From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9803C" ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 00:27:06 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Patricia Chenenko Subject: Re: More begging for screen captures :-> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Alyssa, Actually, I think that promo shot is a mix of two different scenes. I was looking for it too and if I remember correctly, the video and audio are actually from different episodes. I'll have to take a look at my tapes from 1st season and early 2nd season because I'm pretty sure that's where they're from. PattyC Alyssa Mondelli wrote: > > You know that clip that TNT uses in their L&C promos, the one where Lois > calls Clark a "lying piece of slime" and slams the door in his face? I'm > completely blanking on the episode it's taken from, but if anyone has or > can make a screen capture of that I'd be most grateful. > ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 00:26:16 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: CP13607 Subject: Re: More begging for screen captures :-> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-15 00:17:24 EST, chenenko@EDEN.RUTGERS.EDU writes: << Alyssa Mondelli wrote: > > You know that clip that TNT uses in their L&C promos, the one where Lois > calls Clark a "lying piece of slime" and slams the door in his face? I'm > completely blanking on the episode it's taken from, but if anyone has or > can make a screen capture of that I'd be most grateful. >> If I'm not mistaken, part of that was from The Rival. Clark kind of staged that fight. Chris P. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 06:58:26 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: Authenticated sender is From: Doris Schmill Subject: Kerth Award Ceremony Scheduling MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT March 14, 1998 Hi, Fellow Folcies! The other night Pam posted regarding the scheduling of the Kerth Award ceremony. In her post, she as an aside mentioned us Germans and the Aussies, wondering if there was an idea time to schedule the event. This being, fortunately, a very international community, the time difference won't allow for a "perfect solution. But I hope there could be one that would at least give us overseaers a chance to attend. By scheduling it at 9 or 10 pm EST, most of the Europeans would very effective be excluded as as that would be three or four a clock in the morning over here. Not everyone is in a position -- not probably nuts enough -- to go by a semi EST schedule as I am. I am lost as to what time would be good for the Aussies. For us Europeans, I thought maybe a compromise would be later afternoon by EST standards, like maybe 5 pm EST. That would at least give some of us a chance to attend for a while. Personally, I consider fanfic, and therefore the Kerths, one of the most important parts of folcdom and would thus want to give as many people as possible a chance to attend. I think the Aussies should definitely suggest a time that worked for them, too. Just my two cents here. Keep on reading and writing fic! Doris at dorisschmill@gmx.net OR dor2302@usa.net OR cschmill@zedat.fu-berlin.de OR schmill@students.go-on.net ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 11:45:07 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Cricket071 Subject: Re: This is really off subject--so if you don't care to read, Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-10 19:51:28 EST, you write: << Ellen, (That show that the cancer rat is cancelling because the jokes are lame and she thinks she's controvercial.) >> I really liked this. I don't like Ellen either. (never have) Cricket071 ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 10:56:45 -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: Re: Remember that Kerths quandary? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 12:51 PM 3/14/98 -0800, Leanne wrote: [snip] >Don't the authors want to win on their own merits???? I'm *sure* you didn't mean it this way, but... I've only voted on one ballot (well, twice, if you count the incomplete one sent out first). I've only mentioned to my brother and sister (via email, in other states) that I was even nominated for anything, and in that forwarded post, the www site wasn't mentioned. My sister has no time to vote (and probably thinks it's silly for her older sister to be so preoccupied), and my brother (at one time long ago studying to be a preacher) wouldn't engage in such things, though he'd be far more interested in the outcome.. So... there it is :) I have no idea what's going on at the site, I haven't visited there--I haven't had much time to do anything but try to catch up :\ BTW: my cat is doing quite well :) Debby Debby@swcp.com *8@ Innocent! Just heard on NPR: "The cartoonist's job is to create friends for people." I suspect this is the writer's job, too... ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 10:25:47 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: Remember that Kerths quandary? In-Reply-To: <2.2.16.19980315105930.0bdfe97e@swcp.