From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9710D" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:00:01 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Re: SPOILERS:Review of FTASB MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Barbara Garonzik wrote, re FTASB: >> I agree. I think it's one of my favorite nfics. << Oh, it's a great story, alright... it made me cry. Very few stories actually provoke me to tears, but this one did. Okay, so that probably h= as something to do with the fact that I have a new baby that I love very muc= h , but Sheila, I have to say that you're a *great* writer. PJ who doesn't actually enjoy crying over fanfic and who will probably never= read this story again !^NavFont02F018C0015MGHHGhMGxHG57MG59HH8D5F71 ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:21:47 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: Fanfic Archive Websites In-Reply-To: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I'm curious and I hope you are as well. Has anyone tried to make a total count of the number of fanfics? 681 regular fanfics ~200? nfanfics ??? Season 5's ??? Krypton Club ??? Metropolis Club ??? ??? Club Some redundancies in there somewhere too. Also, do you people out there like small vinette-type stories, like I have posted before? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:22:28 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: SPOILERS:Review of FTASB In-Reply-To: <199710220100_MC2-24B8-499E@compuserve.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 1:00 AM -0400 10/22/97, Pam Jernigan wrote: >PJ >who doesn't actually enjoy crying over fanfic and who will probably never >read this story again LOL Pam! Well, it made me cry when I first read it, too. Back when Sheila sent me the orginal to proof, I stayed up until 3 am to finish it (just couldn't put it down), and then I just could *not* go to bed like I planned. I was up for another hour, all sniffly , writing up my comments. And I'm with you - sometimes I get misty over a really good scene/story, but I almost never cry (And I was thinking of my young daughter, too.), so this one really hit me. As for never rereading it, I can attest to the fact that each time Sheila sent me the darn thing (nfic, script form, then S5) for my assistance, I would start out thinking I would just skim it, and then I found myself getting into the story all over again. I think this is truly the mark of a good story -- if you can read it over again and still enjoy it. Oh, and I didn't cry anymore after the first time. Once I knew what to expect, I was OK. Kathy (who has no idea if Sheila is on the listserv or not ... but I think not. Therefore, I'm going to start forwarding her these comments until she tells me not to. ) ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 12:59:16 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: FANFIC RERUN: Merry-Go-Round 1/2 Well, I don't know who decides what fanfic gets the rating of "Classic", and it seems a little forward to put such a title on my own, so I'm following Zoomie's lead on what to call this -- a rerun of an old favorite of mine, which fits the point in the TNT reruns where we are: Scardino is gone, Supes is a friend, and Lois & Clark have discovered just how much they enjoy kissing each other The recognizable characters in this story are the property of ABC and December 3rd Productions, KKMJ Majic 95.5 is a real radio station (in Austin, Texas), and Stephen Michael Kerr is the DJ who hosts the Majic Love Songs dedication show on Saturday nights, but Lizi and the story are mine -- *all mine*. **For Sherry -- who was *my* best friend in high school, and for Debby Stark, from whom I borrowed a line or two. /thoughts/ *emphasized words* {radio voices} **************************************************************** Merry-Go-Round by Peace PEverett9@aol.com "So, Lois, now that you're out of circulation, so to speak, what's going to happen with Superman?" Lois stared at her friend Elizabeth in surprise. "What do you mean?" "Well, you and Superman used to hang out, you told me -- uh, something about romantic dinners and flights over Metropolis--" Lizi gestured airily, "-- and now you've started dating Clark. So where does that leave Superman?" "Ok, for starters, you've got *one* thing right: I've just *started* dating Clark, which doesn't mean I'm necessarily out of circulation. Yet. And as far as Superman goes, well, we haven't really talked about it, but I think he knows about Clark and me, and he has a lot of respect for Clark -- he hasn't been hanging around trying to steal me back." "Unlike that Scardetto person, who wouldn't take no for an answer." "His name was Scardino, Dan Scardino, and he was very sweet..." "Uh-huh, and he almost screwed things up for you and Clark." Lois smiled a little grimly -- she really didn't want to talk about Dan Scardino. "You were talking about Superman..?" "Yes. I was. Um.. So, um, well.. Is he.. um.. you know.." "Is he..? What, Lizi? Spit it out -- I can't read your mind!" "Is he.. seeing.. somebody.. anybody.. these days?" Lois' eyes had a dangerous twinkle as she swiveled her head to look at her friend. "Why? Are you interested? "Hel-lo? This is me, remember? Lizi 'Crazy-About-Men' Lyons? Of course I'm interested! Why don't you fix me up with him? Isn't that what married friends are for, to fix up their single friends?" "I'm *not* married -- I just started dating the guy, remember?" "Still, you got a man -- and what a man, if you don't mind my saying so --" Lois grinned, partially appeased. " -- so get off your duff and help *me* get one, too!" "And you want Superman." "Hey, aim for the stars, right?" Lois took a long sip of her Coke, considering. She had always hated having her married friends trying to fix her up, but maybe that was because the men they fixed her up with were all such losers. /Well, obviously Superman is not a loser, and neither is Lizi, and if she *wants* me to fix her up with him.../ "I'll tell you what," she offered finally. "I'll invite Clark and Superman over for dinner on Saturday, you come too, we can rent movies, hang out, and see how it goes." /That way/, she decided, /if Superman isn't comfortable with Lizi, it isn't a real date, and I haven't totally put him on the spot./ Lizi pumped a fist in the air. "All right," she crowed. "I got a date with Superman!" Lois looked warningly at her. "Chill, Lizi. This is a friendly little get-together. This is *not* going to be a big romantic evening, unless you *and* Superman hit it off and make it one." /Why do I have the feeling this is a huge mistake?/ "Hey, relax, Lois, this is me! What's not to hit off?" "Right. Whatever. Just--" "Lois! Are you jealous?" "No! Of course I'm not jealous!" "You've got Clark, now -- you didn't *want* Superman." "I wouldn't exactly say--" "You're not allowed to have them both, you know. Share the wealth!" "I know! I know! Just.. take it easy with him, ok? After all," Lois tried to smile conspiratorially, "you wouldn't want to scare him off by coming on too strong, now, would you?" "You didn't scare him off." Lois started to look offended, then changed her mind. "Good point." "Relax, Lolo, it's gonna be fine." ****************** "You did WHAT?" Clark couldn't believe his ears. "I invited her to have dinner with you and me and Superman tomorrow. She asked me to set her up on a date with him, and I figured this way if they don't hit it off after all, they're not stuck spending a whole evening alone together." "How thoughtful of you -- like he sticks around for a whole evening!" His sarcasm didn't seem to phase her so he tried a different tack. "Have you talked about this yet with Superman? I mean -- what makes you think he'll go for it? He's a pretty independent kind of guy." "No, Mr. Negative, I haven't seen him around much lately -- " /I've been too busy looking at you, but I'm not going to tell *you* that just yet./ "-- haven't seen him at all since I talked to Lizi yesterday -- but he's gotta eat -- at least I think he does -- so why shouldn't he eat with us? And if I happen to have my best friend from high school over.." "I thought Linda and.. and.. what was her name? uh.. Sherry were your best friends from high school." "Don't sidetrack me, Kent. As I was saying, if I happen to also have a friend from high school over for dinner, and they happen to enjoy each other's company, well, who knows? I might be a successful Cupid after all. You could bring something from your Cheese of the Month club, maybe a nice bottle of wine..." She put her arms around Clark's neck, smiling smugly as she leaned forward to kiss him. Clark kissed her back, then pulled away slightly to look quizzically. "Now who's trying to sidetrack whom?" "Shut up and kiss me, farmboy." She kissed his cheek, and nuzzled her way around to his ear. "Lo-is! We should-- mmmm... We've got t..mmm.." Clark realized that he wasn't going to be able to think with her kissing him like that, but.. well.. he still had all day tomor..mm.. and this..mm.. was so..mmm.. nice..mmmm.... Clark dismissed the double date with all its disastrous possibilities from his mind, and settled down to enjoy Lois' attentions. **************** As Clark was on his way home that evening, still smiling to himself because.. well, just because.. his superhearing picked up the sound of shots being fired. "Aw, man.." He had planned on getting in at least a couple of hours of dreaming about Lois tonight, but it appeared he would have to be the Man of Steel first. He only hesitated a microsecond before ducking down a dark alley, emerging at the other end as Superman. A woman looking down at the alley from an upstairs window saw the transformation and blinked hard, then looked down at the drink in her hand. "Nah..." When Superman got downtown, he discovered that a couple of thieves had tried to break into Tiffany's/Metropolis. They had set off a silent alarm and the police had responded. Now the thieves were holed up in the store, and seemed determined to shoot it out. He landed in front of the broken glass of the front window, setting himself in the line of fire between the thieves and the police. He folded his hands over his chest, staring sternly at the men inside the store. One of the thieves, recognizing him, immediately put down his gun in surrender. The other wasn't quite so perceptive. "Look at this idiot!" he yelled. "We can take him -- use him as a hostage and get ourselves out of here!" He raised his gun and then suddenly the gun wasn't in his hand anymore. He looked around and realized that the "idiot" was behind him now, calmly crumpling his gun like so much aluminum foil. "New here, aren't you?" commented Superman drily. "Uh.. ah..i..a..uo.." responded the thief before he fainted dead away. Superman picked up the two thieves by their collars and carried them out to the police. "All yours, gentleman. Is everyone all right out here?" "Thanks, Superman -- yeah, we're all fine. These guys weren't exactly great shots. Lucky for us they did it at night -- there doesn't seem to have been anyone in those buildings." The officer indicated several windows across the street that had been shot out by the thieves' wild aim. Superman shook his head, laughing in disbelief. Just then a familiar Jeep pulled up. "Lois? What are you doing here?" "Hi, Superman! Officer, I got a call from my editor, Perry White, about this robbery. Seems he got a call from someone crediting Intergang," she turned momentarily to Superman, "obviously someone who didn't know that *you* had saved the day again!" She smiled up at him, a little teasingly, and punched him lightly on the shoulder. Superman rolled his eyes, and the officer smirked a little as he started to turn away. "Officer? Care to comment on the Intergang connection?" "Not at the moment, Ms. Lane." "Ok. I'd like to talk to your prisoners if I may." The officer grinned and walked away. "Later, Ms. Lane, you know the rules." "Yeah, yeah, can't blame a girl for trying..." She turned back to Superman, who, amazingly had not yet flown away. In fact, he was looking at her almost tenderly /huh?/ which he tried rather unsuccessfully to cover up when she looked at him. "Well, listen, I- I- I'm glad I got the chance to see you.. uh.." She felt a little flustered by the look in his eyes. "You haven't been around much lately, and I was hoping we could still be friends, even though Clark and I are together now, but I hope you know that I still care about you, and you shouldn't be a stranger and .. and.. I'm babbling, aren't I?" "Your babbling has never bothered me, Lois," Superman admitted softly. Her scent was intoxicating, the knowledge that less than half an hour before she had been in his arms.. Clark's arms.. whoever.. It was a good thing, he reflected, that they were standing in the shadows, lest she see just how badly he wanted her back in his arms. Lois stared at him, trying to conceal her dismay. /He loves me. He really loves me, and now I'm with Clark, and it's going to break his heart.. Why didn't he look at me like this before.. before.. oh, Clark, now what am I gonna do? Listen to me, I babble even when I'm talking to myself!/ With an effort, Lois pulled herself together and pasted what she hoped was a bright *just friendly* smile on her face. "Well, listen, come to dinner tomorrow, ok? Say about 7ish? We can have a nice chat and catch up on things." She patted his arm. Superman was so involved in calming down his aroused state, visions of sugarplums and other delightful things dancing in his head, that Lois' invitation barely registered. "That'd be great, Lois, I'd like that," he agreed vaguely. A news bulletin on a passing car radio caught his attention, and he turned his head slightly concentrating on hearing as much as he could. {We've just received word that the nuclear sub Enterprise is experiencing difficulties while en route to Hawaii. They have surfaced, and are evacuating the crew into lifeboats. No word yet about the danger of radioactive contamination.} "You have to go, don't you." It wasn't a question -- she'd seen that look on his face too often. "I should go check that out -- they may need help. I'll see you later!" He was already turning to go. "Tomorrow," she prompted. He leaped into the air, calling over his shoulder. "Tomorrow. I'll be there!" He was out over the Pacific and speeding toward the sub when the invitation suddenly registered. He pulled up short in mid air, slapping his hand to the side of his head. "Tomorrow? Lunkhead!" ****************** It was several hours, just starting to get light, before he was able to get home. He had been able to confirm that the sub's nuclear reactor did not have any leaks, but was not able to determine the cause of the breakdown in its propulsion system that caused it to dive and surface erratically. The crew had been evacuated because the abrupt movements of the sub had tossed them around like dolls in a little girl's carrying case. He stayed with the lifeboats until a Navy ship arrived to pick them up -- these were shark-infested waters after all -- and let the skeleton crew who had volunteered to remain aboard the sub ride their "bucking bronco" back to harbor. /Good thing it's Saturday, and I don't have to go in to the Planet. I can sleep a few hours, and then figure out how to get me and Superman.. er.. get *myself* out of this mess with Lois./ He spun out of the suit, and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. He woke up feeling groggy, and wandered blearily into the kitchen for some orange juice. He couldn't understand why he felt so sluggish until he glanced at the clock. /6 p.m.?! I slept around the clock! No wonder I feel so bleh. Mom always said sleeping too much made you tireder -- I guess she was right./ He wandered into the living room with his juice, stuck his head out the front door to get his newspaper, which had been sitting there all day (a fact which always amazed Lois -- she had once assured Clark that if she didn't snatch her paper out of the paperboy's hand, it would be stolen before it hit the floor), and sat down to flip idly through it. Lois' ongoing series on Intergang had made the front page again, with the news of last night's attempted robbery, and Clark himself had a good-sized piece that started on the front page and continued on page 5, profiling one of the leaders of Intergang who had been indicted a couple of days earlier. Clark grinned. /Lane and Kent strike again! Lois! Dinner!! The double date!! Oh, man.../ He slumped on the sofa, trying to think how to get out of the problem. It seemed like almost everything he did that was more than rescuing kittens in trees made the news -- there was even an article in the Planet that day about him with the Enterprise -- so having Superman called away for something big enough to keep him away all evening wouldn't work. Well, it would for the evening, but then the next day when Lois checked the wires and found no mention of Superman, she would realize that nothing like that had happened and she would feel snubbed. He considered telling her that he had been called away to Smallville for an emergency, but he really hated lying to her, and it seemed like he was always having to spin some tale to get away and go be Superman... Besides, she would want to go with him. He sighed. There was no way around it. He was about to go on a double date with himself. The thought made him laugh, and then he remembered Robin Williams' restaurant scene in MRS. DOUBTFIRE, where the comedian had changed back and forth into and out of drag to have dinner with two different people in the same restaurant, and laughed harder. /No beer for you tonight, Kent,/ he thought. /You're going to need a *very* clear head to pull this off./ He took a superspeed shower, spun into a clean supersuit, and then looked in his closet for the "Clark" portion of this evening's attire. Lois had said it was going to be very casual, but it was cool out, so he would be expected to have on a jacket, even though changes in temperature didn't bother him until they got much more extreme than this. He finally settled on neatly pressed blue jeans and his black leather jacket, eschewing a tie for a white linen band-collar shirt -- his mother had sewn it for him, with extra fabric down the middle so that if it should happen to gap open his supersuit underneath wouldn't show. He glanced at the clock: 6:15. He considered hopping over to Bordeaux in France for the wine, and maybe down to Brazil for an orchid, but such exotic gifts would be difficult to explain, and besides, Superman had done that when *he* was seeing Lois and... /I hate thinking about myself in the third person!/ He decided he would stop by a flower shop to get one long stemmed red rose and a small bouquet of yellow daisies -- both for Lois -- /Clark can give her the rose and Superman can give her the daisies -- I gotta stop doing this!/ and then at a liquor store to choose a bottle of wine. He did, however, make a quick dash to Wisconsin for brie. Next problem: He was going to be tremendously busy sending Superman out on small fake rescues so that he could show back up as Clark -- the last thing he needed was some sort of real emergency to take up his attention. After a long moment, he dug through his address book, and pulled out an embossed business card. He picked up the phone, and dialed the number on it. "Good evening, Alfred. This is Clark Kent, calling from Metropolis. Is Mr. Wayne in?.. Thanks... Bruce? It's Clark.. Fine, fine, yourself?.. Good... Oh, Lois is doing great. How's Dick?.. Good.. Um, listen, I've got myself into a jam here this evening and I was wondering if...." ***************** At precisely one minute before 7 p.m., Clark parked his rented car in front of Lois' apartment building, and walked up the steps, carrying the red rose for Lois and the requested bottle of wine. He had considered getting a fancy, expensive wine, maybe even champagne, but he had finally decided against it /don't want to encourage her in this double-date nonsense./ Having a car was something she had pestered him about for months "I *do not* get your fascination with public transportation," but he had always resisted "I've gotten some good leads riding the subway." But, for tonight, having a car to duck into and out of, and to drive off in to get things was going to be essential to the charade. He raised his hand, but the door opened before he could ring the bell. "Did I see you drive up in a car, Clark?" "Were you watching for me?" The thought pleased him immensely. "Well," she squirmed a little, flirtatiously, "yes, I was." She reached up and kissed him, and then rushed down the hall. "I wanna see your car!" "Ok." He shook his head, laughing. She had left her apartment door open, so he set the wine on the table and the rose across her plate, closed the door and followed her back down to the street. It occurred to him to feel relieved that he had hidden the cheese and Superman's daisies in a box in the floor of the back seat -- easy to reach, but not easy to spot. He needn't have worried. Lois was busy admiring the lines of the elegant black car. She looked up at him as he approached, her mouth gaping slightly in pleased amazement. "A Lincoln Town Car. How can *you* afford a Lincoln Town Car? *I* can't afford a Lincoln Town Car and I make more money than you do." "Well," he shrugged casually, "it's just for one night, so I figured I would splurge." "One night? It's a rental?" "Yeah, I figured after we get rid of Superman and your friend--" "Clark!" She slapped his arm. He continued, unperturbed, "-- we could go for a drive somewhere, look at the stars, maybe.. go.. run out of gas somewhere romantic.." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. "We could have gone in mine!" "Lois, it's hard to steam up the windows in a Jeep. With bucket seats? Please." "True. You are amazing, did you know that?" "I like to think so.." "And vain! Did I mention vain? Very vain!" She punched his shoulder, then cuddled up against him, unheedful of her neighbors' prying eyes. "Wow! If I had known a car would get you this turned on, I would have bought one two years ago! I should have bought this one! Maybe I should go buy it *right now* --" "Not a chance, Mister!" He had made a teasing move toward the car, but she pulled him back, drawing his head down for a kiss. After a moment she pulled away, leaving him aching for more. "Come on inside -- Lizi and Superman should be here any time, and I'll never hear the end of it if they catch us necking out on the sidewalk." "Yes, ma'am." He dutifully followed her inside. "Oh, Clark, a rose -- how beautiful! I saw you had something in your hands but --" "--but you were so *turned on* by my car that you barely even noticed. Great, the woman loves me for my car..." Lois ignored him. "And you got the wine, good -- Oh, I like this one." Clark immediately made a mental note to himself to remember that wine. "Did you bring the cheese? I've got a cutting board ready." "Cheese!" Clark made a big show of slapping himself on the forehead, Columbo-style. /Easy, Clark -- you don't want to be too obvious./ He rushed out the door, shouting over his shoulder, "I knew I was forgetting something! I'll be right back." "No, Clark, it's ok, it doesn't--" the door slammed "--matter. Why do I bother? The man is always running out on me. You'd think I could fall for someone who would stick around, but no-o-o--" Outside, she heard Clark's car door open, and then his voice floated up to her. "Hey, Superman! How's it going?" She rushed to the window, hearing the car start up and then roar away, as she scanned the sky. She craned her neck to look along the street -- "Looking for someone, Lois?" He had flown up from the other direction, having left the car a block away. "Superman! Yes, you! How are you?" "I'm fine." He hadn't really had a chance to look at her before, but now he had a moment to look, and found himself quite stunned by her beauty. She was wearing a short sleeved, creamy white cashmere sweater with a deep V neckline, and a short, dark brown skirt. Superman reminded himself to breathe (it worried her when he didn't), and said, "You look beautiful." Lois blushed and smiled. "Are those for me?" She indicated the flowers in his hand. "Yes! Of course. May I..?" It was his turn to gesture, and she stepped back from the window, flustered. "Sure, please." "I asked the girl at the flower shop what would be good flowers to give to a friend, and she suggested daisies -- " he floated into the room and handed them to her "-- something about yellow being the color of friendship in the language of flowers. And you've already got flowers.." He tried to sound a little disappointed. "They're beautiful, Superman, thank you! Yeah, Clark brought me a rose -- isn't he sweet? I'll just go put these in water." Just then the doorbell rang. "Oh, would you get that? It's probably Lizi." (continued in next email) ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 13:01:45 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: FANFIC RERUN: Merry-Go-Round 1/2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit MERRY-GO-ROUND - continued "Sure." He went the door, feeling like he was on another of those blind-dates-from-hell that people were always trying to set him up on, at least before he had started dating Lois. /You are on a blind date, idiot, with your girlfriend's not-best friend from high school, which she set you up on because she doesn't know you're.. well.. / He sighed, and opened the door, smiling uncomfortably. "Hi, you must be Lizi." "Well, you're definitely Superman." "Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Lizi..?" He held out his hand. "Lizi Lyons." She took his hand, with a flirtatious look that dared him to do something gallant, like kiss it. He didn't. "Aren't you going to tell him your middle name, Lizi?" Lois called from the kitchen. "Shut up, Lois." "You have a middle name?" Superman quirked an eyebrow, going along with Lois' teasing. "Private joke, Superman. I'm gonna get you for that, Lois Lane!" Since Superman didn't seem inclined to kiss her hand, she turned loose of his and wandered into the dining room. "Hmm. Lois Lane and Lizi Lyons. You must have been quite a pair in high school." "Yeah," said Lois, coming out of the kitchen with the daisies in a low vase which she set on the table. "We started our own L-club, just the two of us." She put Clark's rose in a bud vase, and set it on the highboy in the living room, between two lit candles. "Nice touch," Lizi approved. "Thanks." She opened the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. "I wonder what's keeping Clark. He should be back by now." That was the cue Superman had been waiting for. He knew how long it took for him to get from his apartment to Lois', but he wasn't sure how long she *expected* it to take him. He looked abruptly at the window, feigning intense concentration. "Oh, no." Lois said. "You've got to go?" Superman looked torn, swiveling his head between Lois and the window. "I hate to when I just got here, but I probably should go check that out." He held up his hands appeasingly. "I'll be right back. You.. go ahead and start without me." He waved a hand vaguely toward the table. He handed her his glass. "Go, go. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll get back." Surprisingly, this came from Lizi. She sipped her wine. He nodded, smiling gratefully, and flew out the window. "Very good, Lizi -- I think you just scored some points there." "High five, girlfriend -- I'm gonna reel him in tonight!" Lois reached up to tap her friend's hand, and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lizi drained her wineglass, and was refilling her it when Clark breezed in, cheese in hand. "Hi, hon, sorry it took so long." He kissed her cheek lightly, having already decided to avoid explanations as much as possible. He turned quickly to her friend and stuck out his hand. "You must be Lois' friend, Lizi." "And you must be Clark -- I've heard so much about you." Lizi gushed. "Don't believe a word she told you!" Clark grinned. "I shouldn't? What a shame! And she told me such nice things about you.." "Oh, I walked right into that one, didn't I?" Clark laughed. "So where's Superman? I saw him arriving when I left -- no, don't tell me -- he had to go fix something, didn't he?" "He'll be right back." Lois assured him. He put his arm around her, and turned to Lizi. "Are you sure you want to get involved with this guy? He's always pulling stunts like this, rushing off at the drop of a hat." Lois punched him playfully in the stomach. "Oh, you're a great one to talk." She waggled her hand, suddenly realizing it had hurt when she punched him. "I should stop doing that -- you've got the hardest stomach -- it's like punching a brick wall!" A slightly quizzical look appeared in her eyes, as if something was bothering her that she couldn't quite pin down. Clark quickly began rubbing his stomach where she had hit him. "Well, I certainly would appreciate you stopping. You're gonna make me lose my appetite!" "Wimp!" she teased. Clark put on his best mock-offended look. "Ah! Thanks a lot! I can just imagine what you might call me if you didn't -- I mean -- " "You mean, if I didn't just *love* you to pieces?" She pulled his head down for a quick kiss. /Gotta stop doing that, Lois. Don't want him to catch on too quickly. Mm, but he kisses so nice../ "Little telling what I'd call you." Lizi had wandered over to the window and was looking out, sipping her wine, giving Lois and Clark a little privacy as she scanned the sky for Superman. "Give it up, Lizi," Lois advised. "He'll *be* back when he *gets* back." Clark gave her an admiring glance. /I never knew she was so calm about all the times I had to rush out on her. Or maybe it's because this time I ran out on someone else./ "Anyway, he said not to wait on him, and there's little telling when he'll be back, so let's go ahead and eat." Lois gave Clark a little shove toward the table, and went to the window to draw Lizi away from it. "Come on." "Ok." Lizi looked at her glass. "I'm ready for a refill anyway." "Lizi! Go easy on that -- we've got all evening." "I know, I'm just a little nervous -- being around Superman and all." She drained the last bit and headed for the table. "You're doing fine, relax." But Lois watched her friend with growing concern. Lizi had always tended to come on strong, but tonight she seemed be going overboard -- even before that first glass of wine. Since they were going to watch a movie while they ate, Lois had decided to serve dinner buffet style. They had filled their plates, and were settling on the sofa when the phone rang. "Wonder who that is?" muttered Lois, as she set down her plate and went to answer it. "Hello?" "Hi, Lois!" A perky voice that always seemed to interrupt at the most inopportune moments. /I swear this kid's got a radar../ "Jimmy. Of course. What can I do for you?" "Actually, I need to talk to CK -- he said I could catch him there..?" "Did he. How thoughtful of him. Hold on." She turned to Clark, a look of mild annoyance on her face. "It's for you." As he walked toward her, she whispered, "Do you plan on telling Jimmy every time you're over here?" Clark shrugged sheepishly as he took the phone from her. "Hi, Jimmy." "You wanted me to call at 7:45. It is now 7:45--" Jimmy announced. Clark interrupted him. "You got it? Great!" "Huh?" Clark could hear the confusion in Jimmy's voice, but he pressed on with his make-believe conversation. "It's with who?" "Clark, what are you talking about?" He dropped his voice to a stage whisper. "Hmm.. So that means I gotta go get it right now, before he leaves town." "Hello, Clark. Earth to Clark. This is *Jimmy*. Who do you think you're talking to?" Clark sighed noisily. "Lois is gonna be mad--" Jimmy finally decided to just play along. "Absolutely furious, Clark, she'll probably never forgive you." "Yeah, well.. whatever." "My thoughts exactly," Jimmy agreed. "Thanks, Jimmy, I owe you one." "Uh-huh." Jimmy hung up the phone, and turned to his date. "One of these days, I may even find out what that was all about," he commented. At Lois' apartment, Clark hung up the phone and turned apologetically to the two women. He hadn't entirely thought this part of the plan through, so his mind was racing, trying flesh out the little he'd said on the phone into a believably vague excuse for rushing out. As a result, he completely missed Lois looking at him speculatively through narrowed eyes, a cornucopia of emotions flashing across her face /He's going to run out on me again, just like.. just like Superman! No.. can't be.. but.. yeah, it is him. Wow.. And I just set him up on a date with Lizi.. Oh, man, I've got to help get him out of this mess./ "Let me guess," she said, forcing a sarcastic edge onto her voice. "You've got to go." "Jimmy dug up a source for that story I've been working on.." She nodded. "And you have to go meet him, now." "He's fixing to leave town." "Can I come?" still nodding, as if she knew the answer. /Is it my imagination, or is she leading me through a script? Nah... you're overthinking things, Kent./ "No, he wants me to go alone. Besides you've got company." He gestured to Lizi. "And Superman will probably be back any moment.." "I'm sure he will." Something in her voice made him hesitate, and she shooed him toward the door. "Go. Go! Just.. don't forget to come back.." This time it was his turn to initiate the kiss, and he was pleasantly surprised at how warmly she returned it, all things considered. "Be careful, ok?" "I will -- this shouldn't take long." He hurried out the door at normal speed, moved the car down the block again, spun into the supersuit, and flew back to the window. /This is going to get old, really fast/ he thought grimly. /But at least I've got myself away for an indefinite time, and I'll just have to find some excuse to leave in a little while so I can come back. And I'm not even going to worry about how crazy that sounds!/ He flew through the window and landed lightly on the carpeted floor. Lizi apparently had just said something funny and was laughing loudly at her own joke, and Lois was laughing along, though not as heartily, and he couldn't quite keep all the acid out of his voice as he commented, "Well, I'm glad to see you ladies didn't miss me.." He glanced around the room. "Where's Clark? Isn't he back *yet*?" "He came back with the cheese -- you just missed him, and then he had to leave again--" she made an odd flying gesture with her hand /you're imagining things, Kent/ "to see a source about a story. So what was the deal with your..?" She gestured toward the window. "Oh, bank robbery--" which was true -- he had seen it from a distance. "--but it seems Batman is in town this evening, and he beat me to the punch." "Batman!!" Lizi exclaimed. "Ooh, I want to meet him! He is *so* hot!" She rushed over to the window, as if expecting to see Batman floating around outside, fanning her flushed cheek with her hand, almost dropping her refilled wineglass. Superman looked at her, disconcerted. "What, you got a superhero fetish or something?" "Or something," she agreed, apparently unaware of the sensation she was causing. She had apparently abandoned all pretense of sipping her wine -- she tilted up the glass and drained it. "Wouldn't it just be *amazing* if he came by here?" Superman tilted his head at Lois, widening his eyes slightly as if to say "Who is this person?!" Lois shrugged fractionally back at him, mouthing "I had no idea.." "Right," Superman said aloud. "Uh, maybe one of these days I can introduce you to him -- the next time he's in town.." "Oh, that would be *so* fantastic!" Lois smothered a giggle behind her hand. "Superman, why don't you take Clark's plate -- it's all fixed and he hadn't eaten anything off it yet." "That's fine." Superman picked up the plate and headed over to the sofa, hoping to sit next to Lois, but Lizi maneuvered them so that she sat in the middle of the sofa, between Superman and Lois. "So tell me," she cooed, batting her eyelashes at him, "what's it like, flying around like that all the time?" "Breezy." Superman was suddenly not in the mood to chat. He just wanted this evening to be over. "Breezy -- that's funny. I didn't know you had a sense of humor." "Oh, Superman can be a real riot when he wants to," Lois cut in smoothly. "Eat, Superman," she ordered, "you must be hungry after all that flying around. Now let's see, which movie do you want to watch first, Lizi? GOLDENEYE or MRS. DOUBTFIRE?" Superman almost choked on his cheese -- he hadn't seen Lois' selection in videos. "Oh, GOLDENEYE, definitely!" Lizi exclaimed. "I just love Pierce Brosnan!" Superman just barely managed to contain himself. /This woman is absolutely bizarre! How much wine has she had?/ At least Lois seemed to have understood how uncomfortable he was, and appeared to be helping him out. /Thank goodness for small miracles./ Maybe Lois hadn't seen this side of her friend. He settled back to watch the movie, and removed Lizi's hand from his thigh. A moment later it was back, and so he stood up and went back to the table to refill his plate, which wasn't actually empty yet. When he went back to the sofa, Lizi had moved a little closer to where he had been sitting, and he grabbed the opening it gave him. "I'm sorry -- I was crowding you on the sofa! I'll sit over here." He settled into the recliner and, ignoring Lizi's frustration and Lois' amusement, concentrated on the movie. At least, he tried to concentrate on the movie. Lizi scooted down the sofa as close as she could get to the recliner, and made goo-goo eyes at him for a while, which was amazingly distracting. Then she offered to take off his boots, "so you'll be more comfy!" and when he assured her that he was fine, she offered to get him more food. "Actually," he finally said in complete exasperation, "I've had enough, thanks. Lois, this was great, but I've got to.. um.." "Uh, go make your rounds, I know -- I'm so glad you came." /Is she going to push me out the window?!/ Superman had never seen Lois so cooperative about having him leave. "Uh, Ms. Lyons--" "Lizi, please!" "Right. Lizi. It was nice to meet you." He shook her outstretched hand, then turned to Lois. "I'll see you around." "Mmhmm. Goodnight." Lois moved close to him as he went to the window, and breathed in a voice only he could hear, "I'm so sorry -- I've never seen her like this before. I have no idea what's gotten into her." He smiled down at her. "It's ok. I'll see you." He leaped into the air. "Bye." Lois closed the window and turned back to Lizi. "Batman?!?" Lizi didn't seem to hear her. "He hated me." "I told you not to come on so strong -- what were you thinking?" Lois snatched the wineglass from Lizi's hand. "How much had you had before you came here?" "Just a couple of margaritas -- I feel like such an idiot!" "How appropriate." Lois shook her head in disgust. "You're not helping, Lois." "I'm not trying to! I am *totally* embarrassed -- he'll probably never come here again. I can't believe you!" She knew it wasn't true about Superman not coming back, but she was too angry with her friend to care. /You stick your neck out, you put a friend on the spot, and look what you get!/ "I'm sorry, Lois, I just lost my head. I should go." "I'll call you a cab." ****************** Superman knew that for Clark to show up again immediately after Superman left would be too much of a coincidence -- he was already stretching the bounds of the believable. And besides, he needed some time to cool off -- he was *so* aggravated at that woman. And not the kind of aggravation he had originally felt with Lois, which was underlaid with admiration and the stirrings of something more. No, this was the kind of aggravation that made him want to move to another planet, just get away from her. After a couple of leisurely turns around the continent, he was calmer, and headed back to Metropolis. He started toward Lois' house, but then a thought occurred to him, and he headed to a local easy listening radio station that advertised "the best mix of the seventies, eighties and today." A quick chat with the DJ was all it took to handle his business there, and he took to the air again. He slipped into his parked car and twisted quickly into his "Clark" clothes. He scanned Lois' apartment to see if Lizi was showing any signs of leaving, and was relieved to see Lois was alone, standing by the window. He smiled when he realized she was watching the street, not the sky. He pulled the car up to her apartment building and got out. To his surprise she met him at the door of the building, her jacket on, and the bottle of wine and two glasses in her hand. "Lois, where are you going?" "Out with you, I thought. You mentioned something about going somewhere to run out of gas...?" "What about Lizi and Superman?" "Gone. Him out the window, her out the door. They didn't hit it off." "What a shame." She looked at him oddly. "Uh-huh. Let's drive." He held the car door for her, then went around to the driver's side, grinning when he saw she had scooted across the seat to sit close to him. He started the engine, turned on the radio with volume turned low, setting it to the easy listening station, and then wrapped his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. "Lois? What's wrong?" "Nothing. I'm just feeling a little foolish." She started to say more, then seemed to think better of it. "Let's just drive, ok? I want to enjoy at least part of this evening, and this music is nice." She leaned down to turn up the volume. "Ok." He held her close as he steered the car out of Metropolis. The song on the radio ended, and a velvet, whispery voice that sent delightful shivers up Lois' spine said, {Continuous soft favorites on KKMJ, Majic 95.5. Love is in the air tonight. This is Stephen Michael Kerr and you're listening to Majic Love Songs and your love messages on the air. We'll get back to the Majic love line in just a moment, but right now we have a really special dedication: Superman brought this one around for his buddy, Clark Kent, a dedication going out to Clark's lady, Lois Lane. Lois, Clark wants you to know that he can 'Love You Like That.' This is All 4 One, 'I Can Love You Like That.'} Lois looked up at Clark, her eyes shining. "Oh, Clark!" She reached up to kiss his cheek, and cuddled back down against him to listen to the song. She knew the words, and sang along, very softly. "You like romantic movies, and you never will forget The way you felt when Romeo kissed Juliet. . . . I can love you like that I will make you my world Move heaven and earth If you were my girl." Lois smiled, almost in tears at the sweetness of the moment, as she felt Clark kiss her hair. "I am your girl," she whispered. "You know that." "I will give you my heart Be all that you need Show you you're everything That's precious to me If you'd give me the chance I could love you like that.." Earlier, Clark had found a picnic spot on the highway a few miles out of town, which would be deserted at this hour, where they could talk without being disturbed, far enough from the city lights so they could see the stars, and that's where he headed now. When they got there, he parked the car, and held the door for her to get out. From the trunk, he pulled one of his mother's quilts, which he spread on the ground. "Nice," commented Lois. "You came prepared. Do you run out gas here often?" "Only with you," he smiled back at her. He reached again into the car and pulled out a long, plastic-wrapped French baguette. "A loaf of bread.." Her eyes danced as she held up the bottle in her hand. ".. a jug of wine.. well, sort of.." ".. and thou," he completed softly. He leaned down to kiss her, and this time there were no prying neighbors' eyes, no dinner guests about to arrive, to make her pull away in embarrassment. Only the crunching of the bread being pressed between them. Lois pulled back and grinned impishly up at him. "So, big boy, is that a French roll, or are you just glad to see me?" Clark could hardly believe his ears. "Lo-is!" he laughed, amazed. "I can't believe you said that!" She was turning beet red, but laughing too. "I can't believe I did either." She set down the bottle and the wine glasses on the quilt, took the bread from his hands and put it down as well, and drew him back into her embrace. He wrapped his arms around her waist, as she twined her fingers into his hair and her mouth found his. She smiled against his mouth. "Now I know you're glad to see me." With a groan, he pulled a little away from her, although he didn't turn her loose, and took a deep breath to try to calm himself. She didn't protest, just watched him expectantly. "Lois, before this goes any further, we've got to talk." He took off his glasses, trying to figure out how to say what he knew had to come next. She smiled up at him for a moment, her soft hand stoking his cheek. "Don't worry, Superman," she whispered, pulling his head down to kiss his eyes. "I don't intend to set you up on any more dates that aren't with *me*!" fade to black ==================================================== "(i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses) nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands" e.e. cummings "somewhere i have never travelled" ==================================================== Come read my fanfic! and link to Season 5 - The Adventures Continue... A FoLC Named Peace - http://members.aol.com/PEverett9/peace.html Kal-El: "My heart is waiting for me back on Earth. Lois is my heart. I was an outsider there.. incomplete.. until I met her." τΏτ [No, I can't claim this little face, although I'm *quite* taken with it -- I found it in someone else's note! Is that cute or what?!?] ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 13:47:27 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: My FANFIC RERUN MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Boy, do I feel silly! I just got back what at first glance appear to be two copies of part one of my story, but when I looked at them I discovered that they are parts one and two, just with the same subject line (block and copy the subject line, Peace, but ya gotta remember to *change* the number!) Sorry about that! If I get a number of people saying they deleted one or the other of the parts, I will repost to the list (I'm not going to try to send out individual copies -- I just don't have that kind of time this week.) Failing all else, the story is available on my web page - URL below. Peace Come read my fanfic! and link to Season 5 - The Adventures Continue... A FoLC Named Peace - http://members.aol.com/PEverett9/peace.html Kal-El: "My heart is waiting for me back on Earth. Lois is my heart. I was an outsider there.. incomplete.. until I met her." τΏτ [No, I can't claim this little face, although I'm *quite* taken with it -- I found it in someone else's note! Is that cute or what?!?] ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 22:53:49 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Fanfic Rerun: SEEING IS BELIEVING MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 In honor of the reruns on TNT, a little classic fanfic.... SEEING IS BELIEVING by Pam Jernigan = (75540.2554@CompuServe.com) = Continuity: I suppose, strictly speaking, this would have to happen sometime during "WE HAVE A LOT TO TALK ABOUT", but it hasn't much of a plot, so I don't think it'll matter. Dan Scardino hummed a cheery tune as he entered the Daily Planet lobby and pushed a button to summon the elevator. It had been over a week since Lois had told him that she didn't want to see him anymore. He'd believed her at first, too, but a little reflection had convinced him that she just needed some persuasion. She'd been angry over that undercover operation, but by now he figured she'd be over that, and missing him. After all, she had changed her mind about not dating him once before, and Daniel Scardino did not give up easily. He also refused to believe that she could have anything going with Kent, no matter what she said. A woman like Lois needed more of a man of action. *** In the newsroom, an argument was building. "Clark, why don't you want to check out this Harris character?" Lois was exasperated enough to overcome the polite facade she'd been maintaining. Ever since she'd refused his proposal, claiming a need to think about things, things had been cool between them; maybe this discussion would heat them back up to normal. She hoped so. She did love him, they just had a few issues to work out before she could agree to marry him. "Because he doesn't know anything, Lois," Clark explained with his best are-you-being-difficult-just-to-annoy- me expression. "He was nowhere near the crime scene; he's just trying to get attention." Lois threw up her hands, getting into the swing of the game. Heads around the newsroom were starting to turn. = She didn't care; she was too glad to be getting back on familiar ground with Clark. Anything was better than pretending they barely knew one another. They couldn't work things out if they were barely on speaking terms. If he were relaxed enough to argue with her, though, she'd take that as a good sign. "How do you know that unless we talk to him, Clark?" she countered in a come-on,-work-with-me-here tone of voice, with a pained expression to match. Belatedly, she realized that he might, indeed, know what he was talking about if he'd been there as Superman... Clark saw doubt flicker on her face and barely suppressed a grin. It did feel good to relax this much around her, to get things back to normal. She sensed the grin he was hiding and unsuccessfully attempted a glare. He looked away hastily, before the grin could erupt into a chuckle. And saw "Please, call me Daniel" Scardino standing near the elevator, watching Lois with a self-absorbed smile. Clark closed his eyes and counted to ten. He did *not* want to deal with his former rival, not while things were still unsettled between him and Lois. He turned back to her. "All right, if you want to, we'll go talk to Harris." Anything to get her out of the building and away from Inspector Gadget. Lois looked at him suspiciously. She'd glimpsed Dan earlier, and had been trying to think of a way to avoid him gracefully. Apparently Clark had the same goal in mind - but why? He wasn't still worried about competition, was he? Clark shrugged a response to her inquiring look. "It'll get us out into the sunshine." "Oh. Well, okay then. Let me get some things together here, and I'll be ready to go." She sat down at her desk and started throwing open drawers. Scardino started walking down the ramp. Clark bristled, and headed to intercept him. "I'll meet you at the elevator, okay?" Lois turned in time to see him walking away. "Even when I know why he does that it's annoying," she muttered under her breath. Clark met Scardino at the bottom of the ramp. As inconspicuously as he could, Clark grabbed the other man's arm just above the elbow and forced him to turn around, heading them both up the ramp. Scardino, surprised at this atypical behavior, acquiesced. "Hello there, Kent. So, you've managed to get Lois upset already." He shook his head in false sympathy. "I'd be careful if I were you, she's wicked with a plunger." Clark didn't understand the plumbing reference, but he didn't let it slow him down. "You're the one that needs to be careful, Scardino; especially around stairs, wasn't it?" He stabbed at the elevator call button, not releasing his grip on the DEA agent's arm. = "Wait a minute here, Kent, I have a right to talk to Lois." "She doesn't want to see you." I hope, Clark added mentally. "So let her tell me that." Scardino smiled, full of confidence. *** Lois took advantage of their distraction to watch the encounter between Clark and Dan. Why was Dan here, anyway? Hadn't she been clear enough last week? On the other hand, when had he ever listened to her? He seemed to plow ahead with his agenda regardless of her wishes. She'd initially seen that as flattering, but recognized it now as arrogance, or selfishness at best. Not very appealing, especially compared to Clark's sweet insecurity. My, but Clark didn't seem too insecure now, did he... still, she decided to go back him up. They were too engrossed in locking horns to notice her walking up the ramp. As she reached the top of the ramp, the elevator pinged softly, and the doors opened. Kent hustled Scardino into the elevator. Scardino, surprised by the strength of the grip on his arm, didn't resist. = They stood on opposite sides of the elevator car, glaring at one another. Scardino told himself that a mere reporter couldn't keep him away forever, and the mere fact that he would try seemed to indicate that things were not all wine and roses between him and his partner. He was confident that he'd have his chance later. Lois had to hurry to make it into the elevator. From her angle of approach, she could only see Clark, and a plan of action sprang full-blown to mind - a way to reassure Clark and give Dan a little object lesson. She ducked in between the closing doors, flashing Clark a wicked grin. Without giving either of the men a chance to say anything, she launched herself at Clark, pinning him to the elevator wall, and raised her face to initiate a very long, thorough kiss. She ran her hands over his hair and shoulders, and after a moment, felt his arms encircle her tightly. She gloried in the feel of his soft lips, his warmly solid chest, his thighs against hers, and completely forgot their audience. Scardino, ignored, watched in amazement. Five minutes ago they were arguing, and now this? His plans to get her back died a quick and painful death. He still didn't understand what she saw in Kent, but there was obviously something going on. Seeing *was* believing. The elevator reached the ground floor, and opened its doors with a muted ping. Lois pulled away from Clark and took a moment to reoxygenate. Turning to leave the elevator, she saw Dan, and managed to act surprised. "Dan! = I didn't even know you were there!" Clark, grinning like a cat with canary on its breath, knew her well enough to know she was lying, but Scardino didn't have that advantage. They exited the elevator, and Clark reached for Lois's hand. Dan was trying furiously to come up with a good excuse for being there. "Oh, well, I was just visiting..." inspiration struck "to say goodbye. I'm going to head back down to Washington soon." His section chief would be interested to hear that, but he knew it could be arranged. Lois tried for a neutral expression. "Well, good luck, then." She stopped walking, and tugged slightly on Clark's hand to stop his progress across the lobby. "Thank you. Uh, good luck to you, too." Dan would have liked to kiss her goodbye, but one glance at Kent convinced him not to try. He turned and walked out, completely routed. After he was safely out on the street, Lois peeked up at Clark. When he met her gaze they both began laughing. = "I think we took care of him, partner," she said, pleased. "So, tell me - did you really want to go talk to Harris?" Clark studied her face, and smiled. "Not really." "So then we should go back upstairs," she prompted, eyes twinkling. His smile broadened. "You want to take the stairs?" "No. I think I like the elevator." As the elevator doors closed, the security guard saw the Daily Planet's two top reporters converge once more. ---- (Inspired by a dream after the rerun of Resurrection; Scardino got off *way* too easily in WWW) = !^NavFont02F1B120006MGHHbZ1556 E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 23-Oct-1997 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ Unreformed, unrepentent, sometimes unproductive but never uninteresting fanfic writer = Visit Sarah & Pam's Shrine o'Fanfic at: http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/2501 ~~~~~ Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm ~~~~~ "The first thing she said to me was 'Herbie, get me to the Planet.' Naturally, I wondered which planet..." "Ah, Constable, you've returned. Upon reflection, I imagine this pleases= me." <-- Due South is back! :-) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 00:02:29 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: Fanfic Rerun: SEEING IS BELIEVING In-Reply-To: <199710232254_MC2-24F3-DC90@compuserve.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Pam, Thanks for reposting this one. I've always liked this one a lot. (Big surprise, I like all your stuff. ) >(Inspired by a dream after the rerun of Resurrection; >Scardino got off *way* too easily in WWW) Well, nice to know that I'm not the only one that gets fic inspriation from L&C dreams. :) Kathy ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 14:02:02 +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: Fanfic Rerun: ...the Chicken or the Egg In-Reply-To: <199710232254_MC2-24F3-DC90@compuserve.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I have no idea if anyone here has NOT seen this story, but I think given where TNT is up to in the reruns, now would be an appropriate time to rerun it. ************** Author's notes: =20 This is a revelation story with a difference. It came out of a lot of discussion on an idea I had and discussed with quite a few people on IRC. Dedications: To all my friends on IRC who have helped me out with this work, thanks so much... I won't try to give credit to everyone, because so many people have helped with this, giving me constructive criticism on my first attempt at writing L&C fanfic on my own (sort of), that I've forgotten who suggested what. I hope that everyone enjoys this story as much as I've enjoyed working on it. The only exception I would like to make about giving credit is with regard to the scene at the TV Studio, written by Tracey Barlow (barlow@ozramp.net.au). Disclaimers:=20 Insert the regular disclaimer here about who owns what characters. It is not my intention to infringe on any copyrights owned by anyone. No-one is going to make any money out of this story, so if you are thinking of suing me, don't waste your time. Obviously, no-one *owns* Dean, Teri or the rest of the cast and crew, and I hope that what I've written isn't too, too different to how they would react if this really did happen to them! I don't actually know much about their private lives, so I've had to make up quite a bit. If you dislike those aspects of this story, pretend it isn't our world that I'm referring to, but an alternate one very similar. Oh, and you might find the ending a bit familiar .. . Words in *asterisks* are emphasised. Words in 'single quotes' are thoughts. Words in "double quotes" are spoken. Any comments (nice ones only, please!) to jenerate@ozramp.net.au Now sit back and enjoy as we wonder, which came first... ...the Chicken or the Egg? By Jenny Stosser Prologue One Clark sat dejectedly on the top of the highest pylon on the Metropolis Bridge. He didn't know what his next move should be, and he hated not knowing what the next step of a plan was. He knew what it ought to be... he had tried (Lord knew how hard he had tried!) to tell Lois who he was; to tell her his greatest secret. But it was so ingrained in him to keep the secret that every time, just as he was about to tell her all, his senses would kick in and he'd become aware of an emergency, giving his subconscious an "out". Of course, that didn't make things any better at all between him and Lois. It really made things worse, because every time he had to deal with an emergency, he had to give another of those lousy excuses. And as the excuses got worse, and Lois got more suspicious of him, he could see the future of their relationship going down the gurgler. Clark realised that he had to come to a decision. He had to grab the future he wanted with both hands and not let it go. He would go down there to her apartment *now* and tell her. It didn't matter that it was the middle of the night. It didn't even matter that she had almost died facing that Mazik character. In fact, that lent even more force to his decision. All that mattered was getting his secret out into the open. He stood up and stepped off the pylon into midair, when suddenly the air shimmered in front of him. As if a fog had suddenly swept in from somewhere, the air before Clark misted over, and he could almost see a person standing there beside him. And a panicky person at that. Clark instinctively reached out and offered a hand to help the man, but no-one was more surprised than he, when the man reached through the fog and grabbed the offered hand! "You have to help us, Superman!" Forgetting everything he had been about to do, he switched into "Superman mode" and asked the bearded man what the problem was. "There's a bomb! They said it was hidden in the school, but no-one has been able to find it, and the deadline is coming closer! You have to help us find it! No-one on our world can help us!" "Hang on, slow down a moment, Sir!" Superman had understood that there was an emergency, but was confused by the man's reference to 'our world'. "Take a deep breath," he instructed. The man paused, and straightened his suit jacket, but ignored the fact that they were both floating so far above the bay. "Superman," he began again, "I really hope you are able to believe me. I'm a scientist of sorts. I'm from another dimension. It is a place very similar to Earth, with a very similar history to here, but for one major difference; You don't exist there. In fact, over there, Superman is only a myth." "So how did you manage to get here? How did you even manage to hear of= here?" Sounding exasperated, the man sighed, "We don't have much time Superman, the deadline for that bomb is getting closer! Don't you think I should explain this to you after you come back with me?" Quickly weighing up his options, Superman made a decision. If the only problem was to disarm a bomb in order to save some children, and if it was a quick trip, he should be able to be back home later tonight, which meant he should still be able to get down to business with Lois, telling her the truth. "OK, Sir, just how do we go about crossing over to your world, then?" "My machine is just behind me in the temporal rift. Come back through it with me, and we'll be there in no time at all." Taking him by the arm again, the man led Superman into the fog. As they moved deeper into it, he began to perceive an odd looking machine. More than anything else, Clark was reminded of the machine used in George Pal's 1950s movie The Time Machine. It looked intricate in the way of machines from the dawn of the industrial age, all brass, and polished wood. The machine sat atop a detailed Persian rug on a platform, floating, as were Superman and the scientist. It had two cane seats, and in front of one of the seats, as in a car, was a dashboard with controls on it. The scientist took the seat in front of the controls, indicating that Superman should take the other seat. =20 Clark watched as the man fiddled with the dials and vacuum tubes before him. Suddenly the world went monochrome around them, before becoming so blindingly bright that even Clark squinted his eyes shut. Clark felt himself turning inside out and back again, and even found himself wondering whether this was what it felt like to want to throw up, when just as suddenly the world came back into focus. At the same time as his eyes began to re-focus, so did Clark's brain. As if a light had clicked on in his brain, he suddenly remembered where he had met this man before. He remembered everything that had happened with himself and Lois and HG Wells, and realised that this man was not the scientist he purported to be. "There is no bomb, is there, Tempus?" Clark queried his kidnapper woozily. Tempus had seen the lights come on, but he was aware of how Clark's mind would be inclined to wander as a result of the trip, as his brain tried to accommodate to the change of universes, and, landing the so-called "time machine", he spoke again to Clark. "Well, I see that a long explanation isn't really necessary. What *is* true - well, to some extent anyway, is that I could call myself a sort of scientist! I'm experimenting=97with you! You see, I wanted to see what woul= d happen to you in a world where no-one believes in superheroes in real life, only in fiction. You're not really a Superman here, but you play one on television." Clark was mainly aware of the world fading in and out, and of the difficulty he was having staying conscious - or was that "sane"? Tempus caught Clark's attention by dint of grabbing his face and forcing Clark to look into his eyes. "Watch the video!" Tempus instructed, and then he turned and vanished back into the mist surrounding the time machine, as the air reverberated around= it. Clark was very disoriented, and wished he had been able to sort out his brain enough to ask a few more questions, but Tempus was gone and it didn't look like he'd be back for a while. But, trying to make the best of a bad situation, Clark searched the well-appointed residence he'd been "dropped into", and quickly found the video recorder to which Tempus must have been referring. There were two tapes sitting there, but no indication as to which he should watch first. He took one and found it was marked "The Pilot", with his own S-Shield on it, and, realising it was the longer of the two tapes, chose to leave watching it until later. Inserting the other tape into the recorder, he pressed Play, and levitated into a comfortable position to watch it. It was a very brief tape: Tempus got right down to basics. =20 "You are an actor, playing Clark Kent now," he said. "You should find it easy enough to be yourself for the cameras!" 'I don't even know the name of the actor!' Clark was beginning to feel a little panicky about this whole situation. Maybe he shouldn't have done this without thinking it through first! "For more information watch the other video. You will note the similarity in looks between yourself and this world's version of Superman. This is because *I* picked him for the part of playing you on this world! On my previous trip, I -ahem- arranged for him to take your place in your home universe. =20 "A word of warning: Even *you* should be able to figure out what people would think if you tried to tell them who you are and where you're from." Tempus wrapped his arms around himself and mimed being in a strait-jacket, sticking his tongue out. Clark could just imagine Tempus drooling slightly. "Now, I'm going to let you make your own way here. You have one night to recover from the effects of your trip, and tomorrow morning, you'll be picked up to go to the studio for another day's filming. Have an interesting - er - experience! I'll *try* to be back for you in three= days." Prologue Two "Hey!" One of the crew members caught Dean's attention as he walked off the set, "Lane Davies is hanging around waiting to see you. Said it was something private he needed to talk to you about." At the end of a long day of filming, Dean was dying to get out of the costume, but he supposed he should just go see what Lane wanted before heading back to his trailer to get changed. He could see Lane waiting in the lee of the trailer anyway. "Yeah? Some of those Krypton FanClub people mentioned that you would be back on the set for an new episode... what can I do for you?" "Dean! You'll never believe what I found in the storage rooms! You have just got to see this!" Dean looked, and said, "Yeah? So? Its the time machine from your first episode? What about it?" "Dean, sit down, take a load off, I can see you're tired after today's filming. Here, lemme show you what I discovered about this machine! It does the most amazing things!" "Really?" Dean watched in interest as Lane fiddled with the buttons and knobs on the dash of the machine. "Woah!" Dean suddenly felt himself turning inside out and back again, and almost wanted to throw up, when just as suddenly the world came back into focus. Dizzily he asked, "What was that?" "Um, Dean, I have some bad news for you." Groggily he looked up at the man who sat beside him, "Do I really want to know, Lane?" "Dean, I'm not Lane Davies. I'm Tempus, and you are in MY world now. Guess what, Superman?" And with a snide grin on his face, he concluded, "You're Superman!"=20 With that, the devil in a stylish suit stepped off the time machine and sauntered whistling down the street, leaving Dean, all alone in a strange world. Chapter One Dean Cain is an intelligent man. While this whole affair had a dream-like quality to it (who would believe this anyway?) the buildings around him looked too solid to be a trick played by cast or crew members. And anyway, practical jokes were Dean's department, no-one else's! As soon as he had realised that Tempus was for real, and that he had been left in a predicament, he realised a number of things. First, he was stranded, in a Superman suit, presumably in a place where people would identify him as Superman, not as someone who pretended to be him. Also, as far as he could tell, things were happening in a sequential order, unlike the way his dreams usually occurred. He had *no* idea how this had happened, but whether or not it *was* a dream, he figured he'd better let it play itself out to completion. Second, he *wasn't* Superman, so he wouldn't be able to do the things expected of Superman. Third, he needed someone to help him acclimatise to this place, especially if he was stranded here indefinitely. And fourth, he needed to figure out how to get home. 'Actually,' he thought, 'that last one shouldn't be too difficult. After all, Tempus has left me with the machine. Now all I need to do is figure out how to use it to get back home again. He worked those controls, and I'm sure I can figure out how to work them too, but I may need some help to work out what *not* to do! I wonder whether this place works according to scripts I've already seen and played? Or whether it is totally different?' As he worked through these thoughts, Dean was carefully hiding the time machine in the alleyway in which he and Tempus had arrived, so that he would be able to return to it once he had figured out how to get back home. By the time he had finished camouflaging the machine with garbage, his mind had turned to his next requirement. He needed to find someone to help him figure out this place. =20 'Well, I guess I have a few choices. First up, I think would have to be Martha and Jonathon Kent, except that they probably aren't here in Metropolis, and I can't exactly fly to Kansas. Next best might be that Dr Klein at STAR Labs. How am I supposed to get in touch with him? I have no idea! Which leaves me with Lois. Well, in a place the size of Metropolis, surely anyone can point out The Daily Planet to me?' Supposing that he couldn't spend the rest of his enforced stay in Metropolis in the alleyway, and that he didn't really want to anyway, Dean decided that it was time to venture out into the open. Much to his surprise, as he looked around, trying to get his bearings, he found that he had been set down in the alley way right behind the newspaper. At the sight of the Daily Planet building, Dean was hit once again by just how real this whole dream felt. But it couldn't be a dream... or could it? It *had* to be... 'Well, that was easy enough,' he thought. 'Maybe this is all some sort of elaborate hoax,' he wished to himself, walking into the front lobby of the building. But that hope was dashed when he entered the city room, and everyone looked at him with the belief in who he was supposed to be obvious in their eyes. "Hey! Superman! What can I do for you, my man?" A familiar voice penetrated his thoughts. =20 "Jus- er , Jimmy! Hi." Dean wondered momentarily whether Jimmy Olsen would be able to help him out, but decided against it. Lois would be a better bet, as she could help him to disguise himself as Clark Kent instead of Superman. "Um, do you know where I can find Lois today, Jimmy? I have something I need to discuss with her." "Lois?" Jimmy was obviously puzzled. "Perry told her to take the day off, Superman. I thought you knew! After she helped you and CK and his parents out with those blackmailers, she took the rest of the week off to recover." Conspiratorially, Jimmy led Dean into the Conference Room, and leaned closer to Superman, then added, "I'm glad you managed to stop that guy Mazik, Superman! I really hated to see Clark in such pain!" Dean was very surprised, but realised that Lois (and the rest of this world) must have just been through what, to him, was the second season finale of Lois & Clark! 'Great!' He thought to himself, 'Lois already knows that Clark is Superman. That will make my "stay" a lot easier!' "Um, Jimmy, this is going to sound a bit weird, but can you do me a favour? And not tell the world?" =20 Jimmy nodded assent. "Sure Superman, anything I can do for you, you know I will!" "Um, see this suit? Well, it doesn't exactly have pockets. I need to borrow some money from you. Um, say twenty bucks? I can't tell you what it's for. But I'll make sure that you get the money back as soon as I can." Jimmy looked at Dean strangely, but figuring that Superman must need it, he took out his wallet and gave Superman the cash. "Thanks Jimmy. You really are a great pal. OK, I have to go now. I guess I'll see you 'round!" Dean headed back toward the elevator, not noticing the look he got from Jimmy when he didn't leave via the window. Once outside the Planet again, Dean was about to hail a cab to take him to 348 Hyperion Avenue, to see Lois. But he remembered in time that Lois wasn't married to Clark yet, and looked up her address at the nearest public phone booth (this gained him some more odd looks from passers-by). Then Dean hailed a cab and gave the driver Lois' address. Chapter Two (Meanwhile back in the real world...) Clark understood that if what Tempus had told him about this world was true, he couldn't go around in his Superman suit. For one thing, he would probably be laughed out of any establishment he chose to enter. He found that he was frightened at the thought of facing a world like this, and subconciously chose to "distance" himself from his situation. He ejected the Tempus' video and inserted the one with his shield on it and sat back to see what it was all about, and soon became totally enthralled in seeing his own story on screen. How well he remembered his first day at The Planet! How well he remembered his first meeting with Lois! How well he remembered how he had felt wearing his suit for the first time! And how it had felt for Lois to actually notice him! How poorly they had cast Jimmy! This guy didn't look a bit like the Jimmy he knew. And yet... and yet, it was amazing how everyone else looked so right.=20 At the end of the episode, Clark watched carefully and noted the names of the actors, because he knew from what Tempus had said about the next day's schedule that he would need to know these peoples' names. So *he* was supposed to be Dean Cain, and Lois was Teri Hatcher? He was sure he had seen that name somewhere ... That's it! Those magazines under the videos! "I was Teri Hatcher's first husband!" Tabloid fare, obviously, but then, possibly a way for Clark to learn more about his "co-star"? As he read the article, he realised that he had been right. This National Enquirer was this world's equivalent of his own's National Inquisitor. It was hard to tell which was the worse publication. But at least he learned a little of what to expect of Ms Hatcher. At the back of the magazine, in the "Hot Gossip" section, he even found a reference to Mr Cain. Apparently he was quite popular with women, and was going through young movie stars at quite a rate. Clark didn't know whether to like his doppleganger or not. But there were no photos of him, only of Ms Hatcher in that edition of the magazine. Looking around the house he was in, Clark was very impressed, and found himself wishing that *he* made that sort of money. Dean Cain appeared to be more laid-back than Clark was: obviously someone who enjoyed good food, and the perhaps-more-than-occasional beer. The place was a bit of a mess; but then, Clark realised, he wouldn't have had super-speed to dash around and clean up as quickly as Clark himself often did. =20 Clark was concerned at first that he didn't have his glasses with him, and that everyone would recognise him immediately as Superman, until he recalled that in this universe, no-one believed in Superman or even in aliens from other planets. (His own planet had had experience with aliens other than himself, so they had no reason not to believe. But from what Tempus had said, it was entirely possible that in this universe, Earth *was* the only inhabited planet!) It was unlikely that he would need glasses, Clark realised, when he came across some photographs of the actor (*not* framed and on the mantlepiece, he was glad to note, which implied that the actor wasn't in love with himself alone) and he was amazed to learn that he and the actor truly did look exactly alike - without glasses. At first, Clark wasn't sure, but then it occurred to him to hold the photos up to the mirror and compare the view with the reflected image of himself. He wondered again about Tempus' comment about Dean being chosen by Tempus to play the part , and he wondered whether that was true, or whether it was just Tempus' ego talking there. At any rate, as far as Clark could tell, he and Dean Cain almost could have *been* the same person, had it not been for Clark's super powers! =20 He quickly found a wardrobe and changed into some of the clothes there, noting a few things about this person he was supposed to be: first, he didn't have the same dress sense as Clark himself, and second, despite that, the clothes fit him perfectly, yet another confirmation of the similarities between two people from two different universes. =20 But he couldn't find a single interesting tie in the whole wardrobe! =20 Dean wondered how many other things were different or similar about them. And he became concerned that it would be difficult to pretend to be someone who, although he might look exactly like him, might have totally different views on the world and life in general. Shortly after changing into Dean's clothes, Clark became aware of the sound of dogs barking. Looking around the house quickly, he realised that there were three dogs in the backyard, all barking wildly. =20 "Uh-oh," he thought. "They must belong to Dean." Clark knew that if he was to fit in and *be* the actor for even a few days, he would need to make himself known to the dogs, so that they wouldn't give his secret away to any visitors who might come calling. So he headed out to them to introduce himself. Once again, he was surprised by how well he seemed to be fitting into this world, when the three dogs took to him quite happily. Clark wondered whether even his scent actually matched that of Dean Cain? He brought the dogs inside and fed them, then settled down in the living room. Clark had realised that he knew next to nothing about this world that he was supposed to fit into, but being the journalist that he was, he figured the best way to find out quickly about this world, without revealing who he was to the world, was to watch LNN news. At first he was confused when he couldn't find that station, but it slowly dawned on him, as he settled down to watch *C*NN news that if there was no Superman native to this universe, perhaps there was no Luthor empire either!= =20 Wondering what other differences he would stumble across, Clark made himself comfortable again, floating mid air before the TV, and settled in for the evening. The next thing Clark knew, the doorbell was ringing stridently, and he fell to the floor in surprise. =20 'Well, Tempus did say I'd be picked up to get to the studio tomorr- er, today. Wonder who my lift is?' Muzzily scrubbing at his face, he headed down to the front door, and opened it to...=20 "Lois?! You've cut=97" Suddenly realising his mistake, Clark realised that this must be the actress *playing* Lois for the show, and that she had cut her hair! "Dean! I said seven, and I thought you'd be ready. I'm only doing this as favour to you since you smashed your car - again! You knew we were starting late today, but I really thought ...!" Backing away from the door, mumbling that he'd be ready in a few moments, he headed for the bathroom. Suddenly he realised that just because he knew the name of the guy he was supposed to be, didn't mean he knew anything else about this job he was supposed to be filling. Leaving the house so fast that no-one would see him, he grabbed a few more tabloid magazines from the first newsstand he could find and headed back to the house again. One of the advantages of being Superman was that he was able to speed read the magazines while showering and shaving, and he quickly learned that the woman who looked so much like Lois had the most downloaded image on the Internet. He was shocked to find a copy of the picture in one of the magazines: she was wearing nothing but *his* cape! Still, maybe she would be a good confidante, if only he could figure out how to tell her. 'Geez,' thought Clark with irony as he quickly dressed for work. 'First I have to figure out how to tell Lois who I am; and now I have to figure out how to tell Ms Teri Hatcher not only who I am, but make her believe it too!' Only a few minutes had passed when Clark emerged from the bathroom, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, to find Teri still standing in the front doorway. She obviously appreciated the way he was dressed, from the way her eyes surreptitiously travelled up and down his body. Clark was taken back to the first time Lois had arrived at his apartment to pick him up, shortly after he had arrived in Metropolis, and had found him just out of the shower. Even her words were similar, only that time she had stumbled over the "nine o'clock" ... Chapter Three Luckily for Dean, although the cab driver looked questioningly at Superman needing a lift to Lois' apartment, he easily accepted his explanation that he was a double for Superman, and had been doing some publicity shots at the Daily Planet. Unfortunately, he was also a talkative cabbie and he insisted on "reminding" Dean" of the time when he had been rescued from the traffic jam to end all traffic jams, by clearing the streets only a few weeks ago. Upon accepting the fare (which left little change out of Jimmy's twenty dollars), he left Dean with some sage advice: if he was going to be trying to double for Superman, he really needed to be up to date on Superman's latest feats, otherwise even his vaguely similar looks wouldn't help him out! Unsure when he would next get to his gym to do a workout, Dean chose to climb the stairs to Lois' fifth floor apartment instead. He chuckled to himself, as he climbed the stairs, that the cabbie thought he only looked vaguely similar to Superman; Dean also wondered whether he really did look all that similar to the character he portrayed on a daily basis. 'Not to worry, I'm sure Lois will be able to tell me if I'm doing anything wrong here,' he thought as a knocked on the door. There was a pause and then he heard Lois move slowly to the door. "Who is it?" she called. "It's - ah," quickly Dean thought, 'well, she knows anyway, and Clark is supposed to want her to treat him as Clark rather than Superman.' "Lois, it's me. I just wanted to check up on you." Dean heard the multiple locks on the door being opened, and then, standing before him, looking *very* surprised to see him, was Lois Lane! "Cla - Superman?? Wh - I mean, I thought - er, hang on a moment, I thought Clark was here? I thought I heard his voice at the door? And why are you at the door, instead of the window? What's going on here?" 'Oh no!' Dean thought. 'I misjudged! She doesn't know yet and now I've let the cat out of the bag! HELP!' Lois had opened the door wide enough for Dean to get into the room, so he took advantage of that to get in quickly and close the door before Lois' babbling let the whole world in on the secret. By then, Lois had begun to think of explanations for what she had just learned.=20 "Wait, it's kryptonite again isn't it? You've lost your powers and come to me for help? Superman? Or maybe somehow you've switched bodies with Clark and you've come to me for help? But why would you do that? And how is that possible? It couldn't be that..." "Lois." Dean tried to interject into her babble. "Lois!" He tried again to get her attention. Having made an enormous blunder, Dean realised that to stop himself from making any more he would need help. He had to make the best of a bad situation and enlist Lois' help until he could figure out the machine and get out of here! "LOIS! Stop!" Lois closed her mouth quite abruptly and looked at Dean, surprised that Superman would raise his voice at her (or was it Clark who was shouting? - at any rate, neither of them usually did that! she babbled to herself,) and gestured towards the sofa, indicating that her guest (whoever he was) should take a seat. Dean, in the meantime, was trying to figure out how to explain the situation he was in to Lois, which gave the woman a moment to take a breath and stand up again, head for the kitchen, and offer to make a drink. "Lois," began Dean tentatively. "I'm not who you think I am. No matter what you think, I'm not Superman. And, I apologise, but despite what you thought you heard through at your door, I'm not Clark Kent either. I hope you will hear me out though, and help me too. I really didn't know who else to turn to. "But... you sounded - you *do* sound like Clark. And you look so much like Superman? What is going on?" "I know you and Clark have been through quite a lot in the last few days. I know, you're wondering how I could possibly know. Wait, and I'll try to explain as best I can. Tell me, did Clark mention anything in the past few days about a diary? One the blackmailer had?" "How did you know about the blackmailer? No-one knew about that except me!" "Wait, Lois... I'm trying to tell you, but I also don't quite know where to start. Um, let me try again. Has Superman ever mentioned someone called Tempus to you? Have you ever met HG Wells?" "No, and no. That's ridiculous! How could I possibly have met HG Wells? Time travel? Ha!... wait a moment though, Tempus, that name sounds familiar. Well, of course, it *does* have to do with time travel doesn't it? I'm getting the weirdest sense of deja vu here...=20 "Hang on a moment, Mister. If you aren't Superman, then who are you? What am I supposed to call you?" Dean realised that he was so used to being well-known that he had forgotten to introduce himself to the beautiful woman before him! He told her his name, then began again, trying to explain. "Let me start again. You may not believe this - hell, I don't think *I* believe this! - I'm an actor. I play the part of Superman in a TV show. I know, there probably isn't any such TV show here. But here's the unbelievable bit. I'm from somewhere else. I don't really know how to explain it. It's sort of like time travel, but it's more like, um, dimensional travel. I was kidnapped today by someone I thought I knew. But it wasn't the guy I knew, it was someone from *here* , but from a future of here, who doesn't much like Superman, and he must have kidnapped the real Clark and taken him back to my dimension. So you see, I need your help to get back home and to get Clark back here." "Hang on, hang on a moment, um, Dean? Right?" Lois interrupted. "Let me get this straight." She thought to herself, 'what he's saying then is that in his home dimension, he's an actor in a TV show about me? And that he plays Superman in this show, and that he also plays Clark? But how is that possible?' Then the light dawned, and Lois reacted. "NO! Do you mean to tell me that Clark *is* Superman??" Chapter Four=20 Clark spent much of the next half hour or so trying out different scenarios in his mind, trying to work out what to say to Ms Hatcher to explain to her who he really was. For her part, Teri was quiet and introspective for most of the drive, glancing at him and almost beginning to speak a few times, but then stopping, as if she, too, didn't quite know how to say whatever was on her mind. But then, they arrived at the studios and it appeared that his opportunity to tell her had been lost, as various crew members, make-up artists and hairdressers appeared and bundled her away to her trailer. =20 Clark had seen movie sets in the past, and had a vague idea of what to do to look like he was fitting in, so he quickly located his own trailer and found the daily schedule which would tell him what scenes he was supposed to be filming first, and what the general daily routine would be. Speed reading through today's script to learn his lines, he couldn't get over the way it was so obvious in the script that everyone knew that Clark was Superman! This would truly turn into a novel experience for him! One thing that really cheered him up, however, was the realisation that according to the current episode being filmed, it was apparent that Lois knew the secret too. In a way, Clark could see this as a trial for when he got back home, to learn how Lois might actually respond to the knowledge! "Hey Dean! Where did you get to? You're up in just a few minutes." The words came from a stranger who seemed to be in control of the emerging chaos around him. "You and Teri have a flying scene - you are going to need to get into the suit and get to Make-up. We need you back in 30 minutes." "Yeah, right, Make-up," mumbled Clark, still totally confused by the scenes around him. "Teri, over here!" yelled the stranger. Clark watched as "Lois" hurried off. Of course, he reminded himself, it wasn't "his" Lois. It certainly looked like her and sounded like her, but... "You ready, Teri? Its a cable scene today - tough one too. Dean promised he would work out specially for today; said he won't drop you!" "Hrmph," was the reply Clark heard. "Well, let's just get this one going. I'm not up for a 14 hour day today." "Dean..." Teri looked at him suspiciously. "Is my dress crooked, lipstick smudged... what?" "Sorry," Clark backpedalled. "It's just... umm... I have to get changed. See you in half an hour!" Clark turned and almost ran from the "set". He had to get away - get to make-up, wherever that was. He had to get the suit on... hang on, he checked... he *had* the suit on. He *was* Superman. OK, one detail taken care of. Now make-up? Why did he need makeup to be Superman? He realised though, that being on film, he *would* need makeup, so he scanned the area till he found a trailer marked with the appropriate signs and headed in that direction. He took his time, and used some of the half hour to do some further exploring. The changing to Superman bit would require little effort. He walked through what he discovered was the Warner Brothers Film Studios. He was greeted everywhere he went; he discovered that this "Dean" person was well known and a popular figure in this world - well in the film studio at least. After about twenty minutes, he thought it wise to return to the set and make an appearance at this make-up place. He knew that he was supposed to be Superman the next time he made an appearance - obviously there was no need for an actor portraying a superhero to have a secret identity. Stepping into a corner and out of sight, Clark executed a spin change into his alter-ego. He became aware of a heated discussion in the Daily Planet between Teri and the director. "What do you mean he's wandering around the lot?" Teri questioned. "He knows that I wanted to be out of here early tonight! *Now* he needs to take the visitors' tour? Of all the..." Clark decided that now might be an opportune time to make his presence known. He strolled up to Teri, desperately wanting to assure her that he would not dream of being whatever she was about to label him. =20 "Lo... um, Teri? What's the problem?" "Enjoy your little tour?" She queried. "We're all ready to rehearse this scene and you're ... when did you get changed?" Teri changed tack when she noticed Clark in the suit. "Oh, never mind. Can we just get to work?" Clark shot Teri a bemused grin. This might not be "his" Lois, but this lady certainly acted and sounded like her. She reminded him of Lois when Clark first joined The Planet: sarcastic, uncompromising, driven and virtually totally ignorant of his presence - it was nothing more than an annoying necessity of circumstance. The director called to Clark and Teri. "Okay people, this is a more complicated scene than usual. Dean, we need to hook up the harness a little differently to get the angles right. We are using a different type of cable which is supposed to give a more realistic effect on camera. We will test them with you and then get you to hold Teri before we get to dialogue or anything else. Got it?" "Uh huh," they both murmured simultaneously. Clark looked around and caught sight of the "harness." He started somewhat when he saw the complexity of the rig required to make him "fly". His actions must have betrayed him, because Teri was looking at him strangely. "Dean?" she queried. "Are you worried about going up there today? I know you are not fond of the usual harness, but this one is supposed to be less demanding." Her tones indicated that she knew that pretending to fly was not particularly easy and Clark gathered that his counterpart was not exactly excited about being suspended in mid-air on a regular basis. "What? No, um, it's ... OK. I was just checking out the new cables. There just seems to be lots of wires and cables." "Of course there are Dean," Teri responded with mirth. "What did you expect, skyhooks?" This woman certainly had the wry humour of Lois. The director called Clark over to be fitted into the contraption. He felt totally ridiculous, but decided to go along with the charade. How would he explain things otherwise? In his own world he was different, a freak, but at least there he existed. Here, he was just a fantasy, a concept dreamed up in someone's imagination. No, now was not the time to declare his hand, but he was going to have to do something, at some stage to work out a way of returning to his world. "Put your arms in here, clip this under the cape. Now as you are elevated, you will need to stretch out horizontally. We'll make it look like you're doing the flying if you follow our directions." Clark felt the tug of the cables as his feet began to lift off the floor. He struggled to avoid using his own powers to fly - it was difficult as his natural response to being in the air was to be self-sufficient. "Now stretch out ... horizontally ... put your left arm out, clench your fist, roll to the side ... no the other side. Now we are going to bring you to an upright position and then lower you slowly. Good .. hold that, straighter ... now soft landing, great!" Five minutes later Clark was back on the ground. He had managed to control his natural urge to be under his own steam, well for most of the time. He was certain that no-one would have noticed him compensating for some of the awkward manoeuvrings of the harness operator. =20 "That was great, Dean! The smoothest we have seen you "fly" in a long time! Must be the new equipment." Clark grinned widely. "Must be," he agreed. "Teri, over here. We need to do a test run with you and Dean together now,'" the director motioned. "Okay, Dean, I want you to rise up holding Teri, to stop and talk with her for a minute or two, then we need to get you into the horizontal position and test some scenery shots behind you. We will need you up there for about fifteen minutes. Is that okay with you two? Think you can handle it Dean?" "Um, yeah, no problems," replied Clark, cheerfully. He looked at Teri who was eyeing him suspiciously. "What, no complaints today, no headaches?" She queried. "You must be sick!" =20 Clark wondered about this Dean character; was he a bit of a whiner, or *was* it really hard work being suspended by wires for hours at a time. He, Clark, would never really know, he mused. "Um, no, Lo - ah, Teri, I'm fine. He really did need to be careful. This was at least the third time he had called her Lois, or nearly had, and this lady was certainly no airhead. She and Dean obviously spent a considerable amount of time together and she knew him quite well. But how well? He still hadn't worked that out. There had been a reference to a 'Jon' that he had yet to decipher. He needed to find some more tabloids! The ropes of the harness were realigned and checked and Teri directed to take her place in Clark's arms. This was difficult - here was the exact replica of the woman he loved in his arms, and it was "Lois" but only a caricature of her. She was an actor portraying Lois. Teri's proximity only served to confuse him even further. "Now, we are not going too high on this one, there is no harness on Teri so we are not risking anything here. Dean hold tight - that's a precious cargo you have there!" The directions were coming thick and fast. Clark felt the pressure of the cables once again, and he and Teri began to rise. "Hold on tight, you hear me, Wonderboy," cracked Teri, betraying a slight nervousness, as they rose slowly together. Teri had her arms linked around Clark's neck and he had one arm around her waist and one pointing into the air. =20 "Can you do this safely with one arm holding me?" She queried, "You only do this when I'm in a harness!" Clark detected a slight sense of panic in Teri's voice and brought his other arm to meet behind Teri's back. He felt her relax slightly. "You seem almost overconfident today, Dean. What's up? You almost look like you are enjoying this - that would be a first!" "Well, maybe I *am* finally getting used to it all; it's been, what, how long now?" The question was a clever one, with the dual purpose of dealing with Teri's question and trying to glean a little more information about his own history in this world. =20 "Three and half years, Dean and I remember you telling me repeatedly that you would *never* get used to this. What gives?" The woman was pressing against him now, and he began to feel decidedly uncomfortable - her closeness being a huge part of the problem. Teri was an actor, this was all an act for her, but for Clark, his relationship with Lois was real and she could not help but affect him. "Dean, you are blushing! What's the matter? You have been acting strangely since early morning. I can't put a finger on it, but somehow you are different." "Well, um... it's..." Clark started to respond, but they were interrupted by the director. =20 "Okay people, that's good. Now we want to get Dean into the horizontal position, just get ready to brace yourself. I only need you to hold that for a few minutes. Just wait for the cables to be realigned." They both felt a jerk in the ropes above them. "Whoa! Oh shit!" They heard a voice above them becoming agitated and then suddenly felt themselves being hurled skyward. The studio was in a warehouse-like building with very high ceilings, but they were approaching the top of the cable with alarming speed. Chapter Five "Wait! I have to explain something, Ms Lane," interrupted Dean. If this Lois Lane was anything like the one his partner was used to playing, he had to get a word in edgewise here before she started babbling uncontrollably. "Somehow (I really don't understand how this works), some of what you have experienced as real life, I have acted out on my TV show. I knew about the blackmailers and Jason Mazik & the diary of Tempus because that story was our second season finale. I would like to avoid telling you anything about your future, but for all I know, my being here is going to change your future from episodes in your life that I've already been in, so maybe it won't make any difference anyway. "You see, at the very end of our second season, *after* Lois has - er, you have recovered from the effects of being frozen and thawed, she goes for a walk in Centennial Park with Clark. And he proposes to her. We didn't know how she - er, you - were going to react, so we actually filmed three different endings for that episode." "Well, gee! I don't know how I would react either. But if Clark tried proposing to me and kept a secret like the fact that he's Superman too from me, one thing I do know is that I'd be -" "Mad?" Dean spoke the word at the same time as Lois. "Yes, mad, very mad! How could you - I mean, he, expect me to agree to spend my whole life with him, if I didn't know everything about him?" "Now wait a moment," Dean interrupted again, "I'm not married, but I do know that you don't necessarily know *everything* about a person before you marry them. That's part of what a marriage is about: learning about each other intimately." "Intimately?" "Well, yes. I mean, well, maybe Clark did make a mistake in not telling you first, but well, it has certainly led to some interesting conversations as a result. I mean, it will for you. I mean - oh hell, I don't know *what* I mean! Anyway don't you remember? Hasn't Clark been trying to tell you something really really important these last few weeks, but he keeps getting called away. Argh! these tenses are getting so confusing! I don't know what will be in his mind when he proposes to you before telling you the secret. I think if I had truly been in his position, I would have done the easier thing first - proposed, that is, and planned on telling you the secret straight afterward. But I can tell you that in my universe's version of this story, you already knew already anyway." "Excuse me? I'm getting confused. You're saying that Clark will propose to me without telling me he's Superman, but that I already know? Well, I certainly know now! And what was that about having filmed different endings to the season finale?" Dean explained, haltingly, and mixing his tenses wildly, how the writers had allowed for three different endings to the season finale, where in one, Lois had said yes, in another she had said no and in the third she had not said anything, but just looked surprised. "But then how did you know that I knew Clark's secret?" Lois asked. She seemed to have realised that she had to take this whole series of events in her stride. Perhaps later she would have a moment to go gibberingly mad over the whole thing. "We've already started filming the *fourth* season, Lois," explained Dean. "I already know what your response is going to be. I think that's what I meant when I said that this is sort of like time travel, as well as dimensional travel. I know that when you tell Clark that you can't marry him yet because the revelation is a bit too much of a hurdle for you, he is going to get all pouty and upset. He's not quite like me, because when you say 'No, not yet,' he'll only hear the "no" and ignore the "not yet". =20 "What do you mean, "he's not quite like you"? You two certainly look the same! And believe me," Lois admitted, "I've done some *looking*." Suddenly she blushed at this confession. Being the TV star he was, Dean was used to being ogled by women, but this was different. He was used to working with Teri Hatcher, who was considered (on his world, at least) one of the world's sexiest women. But Teri was married, and was therefore off-limits. Lois Lane, on the other hand, was neither married, nor he suspected, if he really pushed, off limits. 