clock. Time to make a start back to the Hirdarrans. Clark caught up with her briefly. "Don't get too far ahead. I want to keep you in sight, OK?" "In these heels? Don't worry, you won't lose track of me." She set off towards the short cut through the housing project, crossing the busy thoroughfare with Clark and a number of uniformed men not too far behind. The youths on the project saw her coming, or rather heard her, for the officer in the police vehicle was making the same monotonous announcement. They resumed their jeering, skating close enough to her for Lois to feel the force of their passing. They took off suddenly, as a couple of policemen ran past her and shooed them away. The two walked back, smiling at Lois. "All yours." "Thanks," she grimaced. The short cut twisted quite a bit in one section as it crept between three adjacent building blocks, one built in such a way that it created a zigzag with the other two. The drab cement buildings rose high around Lois. The place was deserted. She could no longer hear the fleeing youths. It was as if they had been swallowed up. **** Clark saw her turn the corner and quickened his pace to catch up. By the time he reached the turning there was no sign of her. She had vanished. Yet he ought to have caught a glimpse of her again as she made the second turning. He dashed to the next one. "No," he gasped. There was no one there. Leanne Shawler volterra@sd.znet.com http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html ************************************************************** Lois & Clark: Season 5 http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm text only version at: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm ************************************************************** Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 18:02:03 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Season 5: Episode 3 (part 4 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ***COMMERCIAL BREAK: ACT THREE Clark stared in both directions along the alleyway in disbelief and then used his superpowers to scan the buildings. The old buildings were full of lead pipes and lead paint, making it difficult for him to see. Everything within the buildings was a blur. Where had she gone? Most likely she had been taken, if she had been taken, down into one of the underground garages by any of the entrances that lined the alley. It was the only way out. "This is Shadow One to Central." Clark speedily retraced his steps as he spoke, using his powers to peer into the dark portals as he went past. "This is Central." "Lois has disappeared, Inspector." The trailing police convoy came into view, halting in confusion at the sight of Clark Kent running towards them. Henderson heard the anger and desperation in his voice. "WHAT?" Henderson's transmitted shout echoed along the concrete walls. "She's gone, as simple as that. We're starting a search now. Out." Furious with himself and with Lois with letting her talk him into this, Clark took control of the situation and quickly organised search teams to fan out into the underground garages. With all this lead, he needed everyone's help. Something about him made the police officers let him take command. He had been closest to Lois Lane when she had disappeared after all. They soon discovered that their search put them under a radio blackout, something in the structure of the building blocking their transmissions. "The lead, probably." Clark muttered to himself. It was eerie. The underground bunker was dimly lit by only those flickering fluorescent lights which had not been destroyed by vandalism. A few cars were parked between the reinforced cement pillars. The underground garage was a residents-only parking area for those residents who could afford cars, and they were currently out working to pay off the loan. Discarded newspapers and other similar trash were scattered around. Clark left the police to their own devices. He ran ahead, quickly engulfed into the darkness. He spun into his suit and began searching each floor at superspeed. Up and up he went, forced to search every room because of the amount of lead in the building, his desperation increasing with every level. He startled quite a few housewives by bursting in on them. Despite his overwhelming concern for Lois, Clark wondered anyone could live in such a place. He reached the top, a door opening out to a flat roof. Nothing. There were interconnected walkways further down. There was a good chance that they had gone that way. Clark tried to quell the panic which threatened to overwhelm him. He still had two other buildings to search! Clark flew across to the next building that lined the alleyway and began a similar downward search to the garages. Faintly, he heard a scream. "Clark! Help!" Lois! It was coming from the lower levels of the building. He instantly stopped and stood stock-still, concentrating hard. Clark heard an elevator creakily grind its way upward. He smiled grimly. He'd wait for them at the top and then Lois' captor would pay. He stood in front of the elevator, arms folded, listening to the