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Deb responded: > >>Don't the authors want to win on their own merits???? > Deb responded: >I'm *sure* you didn't mean it this way, but... I've only voted on one ballot >(well, twice, if you count the incomplete one sent out first). I've only >mentioned to my brother and sister (via email, in other states) that I was >even nominated for anything, and in that forwarded post, the www site wasn't >mentioned. My sister has no time to vote (and probably thinks it's silly for >her older sister to be so preoccupied), and my brother (at one time long ago >studying to be a preacher) wouldn't engage in such things, though he'd be >far more interested in the outcome.. > Ya right, Deb. I didn't mean it that way. I mean, some authors nominated their own stories in the first round ... I don't have any objections for authors voting *once* for themselves, after all, we're proud of our work, right? It's the multiple voting for oneself that grates ... Hope that's clearer. Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Keeper of Giles' Sheets http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/ Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 14:33:03 -0600 Reply-To: renate Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: renate Subject: Re: Remember that Kerths quandary? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Leanne wrote: > I don't have any objections for >authors voting *once* for themselves, after all, we're proud of our work, >right? It's the multiple voting for oneself that grates ... I had no idea I could vote for myself ... it's a good thing I hadn't voted yet ... Rhen (Well, at least this way I won't get skunked! :) P.S. Is it too late to be a presenter? Who do I need to ask? I'd like to play too! ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 15:48:31 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Larus2407 Subject: Re: Remember that Kerths quandary? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-15 12:57:12 EST, Debby wrote: << At 12:51 PM 3/14/98 -0800, Leanne wrote: [snip] >Don't the authors want to win on their own merits???? I'm *sure* you didn't mean it this way, but... I've only voted on one ballot (well, twice, if you count the incomplete one sent out first). I've only mentioned to my brother and sister (via email, in other states) that I was even nominated for anything, >> Yeah, Debby, but all your friends and fans on this list know you were nominated too. Of course all your friends are very upstanding and true to the "ideal" of Superman and wouldn't ever vote for you unless you deserved it... --Laurie (who hasn't voted yet. I keep hoping to have time to reread some stories I dont' remember) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 17:09:08 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: Continuity & Soul Mates Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" And now a short break from awards madness. This weekend I weeded out a lot of e-mails that had accumulated in the last month or so while my family has been down with the flu, saving some just for the content and others just because I might actually respond to them. Uh-huh. In doing so, I ran across a couple of related somethings from this list that I found interesting. First of all, someone, I think either Georgia or Genevieve or Zoom or maybe all three, mentioned preferring reading and writing fanfic that stuck with series continuity. Thinking it over, I realized there is no way I can stay with the show's continuity and I'm not sure that I tend to prefer fanfics that do. At least, I haven't so far and I can't see it happening in the near future. I mean, I understand the concept of attempting to bridge the missing action from vague point A to mysterious point B in various cases because of the way some things are left wide-open and unanswered about certain situations between our favorite couple. Wonderful what-ifs built in there. What I can't seem to make myself do is stick to the program. Literally. When I start a what-if scenario based on something that actually happened in an episode, I invariable end up way, way, way off in my imagination from where the series eventually did. Continuity in that respect just ain't gonna happen for me. And, you know, I'm not sure but I think trying to make it happen might fry my brain. When looked at that way, I realize every fanfic I've written ends up basically in its own universe where I'm in control. They don't end up where the series end up and I like it that way. So imagine my surprise to find myself strongly intrigued by the 'soulmates' thingy Zoom mentioned. What WAS that called? Okay, so technically that project wouldn't be in continuity of the series, but for some reason I connected the two concepts in my mind. I think it's the combination of using an idea in one of the episodes but essentially creating an alternate environment that caught my interest and no matter how I attempt to forget the idea . . . I keep seeing Lois in plaid as a Scottish lady and Clark . . . oh, you probably don't want to know what happens to poor Clark. No, that isn't actually the one I'd want to do. At least, I don't think so. I'm still pondering that. But I am wondering if this project ever got off the ground and if so what the rules are? I'm getting . . . more than interested. Not that I have time to be interested. Still, what eras have already been used in stories? Can they be put anywhere in the world? Or the universe? Past, present or future? Oh, and just how much a part of his 'soul' does his superness play? Very important consideration to think about. Beverly :-) ******************************* Beverly Latham blatham@hop-uky.campus.mci.net ******************************* ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 18:14:12 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Re: Remember that Kerths quandary? Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Rhen asked: >> P.S. Is it too late to be a presenter? Who do I need to ask? I'd li= ke to play too! << Nope, not too late at all :-) You ask me, and you just did You're o= n the list! What do you normally use for an IRC nick? Thanks for volunteering :-) You've brought the group total up to 17, so there's still lots of slots open (28 categories, after all). = I'll let you know when I've got the categories all assigned, so you'll know which one(s) you'll be doing. PJ !^NavFont02F01750015MGHHGRMGTHG4CMG4EHH77A12A E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 15-Mar-1998 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ Fanfic writer, Kerth co-coordinator, busy mom :-) http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/kerth.html ~~~~~ Sarah & Pam's Shrine o'Fanfic: http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/2501 Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/= ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 18:14:10 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Kerth IRC Ceremony Webpage Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 As further proof that any idiot can put up a website... I've finally thrown a page together. It's meant to be a central point for the= various Kerth-related pages that various people have done (I've got Genevieve, Loisrae & the ballot - am I forgetting any?), and specifically= to cover details about the upcoming IRC Awards ceremony. For instance, when I get a tentative schedule of who'll be presenting which award, the list will be posted there (among other places). It's at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/kerth.html As time allows, I'll be putting together my own FOLC-obsession page, as well Take a look if you've got time, and I'll welcome all constructive suggestions - not to mention links :-) Just remember that it's my first attempt at hosting a page, and be gentle! PJ !^NavFont02F02A20007MGHHIA43359 E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 15-Mar-1998 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ Fanfic writer, Kerth co-coordinator, busy mom :-) http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/kerth.html ~~~~~ Sarah & Pam's Shrine o'Fanfic: http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/2501 Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/= ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 18:22:00 PST 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: Re: Kerth IRC Ceremony Webpage In-Reply-To: <199803151815_MC2-36D8-508A@compuserve.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi, Pam, Just visited your new page -- very nice! I like your background especial= ly. And I've added a link from the ballot back to your page so people can get information about the ceremony. Peace ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Have you voted yet in the L&C Fanfic Kerth Awards? = ~ ~ http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137/kerth_ballot.html = ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 20:37:26 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JCWimmer Subject: List Humor: Addicted to IRC Comments: To: lparham@ttacs.ttu.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hello FoLCs... This is off the subject, but I just had to pass it along. It fits me too well to ignore it. For all those of you who love IRC the way that I do, please look for yourselves below. PS...Yes, I do put ":)" in all my letters, typed or written, it just sort of happens . << >Subject: from corny robin again > >Marshall J. Moens wrote: >> >> You know you're an E-mail Junkie when........... >> >> 1. You wake up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom and stop to check your >> e-mail >> on the way back to bed. >> >> 2. You get a tattoo that reads, "This body best viewed with Netscape >> Navigatior 3.0 or higher. >> >> 3. You name your child Dotcom. >> >> 4. You turn off your modem and get this awful empty feeling, like you >> just >> pulled the plug on a loved one. >> >> 5. You spend half of the plane trip with your laptop on your >> lap....and your >> child in the overhead compartment. >> >> 6. You decide to stay in college for an additional year or two, just >> for the >> free Internet access. >> >> 7. You laugh at people with 14,000-baud modems. >> >> 8. You start using smileys in your snail mail. >> >> 9. Your hard drive crashes. You haven't logged on for two hours. You >> start >> to twitch. You pick up the phone and manually dial your