'This could get interesting,' said a small part of his brain. 'Shaddap,' he told that part of his brain. 'This woman has just had a series of shocks to her system, and she *doesn't* need that sort of treatment!' =20 "That reminds me Lois, something I wanted to ask you..." Dean broke off there. He had been about to ask Lois what it was like to actually have super powers, but he quickly realised that Ultra-Woman was in this Lois' future, and he really didn't want to spoil everything for her. He had to change tacks fast! "Um, would you like to see my time-machine?" He groaned aloud at the way that line sounded. "Is there a problem, Dean?" Lois was concerned now. Dean grinned disarmingly at Lois. "Why is it that when I'm writing scripts for this show, I never have difficulty writing for these characters, I feel like I understand them, but when I'm actually supposed to *be* Clark, I sound so corny?" "Hang on a moment, I thought you said you were an actor?" "Well, yes, but I'm also a writer and I want to get into directing, and I've actually written two scripts for 'Lois & Clark' that have been produced." "'Lois and Clark,' eh? That's what the show is called? Not just 'Superman'? I like the sound of that!" Lois smiled. =20 "Well," explained Dean, the show is supposed to be about the relationship between the two of us, er... I mean you, I mean..." "Don't worry, I think I understand." Lois interrupted. "So, we actually do have a relationship, do we?" To Dean's surprise, Lois put her hand on his knee.=20 "Um, Lois?!" his voice broke disconcertingly. "What are you doing? I've just told you that you're going to be proposed to by Clark, and that you guys are supposed to be having a rel- relationship," he stuttered, "and you - you *do understand* I'm not him, don't you?" Lois, for her part, was feeling quite dazed. The doctors had given her some medication since she had been snap frozen and thawed, and the pills were having quite an effect on her. She found her mind going off on all sorts of odd tangents. She wondered to herself whether this Dean person was as like Superman and Clark as he appeared. She wondered whether Clark (*her* Clark, she thought with a mental giggle) had given any thought to sex with her, and whether making love with him would be different for her than it was with a human. Whether he planned to prepare her for this, or if she was just supposed to find out on her wedding night? She wondered to herself whether of not the suit would or could come off. Then she noticed that Clark ... er... Dean, she corrected herself, was looking at her with those puppy dog eyes that both men shared, and that he seemed quite concerned, waiting for her response. "Sure I do, Honey," Despite the little thrill that went through him at being called Honey by someone as beautiful and sexy as Lois was, Dean suddenly noticed that Lois' voice was slurred; she almost sounded a little like Teri playing Wanda Detroit. "But I've always wondered how that suit comes off, and what it would be like to make love to Superman, and you're about the closest I'm likely to get, right?" "No! No, wait! Lois, this isn't right!" Dean jumped up off the sofa, and moved swiftly to the other side of the room. Lois slumped down into the sofa as soon as her support was gone. Dean moved back to her again, and helped her up. Sitting on his heels before her, he looked at her carefully, and realised that there was something wrong. "Lois? Are you alright?" =20 She stared at him vacantly, and not quite knowing what to do, he found her bathroom (thinking to himself, 'Ah, this place really *does* have a bathroom, does it?') and went to wet a face-cloth to help bring Lois to her senses. On the cabinet, Dean noticed a bottle of pills and looking more closely at the label, realised that Lois must have taken some of these drugs. "Lois?" He called from the bathroom. =20 "Wh..." she murmured. Coming back out into the living room with the damp face-cloth, Dean asked Lois what the pills were. The face-cloth helped to make her a little more alert and she explained that the doctors had given her the drugs, but that given what had happened, they weren't entirely sure how she would react to them. Suddenly she realised what she had been doing, and sat up straighter. "Oh god, oh god, I didn't imagine that did I? I really was coming onto you a bit strong, wasn't I, Dean? Oh god, I'm so sorry. I guess these drugs have taken away my inhibitions! Oh god, I didn't say that out loud, did I?" "Lois," interrupted Dean. "Don't worry about it. You obviously need to rest. Why don't you go lie down till you're feeling a bit better and then we can work out what I'm going to do with myself." Lois looked at Dean, sitting there in the Superman suit, and realised that he had come to her, because he simply didn't know where else to turn. It made her feel as caring (maternal? she thought with a small surprise) as she had ever felt in her life. Something about Clark/Superman/Dean seemed to bring that out in her, she supposed. "Sure. Why don't you, um, make yourself at home here. Fix yourself something to eat. These drugs are really getting to me. I don't know how long I'm going to sleep for, but I feel tired enough to sleep forever. I'll get you a spare pillow, and you can sleep too if you want." Dean looked at Lois questioningly, and she started, realising what the look meant. "On the sofa! On the sofa!" 'Darn!' thought Dean, with a grin to himself. Late in the night, Dean woke, again, just after drifting off. He wasn't sleeping well, and the knowledge that he had to be lucid the next day wasn't helping. "Damn!" he swore softly, punching his pillow again. His body was *so* aware of the beautiful woman asleep in the bedroom, and he knew it wasn't right to do what he was considering, but he found himself getting up, and padding barefoot from the living room to Lois' room. 'I'm just checking up on her,' he tried to convince himself. But when he saw her asleep in that bed, totally dead to the world, he found the temptation of the bed (not the woman!) too great. 'I'm so tired, that I'm sure to sleep like a log too. It won't disturb her sleep if I just lie on top of the covers, surely!' Almost without thought, he found himself lying next to Lois, and drifting off to sleep. His last conscious thought was something along the lines of 'If my friends could see me now!' Chapter Six "Dean!" screamed Teri. "What's happening?" They could hear people screaming and shouting below them. It was obvious that the whole contraption was out of control. Then just as suddenly as the upward movement had begun, it stopped. Teri looked at Clark and with an expression of sheer relief buried her head in his shoulder. She sobbed audibly. "That was not fun," she whispered. "Please hold on till they get us down from here." "My pleasure," replied Clark, almost a little too quickly. Having decided to keep his true identity a secret, he was surprised at how quickly his deception had almost ended! He was now suspending them in the air, the harness still attached, but the ropes not supporting his body. To the observers below, the cable failsafe mechanism had saved them. However the operator of the harness knew differently. He had been unable to control the upward journey and was amazed when the pair had stopped their ascent. He could also see the slackness in the cable above them. Those two were being suspended in the air by something other than that new, wonderfully unique cable. Clark was concerned about the harness anyway after the almost-emergency, and took the opportunity of Teri not looking to have a *closer* look. What he saw horrified him. The entire rope system was under too much sudden stress and was about to fail. How could he get out of this with no-one the wiser to his identity? Fate came to his aid, for as the harness ropes began to split and separate, one of the counter-weights attached to the end of one of the ropes swung suddenly upwards. The only technician near enough to see what was actually happening up there, took the brunt of the flying counter-weight and was knocked from his platform 10 feet in the air down to the sound-stage floor! Clark was able to secretly use his powers to cushion the man's impact in such a way that when he landed it was gently and onto a pile of unused ropes, so that the landing was not as bad as it might otherwise have been. Then mechanism housing the pulley system at the top of the cable decided that it's job was complete, and as all the ropes in pulleys raced down to follow the technician, Clark realised that he was the only thing between Teri Hatcher and a similar demise! He had no choice but to use his powers to save her, and so, hoping that in the confusion that was occurring down below no-one would think to ask how the rescue was achieved, he flew himself and Teri to the lately evacuated platform. As he deposited Teri on her feet, and indicated that they should climb the ladder down to the sound-stage floor, he watched the emotions playing over her face, so clearly. She moved from bafflement to disbelief to wonder. Clark could almost see Teri's brain ticking over. Neither of them said a word about what had just occurred. As they neared the ground, Clark and Teri became aware of the situation down there. The technician had been surrounded by medical officers. Despite his soft(ish) landing, the man was unconcious. Clark checked him out and found no concussion, and realised that the man must have fainted! The baffled doctors came to much the same conclusion but suggested that he should be taken to a nearby hospital for observation until at least the next day. By then, Clark and Teri had reached the floor, and they were approached by another medical officer. Teri appeared to be in shock; she was pale and her hands were shaking. Although the doctors could not find anything specific wrong with her, they suggested to the director and crew that given that the harness was unusable until it could be repaired, and that call-sheet for the remainder of the day required *only* flying scenes, which meant that the whole day was a write-off, Teri and "Dean" should also be given the rest of the day off. Clark offered to drive Teri back to her home, and quietly led her towards his trailer, where he could get out of the costume and back into Dean's clothes. As soon as they were out of earshot of the rest of the crew, Teri placed a restraining hand on Clark's arm. =20 "What happened back there...? Did I imagine it in the confusion?" Stalling for time, Clark replied with a question of his own. "What did you *think* happened up there, Teri?" Teri paused, trying to find the right words to describe something which she had always known was impossible. "You... you aren't who I thought you were, are you? You've been behaving oddly all day. What is going on here?" Clark realised that he needed to come clean at least to this one person, with whom he was going to have to be working rather closely. =20 "You're right. I'm not Dean Cain," he began bluntly, hoping to get this revelation (at least) over as quickly as possible. He declared quietly, "I'm Superman." "Ohmigod!" Teri gasped, and promptly reacted to all the shocks of the day by fainting. Chapter Seven Much later, Lois began to drift towards consciousness, aware of another warm body beside hers. Still fuzzy-minded because of the drugs, she glanced over to see who was there, and was most pleasantly surprised to find Superman sleeping soundly next to her, wearing not much more than his underwear. She didn't recall much of the previous night's events at first, and couldn't believe her luck! She decided that didn't want to know what he was doing there, but she *couldn't* resist the opportunity to kiss him lightly on the forehead. =20 Dean turned over with a mumble too low to decipher and, much to Lois' delight, he wrapped her in his arms, and fell deeper asleep. Lois had *no* idea what was going on, but she was thrilled. Her body began to betray her and she couldn't resist snuggling up closer to the man of her dreams. Wrapped in a man's arms for the first time in many years, her body still knew what to do and began to respond to his warmth and presence. But the drugs were still in control of her body. Soon Lois, comforted and contented, drifted off to sleep again. Eventually the night began to turn to day, and with the first sounds of traffic, on the street outside, Dean began to awaken. He was so surprised to find himself cuddled up close to Lois that he sat up, startling Lois into wakefulness too. =20 "Wha -?!" they both exclaimed at the same time. Dean grabbed for the sheets to cover himself just as Lois did the same thing. The events of the previous afternoon and evening rushed back into Lois' mind with a forcefulness that made her shut her eyes and hold her temples. "Lois? Are you alright?" Dean was worried. "I'm fine." She was short-tempered because of the headache she just knew was about to attack her. "Dean, isn't it? You wouldn't believe the dream I had last night." "Actually, Lois, given what's been happening to me recently, I think I= would." Getting off the bed, Dean went to the bathroom and came back with some Tylenol and a glass of water. Lois looked at him gratefully, before swallowing the medicine in one gulp. Then she motioned that he should leave the room to let her get dressed. Dean headed back to the living room and was standing looking at his suit with distaste, wondering what he should do about getting some clean clothes, when Lois followed him out there, now in her schlumpy robe, and realised what he was thinking.=20 "Well, first things first, I guess we have to get you some clothes to wear, since you aren't Superman, Dean. I can get into Clark's apartment and get some clothes for you, but I don't think you should be seen in public until I get out there and back. While I'm gone, you'd better call Perry and tell him that neither of us can make it into the office today?" "Wait, Lois, what are we going to be doing today then? Can you take time off work that easily?" "Oh, that's not a problem. I'm due a lot of holiday - I just never seem to need to take time off, and Perry's been on my back about that recently, so I don't think he'll mind if I don't turn up today. As for what we're going to do, well, I thought you wanted some help getting home? And I know I want to see Superman back where he belongs!" "And Clark too, I suppose?" "What, does everyone on your planet read minds?" "Well, not really. But it was fairly obvious which way your mind was headed, Lois." "Anyway, Dean, my plan for getting you back where you belong hinges mainly on working out how the machine works that brought you here. You - er Superman, that is, told me that you had kept the plans for the machine that he drew up in a safe place. You wouldn't happen to know where that might be, since you know him so well?" "The plans? You mean you expect them to actually work?" Dean was very surprised. "Well? And why not?" Lois was bemused. "The machine that brought you here worked didn't it? Why shouldn't it work again, once we understand how to control it?" "But the machine is only a prop," Dean explained. "How can it possibly work? It isn't real!" "Not on this world, Dean... It must be very strange on your world, but *here*, we don't have to understand how everything works, we just accept= it." "Hmm," mused Dean. "I suppose you're right. In my world, we wouldn't accept a person walking around in this suit," he touched the spandex suit on the sofa,"let alone flying around in it!" =20 "Speaking of which, I'm sure you don't want to sit around in your underwear all day. I'll go get you some of Clark's clothes, and we'll get to work on getting you home, eh?" "Um, yeah. While you're out, I'll cook us some breakfast and ring Perry." Dean wondered where he might find the number for the Planet, but assumed that he'd be able to find it somewhere. "Cook? Breakfast? Wow! what a treat!" Lois thought that this man may not have been her Superman or the Clark she knew so well, but he certainly was talented! "If you know the way Clark thinks so well, you might also like to think about where Clark may have stored the plans, too." With that Lois headed for the bathroom and a quick shower before leaving for Clark's apartment. While Lois was gone, Dean took the opportunity to look around Lois' place. He knew that even if he couldn't make Teri believe what was happening to him, he'd still be able to offer some very useful input into her character depiction, even if it was only in the next episode he wrote for the series. He was fascinated to learn what Lois' interests were in music. And he smiled broadly when he discovered her stash of basic cookbooks. It had always surprised him that Lois, knowing her weakness in this area, didn't appear to have done anything to gain more skill in the kitchen. Maybe she was just waiting for the right man to cook for! In the kitchen, he also found that the pantry *was* well stocked as well as the refrigerator, and he had no problems making a healthy and filling breakfast for two. =20 Given the schedule he'd been keeping at home, he decided to treat this time as a bit of holiday, and despite the need to get home hanging over his head, he thought he would take it easy. As Dean wandered through the apartment, he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to call Perry. He couldn't find the number anywhere, and ended up having to call Information to be able to call the place he supposedly worked! But once that was out of the way, his thoughts turned to wondering where Clark would have hidden the plans to the time machine which he had built. Nothing had been said about a hiding place in the script that Dean had read from, but then suddenly it clicked! A hiding place? Of course! In the secret compartment in his wardrobe. Where else would he have put it?= =20 Dean called The Planet again, and got Lois' mobile number and then called her, catching her just as she was about to leave Clark's place. "Lois, go back into Clark's room and open the wardrobe. See the tie rack there? Remember what you told me about what I consider to be props actually working here? Pull down on the tie rack." "Oh my god!" "Lois? What is it?" "It's just..." Lois was momentarily lost for words, an amazing thing for Dean to witness, even by phone. "Well, if I ever needed proof that you were telling the truth about Clark and Superman being the same person, here it is! I can't believe that he'd keep these suits here!" "Lois! Lois!" Dean interrupted to stem the babbling before it really took off. "I need you to look around in there to find the plans for the time machine. That's the only place apart from maybe Kansas that I can think of the Superman might hide them!" "Kansas? Why would Superman hide anything in Kansas?" "Smallville, Kansas, Lois... where his parents live - you know?" "Oh my god! You mean that Jonathon and Martha Kent are also from Krypton?" "Lois, no! Wait. Come back here when you find the plans and I'll tell you what I can." By this point, Dean just wanted to work on getting home. He was pretty much unconcerned about changing what would be the future for Lois, making it different from what he and Teri had played out in script form all those months ago. 'And anyhow,' that voice in his mind told him, 'you don't really know how much Lois was supposed to know, only that she had figured out - or been told - the secret before Clark got the chance to tell her before proposing to her.' Dean's thoughts were interrupted by Lois's discovery of the plans that Clark had indeed hidden in the secret section of his closet. "Dean? I don't know about this... these plans look awfully complicated. I don't know whether we'll be able to build this machine by ourselves. Do you think we should get some help from Dr Klein at STAR Labs?" "Lois, no, I'd rather not get anyone else involved in this unless I have to. I don't want to change your future or anything like that. I don't think Dr Klein knows the secret - at least not at this stage. But don't worry anyway. I have my machine here - I just don't know how to use it!" "You have it here? Where?" "I hid it in the alley-way behind the Daily Planet when I arrived. I'm hoping the plans will also have instructions on how to work it and how to set it so I can get back to my place again!" Lois told Dean she would be back at her apartment with the clean clothes and the plans as soon as she could, and hung up the phone. Chapter Eight Superman caught Teri before she hit the ground, and, not knowing quite where else to go with her, took her back to Dean's place. The fresh breeze as he flew began to revive her, and she woke totally just as he was landing at the back door of the house. The dogs barked a welcome to the two of them (apparently Teri was a known quantity to them, though she wasn't really to Clark); apparently they were quite unsurprised at this flying man's abilities. As Teri's mind began to throw off the dizziness from her surprise, her eyes widened and she looked at the man who had just brought her here. "You're Superman? You're Superman! I don't believe it!" "Well, I wasn't quite sure how to prove it to you, but I don't see how you can *not* believe it Ms Hatcher." "Teri," she murmured absently. =20 "Teri," Clark took that as permission, "I need your help." "You need *my* help?" Teri was honestly surprised that someone who could apparently fly and was able to do all those things that Superman supposedly could, would need anybody's help to accomplish anything. But then she thought, 'Maybe he isn't so Super after all? Maybe our writers have been more accurate than they could possibly know, and he is more human than he knows. He certainly looks rather lost. I wonder what happened to Dean?' "I don't believe it!" Teri repeated out loud. "I don't believe that I believe what is happening here! Where's Dean Cain?" "I don't know, Teri. Tempus told me that he'd taken Dean to my home, but I have my doubts about his trustworthiness, so I don't know for sure where Dean is." "Tempus? How long have you been here? Maybe you'd better tell me how this happened. And then I think we need to work on a way to send you home again, don't you think?" Clark noticed from the way she spoke that Teri had already begun to believe him - or at least had suspended her disbelief long enough to help him out. Teri was thinking something along those lines to herself: 'If I can get rid of this person quickly, I'll have the rest of the day to collapse in a jibbering heap!' She gestured to him to take a seat and almost fell into the sofa herself when, with a grin, Superman chose to float instead, in a sitting position. Clark described to Teri how he had spent the past 24 hours (he couldn't believe it had only been 24! It seemed so much had happened in such a short space of time!), and then turned to her and asked: "Teri, from what I've seen around at the set and in the tabloids I scanned this morning, it seems to me that a lot of what really happened to me has been played out in that TV studio. I don't understand how this is possible... I think Tempus even mentioned something about choosing Mr Cain - er, Dean - to play me because he looked so much like me - But can you tell me something? "In the scenes we were filming today, it seemed that "Lois" knew my secret. How does she learn it?" "You mean you don't know? That's really weird, because you're right, it does seem like our writers have some sort of psychic connection to your world - I'm also not sure about what Tempus said to you though - but I remember discussing this with the writers when 'Clark' proposed to 'Lois' at the end of our second season, and going into our third. I wasn't terribly happy with the way 'Lois' suddenly knew, and the audience didn't get to see her reactions to her discovery. I think they messed up there a bit, and should have shown more of 'Lois'' discovery, and I know a lot of the fans felt that way, at the time, too. They said that it was because of the way both 'Clark' and 'Superman' touched 'Lois'' face," she demonstrated for him, sending a chill down Clark's spine. "But I think that if I had believed that 'Lois' was a real person, there ould have been more to her discovery than that. But our writers weren't able to tap into the psychic network or something," she giggled,embarrassed, "and so that's what they left us with by way of explanation." "So Lois does know by the time I propose to her. Phew!" Clark sighed in relief. "I've been trying to figure out how to tell her, someway that won't make her angry at me, but I can't do it. I keep on almost telling her, but then I hear something that makes me need to leave, and I know it's getting just as frustrating for her as it is for me." "Well, let me warn you, Superman," Lois began. "Please, call me Clark. I'd really prefer that. It's who I am. Superman is - " "Just what you do? Now where have I heard that before?" Teri joked. "Anyway, *Clark*, if your Lois does what was scripted for me, it doesn't get any easier just because you've proposed! She does get really mad that you've kept such an important secret from you for so long. And, no, I'm not going to tell you anything more about your future right now. It wouldn't be fair to *her* to know so much about what might happen between you two. And anyway, we never filmed an episode like what's happening now, so maybe your future and hers have been changed by what Tempus is doing." "And speaking of Tempus, we need to think about how I'm going to get home again." Clark reminded Teri. For the next hour or two, Teri and Clark threw ideas around on how to return him home again. Teri was almost relieved that they weren't at home for her husband Jon to see this, but on the other hand, she would never get anyone else to believe it, so she regretted his absence. Every idea that Clark suggested, Teri believed wouldn't work in her world, and every thought that Teri had, Clark didn't know how to put into motion. They had reached a stalemate, and by late afternoon, or early evening, Clark felt the need to get out and get some fresh air, hoping that with it, he would be able to think more clearly and find a solution. The last thing either of them wanted to do was to wait the two more days in the hope that Tempus might return. Neither one believed in what Tempus had told Clark when he left him here. Clark excused himself and left via the window, leaving Teri gaping in awe once more (and somewhat surprised that she felt that way, since he hadn't sat in a chair once at her house, but she thought she had become accustomed to it). As she sat back the phone rang, and she picked it up to hear a very familiar voice at the other end. Chapter Nine "Teri? What are you doing at my place? You won't believe what has happened to me! I'm at the studio and they said you'd gone home early= today!" "Dean? It *is* you, isn't it? You're back!" Teri sighed in enormous relief. "Hooray!"=20 "Back? How did you know I'd been away?" "Dean, you have got to get over here quickly. There's someone visiting me today that you have just *got* to meet! It's the only way you'll believe what's been happening to me!" "Hang on a moment. He's there, isn't he?" Dean was almost afraid to say the name out loud. It would confirm his thoughts and that was even more scary because it would mean that what he thought had happened to *him* in the last day or so, *must* have been real! "He? Yes, Dean, Clark is here, and we don't know how to get him home again. How did you get back?" "Teri, I have, believe it or not, a working model of Tempus' time machine behind my trailer. I've been to *that* world." "Dean, I *love* you! Look, Clark just flew off for some fresh air. We'll be over there as soon as he gets back." "He what? Did you say he "flew"? Ohmigod!" "Well, Dean," Teri could hear a whistling wind sound, which made her think that perhaps Clark was returning, "he is Superman, after all." She giggled, and went to open the window again to let Clark in. "We'll be there soon, Dean." As she hung up the phone, Clark walked into the room."Who was that? Where are we going?" "Oh Clark, I'm so glad you weren't gone for long! We've got access to a working model of Tempus' machine! You'll be able to get home now!" "A working model? How? Who were you talking to?" "It's Dean. He *has* been on your world, and he's back, with a working time machine. We have to get back to the studio quickly!" Clark was so relieved. He had had a feeling that going out for a quick flight would help solve his problem, but he had had no idea the solution would come in this form. However, he was somewhat nervous about the concept of meeting his twin, or doppleganger, or whatever you wanted to call it. "What's the best way there, Teri?" "By air, I'd say, Clark. Wouldn't you?" Teri smiled as Clark scooped her up into his arms. He walked back to the open window, and gently took off in the direction indicated by her. "Not many people on this planet would be able to say they've been taken flying by Superman." she joked, slightly nervously. =20 "And I can think of just one person who actually belongs here who will believe that you've done it," replied Clark. Suddenly Teri realised just how fast they must have been flying, because they were already arriving at Dean's trailer. As Clark landed, the door of the trailer opened, and the owner emerged down the steps. Each man stopped to appraise the other, and Teri faded into the background, watching, fascinatedly as the two seeming twins took each other's measure. After a few moments, she noticed that neither of them seemed game enough to say the first words. It occurred to her that it appeared they were afraid that talking to each other, or even acknowledging the other's existence out loud might make one or the other vanish into limbo. Nervous herself, she took the first step, falling back on the etiquette books she had read as a teenager. "Clark, I'd like you to meet Dean Cain. Dean, this is Clark Kent. We couldn't figure out how to get Clark home again, and he has to get back quickly, because Lois is about to discover the secret somehow and -" "And we are really glad you are back and have a working machine," continued Clark, not noticing Dean's blush of embarrassment. "Teri was under the impression that machines like this won't work on this world." Dean ushered the pair into his trailer, shaking his head. "Normally I think, they wouldn't, but this is the same machine that took me to your world, and we - er - I found the instructions for it that you wrote hidden in your secret closet, so I could actually figure out how to work the machine to get home again. One question: Were you really badly disoriented when you got here?" Clark nodded. "Well, you'll be happy to know it isn't quite so bad coming home as when I first arrived on your planet." Teri watched this exchange with amazement. She found that if she shut her eyes, she honestly couldn't tell which of the men was speaking. It got even worse a moment later. "Hey," both men began at once as the same idea occurred to each of them simultaneously. "You're a writer, aren't you? Are you going to write about this?" They both stopped at the same time too, and then grinned matching grins at each other. Teri interrupted them with a laugh, "Guys, this is just too weird for words. Clark, we haven't done anything quite like this in any episodes we've filmed, so far; but y'know Dean, why don't we sort of kind of suggest something along these lines to Eugenie and Brad, and see what happens." "For now, though," said Clark, "I think I ought to be getting home. I have some important things I need to talk about with Lois, and I don't want to delay any more." Dean took Clark around the back of the trailer, to where the time machine was, and set the controls to take him back home. =20 The power started to build up, becoming louder and louder. Dean and Teri both put their hands over their ears to protect them; the machine had begun to develop a foggy cloud around it, when suddenly Dean remembered he wanted to confess something to Clark. "She already knows!" He shouted. "What?" They could lipread what Clark was shouting back to them. "She already knows!" repeated Dean and Teri together, shouting as loudly as they could. But they would never know whether or not he had heard or understood them, for quite suddenly, the machine and it's cloud were gone, and the air reverberated around the place it had been. Epilogue Clark and Lois went for a quiet walk in Centennial Park that evening. Neither knew how to begin to tell the other of the events they had witnessed or been through the past two days, so they walked in silence for a while. Eventually, Clark put his arm around Lois' shoulder and began: "Lois, I've been thinking." "Me too." "What about?" he asked, hoping that he could think of some way to tell her about Teri Hatcher and what she had told him. "You first," she said. 'Darn', he thought, but tried to think of how to tell her everything... there was so much to tell. "Okay," he began. "Sometimes, you think you're immortal. You start to think that the people around you are too.. It just takes a *second* to realise how wrong you are, about everything." He led her to the fountain, and invited her to sit. As the rain that had been threatening all evening finally chose this moment to descend, he looked upward, and in frustration wished out loud, "Come on! Give me a break!" Lois looked up, and with a nervous giggle, because she too had a lot on her mind that she wanted to discuss with him, she offered to go back to where there was shelter. Clark demurred, "If the earth opened up at my *feet*, I wouldn't move until I'd said this." Then it came to him - he'd propose first, and *then* tell her the secret, straight away. That was the way to do it! He knelt at her feet, and continued. "Lois, will you marry me?" There was a bolt of lightning and the rain started to pour down even harder. Then Lois caught him totally off-guard with her own lightning bolt, by reaching up, removing his glasses, and asking him, "Who's asking? Clark? Or Superman?" As they ran for the shelter of the nearby buildings, neither Clark nor Lois said any more, although both had crazy thoughts going through their minds. = =20 Taking refuge in the craziest of comments, Clark asked Lois whether it was the new glasses that had given away his secret. But he knew that he needed to know how long ago Lois had learned his secret. =20 For her part, Lois couldn't believe that he had actually thought he would get away with proposing without admitting to her himself what the secret was. Was this really going to turn out exactly the way the actor from another world had said it would? And now Clark was asking her how she had figured it out. What could she say? Suddenly, she had a flashback of memories of Clark and of Superman each holding her face. The same tender way. Somehow, that motion epitomised his love for her, and she knew she could tell him that this was how she had figured it out. "So, how long have I known? Since yesterday." (That was the truth, anyway!) "How did I figure it out? When you did this," she demonstrated the motion she recalled so vividly. "You've touched me like that before, both of you. I guess almost dying sort of heightened all my senses. Sort of like putting on a pair of glasses." Clark was almost relieved. She had figured it out on her own. He had expected a different reaction. He wasn't sure what, but it didn't feel right that she hadn't gotten mad at him for keeping the secret from her. He still expected that to happen at some point. But first he had to tell her everything about the last few days. As he drew breath to begin, she did too. "Clark, I have to be honest with you. What I just told you was one of the things that clued me into who you really are, but there was more to it than that. Something happened while I was at home yesterday and today, that I think you should know about. I had a visitor... um, I'm not sure how to explain this..." Suddenly Clark guessed what Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher had been trying to tell him and continued for Lois, "called Dean Cain?" "You know? How?" "Because somehow, for some reason, which I don't yet know, I was swapped with him; I went to *his* world, and had to try to *be* him until he came back to get me. His world is such a strange place. "While I was there, I met a woman who reminded me a lot of you. Being there, and meeting her, made me realise that when I got home (and I *knew* I'd make it back somehow) I couldn't go on without telling you the secret, without making you more a part of my life. I had wanted to do that so much in the past few weeks, but I just couldn't do it. I guess it was just so ingrained in me to keep the secret or something..." The rain had stopped, and the couple continued their walk. =20 "Look, Lois, I'm sorry that my proposal came out sounding that way. It wasn't what I intended. Are you mad at me?" "I'm not mad at you." "Lois, this is no time to be holding back." Clark want to encourage Lois, and get the worst over quickly. "Really, I'm not." "I was talking to Lois Lane; she was here a minute ago..." "I'm not mad," Lois continued, "I'm hurt." "Which is worse than you being mad. Lois, I've been practising this for months, let's see if I can get it right... I know this must be a shock to you, and I wanted to let you know how hard it's been carrying this secret by myself. I've wanted to tell you for a long time, but when I decided to become Superman, I=97" "You became a target and anyone close to you became a target and it got more complicated when you fell in love with me." "Which was about two minutes after I first met you." "Don't try to score points with me, Kent." Lois bit out. "Look, I understand where you're coming from. I really do. Dean said that he felt the same way. But when it comes down to it, you made me believe you were two different people, and you did that by lying to me. And that makes me feel like I don't know you... and that really hurts. And you know what? I am mad!" "Good, get it all out!" Clark encouraged Lois. He was glad that she was at least reacting the way he had expected. Then suddenly they heard a cry for help. Lois looked at Clark expectantly, but before he spun into his costume (for the first time, in front of her!), he paused. =20 "Lois, I'll be back soon. We really do have a lot to talk about." A final word:=20 Some people have asked whether this story was based on a similar (published) Star Trek fanfic story (Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited) where William Shatner, DeForrest Kelly and Leonard Nimoy get transported to the bridge of the Enterprise and have to *be* their alter egos until Scotty (the real one) can get them home. Actually, I came up with this idea independently, but there are some similarities, and I admit to having read that story many years ago. But I promise that until it was mentioned in reaction to my idea, I had forgotten that story. =20 Interestingly, on Sunday January 19, 1997, when Dean made an appearance on #grapejam on IRC, the following exchange occurred: Dean, if you were kidnapped by Tempus and swapped with Clark Kent, how would you react? Jenerator- Id be shocked to say the least. We're filming something very similar to that right now. The tempest does return. .. Right from the word go, with this story, I knew how I wanted it to end, and my plan notes for the story say "They changed the ending of ATAI to suit themselves for WHALTTA, so why shouldn't I change it to suit myself. So I did. -- 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: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 01:29:36 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Rxiris Organization: AOL (http://www.aol.com) Subject: FANFIC : ANOTHER RERUN: Two Roses (1/3) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I'd planned on reposting this story, but when Peace called hers a rerun, well, I thought I'd follow her lead. I wrote the following story in January of 1995 and released it in February of 1995. I have to admit to being heavily influenced by the second season episodes that were airing at the time. I also must admit to being heavily influenced by fanfic by Zoomway . Continuity-wise, this fanfic fits into second season, sometime after The Phoenix, although my own universe is a little different from second season L&C (of course!). So, in honor of the show's revelation being aired on TNT, here's my own take on the revelation (with a little bit of 1997 editing ). Enjoy! Lynda Lynda D. Love (Rxiris@aol.com) *** Two Roses, A Revelation Story Note: Thanks to Zoomway, Leigh Raglan, and Marcelle. *** "Clark, I love you." Clark smiled. He'd been hearing those words with an enjoyable frequency lately. "Lois, I love you too." Lois glanced at him quickly, then returned to concentrate on her driving. "Too bad your source didn't pan out." "Well, tomorrow morning we'll hit our other leads. I know we'll find a way," Lois replied. Clark leaned back, resting his head on the headrest. Lois shot him a quick glance. "Clark, why don't you get some rest?" "Are you sure you won't want me to drive?" he asked, but he already knew the answer. "Sure I'm sure, partner," she said with a smile. "If I change my mind, I'll let you know. Just lean back and get some rest, okay?" "Okay." Silence enveloped them as Lois drove through the darkened countryside. Her head felt heavy. She struggled to keep her eyes open. She had just decided to let Clark drive when her eyelids slipped closed. Without her guidance, the Jeep veered into a guardrail on a bridge they had been crossing. The guardrail, rusted through from years of neglect, gave way and the Jeep plunged into the river below. The impact awoke Clark, who suddenly realized he hadn't been dreaming. Dark, icy water filled the vehicle quicker than he expected. He got a good gulp of air before the Jeep filled completely with water. Through the inky blackness he could faintly see Lois slumped over the steering wheel. Reaching over to unbuckle her seat belt, he pulled her out of the car and swam to the surface. As he inhaled, he realized Lois wasn't responding. Still holding her tightly, he rose out of the water and flew to the shoreline, where he laid her down on the first reasonably level surface he could find. Clark focused on one extremely important task: saving Lois Lane's life. He tilted Lois' head back, then leaned over and listened. Her heart was beating, albeit slowly-- a good sign. But she wasn't breathing. After pinching her nostrils shut, he gave her a breath. "Come on Lois," he whispered. He watched her chest rise, then fall. He gave her another breath. Then he checked her pulse again. Still ok. He told himself not to panic as he resumed rescue breathing. Suddenly Lois coughed violently and gasped for breath. She coughed again, then vomited. Clark quickly rolled her onto her side. "Oh Lois, please!" he said softly. She kept coughing-- horrible rasping, uncontrollable coughs. When her coughing subsided somewhat and Clark was satisfied she was breathing on her own, he wiped her face and began to examine her more carefully. Using his x- ray vision, he checked for fractures or broken bones. He found a single fracture in her neck. He surmised her seat belt must have prevented further injury. Clark considered flying Lois to the nearest hospital, but then he heard sirens in the distance. Unknown to him, someone with a cellular phone had witnessed the accident. When he saw the ambulance approach, he thought, This is the best way. Even I can't do everything. Lois needs to be in the hands of the medical profession. Lois shivered in his arms, her ice-cold body further reaffirming his decision. He held her tightly. "Lois, I'm here. Everything's going to be ok," he told her as he tried to warm her body with his own. He continued to speak reassuring words to her as he rocked her gently in his arms while he waited for help to arrive. * * * * * * * * The paramedic looked at the young man with amazement. "Sir, are you okay? Here, let me check you out." "No," Clark said, "I'm okay, just a bit shaken up." He looked up at the paramedic staring at him. Automatically, his hand flew up to his glasses. "Uh, I was asleep when it happened. I guess I was lucky." "Lucky indeed," the paramedic muttered as he turned away. Clark watched the paramedics check Lois over before wrapping her in a blanket. The doors closed and the ambulance sped away. "They'll take her to Parkview Hospital," came a firm but gentle voice from behind Clark. He turned and saw a state patrol officer. "From what I can see, you saved her life," he commented. The officer's pronouncement helped soothe Clark's guilt. For a moment, they both looked out at the river. The officer laid a hand on Clark's shoulder. "Come on son, you need a blanket?" "No, I'm..." he paused. "Yes, officer, that would be great." They walked to the police cruiser. Handing Clark a blanket out of his trunk, the officer asked, "She your girlfriend?" Clark wrapped the blanket around himself. "Uh, yes," he replied, feeling emotionally drained. "Come on, I'll get you a ride to the hospital," the officer said. Clark was about to refuse the offer when he thought better of himself. The paramedic had already given him a strange expression--he didn't want to arouse further suspicion. The officer radioed in for additional help. Then he turned to Clark and asked, "You want to tell me what happened?" Clark thought a moment. For the first time, he realized he didn't know how the accident occurred. "Officer, I'm afraid I won't be much help. I was asleep when the accident occurred." "Did you fall asleep while driving?" "Oh no, officer! My partner was driving. I fell asleep and the next thing I knew, I was in the water." * * * * * * * * Through the night Clark stayed with Lois as much as possible through what appeared to him as endless medical tests. The medical personnel in Parkview's emergency room were amazed by Lois and Clark's relative lack of injury. Clark downplayed his role to keep attention focused on Lois. If they only knew, he thought. When he wasn't ejected from her room for a test or procedure, Clark sat quietly with Lois and held her hand. In spite of the activity around her, Lois was incoherent most of the night. While maintaining his vigil, Clark's mind was active, turning over events and thoughts from his and Lois' recent past. It was around three o'clock in the morning before Lois' physician had time to approach Clark about Lois' condition. Dr. Gray repeated her surprise at Lois' lack of injury despite the seriousness of the accident. Clark ignored her statement and asked about the X-ray results. When told there were no fractures or breaks, Clark breathed a sigh of relief. However, Dr. Gray was still concerned about Lois' lungs. She told Clark she would keep Lois for observation until at least late afternoon. As dawn approached, Lois was wheeled into a room where she would be kept for observation. She was still not coherent, so Clark took the opportunity to slip home and change into clean clothes. * * * * * * * * The shadows were long on the hospital floor when Clark softly tapped the open door of Lois' room. Hearing no response, he hesitated before slipping into the room. He floated just above the floor so he wouldn't awaken her. She was pale, but still so beautiful and peaceful. It was hard for him to believe that only a few hours ago she was almost--well, he didn't want to think about it. More importantly, she was alive, and as far as he knew, she would again be well. Clark slipped down into a chair near her bed and stared at her sleeping beauty. During the night, he decided this accident had been too close, and he felt guilty. She was too important to him. Since the revelation of their love for each other, Clark felt like he wanted to walk on air all the time. He took a deep breath and decided he was ready for the next step. For him, there was too much at stake anymore--the time had come. For a long time Clark watched Lois sleep. The shadows on the floor shortened as the sun rose. The sounds of the hospital were a distant background noise. Finally, emotional exhaustion set in. As if hypnotized by her face, his own eyelids closed and he dozed off. * * * * * * * * * Lois was sitting on the bottom of Hobbs River screaming. A heavy trunk lay across her legs, preventing her from swimming to the surface. She struggled with the trunk, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, she heard someone cry out her name. Looking up, she saw Clark swimming down toward her. As he approached, Lois noticed there were great white wings on his back. Astonished, she struggled again, but to no avail. "Shh, Lois, I'm here," he said as he effortlessly lifted the trunk from her legs. He gathered her into his arms and swam to the surface. Once he broke the surface of the water, his wings started to flap and they rose into the sky. Higher and higher they flew, until all around them was white. Lois laid back in his arms. She felt safe and warm. Feeling like she was trying to climb out from under layers of sleep, Lois finally opened her eyes. The whiteness of the room surprised her. She turned and looked up at an IV bag hanging beside her bed, the fluid dripping methodically into the drip chamber below before running into her arm. She became aware of the stiffness of her body, as if she had been thrown about like a rag doll. She also became aware of someone else's calm breathing. She turned and was surprised to see Clark dozing in a chair beside her bed, his head nodding to the side. How strange that he was here and she had just had this wonderful dream about him. Shifting her weight slightly to get a better look, she was struck by how handsome he was--she had never stared at him like this without interruption. He started to look familiar. She blinked. "No. Crazy thought," she said to herself. Lois stretched her sore muscles. Glancing again at Clark's sleeping form, she thought, Mmm... I'm alive... and in love. She felt strangely renewed. Yet, Clark's resemblance to Superman piqued Lois' thoughts. She found herself comparing the two men: Superman hadn't saved her life, Clark had, and Clark was here, Superman was not. Clark had always supported her, while Superman's visits had become inconsistent at best. Lois hadn't felt rejected, rather she felt Superman had, if anything, steered her toward Clark. This she didn't comprehend, but she also didn't mind either. Come back to reality Lois, she thought. You're lying in a hospital bed thinking about Superman, when the man you supposedly love is right beside you. She laid back, turning the word L-O-V-E over in her mind. She thought of Clark's tender kisses, the ones that set her on fire--the ones that made her come very close to stripping off her clothing. She wrapped her arms around her chest. Yes, this awakening of her sexuality felt deliciously good. She wondered what direction it would take her and when. So far, she was pleased with the pace of their relationship. Since they had revealed their love for each other, Clark hadn't pushed her in a sexual way. In fact, once she had pushed him, but he stopped her, saying, "Not now, Lois." He told her that he wanted to take the time to get to know her in a romantic way. She found this side of him interesting and refreshing. Better yet, thanks to Clark, she felt she'd been given a second chance. Her life had been in danger before, and Clark had saved her life before as well, but this time was different. She had almost seen God. She looked at her best friend and hopefully, her future lover. As she gazed at him admiringly, she thought of the dream she had just had. Settling into her pillow, a slight smile played about her lips. A wonderful sense of happiness filled her body and grew in intensity until it exploded in laughter. Clark awoke to the sound of Lois' laughter. "Lois," he said gently and reached out his hand. She took it without hesitation. "Clark, I'm so glad you're here." She held onto his warm hand, as if it were her lifeline. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "You know, I feel pretty good, especially now that you're here." Clark smiled, "I've been here most of the night. Besides, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." "Thank you," she replied and gave his hand a squeeze. A look of concern crossed her face. "What about you? How are you feeling? Were you hurt?" Clark thought quickly, "Oh, I'm okay, really. Just some cuts and bruises. My right arm is pretty sore," he lied, "I guess it helped that I was asleep when the accident occurred. I was relaxed, like when drunks are involved in accidents, and they're barely hurt because they were relaxed from the alcohol." He hoped she would accept his explanation. She seemed to ignore his hasty explanation and settled into her pillow. "Mmm, I must be the luckiest woman in the world," she sighed. "What do you mean?" Clark asked, eyebrows raised. "To have a man like you," she said seductively, lowering her chin slightly. "You saved my life." She paused, "Wow... what a reward I get." "A... reward?" She stared intently at him, her lips parting slightly. Still holding his hand, she folded her arm across her body until their entwined hands rested lightly on her chest. Her motion caught Clark entirely off guard. He quickly drew in his breath. He felt like he was on fire. Leaning forward slightly, he breathed, "I get a reward also." They stared into each other's eyes. In one smooth motion, Clark rose up, leaned over, and kissed her. Her lips eagerly met his. But he was aware of where they were, and ended the kiss. As he stood up, Lois reached out for his other hand. "YOU," she said forcefully, "are amazing." "Really?" he replied as he sat down again. "Yes, really," she smiled. "How so?" he grinned. "Don't push a compliment, Kent," she laughed, then continued, "No really, I have a feeling there's more to you than meets the eye." Clark worked on his poker face. He held onto her hand and studied the IV tube attached to her wrist. His heart was pounding. What had she figured out? There was a long pause. "Do you know how long they will keep me here?" Lois finally asked. Clark exhaled. "I'm not sure. Dr. Gray said she would keep you until late this afternoon for observation." Lois thought for a moment. "I see.... I don't know Clark, I feel really happy to be alive, and I'm glad you're here. But the passage of time has been so strange. I'm not sure what I remember, and I'm not used to this. What do I remember really happened, and what is a dream? I'm really not sure." ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 01:30:04 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Rxiris Organization: AOL (http://www.aol.com) Subject: FANFIC : ANOTHER RERUN: Two Roses (2/3) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Two Roses Part 2 by Lynda D. Love (Rxiris@aol.com) * * * * * * * * Late that afternoon, Clark escorted Lois home. She still felt tired, so he helped her into her apartment. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked. "Yes, Clark, I just need to get some rest." She flashed one of her devilish smiles. "Being dead takes it out of you." "Oh, Lois!" Clark hugged her. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with me?" Clark laughed, "No, Lois, you said it yourself--you need some rest." Lois managed a fake pout. "Ok, you're right, mother." She hugged him. As she drew back, she bit her lip, then looked up at him and said, "Would you, uh, like to get together tomorrow night? I mean... I should feel better by then." Although unprepared by her question, Clark had already thought of his own plan. He decided to take the offensive. "Sure Lois, how about if you come over to my place. I want to cook for you." "You want to do WHAT? I didn't think you cooked." "Lois, I enjoy cooking--I just don't get a chance to do it very often. What I want to make for you is a real treat. I want to make you moussaka. It's a traditional Greek dish. I think you'll like it." "Sounds good," she paused, then laughed, "Geez Clark, will your talents know no end?" "Lois, you have no idea," he said, and before she could question him, he kissed her. As the kiss ended, she seemed distracted enough. Clark quietly shut the door to Lois' apartment. He realized he had a lot of thinking to do. A good place to start would be to visit his parents. Soon he was streaking across the Midwestern landscape. He found Martha preparing dinner. Although surprised at first, Martha had become accustomed to her son's occasional unannounced visits. "Stay for dinner, Clark?" "Sure, Mom." Later over dinner, Clark explained what happened to Lois. "Is she going to be ok?" Martha asked anxiously. "Yes, thank goodness. But I feel bad about this happening." "Clark, didn't you say you fell asleep?" Jonathan asked. "Well, yes, but I couldn't prevent the car from falling into the river." "That's my point exactly, son. If you weren't who you are," Jonathan paused, "we would probably be making your funeral arrangements right now." Clark thought of the paramedic's strange expression. "Yeah, you're right, Dad," he looked up and managed a smile. "Thanks." Clark changed the subject. "I've invited Lois over to my place for dinner tomorrow night. I'm going to make her moussaka." Martha nodded. "Oh, Clark, she'll like that." In his travels, her son had picked up many culinary delights. Occasionally, he shared them with his parents, but he still enjoyed Martha's home cooking. However, as a result of Clark's influence, even Martha had to admit a more international touch had crept into her menu planning in her choice of meals to serve Jonathan. Clark interrupted her thoughts. "I'm going to tell her." Martha was confused for a moment. She glanced at Jonathan. "Tell her what?" "Tell her you're Superman?" Jonathan asked. "Yes. I just don't know how." "Oh Clark!" Martha said and hugged him. Jonathan, ever cautious, asked, "You're sure the time is right?" Clark replied, "Yeah, Dad. This accident really showed me it's past time to tell her." "Think it through carefully, son," Jonathan said. Martha stepped back and looked up at her son's downtrodden expression. "Oh Clark, I know you'll find a way!" She smiled, "You know, I'm looking forward to her knowing about you. It'll be fun." Jonathan grinned, "Interesting, no doubt." * * * * * * * * As night fell, Clark became increasingly distracted. He wanted to check on Lois, but didn't want to chance awakening her. So he flew to her apartment. The draperies over her bedroom window were closed, but he scanned through them with his X-ray vision. Lois was asleep in her bed. Satisfied Lois was sleeping soundly, Clark flew to a private place he had found for himself. It was a mountain in a national forest north of Metropolis. He laid back on a large boulder and stared at the star-filled sky. In a futile effort to distract his own thoughts, he started to pick out constellations. The anxiety created by his decision to reveal himself to Lois was difficult for him to comprehend. It was neither a villain he could outwit, nor an evil he could put a face on. Like so many issues in his life, he had to find his own limits. He had no one to ask how to tell her. Even his parents couldn't provide a clear answer. He felt the familiar loneliness begin to stir. "Lois must think Superman has an easy life," he said out loud. She did not know the isolation he felt--the need to always suppress who he really was, to always stay in control, yet still be himself--still be Clark. At times he detested the schism he had created in own personality and in his life. He sighed deeply and acknowledged his deep feeling of isolation as another reason to tell Lois his secret. He wanted her to be a part of his life--all of his life. He also wanted to take their relationship further. He wanted to be intimate with Lois, but he couldn't in good conscience without telling her the truth about himself. His secret was a barrier between them he desperately wanted to tear down. * * * * * * * * The next day passed quickly. As he dressed for the evening, Clark played a favorite CD on his stereo. The CD was still playing when Lois knocked on his door. Clark opened the door and ushered her in. "Hi Lois." "Hello." "These are for you," Clark said and handed her two red roses. "Thank you! They're beautiful. But why two roses?" "I'll tell you later. How are you feeling?" he inquired as he escorted her down the steps and placed the roses in a small vase on the table. "Much better, thank you. I spent most of yesterday and today sleeping, but I'm feeling better now." "Well, you look great." "Thanks, so do you." She kissed him. "Smells good. What's that music playing?" "It's by a man named Seal." "Very nice. Better than Pearl Jam." Clark grinned. Lois did look beautiful. She wore a lace blouse and full-cut black pants. Over the blouse she wore an embroidered black velvet vest. For his part, Clark chose to wear a fitted blue chambray shirt and navy blue twill slacks. * * * * * * * * Lois put down her fork. "This is delicious!" "Thank you." "Where did you learn to cook like this?" "In Greece, where else?" Clark grinned. "This is a traditional Greek dish," he explained. "See, the trick is to pull the water out of the eggplant slices by sprinkling them with salt. The salt draws the water out of the eggplant, so the slices don't get mushy. This wonderful family I stayed with in Greece taught me." Lois gave Clark a blank look. "I didn't know you could cook. What else don't I know about you?" "Well," he said, making a conscious choice to ignore her question. "I don't get to cook very often, usually only on special occasions--like this one. Would you like more iced tea?" "You ignored my question." Not wanting to tip his hand just yet, Clark got up and began to clear the table. "I didn't know you wanted an answer." He heard Lois' voice behind him. "Okay, you're right. It was a rhetorical question. But I have noticed you've been rather nervous tonight. Would you mind telling me what's going on?" "Nothing, Lois," he replied, avoiding her gaze. "Clark...," Lois replied in her I-know-you're-lying voice. Clark adjusted his glasses and sighed. "Come sit on the couch with me," he said. When they sat on the couch, Clark sat on the edge of the cushion and turned so he could face Lois. "Lois, as you know, I have loved you for a long time. You are the most important person in my life. You're also my best friend." He reached for her hands. He caressed them for a moment before continuing. "I never, ever want to hurt you. I want to do whatever it takes to make you happy." "Oh Clark! You are so special," Lois crooned. She moved forward and kissed him. When the kiss ended, she settled back into the cushions. Clark continued, "I have something to tell you. It's time to take the next step." "The next...what?" Lois' brow furrowed. She was terribly confused. Was their relationship over already? Was Clark's little speech a cruel joke? Was Clark tired of playing second fiddle to Superman? Or, conversely, was Clark going to propose? She was happy with their relationship, but she was not ready for a marriage proposal. She looked in his eyes for a sign. His deep brown eyes were filled with uncertainty, but she saw no malice. Finally, she cautiously asked, "So what's this about?" Clark paused a moment and took a deep breath. He felt so afraid, yet this would be the last time he would have to refer to himself in the third person to Lois. He tried to force his heartbeat to slow down. "There is something I have to tell you. It's about Superman." Immediately, Lois jumped in. "Look Clark, let's get something straight. YOU saved my life. Superman didn't. It was you who made sure I got to the hospital. It was you who stayed with me until I was discharged, and it was you who took me home and made sure I got some rest. Superman didn't do any of that--you did it." She stopped, her brows furrowed again, "Wait, I've got it! Are the two of you competing over me?" Before Clark could respond, she continued, "Clark, Superman's lost the battle if that's the case. I mean, he can fly and all that, but you--there's so much more depth to you," she paused. "Besides, you kiss better than him anyway," she commented and grinned. "Really? Hmm...." Clark was surprised, "I'll take that as a compliment." Lois, however, was on a roll. "I think Superman knows what's going on here too. If you must know, I think he's been steering me toward you for quite some time. And... I really don't mind. In fact," her voice intensified, "I'm glad he did. It helped me to open my eyes about you. Besides, I was really selfish, Clark," she paused, "Superman doesn't belong to me. He belongs to Metropolis--and the whole planet!" Clark digested her words carefully. She told him what he wanted to hear, yet he knew he had to go further. "Well, that's good to hear, but what I want to tell you is a little different." Lois looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Do tell," she said. Clark ran his fingers through his thick black hair. "Before you accepted Lex's proposal," he began, "you had a conversation with Superman where you told him you would love him even if he were an ordinary person." "Oh no, not this again," Lois moaned, burying her face in her hands. "Lois, please bear with me. I need you to remember that conversation." Lois sighed heavily, "How could I ever forget it?" "Lois, talk to me." She hesitated a long time before the words poured out. "I told him if he were an ordinary man I would love him just the same." Her eyes filled with tears as her voice shrank to a whisper. Clark reached for her hands. As he caressed them, he wondered if he was going about this the right way. "What did he tell you?" he asked as gently as he could. Lois looked up. A tear rolled down her cheek. "He said, 'I wish I could believe that, Lois, but under the circumstances, I don't see how I can.'" To her surprise, Clark spoke Superman's words along with her. Her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence and she stared at him, her eyes wide. "How did you know about that?" she demanded, "I never told anyone about that conversation! Did Superman tell you?" "No." "No?" Lois' brow wrinkled in confusion. "Then how did you know exactly what he said?" Before Clark could open his mouth to answer, Lois exploded. "I will never forget that day, the look of hurt on Superman's face, the biting words he said!" She leaped up and paced the floor. She stopped, hands on her hips and fired at Clark, "And now you know the exact words he used?!?" "Lois, please. Sit down and listen to me," Clark pleaded. He waited for her to calm down. "Lois, I'm trying to tell you... I'm that ordinary man. And," he held up his hand as Lois opened her mouth to interrupt, "I was hurting too." "What? What do...." her voice trailed off as the meaning of what he'd said hit her like a ton of bricks. Stunned, she looked down at her hands twisted together in her lap. To her, a light went on, but she wasn't ready to face that light. Furthermore, she knew what he was trying to tell her, but she wanted to be deaf. She wouldn't even look at him. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would leap out of her chest. In her mind, the assumptions and fantasies she had made about Superman went up in proverbial smoke. The silence between them was deafening. ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 01:30:26 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Rxiris Organization: AOL (http://www.aol.com) Subject: FANFIC : ANOTHER RERUN: Two Roses (3/3) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Two Roses Part 3 by Lynda D. Love (Rxiris@aol.com) Clark reached out and gently lifted Lois' chin. "Lois, I can see you're afraid." She nodded. "I'm scared too. But Lois, I have to tell you--what I'm trying to tell you is..." "...that you're Superman?" she finished the sentence for him, her voice breaking. Clark reached up to adjust his glasses, then looked down at her. "Yes..." Lois looked down, her stomach tied in knots. In her mind, the word NO repeated over and over. "No. You are not Superman," she stood up quickly, turning toward the door. "If you were Superman, you would have told me sooner." Clark sighed, "Lois, it's not that simple." Lois turned on him. "You're exactly right! It's NOT that simple! That's why you aren't Superman!" Clark guessed what she was going to do. He absolutely could not let her run now. "Lois...." "No! You can't be!" Lois exclaimed as she leaped up the steps leading to Clark's front door. And stopped. Clark was already there, standing in front of her. "Wha...?" Lois stared up at Clark. His jaw was set with a determination she had seen on Superman's face, but his eyes were still uncertain. Clark returned her intent gaze. There was fear in her eyes now. He raised his eyebrows, inviting her to speak. In her mind she was screaming, No, no, no, too easy! Besides, if it is true, then.... She spoke her thought, "If it is true, if you are Superman, then I'm an idiot." Clark sighed heavily. "You're no idiot, Lois," he said gently. "Come on." He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her back to the couch. Lois dropped onto the cushions. "Yes, I am an idiot. I can't believe I never figured it out." She pulled a pillow onto her lap and clutched it to her chest. "Lois, you weren't supposed to figure it out. Neither was anyone else." Clark reached up and slowly took off his glasses and set them on the end table. Lois followed the movement. She stared at the glasses, not wanting to look up yet. Clark reached across and gently put his hand under her chin, lifting her head upward to meet his gaze. Their eyes met and locked. When Lois saw the uncertainty still in his eyes, she began to understand what he had done. He had gone out on a limb for her. Telling her he was Superman was barring his soul--and he did it for her. She remembered her dream where Clark had wings on his back. She realized she must have known Clark's secret subconsciously. The missing piece fell into the puzzle. Suddenly embarrassed by her behavior, she blushed and said meekly, "So, it is true." "Yes, it's true... and I'm going to show you." Clark began to unbutton his shirt. As he undid the buttons, she began to see the familiar blue and red suit underneath. "Oh my..." she whispered, her eyes opening wide. Seconds later he stood before her in the well known suit. He extended his hand toward her. She looked at his extended hand. Then her eyes wandered up across his broad muscular chest. Finally, she met his gaze. Uncertainty was still in his eyes, but there was a new gleam in them as well. She grasped his outstretched hand and he pulled her onto her feet. Then he gently picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Clark walked out onto the balcony. Looking down at Lois, he asked, "Ready?" "Yes." They flew up and over the city. "Wow," she said softly. "Tell me I really did die and this is heaven." "No, Lois, this is planet Earth and you're safe in my arms. And no, you're not dreaming either." "Mmmm..." Clark smiled, "I love doing this." "Doing what?" "Flying over the city like this," he said. Turning to look at Lois, he noticed she was staring at him. "Come on Lois, enjoy the view," he said, gesturing to the city below. "I am," she replied and continued her unabashed stare. He smiled and laughed, a friendly laugh Lois had heard many times before. Boy, I've sure had blinders on, she thought. They both noticed the orange glow on the horizon at the same time. "Looks like trouble," Clark observed. "Superman to the rescue?" Lois quipped. Clark flew in the direction of the glow. In an upper story window of a burning building, a woman holding a small child was screaming for help. Clark set Lois down on a nearby street corner. "'Be back," he said and flew up to rescue the woman and her baby. After setting the pair down, Clark turned and checked for other people in the windows, then used his super breath to cool the fire. Just then the fire department arrived. Lois watched all this in quiet amazement, flush with new revelations about her Man of Steel. His work done, Clark returned to Lois. As before, he picked her up and the two of them again flew over the city. "Great job," Lois commented. "Thanks. Where to now?" he asked. "Back to your place," she replied, a mischievous glint in her eye. Clark raised his eyebrows and complied. Upon returning to his apartment, he set Lois down on the balcony. "You must have questions," he said. "Yes, I do." "Uh, if you don't mind, could you give me a second? I want to get some jeans on." "Sure go ahead," Lois replied. As he turned, his cape swirled around. "No, wait a minute." Clark stopped and turned to face her. She took his hands and stepped back, appraising him. "I... just wanted to look at you like this for a moment more." "Okay," he smiled. "I must be the luckiest woman on the planet." Lois looked into Clark's eyes. The uncertainty was gone. In its place was a deep, warm glow. Lois arched her body upward, her lips slightly parted. His hands slid up her arms and drew her close. Their lips met. When the kiss ended, Clark stepped back and smiled. He gently released her hands and stepped into his bedroom. No sooner had Lois dropped onto the couch and closed her eyes, than Clark reappeared in the doorway. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He looked at her for a moment before sitting beside her. She opened her eyes. "Wow," she said. "Seems to be the word for the night," Clark remarked. "Hmm...." She laid back against him and closed her eyes again. Her body tingled all over. "I think I experienced every emotion in the book back there when you told me." "I'm sorry Lois...." "That's okay. I'm just beginning to figure some things out." She looked up at him. "No wonder I've felt safe with you. I could never quite explain it before," she said, her eyes bright. "Now I understand--I'm in love with Superman!" "Lois, I'm just a newspaper reporter. Superman isn't who I really am." "Uh uh, just a reporter my foot, Clark--you're the only reporter I know who can fly!" she exclaimed. "Okay, okay," he conceded. "But outside of my parents, you're the only one who knows that." "Hmm... this is true," Lois agreed. "You know, this is all making sense to me. It's like finding the missing piece of the puzzle. The best part is, I wasn't even looking for it! But now that you have supplied the missing piece, I think my life will have a completeness I don't recall having before. That's a good thing, isn't it?" "Definitely a good thing," Clark agreed with her babbling and kissed her. Lois continued, "I still had..." she paused, "sounds strange to way it that way--had, as if Superman doesn't exist anymore. Anyway, I still had feelings for Superman. There was a time where I thought I could love both of you." She laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "Then I realized I couldn't love two men. I can only love one. And it was about the time when you came to me as Superman and steered me to... you, Clark. Oh brother!" she laughed again. "I used to think of you and Superman as two separate people, but with striking similarities," she stopped, and burrowed herself further into his arms. "Now you tell me that the two men I love are really one man! Geez! Sounds like something out of a cheap romance novel!" she laughed. A new revelation popped into her head. "Wait!" she exclaimed, sitting bolt upright, "That's why you gave me the two roses, isn't it?" Clark nodded. "Yes. One is from me, Clark, and the other is from me, as Superman." "Ah ha!" "See Lois, you're not an idiot. You are an incredible, intelligent, talented woman--whom I love very much." "Enough to tell me you're Superman?" "Absolutely." Lois turned more serious. "What I guess I don't understand is why you didn't tell me sooner." "Well, having superpowers doesn't mean everything turns out the way I want it, Lois." Lois instantly thought of Lex and frowned. "Lex..." "Good example." "Clark, why didn't you tell me? You... could have prevented a lot of heartache." "Lois, it wasn't the right time. You know that. It would have been..." he fumbled for a word, "inappropriate for me to tell you then--not to mention dangerous for both of us." "Yes, I see. You're right, of course. But you're taking a risk in telling me now." "Our situation is very different." He looked deeply into her eyes, "This is a risk I'm prepared to take." He pulled her close. "I was planning on telling you, but I just couldn't figure out how." He paused and ran his hands through her hair before he continued, "Lois, when we crashed into the river, I thought I'd lost you forever... and I couldn't live with that. I decided then that I would tell you, because I wanted you to know how important you are to me. I want you in my life. I guess I couldn't tell you earlier, because for a while I was still defining who Superman was. It's been a learning experience for me, too. I didn't realize the impact Superman would have on everyone--especially you," he sighed, "I didn't know you would fall so hard for my creation. I wanted you to love me for me, Clark, not a red and blue suit." Lois thought for a moment, then said, "I understand. I guess I would have done the same thing." She continued, "I guess that explains why I began to view Superman as one dimensional." Puzzled, Clark repeated, "One dimensional?" "Yes, you're always so serious when you're Superman!" "Can you blame me?" "Well, no," she conceded. She snuggled against him. Another new revelation entered her mind. She formed her words carefully, "I, uh... think I understand why you didn't want to be intimate with me. It was because you wanted me to know your secret first, right?" "Yes." His response lit a fire in Lois' body. Her breathing quickened. Her body tense with desire, Lois deliberately took her time formulating her next question. "So... now everything is out in the open?" "Y-yes," Clark stared at her. Lois looked like a cat ready to pounce. His heart rate jumped. He leaned forward slightly and was about to kiss her when she abruptly broke into laughter. "You are a strange one, Clark Kent," she said between laughs. Clark was confused by this sudden change in direction. Then he understood, and a smile spread across his face. "Am I?" "Yeah, but I think I got you figured out." "Really? Didn't take you very long." "Humpf," she replied. Clark grimaced, thinking he misjudged her intentions. But she grinned and added, "Please do fall for me farmboy, I'll make time for it." "That's my Lois," he said and wrapped her in his arms. He nuzzled her hair and kissed her neck. Then he lifted his head and met her dark eyes. The cat was there again, ready to pounce. He wanted her to pounce on him. This time, nothing stood in their way. Slowly, they began to kiss. THE END ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 08:25:14 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Vicki Krell Subject: Re: Fanfic Rerun: ...the Chicken or the Egg MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 I've always LOVED this story!! -----Original Message----- From: Jenny Stosser [SMTP:jenerate@OZRAMP.NET.AU] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 1997 9:02 PM To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Subject: Fanfic Rerun: ...the Chicken or the Egg I have no idea if anyone here has NOT seen this story, but I think given where TNT is up to in the reruns, now would be an appropriate time to rerun it. ************** Author's notes: This is a revelation story with a difference. It came out of a lot of discussion on an idea I had and discussed with quite a few people on IRC. Dedications: To all my friends on IRC who have helped me out with this work, thanks so much... I won't try to give credit to everyone, because so many people have helped with this, giving me constructive criticism on my first attempt at writing L&C fanfic on my own (sort of), that I've forgotten who suggested what. I hope that everyone enjoys this story as much as I've enjoyed working on it. The only exception I would like to make about giving credit is with regard to the scene at the TV Studio, written by Tracey Barlow (barlow@ozramp.net.au). Disclaimers: Insert the regular disclaimer here about who owns what characters. It is not my intention to infringe on any copyrights owned by anyone. No-one is going to make any money out of this story, so if you are thinking of suing me, don't waste your time. Obviously, no-one *owns* Dean, Teri or the rest of the cast and crew, and I hope that what I've written isn't too, too different to how they would react if this really did happen to them! I don't actually know much about their private lives, so I've had to make up quite a bit. If you dislike those aspects of this story, pretend it isn't our world that I'm referring to, but an alternate one very similar. Oh, and you might find the ending a bit familiar .. . Words in *asterisks* are emphasised. Words in 'single quotes' are thoughts. Words in "double quotes" are spoken. Any comments (nice ones only, please!) to jenerate@ozramp.net.au Now sit back and enjoy as we wonder, which came first... ...the Chicken or the Egg? By Jenny Stosser Prologue One Clark sat dejectedly on the top of the highest pylon on the Metropolis Bridge. He didn't know what his next move should be, and he hated not knowing what the next step of a plan was. He knew what it ought to be... he had tried (Lord knew how hard he had tried!) to tell Lois who he was; to tell her his greatest secret. But it was so ingrained in him to keep the secret that every time, just as he was about to tell her all, his senses would kick in and he'd become aware of an emergency, giving his subconscious an "out". Of course, that didn't make things any better at all between him and Lois. It really made things worse, because every time he had to deal with an emergency, he had to give another of those lousy excuses. And as the excuses got worse, and Lois got more suspicious of him, he could see the future of their relationship going down the gurgler. Clark realised that he had to come to a decision. He had to grab the future he wanted with both hands and not let it go. He would go down there to her apartment *now* and tell her. It didn't matter that it was the middle of the night. It didn't even matter that she had almost died facing that Mazik character. In fact, that lent even more force to his decision. All that mattered was getting his secret out into the open. He stood up and stepped off the pylon into midair, when suddenly the air shimmered in front of him. As if a fog had suddenly swept in from somewhere, the air before Clark misted over, and he could almost see a person standing there beside him. And a panicky person at that. Clark instinctively reached out and offered a hand to help the man, but no-one was more surprised than he, when the man reached through the fog and grabbed the offered hand! "You have to help us, Superman!" Forgetting everything he had been about to do, he switched into "Superman mode" and asked the bearded man what the problem was. "There's a bomb! They said it was hidden in the school, but no-one has been able to find it, and the deadline is coming closer! You have to help us find it! No-one on our world can help us!" "Hang on, slow down a moment, Sir!" Superman had understood that there was an emergency, but was confused by the man's reference to 'our world'. "Take a deep breath," he instructed. The man paused, and straightened his suit jacket, but ignored the fact that they were both floating so far above the bay. "Superman," he began again, "I really hope you are able to believe me. I'm a scientist of sorts. I'm from another dimension. It is a place very similar to Earth, with a very similar history to here, but for one major difference; You don't exist there. In fact, over there, Superman is only a myth." "So how did you manage to get here? How did you even manage to hear of here?" Sounding exasperated, the man sighed, "We don't have much time Superman, the deadline for that bomb is getting closer! Don't you think I should explain this to you after you come back with me?" Quickly weighing up his options, Superman made a decision. If the only problem was to disarm a bomb in order to save some children, and if it was a quick trip, he should be able to be back home later tonight, which meant he should still be able to get down to business with Lois, telling her the truth. "OK, Sir, just how do we go about crossing over to your world, then?" "My machine is just behind me in the temporal rift. Come back through it with me, and we'll be there in no time at all." Taking him by the arm again, the man led Superman into the fog. As they moved deeper into it, he began to perceive an odd looking machine. More than anything else, Clark was reminded of the machine used in George Pal's 1950s movie The Time Machine. It looked intricate in the way of machines from the dawn of the industrial age, all brass, and polished wood. The machine sat atop a detailed Persian rug on a platform, floating, as were Superman and the scientist. It had two cane seats, and in front of one of the seats, as in a car, was a dashboard with controls on it. The scientist took the seat in front of the controls, indicating that Superman should take the other seat. Clark watched as the man fiddled with the dials and vacuum tubes before him. Suddenly the world went monochrome around them, before becoming so blindingly bright that even Clark squinted his eyes shut. Clark felt himself turning inside out and back again, and even found himself wondering whether this was what it felt like to want to throw up, when just as suddenly the world came back into focus. At the same time as his eyes began to re-focus, so did Clark's brain. As if a light had clicked on in his brain, he suddenly remembered where he had met this man before. He remembered everything that had happened with himself and Lois and HG Wells, and realised that this man was not the scientist he purported to be. "There is no bomb, is there, Tempus?" Clark queried his kidnapper woozily. Tempus had seen the lights come on, but he was aware of how Clark's mind would be inclined to wander as a result of the trip, as his brain tried to accommodate to the change of universes, and, landing the so-called "time machine", he spoke again to Clark. "Well, I see that a long explanation isn't really necessary. What *is* true - well, to some extent anyway, is that I could call myself a sort of scientist! I'm experimenting—with you! You see, I wanted to see what would happen to you in a world where no-one believes in superheroes in real life, only in fiction. You're not really a Superman here, but you play one on television." Clark was mainly aware of the world fading in and out, and of the difficulty he was having staying conscious - or was that "sane"? Tempus caught Clark's attention by dint of grabbing his face and forcing Clark to look into his eyes. "Watch the video!" Tempus instructed, and then he turned and vanished back into the mist surrounding the time machine, as the air reverberated around it. Clark was very disoriented, and wished he had been able to sort out his brain enough to ask a few more questions, but Tempus was gone and it didn't look like he'd be back for a while. But, trying to make the best of a bad situation, Clark searched the well-appointed residence he'd been "dropped into", and quickly found the video recorder to which Tempus must have been referring. There were two tapes sitting there, but no indication as to which he should watch first. He took one and found it was marked "The Pilot", with his own S-Shield on it, and, realising it was the longer of the two tapes, chose to leave watching it until later. Inserting the other tape into the recorder, he pressed Play, and levitated into a comfortable position to watch it. It was a very brief tape: Tempus got right down to basics. "You are an actor, playing Clark Kent now," he said. "You should find it easy enough to be yourself for the cameras!" 'I don't even know the name of the actor!' Clark was beginning to feel a little panicky about this whole situation. Maybe he shouldn't have done this without thinking it through first! "For more information watch the other video. You will note the similarity in looks between yourself and this world's version of Superman. This is because *I* picked him for the part of playing you on this world! On my previous trip, I -ahem- arranged for him to take your place in your home universe. "A word of warning: Even *you* should be able to figure out what people would think if you tried to tell them who you are and where you're from." Tempus wrapped his arms around himself and mimed being in a strait-jacket, sticking his tongue out. Clark could just imagine Tempus drooling slightly. "Now, I'm going to let you make your own way here. You have one night to recover from the effects of your trip, and tomorrow morning, you'll be picked up to go to the studio for another day's filming. Have an interesting - er - experience! I'll *try* to be back for you in three days." Prologue Two "Hey!" One of the crew members caught Dean's attention as he walked off the set, "Lane Davies is hanging around waiting to see you. Said it was something private he needed to talk to you about." At the end of a long day of filming, Dean was dying to get out of the costume, but he supposed he should just go see what Lane wanted before heading back to his trailer to get changed. He could see Lane waiting in the lee of the trailer anyway. "Yeah? Some of those Krypton FanClub people mentioned that you would be back on the set for an new episode... what can I do for you?" "Dean! You'll never believe what I found in the storage rooms! You have just got to see this!" Dean looked, and said, "Yeah? So? Its the time machine from your first episode? What about it?" "Dean, sit down, take a load off, I can see you're tired after today's filming. Here, lemme show you what I discovered about this machine! It does the most amazing things!" "Really?" Dean watched in interest as Lane fiddled with the buttons and knobs on the dash of the machine. "Woah!" Dean suddenly felt himself turning inside out and back again, and almost wanted to throw up, when just as suddenly the world came back into focus. Dizzily he asked, "What was that?" "Um, Dean, I have some bad news for you." Groggily he looked up at the man who sat beside him, "Do I really want to know, Lane?" "Dean, I'm not Lane Davies. I'm Tempus, and you are in MY world now. Guess what, Superman?" And with a snide grin on his face, he concluded, "You're Superman!" With that, the devil in a stylish suit stepped off the time machine and sauntered whistling down the street, leaving Dean, all alone in a strange world. Chapter One Dean Cain is an intelligent man. While this whole affair had a dream-like quality to it (who would believe this anyway?) the buildings around him looked too solid to be a trick played by cast or crew members. And anyway, practical jokes were Dean's department, no-one else's! As soon as he had realised that Tempus was for real, and that he had been left in a predicament, he realised a number of things. First, he was stranded, in a Superman suit, presumably in a place where people would identify him as Superman, not as someone who pretended to be him. Also, as far as he could tell, things were happening in a sequential order, unlike the way his dreams usually occurred. He had *no* idea how this had happened, but whether or not it *was* a dream, he figured he'd better let it play itself out to completion. Second, he *wasn't* Superman, so he wouldn't be able to do the things expected of Superman. Third, he needed someone to help him acclimatise to this place, especially if he was stranded here indefinitely. And fourth, he needed to figure out how to get home. 'Actually,' he thought, 'that last one shouldn't be too difficult. After all, Tempus has left me with the machine. Now all I need to do is figure out how to use it to get back home again. He worked those controls, and I'm sure I can figure out how to work them too, but I may need some help to work out what *not* to do! I wonder whether this place works according to scripts I've already seen and played? Or whether it is totally different?' As he worked through these thoughts, Dean was carefully hiding the time machine in the alleyway in which he and Tempus had arrived, so that he would be able to return to it once he had figured out how to get back home. By the time he had finished camouflaging the machine with garbage, his mind had turned to his next requirement. He needed to find someone to help him figure out this place. 'Well, I guess I have a few choices. First up, I think would have to be Martha and Jonathon Kent, except that they probably aren't here in Metropolis, and I can't exactly fly to Kansas. Next best might be that Dr Klein at STAR Labs. How am I supposed to get in touch with him? I have no idea! Which leaves me with Lois. Well, in a place the size of Metropolis, surely anyone can point out The Daily Planet to me?' Supposing that he couldn't spend the rest of his enforced stay in Metropolis in the alleyway, and that he didn't really want to anyway, Dean decided that it was time to venture out into the open. Much to his surprise, as he looked around, trying to get his bearings, he found that he had been set down in the alley way right behind the newspaper. At the sight of the Daily Planet building, Dean was hit once again by just how real this whole dream felt. But it couldn't be a dream... or could it? It *had* to be... 'Well, that was easy enough,' he thought. 'Maybe this is all some sort of elaborate hoax,' he wished to himself, walking into the front lobby of the building. But that hope was dashed when he entered the city room, and everyone looked at him with the belief in who he was supposed to be obvious in their eyes. "Hey! Superman! What can I do for you, my man?" A familiar voice penetrated his thoughts. "Jus- er , Jimmy! Hi." Dean wondered momentarily whether Jimmy Olsen would be able to help him out, but decided against it. Lois would be a better bet, as she could help him to disguise himself as Clark Kent instead of Superman. "Um, do you know where I can find Lois today, Jimmy? I have something I need to discuss with her." "Lois?" Jimmy was obviously puzzled. "Perry told her to take the day off, Superman. I thought you knew! After she helped you and CK and his parents out with those blackmailers, she took the rest of the week off to recover." Conspiratorially, Jimmy led Dean into the Conference Room, and leaned closer to Superman, then added, "I'm glad you managed to stop that guy Mazik, Superman! I really hated to see Clark in such pain!" Dean was very surprised, but realised that Lois (and the rest of this world) must have just been through what, to him, was the second season finale of Lois & Clark! 