elevator ascend, waiting for the door to finally open. It did. Clark's jaw dropped, his face going slack with shock. There was nobody there. The physical ache in his stomach grew stronger. Clark cursed himself for waiting, seconds that were precious to Lois' life, now irretrievably lost. He searched the entire building, looking for them, again forced to search each and every room because of the lead. Again, nothing. Reaching the top of the third building, Clark found his voice and gave vent to his frustration at last. "LOIS!" His call echoed forever across the skies of Metropolis. "LOIS!" **** Inspector Henderson looked at the reconstruction team, almost all present except for one: Lois Lane. This time they were a sombre lot, moving restlessly, eager to get back onto the streets to find their colleague. Henderson used an aluminium pointer to direct everyone's attention to the large map on the wall behind him. "Ms. Lane was last seen here." He tapped the tiny alleyways on the housing project. "Her kidnapper took her into the underground garages of this building, and we believe he used the elevator to reach the second level. He was seen by one of the tenants walking across the pedestrian access bridge to that building there." He lowered the pointer. "Under one arm, he was dragging an unconscious woman fitting the description of Ms. Lane." The last officer dashed into the room. "Webster, you're late! Where've you been?" "Looking for Kent. We couldn't find him anywhere!" The young officer rubbed his face. "I've put out an APB for him." That was all Henderson needed to hear. He'd lost two Daily Planet reporters now. He could only hope that Clark was safe, and was merely lost in looking for his wife. He pulled himself together. "Already there is a patrol down at the railway siding in case this is a repeat of the Christa Bell murders." Ignoring the white faces, although he felt sick inside himself, Inspector Henderson continued his briefing, assigning his staff to various search sections. He hoped that they would find Lois Lane and Clark Kent in time. **** Lois groggily regained consciousness. Finding herself in darkness, she was at first unsure whether she was awake or dreaming ... or dead. The last thing she recalled was kneeing her masked assailant in the groin and screaming for help. Lois had tried to get away but he'd caught her, first by her jacket, ripping it, and then tackling her to the ground. Her head must have knocked hard against the cement floor as she struggled to get free, for it now throbbed dully. Strangely, her head wasn't resting on cement. She raised her head and saw that it had been resting on the bag of sugar. Lois tentatively felt her forehead and found a grazed lump. "So you're awake at last." A deep male voice, gruff as if unused to speaking, startled her. "Who is it? Who's there?" she demanded, hiding her fear. A low wattage bulb lit up, revealing Lois's prison and her captor. The corrugated iron shed in which Lois was incarcerated was completely bare, except for some empty wooden shelving. Lois found herself lying on a hard-packed dirt floor. Her captor was still wearing a ski mask, hiding all but his eyes, nose and mouth. He was a tall, muscular man with a huge barrel-like chest, a physique equal to maybe two able policemen. Lois sat up, pulling down the hem of her short skirt, trying to decrease her vulnerability. "Who are you?" she repeated, woozily getting to her feet. "Stay where you are!" her captor commanded, but Lois thought she could detect a hint of nervousness in his voice. "You're not going anywhere!" He was very tense, radiating anxiety and uncertainty. "Tell me your name." Lois kept her voice calm and cool. He refused vehemently and Lois had to resist taking a step backwards, away from his sudden anger. "You were so much like her," he continued more quietly, almost conversationally, but with a scary intensity in his voice. "So much like who?" Lois interrupted his dreamy tone. "Christa," he sighed. "Beautiful, lovely Christa. If she'd been nice and quiet, I wouldn't have had to hurt her so bad. She was beautiful. She wanted me really. All women do. They just try to hide how they really feel about me." Lois knew she had to get out of there fast. "You'll be nice and quiet for me, I know you will. I was going to have you where I had her but there were too many nosey pigs. Not to mention that Daily Planet reporter." Very fast. "I don't even know who you are," Lois tried to stall for time. 