ISP's access >> number. >> You try to hum to communicate with the modem....and you succeed. >> >> 10. You find yourself typing "com" after every period when using a >> word >> processor. >> >> 11. You refer to going to the bathroom as downloading. >> >> 12. You start introducing yourself as "JohnDoe at CSi dot com." >> >> 13. All your friends have an @ in thier names. >> >> 14. Your dog or cat has its own home page. >> >> 15. You can't call your mother....she doesn't have a modem. >> >> 16. You check your e-mail. It says "no new messages." So you check >> it again. >> >> 17. Your phone bill comes to your doorstep in a box. >> >> 18. You move into a new house and decide to Netscape before you >> landscape. >> >> 19. You tell the cab driver you live at >> "http://1000.edison.garden/house/brick.html." >> >> 20. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. >> I hope you all liked that as much as I did. Crystal ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 21:00:36 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: DEB0603 Subject: Re: List Humor: Addicted to IRC Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Crystal that was too cute! Thanks I really enjoyed that. And Peace I loved your last little short story. It was great having Superman say that he was Clark. I just love a good Revelation Story. =) Deborah M. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 21:07:30 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Lansbury 1 Subject: Re: Continuity & Soul Mates Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Beverly stated............... << But I am wondering if this project ever got off the ground and if so what the rules are? I'm getting . . . more than interested. Not that I have time to be interested. Still, what eras have already been used in stories? Can they be put anywhere in the world? Or the universe? Past, present or future? Oh, and just how much a part of his 'soul' does his superness play? Very important consideration to think about.>> Beverly :-) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This is in response to your email. I am very proud to tell you that, YES, the SoulMates Chronicles has gotten off to a good start. As of this date three SoulMates have been written. The first is called SoulMates Chronicles: The Falcon. The second is called SoulMates Chronicles: The Sea Hawk and the last is called SoulMates Chronicles: The Lone Rider. I have had the honor of not only being one of the writers on each of these but I am proud that my idea of the SoulMates Chronicles has grown and grown. I remember the conversation I had with Zoomway the night the idea came to mind. She was very nice to listen and encourage the birth of SoulMates. Zoomway also has helped in forming some of the guidelines to keep continutiy in this series of fanfics. With her expert research skills of the time eras we chose to write about and the creative writing of all the writers, I know this concept would not have gotten off to such a wonderful start. All the writers owe a great sense of gratitude to the phenomenal editing of Georgia (gwalden@aol.com). She has painstakingly gone through and have added the historical accuracies that we writers may have missed as well as doing the normal duties of an editor. Now, in anwser to your question about Continuity. Some of the most important elements in the SoulMates Chronicles are the following: 1) Wells is an observer and chronicler of events. He is not there to change the course of history. 2) The Soul Tracker is used to track the energies emitted by the Souls. It can pinpoint in time the human beings these souls occupy. With the use of his Time Machine he can go to the place of these humans. It can be in the future, past or anywhere in the universe. 3) The beginning and end of each story centers around Wells. His observations, etc. 4) If it is set in the past try and be as historically accurate as possible. 5) Most importantly, have fun. If you or anyone have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask. I hope to see many more SoulMates Chronicles in the future. They are fun to do and very interesting to read. Annie Lansbury Lansbury1@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 18:42:46 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Leanne Shawler (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Episode 15 (part 5 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Even Clark was starting to get impatient by the time Dr. McGrath entered the room. "I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I had an emergency C-section this morning and everything else has kind of fallen behind." "It's all right," Clark assured her. "We appreciate you fitting us in at the last minute." Dr. McGrath waved him away and turned to her patient. "So Lois! I heard you've had some excitement! Great articles, by the way, you two." "Thanks - I'm fine, really," Lois insisted. "Clark tends to overreact at times." "New fathers are like that," Dr. McGrath commiserated with a wink at Clark. "Let's prove to him that he has nothing to worry about." Dr. McGrath examined Lois and assured both parents that all was well - the baby's heartbeat was strong, and mother and child were healthy. "But, since you're here, why don't we do an ultrasound - just to be sure." Lois looked over at Clark, who directed his concerned look to the doctor. "Why? I thought you said everything was all right!" "I *did* and it *is.