'Great!' He thought to himself, 'Lois already knows that Clark is Superman. That will make my "stay" a lot easier!' "Um, Jimmy, this is going to sound a bit weird, but can you do me a favour? And not tell the world?" Jimmy nodded assent. "Sure Superman, anything I can do for you, you know I will!" "Um, see this suit? Well, it doesn't exactly have pockets. I need to borrow some money from you. Um, say twenty bucks? I can't tell you what it's for. But I'll make sure that you get the money back as soon as I can." Jimmy looked at Dean strangely, but figuring that Superman must need it, he took out his wallet and gave Superman the cash. "Thanks Jimmy. You really are a great pal. OK, I have to go now. I guess I'll see you 'round!" Dean headed back toward the elevator, not noticing the look he got from Jimmy when he didn't leave via the window. Once outside the Planet again, Dean was about to hail a cab to take him to 348 Hyperion Avenue, to see Lois. But he remembered in time that Lois wasn't married to Clark yet, and looked up her address at the nearest public phone booth (this gained him some more odd looks from passers-by). Then Dean hailed a cab and gave the driver Lois' address. Chapter Two (Meanwhile back in the real world...) Clark understood that if what Tempus had told him about this world was true, he couldn't go around in his Superman suit. For one thing, he would probably be laughed out of any establishment he chose to enter. He found that he was frightened at the thought of facing a world like this, and subconciously chose to "distance" himself from his situation. He ejected the Tempus' video and inserted the one with his shield on it and sat back to see what it was all about, and soon became totally enthralled in seeing his own story on screen. How well he remembered his first day at The Planet! How well he remembered his first meeting with Lois! How well he remembered how he had felt wearing his suit for the first time! And how it had felt for Lois to actually notice him! How poorly they had cast Jimmy! This guy didn't look a bit like the Jimmy he knew. And yet... and yet, it was amazing how everyone else looked so right. At the end of the episode, Clark watched carefully and noted the names of the actors, because he knew from what Tempus had said about the next day's schedule that he would need to know these peoples' names. So *he* was supposed to be Dean Cain, and Lois was Teri Hatcher? He was sure he had seen that name somewhere ... That's it! Those magazines under the videos! "I was Teri Hatcher's first husband!" Tabloid fare, obviously, but then, possibly a way for Clark to learn more about his "co-star"? As he read the article, he realised that he had been right. This National Enquirer was this world's equivalent of his own's National Inquisitor. It was hard to tell which was the worse publication. But at least he learned a little of what to expect of Ms Hatcher. At the back of the magazine, in the "Hot Gossip" section, he even found a reference to Mr Cain. Apparently he was quite popular with women, and was going through young movie stars at quite a rate. Clark didn't know whether to like his doppleganger or not. But there were no photos of him, only of Ms Hatcher in that edition of the magazine. Looking around the house he was in, Clark was very impressed, and found himself wishing that *he* made that sort of money. Dean Cain appeared to be more laid-back than Clark was: obviously someone who enjoyed good food, and the perhaps-more-than-occasional beer. The place was a bit of a mess; but then, Clark realised, he wouldn't have had super-speed to dash around and clean up as quickly as Clark himself often did. Clark was concerned at first that he didn't have his glasses with him, and that everyone would recognise him immediately as Superman, until he recalled that in this universe, no-one believed in Superman or even in aliens from other planets. (His own planet had had experience with aliens other than himself, so they had no reason not to believe. But from what Tempus had said, it was entirely possible that in this universe, Earth *was* the only inhabited planet!) It was unlikely that he would need glasses, Clark realised, when he came across some photographs of the actor (*not* framed and on the mantlepiece, he was glad to note, which implied that the actor wasn't in love with himself alone) and he was amazed to learn that he and the actor truly did look exactly alike - without glasses. At first, Clark wasn't sure, but then it occurred to him to hold the photos up to the mirror and compare the view with the reflected image of himself. He wondered again about Tempus' comment about Dean being chosen by Tempus to play the part , and he wondered whether that was true, or whether it was just Tempus' ego talking there. At any rate, as far as Clark could tell, he and Dean Cain almost could have *been* the same person, had it not been for Clark's super powers! He quickly found a wardrobe and changed into some of the clothes there, noting a few things about this person he was supposed to be: first, he didn't have the same dress sense as Clark himself, and second, despite that, the clothes fit him perfectly, yet another confirmation of the similarities between two people from two different universes. But he couldn't find a single interesting tie in the whole wardrobe! Dean wondered how many other things were different or similar about them. And he became concerned that it would be difficult to pretend to be someone who, although he might look exactly like him, might have totally different views on the world and life in general. Shortly after changing into Dean's clothes, Clark became aware of the sound of dogs barking. Looking around the house quickly, he realised that there were three dogs in the backyard, all barking wildly. "Uh-oh," he thought. "They must belong to Dean." Clark knew that if he was to fit in and *be* the actor for even a few days, he would need to make himself known to the dogs, so that they wouldn't give his secret away to any visitors who might come calling. So he headed out to them to introduce himself. Once again, he was surprised by how well he seemed to be fitting into this world, when the three dogs took to him quite happily. Clark wondered whether even his scent actually matched that of Dean Cain? He brought the dogs inside and fed them, then settled down in the living room. Clark had realised that he knew next to nothing about this world that he was supposed to fit into, but being the journalist that he was, he figured the best way to find out quickly about this world, without revealing who he was to the world, was to watch LNN news. At first he was confused when he couldn't find that station, but it slowly dawned on him, as he settled down to watch *C*NN news that if there was no Superman native to this universe, perhaps there was no Luthor empire either! Wondering what other differences he would stumble across, Clark made himself comfortable again, floating mid air before the TV, and settled in for the evening. The next thing Clark knew, the doorbell was ringing stridently, and he fell to the floor in surprise. 'Well, Tempus did say I'd be picked up to get to the studio tomorr- er, today. Wonder who my lift is?' Muzzily scrubbing at his face, he headed down to the front door, and opened it to... "Lois?! You've cut—" Suddenly realising his mistake, Clark realised that this must be the actress *playing* Lois for the show, and that she had cut her hair! "Dean! I said seven, and I thought you'd be ready. I'm only doing this as favour to you since you smashed your car - again! You knew we were starting late today, but I really thought ...!" Backing away from the door, mumbling that he'd be ready in a few moments, he headed for the bathroom. Suddenly he realised that just because he knew the name of the guy he was supposed to be, didn't mean he knew anything else about this job he was supposed to be filling. Leaving the house so fast that no-one would see him, he grabbed a few more tabloid magazines from the first newsstand he could find and headed back to the house again. One of the advantages of being Superman was that he was able to speed read the magazines while showering and shaving, and he quickly learned that the woman who looked so much like Lois had the most downloaded image on the Internet. He was shocked to find a copy of the picture in one of the magazines: she was wearing nothing but *his* cape! Still, maybe she would be a good confidante, if only he could figure out how to tell her. 'Geez,' thought Clark with irony as he quickly dressed for work. 'First I have to figure out how to tell Lois who I am; and now I have to figure out how to tell Ms Teri Hatcher not only who I am, but make her believe it too!' Only a few minutes had passed when Clark emerged from the bathroom, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, to find Teri still standing in the front doorway. She obviously appreciated the way he was dressed, from the way her eyes surreptitiously travelled up and down his body. Clark was taken back to the first time Lois had arrived at his apartment to pick him up, shortly after he had arrived in Metropolis, and had found him just out of the shower. Even her words were similar, only that time she had stumbled over the "nine o'clock" ... Chapter Three Luckily for Dean, although the cab driver looked questioningly at Superman needing a lift to Lois' apartment, he easily accepted his explanation that he was a double for Superman, and had been doing some publicity shots at the Daily Planet. Unfortunately, he was also a talkative cabbie and he insisted on "reminding" Dean" of the time when he had been rescued from the traffic jam to end all traffic jams, by clearing the streets only a few weeks ago. Upon accepting the fare (which left little change out of Jimmy's twenty dollars), he left Dean with some sage advice: if he was going to be trying to double for Superman, he really needed to be up to date on Superman's latest feats, otherwise even his vaguely similar looks wouldn't help him out! Unsure when he would next get to his gym to do a workout, Dean chose to climb the stairs to Lois' fifth floor apartment instead. He chuckled to himself, as he climbed the stairs, that the cabbie thought he only looked vaguely similar to Superman; Dean also wondered whether he really did look all that similar to the character he portrayed on a daily basis. 'Not to worry, I'm sure Lois will be able to tell me if I'm doing anything wrong here,' he thought as a knocked on the door. There was a pause and then he heard Lois move slowly to the door. "Who is it?" she called. "It's - ah," quickly Dean thought, 'well, she knows anyway, and Clark is supposed to want her to treat him as Clark rather than Superman.' "Lois, it's me. I just wanted to check up on you." Dean heard the multiple locks on the door being opened, and then, standing before him, looking *very* surprised to see him, was Lois Lane! "Cla - Superman?? Wh - I mean, I thought - er, hang on a moment, I thought Clark was here? I thought I heard his voice at the door? And why are you at the door, instead of the window? What's going on here?" 'Oh no!' Dean thought. 'I misjudged! She doesn't know yet and now I've let the cat out of the bag! HELP!' Lois had opened the door wide enough for Dean to get into the room, so he took advantage of that to get in quickly and close the door before Lois' babbling let the whole world in on the secret. By then, Lois had begun to think of explanations for what she had just learned. "Wait, it's kryptonite again isn't it? You've lost your powers and come to me for help? Superman? Or maybe somehow you've switched bodies with Clark and you've come to me for help? But why would you do that? And how is that possible? It couldn't be that..." "Lois." Dean tried to interject into her babble. "Lois!" He tried again to get her attention. Having made an enormous blunder, Dean realised that to stop himself from making any more he would need help. He had to make the best of a bad situation and enlist Lois' help until he could figure out the machine and get out of here! "LOIS! Stop!" Lois closed her mouth quite abruptly and looked at Dean, surprised that Superman would raise his voice at her (or was it Clark who was shouting? - at any rate, neither of them usually did that! she babbled to herself,) and gestured towards the sofa, indicating that her guest (whoever he was) should take a seat. Dean, in the meantime, was trying to figure out how to explain the situation he was in to Lois, which gave the woman a moment to take a breath and stand up again, head for the kitchen, and offer to make a drink. "Lois," began Dean tentatively. "I'm not who you think I am. No matter what you think, I'm not Superman. And, I apologise, but despite what you thought you heard through at your door, I'm not Clark Kent either. I hope you will hear me out though, and help me too. I really didn't know who else to turn to. "But... you sounded - you *do* sound like Clark. And you look so much like Superman? What is going on?" "I know you and Clark have been through quite a lot in the last few days. I know, you're wondering how I could possibly know. Wait, and I'll try to explain as best I can. Tell me, did Clark mention anything in the past few days about a diary? One the blackmailer had?" "How did you know about the blackmailer? No-one knew about that except me!" "Wait, Lois... I'm trying to tell you, but I also don't quite know where to start. Um, let me try again. Has Superman ever mentioned someone called Tempus to you? Have you ever met HG Wells?" "No, and no. That's ridiculous! How could I possibly have met HG Wells? Time travel? Ha!... wait a moment though, Tempus, that name sounds familiar. Well, of course, it *does* have to do with time travel doesn't it? I'm getting the weirdest sense of deja vu here... "Hang on a moment, Mister. If you aren't Superman, then who are you? What am I supposed to call you?" Dean realised that he was so used to being well-known that he had forgotten to introduce himself to the beautiful woman before him! He told her his name, then began again, trying to explain. "Let me start again. You may not believe this - hell, I don't think *I* believe this! - I'm an actor. I play the part of Superman in a TV show. I know, there probably isn't any such TV show here. But here's the unbelievable bit. I'm from somewhere else. I don't really know how to explain it. It's sort of like time travel, but it's more like, um, dimensional travel. I was kidnapped today by someone I thought I knew. But it wasn't the guy I knew, it was someone from *here* , but from a future of here, who doesn't much like Superman, and he must have kidnapped the real Clark and taken him back to my dimension. So you see, I need your help to get back home and to get Clark back here." "Hang on, hang on a moment, um, Dean? Right?" Lois interrupted. "Let me get this straight." She thought to herself, 'what he's saying then is that in his home dimension, he's an actor in a TV show about me? And that he plays Superman in this show, and that he also plays Clark? But how is that possible?' Then the light dawned, and Lois reacted. "NO! Do you mean to tell me that Clark *is* Superman??" Chapter Four Clark spent much of the next half hour or so trying out different scenarios in his mind, trying to work out what to say to Ms Hatcher to explain to her who he really was. For her part, Teri was quiet and introspective for most of the drive, glancing at him and almost beginning to speak a few times, but then stopping, as if she, too, didn't quite know how to say whatever was on her mind. But then, they arrived at the studios and it appeared that his opportunity to tell her had been lost, as various crew members, make-up artists and hairdressers appeared and bundled her away to her trailer. Clark had seen movie sets in the past, and had a vague idea of what to do to look like he was fitting in, so he quickly located his own trailer and found the daily schedule which would tell him what scenes he was supposed to be filming first, and what the general daily routine would be. Speed reading through today's script to learn his lines, he couldn't get over the way it was so obvious in the script that everyone knew that Clark was Superman! This would truly turn into a novel experience for him! One thing that really cheered him up, however, was the realisation that according to the current episode being filmed, it was apparent that Lois knew the secret too. In a way, Clark could see this as a trial for when he got back home, to learn how Lois might actually respond to the knowledge! "Hey Dean! Where did you get to? You're up in just a few minutes." The words came from a stranger who seemed to be in control of the emerging chaos around him. "You and Teri have a flying scene - you are going to need to get into the suit and get to Make-up. We need you back in 30 minutes." "Yeah, right, Make-up," mumbled Clark, still totally confused by the scenes around him. "Teri, over here!" yelled the stranger. Clark watched as "Lois" hurried off. Of course, he reminded himself, it wasn't "his" Lois. It certainly looked like her and sounded like her, but... "You ready, Teri? Its a cable scene today - tough one too. Dean promised he would work out specially for today; said he won't drop you!" "Hrmph," was the reply Clark heard. "Well, let's just get this one going. I'm not up for a 14 hour day today." "Dean..." Teri looked at him suspiciously. "Is my dress crooked, lipstick smudged... what?" "Sorry," Clark backpedalled. "It's just... umm... I have to get changed. See you in half an hour!" Clark turned and almost ran from the "set". He had to get away - get to make-up, wherever that was. He had to get the suit on... hang on, he checked... he *had* the suit on. He *was* Superman. OK, one detail taken care of. Now make-up? Why did he need makeup to be Superman? He realised though, that being on film, he *would* need makeup, so he scanned the area till he found a trailer marked with the appropriate signs and headed in that direction. He took his time, and used some of the half hour to do some further exploring. The changing to Superman bit would require little effort. He walked through what he discovered was the Warner Brothers Film Studios. He was greeted everywhere he went; he discovered that this "Dean" person was well known and a popular figure in this world - well in the film studio at least. After about twenty minutes, he thought it wise to return to the set and make an appearance at this make-up place. He knew that he was supposed to be Superman the next time he made an appearance - obviously there was no need for an actor portraying a superhero to have a secret identity. Stepping into a corner and out of sight, Clark executed a spin change into his alter-ego. He became aware of a heated discussion in the Daily Planet between Teri and the director. "What do you mean he's wandering around the lot?" Teri questioned. "He knows that I wanted to be out of here early tonight! *Now* he needs to take the visitors' tour? Of all the..." Clark decided that now might be an opportune time to make his presence known. He strolled up to Teri, desperately wanting to assure her that he would not dream of being whatever she was about to label him. "Lo... um, Teri? What's the problem?" "Enjoy your little tour?" She queried. "We're all ready to rehearse this scene and you're ... when did you get changed?" Teri changed tack when she noticed Clark in the suit. "Oh, never mind. Can we just get to work?" Clark shot Teri a bemused grin. This might not be "his" Lois, but this lady certainly acted and sounded like her. She reminded him of Lois when Clark first joined The Planet: sarcastic, uncompromising, driven and virtually totally ignorant of his presence - it was nothing more than an annoying necessity of circumstance. The director called to Clark and Teri. "Okay people, this is a more complicated scene than usual. Dean, we need to hook up the harness a little differently to get the angles right. We are using a different type of cable which is supposed to give a more realistic effect on camera. We will test them with you and then get you to hold Teri before we get to dialogue or anything else. Got it?" "Uh huh," they both murmured simultaneously. Clark looked around and caught sight of the "harness." He started somewhat when he saw the complexity of the rig required to make him "fly". His actions must have betrayed him, because Teri was looking at him strangely. "Dean?" she queried. "Are you worried about going up there today? I know you are not fond of the usual harness, but this one is supposed to be less demanding." Her tones indicated that she knew that pretending to fly was not particularly easy and Clark gathered that his counterpart was not exactly excited about being suspended in mid-air on a regular basis. "What? No, um, it's ... OK. I was just checking out the new cables. There just seems to be lots of wires and cables." "Of course there are Dean," Teri responded with mirth. "What did you expect, skyhooks?" This woman certainly had the wry humour of Lois. The director called Clark over to be fitted into the contraption. He felt totally ridiculous, but decided to go along with the charade. How would he explain things otherwise? In his own world he was different, a freak, but at least there he existed. Here, he was just a fantasy, a concept dreamed up in someone's imagination. No, now was not the time to declare his hand, but he was going to have to do something, at some stage to work out a way of returning to his world. "Put your arms in here, clip this under the cape. Now as you are elevated, you will need to stretch out horizontally. We'll make it look like you're doing the flying if you follow our directions." Clark felt the tug of the cables as his feet began to lift off the floor. He struggled to avoid using his own powers to fly - it was difficult as his natural response to being in the air was to be self-sufficient. "Now stretch out ... horizontally ... put your left arm out, clench your fist, roll to the side ... no the other side. Now we are going to bring you to an upright position and then lower you slowly. Good .. hold that, straighter ... now soft landing, great!" Five minutes later Clark was back on the ground. He had managed to control his natural urge to be under his own steam, well for most of the time. He was certain that no-one would have noticed him compensating for some of the awkward manoeuvrings of the harness operator. "That was great, Dean! The smoothest we have seen you "fly" in a long time! Must be the new equipment." Clark grinned widely. "Must be," he agreed. "Teri, over here. We need to do a test run with you and Dean together now,'" the director motioned. "Okay, Dean, I want you to rise up holding Teri, to stop and talk with her for a minute or two, then we need to get you into the horizontal position and test some scenery shots behind you. We will need you up there for about fifteen minutes. Is that okay with you two? Think you can handle it Dean?" "Um, yeah, no problems," replied Clark, cheerfully. He looked at Teri who was eyeing him suspiciously. "What, no complaints today, no headaches?" She queried. "You must be sick!" Clark wondered about this Dean character; was he a bit of a whiner, or *was* it really hard work being suspended by wires for hours at a time. He, Clark, would never really know, he mused. "Um, no, Lo - ah, Teri, I'm fine. He really did need to be careful. This was at least the third time he had called her Lois, or nearly had, and this lady was certainly no airhead. She and Dean obviously spent a considerable amount of time together and she knew him quite well. But how well? He still hadn't worked that out. There had been a reference to a 'Jon' that he had yet to decipher. He needed to find some more tabloids! The ropes of the harness were realigned and checked and Teri directed to take her place in Clark's arms. This was difficult - here was the exact replica of the woman he loved in his arms, and it was "Lois" but only a caricature of her. She was an actor portraying Lois. Teri's proximity only served to confuse him even further. "Now, we are not going too high on this one, there is no harness on Teri so we are not risking anything here. Dean hold tight - that's a precious cargo you have there!" The directions were coming thick and fast. Clark felt the pressure of the cables once again, and he and Teri began to rise. "Hold on tight, you hear me, Wonderboy," cracked Teri, betraying a slight nervousness, as they rose slowly together. Teri had her arms linked around Clark's neck and he had one arm around her waist and one pointing into the air. "Can you do this safely with one arm holding me?" She queried, "You only do this when I'm in a harness!" Clark detected a slight sense of panic in Teri's voice and brought his other arm to meet behind Teri's back. He felt her relax slightly. "You seem almost overconfident today, Dean. What's up? You almost look like you are enjoying this - that would be a first!" "Well, maybe I *am* finally getting used to it all; it's been, what, how long now?" The question was a clever one, with the dual purpose of dealing with Teri's question and trying to glean a little more information about his own history in this world. "Three and half years, Dean and I remember you telling me repeatedly that you would *never* get used to this. What gives?" The woman was pressing against him now, and he began to feel decidedly uncomfortable - her closeness being a huge part of the problem. Teri was an actor, this was all an act for her, but for Clark, his relationship with Lois was real and she could not help but affect him. "Dean, you are blushing! What's the matter? You have been acting strangely since early morning. I can't put a finger on it, but somehow you are different." "Well, um... it's..." Clark started to respond, but they were interrupted by the director. "Okay people, that's good. Now we want to get Dean into the horizontal position, just get ready to brace yourself. I only need you to hold that for a few minutes. Just wait for the cables to be realigned." They both felt a jerk in the ropes above them. "Whoa! Oh shit!" They heard a voice above them becoming agitated and then suddenly felt themselves being hurled skyward. The studio was in a warehouse-like building with very high ceilings, but they were approaching the top of the cable with alarming speed. Chapter Five "Wait! I have to explain something, Ms Lane," interrupted Dean. If this Lois Lane was anything like the one his partner was used to playing, he had to get a word in edgewise here before she started babbling uncontrollably. "Somehow (I really don't understand how this works), some of what you have experienced as real life, I have acted out on my TV show. I knew about the blackmailers and Jason Mazik & the diary of Tempus because that story was our second season finale. I would like to avoid telling you anything about your future, but for all I know, my being here is going to change your future from episodes in your life that I've already been in, so maybe it won't make any difference anyway. "You see, at the very end of our second season, *after* Lois has - er, you have recovered from the effects of being frozen and thawed, she goes for a walk in Centennial Park with Clark. And he proposes to her. We didn't know how she - er, you - were going to react, so we actually filmed three different endings for that episode." "Well, gee! I don't know how I would react either. But if Clark tried proposing to me and kept a secret like the fact that he's Superman too from me, one thing I do know is that I'd be -" "Mad?" Dean spoke the word at the same time as Lois. "Yes, mad, very mad! How could you - I mean, he, expect me to agree to spend my whole life with him, if I didn't know everything about him?" "Now wait a moment," Dean interrupted again, "I'm not married, but I do know that you don't necessarily know *everything* about a person before you marry them. That's part of what a marriage is about: learning about each other intimately." "Intimately?" "Well, yes. I mean, well, maybe Clark did make a mistake in not telling you first, but well, it has certainly led to some interesting conversations as a result. I mean, it will for you. I mean - oh hell, I don't know *what* I mean! Anyway don't you remember? Hasn't Clark been trying to tell you something really really important these last few weeks, but he keeps getting called away. Argh! these tenses are getting so confusing! I don't know what will be in his mind when he proposes to you before telling you the secret. I think if I had truly been in his position, I would have done the easier thing first - proposed, that is, and planned on telling you the secret straight afterward. But I can tell you that in my universe's version of this story, you already knew already anyway." "Excuse me? I'm getting confused. You're saying that Clark will propose to me without telling me he's Superman, but that I already know? Well, I certainly know now! And what was that about having filmed different endings to the season finale?" Dean explained, haltingly, and mixing his tenses wildly, how the writers had allowed for three different endings to the season finale, where in one, Lois had said yes, in another she had said no and in the third she had not said anything, but just looked surprised. "But then how did you know that I knew Clark's secret?" Lois asked. She seemed to have realised that she had to take this whole series of events in her stride. Perhaps later she would have a moment to go gibberingly mad over the whole thing. "We've already started filming the *fourth* season, Lois," explained Dean. "I already know what your response is going to be. I think that's what I meant when I said that this is sort of like time travel, as well as dimensional travel. I know that when you tell Clark that you can't marry him yet because the revelation is a bit too much of a hurdle for you, he is going to get all pouty and upset. He's not quite like me, because when you say 'No, not yet,' he'll only hear the "no" and ignore the "not yet". "What do you mean, "he's not quite like you"? You two certainly look the same! And believe me," Lois admitted, "I've done some *looking*." Suddenly she blushed at this confession. Being the TV star he was, Dean was used to being ogled by women, but this was different. He was used to working with Teri Hatcher, who was considered (on his world, at least) one of the world's sexiest women. But Teri was married, and was therefore off-limits. Lois Lane, on the other hand, was neither married, nor he suspected, if he really pushed, off limits. 'This could get interesting,' said a small part of his brain. 'Shaddap,' he told that part of his brain. 'This woman has just had a series of shocks to her system, and she *doesn't* need that sort of treatment!' "That reminds me Lois, something I wanted to ask you..." Dean broke off there. He had been about to ask Lois what it was like to actually have super powers, but he quickly realised that Ultra-Woman was in this Lois' future, and he really didn't want to spoil everything for her. He had to change tacks fast! "Um, would you like to see my time-machine?" He groaned aloud at the way that line sounded. "Is there a problem, Dean?" Lois was concerned now. Dean grinned disarmingly at Lois. "Why is it that when I'm writing scripts for this show, I never have difficulty writing for these characters, I feel like I understand them, but when I'm actually supposed to *be* Clark, I sound so corny?" "Hang on a moment, I thought you said you were an actor?" "Well, yes, but I'm also a writer and I want to get into directing, and I've actually written two scripts for 'Lois & Clark' that have been produced." "'Lois and Clark,' eh? That's what the show is called? Not just 'Superman'? I like the sound of that!" Lois smiled. "Well," explained Dean, the show is supposed to be about the relationship between the two of us, er... I mean you, I mean..." "Don't worry, I think I understand." Lois interrupted. "So, we actually do have a relationship, do we?" To Dean's surprise, Lois put her hand on his knee. "Um, Lois?!" his voice broke disconcertingly. "What are you doing? I've just told you that you're going to be proposed to by Clark, and that you guys are supposed to be having a rel- relationship," he stuttered, "and you - you *do understand* I'm not him, don't you?" Lois, for her part, was feeling quite dazed. The doctors had given her some medication since she had been snap frozen and thawed, and the pills were having quite an effect on her. She found her mind going off on all sorts of odd tangents. She wondered to herself whether this Dean person was as like Superman and Clark as he appeared. She wondered whether Clark (*her* Clark, she thought with a mental giggle) had given any thought to sex with her, and whether making love with him would be different for her than it was with a human. Whether he planned to prepare her for this, or if she was just supposed to find out on her wedding night? She wondered to herself whether of not the suit would or could come off. Then she noticed that Clark ... er... Dean, she corrected herself, was looking at her with those puppy dog eyes that both men shared, and that he seemed quite concerned, waiting for her response. "Sure I do, Honey," Despite the little thrill that went through him at being called Honey by someone as beautiful and sexy as Lois was, Dean suddenly noticed that Lois' voice was slurred; she almost sounded a little like Teri playing Wanda Detroit. "But I've always wondered how that suit comes off, and what it would be like to make love to Superman, and you're about the closest I'm likely to get, right?" "No! No, wait! Lois, this isn't right!" Dean jumped up off the sofa, and moved swiftly to the other side of the room. Lois slumped down into the sofa as soon as her support was gone. Dean moved back to her again, and helped her up. Sitting on his heels before her, he looked at her carefully, and realised that there was something wrong. "Lois? Are you alright?" She stared at him vacantly, and not quite knowing what to do, he found her bathroom (thinking to himself, 'Ah, this place really *does* have a bathroom, does it?') and went to wet a face-cloth to help bring Lois to her senses. On the cabinet, Dean noticed a bottle of pills and looking more closely at the label, realised that Lois must have taken some of these drugs. "Lois?" He called from the bathroom. "Wh..." she murmured. Coming back out into the living room with the damp face-cloth, Dean asked Lois what the pills were. The face-cloth helped to make her a little more alert and she explained that the doctors had given her the drugs, but that given what had happened, they weren't entirely sure how she would react to them. Suddenly she realised what she had been doing, and sat up straighter. "Oh god, oh god, I didn't imagine that did I? I really was coming onto you a bit strong, wasn't I, Dean? Oh god, I'm so sorry. I guess these drugs have taken away my inhibitions! Oh god, I didn't say that out loud, did I?" "Lois," interrupted Dean. "Don't worry about it. You obviously need to rest. Why don't you go lie down till you're feeling a bit better and then we can work out what I'm going to do with myself." Lois looked at Dean, sitting there in the Superman suit, and realised that he had come to her, because he simply didn't know where else to turn. It made her feel as caring (maternal? she thought with a small surprise) as she had ever felt in her life. Something about Clark/Superman/Dean seemed to bring that out in her, she supposed. "Sure. Why don't you, um, make yourself at home here. Fix yourself something to eat. These drugs are really getting to me. I don't know how long I'm going to sleep for, but I feel tired enough to sleep forever. I'll get you a spare pillow, and you can sleep too if you want." Dean looked at Lois questioningly, and she started, realising what the look meant. "On the sofa! On the sofa!" 'Darn!' thought Dean, with a grin to himself. Late in the night, Dean woke, again, just after drifting off. He wasn't sleeping well, and the knowledge that he had to be lucid the next day wasn't helping. "Damn!" he swore softly, punching his pillow again. His body was *so* aware of the beautiful woman asleep in the bedroom, and he knew it wasn't right to do what he was considering, but he found himself getting up, and padding barefoot from the living room to Lois' room. 'I'm just checking up on her,' he tried to convince himself. But when he saw her asleep in that bed, totally dead to the world, he found the temptation of the bed (not the woman!) too great. 'I'm so tired, that I'm sure to sleep like a log too. It won't disturb her sleep if I just lie on top of the covers, surely!' Almost without thought, he found himself lying next to Lois, and drifting off to sleep. His last conscious thought was something along the lines of 'If my friends could see me now!' Chapter Six "Dean!" screamed Teri. "What's happening?" They could hear people screaming and shouting below them. It was obvious that the whole contraption was out of control. Then just as suddenly as the upward movement had begun, it stopped. Teri looked at Clark and with an expression of sheer relief buried her head in his shoulder. She sobbed audibly. "That was not fun," she whispered. "Please hold on till they get us down from here." "My pleasure," replied Clark, almost a little too quickly. Having decided to keep his true identity a secret, he was surprised at how quickly his deception had almost ended! He was now suspending them in the air, the harness still attached, but the ropes not supporting his body. To the observers below, the cable failsafe mechanism had saved them. However the operator of the harness knew differently. He had been unable to control the upward journey and was amazed when the pair had stopped their ascent. He could also see the slackness in the cable above them. Those two were being suspended in the air by something other than that new, wonderfully unique cable. Clark was concerned about the harness anyway after the almost-emergency, and took the opportunity of Teri not looking to have a *closer* look. What he saw horrified him. The entire rope system was under too much sudden stress and was about to fail. How could he get out of this with no-one the wiser to his identity? Fate came to his aid, for as the harness ropes began to split and separate, one of the counter-weights attached to the end of one of the ropes swung suddenly upwards. The only technician near enough to see what was actually happening up there, took the brunt of the flying counter-weight and was knocked from his platform 10 feet in the air down to the sound-stage floor! Clark was able to secretly use his powers to cushion the man's impact in such a way that when he landed it was gently and onto a pile of unused ropes, so that the landing was not as bad as it might otherwise have been. Then mechanism housing the pulley system at the top of the cable decided that it's job was complete, and as all the ropes in pulleys raced down to follow the technician, Clark realised that he was the only thing between Teri Hatcher and a similar demise! He had no choice but to use his powers to save her, and so, hoping that in the confusion that was occurring down below no-one would think to ask how the rescue was achieved, he flew himself and Teri to the lately evacuated platform. As he deposited Teri on her feet, and indicated that they should climb the ladder down to the sound-stage floor, he watched the emotions playing over her face, so clearly. She moved from bafflement to disbelief to wonder. Clark could almost see Teri's brain ticking over. Neither of them said a word about what had just occurred. As they neared the ground, Clark and Teri became aware of the situation down there. The technician had been surrounded by medical officers. Despite his soft(ish) landing, the man was unconcious. Clark checked him out and found no concussion, and realised that the man must have fainted! The baffled doctors came to much the same conclusion but suggested that he should be taken to a nearby hospital for observation until at least the next day. By then, Clark and Teri had reached the floor, and they were approached by another medical officer. Teri appeared to be in shock; she was pale and her hands were shaking. Although the doctors could not find anything specific wrong with her, they suggested to the director and crew that given that the harness was unusable until it could be repaired, and that call-sheet for the remainder of the day required *only* flying scenes, which meant that the whole day was a write-off, Teri and "Dean" should also be given the rest of the day off. Clark offered to drive Teri back to her home, and quietly led her towards his trailer, where he could get out of the costume and back into Dean's clothes. As soon as they were out of earshot of the rest of the crew, Teri placed a restraining hand on Clark's arm. "What happened back there...? Did I imagine it in the confusion?" Stalling for time, Clark replied with a question of his own. "What did you *think* happened up there, Teri?" Teri paused, trying to find the right words to describe something which she had always known was impossible. "You... you aren't who I thought you were, are you? You've been behaving oddly all day. What is going on here?" Clark realised that he needed to come clean at least to this one person, with whom he was going to have to be working rather closely. "You're right. I'm not Dean Cain," he began bluntly, hoping to get this revelation (at least) over as quickly as possible. He declared quietly, "I'm Superman." "Ohmigod!" Teri gasped, and promptly reacted to all the shocks of the day by fainting. Chapter Seven Much later, Lois began to drift towards consciousness, aware of another warm body beside hers. Still fuzzy-minded because of the drugs, she glanced over to see who was there, and was most pleasantly surprised to find Superman sleeping soundly next to her, wearing not much more than his underwear. She didn't recall much of the previous night's events at first, and couldn't believe her luck! She decided that didn't want to know what he was doing there, but she *couldn't* resist the opportunity to kiss him lightly on the forehead. Dean turned over with a mumble too low to decipher and, much to Lois' delight, he wrapped her in his arms, and fell deeper asleep. Lois had *no* idea what was going on, but she was thrilled. Her body began to betray her and she couldn't resist snuggling up closer to the man of her dreams. Wrapped in a man's arms for the first time in many years, her body still knew what to do and began to respond to his warmth and presence. But the drugs were still in control of her body. Soon Lois, comforted and contented, drifted off to sleep again. Eventually the night began to turn to day, and with the first sounds of traffic, on the street outside, Dean began to awaken. He was so surprised to find himself cuddled up close to Lois that he sat up, startling Lois into wakefulness too. "Wha -?!" they both exclaimed at the same time. Dean grabbed for the sheets to cover himself just as Lois did the same thing. The events of the previous afternoon and evening rushed back into Lois' mind with a forcefulness that made her shut her eyes and hold her temples. "Lois? Are you alright?" Dean was worried. "I'm fine." She was short-tempered because of the headache she just knew was about to attack her. "Dean, isn't it? You wouldn't believe the dream I had last night." "Actually, Lois, given what's been happening to me recently, I think I would." Getting off the bed, Dean went to the bathroom and came back with some Tylenol and a glass of water. Lois looked at him gratefully, before swallowing the medicine in one gulp. Then she motioned that he should leave the room to let her get dressed. Dean headed back to the living room and was standing looking at his suit with distaste, wondering what he should do about getting some clean clothes, when Lois followed him out there, now in her schlumpy robe, and realised what he was thinking. "Well, first things first, I guess we have to get you some clothes to wear, since you aren't Superman, Dean. I can get into Clark's apartment and get some clothes for you, but I don't think you should be seen in public until I get out there and back. While I'm gone, you'd better call Perry and tell him that neither of us can make it into the office today?" "Wait, Lois, what are we going to be doing today then? Can you take time off work that easily?" "Oh, that's not a problem. I'm due a lot of holiday - I just never seem to need to take time off, and Perry's been on my back about that recently, so I don't think he'll mind if I don't turn up today. As for what we're going to do, well, I thought you wanted some help getting home? And I know I want to see Superman back where he belongs!" "And Clark too, I suppose?" "What, does everyone on your planet read minds?" "Well, not really. But it was fairly obvious which way your mind was headed, Lois." "Anyway, Dean, my plan for getting you back where you belong hinges mainly on working out how the machine works that brought you here. You - er Superman, that is, told me that you had kept the plans for the machine that he drew up in a safe place. You wouldn't happen to know where that might be, since you know him so well?" "The plans? You mean you expect them to actually work?" Dean was very surprised. "Well? And why not?" Lois was bemused. "The machine that brought you here worked didn't it? Why shouldn't it work again, once we understand how to control it?" "But the machine is only a prop," Dean explained. "How can it possibly work? It isn't real!" "Not on this world, Dean... It must be very strange on your world, but *here*, we don't have to understand how everything works, we just accept it." "Hmm," mused Dean. "I suppose you're right. In my world, we wouldn't accept a person walking around in this suit," he touched the spandex suit on the sofa,"let alone flying around in it!" "Speaking of which, I'm sure you don't want to sit around in your underwear all day. I'll go get you some of Clark's clothes, and we'll get to work on getting you home, eh?" "Um, yeah. While you're out, I'll cook us some breakfast and ring Perry." Dean wondered where he might find the number for the Planet, but assumed that he'd be able to find it somewhere. "Cook? Breakfast? Wow! what a treat!" Lois thought that this man may not have been her Superman or the Clark she knew so well, but he certainly was talented! "If you know the way Clark thinks so well, you might also like to think about where Clark may have stored the plans, too." With that Lois headed for the bathroom and a quick shower before leaving for Clark's apartment. While Lois was gone, Dean took the opportunity to look around Lois' place. He knew that even if he couldn't make Teri believe what was happening to him, he'd still be able to offer some very useful input into her character depiction, even if it was only in the next episode he wrote for the series. He was fascinated to learn what Lois' interests were in music. And he smiled broadly when he discovered her stash of basic cookbooks. It had always surprised him that Lois, knowing her weakness in this area, didn't appear to have done anything to gain more skill in the kitchen. Maybe she was just waiting for the right man to cook for! In the kitchen, he also found that the pantry *was* well stocked as well as the refrigerator, and he had no problems making a healthy and filling breakfast for two. Given the schedule he'd been keeping at home, he decided to treat this time as a bit of holiday, and despite the need to get home hanging over his head, he thought he would take it easy. As Dean wandered through the apartment, he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to call Perry. He couldn't find the number anywhere, and ended up having to call Information to be able to call the place he supposedly worked! But once that was out of the way, his thoughts turned to wondering where Clark would have hidden the plans to the time machine which he had built. Nothing had been said about a hiding place in the script that Dean had read from, but then suddenly it clicked! A hiding place? Of course! In the secret compartment in his wardrobe. Where else would he have put it? Dean called The Planet again, and got Lois' mobile number and then called her, catching her just as she was about to leave Clark's place. "Lois, go back into Clark's room and open the wardrobe. See the tie rack there? Remember what you told me about what I consider to be props actually working here? Pull down on the tie rack." "Oh my god!" "Lois? What is it?" "It's just..." Lois was momentarily lost for words, an amazing thing for Dean to witness, even by phone. "Well, if I ever needed proof that you were telling the truth about Clark and Superman being the same person, here it is! I can't believe that he'd keep these suits here!" "Lois! Lois!" Dean interrupted to stem the babbling before it really took off. "I need you to look around in there to find the plans for the time machine. That's the only place apart from maybe Kansas that I can think of the Superman might hide them!" "Kansas? Why would Superman hide anything in Kansas?" "Smallville, Kansas, Lois... where his parents live - you know?" "Oh my god! You mean that Jonathon and Martha Kent are also from Krypton?" "Lois, no! Wait. Come back here when you find the plans and I'll tell you what I can." By this point, Dean just wanted to work on getting home. He was pretty much unconcerned about changing what would be the future for Lois, making it different from what he and Teri had played out in script form all those months ago. 