'Clark, where are you?' she thought desperately. "Yes, you do. You know me. I've seen you lots of times. You want me, don't you?" "For the murder of Christa Bell, yes," Lois said sharply, bringing her abductor out of his contemplation. His anger came back full force. "She deserved it! Begging for it one minute and crying over spilt milk the next! I had to shut her up, I had to. The slut!" With these last words, he advanced upon Lois. "Look at you, in that skirt. You want it just as bad as her. And I'm gonna give it to you, I'm gonna give it to you so good you'll thank me for it. You will." As he spoke, Lois began to edge away towards the door she could see behind him. If she could get just far enough, then she could make a run for it. She opened her mouth to scream. "You even *think* about calling for Superman and you won't live before you finish sayin' it." Her kidnapper pounded one meaty fist into the other to prove his point. Lois shut her mouth. "Tell me you want it! Tell me!" he demanded, seemingly oblivious to her careful movements. Lois bit back a wisecrack, determined to discover the identity of Christa's murderer before she escaped. "If you know me so well, why do you hide behind that mask?" "You want to know?" he chortled, raising gooseflesh up Lois's back. She shivered. "Well, I'll show you." With one hand, he peeled off the mask. Lois darted around him, dodging his groping hand. His roar of wrath drowned out Lois's astonished gasp. "You!" Oh yes, she knew him all right. No time to think about it now. As George Hirdarran charged at her like a wounded bull, Lois turned to pull and then push at the door handle. To her utter astonishment, it was unlocked. Had he been that certain of his power over her, or had he, in his sudden change of plans, overlooked it? Lois spent no time debating the whys and wherefores. She flung the door wide open and ran out into the night, Hirdarran close behind her. Lois ran blind, her eyes unused to the sudden darkness. Had she been unconscious for that long? Where was she? Her thoughts whirled. Her first priority was, naturally, to reach safety and telephone for help, maybe even get some distance between her and her captor to call for Superman. "Come back here!" Hirdarran was too close behind her. He had the advantage of being without high heels. Lois paused for a moment to kick off her shoes before she sprinted down the cobblestone alleyway, running on her toes. The only light was that of a half-spent moon. The buildings on either side of her were darkened. Lois figured she must be in some small backwater manufacturing district. Would there be a night watchman to help her? Street lights were up ahead, hopefully lighting a residential area. The breath whooshed out of her as Hirdarran tackled her, sending her sprawling against the alley wall. Lois's hands automatically reached out and stopped herself from bashing her head against the wall. The bricks were damp to the touch, and something, moss or lichen, grew on them. Using his weight to hold her torso in place, Hirdarran ignored her flailing arms and ran his meaty hands down along the sides of her body and down her thighs, hitching up her skirt as he made the return journey. Lois felt him move against her. "No!" she cried, sobbing for breath. He began to turn her to face him, Lois's struggles growing all the more desperate. Her self-defence training did not completely desert her. She saw an opening in his attack and rammed her elbow backwards up underneath his rib cage, winding him. "Cow!" he gasped, attempting to retain his hold on her, but failing as Lois followed up her first jab with a knee jerk. He doubled over in devastating pain. Lois wriggled out of his limp grasp and sped down the alleyway, turning into the lighted street. This street was evenly paved. The houses had been originally built for the workers of the factories, as far as Lois could gather from the quality of the structures. She ran along the centre of the deserted street, looking for a lighted window. Lois couldn't even be certain whether this was a squatters' area or if it was just very late at night. She glanced over her shoulder. Hirdarran had recovered from her unexpected assault and was after her again -- and had armed himself with some metal piping. There had to be somebody in these houses! "Superman! Help!" she cried, gasping, as she ran. **** Superman flew over the city of Metropolis, focusing his attention on the housing projects in the area he'd last seen Lois. It was so difficult. There were definitely far too many not-to-code buildings loaded with lead pipes and lead paint. Those that weren't revealed nothing. He picked up a cry for help. 'Lois?' The cry was not repeated. It was too short and too brief for him to be certain of where it came. The uncertainty tore at his guts. He kept searching, the determined look on his face reflecting his need to concentrate on looking for Lois. Unsuccessfully, he tried not to worry that it could have been Lois who he had heard call for help, that he had failed her again. He *must* find her. **** A chink of light from a downstairs window! Lois dashed across the road and pavement, leaping over the low front gate and up to the little path. With her fist, she banged on the front door. "Police!" she called. "Open up!" It wasn't entirely true, but she didn't think "Daily Planet! Open up!" would have quite the same effect. She waited impatiently, rapping the door urgently. Hirdarran had almost caught up to her. Finally, the door was opened by an elderly man. "Yes?" he quivered nervously. He took in Lois Lane's attire. "Oh my!" he gasped and started to close the door. "Oh, no you don't." Lois shouldered her way inside, turning to lock and bolt the door. "What's going on? What's happening?" His wife