* It's just that Lois is nearly due for an ultrasound, and this way we'll be able to fully put anyone's fears at rest." "But... right now?" Lois was surprised. "Well, normally one would make an appointment for this sort of thing, but with you, Lois - I figure we should do it while we've got you here. Strike while the iron is hot, as it were." Clark's look said, "You know she's right," so Lois sighed. "OK... let's do it." **** One hour and four eight-ounce cups of water later, Lois lay back on the table as Clark pulled up a chair next to her. "I feel like I'm floating away," Lois groaned, shifting her position. "There wasn't this much water on the Titanic." Clark laughed as Dr. McGrath entered, pushing a large monitor, a nurse following behind her with other equipment. "Usually," the doctor smiled as the equipment was set up, "Angie, my technician, does this, but I had some cancellations this afternoon, and I kind of wanted to do this one myself anyway." A moment later, everything was in place, and the doctor had Lois pull her sweater up, exposing her stomach. Clark held Lois' left hand and she was surprised to realize he was trembling. "Are you OK?" she asked, looking over at him. "Me? Oh, yeah, fine," Clark replied unconvincingly. Lois smiled knowingly and reached over, patting his hand with her own. "OK," Dr. McGrath smiled. "Are you ready for the first glimpse of your baby?" Lois and Clark nodded with excitement. "OK, then." She pulled out a tube of what looked like caulking gel. "Hang on, Lois." "Oh, I know this is going to be - aaah!! Cold!!" She was squeezing Clark's hand now as they laughed. "OK," Dr. McGrath had the monitor on now and gently placed the transducer over Lois' abdomen. "Ooh, no, don't press!" Lois begged, squirming. "Hang in there," Dr. McGrath smiled, moving the transducer around, albeit slightly more gently. Lois and Clark watched in rapt attention as Dr. McGrath focused intently on the monitor. Neither of them could make sense out of any of the images on the screen, so they waited for the doctor's assessment. She was quiet for several minutes, taking measurements, moving the transducer around, seemingly seeing all there was to see. Lois was as quiet as she could be for as long as she could be, but it was only a short while before her natural impatience got the best of her. "What do you see?" she finally demanded, and the doctor smiled. "OK, Lois. You see here?" She pointed to an indiscernible blob on the screen. Lois and Clark nodded breathlessly. "That's your baby's head." Lois reached out and ran her hand over the screen, as gently as if she were touching the baby itself, and then put her hand to her mouth, tears coming to her eyes as she smiled. "Does everything look all right?" Clark asked anxiously. "Everything looks great, just super," the doctor assured them, studying the screen and completely missing the amused look Lois threw Clark. "Here, you see that? That's the baby's heart - nice and strong." "It's beating so fast!" Lois exclaimed. "That's normal," the doctor assured her. "A fetal heartbeat is about 140 beats per minute, and your baby's is well within that range." Overcome, Lois and Clark did not speak for the next few minutes as Dr. McGrath pointed out various body parts - arms, legs, other vital organs. She offered to print out some shots of the baby, as well as provide a videotape of the event. Both offers were accepted eagerly and gratefully by the expectant parents. "Oh, my parents will love this," Clark said softly and Lois squeezed his hand. It was so real now - the baby was *right there* - and she had no idea how she was going to wait four more months. "Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" she demanded suddenly. "Lois!" Clark protested. They had discussed this, but hadn't yet made up their minds about whether or not they wanted to know. At least *he* hadn't. "Clark..." Lois looked at him pleadingly, and he had to laugh. He should have known better. Lois hadn't become the investigative reporter she was by leaving questions unanswered. It was simply not in her nature, and he sighed and nodded his acquiescence. Dr. McGrath frowned and shook her head as she moved the transducer around, trying to get a better look at the baby. "I'm sorry," she commented, "but your baby has its legs crossed and the way it's turned..." she paused, continuing to look, but then shook her head again. "No... I'm sorry, I can't tell from this angle." "What? What do you mean you can't tell?! What if I lie like this? Or turn over? Or..." Lois was not going to give up and Clark grinned at the doctor. "Lois... so we'll wait. It'll be a surprise." Lois looked pleadingly at the doctor who shrugged helplessly. Shaking her head and laying back again, Lois frowned. "I hate surprises." **** As they entered the house later, videotape and printouts in hand, Lois stopped in her tracks. "Oh! I just realized - we have *no* food in