'And anyhow,' that voice in his mind told him, 'you don't really know how much Lois was supposed to know, only that she had figured out - or been told - the secret before Clark got the chance to tell her before proposing to her.' Dean's thoughts were interrupted by Lois's discovery of the plans that Clark had indeed hidden in the secret section of his closet. "Dean? I don't know about this... these plans look awfully complicated. I don't know whether we'll be able to build this machine by ourselves. Do you think we should get some help from Dr Klein at STAR Labs?" "Lois, no, I'd rather not get anyone else involved in this unless I have to. I don't want to change your future or anything like that. I don't think Dr Klein knows the secret - at least not at this stage. But don't worry anyway. I have my machine here - I just don't know how to use it!" "You have it here? Where?" "I hid it in the alley-way behind the Daily Planet when I arrived. I'm hoping the plans will also have instructions on how to work it and how to set it so I can get back to my place again!" Lois told Dean she would be back at her apartment with the clean clothes and the plans as soon as she could, and hung up the phone. Chapter Eight Superman caught Teri before she hit the ground, and, not knowing quite where else to go with her, took her back to Dean's place. The fresh breeze as he flew began to revive her, and she woke totally just as he was landing at the back door of the house. The dogs barked a welcome to the two of them (apparently Teri was a known quantity to them, though she wasn't really to Clark); apparently they were quite unsurprised at this flying man's abilities. As Teri's mind began to throw off the dizziness from her surprise, her eyes widened and she looked at the man who had just brought her here. "You're Superman? You're Superman! I don't believe it!" "Well, I wasn't quite sure how to prove it to you, but I don't see how you can *not* believe it Ms Hatcher." "Teri," she murmured absently. "Teri," Clark took that as permission, "I need your help." "You need *my* help?" Teri was honestly surprised that someone who could apparently fly and was able to do all those things that Superman supposedly could, would need anybody's help to accomplish anything. But then she thought, 'Maybe he isn't so Super after all? Maybe our writers have been more accurate than they could possibly know, and he is more human than he knows. He certainly looks rather lost. I wonder what happened to Dean?' "I don't believe it!" Teri repeated out loud. "I don't believe that I believe what is happening here! Where's Dean Cain?" "I don't know, Teri. Tempus told me that he'd taken Dean to my home, but I have my doubts about his trustworthiness, so I don't know for sure where Dean is." "Tempus? How long have you been here? Maybe you'd better tell me how this happened. And then I think we need to work on a way to send you home again, don't you think?" Clark noticed from the way she spoke that Teri had already begun to believe him - or at least had suspended her disbelief long enough to help him out. Teri was thinking something along those lines to herself: 'If I can get rid of this person quickly, I'll have the rest of the day to collapse in a jibbering heap!' She gestured to him to take a seat and almost fell into the sofa herself when, with a grin, Superman chose to float instead, in a sitting position. Clark described to Teri how he had spent the past 24 hours (he couldn't believe it had only been 24! It seemed so much had happened in such a short space of time!), and then turned to her and asked: "Teri, from what I've seen around at the set and in the tabloids I scanned this morning, it seems to me that a lot of what really happened to me has been played out in that TV studio. I don't understand how this is possible... I think Tempus even mentioned something about choosing Mr Cain - er, Dean - to play me because he looked so much like me - But can you tell me something? "In the scenes we were filming today, it seemed that "Lois" knew my secret. How does she learn it?" "You mean you don't know? That's really weird, because you're right, it does seem like our writers have some sort of psychic connection to your world - I'm also not sure about what Tempus said to you though - but I remember discussing this with the writers when 'Clark' proposed to 'Lois' at the end of our second season, and going into our third. I wasn't terribly happy with the way 'Lois' suddenly knew, and the audience didn't get to see her reactions to her discovery. I think they messed up there a bit, and should have shown more of 'Lois'' discovery, and I know a lot of the fans felt that way, at the time, too. They said that it was because of the way both 'Clark' and 'Superman' touched 'Lois'' face," she demonstrated for him, sending a chill down Clark's spine. "But I think that if I had believed that 'Lois' was a real person, there ould have been more to her discovery than that. But our writers weren't able to tap into the psychic network or something," she giggled,embarrassed, "and so that's what they left us with by way of explanation." "So Lois does know by the time I propose to her. Phew!" Clark sighed in relief. "I've been trying to figure out how to tell her, someway that won't make her angry at me, but I can't do it. I keep on almost telling her, but then I hear something that makes me need to leave, and I know it's getting just as frustrating for her as it is for me." "Well, let me warn you, Superman," Lois began. "Please, call me Clark. I'd really prefer that. It's who I am. Superman is - " "Just what you do? Now where have I heard that before?" Teri joked. "Anyway, *Clark*, if your Lois does what was scripted for me, it doesn't get any easier just because you've proposed! She does get really mad that you've kept such an important secret from you for so long. And, no, I'm not going to tell you anything more about your future right now. It wouldn't be fair to *her* to know so much about what might happen between you two. And anyway, we never filmed an episode like what's happening now, so maybe your future and hers have been changed by what Tempus is doing." "And speaking of Tempus, we need to think about how I'm going to get home again." Clark reminded Teri. For the next hour or two, Teri and Clark threw ideas around on how to return him home again. Teri was almost relieved that they weren't at home for her husband Jon to see this, but on the other hand, she would never get anyone else to believe it, so she regretted his absence. Every idea that Clark suggested, Teri believed wouldn't work in her world, and every thought that Teri had, Clark didn't know how to put into motion. They had reached a stalemate, and by late afternoon, or early evening, Clark felt the need to get out and get some fresh air, hoping that with it, he would be able to think more clearly and find a solution. The last thing either of them wanted to do was to wait the two more days in the hope that Tempus might return. Neither one believed in what Tempus had told Clark when he left him here. Clark excused himself and left via the window, leaving Teri gaping in awe once more (and somewhat surprised that she felt that way, since he hadn't sat in a chair once at her house, but she thought she had become accustomed to it). As she sat back the phone rang, and she picked it up to hear a very familiar voice at the other end. Chapter Nine "Teri? What are you doing at my place? You won't believe what has happened to me! I'm at the studio and they said you'd gone home early today!" "Dean? It *is* you, isn't it? You're back!" Teri sighed in enormous relief. "Hooray!" "Back? How did you know I'd been away?" "Dean, you have got to get over here quickly. There's someone visiting me today that you have just *got* to meet! It's the only way you'll believe what's been happening to me!" "Hang on a moment. He's there, isn't he?" Dean was almost afraid to say the name out loud. It would confirm his thoughts and that was even more scary because it would mean that what he thought had happened to *him* in the last day or so, *must* have been real! "He? Yes, Dean, Clark is here, and we don't know how to get him home again. How did you get back?" "Teri, I have, believe it or not, a working model of Tempus' time machine behind my trailer. I've been to *that* world." "Dean, I *love* you! Look, Clark just flew off for some fresh air. We'll be over there as soon as he gets back." "He what? Did you say he "flew"? Ohmigod!" "Well, Dean," Teri could hear a whistling wind sound, which made her think that perhaps Clark was returning, "he is Superman, after all." She giggled, and went to open the window again to let Clark in. "We'll be there soon, Dean." As she hung up the phone, Clark walked into the room."Who was that? Where are we going?" "Oh Clark, I'm so glad you weren't gone for long! We've got access to a working model of Tempus' machine! You'll be able to get home now!" "A working model? How? Who were you talking to?" "It's Dean. He *has* been on your world, and he's back, with a working time machine. We have to get back to the studio quickly!" Clark was so relieved. He had had a feeling that going out for a quick flight would help solve his problem, but he had had no idea the solution would come in this form. However, he was somewhat nervous about the concept of meeting his twin, or doppleganger, or whatever you wanted to call it. "What's the best way there, Teri?" "By air, I'd say, Clark. Wouldn't you?" Teri smiled as Clark scooped her up into his arms. He walked back to the open window, and gently took off in the direction indicated by her. "Not many people on this planet would be able to say they've been taken flying by Superman." she joked, slightly nervously. "And I can think of just one person who actually belongs here who will believe that you've done it," replied Clark. Suddenly Teri realised just how fast they must have been flying, because they were already arriving at Dean's trailer. As Clark landed, the door of the trailer opened, and the owner emerged down the steps. Each man stopped to appraise the other, and Teri faded into the background, watching, fascinatedly as the two seeming twins took each other's measure. After a few moments, she noticed that neither of them seemed game enough to say the first words. It occurred to her that it appeared they were afraid that talking to each other, or even acknowledging the other's existence out loud might make one or the other vanish into limbo. Nervous herself, she took the first step, falling back on the etiquette books she had read as a teenager. "Clark, I'd like you to meet Dean Cain. Dean, this is Clark Kent. We couldn't figure out how to get Clark home again, and he has to get back quickly, because Lois is about to discover the secret somehow and -" "And we are really glad you are back and have a working machine," continued Clark, not noticing Dean's blush of embarrassment. "Teri was under the impression that machines like this won't work on this world." Dean ushered the pair into his trailer, shaking his head. "Normally I think, they wouldn't, but this is the same machine that took me to your world, and we - er - I found the instructions for it that you wrote hidden in your secret closet, so I could actually figure out how to work the machine to get home again. One question: Were you really badly disoriented when you got here?" Clark nodded. "Well, you'll be happy to know it isn't quite so bad coming home as when I first arrived on your planet." Teri watched this exchange with amazement. She found that if she shut her eyes, she honestly couldn't tell which of the men was speaking. It got even worse a moment later. "Hey," both men began at once as the same idea occurred to each of them simultaneously. "You're a writer, aren't you? Are you going to write about this?" They both stopped at the same time too, and then grinned matching grins at each other. Teri interrupted them with a laugh, "Guys, this is just too weird for words. Clark, we haven't done anything quite like this in any episodes we've filmed, so far; but y'know Dean, why don't we sort of kind of suggest something along these lines to Eugenie and Brad, and see what happens." "For now, though," said Clark, "I think I ought to be getting home. I have some important things I need to talk about with Lois, and I don't want to delay any more." Dean took Clark around the back of the trailer, to where the time machine was, and set the controls to take him back home. The power started to build up, becoming louder and louder. Dean and Teri both put their hands over their ears to protect them; the machine had begun to develop a foggy cloud around it, when suddenly Dean remembered he wanted to confess something to Clark. "She already knows!" He shouted. "What?" They could lipread what Clark was shouting back to them. "She already knows!" repeated Dean and Teri together, shouting as loudly as they could. But they would never know whether or not he had heard or understood them, for quite suddenly, the machine and it's cloud were gone, and the air reverberated around the place it had been. Epilogue Clark and Lois went for a quiet walk in Centennial Park that evening. Neither knew how to begin to tell the other of the events they had witnessed or been through the past two days, so they walked in silence for a while. Eventually, Clark put his arm around Lois' shoulder and began: "Lois, I've been thinking." "Me too." "What about?" he asked, hoping that he could think of some way to tell her about Teri Hatcher and what she had told him. "You first," she said. 'Darn', he thought, but tried to think of how to tell her everything... there was so much to tell. "Okay," he began. "Sometimes, you think you're immortal. You start to think that the people around you are too.. It just takes a *second* to realise how wrong you are, about everything." He led her to the fountain, and invited her to sit. As the rain that had been threatening all evening finally chose this moment to descend, he looked upward, and in frustration wished out loud, "Come on! Give me a break!" Lois looked up, and with a nervous giggle, because she too had a lot on her mind that she wanted to discuss with him, she offered to go back to where there was shelter. Clark demurred, "If the earth opened up at my *feet*, I wouldn't move until I'd said this." Then it came to him - he'd propose first, and *then* tell her the secret, straight away. That was the way to do it! He knelt at her feet, and continued. "Lois, will you marry me?" There was a bolt of lightning and the rain started to pour down even harder. Then Lois caught him totally off-guard with her own lightning bolt, by reaching up, removing his glasses, and asking him, "Who's asking? Clark? Or Superman?" As they ran for the shelter of the nearby buildings, neither Clark nor Lois said any more, although both had crazy thoughts going through their minds. Taking refuge in the craziest of comments, Clark asked Lois whether it was the new glasses that had given away his secret. But he knew that he needed to know how long ago Lois had learned his secret. For her part, Lois couldn't believe that he had actually thought he would get away with proposing without admitting to her himself what the secret was. Was this really going to turn out exactly the way the actor from another world had said it would? And now Clark was asking her how she had figured it out. What could she say? Suddenly, she had a flashback of memories of Clark and of Superman each holding her face. The same tender way. Somehow, that motion epitomised his love for her, and she knew she could tell him that this was how she had figured it out. "So, how long have I known? Since yesterday." (That was the truth, anyway!) "How did I figure it out? When you did this," she demonstrated the motion she recalled so vividly. "You've touched me like that before, both of you. I guess almost dying sort of heightened all my senses. Sort of like putting on a pair of glasses." Clark was almost relieved. She had figured it out on her own. He had expected a different reaction. He wasn't sure what, but it didn't feel right that she hadn't gotten mad at him for keeping the secret from her. He still expected that to happen at some point. But first he had to tell her everything about the last few days. As he drew breath to begin, she did too. "Clark, I have to be honest with you. What I just told you was one of the things that clued me into who you really are, but there was more to it than that. Something happened while I was at home yesterday and today, that I think you should know about. I had a visitor... um, I'm not sure how to explain this..." Suddenly Clark guessed what Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher had been trying to tell him and continued for Lois, "called Dean Cain?" "You know? How?" "Because somehow, for some reason, which I don't yet know, I was swapped with him; I went to *his* world, and had to try to *be* him until he came back to get me. His world is such a strange place. "While I was there, I met a woman who reminded me a lot of you. Being there, and meeting her, made me realise that when I got home (and I *knew* I'd make it back somehow) I couldn't go on without telling you the secret, without making you more a part of my life. I had wanted to do that so much in the past few weeks, but I just couldn't do it. I guess it was just so ingrained in me to keep the secret or something..." The rain had stopped, and the couple continued their walk. "Look, Lois, I'm sorry that my proposal came out sounding that way. It wasn't what I intended. Are you mad at me?" "I'm not mad at you." "Lois, this is no time to be holding back." Clark want to encourage Lois, and get the worst over quickly. "Really, I'm not." "I was talking to Lois Lane; she was here a minute ago..." "I'm not mad," Lois continued, "I'm hurt." "Which is worse than you being mad. Lois, I've been practising this for months, let's see if I can get it right... I know this must be a shock to you, and I wanted to let you know how hard it's been carrying this secret by myself. I've wanted to tell you for a long time, but when I decided to become Superman, I—" "You became a target and anyone close to you became a target and it got more complicated when you fell in love with me." "Which was about two minutes after I first met you." "Don't try to score points with me, Kent." Lois bit out. "Look, I understand where you're coming from. I really do. Dean said that he felt the same way. But when it comes down to it, you made me believe you were two different people, and you did that by lying to me. And that makes me feel like I don't know you... and that really hurts. And you know what? I am mad!" "Good, get it all out!" Clark encouraged Lois. He was glad that she was at least reacting the way he had expected. Then suddenly they heard a cry for help. Lois looked at Clark expectantly, but before he spun into his costume (for the first time, in front of her!), he paused. "Lois, I'll be back soon. We really do have a lot to talk about." A final word: Some people have asked whether this story was based on a similar (published) Star Trek fanfic story (Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited) where William Shatner, DeForrest Kelly and Leonard Nimoy get transported to the bridge of the Enterprise and have to *be* their alter egos until Scotty (the real one) can get them home. Actually, I came up with this idea independently, but there are some similarities, and I admit to having read that story many years ago. But I promise that until it was mentioned in reaction to my idea, I had forgotten that story. Interestingly, on Sunday January 19, 1997, when Dean made an appearance on #grapejam on IRC, the following exchange occurred: Dean, if you were kidnapped by Tempus and swapped with Clark Kent, how would you react? Jenerator- Id be shocked to say the least. We're filming something very similar to that right now. The tempest does return. .. Right from the word go, with this story, I knew how I wanted it to end, and my plan notes for the story say "They changed the ending of ATAI to suit themselves for WHALTTA, so why shouldn't I change it to suit myself. So I did. -- 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: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 11:47:50 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: Fanfic Rerun: ...the Chicken or the Egg In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >I've always LOVED this story!! ARGH! Please, people, do *not* copy the entire story into your reply. *Especially* when the story is this long. While the sentiments are good, when you copy the entire file, this becomes the worst kind of "me too" post. Kathy ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 08:51:29 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Vicki Krell Subject: Re: Fanfic Rerun: ...the Chicken or the Egg MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Guys, I am SO sorry!! I have a lot going on a work today and wasn't paying attention. Don't hate me!!! Kathy, thanks for reminding me. Sorry again. Vicki -----Original Message----- From: Kathy Brown [SMTP:kbrown@TOOLCITY.NET] Sent: Friday, October 24, 1997 8:48 AM To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Subject: Re: Fanfic Rerun: ...the Chicken or the Egg >I've always LOVED this story!! ARGH! Please, people, do *not* copy the entire story into your reply. *Especially* when the story is this long. While the sentiments are good, when you copy the entire file, this becomes the worst kind of "me too" post. Kathy ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 08:09:40 -0700 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: Brief review: FTASB Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sunday morning, when it's 6am (feels like 7am) and around 20 degrees and you have no car and nothing's open and you didn't want to go anywhere anyhow and you've just made some breakfast and the cats have decided to entertain themselves for a while... This is a good time to catch up on fanfic reading :) I recognized Sheila Harper's story as I got into it and thought, how clever, to turn a good fanfic into an exemplary Season 5 story. Updated a bit and written perhaps with a TV screen in mind, it still mixes excitement, tension, mystery, angst, and the right touches of comedy here and there considering the growing serious situation. It does better in many ways than the original since it means a lot more now :) I think that given competent directing and an adequate budget for the computer graphics (particularly the space scenes), and knowing that the actors could have pulled it off--they would have loved the story, I'm sure--on screen this would have not only been one of my top-ten episodes but I think it would have been in contention for a lot of Emmys if there were any justice in the world. Awards could have gone for writing, acting, directing, set design, and even music: picture soft, distant, lonely music, the kind featured in 2001 as the ship heads for Jupiter, million and millions of miles from home, and use it to enhance Superman's plight as he approaches the roaring sun, all alone... whoa! Kudos! 10/10. A+ Hooray! It's stories like this that help me realize I can just completely forget the (IMO) wretched parts of seasons 3 and 4... :) Debby Debby@swcp.com who can read other people's reviews now :) and who wonders if it's too early to begin petitioning the LSBC (Leanne Shawler Broadcasting Company) for a Season 6...? ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 10:42:48 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Fanfic Idea Update:Lois and Clark's sick child MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable A while back someone raised the idea of Lois and Clark dealing with a sick child... I think you'll find this article helpful if not extremely sad... I was also going to update/ask about the idea about Clark killing and Lois' reaction, but that now seems rather distasteful... from Jill Kelly's brave battle By Ellen Rosen Staff writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (Oct. 26, 1997) -- As she cradles her infant son, Jill Kelly holds his tiny hand and moves his fingers through his own hair, along the edge of his blanket, across the surface of a= toy. "I dip his pacifier in different flavor juices, in chocolate syrup, in watered down baby food, just to let him experience some sort of something,'' she says. No expert told her to do that. But she is his mother, and she desperately wants him to feel and sense as much of his world as possible, for as long as possible. Eight-month-old Hunter is dying of Krabbe's disease, a rare, incurable genetic disorder that is causing his brain and nervous system to degenerate. To some, it would seem hopeless. But Jill and her husband -- former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly -- refuse to give up. While they pray for a miracle that could save Hunter, they're determined to bring meaning to his life. That's why the Kellys are going public with Hunter's story. On national television and in magazines, they're spreading their message for Hunter's Hope, a foundation established to raise awareness and research funds that could lead to a cure for Krabbe's. And in confronting their son's mortality, they hope to remind parents everywhere just how precious all children are. "When this all started happening, I told Jim that if there was ever a time to be Jim Kelly, to use your celebrity rather than just be one, this is it,'' says Jill, 28, who exudes a warmth and quiet confidence not easily apparent in the brief television interviews she has granted. "You can help somebody else -- maybe even just to appreciate their own children -- just by talking about this. And I'm comfortable with that.''=20 A tough beginning In the Kelly household, the last eight months have been difficult. After an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery, 7-pound, 14-ounce Hunter James Kelly was born in a suburban Buffalo hospital on Feb. 14. He is the couple's second child, the son they had hoped for, a little brother for Erin. He was born on his father's 37th birthday, just weeks after Jim had retired from professional football after 11 years with the Bills. But feelings of joy soon were replaced by expressions of concern. "He was colicky and miserable from the day he was born,'' Jill says. The pediatrician suggested a change in infant formula. Four were tried, with no improvement. Hunter underwent testing for a digestive problem. "It got to a point where he was in wrenching pain, constantly,'' she says. "It was for three hours, every night, at the same time. It was very severe. But I didn't know what colic was. Erin was a healthy baby. I didn't know until my mom said, 'Jill, you had colic. This cannot be colic.' '' Three-month-old Hunter became increasingly irritable. He didn't like to be held or have his arms stroked. Normal conversation seemed more noise than he could bear. When his arms and legs became stiff, doctors said Hunter was showing signs of cerebral palsy. The Kellys hardly had time to digest that devastating news when more came. Hunter, who was then 4 months old, was having seizures= and difficulty swallowing. A neurologist, Dr. Patricia Duffner of Buffalo's Children's Hospital, ordered blood tests. They confirmed that Hunter had Krabbe's, also known as Globoid-Cell Leukodystrophy. Krabbe's (kra-BAYS) is an inherited disease that children get only if both their parents are carriers. A couple who carry the gene have a 25-percent chance of passing the disease on to each of their children, and= a 50-percent chance the children will carry the gene but not be affected by it. Erin falls among the other 25 percent who neither have the gene nor the disease. Children with Krabbe's lack an important enzyme that helps brain and nervous system development. They fail to acquire mental and motor skills, even those as simple as holding up their own heads. Eventually, they become deaf and blind, and they usually don't live past the second birthday. "I just had a hard time believing the whole idea,'' Jill says. "I didn't know how to feel. My whole body was weak and I was very sad. I just wanted to know, 'Is he in any pain? What can we do for him to make him better?' '' The doctor told them there was no cure. "And we said, 'What? Someone's got to be doing something! There's got to be something you can do!' ''=20 With loving care Medically, there isn't much that can be done. So the focus has been on keeping Hunter comfortable. The doctor -- who calls daily -- prescribed anti-seizure medicine that seems to reduce his pain. Most of the time, he lies quietly, appearing to sleep. Since he has been on the medication, Hunter rarely opens his eyes. Occasionally, he emits sounds that resemble baby babble. He sneezes sometimes, and he chokes often -- a serious problem that has necessitated ambulance calls. Otherwise, he rarely moves. On the table in the family room is a close-up portrait of Hunter, taken in the family Jacuzzi on the day he was diagnosed. "That was the last day he had his eyes open really wide,'' Jill says. "It's our absolute favorite picture of him. When anyone wants a picture, we beg them to use that.'' A typical day at the Kellys' starts about 6 a.m. That's when Erin wakes up, and Hunter gets his first dose of medication. Every three hours, Jill or her mother, Jacque Waggoner, attach tubing to the surgical implant in Hunter's stomach. The tube helps vent air that could be upsetting his stomach. It's also the conduit through which he receives his medication and regular, 2=BD-ounce drip feedings of infant= formula. At night, the tube is attached to a machine that can feed him continuously for up to eight hours. But Jill doesn't the like the idea of his formula sitting out for that long. So she sets an alarm and gets up to refill the machine every three hours. When Hunter sneezes, the contents of his tiny stomach spill out of the tube's end. "I can't remember when I last wore real clothes,'' Jill jokes. Physical and occupational therapists visit the house three times a week to keep the baby's muscles toned. Jill massages his legs every time she changes his diaper. And every night, either she or her mother take the baby into the family's Jacuzzi for a relaxing soak. But tending to Hunter's medical needs is only part of the routine. To Jill and Jim, it's paramount that their baby know he is surrounded by love. "We try to include him in everything,'' Jill says. "Our whole purpose regarding Hunter is that he be as happy as he can be. We do whatever we can, and then some. We go out of our way to make him happy. Same for Erin.'' Most of the day, Jill carries him around the house, talking to him, singing to him. When she's not available, her mother takes up the charge. "He knows when his mommy has got him,'' Jill says. "We're pretty much attached at the hip, and that's great. I wouldn't have it any other way. He's most comfortable with me. There's definitely a bond there that's obvious to me. He's my son, and he knows I'm doing my best to take care of him and help him be as happy as he can.''=20 Through a child's eyes As Jill tends to Hunter on the overstuffed couch, Erin dashes by toward the adjacent playroom. The small space, up a few steps from the comfortable living room, is a striking example of how children can change the focus of your life. Lining the walls are glass cases filled with Jim's game balls. Helmets from around the league sit atop the cases, as do photos of the former Pro Bowl quarterback in action. But halfway down the wall, Kelly's NFL career ends and Erin's world begins. The sofa overflows with stuffed animals and dolls that Erin refers to as her babies. Even in the basement, dubbed Kelly's Irish Pub -- the scene of some legendary postgame celebrations -- framed jerseys of football greats share space with lifesize Eeyores and Piglets. And Erin keeps all the paraphernalia a little girl needs to be a good mommy to her scores of charges. It's a role Erin loves to play. And it's clear that Jill is her role model. "Here, doggy. Here's your lunch,'' says Erin, lifting the stuffed animal's red plastic leash, just as she's seen her mother handle Hunter's feeding tube. Finding time for the precocious toddler is a priority for Jill. "When Hunter is sleeping, I play with Erin,'' she says. "I feel bad in a way because I'm not able to spend as much time as I used to with Erin. However, I'm very, very happy to spend the time that I do with Hunter. He deserves it, and I don't see there is any other way to handle this. He needs his attention now because I don't know how long I'll be able to spend time with him.'' Although she has help in the house in every day, and could easily leave her children in someone else's care, Jill chooses to stay home and spend every minute with her kids. "When I'm away from them is when I'm most sad,'' she says. "When I'm here and doing our routine is when I'm happiest. It's not just that I'm happy to be with them. It's that you have to be happy for them.'' Ask Erin what she does all day, and she has a quick reply. "Help Mommy with Hunter-boy.'' The little girl has become deeply attached to her baby brother. In the course of her busy play, she finds time to plant frequent kisses on his head. She rushes to his side whenever she hears him sneeze or choke. And she simply won't be put to bed until she's had a chance to properly say good night to Hunter. Although the family tries to be upbeat, Erin senses things aren't quite right. Lately, she's had trouble sleeping at night. "She sees me cry once in a while,'' Jill says. "And I have to explain it to her in a way she can understand. I tell her Hunter isn't feeling very well.'' They haven't told her Hunter is dying. And Jill is not certain how she'll break the news to her when the time comes. "I think that's probably the scariest thing whenever I think about it. And I do think about it often,'' Jill says. "I'm sure I'll refer to heaven and God, because she says her prayers every night. I try not to think about it too much, though, because I don't know if I'll be able to handle it. I know what I'll say, but I don't know if I'll be strong enough to do it.''= =20 Handling the pain In the Kelly family, most of the daily childrearing responsibilities fall to Jill. Jim's job as an NBC sports analyst, and appearances to promote the Hunter's Hope foundation, keep him away from home for at least part of each week. Still, it's more than economics that determines this family arrangement. "All people deal with grief and hardship in different ways,'' Jill says. "Our goal is the same -- to make life as perfect and happy as possible for Hunter and Erin. The hardest part is knowing he's not going to live forever and we're not going to see him grow up. We deal with that every day.'' "My way of dealing with it is to spend every minute with the kids, whereas Jim has an outside life, and that's his way of dealing with it. He has to be able to focus on other things almost to take his mind off it. There's no right way. I wish he would handle it the way I do, and he probably wishes I would handle it the way he does.'' When he is home, Jim tries to get involved in the daily routine. "Jim will hold him, but he's just a little bit nervous,'' Jill says. "He tries. But Jim is more of a helper than a doer,'' she says, laughing. A doting father to Erin, Jim has been devastated by his son's illness, Jill says. "I cry more than he does, and I ask him why he's not crying. And he's like, 'That's just the way I am.' Not to say that he hasn't cried, because he has.'' But, she quickly adds, their different styles bring balance to their family life. "If he and I were both crying all the time, what good would that do?'' Caught up in the daily grind of managing their family life, the couple is often too exhausted and overwhelmed to talk about their feelings, she says. "I want to talk about it all the time, and he doesn't,'' she says. "He tries to be more positive and upbeat. I talk to my mom more than I talk to Jim.''=20 Faith in the future In facing life's challenges, Jill says she draws strength from many sources. Probably the two most important are her faith, and her mother. "My mom makes me strong,'' Jill says. "Even though I'm my own person, I don't think I'd be as much of a person as I am without my mom and dad.'' Jacque Waggoner makes the trip from her Attica, Wyoming County, home at least five times a week to lend a hand. She is first in line, behind Jill, to help with the children, and the only one Jill will leave in charge when she's not around. For Jacque, her role is filled with both pleasure and pain. She delights in being with the children -- playing house with Erin, trimming the little girl's bangs, holding, feeding and comforting Hunter. But she aches for her daughter, and for a future without her grandson. "Jill is suffering and grieving, and this is not easy,'' she says, tears coming to her eyes. "We've always been very close, mother-daughter and friends, too. I just want to do whatever I can. I admire how she handles all this. But when I'm alone is when I fall apart.'' Jill says her Catholic faith remains strong. At first, she questioned why God would give life to a baby, only to make him suffer. "But I never said, 'Why did God to this to us?' '' "I pray more now, but I'm not wearing guardian angels or anything,'' she says. "That's not the way I think God works. You just talk to him and ask him to help you, to give you strength to get through what you need to.'' She prays for a miracle that would save Hunter's life. But even if that never happens, she and Jim have come to believe that their son's life is a gift bestowed for a purpose. He's here to draw attention to all the world's children and to rally support so that other children might be spared the agony of Krabbe's and other similar diseases. Jill says Hunter's Hope will be her life's work. And she's taken great comfort in the thousands of cards, letters and donations that have been received, sometimes staying up until 1 a.m. to write personal replies to the senders. What the long-term future holds is uncertain, she says. But for now, she is going to surround her children with love. She's going to fix up a Noah's Ark-style bedroom for Hunter with the furnishings she's been collecting since his birth. And someday she and Jim will have another child, she says, either one together or one they'll adopt. "We take every day,'' she says. "We enjoy every day, and we try not to worry about tomorrow.''=20 =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-= =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-= =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 15:39:17 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: Fwd: Calling all readers and writers of fanfic... Comments: To: LOISCLA@vm.ege.edu.tr MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Lori McE found this in the L&C fanfic newsgroup and passed it along to me, but she's having email problems, so I'm forwarding it to the lists. Assuming this is for real, we should make our voices heard! Subject: Calling all readers and writers of fanfic... From: mperenson@mcimail.com Date: Sat, Oct 25, 1997 19:05 EDT Message-id: <62ttqd$ine@bgtnsc01.worldnet.att.net> If you write or read fanfic, I want to hear from you! I’m a columnist for Sci-Fi Entertainment magazine (the official magazine of the Sci-Fi Channel), and an upcoming column is going to look at the phenomenon of fanfic online. Below are some standard questions which I’d appreciate it if you could answer (or, at least, answer as many as you can ) and return via e-mail to me at mperenson@mcimail.com. One set of questions is for both readers and writers of fanfic, while the other is just for the writers of fanfic; feel free to add any comments that don't fit the parameters of the questions. Some of your e-mail responses may be used as quotes in the article; if you don’t want to be quoted, please be sure to note that in your e-mail. Thanks for your time, and look forward to hearing from folks soon! Melissa Perenson Fanfic Questionnaire ----------------------------------- For readers and writers of fanfic: 1) When and how did you first discover fanfic? 2) What is it about reading fanfic that you enjoy? 3) Has reading fanfic increased your interest in the series? Or was it your interest in the series – and things that may or may not have happened in the series -- that pushed you to seek out and find fanfic on the Net? 4) What void do you think fanfic fills? 5) What role do you think fanfic is playing in Internet-based fandom? 6) How often do you read fanfic? Do you find it can be addictive? 7) What fanfics do you usually read (The X-Files, Star Trek, Xena, Sliders, Lois and Clark, others (please name))? 8) What Web sites/newsgroups do you frequent for fanfic? For writers of fanfic: 1) When did you start writing fanfic? 2) What prompted you to start writing? 3) Have you ever done any creative or professional writing outside of fanfic? 4) What do you think is the key to writing a good fanfic? 5) What do you, as a writer, get out of writing fanfic, considering there’s no monetary compensation or official recognition per se? 6) Do you like receiving feedback from those who’ve read your work? 7) (answers here are optional) What do you do in "real life" (i.e., when not writing fanfic ). And what is your age? ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 20:32:13 +0000 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: Fwd: Calling all readers and writers of fanfic... Hi Peace (and other FoLCs) ~ So, does this mean that we should *ALL* (since all of us at least *read* fanfic ) answer this??? If we do, who do we send the answers to? I'm assuming it is the addy below (mperenson@mcimail.com), but I just want to be sure. I agree though, we should make ourselves heard!! Especially since, in the FoLCs case, fanfic is no longer about adding to a show, it is about keeping the show alive. We could have some really interesting write ups! ;) Thanks for the post Peace!! Just thought I'd offer my $.02! (plus I am really getting bored without having my LOISCLA mail to sift through... here's hoping they get the list back up on Monday!) TTYAL! =P Genine ~ On Sun, 26 Oct 1997 15:39:17 -0500 Peace Everett writes: >Lori McE found this in the L&C fanfic newsgroup and passed it along to >me, >but she's having email problems, so I'm forwarding it to the lists. >Assuming >this is for real, we should make our voices heard! > >Subject: Calling all readers and writers of fanfic... >From: mperenson@mcimail.com >Date: Sat, Oct 25, 1997 19:05 EDT >Message-id: <62ttqd$ine@bgtnsc01.worldnet.att.net> > >If you write or read fanfic, I want to hear from you! I’m a columnist >for Sci-Fi Entertainment magazine (the official magazine of the Sci-Fi >Channel), and an upcoming column is going to look at the phenomenon of >fanfic online. Below are some standard questions which I’d appreciate >it >if you could answer (or, at least, answer as many as you can ) and >return via e-mail to me at mperenson@mcimail.com. One set of questions >is for both readers and writers of fanfic, while the other is just for >the writers of fanfic; feel free to add any comments that don't fit >the >parameters of the questions. > >Some of your e-mail responses may be used as quotes in the article; if >you don’t want to be quoted, please be sure to note that in your >e-mail. >Thanks for your time, and look forward to hearing from folks soon! >Melissa Perenson > >Fanfic Questionnaire >----------------------------------- > >For readers and writers of fanfic: > >1) When and how did you first discover fanfic? >2) What is it about reading fanfic that you enjoy? >3) Has reading fanfic increased your interest in the series? Or was >it >your interest in the series – and things that may or may not have >happened in the series -- that pushed you to seek out and find fanfic >on >the Net? >4) What void do you think fanfic fills? >5) What role do you think fanfic is playing in Internet-based fandom? >6) How often do you read fanfic? Do you find it can be addictive? >7) What fanfics do you usually read (The X-Files, Star Trek, Xena, >Sliders, Lois and Clark, others (please name))? >8) What Web sites/newsgroups do you frequent for fanfic? > >For writers of fanfic: >1) When did you start writing fanfic? >2) What prompted you to start writing? >3) Have you ever done any creative or professional writing outside of >fanfic? >4) What do you think is the key to writing a good fanfic? >5) What do you, as a writer, get out of writing fanfic, considering >there’s no monetary compensation or official recognition per se? >6) Do you like receiving feedback from those who’ve read your work? >7) (answers here are optional) What do you do in "real life" (i.e., >when not writing fanfic ). And what is your age? > ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 20:47:17 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: Fwd: Calling all readers and writers of fanfic... In-Reply-To: <19971026.203219.9558.1.GemFoLC51@juno.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 8:32 PM +0000 10/26/97, Genine E Murray wrote: >Hi Peace (and other FoLCs) ~ > >So, does this mean that we should *ALL* (since all of us at least *read* >fanfic ) answer this??? If we do, who do we send the answers to? I'm >assuming it is the addy below (mperenson@mcimail.com), but I just want >to be sure. I agree though, we should make ourselves heard!! Especially Yes, Genine, respond to the person running the survey. All Peace did was pass along someone else's post from a newsgroup. This is *not* being run by this list! As for whether we should all respond - that is an individual decision. Peace and Lori weren't recommending we respond, just passing along an interesting post. Kathy (who once again asks that people *please* not copy the whole post in their responses!!! I didn't need to see the entire survey again - I've gotten it 3 times already from various lists.) ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 22:15:02 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Classic Fanfic: SECOND CHANCES (1/5) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 This was my reaction to Contact, hence this fanfic rerun... enjoy! Author's note: Big thanks to Chris Mulder and Sarah Wood, who both had sharp eyes and good ideas. This story has one disturbing scene near the beginning, but it just gets better after that (I hope). All comments/complaints welcomed at = the address below... = ~This third season, we've seen both Lois & Clark make some poor decisions. If they had to do things over again, how would they do them differently? Or would they do them at all?