appeared in a doorway. She saw Lois. "Get that woman out of here, Andrew! Who do you think you are, letting that strumpet in?" Lois looked down at herself and hastily pulled down her skirt, which had been revealing more than it ought. "There's no time to explain," began Lois. "I'm Lois Lane, from the Daily Planet, undercover. Where's your telephone?" The elderly couple looked uncertainly at each other. The weight of Hirdarren's body slamming against the door and shaking the entire house decided them. "It's in the living room," said the man. "Just by the door." "I'll find it. Now you two go and lock yourself up in a room somewhere." Lois didn't wait to see if they obeyed her but bounded to the telephone. Dialling '911', Lois glanced back in the hallway to see the old man standing there watching her. "What are you doing?" she hissed at him, her words punctuated by Hirdarran the battering ram. "Get out of sight!" "I've heard about young people such as you, trying scams like this." The old man responded. "I just wanted to make sure." "That man out there is the same one who killed Christa Bell down by the rail line and all those other women," Lois informed him, exasperated. Her call was connected. "Hello?" She heard a man's gruff voice. "911, how may I help you?" "It's Lois Lane," she told him. His startled gasp came clear down the line. "Hold on a minute," he said crisply. "Damn it," she muttered. "I haven't got a minute." Hirdarran was still trying to break down the door and it was sounding like he'd soon succeed. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait a minute. "Inspector Henderson here," said a welcome voice. "Where are you, Lois?" Lois shut her eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. "Good question." She spoke to the elderly man still hovering in the hallway. "Where am I?" "87 Clover Street, Kingston," he replied obediently. "87 --" "I heard it, Lois. We're sending Detective Jarvis to pick you up now." "To hell with Jarvis," retorted Lois. "I need backup, and lots of it, now. In case you can't hear it, somebody's trying to break in." Maybe this would be a good time to call for Superman, she thought. To contradict her, there was sudden silence from outside. Lois could faintly hear Henderson at the other end of the line getting her the required police assistance. Lois cursed, forgetting for the moment that she was on the phone. "Where the hell has he gone now?" "Who, Lois? Who?" Lois's words were drowned out by the shattering of the living room windows. "Who? What was that?" shouted Inspector Henderson over the chaos he could hear at Lois Lane's end. He heard her shout: "Now will you go and join your wife?" and then hastily to him: "Have to go," before putting the telephone receiver down on the table, not hanging it up. She rightly figured that Inspector Henderson would want to know something of what was going on. Hirdarran was climbing through the shattered window, the metal piping clenched in one fist. "You're gonna to get it now, whore." Lois skirted around behind the sofa and to the fireplace where she retrieved an iron poker. If she could stall for time until help arrived then Hirdarran would be arrested. It was all just a matter of time. Keeping the poker, the sofa and a good deal of distance between them, Lois boldly made a citizen's arrest. "George Hirdarran, you are under arrest for the murders of six women and the abduction and attempted rape of myself. You are advised that anything you say or do could be used in court as evidence against you." Hirdarran grunted, unimpressed. "What are you gonna arrest me with? That?" The poker didn't have the same reach as his metal pipe and his strength far outmatched hers, as he had already demonstrated, but Lois Lane had swift reflexes and the trump card of a posse of legal enforcers, not to mention Superman. So long as the trump card didn't take too long in showing up. They circled each other, Hirdarran more cautious this time but still confident, taking wild swipes at her with the metal piping. Lois dodged them silently and with ease, ears pricked for the sign of sirens or a speeding car coming down the street. One of his wild swipes knocked china off a table, sending splinters of china flying. Lois winced and hoped the couple had insurance. She'd have to stop him from trashing the place any further. "You're resisting arrest," she told him calmly, a glint of steel in her eye. "It's not going to look good in court." "You can't touch me!" he bragged. "It's your word against mine. You're gonna be punished bad for being such a tease. You want me, bitch. Why don't you admit it?" Lois secretly thought that if he called her one of those horrible names one more time, she would brain him -- if she could get close enough to do so without getting brained herself. "What's this?" Hirdarran had spotted the unhooked telephone. "You called the police?" The faint sounds of sirens confirmed her actions for him. "You're gonna pay!" he exploded, knocking the telephone off its stand. The bell inside made a sick tinkling as it rolled across the carpeted floor. He made for the windows, to escape by