this house. We should have stopped at the store." She frowned and looked up at Clark who was shaking his head. "You are clearly not grasping the idea of resting, sweetheart. You relax here, *I* will go to the store. OK?" Lois shrugged as she took off her coat; she hated food shopping. "Sure. No problem. See?" She curled up on the couch. "I can relax as well as the next person." Clark, who was well aware of his wife's aversion to grocery shopping (it was no accident that there had been no food in the house while he'd been gone), stifled a grin. "Great. I'll be back soon. We can call the grandparents-to-be and tell them we've got our first home movies." "Don't get lost saving some hapless person on the way back!" Lois called after him. "Last time you did that, all the frozen food had thawed by the time you got home." Clark stopped and turned around, his expression serious. "Lois, I told you I was taking the afternoon off." Lois gave him a "yeah, right," look. "No, I'm serious. Lois," he came over and sat down opposite her, "I've really been thinking about this. I said some terrible things the night I left here, but some of it was true - I do feel, in some ways, that Superman has taken over my life. I *did* have a life before him," he reminded her and she nodded. "I know that. I just didn't know you then." He smiled then. "I didn't say it was a great life." She grinned back and he got serious again. "But really, I've been thinking - with the baby coming, I need to try to be around more often. That means having Metropolis survive on it's own a little more. Not all the time, and I certainly wouldn't ignore anything major. But when I want to spend some time with my family, that has got to come first. Otherwise, what do I really have?" Lois' eyes filled with tears, and she reached out to touch his face. "You'll have us, Clark. You'll always have us." Clark nodded. "And I want to be around for you. Both of you. Someday, all of you." Lois laughed through her tears. "Oh, god, please. One at a time!" He laughed, too, as he kissed her. The End ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 18:42:43 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Leanne Shawler (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Episode 15 (part 4 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Lois showered and dressed, and headed downstairs, debating whether or not to attempt to cook breakfast. She decided against it, telling herself she had no way of knowing how long Clark would be. Also, she realized suddenly, she had very little food in the house. She hadn't had much of an appetite lately, with Clark gone... now she was suddenly ravenous. She went to the kitchen to see what she could find. Clark would understand. She had made it halfway through a box of cereal when the phone rang. She grabbed it, her mouth full. "Hemmo?" "Ms. Lane? It's Tom Crawford." Lois swallowed quickly. "Crawford? What do *you* want?" "Ms. Lane... I know what I've done is wrong... that's why I'm leaving town. But I can't let Tempus get away with what he's done... to you and your husband... and to Superman. I have evidence clearing Superman and The Daily Planet of any and all wrongdoing." "Where are you?" Lois said quickly. "Centennial Park. But, like I said, I'm leaving -" "No, no! Don't go anywhere! I'm on my way. I'll meet you by the fountain." Crawford hesitated. "He's going to come after me, Ms. Lane. I can't stay here long." "I'll be right there," Lois insisted. "Don't move." She hung up and hesitated. Clark would *kill* her if she went off by herself... but she was just going to go and get the evidence from Crawford. She had started this with him. She would finish it. **** "Chief, Superman asked for my help. I... I couldn't say no to him! He asked me not to tell anyone, especially Lois, for her own protection." Perry nodded. "And you told Lois this?" "Yeah, Chief." "And she's OK with this?" "We talked about it last night. We've settled everything between us. We're... OK." **** Lois entered the park, moving quickly towards the fountain. There was no sign of Crawford. In fact, the park seemed deserted. Granted, it was early in the morning, but... "Hello, Lois." Lois froze momentarily and then turned... **** "Clark..." Perry looked him in the eye. "Lois has been through hell and back. It hasn't been easy for me, either, watching her come in here everyday, looking as though her heart was breaking, all the while with that baby coming soon." "I know, Chief -" "Now you listen to me, son," Perry said, getting up and crossing around his desk. He shook a finger at Clark. "Your wife and your child are the most important things in the world! You remember that. Nothing gets in the way of that! And I mean nothing! Not even Superman. You got that?" "I got it, Chief," Clark assured him quickly, a little taken aback by his vehemence. Perry stopped, a little of the anger draining out of him. "Maybe it's strange, getting that advice from someone in my shoes... who let pretty much everything get in the way of his family. But learn from me, son... it's not worth it. The rest of it just isn't worth it." "Oh, I know, Chief. I know." Clark grinned up at Perry and