~ SECOND CHANCES (1/5) by Pam Jernigan (75540.2554@Compuserve.com) Clark hated it when Lois was kidnapped. It happened often enough that he supposed he ought to be used to it; when she wasn't being targeted as a friend of Superman's, she managed to get into trouble all on her own. It was different, though, now that she knew his secret - as much as he loved being completely himself around her, her knowledge increased her risk and endangered his parents, too. He'd accepted that risk, after much urging, but it didn't mean he liked it. He reminded himself that he didn't know for certain that she'd been captured by anyone. But she hadn't returned from the routine interview she'd gone to get this morning, and that tripped his trouble-meter. He banked south, and came around for another pass over the city. He hoped to spot her or her Jeep, so that he wouldn't have to scan every building in Metropolis, but he couldn't see anything. Maybe... just maybe she was fine. He continued to scan. *** In a basement, somewhere, Lois was tied to a chair, glaring at two thugs. "This was a big mistake," she informed them, as calmly as she could. "Superman doesn't like it when people rough up his friends. My partner knows I should have been back by now, and he'll get Superman to find you." She tested the ropes that tied her hands and feet, but they didn't give. The older man, the one she'd decided to call Brains, barked a laugh. "We're not stupid, Miss Lane. We should have some time before your hero can find you. Look around - see all that old machinery? That will shield us. And we won't be here long, especially not if you cooperate. If you don't, well..." he nodded to the younger man, Muscles, who flexed his hands and showed her a terrifying grin. "Then it may take a little longer." "What do you want?" No sense in being stubborn until she found that out, she reasoned, but she wasn't hopeful. "We want to know what you know about Superman." Her heart froze, and she hoped her expression gave nothing away. No, she wasn't going to be able to help them there. = "I'm afraid I don't know much of anything - nothing more than what's general knowledge." Muscles stepped up and slapped her, almost lightly. Oh, Clark, she thought, what I wouldn't give for you to come crashing through a wall right now... "I'm afraid I don't believe you," Brains responded coolly. = "Where did he come from?" "Krypton, everyone knows that." Muscles shifted menacingly at her tone, but didn't move. "When did he come here?" "I first saw him at that shuttle launch, about two and a half years ago." Come on, Clark, any time now would be good. "Is that when he first arrived on this planet?" "I don't know." = *Smack* This blow was harder, and hit her right on the cheekbone. She decided she'd better stop thinking about Clark, she didn't want to give anything away, even by accident. "I advise you not to lie to me, Miss Lane." She glared at him, ignoring Muscles. "I am not lying, I just don't know anything about Superman!" = *Smack* She gingerly moved her jaw back into it's usual position. Her busy mind listed a few choice facts about Superman for her, but she did her best to ignore them. = Giving these thugs what they wanted was out of the question. "Come, come, you've been friends with the creature for all this time, and you expect us to believe you know nothing?" "Well, if you want to know his favorite colors, that's one thing, but he never told me anything important - mainly to protect me from creeps like you!" *Smack* on the other cheekbone. Brains smiled thinly. "You'll have to tell him that it didn't work. Assuming you get the chance. When did he arrive on this planet?" Lois enunciated clearly. "I don't know anything about Superman." *Smack* She felt blood begin to trickle from her nose. "Where does he go when he's not flying around?" "I don't know anything about Superman." *Smack* She could feel the insides of her cheeks getting sliced up by her teeth. "Has he any weaknesses besides Kryptonite?" "I don't know anything about Superman." *Smack* Her head was starting to throb in a mass of pain, and her concentration was going. "Do the powers have anything to do with the suit he wears?" "I don't know anything about Superman." *Smack* Her ears were ringing, and it was getting hard to hear the questions, but she held fast to one sentence, repeating it whenever there seemed to be a pause. "I don't know anything about Superman, I don't know anything about Superman. I don't know anything about Superman!" The room and the men in it seemed to get more and more distant, swallowed up in a haze of pain, until only the pain remained, and then darkness fell. After a particularly vicious hit, the older man, whose name was Ian Banks, held up a hand to tell his partner to stop. He inspected her. Her head was lolling to one side, and she appeared unconcious. He prodded her in the stomach, but she didn't move. "Hmm.. perhaps she was telling the truth after all. If I had such secrets, I would never entrust them to a woman. = Though I doubt Superman was so wise. Very well. Carl, deposit her in an alley a few blocks away - but not too far. = She must be able to find this room again." Carl untied her and carried her over to a side door. There was a van waiting outside, and he had her in it almost immediately, leaving little opportunity to be spotted from the air. A few blocks away, he opened the back door and rolled her out onto the pavement, leaving her along the side of the road in an alley. It was not a terribly dangerous neighborhood; she'd be found soon enough. *** Clark spotted her perhaps half an hour later. He'd been patrolling for what had seemed like hours, ignoring several cries for help, not wanting to miss any chances of seeing her. = He swooped down to the alley in the gathering afternoon shadows, landing near her and forcing himself to check for injuries before he touched her. His first frantic scan revealed nothing broken - but the sight of her bloody and battered face seemed to stab him through the heart. He knelt beside her and gathered her up in his arms as gently as he could. "Lois?" She stirred as he touched her, only becoming partly aware. = "Doan know nothin..." she mumbled, and cringed. His heart ached. "Lois, it's okay, it's me..." She peered blearily at him through half-opened eyes. = "Clar..?" "It's me, Lois, relax..." He rubbed her back slowly, and stood, still cradling her in his arms, her head against his right shoulder. She snuggled closer, whimpering a little at the pain in her head. "Tay me home, Clar..." He took her to an emergency room, instead. As soon as a nurse put her on a stretcher, he excused himself "to go get her fiance" and then returned almost immediately as Clark Kent. She managed to stay coherent while a doctor verified that she had no serious injuries and gave her a prescription for painkillers. She was fading fast during the police interview, but they got the basic facts before the pain pill knocked her out again. Clark took her to her apartment, and tucked her into bed, spending the night so that he could keep an eye on her. She slept for the rest of the day and all of the night. *** The next morning, Lois felt much better, but looked worse. = Her neck and shoulders were stiff, her cheeks were puffy and sore, her nose was swollen, and she had a black eye. "Lane," she mumbled to herself, "you'd better hope he loves you for your mind." Not that her mind was functioning in top shape, either, but she thought she wasn't doing too badly. And the important thing was, she hadn't told them a thing, she thought, proud of herself. She was attempting to loosen her neck muscles when she heard Clark tap on the bedroom door. = "Lois, you decent?" That made her want to grin, for some reason, but her cheeks weren't quite up to the challenge. "I'm fine, Clark," she replied, enunciating carefully through swollen lips, and stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a set of roomy sweats. = Clark winced a little as he caught sight of her bruises. "Oh, Lois, your poor face..." "It's okay, it'll heal soon enough." She walked over to him and gave him a feather-light kiss. "I take it we're not going to work today?" He shook his head. "I talked to Perry yesterday. I'm going to stay here and take care of you." "Good." She smiled up at him. "Then we've got time to find the creeps who did this to me." He laughed, his guilt and fears for her beginning to recede. = "Let me feed you breakfast first, okay? It's oatmeal, so you shouldn't have any problems." As they ate, she relayed how she'd been grabbed from a parking lot, forced into a van, and taken into an anonymous basement. "They wanted to know about Superman - but I just kept telling them I didn't know anything, so I guess they gave up." Clark reached across the table to grab her hand. "Honey, I'm so sorry..." She looked up, surprised. "Why should you be? You didn't set them on me. I mean, everyone knows we're friends of Superman's; they could have gone after you instead." "I wish they had," he muttered darkly. Lois just looked at him, warmed by his concern. "That's sweet, Clark, but it's okay. Anyway, I want to go back and try to find that basement. I got a decent look at the building before they took me in, so I think I'd recognize it again. = Then we can find out who has access to it; they had a key. I mean, why should the police have all the fun? Oh, and you'd better warn Superman that someone's out to get him again." Clark looked at her, startled. "What do you mean?" She sometimes referred to Superman in the third person, but not like this. She was looking puzzled, too. "It's odd... but I can't remember how to get in touch with him. I know I used to be able to. But you always could, so you'll have to do it this time." All of Clark's fears came rushing back, with a vengeance. = "Lois, how much do you remember about Superman?" Her brow furrowed as she struggled to remember. Things that should have been clear were dark and murky, or just not there at all. "Well... he's from Krypton. And I know I'm friends with him, but Clark..." this was beginning to scare her, and the fear leaked out in her voice, "I can't remember a single conversation with him at all." Clark simply stared at her for a moment, dumbstruck. This was not a good sign. "Lois, um, what do you remember about me?" "Oh, I remember you just fine... well..." she thought about it, hoping to be back on solid ground, but finding it more difficult than she'd thought. "I know I love you, and that we're going to get married - no, wait, there were some problems, weren't there? Only I can't remember what they were. And we work together, I know that, I remember everything about my job." "You've got some major gaps there, Lois. We are going to a doctor." He stood up from the table and put his jacket on. "I can't go out in public, I look horrible!" "You look," Clark corrected firmly, getting out her coat, "like someone who needs to see a doctor." Lois allowed herself to be railroaded into her doctor's office, after insisting on a change into real clothes. She intensely disliked having these gaps in her memory. The doctor checked her over carefully, asked some searching questions, and then pronounced it traumatic amnesia. Her initial reaction was disbelief. "Amnesia? That can't be right. Clark had that two years ago, I remember that, and he couldn't even remember his own name, or me, or anything! I remember lots of things!" "Yes, but," Doctor Forsyth pointed out firmly, "you have an extremely specific gap - you've lost all personal recollection of Superman. That's not likely to be physical. I'm betting that this is some sort of psychological wall you've built for some reason - perhaps as a defense mechanism, to keep yourself from being hurt; you might have some strong emotions wrapped up in this." Lois squinted at him suspiciously. "You mean that some part of me doesn't *want* to remember?" "That's it," Clark pointed out, excited to find some reason for her memory loss. "You didn't want to tell those thugs anything about Superman, anything at all, so you suppressed what you knew." "They kept asking me questions," Lois recalled, slowly, seeing what he meant. "And I kept answering that I didn't know anything about Superman - I said that, over and over." The doctor nodded. "You had very strong reason to convince yourself of that, and apparently it worked." Clark turned to him. "But will she remember?" He hated to think that Lois would never remember so much of their early years together, even if she *had* been mad at him over parts of it. He could tell her, of course... but a little voice he couldn't quite ignore whispered that it might be better for her not to remember. "You can never tell, in these cases." The doctor shrugged. = "Lois, you were feeling threatened at the time, so you'll probably need to feel safe for awhile before you'll allow yourself to remember. Talking to Superman might bring it all back. Reading about him might do it too. Or it may never come back at all." She considered this. "Clark could probably tell me some of it, he must have been there sometimes." "That's not such a good idea, actually," the doctor stated. "If you hear his perspective of events that you were involved in, it's likely that you'll supplant your own memories with his - if you have his version of events, your own will be less likely to surface." "But if I don't remember on my own, his perspective would be better than none, right?" Lois persisted. Doctor Forsyth spread his hands. "That's your decision to make. Just don't rush things, because you'll get no second chances with this." *** As they left the doctor's office and returned to her apartment, they failed to notice a gray van following them. = Carl was driving, as silent as always, while Banks was philosophical. "You shouldn't have hit her so hard, Carl. = She's been to the emergency room and a doctor now, and it's delaying them from following our trail. Our client will not be pleased. And not a sign of Superman today, either. One would almost believe they're not as close as everyone supposes. But that's what we'll find out." *** "So what do you plan to do this afternoon, Lois?" She sagged onto the couch. "Not much. My head's aching. I think I may take a nap after a bit, but first..." she reached for the phone. Clark sat next to her, concerned that she'd overdo things. He wondered if she had any aspirin around; she probably didn't need the prescription painkillers she'd taken last night. She dialed the familiar number of the Daily Planet and asked for Jimmy. "Jimmy? Hi, it's Lois." "Hey, Lois - you okay? Perry told me you were banged up." She smiled at the admiration evident in his voice. "Nothing an old pro like me can't handle. Listen, I need you to do some research on the Menlo section of town for me - how many buildings have basements with ramps leading down to them? = Oh, and I have a partial plate on a van I want you to trace." = At Clark's raised eyebrow, she put a hand over the phone and whispered, "I just remembered on the way back here that I got a look at it." He looked suitably impressed with her recall, and she went back to her phone conversation. "It started with AWX, but I didn't catch the numbers." "AWX. Okay, no problem. Should take about an hour to see what we've got. Anything else?" Lois hesitated, then continued. "Ah, yeah, as a matter of fact. Could you put together a file of everything we've got on Superman?" Jimmy laughed. "C'mon, Lois, I thought you had all that stuff memorized!" "Well, maybe I'm just checking to see if you've got it all right. = Just do it, okay?" The words came out sharper than she intended. "I'm sorry, Jimmy, I didn't mean to snap. Can you get that all together in an hour?" "Definitely." He was still subdued, sensing that her mood was precarious. "Clark'll come pick them up then, okay?" As she spoke to Jimmy she glanced the question to Clark, who nodded. That would fit in with his plans just fine. "Oh, and when you've got the list of buildings, could you go around and get pictures of their basement entrances?" He cheered up at the photography assignment, as she'd known he would. "Sure thing, Lois." "Thanks, Jimmy. See you in a few days." She hung the phone up and held one hand to her temple. "Time for some aspirin, I think." He stood up. "Where do you keep it - in the kitchen?" "No, in the bathroom; I'll get it, but thanks. And now, if you'll excuse me, I think it's time for my nap." *** to be continued (chances1.txt) = !^NavFont02F366A0007MGHH}6B9108 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 22:15:07 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Classic Fanfic: SECOND CHANCES (2/5) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 SECOND CHANCES (2/5) by Pam Jernigan (75540.2554@Compuserve.com) *** As soon as Lois was settled, Clark left her apartment, making sure that she could hear the door closing. He walked a block or so before taking off, and then headed straight for Kansas. = He found his mother in the living room, working on her latest painting. She smiled when she saw him. "Hi, Clark! How are you? And why didn't you bring Lois along this time?" "That's a long story, Mom." Martha gave him a knowing look, but went back to her painting. "So, tell it to me, that's why you flew out here, isn't it?" She hoped they hadn't had another silly fight. She really did her best to keep out of their affairs, feeling that they needed to sort things out on their own, but it did get difficult at times. Clark sighed, and flopped down onto the couch. "Lois was kidnapped yesterday - she's okay," he added hastily, before Martha could get too alarmed. "They beat her up some, but she's healing up fine already." He laughed a little. "This is going to further inflate her reputation at the Planet - they think it means she's important." Martha, used to the way Clark used humor to keep pain at a distance, merely nodded, inviting him to continue, to get to what was really bothering him. He toyed with a throw pillow for a moment, then continued in a low voice. "They were asking her questions about me - about Superman. They beat her up to try to find out about me, because she's Superman's friend." "Poor Lois! But I'm sure she didn't tell them anything, did she?" = "No, Mom, of course not. You know how stubborn she can be. But she was so determined not to let anything slip... that she blocked out all her memories of Superman. She doesn't remember a thing, now, the doctor called it amnesia. Mom, she doesn't even know I'm him - she only remembers me as Clark." "Oh, no, that's terrible - it must be awful to have so much of your life missing." Martha put down her palette and walked over to sit next to her son. "But surely her memories will come back, after all, yours did." "The doctor can't be sure. Mine did, but only after some coaxing. I could tell her what she's blocked out." He stared off into the corners of the room. "Or... maybe I shouldn't." Shocked, Martha reached out to hold his arm. "You don't mean that, Clark. How could you possibly marry Lois if she doesn't know who you are anymore?" "How can I marry Lois when I'm putting her in danger every day, Mom?" The words seemed pulled out of him, unwillingly. He rose and began to pace, looking troubled and distracted. "This strange life I lead - it's unpredictable and inconvenient at the best of times, and I can't stand it when people hurt her because of me. And it's not just her; if she'd told them what she knew, you and Dad would be targets, too. = I don't think I could handle it if you got hurt because of me." "Clark, I thought you'd already faced this? It's Lois's choice to be with you, regardless of the danger. It's our choice, too, you know." Martha stood, crossing over to where he was standing. "Sweetheart, even if we did get killed tomorrow, because of our association with you - it would all have been worth it. You are worth the risk, Clark." His unhappy look faded somewhat. "Thanks Mom. But don't you see? This is my chance to free her, and to protect her." Martha stared at her adopted son and sighed inwardly. He was deep into one of his noble, self-sacrificing moods, and she knew that logic wouldn't be able to reach him until he emerged from it. "I can see why you think that," she replied carefully. She had to get him to hold off on taking any action for a while... "but you should really wait a little while, to see if her memory does return. It's possible that it will, right?" "Yeah," he allowed, cheering slightly. He wouldn't have to make any decisions immediately, then. = "You have to wait to see what happens, Clark. Please, don't be hasty." He smiled, shook his head, and hugged her. "Well, I guess I have to get back - I've got to pick up some things for Lois." Martha watched him fly off, still intent on taking care of his partner. How could he even think of leaving her? She considered calling Lois herself, but decided that she shouldn't interfere just yet, if at all. If her son were determined to be that pigheaded, perhaps Lois was better off without him. *** Back in Metropolis, Lois heard the door close behind Clark, and tried to sleep. She dozed for a few moments, but disorienting flashes of memory wouldn't let her rest. With a groan, she gave up trying, and devoted her energy to making sense of the memories she had left. Memories older than 2 years were faded and blurred in a normal way. Since then, though, she had various Superman-sized gaps, starting with her being in trouble, and ending only once she was safe. But surely there had been other time spent with him, besides rescues? She had brief, tantalizing flashbacks to a moment of flight... heard a voice saying something about "this isn't dancing" - had they danced? A moment later, she remembered him saying "I do not have hat hair". She smiled, wondering what could possibly have prompted that comment. = Her feelings were easier to recall than any distinct images... and it seemed as if she could trace their progression from early awe, to steadfast love and trust, to a muted affection. = Her most recent emotions seemed to be almost protective, and close to love, which, considering her engagement to Clark, troubled her. Then she turned her attention to a more interesting and problematic area - Clark Kent, her fiance. She vaguely remembered meeting him. She vividly remembered losing him, but that memory was overlain by a strange feeling of anger, that seemed to have been added later - why would she have been angry at him for being shot? She smiled as she looked back at their early dates, and their first kiss. But for some reason she couldn't get a good grasp on her memory of his proposal, or of her answer. "C'mon, Lane, you'd think that'd be the clearest memory of them all - how can you lose it?" And from that time forward, her memories of Clark became spottier. She remembered traveling with him to an island getaway, and she remembered getting into trouble there... but she supposed Superman had come to their rescue, because she just couldn't remember anything more until she'd gotten back home. Her emotions about Clark were clearer. = Indifference had turned to trust, trust to affection, and affection had kindled to love. She knew that she'd chosen him over Superman, and she could remember clearly how much that had meant to him, even though there was a mystery there, some element of the scene that was hidden from her. She shook her head in frustration. = Her mind continued to fret over the past few hazy months. = She could tell that she and Clark had had problems. He'd even broken up with her once, even though she knew he loved her. His reasons were maddeningly out of reach. She could tell, now, that the memories were there, but they remained elusive and unclear. Disgusted at herself, she got out of bed. Maybe the only way to remember was not to try. = She got dressed again and wandered out to the living room, looking for something to do. She was tidying the already-tidy room when she was startled by a a noise at the front of the apartment. She looked up, and saw Superman hoving outside the front window. She just stared for a moment, overcome. Wow, he really could fly. = And he really was gorgeous. She assured herself that he wasn't as good looking as Clark, although there was something there.... a flood of memories swamped her, but none of them were clear enough to make any sense. He tapped on the window again, smiling slightly, and she shook herself out of her reverie, walking quickly to open it for him. He stepped inside, watching her closely. "Hello, Lois." He tried to find some flash of recognition in her eyes, but all he found was a mixture of awe and confusion. She flushed, unsettled by the close attention. "Hello, Superman." = Clark barely restrained a wince. She still didn't remember, then, and it was unexpectedly painful to once again have to square his shoulders, cross his arms, lower his voice, and put on his superhero act around her. He'd thought that he could endure it; after all, he had managed it before, but now, knowing what he was missing, the pain and loneliness were infinitely worse than he'd anticipated. = Lois wondered at the flash of emotion that crossed his face. = "I guess you heard I lost my memory." He nodded, and reached out to touch her arm. "Clark thought that talking to me might remind you." She jumped a little at his touch, and stepped back. What was her relationship with this man? She felt a strong urge to kiss him, to smooth away his troubled look, and was somewhat shocked at herself. She didn't want to think that she could be unfaithful. She struggled to keep up the conversation. "Well, ah, not so far." She turned and retreated toward the couch, sitting on one end of it. He followed, and sat next to her - too close for her comfort. "I can tell I have gaps, and from what I can remember, I'd bet anything you're in those missing parts. But... it's like there's a dark cloud over those parts - I just can't see through it, no matter how hard I try. = And it's frustrating, you know?" Unbidden, a tear fell. = She reached angrily to push it away, but Superman's hand got there first, gently wiping the tear away. She gasped, and turned to see his face hovering close. It felt both disturbingly wrong and disconcertingly right, and almost unconsciously, she leaned forward for a kiss. = Their lips met for only a second before Clark retreated, standing up abruptly, realizing too late that this was inappropriate. "I've got to go, Lois, excuse me, someone in trouble..." = Namely me, Clark thought wretchedly. He flew out the open window as fast as he dared, leaving her staring and shaken. *** Twenty minutes later, Clark returned to her apartment with the files he'd collected from Jimmy. Lois had shut herself in the bedroom in despairing confusion. How could she have acted like that? She'd obviously embarrassed Superman, and she'd betrayed Clark, the sweetest and best guy she knew. = But it had seemed so natural, like she'd done it recently, and a thousand times before. Had she been having an affair? = Was she going crazy? What would either of them think of her?? Out in the kitchen, preparing a late lunch, Clark experienced a similar turmoil. He'd been more upset than he'd anticipated to hear Lois call him Superman. Some of the old worship had been in her eyes, too, although she'd hidden it better than before. He wasn't sure, anymore, that he could put himself in that position again; it had been all too easy to drop the facade. He cursed himself again for getting too close to her on the couch, but she'd been in pain - and he'd been helpless to stay away. = He sighed as the noble mood left him, and logic crept back. = Lois might not remember their arguments on the subject, but he did. He couldn't disassociate her from Superman unless he stopped saving her, left Metropolis, or gave up being Superman altogether. And it seemed that none of those were workable options. The only thing he could do was to arm her with as much information as he could, so that she could help him and help herself. Which meant that if her memories didn't return soon, he'd have to tell her his secret. = He smiled a little as he realized that he never had told her - she'd figured it out. He suddenly wanted very much to tell her himself, to choose the moment and the words, to see the dawning realization on her face, to take any reaction she chose to show him, to answer her questions and ease her through it. She'd accepted it once; surely she would again. = Whether she did or not, though, it was only fair to give her the choice. He placed a bowl of soup on a tray, blowing on it to ensure that it wasn't too hot, and carried the tray to the bedroom. = A quick peek through the door showed that she was sitting up in bed holding a pillow, frowning at the comforter. "Lois, I've got lunch for you, can I come in?" Lois looked up, startled. "Sure!" He opened the door and placed the tray on the bedside table. "Thanks, Clark." She sounded subdued, and quietly began to taste the soup. He sat on the edge of the bed, near her knees. "I, ah, hear you saw Superman today." She grimaced, which surprised him. "Yeah, I did. Didn't remember him, though. He seems like a nice guy." She laughed a bit. "It was a trip to see him fly." Clark smiled tightly at that. "He's a pretty impressive guy." Lois heard the worry and jealousy he was hiding, and set down the soup. She reached out to put her hand on his arm. = "Yeah, he is... but I still prefer you." She looked at him earnestly, trying to reassure him and herself. "Clark, you know, even if I didn't remember anything else - I would remember that I love you. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. It took a while for me to realize that, and even longer to admit it, but it's true." "Oh, Lois, I love you too - more than anything." He leaned forward for a kiss then, and she met him more than halfway, wrapping her arms around him, clinging to him. After a few moments, she broke the kiss to bury her face in the side of his neck. "Clark... I'm scared. I don't like not remembering things. And I don't like not remembering things about you. = They're important, I know that, but I can't grab hold of them!" For the second time that day, frustration and fear drove her to tears. Clark held her tightly, rocking gently from side to side, rubbing his hands over her back. "Shh, it's okay, Lois... you'll remember in a day or so, and if you don't..." he took a deep breath and committed himself. "If you don't remember, I'll tell you everything, I promise." *** "Very little to report so far." Banks, parked on Carter Street, spoke quietly into his cell phone. "Other than one trip to a doctor's office, she's spent the day in her apartment. He left earlier, and has just now returned. Carl tells me he visited the Daily Planet, and was carrying some files when he left, but Carl was not able to find out what was in those files. = While Kent was out, Superman visited the apartment, briefly." He listened for a moment. "As far as we know, this was the first time Superman's seen her since he dropped her off at the emergency room last night. He certainly doesn't appear overly concerned for her well-being." Another pause. "Yes, perhaps he doesn't want to make Kent jealous." His lips twitched derisively, but he didn't let his opinion of that theory creep into his voice. "Or perhaps he meant to talk to Kent all along, and left as soon as he learned that only the woman was there. We have one more test, which should clear that up. I'll be in touch." He shut off the phone with a look of distaste. When he'd taken this job, he hadn't realized that Intergang was now being run by a woman, to whom he'd have to report. He couldn't comprehend how they'd let themselves sink to that level, but as long as the money was good, Ian Banks would do his professional best. *** After lunch, Lois insisted on getting out of bed again, and sat on the sofa to sort through the information Jimmy had compiled. She'd regained her composure, and Clark sat next to her, watching her with a smile on his face. Sometimes he wondered if she wasn't actually more indestructible than he was.. and then she'd break down in his arms and he'd fall in love with her all over again. "There's not much in here, is there?" Lois asked, in a disgusted tone of voice. Clark hastily turned his attention to the file she was perusing. It was a folder full of the Daily Planet's Superman stories, many of them written by Lois herself. "Certainly seems like a lot of paper..." he commented, feeling his way through the conversation. "Yeah, but very few facts - it's got to be at least half speculation." Clark estimated it to be eighty percent guessing, but didn't interrupt. "I can just tell a lot of this stuff isn't true." That would be about ninety percent of it, he thought. "And some of these just smell rotten... like this one," she picked up a story about Resplendant Man. "I don't know how it got in here, because it's not really related to Superman... on the surface. There's definitely something more than what's written, though. I mean, I wrote this story; I can tell that I kept something back. But now I can't remember what that was, just that there was *something* there. This is really getting annoying! Can't you just tell me everything now?" Clark shook his head, regretfully. "I really don't think that's a good idea, Lois. We should give you a chance to remember. It'll be better for you if you remember on your own." Now that he'd decided to tell her, he was impatient, but he was also determined to put her well-being first. She looked at him, displeased at his resolve. "Well, reassure me, at least - you can tell me what I've forgotten, right? You know everything I knew?" "Yes, Lois, I can tell you everything, and I will, if I have to." She looked skeptical. "Even the parts where you were dumb? = I do remember being mad at you for doing something stupid; I'd like to know what that was, too." He grinned. "If I have to. But I won't start with that." She returned the grin and leaned toward him to give him a kiss. He was returning it as enthusiastically as he could, without re-injuring her mouth, when the doorbell startled them both. to be continued (chances2.txt) = !^NavFont02F38080007MGHH38P75D2 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 22:15:18 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Classic Fanfic: SECOND CHANCES (4/5) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 SECOND CHANCES (4/5) by Pam Jernigan (75540.2554@Compuserve.com) Clark let her work on the lock while he wandered over to the windows, trying to appear casual. There were three buildings nearby at least as tall as the one they were in. Any of the darkened windows could be concealing their adversary. He didn't quite dare to slip his glasses down for a proper look, but he noted a few possibilities, if their captors were indeed hiding nearby. = "Damn!" Lois sat back on her heels in frustration. There were too many parts; she couldn't seem to keep them all in line. Clark walked back over to her, and looked down sympathetically. "Tough one, huh?" He had great admiration for her skill with locks; they were sometimes a challenge for him, and, unlike her, he could see what he was doing. She grimaced. "I'll get it." "Well, why don't you take a break - maybe yell for Superman?" He hoped that might keep her occupied enough not to notice pulling his glasses down to pick the lock. She looked up at him incredulously. "Clark, I hope you're kidding. I do *not* think I'm the type of person to stand around and yell for help like a whiney 6-year old!" She paused, and a look of doubt crept over her face. "I'm not, am I? Because if that's what being friends with Superman has reduced me to, no wonder I don't want to remember him." "No, you're not, Lois," Clark hastily reassured her. "You've always been very resourceful. Well," he couldn't resist adding, "except for that one time when you were thrown out of that plane." The look she shot him at that should have burned a hole through the ceiling, but he grinned cheerfully. = "Seriously, Lois, you've always hated calling for help. I don't know what got into me to suggest it." He wore his best innocent expression until she relaxed into a reluctant smile. "Well, I'll forgive you. Just give me some quiet to work on this lock." She waved him away as she returned her attention to the lock. Clark obediently moved back to the windows, giving her the quiet she wanted. It was so quiet, he could hear her heartbeat thumping cheerfully, he could hear the tumblers slipping away from where she wanted them... he could probably even hear things in other buildings, if he concentrated. He narrowed his sense of hearing as best as he could, and tried to direct it at the other nearby buildings. = Luckily, they were far enough above the traffic that it wasn't much of a factor. He heard a janitor whistling, a printer squeaking, a secretary working late and singing along to some obscure artist... and a very interesting conversation. "Why are they so unconcerned, Carl?" A cultured, quasi-Bostonian accent. No answer, although Clark thought he could detect another person's movements in the room. = The same voice continued. "She's working on the lock, isn't she... and he's just standing about. Useless, the pair of them. = It's not over yet, but I'm afraid this experiment will have been a failure, Carl. A pity. Our client wanted so much to have a reliable handle on Superman." A pause, then the same voice again, slightly angry. "Well, there's no point in waiting. If they had a means to contact Superman, they would have done so, and he would be there by now. Clearly, they haven't. = They are trying to extricate themselves - or at least the woman is - so they have no expectations of rescue. Leave the camera running, by all means, but we can go now. We will retrieve all of this tomorrow." = Clark heard rustling noises, then, and risked a quick peek over the tops of his glasses, quickly locating the location of the voice. It was a darkened office almost directly opposite them, and he had a brief glimpse of two men leaving the room. They matched the description Lois had given him, and he knew he'd found the men they were looking for. = Unfortunately, he was in no position to do anything about it. "Double damn!" Lois's muttered exclamation was painfully loud to his extended hearing. He winced and pushed up his glasses, leaving the window again. He squatted down next to her. "Can I try?" "You think you could do better than I could?" She gave him a look of mild challenge, but he could tell that her pulse rate was up - the situation was beginning to fray her nerves. Time to get them out of there, one way or another. He smiled, trying to look non-competitive. "You gave me lessons, once - me and Superman, both, so you don't remember it, I'm sure." He disliked lying to her more than ever, but soothed his concience with a promise to confess as soon as possible. "I got pretty good." Lois looked doubtful, but moved aside, willing to take a break and let him try. He moved into position, but then looked at her. "Could you not watch? You'll make me nervous." He didn't have to fake the nerves; their situation was tricky enough to put him on edge. She raised a skeptical eyebrow, but moved away, taking her turn to look out the window. As soon as she moved away, Clark pulled down his glasses once more, and began working on the lock. Even seeing what he was doing, it took him 5 minutes to align all the parts correctly. *** As soon as they were out of the building, they called the fire department, warning them of possible planned arson. No traces of arson were found, but the fire chief took the note they'd found in the conference room and promised to be on guard that night. Once that was taken care of, Clark took Lois back to her apartment. The time was right, he judged, to tell her everything... and if she took it badly at first... well, she'd already be home, and he could leave. *** "Bait for Superman," Lois was muttering as she let them into the apartment. "That is just unbelievably annoying. I think I like it better when people are trying to kill me because of something I've *done*, not someone I know." Clark had to smile at that. "Kind of like being loved for yourself?" Boy, do I know how that one goes... He walked over to the sofa and sat down, and after a minute of puttering, Lois came to sit next to him. "Exactly. Much more satisfying that way; at least it's something I've earned." It felt as if some of her memories were trying to surface, pulled up by the conversation, but none were making any progress. Maybe if she ignored them, they'd sneak up on her, like how you were supposed to deal with wild animals... then again, she'd never had enough patience for that approach. "Well, you have earned this, in a way," Clark admitted, his smile fading. "You've been a very valuable friend to Superman; if it hadn't been for you, I think he'd have quit a long time ago." As he said it, he realized once again how very much he owed to this indomitable woman, who had always been there to cheer him on and help him. She already held his life in her hands; it was time to remind her of how much power she had, of how important she was. Unlike previous times when he'd attempted to broach this subject, he was free of fear or worry. This was the right thing to do; the outcome would take care of itself. Lois sensed the change in his mood. She turned, arranging her head in his lap, propping her feet on the end of the sofa, preparing for a long talk. His right arm cradled her head automatically, while his left hand grasped her right, resting warmly on her stomach. "I think it's time you tell me a story, Clark. Tell me why Superman is worth all the trouble he puts us through - I'm assuming he is." "You used to think so." Clark looked down at her, half-smiling. "I keep expecting you to change your mind, but so far you haven't." "Oh, I don't change my mind easily, you know that, that's half the reason the whole Lex thing went as far as it did. So tell me, why do you put up with him, Clark?" She could tell from the change in his breathing that she'd stumbled onto a big question; but then she'd already known that the two of them were connected, somehow. Clark looked off into her kitchen and sighed, wondering how to best phrase this. He had rehearsed many versions in the past, but none of them seemed to fit any longer. The quicker and simpler the better, probably, before she could jump ahead and figure him out again. "Well, Lois, I don't have too much choice. You see, Superman's only a part time job, a disguise. The rest of the time... he's me." He looked down again, meeting her eyes, watching them widen in realization, and lose focus as she became lost in thought. He didn't know what reaction he'd expected, but what he got was a long, still pause. Lois felt her mind reel for a moment before it steadied. The sense of rightness, of a lock opening, was so strong she could almost hear the click of the tumblers falling into place. Yes. = "Oh, Clark, this explains so much... I knew this, right? I mean, before?" Her memories rushed closer to the surface, but still stubbornly refused to come clear. She finally focused on his concerned face once more. = "Yes, you knew. You've known for a few months." He stroked her hair gently, incredibly grateful that she was still lying in his lap and not storming around the room. For her part, Lois was aware of an impulse to get up and move around... but that would have meant leaving the sanctuary of Clark's arms, and she wasn't willing to do that. = "So when did you first tell me? Was it when you proposed? = I can't remember that, at all, so I think it must have been somehow Superman-related." Clark grimaced. "No, although I was going to. I had been trying to tell you, but things kept interrupting... and then... well, I don't know what I was thinking, it was all jumbled up, and I asked you to marry me." She frowned a little, trying to remember. "You asked me, before I knew?" "Well, you'd already figured it out. But it was a mistake." = He held her gaze, mustering all the sincerity he could. "I've made more since then, and I can't promise not to make any more in the future... but I am learning." She searched his face, seeing the honesty, the vulnerability, the love. "I guess I forgave you, huh?" She smiled a little, and he smiled back, relaxing somewhat. "Eventually." "Well, you seem to have gotten things right, this time around, so maybe you are learning." Her mind wandered, trying to sort through chaotic memories and reason things out. "I still don't really remember anything about it, though. How do you do it? The newspaper clippings said you can see through things?" She looked up at him, wide-eyed in wonder. Clark was momentarily struck by the expression on her face; she hadn't shown him such naked adulation in a while, and the knowledge that this time, she was seeing him as a whole person made him a little giddy. This was quite a change from her off-handed remarks about his "vision gizmo". He became aware that he was pausing far too long, and hurriedly replied, "Um, yes, I can, when I want to, although I don't do it too much, because my dad was very strict about it when I was growing up." Lois was listening, and sorting back through what she did remember of the last few years. "And all those times you'd run out on me, with those awful excuses... that was to be Superman?" "Yeah," he admitted, somewhat sheepishly. "Mostly my hearing would kick in - it does that, you know, somehow it tunes in on cries for help, because normally I have to concentrate to hear anything beyond what normal people hear. But now I've got you to help cover for me." He grinned down at her. "You shouldn't criticize my excuses so much, yours haven't been much better." She smiled, and yawned, still trying to sort through the jumble of images in her mind. Things were becoming clearer, but there was still a lot missing. Then a recent memory presented itself, and she sat up in suprise, spinning around to face him. "Clark - tonight - those men - they're looking for *you*, and they were watching, and you couldn't do much, because I didn't even remember..." She hugged him in mute apology. Just as he was about to assure her that everything was fine, she pulled away, leaving her arms looped around his neck, her eyes sparkling with mischief and unshed tears. = "And I bet that's how you got that lock open, too, you cheater!" = He had to laugh at that accusation. "Yes, that's how I did it; you really are better with locks than I am, Lois." He was relieved that she seemed to have gotten over her awe of him so quickly - he needed her to be his partner, not a groupie. = He held her gaze for a moment, letting the laughter drain away. "Are you okay, Lois?" She considered the question, letting her eyes roam over his face. This felt right, it made sense on some fundamental level. And she was relieved to finally understand her reactions to him when he'd visited her yesterday as Superman - no wonder it had felt so natural to kiss him. "Well, my memories aren't all back in order yet, but I think they will be, eventually..." she smiled tremulously. "And I know you'll be able to fill in the gaps when I need you to. This will take some getting used to, but it hasn't changed how I feel about you, Clark. I know how incredibly lucky I am." He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "And just how lucky is that?" She leaned forward as well, until their foreheads were nearly touching. "I've got the best fiance on the planet. What other woman could marry a guy who can..." she was about to say 'fly', but stopped herself at the flicker of wariness that crossed his face, and smoothly finished, "who could be so patient, and so honest about his feelings, and make such good soup when I'm not feeling well." Clark felt his face relax into a full and honest smile. "You know, I probably don't deserve you." She smiled back, wrinkling up her nose. "You probably don't, but you've got me anyway." She gifted him with a quick kiss, then pulled back. "So, we have to take care of these two guys who are out to get you, because I'm not finished with you yet." "Well, while you were working on the lock, earlier, I was doing what I could to check out the surrounding buildings. = We were being watched, *and* recorded. I heard them talking." Lois blinked in surprise at that statement, but decided not to interrupt. Surely she would remember all of this soon enough. Clark noticed her expression. "Maybe I'd better give you a quick rundown of what I can do - just until your memory returns." = "Yeah, maybe that would be a good idea," she conceded gratefully. "I've got enhanced senses - I can hear a lot of things, if I concentrate on them and they're not drowned out by other noise. I can see through things, except for lead. I can fly, I'm pretty much invulnerable except for Kryptonite, which is a green, glowing crystal; that can kill me. We've tried to keep that out of the paper, but rumors do travel." Lois laughed a little breathlessly at that list. "And besides all that, you're a good writer, and a great kisser - and when you're not being Superman you let me and Perry boss you around. You're a pretty impressive guy." She quoted his words of the day before. He grinned as he caught the reference. "Yeah, I know." =46rom that point on, the conversation drifted to teasing and sweet nothings, leaving serious matters to wait for the morning. *** In the Metro Motel downtown, Banks heard his cell phone ringing, but ignored it, waving Carl away from it. The caller could only be the woman from Intergang, and Banks was not ready to give his report. He made it a policy not to give bad news until he was ready to disappear for a while; with his clientele, that seemed only prudent, as they tended to become violent when disappointed. He'd insisted on advance payment for the same reason. The next morning, then, they would check out of this motel, retrieve their equipment from the office building, report to the client, and vanish. He estimated that they could live quite comfortably on their payment for a few months - and if an interesting job surfaced in the meantime... well, he had certain connections. *** The next morning's breakfast was over before Lois allowed herself to think about their problem again. Her bruises were fading, and her mouth had improved quite a lot, so Clark had fixed omelettes to celebrate her continued recovery. If he'd used superpowers in cooking, she hadn't been able to tell; she'd been keeping a surreptitous eye on him. = Her memories were beginning to trickle back, at unexpected times, but she still felt a sense of wonder that *her* fiance could do all these marvelous things. No wonder she hadn't been able to make sense of those newspaper articles, she thought with a sudden inward smile; as far as she was concerned, Superman no longer existed - he was only Clark, no matter what he was wearing. The public's conception of Superman (that she had to admit she had once shared) seemed now like something out of a cheap comic book, one-dimensional and uninteresting. "So, partner," Clark's voice broke into her reverie. "What's the plan for today?" A fragment of memory supplied her answer, "Oh, you know - catch the bad guys, blah blah blah..." She grinned to share the joke. "You're remembering, then?" Clark was very pleased by that news. "A little at a time, yeah. The oldest ones are coming in the clearest, though, which seems strange - but I guess they'll come back in sequence?" "That would make sense. Maybe I should quiz you?" He grinned, then dropped his voice to ask, "I hear you've been looking for me." "All my life," she replied automatically, smiling. "And then it took me another two years to really find you." She sighed, laughing at her own blindness. to be continued (chances4.txt) = !