the way he came in, but Lois was in the way and she stood her ground unflinchingly. Hirdarran swung at her, and she parried the pipe with her poker long enough to skip out of its descent, the clang of metal against metal echoing loudly. In the blink of an eyelid she had moved out of reach. She disengaged her poker and attacked in turn, aiming for a blow at the ribs. His expected block with the metal piping did not come; instead he grabbed the poker with his free hand and wrenched it out of her grip. Lois watched helplessly as he tossed it away, out of reach. The sirens were closer but there was still plenty of time for Hirdarran to make a clean escape. Leanne Shawler volterra@sd.znet.com http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html ************************************************************** Lois & Clark: Season 5 http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm text only version at: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm ************************************************************** Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 18:02:44 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Season 5: Episode 3 (part 5 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" **** ACT FOUR Henderson sent the word out over the police radio band. Clark, focussed on listening for Lois's voice, heard her name and picked up the address. Kingston! He was on the wrong side of town! Clark sped over the city of Metropolis, dodging downtown's skyscrapers, heading for the neighbourhood of Kingston. Once there, he slowed. While Kingston was an area where his assistance was often required, he didn't know it street by street. Clover St. was unfamiliar to him. He scanned the dark streets below, speed-reading street signs. All the time, his hearing strained for some sound of Lois. At last he found a sign that was of some help. Yucca St. He sped down the cross-street. Like many other cities in the U.S., Metropolis had similar naming conventions: parallel streets were either numbered, lettered, or of a theme, with the streets going in alphabetical order. He would be from Yucca to Clover in seconds. **** Lois edged away from Hirdarren, clearing his escape route. Everything started happening very fast. She screamed "Superman!" as Hirdarran whirled the metal pipe over his head, gaining momentum and brought it down, missing completely as she sidestepped away from the blow. She slipped and fell, quickly rolling herself away from any further blows, knowing herself lucky. She got to her feet and made a dash for the poker. Hirdarran tackled her, knocking her to the floor. Agonisingly, the poker was just out of reach of Lois's outstretched hand. She tried to squirm out from under him, needing only a few more inches to reach her weapon. He saw what she was aiming for and shifted his weight, pinning her squarely underneath him. His arm was longer than hers and he reached past her to pick up the poker. "I told you you're gonna pay. Your friends won't get here in time to see you alive." "You're adding the charge of attempted murder to your list of offences," Lois managed to gasp out. "Committing another murder isn't going to make things any better for you." He straddled her back and raised the poker high over his head, preparing to bring it down hard on the back of her head. Lois twisted her body, trying to extricate herself from the grip of his powerful thighs, holding her arms over her head to block the imminent blow. Hirdarran yelped in surprise as the poker was yanked backwards out of his hands, unbalancing him. Lois lowered her arms cautiously to see Hirdarran being held aloft by Superman. Several feet above the carpet, in fact. "Superman!" she exclaimed. Lois had never seen Clark so angry before. She saw how his tight grip on Hirdarren's shirt was beginning to choke the man. Lois spoke quickly, knowing that if Hirdarren died, Clark would never forgive himself once he'd calmed down. "Superman, the police will be here any minute. You can hear the sirens." Clark glared at Hirdarren, willing the struggling man out of existence. "Superman! Please!" Lois begged. Clark allowed Hirdarren's feet to touch the ground, keeping a firm hold on him. Hirdarren wasn't going to get anywhere near Lois again. Clark turned to Lois, his voice trembling as he regained control of himself. "Are you all right?" "Yes," Lois assured him, concealing her shaking hands by clasping them together. "I will be." Two police officers clambered in through the broken window. "Thanks, Superman, we'll take it from here." Superman nodded, releasing Hirdarren suddenly, having only eyes for Lois. "You all right there?" "We're fine." Superman waved them off. "Go book him in. I'll be along in a moment with Ms. Lane." "Come along quietly now," commanded one to their prisoner as they hustled him away. The police officer paused and looked over at Lois. "Ms. Lane? Inspector Henderson will want to see you immediately." They took the prisoner out the way they had come in. Alone for the moment, Superman knelt down beside Lois, who had subconsciously curled herself up into a ball, his arm