he, too, smiled, satisfied that his point had been made. At that moment, Jimmy burst through the door. "Hey, CK! Great to have you back!" "Thanks, Jimmy." "There's a call for you on line one." Surprised, Clark looked at Perry who indicated the phone on his desk. Clark got up and punched in the button. "Clark Kent." "Clark! So good to hear your voice! Over the sands of time as they say!" Clark visibly angered at the sound of Tempus' voice over the phone line, and turned away so Perry wouldn't see. "I've been wondering about you." "Yes, I've missed you, too. So much for us to catch up on... the wife, the family..." Clark felt the cold hands of fear grip his heart. "What are you talking about?" "I'm in Centennial Park, Clark. The place where so many things begin. And end." Tempus held up the phone and suddenly Clark's worst fear was confirmed. He heard Lois on the other end. "Clark, don't! It's a trap - mph!" Then Tempus was laughing and the line went dead. Clark hung up, and ran out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "Chief, gotta go, Lois is in trouble..." Then he was gone, Jimmy and Perry staring after him. **** Superman landed in Centennial Park mere seconds later - he couldn't remember ever flying so fast. His heart was pounding so hard he could barely hear. The park was relatively deserted and he saw Lois and Tempus standing by the fountain and was by their side in seconds. "Hello, Superman!" Tempus greeted him cheerfully, his arm around Lois neck, a gun in his hand. Clark shuddered at how reminiscent the whole thing was of what had happened in the "future." This time, however, he wouldn't let anything happen to Lois, and he assured her of that with his eyes. "Let her go, Tempus. Now." "Don't come any closer," Tempus warned, pushing the gun against Lois' neck. Despite her best efforts, a cry of fear escaped from her mouth and Clark anxiously took a step toward her. "I mean it!" Tempus cocked the gun, and Clark froze in his tracks, holding up his hands. "OK," he said, soothingly, "just tell me what you want." "Want?" Tempus appeared bewildered. "Why, Superman, I don't want anything from you. I invited you here to say goodbye." "Are you... going somewhere?" Lois asked, exchanging puzzled glances with Clark. Tempus looked at her and pulled Wells' time control out of his pocket. "Oh, no, not me. I thought you might want to say goodbye to your husband." Clark shook his head firmly. "Lois isn't going anywhere, Tempus. This is between you and me. It always has been." Tempus nodded. "Yes it has, and you know, I've given that some thought. All these years, Clark, all this time... I've gone back in time, tried to kill you as a baby. I went to an alternate universe; tried to kill Superman there! I tried to trap you in time warps - twice! None of that worked! Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?" "Gee, so sorry," Clark muttered. "And it's so important that I do this! If your descendants live to found Utopia, life as we know it is over!! I can't let that happen. It's my job - my *duty*!" "Life as you know it is already over, Tempus," Clark promised. "Let Lois go - now. And maybe, just maybe - I'll let you walk away from this." Lois could see how furious he was and she hoped he would keep his temper in check. Tempus shook his head. "The thing is - I've been going about this all wrong! Killing you is next to impossible, and who has that kind of time? Now," he tightened his grip around Lois' neck, "killing your wife, here - much easier. One doesn't need to deal with all that nasty kryptonite, and it produces the same result. No descendants, whether in four months or forty years. No Utopia." "Tempus," Clark stepped forward, "if you harm one hair on her head, I *swear* -" "Don't swear, Clark, it's so unbecoming to a superhero," Tempus grinned. He punched a button on the time control and a vortex opened behind them. "Stay back," he continued, stepping backwards and pulling Lois with him. "I'm told it's awfully warm inside those vortexes, Lois. Sorry I won't be going with you to keep you company. Say goodbye, Mrs. Kent," he urged Lois, preparing to hurl her into the unknown. "Lois!" Clark rushed towards her, but before he could reach her, Lois turned and kneed Tempus where it counted. The gun went off, missing Lois by mere inches, and Tempus, still clutching the weapon, fell backwards into the vortex, screaming. The vortex closed, and Tempus disappeared. Clark caught Lois as she fell into his arms, gasping, and they sank to the ground. He held her tightly in his arms as if he would never let her go, rocking her back and forth. "Clark," she whispered, attempting unsuccessfully to turn her head to him. He continued to clutch her as if he didn't hear her. "*Clark*," she tried, louder. It registered this time, and he stopped rocking, though still holding onto her in an iron-like embrace. "Clark, please - I can't breathe." "Oh!" Clark loosened his grip on her and she relaxed, reaching out to touch his face. "It's OK," she said softly. "I'm OK. I'm here. Everything's OK. He's gone." Clark nodded, but she could see the haunted look in his eyes and realized that vortex or no vortex, Tempus would be around for a long time. He took her hand and helped her up then, as he became aware that the park was about to become crowded as the lunch hour was upon them. "Uh - I'm going to find Clark for you, Lois." She gave him a strange look, then realized his point. "Oh - that would be wonderful, Superman. Thank you." He smiled at her and disappeared behind the bushes, only to reappear seconds later as Clark, who threw his arms around her. "I think we should get you to the doctor." "Why?" "Lois, a madman just tried to kill you!" Lois pulled away from him. "Clark, I'm *fine.