^NavFont02F37E90007MGHH~EAEFE1 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 22:15:23 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Classic Fanfic: SECOND CHANCES (5/5) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 SECOND CHANCES (5/5) by Pam Jernigan (75540.2554@Compuserve.com) Clark regretted reminding her of past blindness, and hastened to change the subject. "Well, never mind that for now. We have bad guys to catch. They said they'd be back this morning to collect their equipment, so how about we get there first, and be waiting for them?" Lois stood up, looking around to find her coat. "Sounds like a plan to me. Think we should drive?" He held up her coat for her. "It *is* quicker than walking," he observed with a twinkle in his eye. She gave him a good-natured glare over her shoulder. "You know what I mean." "Yes, I do. But driving will get us there fast enough, and not raise any questions. Besides, I may have to, you know, take off?" He made a ~-> hand motion. "And I don't want to leave you stranded." She considered that. "I suppose that makes sense. Ready to go?" Clark nodded acquiescence, and they left her apartment. *** Clark was able to lead them right to the office they wanted, and Lois had the door open within a few seconds. The reception area to the small suite was empty except for one dying plant. The main office, however, had several chairs facing the large windows, a pair of binoculars mounted at eye-height (a little high for Lois, but a little low for Clark), and a camcorder pointed across open air to the conference room they'd been trapped in. The video camera was no longer recording, and since it hadn't captured Clark doing anything suspicious, they left the tape still in the machine. They searched, but found nothing that even resembled a personal item, although Clark thought he could see some good fingerprints on the camcorder. = "Now what?" Lois muttered in disgust, looking around at the room's meager contents. "Now, we wait for them to show up, and I can take them out. = Then we call the cops, write the story, win awards, retire, and live the rest of our lives in luxury somewhere." Having his partner back, in action and knowing his secret, was making him a little more exuberant than normal. "Yeah, right, Kent," Lois grinned. "Don't you try to distract me. Anyway, I've got a better idea." She motioned for him to follow her out of the main office and into the smaller, adjoining office. This one was bare of furniture or other equipment, and it had doors to both the main office and the reception area. Perfect for hiding and waiting. "Now," she closed the door between offices until only a crack remained. Clark could see through walls, but she couldn't. = "They've been trying to link me, and us, to Superman, right? = So the last thing we want is for Superman to show up now. = There's only the two of them, and I didn't see them carrying guns - we should be able to overpower them between us. I know I can take the older guy, so you get to take care of Muscles." "Lois..." Clark looked at her, exasperated. Had she been this bad before Superman had shown up in her life? Probably. = Besides, she had a point. "I hate it when you're right." She smiled smugly. "Hey, I'm only doing it to protect your secret, which we need to keep to have any sort of life together. This could turn out to be a good thing for us, you'll see." A comfortable silence fell as they arranged themselves in the side office. Clark propped himself up against a wall, and Lois sat cross-legged next to him, lost in thought. Clark busied himself thinking up improvements to Lois's plan of action. He'd scan them for weapons *before* he let her face them, and he thought he could take care of Muscles (was he the one named Carl?) pretty quickly, so he'd be able to help Lois with Brains. It occurred to him that he didn't generally *have* to fight people, seeing the famous Suit was usually enough to stop them; Lois might be better than he was in this area too. "Clark, you rat!" Lois breathed, in a tone of dawning realization. He looked at her in mild alarm. "I just remembered - back when we were sprayed with that pheremone compound, and I fell for you, but you didn't fall for me - that was because it didn't affect you, because you're different, wasn't it?" Her tone now was accusatory; she was sure of her surmises. "And you said you weren't attracted to me!" She glared at him, then her eyes widened as a new thought occurred to her. "And then, at the airport - you *still* weren't affected, were you? You just pretended to be!" Clark wiggled, uncomfortable. "Well, I wasn't lying - I did love you. I couldn't resist being able to say it without dealing with the consequences." She looked at him and sighed, her anger dissipating as she thought the situation through. "Oh, Clark, you idiot. The last thing I needed back then was encouragement from Superman..." "I know," he admitted quietly. "But sometimes I just couldn't stop myself." She smiled sympathetically, and reached out to rest her hand on his knee. "We got ourselves straightened out eventually, sweetheart, even if we were both idiots at times. I mean, nearly marrying Lex was not the smartest decision I've ever made, either." That mention of the wedding unleashed another horde of memories, including one that brought tears to her eyes. "Oh, Clark... I just remembered telling you - the Superman you - that I'd love you even without your powers... you poor darling, no wonder you didn't believe me." She squeezed his knee, and he reached out to cover her hand with his own. She looked over at him, tears glistening on her lashes. "It was true, you know. I just hadn't figured it out yet. And then that cage you told me about - what an awful time for you." He smiled a little. He'd been through all this with her once before. "It's okay, Lois, we got through it, all in one piece. = We did get straightened out eventually." She sniffled, but smiled back at him. She dragged her free hand over her face to get rid of any stray tears, and looked away, trying to recover from the heavily emotional topic. Her stray memories continued to return, almost faster than she could catalog them, and she let them wash over her. So she was startled when she heard activity in the other office. When she started to get up, Clark squeezed her hand to get her attention, and made a shushing gesture. He had his glasses pulled down and was obviously watching them. = Lois nodded agreement, but continued getting to her feet, tiptoeing closer to the door to try to see and hear. *** Banks entered the office in a philosophical mood. Once the binoculars and camera were packed into the BMW waiting downstairs, they could disappear, leaving no trace of their stay in Metropolis. He walked over to the window, peering through the binoculars. To his surprise, the conference room across the way was empty, with the door standing open. = "Carl, rewind the tape, please, I need to see how they escaped our trap." He stood back, gazing blankly across the skyline. "Perhaps this wasn't a futile exercise after all, Carl. Perhaps Miss Lane really is reliable bait." He waited, lost in thought, until Carl indicated that he should view the tape. Banks watched with disappointment as first Lois, and then Clark attempted to pick the lock, and finally freed themselves. "Damn. Intergang will not be pleased." He sighed, and straightened, reaching for his cell phone. He dialed the familiar number and gestured for Carl to begin packing up the equipment. "This is Ian Banks. I have my final report ready." A pause, in which the voice on the other end of the line berated him for not calling earlier. "I've just now received the final piece of evidence; earlier, there would have been nothing to say." = Another protest was formed, but he overrode it in a calm tone. "I regret to report that your premise - that you could use Lois Lane to control Superman - appears to be incorrect. = I have had her in my power twice in the last 4 days, and I have seen Superman only once, in passing. Last evening, I had her and her junior partner Kent trapped; they made no attempt that I could detect to contact their supposed friend Superman. Neither did he appear to help them; they escaped on their own. No matter what their relationship may have once been, Miss Lane no longer seems to have any special hold on him. I hope you appreciate my efforts, as I certainly appreciate your payment, and if you need to contact me in future, you know which channels to use. Thank you." On that note, he shut off the phone, forestalling the building explosion on the other end. = He turned back to face his accomplice. "Everything packed? = Good. Time we were going, I fancy." *** Lois and Clark had been listening intently in the other room. = Lois, peering past the edge of the unlatched door, was incensed at the mention of Intergang, but by the end of the report, she was quietly triumphant. Clark, still sitting on the floor, ignored her "I told you so" look, but gave her a thumbs up to indicate that they were unarmed. When Banks mentioned leaving, she reached down to grab the door handle, and Clark sped into position behind her. "Oh, please, you can't go yet," Lois declared, opening the door between the offices. Banks halted in mid-stride, turning to face her. He controlled his shock and anger, aware that Carl was waiting for a signal. "Miss Lane. Mr. Kent. What are you doing here?" He looked out the window expectantly. "Did Superman lead you here?" Lois laughed to stall for time. After all they'd gone through, she'd be darned if she let him link her back up with Superman now. "No," Clark answered firmly. "We used simple logic - you must have been watching us, last night, and there were only so many places you could have hidden." "A little legwork, and we found you," Lois chimed in. "That is what reporters do, you know." Banks regarded them sourly. "No, I hadn't really considered the matter." He made a slight motion to Carl - it was time he taught these two a lesson. Carl obediently charged forward, his arms spread wide, and Banks headed for the door. Lois ducked under Muscles' outspread arms, heading for the mastermind. She tackled him from behind, knocking him off-balance. He was a little taller than she was, and heavier, but not as well coordinated. She untangled herself from his body and raised herself to a fighting crouch, waiting for him to recover enough to be hit again. "You like beating up on helpless women, do you? = Let's see how well you do when I'm untied." Banks stared at her in surprise and contempt. She thought she could defeat a man in a fight? She clearly needed to be taught her place. He stood, and prepared to punch her senseless. But when he swung his fist, her head wasn't where it had been, and her fist was driving into his stomach. He doubled over in reflex, and felt her other hand connect with his shoulder. His last thought before sliding into unconsciousness was 'but she's only a girl...'. Lois stood over his supine body with a satisfied smirk. = Underestimate her, would he. Meanwhile, Clark had had a little trouble with Muscles - he'd been afraid to hit him too hard. A few blows were exchanged before he got the hang of it, but soon Muscles joined his boss in a heap on the floor. Clark turned his attention to Lois, then, ready to help if she needed him... but she was standing and watching him. "Not bad, sweetheart," she teased. = "Did you call the cops?" He pointed to where Banks's cell phone lay on the floor. She shook her head. "I left my phone in the other room, with my bag - I don't want to touch his, because the last number redial feature should be *fascinating* for the police." *** The rest of the morning was consumed in police procedure and red tape; after that was taken care of, they still had the story to write, so they spent the afternoon in the Daily Planet - in the flush of triumph, Lois was no longer self-conscious over her fading bruises. Besides, what Jimmy had seen, the whole staff would have heard about. And since she was obviously still in recovery, Perry didn't object when they asked to leave early. *** They retreated to Clark's apartment for a quiet dinner, and their first chance to really discuss the morning's events. "Well," Lois commented over dessert, "by tomorrow, the whole city will know that I have 'no special hold on Superman', which has got to be a good thing for them to think. Especially Intergang." "Yeah," Clark agreed, cautiously optimistic. "I don't know how long we can keep them thinking that, but it should make you safer for a while. But I still wish I'd been able to find you before they hurt you - I was out looking, you know." She reached across the table to hold his hand. "I'm sure you were. But didn't I tell you this could turn out to be a good thing?" She saw that he was still looking a little down, and she remembered now that he'd always had an overactive sense of guilt where she was concerned. "Honey, listen to me. This wasn't your fault. And if the day ever comes that you can't rescue me, and I can't rescue myself - just remember that I'm the one who chose to take the risk. I take risks all the time, you know, I always have. You have to allow me the responsibility for my own life. The rewards are most definitely worth it." She smiled persuasively, and Clark allowed himself to be reassured. He had to believe what she'd said, because he could no longer envision life without her. After giving his hand a parting squeeze, Lois rose to start on the dishes. She cleaned up whenever Clark cooked, which was most of the time, and she found that the mindless chore allowed her mind to wander - generally to pleasant thoughts of Clark. Tonight, she sorted through the last returning memories, feeling fairly confident that they'd mostly been recovered. = She was startled when the phone rang, but reached for it automatically. "Hello?" "Lois?" Martha asked, surprised to hear her voice. She'd been worrying about them for the past two days, and finally hadn't been able to wait any longer for news. = "Hi Martha. Did you want to talk to Clark?" Lois twisted around to see Clark with a slightly worried look on his face, advancing toward her, with a hand outstretched for the phone. "No, dear, actually I wanted to talk to you, so I'm glad you answered." Lois smiled and put out a hand to block Clark. = He dropped his hand, but remained close, frowning a little. = She frowned back at him, wondering what in the world had him so antsy. "I'm always glad to talk to you, Martha. Did Clark tell you about my little adventure?" "Yes, he mentioned that you'd been kidnapped, you poor thing. Are you doing better now?" Martha felt her way along the conversation, trying not to give anything away. "Oh yeah, I'm fine, back to normal, mostly, except for some lingering memory problems. But, we caught the guys who kidnapped me - can you believe it, it was all a plot to see if I had any 'special hold on Superman'. They had us trapped last night, but Clark picked the lock to get us out (I taught him everything he knows about locks), so Superman didn't have to show up, so they decided that I *wasn't* good bait, after all, which I think is a very good thing for the criminal element to believe, don't you?" Clark listened to the woman he loved babble, telling himself he had no need to worry - his mom had been keeping his secrets all his life, she wouldn't tell Lois about his half-formed plan to give her up, would she? For her part, Martha was busy trying to figure out if Lois knew Clark's secret; her ramblings were too inconclusive on the subject. After a few moments, Lois interrupted herself, just a little irritated at Clark's unusual hovering. "Excuse me, Martha, but your son is acting very strange - Clark, don't you have to go rescue someone, or stop a crime, or something?" When Martha heard that, she had to sit down, as relief made her weak in the knees. Thank heaven Clark had come to his senses. = Clark looked at Lois's annoyed expression and realized he'd better relax. So he shrugged, executed a spin change, and took off for a patrol. "He's gone now, Martha," Lois reported with a breathless little laugh. "So, what were we saying?" *** An hour later, Clark returned home. Lois was still there, curled up on the sofa, but not reading a book as she generally did during his little absences. He flew in, and quickly changed back to casual clothing. She looked up at the whirlwind, and smiled, patting the couch next to her. He accepted her invitation. "Hi." "Hi. You know, I've been thinking..." her tone was unexpectedly serious. "I've been remembering your proposal." Clark winced; this didn't sound good. She looked at him. "We both messed that up, you know. = You did things in the wrong order, yeah, but I didn't let you finish. And ever since, I've always wondered, just a little, would you really have told me about Superman." Clark opened his mouth to reassure her, but she laid her fingers across his lips to shush him. "And you must have wondered if I'd have said yes to just Clark - what was it you said? 'Not Superman, not the powers, just me'. You know what? We've both had our questions answered this week." = His eyes softened as he realized the truth of her words, and a worry he hadn't even known he had melted away. He kissed the fingers she still held over his mouth, before gently removing them. "I love you." "I love you too." She smiled, a little teary-eyed. "The doctor said we wouldn't get any second chances with this, but he was wrong. This was our second chance." (chances5.txt) = !^NavFont02F379A0007MGHH~9B6255 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 22:29:36 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Classic Fanfic: SECOND CHANCES (3/5) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I thought I'd sent this one with the others, but maybe not... SECOND CHANCES (3/5) by Pam Jernigan (75540.2554@Compuserve.com) Clark opened the door, and Jimmy bounced in. "Hi, guys! = I've got those pictures of the buildings you asked about... whoa, Lois, that's some shiner!" Lois blushed, reminded of her colorful appearance. "Yeah, well, I'm lucky Clark loves me for my mind, huh?" Clark flashed a smile at her for that. "Give me those pictures, Jimmy... and thanks." Jimmy handed over a file folder. "There were only five buildings that fit your description, Lois, and I got pictures of all of them. Let me know if I can do anything else, okay? I want you two to nail these creeps." "We'll call you if we need you, Jimmy," Clark replied, gently steering the young photographer out the door. "Have a good evening!" He shut the door, and turned to face his partner. A quick look through Jimmy's photos was enough to identify the building she'd been held in. It was an old factory, recently closed for upgrades, and the company that owned it seemed very respectable. Lois called the factory owner, and was deep in conversation with him when Clark signalled that he had to go out. She frowned, but he simply whispered that he was going to get supper for them, and ducked out the door. She finished the phone call shortly thereafter, with a feeling of triumph, but with no one to share it. She did some digging into the factory's background, but most of her mind was trying to piece together more memories. = Clark's hasty departure raised nagging questions. Why did she have the unshakable feeling that, although he would bring back food eventually, it was not the reason he was going out? = She remembered now that his disappearing acts had once been a major sore point with her - they seem to have resolved it, but how? Obviously he hadn't stopped disappearing. The answers remained tantalizingly out of reach. *** The phone in the gray van parked on Carter Street rang, and Banks answered it. "Yes?" He listened for a moment. "Isn't that fascinating. Thank you." He shut off the phone. After a moment to contemplate, he spoke. = "We have stirred up some activity after all, Carl. I've just had a report that Superman himself has been seen in the vicinity of our erstwhile lair. He's been quiet today, if these reports are to be believed, so this sighting is significant. He's had quiet days in the past - and doesn't that make one wonder how he fills his time. Perhaps he hibernates." He smiled thinly at his own joke. Carl didn't respond, but then again, Banks hardly expected him to. *** When Clark returned with dinner, Lois was still sitting on his couch, reading the Superman file. "You know, Clark, it's eerie to read about myself when I don't remember it." She quoted some headlines, waving the pages around. " 'Superman Saves Lois Lane', 'Star Reporter Rescued by Superman', that kind of thing. And the patterns are weird..." Clark placed a plate full of Chinese food in front of her. = "Don't push it, Lois, your memories will come back." While out taking a look at the basement where she'd been held, he'd resolved not to rush her healing process, and not to let her push herself too hard. Surely he could go back to keeping up a pretense around her for a few days. "They'd better," she grumped, but allowed herself to be distracted by the food. After a few cautious bites, she looked up at him. "And where were you, by the way? It shouldn't have taken you this long to get takeout." Caught off guard, he stumbled. "Well, I, ah... I thought I heard an alarm, and I took a little detour to check it out, you know, see if there was an interesting story. But then, when I got there, the police had things under control, and Scott was already there, so I didn't want to get in his way, you know those are his kinds of stories..." Well, it was pretty close to the truth, and would have taken Clark much longer than the half-minute Superman had needed. Lois felt dissatisfied with that explanation, but let it pass, in favor of a broader question. "I do remember you always used to do this. Then I remember forgiving you, but I don't know why. What could have changed my mind?" Trying to reason out an explanation had given her a headache; every thought process lead to a blank wall. Superman was obviously tied up in it somewhere, he and Clark must have some sort of bond, but the nature of the relationship between the two continued to elude her. Clark sighed at her evident confusion. He didn't want to ruin the chances of her memory returning by revealing himself prematurely, but he was also worried that she would figure him out once again, and deprive him of his chance to tell her. "Lois... I think you're going to have to trust yourself on this one. You had a reason, and it was a good one, which you *will* remember in time. By evening tomorrow at the latest, I think," he smiled. "Because I don't think *I* can stand your memory gaps longer than that." His smile broadened to a grin, inviting her to share the joke. Her lips twitched reluctantly, and she went back to her food. = "That's my Clark," she joked, "always thinking of yourself." He reached out and gently turned her face toward him. "No, I'm always thinking of you, Lois" he corrected her, his voice low. "When you're hurt, that hurts me, too. I would do anything to keep you happy and safe. Even when I did those stupid things you don't remember, it was with the best reasons." He smiled faintly. "But you've got to know one thing, at least - we're partners, in everything. You taught me that." Lois contemplated his words for a moment, touched by his obvious sincerity. Every instinct, memory, and emotion she had told her she could trust him, and trust her own previous judgements. She reached up to stroke his hair. "Okay, partner. No more questions for tonight. No more work, either, I just want to relax with you." *** The next morning, after an hour spent on careful application of make up and a strategic purchase of a pair of sunglasses, Lois felt ready to be seen in public and continue the investigation at the factory. Angie Torantelli, a vivacious redhead in her late twenties, was the company's sole representative at the factory as the upgrades were made. She didn't mind the job; her boyfriend Donny had promised her that it would be easy, and it was. = All she had to do was coordinate between the construction foreman and headquarters, and not much of that was needed, so she had plenty of time to read her magazines - and talk to reporters. "Hello, Ms. Torantelli, thank you for seeing us. I'm Clark Kent, and this is my partner, Lois Lane." They traded polite handshakes, and all sat down. "No problem, Mr. Kent. Donny called and said you'd be coming over," she giggled, and corrected herself, "I mean Mr. Josephson - and please, call me Angie" Clark smiled his best professional smile. "Thank you. We really only have a quick question for you - how many people have keys to your basement entrance?" She tilted her head to one side, considering the question. = "Gee, we don't use that much these days, since we're not getting deliveries down there. I've got a key, of course. Oh, and I gave a key to that building inspector that was here last week." = "Building inspector?" Lois leaned forward slightly, sensing a connection. Her neck muscles twinged a protest at the posture, and she settled back in her seat reluctantly. "Yeah - corporate headquarters set it up. He brought over a letter of introduction. He was cute, too." She flashed a friendly grin at Lois, then glanced back to Clark and composed herself. "But you didn't get a call from headquarters yourself?" Clark leaned forward now. "No, but some of them over there are kinda hard to deal with. He gave me a business card, though, and I called the number on it - it seemed to check out." All of Lois's instincts were tingling. "You didn't happen to keep that business card, did you?" Angie smiled slyly. "Well, yeah, I did. I mean, he was cute and all... Let me see... here it is." She pulled a card out of her desk drawer and handed it to Clark. He quickly made a note of all the information on the card, and handed it back to her. "Thanks a lot, Angie," Lois said, standing. "We've got to get going now." *** Lois contained her excitement until they reached the parking lot. "That building inspector had to be Muscles. I talked to the factory owner, and he very definitely said they hadn't had anything to do with the place for weeks. We can find the address to go with this phone number, and we've got them!" = In her excitement, she turned her head a little too quickly, and grimaced as her neck muscles protested. "Here, Lois, let me give you a back rub." He turned her away from him and began gently massaging her neck, using a discreet application of heat vision to warm her. She let her neck go limp and moaned in pleasure. "Whatever you're doing, Clark, it feels wonderful," she mumbled. "But I'm still going to make you drive." He laughed softly. "Good. You shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard." She stepped away from him, irrationally annoyed at his concern, and opened her car door. "Don't be ridiculous, Clark, I'm fine, except for the memory thing, and the sooner we get those creeps, the sooner I'll be over that. So come on, what are you waiting for - drive!" She got in the car and slammed the door, not looking at him. Clark smiled a little, and muttered to himself, "I think someone needs a nap." *** Banks phoned in his next report from his BMW, parked now a half block away from Lois's brownstone. "Kent brought her back here in the mid-afternoon. They seemed to be arguing over something, though I understand that's not unusual. He left again, shortly thereafter; Carl told me he was seen at the paper. Miss Lane has not left her apartment, and as far as I've seen, Superman has not visited her. Has he still been quiet all day?" He listened for a short period. "Only a freeway accident around 10am?" He consulted his notebook. "Nowhere near the woman, then; she was still applying her makeup. Kent didn't pick her up until 10:30." Banks was coldly amused at the woman's vanity - sending her boyfriend out to buy her sunglasses, of all things - but Kent was a fool to cater to her. "However, I believe they did find the clues we'd planted for them... it should only be a matter of time. If they're as good as I've been led to believe." *** Having spent a profitable afternoon following their lead, Clark returned to Lois's apartment with good news. She wouldn't admit to taking a nap, but seemed much more cheerful as she let him into the apartment and got him a glass of water. "So how did the research go?" Clark sat down on her sofa, turning slightly to face her in the kitchen. "Pretty well. They hid their tracks, but Jimmy and I smoked 'em out." He grinned; it was very satisfying for him to make progress without using his special powers. She brought him the glass, and returned the grin, sitting down next to him. "You guys are hot." "You're looking better," he observed. Her swelling had gone down, and the bruises were beginning to fade. "Thanks, but don't change the subject. What did you find?" = She took the glass from his hand and helped herself to a sip. He cocked a friendly eyebrow at her over the theft of his water glass. "Well," he reclaimed the glass. "We think we've got them traced back to an office building downtown." "Great! Let's go." Lois stood and started toward her bedroom. "Just let me change into something more action-oriented." "Lois!" Clark was startled in spite of himself. Why hadn't he known she would react this way? "Don't you think we should send in the police?" She stopped and turned to look at him. "No, I don't. They don't have anything to go on. You and I together can handle this." She headed for the bedroom, not giving him time to argue. Clark sighed. She was probably right, but she didn't know why. "Uh, Lois," he called in the direction of her bedroom, "I should probably tell you something before we go..." Quicker than he'd expected, she reemerged, dressed in a sweater, jeans, and tennis shoes. "What were you saying, Clark?" He stood up. "I've got something to tell you, something you've forgotten..." She shook her head. "We haven't got time, Clark. Office hours close pretty soon, and then it will be a lot harder to get into that building." She walked up and smiled up into his eyes. "Besides, I'm not worried about that stuff right now. = You were right, earlier - I have to trust myself, and I do. = And I trust you, so everything else will fall into place at the right time." Clark looked down into her beautiful eyes and melted, as always. Man of Steel, indeed. "Okay, I guess it can wait... but remember that I tried to tell you." That hadn't helped him last time, of course, but he felt it was worth the attempt. *** They made it to the building just as the evening exodus began, and easily slipped inside. Their destination was on the top floor of the building, and by the time they reached it, the entire floor was deserted. = They approached the door cautiously. "Clark," Lois whispered. "Keep an eye out while I take care of this door." = She reached for the knob, and a few seconds later, the door opened. "That was fast!" "It wasn't locked." She looked at him and shrugged. "Come on." = They rummaged around the ordinary-seeming office, not finding anything unusual until they entered a large conference room. As they entered that room, the door swung shut behind them with a dull clunk of finality. Lois stopped in her tracks and squeezed her eyes shut. "Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means." Clark checked the door. It was locked, with a very new and decidely non-standard lock. "Well, if you think it means that this was a trap, I'm afraid you're right. There's a little remote-controlled motor here that pushed the door shut." Lois sighed and opened her eyes. "Sorry, partner. I guess we should have sent the police." She looked around. "Well, let's see what's here, anyway." There was a single sheet of paper sitting on the conference room table; she lifted it and read aloud. "Listen to this, Clark - 'Mr. Kent and Miss Lane, so nice of you to visit. I'm afraid you're in a rather bad position, however. Certain events are set into motion, and in a few hours, this building will be engulfed in flames.'" Lois looked up at him, alarmed. = "Oh, don't worry too much, we can probably crack that lock, or break the door or something." Clark was looking around, assessing their situation. One entire wall of the room was windows, offering a lovely view of the sunset over the city. = As soon as it was dark, however, every move they made in the lighted room would be clearly visible from nearby buildings. Slightly reassured, Lois went back to reading from the note. = "'This is an old building, it unfortunately has no sprinkler system. It does, however, have very thick walls and sturdy doors. The lock is a recent addition; I fancy it may defeat your best efforts. Were I you, in short, I would endeavor to attract the attention of your friend Superman.'" Lois threw the note down on the table. "Well, this is a lovely situation." "Alright," Clark said, frowning in concentration. "Let's think this through. We've got a few hours, according to that note. = They've gone to a lot of trouble to set this up - why?" Lois lowered herself to a chair, staring out at the sunset, trying to reason things out. "It can't just be to kill us - too elaborate. I bet they're still after what they wanted before - more information on Superman." "Must be," Clark agreed, sitting next to her and almost unconsciously reaching out to hold her hand. Her heart rate was elevated, but it wasn't panicky, not yet. "So they've got to be observing us somehow - well, of course they're watching, they had to be, in order to trigger the door. As soon as it's dark, they'll be able to see everything, and we can't really see out." Being watched would hamper him, but Clark had learned a few tricks over the years, and with help from Lois... Lois glanced sideways at him. "So how do you contact Superman, anyway? I think this might be a good time..." Clark grimaced. He'd temporarily forgotten about her memory gap. He didn't want to tell her this way, he wanted to do it right this time... inspiration struck. "I think we should assume they're listening to us, Lois; it would be easy to have put a bug in here, or they could have surveillance equipment to listen to us from one of those buildings - remember when we did that a few years ago, at the Lexor Hotel?" = She smiled lazily, dipping her eyelids. "Oh yeah, I remember that just fine. What an opportunity wasted..." Clark returned the smile, knowing she wasn't referring to their surveillance. "We'll make up for it, I promise - but first, we have to get out of this room." "Well, then, let me try my hand at this lock." Lois knelt before the door and examined the lock. It was unlike any she'd studied with her various instructors - snitches, criminals, police detectives - Lois had demanded or wheedled lessons from many people along her career. This one would be a toughie, but it had to operate along the same basic principals of any lock. She pulled out her lockpicks and set to work. = She knew she needed to align the various barrels on the tumblers - when they all aligned properly, she would feel the click, the rightness of it, and the door would open. The main difficulty was that she couldn't see what she was working with; all the pieces in the puzzle were behind a smooth, ungiving surface. Rather like her memories, it occurred to her; she had to feel her way along. She closed her eyes and concentrated. to be continued (chances3.txt) = !^NavFont02F38C50008MGHH38C6D263 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 22:15:13 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Classic Fanfic: SECOND CHANCES (3/5) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 SECOND CHANCES (3/5) by Pam Jernigan (75540.2554@Compuserve.com) Clark opened the door, and Jimmy bounced in. "Hi, guys! = I've got those pictures of the buildings you asked about... whoa, Lois, that's some shiner!" Lois blushed, reminded of her colorful appearance. "Yeah, well, I'm lucky Clark loves me for my mind, huh?" Clark flashed a smile at her for that. "Give me those pictures, Jimmy... and thanks." Jimmy handed over a file folder. "There were only five buildings that fit your description, Lois, and I got pictures of all of them. Let me know if I can do anything else, okay? I want you two to nail these creeps." "We'll call you if we need you, Jimmy," Clark replied, gently steering the young photographer out the door. "Have a good evening!" He shut the door, and turned to face his partner. A quick look through Jimmy's photos was enough to identify the building she'd been held in. It was an old factory, recently closed for upgrades, and the company that owned it seemed very respectable. Lois called the factory owner, and was deep in conversation with him when Clark signalled that he had to go out. She frowned, but he simply whispered that he was going to get supper for them, and ducked out the door. She finished the phone call shortly thereafter, with a feeling of triumph, but with no one to share it. She did some digging into the factory's background, but most of her mind was trying to piece together more memories. = Clark's hasty departure raised nagging questions. Why did she have the unshakable feeling that, although he would bring back food eventually, it was not the reason he was going out? = She remembered now that his disappearing acts had once been a major sore point with her - they seem to have resolved it, but how? Obviously he hadn't stopped disappearing. The answers remained tantalizingly out of reach. *** The phone in the gray van parked on Carter Street rang, and Banks answered it. "Yes?" He listened for a moment. "Isn't that fascinating. Thank you." He shut off the phone. After a moment to contemplate, he spoke. = "We have stirred up some activity after all, Carl. I've just had a report that Superman himself has been seen in the vicinity of our erstwhile lair. He's been quiet today, if these reports are to be believed, so this sighting is significant. He's had quiet days in the past - and doesn't that make one wonder how he fills his time. Perhaps he hibernates." He smiled thinly at his own joke. Carl didn't respond, but then again, Banks hardly expected him to. *** When Clark returned with dinner, Lois was still sitting on his couch, reading the Superman file. "You know, Clark, it's eerie to read about myself when I don't remember it." She quoted some headlines, waving the pages around. " 'Superman Saves Lois Lane', 'Star Reporter Rescued by Superman', that kind of thing. And the patterns are weird..." Clark placed a plate full of Chinese food in front of her. = "Don't push it, Lois, your memories will come back." While out taking a look at the basement where she'd been held, he'd resolved not to rush her healing process, and not to let her push herself too hard. Surely he could go back to keeping up a pretense around her for a few days. "They'd better," she grumped, but allowed herself to be distracted by the food. After a few cautious bites, she looked up at him. "And where were you, by the way? It shouldn't have taken you this long to get takeout." Caught off guard, he stumbled. "Well, I, ah... I thought I heard an alarm, and I took a little detour to check it out, you know, see if there was an interesting story. But then, when I got there, the police had things under control, and Scott was already there, so I didn't want to get in his way, you know those are his kinds of stories..." Well, it was pretty close to the truth, and would have taken Clark much longer than the half-minute Superman had needed. Lois felt dissatisfied with that explanation, but let it pass, in favor of a broader question. "I do remember you always used to do this. Then I remember forgiving you, but I don't know why. What could have changed my mind?" Trying to reason out an explanation had given her a headache; every thought process lead to a blank wall. Superman was obviously tied up in it somewhere, he and Clark must have some sort of bond, but the nature of the relationship between the two continued to elude her. Clark sighed at her evident confusion. He didn't want to ruin the chances of her memory returning by revealing himself prematurely, but he was also worried that she would figure him out once again, and deprive him of his chance to tell her. "Lois... I think you're going to have to trust yourself on this one. You had a reason, and it was a good one, which you *will* remember in time. By evening tomorrow at the latest, I think," he smiled. "Because I don't think *I* can stand your memory gaps longer than that." His smile broadened to a grin, inviting her to share the joke. Her lips twitched reluctantly, and she went back to her food. = "That's my Clark," she joked, "always thinking of yourself." He reached out and gently turned her face toward him. "No, I'm always thinking of you, Lois" he corrected her, his voice low. "When you're hurt, that hurts me, too. I would do anything to keep you happy and safe. Even when I did those stupid things you don't remember, it was with the best reasons." He smiled faintly. "But you've got to know one thing, at least - we're partners, in everything. You taught me that." Lois contemplated his words for a moment, touched by his obvious sincerity. Every instinct, memory, and emotion she had told her she could trust him, and trust her own previous judgements. She reached up to stroke his hair. "Okay, partner. No more questions for tonight. No more work, either, I just want to relax with you." *** The next morning, after an hour spent on careful application of make up and a strategic purchase of a pair of sunglasses, Lois felt ready to be seen in public and continue the investigation at the factory. Angie Torantelli, a vivacious redhead in her late twenties, was the company's sole representative at the factory as the upgrades were made. She didn't mind the job; her boyfriend Donny had promised her that it would be easy, and it was. = All she had to do was coordinate between the construction foreman and headquarters, and not much of that was needed, so she had plenty of time to read her magazines - and talk to reporters. "Hello, Ms. Torantelli, thank you for seeing us. I'm Clark Kent, and this is my partner, Lois Lane." They traded polite handshakes, and all sat down. "No problem, Mr. Kent. Donny called and said you'd be coming over," she giggled, and corrected herself, "I mean Mr. Josephson - and please, call me Angie" Clark smiled his best professional smile. "Thank you. We really only have a quick question for you - how many people have keys to your basement entrance?" She tilted her head to one side, considering the question. = "Gee, we don't use that much these days, since we're not getting deliveries down there. I've got a key, of course. Oh, and I gave a key to that building inspector that was here last week." = "Building inspector?" Lois leaned forward slightly, sensing a connection. Her neck muscles twinged a protest at the posture, and she settled back in her seat reluctantly. "Yeah - corporate headquarters set it up. He brought over a letter of introduction. He was cute, too." She flashed a friendly grin at Lois, then glanced back to Clark and composed herself. "But you didn't get a call from headquarters yourself?" Clark leaned forward now. "No, but some of them over there are kinda hard to deal with. He gave me a business card, though, and I called the number on it - it seemed to check out." All of Lois's instincts were tingling. "You didn't happen to keep that business card, did you?" Angie smiled slyly. "Well, yeah, I did. I mean, he was cute and all... Let me see... here it is." She pulled a card out of her desk drawer and handed it to Clark. He quickly made a note of all the information on the card, and handed it back to her. "Thanks a lot, Angie," Lois said, standing. "We've got to get going now." *** Lois contained her excitement until they reached the parking lot. "That building inspector had to be Muscles. I talked to the factory owner, and he very definitely said they hadn't had anything to do with the place for weeks. We can find the address to go with this phone number, and we've got them!" = In her excitement, she turned her head a little too quickly, and grimaced as her neck muscles protested. "Here, Lois, let me give you a back rub." He turned her away from him and began gently massaging her neck, using a discreet application of heat vision to warm her. She let her neck go limp and moaned in pleasure. "Whatever you're doing, Clark, it feels wonderful," she mumbled. "But I'm still going to make you drive." He laughed softly. "Good. You shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard." She stepped away from him, irrationally annoyed at his concern, and opened her car door. "Don't be ridiculous, Clark, I'm fine, except for the memory thing, and the sooner we get those creeps, the sooner I'll be over that. So come on, what are you waiting for - drive!" She got in the car and slammed the door, not looking at him. Clark smiled a little, and muttered to himself, "I think someone needs a nap." *** Banks phoned in his next report from his BMW, parked now a half block away from Lois's brownstone. "Kent brought her back here in the mid-afternoon. They seemed to be arguing over something, though I understand that's not unusual. He left again, shortly thereafter; Carl told me he was seen at the paper. Miss Lane has not left her apartment, and as far as I've seen, Superman has not visited her. Has he still been quiet all day?" He listened for a short period. "Only a freeway accident around 10am?" He consulted his notebook. "Nowhere near the woman, then; she was still applying her makeup. Kent didn't pick her up until 10:30." Banks was coldly amused at the woman's vanity - sending her boyfriend out to buy her sunglasses, of all things - but Kent was a fool to cater to her. "However, I believe they did find the clues we'd planted for them... it should only be a matter of time. If they're as good as I've been led to believe." *** Having spent a profitable afternoon following their lead, Clark returned to Lois's apartment with good news. She wouldn't admit to taking a nap, but seemed much more cheerful as she let him into the apartment and got him a glass of water. "So how did the research go?" Clark sat down on her sofa, turning slightly to face her in the kitchen. "Pretty well. They hid their tracks, but Jimmy and I smoked 'em out." He grinned; it was very satisfying for him to make progress without using his special powers. She brought him the glass, and returned the grin, sitting down next to him. "You guys are hot." "You're looking better," he observed. Her swelling had gone down, and the bruises were beginning to fade. "Thanks, but don't change the subject. What did you find?" = She took the glass from his hand and helped herself to a sip. He cocked a friendly eyebrow at her over the theft of his water glass. "Well," he reclaimed the glass. "We think we've got them traced back to an office building downtown." "Great! Let's go." Lois stood and started toward her bedroom. "Just let me change into something more action-oriented." "Lois!" Clark was startled in spite of himself. Why hadn't he known she would react this way? "Don't you think we should send in the police?" She stopped and turned to look at him. "No, I don't. They don't have anything to go on. You and I together can handle this." She headed for the bedroom, not giving him time to argue. Clark sighed. She was probably right, but she didn't know why. "Uh, Lois," he called in the direction of her bedroom, "I should probably tell you something before we go..." Quicker than he'd expected, she reemerged, dressed in a sweater, jeans, and tennis shoes. "What were you saying, Clark?" He stood up. "I've got something to tell you, something you've forgotten..." She shook her head. "We haven't got time, Clark. Office hours close pretty soon, and then it will be a lot harder to get into that building." She walked up and smiled up into his eyes. "Besides, I'm not worried about that stuff right now. = You were right, earlier - I have to trust myself, and I do. = And I trust you, so everything else will fall into place at the right time." Clark looked down into her beautiful eyes and melted, as always. Man of Steel, indeed. "Okay, I guess it can wait... but remember that I tried to tell you." That hadn't helped him last time, of course, but he felt it was worth the attempt. *** They made it to the building just as the evening exodus began, and easily slipped inside. Their destination was on the top floor of the building, and by the time they reached it, the entire floor was deserted. = They approached the door cautiously. "Clark," Lois whispered. "Keep an eye out while I take care of this door." = She reached for the knob, and a few seconds later, the door opened. "That was fast!" "It wasn't locked." She looked at him and shrugged. "Come on." = They rummaged around the ordinary-seeming office, not finding anything unusual until they entered a large conference room. As they entered that room, the door swung shut behind them with a dull clunk of finality. Lois stopped in her tracks and squeezed her eyes shut. "Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means." Clark checked the door. It was locked, with a very new and decidely non-standard lock. "Well, if you think it means that this was a trap, I'm afraid you're right. There's a little remote-controlled motor here that pushed the door shut." Lois sighed and opened her eyes. "Sorry, partner. I guess we should have sent the police." She looked around. "Well, let's see what's here, anyway." There was a single sheet of paper sitting on the conference room table; she lifted it and read aloud. "Listen to this, Clark - 'Mr. Kent and Miss Lane, so nice of you to visit. I'm afraid you're in a rather bad position, however. Certain events are set into motion, and in a few hours, this building will be engulfed in flames.'" Lois looked up at him, alarmed. = "Oh, don't worry too much, we can probably crack that lock, or break the door or something." Clark was looking around, assessing their situation. One entire wall of the room was windows, offering a lovely view of the sunset over the city. = As soon as it was dark, however, every move they made in the lighted room would be clearly visible from nearby buildings. Slightly reassured, Lois went back to reading from the note. = "'This is an old building, it unfortunately has no sprinkler system. It does, however, have very thick walls and sturdy doors. The lock is a recent addition; I fancy it may defeat your best efforts. Were I you, in short, I would endeavor to attract the attention of your friend Superman.'" Lois threw the note down on the table. "Well, this is a lovely situation." "Alright," Clark said, frowning in concentration. "Let's think this through. We've got a few hours, according to that note. = They've gone to a lot of trouble to set this up - why?" Lois lowered herself to a chair, staring out at the sunset, trying to reason things out. "It can't just be to kill us - too elaborate. I bet they're still after what they wanted before - more information on Superman." "Must be," Clark agreed, sitting next to her and almost unconsciously reaching out to hold her hand. Her heart rate was elevated, but it wasn't panicky, not yet. "So they've got to be observing us somehow - well, of course they're watching, they had to be, in order to trigger the door. As soon as it's dark, they'll be able to see everything, and we can't really see out." Being watched would hamper him, but Clark had learned a few tricks over the years, and with help from Lois... Lois glanced sideways at him. "So how do you contact Superman, anyway? I think this might be a good time..." Clark grimaced. He'd temporarily forgotten about her memory gap. He didn't want to tell her this way, he wanted to do it right this time... inspiration struck. "I think we should assume they're listening to us, Lois; it would be easy to have put a bug in here, or they could have surveillance equipment to listen to us from one of those buildings - remember when we did that a few years ago, at the Lexor Hotel?" = She smiled lazily, dipping her eyelids. "Oh yeah, I remember that just fine. What an opportunity wasted..." Clark returned the smile, knowing she wasn't referring to their surveillance. "We'll make up for it, I promise - but first, we have to get out of this room." "Well, then, let me try my hand at this lock." Lois knelt before the door and examined the lock. It was unlike any she'd studied with her various instructors - snitches, criminals, police detectives - Lois had demanded or wheedled lessons from many people along her career. This one would be a toughie, but it had to operate along the same basic principals of any lock. She pulled out her lockpicks and set to work. = She knew she needed to align the various barrels on the tumblers - when they all aligned properly, she would feel the click, the rightness of it, and the door would open. The main difficulty was that she couldn't see what she was working with; all the pieces in the puzzle were behind a smooth, ungiving surface. Rather like her memories, it occurred to her; she had to feel her way along. She closed her eyes and concentrated. to be continued (chances3.txt) = !^NavFont02F38930008MGHH3894F7F6 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 07:50:23 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Re: TAN: Quantum Leap Comments: To: LOISCLA@vm.ege.edu.tr Okay, for those of you on the fanfic list who are not on the Loiscla list, there have been a couple of posts about Quantum Leap and a crossover between QL and L&C. I wasn't sure which list to post this to (because Loiscla has been talking about QL crossovers) so I'm posting to both. I've read a couple of crossovers between QL and L&C. Both of them were set with Sam becoming Clark. But there are a couple of different twists that I don't think people have used yet, such as what if Sam became somebody else? Perry or Jimmy for example. Or how about Lois? That might make for a weird fanfic. And if Sam was another person, would Clark be able to see him or the other person? Or how about this: Sam leaps into say, the bad guy, or just a guest character. What he has to do to fix whatever it is is to go to Superman and get help. So he tells L&C the whole story about leaping. They help him to do whatever he has to do, but somehow when he leaps, he brings them along. So then you could have 3 people all leaping together, each playing a separate part in the lifetime they have invaded. I don't know what I would do about the whole thing where they can't see each other. Maybe we could change that, or just make an execption because it's Superman. Or L&C could be the exception and Sam could just be normal, that he has to be touching another leaper to see who they really are. Or they could be able to see each other because they are all leaping together. Al would be pretty busy helping them all, but I get the feeling Lois would get the most help. With the whole "3 people leaping together" thing, it seems more like Sliders, so they could maybe run into the Sliders on the next leap and... okay, I'm gonna stop. A Sliders crossover could be cool, too, though. A story starring Lois, Clark, Sam Beckett, Al, Quinn Mallory, the professor, Wade Wells, etc. etc. might get a little bit confusing. But it might be fun. I'll have to see what I can do with it. Any ideas? Think this is a good idea? ~~>Susan<~~