going around her. "Lois?" he whispered softly. "It's all right now. It's all over." Lois looked up at him a little blankly before uncurling her limbs. Clark helped her to her feet. "I'm all right, really. I was just a little stunned that it's all over, so suddenly. I thought --" her voice broke, "-- I thought I was a goner for sure." She clung to his supporting arm. She allowed herself to be enveloped in a big hug, burying her face against his suit, clinging tightly to his back. He held her firmly, murmuring soothing words into her tousled hair, waiting for Lois to regain her self-control knowing she needed this comfort more than any unburdening of his own guilt. That could come later. Clark's soft, gentle words penetrated Lois's numb mind and she returned to her senses. Then she remembered that Inspector Henderson was probably still on the phone. She gasped and pulled suddenly out of Clark's embrace, retrieving the telephone and it setting to rights. "Hello?" she spoke hesitantly into the receiver. There was silence on the line. Clark held up the end of the phone cord where it had been yanked out of the wall. "He's not there, Lois." Clark said, coming up behind her and giving her a hug. "Let's go, so we can go home." Lois nodded. They left the living room, Clark's hand possessively placed at the small of her back. Lois stopped and called up the stairs. "Hello? You can come down now. It's all over." With hesitant steps, the elderly couple appeared at the head of the stairs, gasping with surprise when they saw Superman. "We saw the police take that man away," the old man said. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you, miss." "That's all right," Lois said, smiling. "You can't be too careful these days. I'm just sorry to leave the place in such a mess. If you would write up an inventory --" She was interrupted by another police officer hurrying through the door. "Have I missed it all?" Lois didn't miss the leery look the officer directed at her dishevelled appearance. "Didn't you hear on the radio?" Superman asked. "Battery just died." "Well, you're here just in time to look after this couple. We're due back at the station." The young police officer looked downcast. The old lady piped up. "Ms. Lane, Superman, won't you stay for a cup of coffee?" "I'm sorry, ma'am, we have to get back to the station," said Lois. "But this officer will stay." **** As they flew through the night sky towards police headquarters, Superman could feel Lois holding him tight, her face buried against his chest. It concerned Clark, for she normally loved flying with him. "Lois, are you all right?" "My head hurts," Lois hedged. Clark slowed his flying and examined her skull with his x-ray vision. "Nothing's broken," he told her. "we'll get the police physician to look at it. Unless you want to go to the hospital now?" Lois shook her head. "OK, we'll let the physician decide." "OK," Lois whispered. "There's something else, isn't there." Lois nodded almost imperceptibly. "We'll talk when we get home. Not now. I want to be in control when I talk with Henderson." Clark gave her a reassuring squeeze. "God, Lois, when you disappeared in that garage and I couldn't find you ..." Clark's voice was rough with emotion. "And there was all that lead." Clark kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Lois, I got carried away with the story and didn't stick close enough to you." Clark's altitude wavered as they hugged each other in mid-air. He looked down and saw Metropolis Police Headquarters below. **** Changed out of Christa's outfit and back into comfortable clothing once more, Lois stood before Inspector Henderson in his office. A white gauze patch on her forehead hid where she had bumped her head. Edges of a purplish bruise peeped out from one side. Clark was behind her, also in his civvies, leaning against the wall. "Clark, how do you put up with it! Lois, I know you've gotten into trouble before because of your work, but that was the craziest, most idiotic thing I've ever heard you do: attempt to make an arrest and completely trash a nice old couple's front room in the process. None of my officers would succumb to such heroics. Why didn't you call for Superman?" He pulled open a lower drawer of his desk. "Don't ever do it again." Henderson plonked a partially full bottle of quality whisky on the table. "Nice result, though." "Thank you, Inspector." "Well, don't worry about writing up your story until tomorrow." He fetched two glasses from his hidey-hole. "In the meantime ... how about a little celebration?" Lois really didn't feel like celebrating. The whole experience had drained her. "A little something to steady the nerves?" "No thanks. Perry will be expecting a piece on the arrest at least." Lois couldn't even manage a smile. Henderson put the bottle and glasses away. "Fair enough." He looked keenly at Lois. "Now about today's mishap..." Lois folded her arms and her smile vanished. "There'll be a story in tomorrow's afternoon edition regarding police safety practices and the attitude of certain officers on the force." Henderson gulped. "Now Lois, be fair. We did everything possible to protect you without defeating the purpose of the reconstruction." Lois glared at him. "The story will be told as it happened. I'll let my readers draw their own conclusions. The exclusive just as you offered it." Henderson nodded. "My apologies to you, Lois. In all my years of experience on the force, this is the first reconstruction that has ever gone wrong. You can be sure that I will be reviewing the procedure as a result." Lois nodded, satisfied. "By the way, Clark, what happened to you?" "I got lost in those buildings. They're like a maze." Clark's response was clipped, his eyes worriedly on Lois. "Are the two of you all right for a ride home?" "Yes, we drove here," Clark supplied. "Fine. Good." Inspector Henderson sighed wearily. "I suppose it's too much to hope for that the city'll remain quiet after this. I could use a vacation." He shrugged and rose. "I'll see you tomorrow." **** WRAP-UP Lois stood uncertainly in their hallway. "Clark, I don't suppose you -- would you -- this sounds silly, but would you check that the place is OK?" "Sure." Clark stepped past her into the dark room, while Lois switched on the light, closing the door. He quickly scouted all the rooms with his super-vision. "There's no one except us," he reassured her. Lois sagged with relief, Clark catching her up in another of his heartwarming embraces. Clark floated them gently to the couch. "OK, Lois, so tell me what else is upsetting you," he asked, caressing her hair as she held him tight. "I guess I'm a little shocky," Lois confessed. "It's been a long time since ... since I've been a victim of random violence. Before, they were always trying to get you through me, or to stop me writing a story. There was always some reason." Lois took a shaky breath. "But this, this had nothing to do with you or I. Just one sick mind with a twisted view of reality who thought I was someone else. How many of them are out there?" "I don't know, Lois. All we can do is have faith that we'll be safe from them." He kissed her gently. "You're not a victim. After all, you escaped today, didn't you?" Lois nodded. "I'll always keep you safe, Lois. You are the most important thing in my life." "You're not going to say I told you so?" Lois asked. "Why would I say that? That's your job," Clark tried to joke. Lois didn't find it funny, although she attempted a weak smile. "Lois, it isn't easy for me to say this because you are life's very breath to me. I couldn't stand it when I thought I lost you in that garage. All that lead blocking my vision. It was awful." Clark hugged Lois tight. "I don't ever want to go through that again. I'm sorry, Lois." "I'm sorry, Clark," Lois replied, muffled a little from the hug. "I thought it would be a safe story." "I know, Lois. I did too. You heard Henderson say that he's never experienced something like that before. It was one of those random acts you just can't plan for in advance." Clark resumed an earlier thought. "Thinking about the reconstruction yesterday and living through today... God, Lois, I was searching for you and swearing that I'd make you quit your job and keep you safe at home." Lois broke off the hug to look up at him, eyebrows raised. "What stopped you?" "Two things. The knowledge that I was as keen about this story as you were, and Lex." "Lex?" Lois was perplexed and surprised. The man was dead. "Yes, he wanted to do exactly the same thing to you, remember? Lock you up in his tower of ivory." "Oh, I remember." Lois clearly didn't want to. "I couldn't do that to you, Lois. You wouldn't be the vibrant, exciting woman I love if I did that to you. I know your work sometimes puts you in extreme danger, but being married to me and being so close to Superman also puts you in that same danger. I don't want you to give up your job, or to give me up. We just have to do one thing." "What?" "Be more careful." "And not get so obsessive about a story?" Lois smiled. "I never thought I'd see the day *you'd* get obsessed about a story!" "I've been involved in stories before," Clark defended himself. He sighed. "I shouldn't have got so careless though. I'm sorry." He hugged her tightly. "It's OK, Clark," Lois reassured him. "This is something we're aware of and can work on." It was her turn to sigh, still filled with unhappy thoughts. "Right now though, I'd agree with Lex's plan. Should I give up my job? Do you think that adoption woman was right? I don't want my children growing up motherless!" "Honey, that's highly unlikely." He smoothed her hair and kissed it. "But not impossible." Lois countered. "Nothing's impossible. I think we've proved that time and time again." Clark said, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Seeing that it had no effect, he continued seriously, "Anything could happen to you, me, anyone. But we don't let it stop us. We haven't yet!" Lois smiled. Clark was talking an amazing amount of sense. "Right." "I didn't mean that crack about dangling over the jaws of death." Clark tenderly looked her in the eye. "You will be the best mother for our children because you have that instinct for trouble and you'll keep them out of it." Clark smiled. "And I'll keep you out of trouble, while you do what you do best: being the best reporter in Metropolis." Lois smiled knowingly. "Clark, we'll both do our best. That's all we can ever promise." She caressed his cheek. "I love you, Clark." "I love you too, honey." Clark leant forward and gently pressed his lips against hers in a soft caress. Lois responded, her arm snaking up around his neck and bringing him in even closer. Reluctantly, Clark broke off their kiss. "By the way," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "It's your turn to cook dinner." Lois looked at him and frowned until she remembered the bet. She reached for a pillow and hit him with it. "You wanted to go out to dinner tonight," she replied, reminding him of their lunchtime conversation. "Your treat then," he replied cockily. Lois found another pillow. "Which takeout would you prefer?" Clark dodged the pillow. The End Leanne Shawler volterra@sd.znet.com http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html ************************************************************** Lois & Clark: Season 5 http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm text only version at: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm ************************************************************** Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 21:14:05 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Genine E Murray Subject: Re: Season 5: Episode 3 (part 1 of 5) Hey FoLCs ~ I just want to say that I really enjoyed this episode. (the only thing is, I never got part 2, could you resend it to me if it's no trouble Leanne? I'm trying to save copies of all the eps! Thanx!) I read it the other night off the website, 'cuz I was afraid it wouldn't get posted, and when I read the teaser, I just couldn't wait! I'm not really even sure *why* I liked it so much, I just did. I think that maybe it was the suspense that did it for me. I know that if this was a real episode (no offense Leanne, you know what I mean! ), I would definitely be throwing things at the TV during those commercial-breaks!! :) I was sitting on the edge of my seat while reading this episode, maybe that is why I liked it so much. Well, whatever the reason, I just know that Leanne deserves a lot of credit for this ep, great job! I give it an A all the way!!! =D Genine ~ GemFoLC51@juno.com - SuperGeM on IRC Clark : "I have loved you from the beginning." Lois : "And I'll love you 'till the end." Lois & Clark : The New Adventures of Superman on TNT Watch TNT - Boycott ABC and Disney! :-) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 18:44:25 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" OK, I'll answer this one: At 07:13 AM 10/15/97 -0800, you wrote: >Well, I have a question of my own but it's kinda stupid. >I was wondering if anybody where they film Lois and Clark. >Specifically the scenes outside the Daily Planet. And where >do they shoot the brownstone scenes inside and outside. Just >curious cause. > They shot it all on the WB lot. Everything! It's amazing what they can do with some green, a bit of muddy water and some serious set dressing. Those guys are geniuses. If you ever get to LA, take the WB tour -- you'll be pointing out sets in various shows and movies (not to mention L&C) for ages afterwards! Leanne Leanne Shawler volterra@sd.znet.com http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html ************************************************************** Lois & Clark: Season 5 http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm text only version at: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm ************************************************************** Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 18:49:30 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: Season 5: Episode 3 (part 1 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi all, >I just want to say that I really enjoyed this episode. (the only thing >is, I never got part 2, could you resend it to me if it's no trouble >Leanne? I'm trying to save copies of all the eps! Thanx!) I read it >the I'm just not having much luck with this episode, am I? OK, I will resent part 2 now (sheesh) >edge of my seat while reading this episode, maybe that is why I liked >it so much. Well, whatever the reason, I just know that Leanne deserves >a lot of credit for this ep, great job! I give it an A all the way!!! >=D Thanks -- but I gotta share the credit with Donna Hafner, Kathy Brown and Sheila Harper, who saved my butt last week when this ep totally, well ... was at a D- :) Leanne Leanne Shawler volterra@sd.znet.com http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html ************************************************************** Lois & Clark: Season 5 http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm text only version at: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/s5text.htm ************************************************************** Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html **************************************************************