* He didn't hurt me. Really. I'm fine." Clark acknowledged that he was not going to win this, and changed the subject to something he could win. "Lois, what were you doing here with him?" "Crawford called me," she explained hesitantly. "He said he was leaving town, but had evidence against Tempus, clearing both Superman and the Planet, and asked me to meet him here." "Lois, Tempus put him up to that!" "Gee, you think, Clark? I know that *now,* thank you." He frowned at her, but did not respond. "Come on - say it." "What?" "I shouldn't have come here, I should have called you..." "Oh, I think you've got the drill down pretty well by now." He sighed. "So - where is Crawford now?" "Let's check his office." Lois was already heading to the car and Clark shook his head, sighing. A thought struck him, and he laughed to himself as he followed her. Lois had mentioned once that she was concerned about keeping up with a "superbaby," but she had more to worry about if their child had even half of *her* energy and penchant for trouble. "Wait till the kid starts walking," he said to himself as he reached the car where Lois had already started the engine and was gunning it impatiently. **** "Great story, kids!" No one at the Daily Planet could remember seeing Perry White as thrilled as he was right now. His star reporters had found enough evidence in Tom Crawford's office to implicate him fully and clear Superman and the newspaper of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, there was no sign anywhere of Crawford, who was now facing criminal charges. Lois and Clark privately feared that Tempus had disposed of Crawford after his phone call to Lois, but had not been able to prove this theory, despite Superman's numerous searches of Metropolis. Everything found in Crawford's office indicated to them that Tempus had planned it all to come out this way, should his original plan not have worked out, which it hadn't. And without any evidence to the contrary, Tom Crawford was now the fall guy for everything that had gone wrong in Metropolis in the last two weeks. But at the Planet, a celebratory mood was in the air. Without the threat of the lawsuit hanging over its head, the newspaper was out of danger, and with Lois and Clark's exclusive Superman interviews, circulation was up, which was even better. "Lois! Clark!" Perry called out to them as he crossed the newsroom. "I want you two to go home and take the rest of the day off." "But, Perry, there's follow up to do, and..." Lois continued to protest, but Clark exchanged a knowing glance with Perry. Lois had been through so much in the last two weeks, and despite her repeated insistences that she was all right, a day of rest would do her good. "Thanks, Perry." Clark's acknowledgment interrupted his wife's impending sermon on how much work they had left to do. Their editor smiled in response and went off to harangue Jimmy about something or other. "Clark!" Lois turned to him, annoyed. "Why did you do that? We need to -" "No, Lois," Clark interrupted firmly. "*You* need to rest; I don't care how much you complain. That baby needs you to rest. Don't argue with me on this." She could see he meant it, so she didn't push the issue. "Fine. So... we have the rest of the day off... what to do with all that time?" She grinned knowingly at him, thrilled in the knowledge that she could still make him blush. "That's not exactly rest, Lois," he laughed, wondering if anyone else had heard her. "Seriously - I called the doctor and made an appointment for you." "You did *what?!* Clark! I told you - I'm fine!! *We're* fine!" "You know what," Clark replied firmly. "I think we can let Dr. McGrath be the judge of that." Lois tried to protest, but something told her not to push it with Clark right now, so she reluctantly let him help her with her coat while they made their way toward the elevator. **** Lois shifted in her seat again as they waited in the crowded doctor's office. She sighed loudly, but her husband, seemingly engrossed in a magazine, continued to ignore her. "This is *such* a waste of a free afternoon," she muttered. Clark put the magazine down with a trace of annoyance and seemed about to respond, but at that moment the receptionist looked up. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent? Room 6." Clark helped Lois up and gathered up their belongings before the two of them followed the nurse down the hall to the examination room. "Mrs. Kent, please put on this gown," the nurse said, handing Lois a folded paper gown. "The doctor will be right with you." "A gown?" Lois was puzzled. "Am I having a full exam?" The nurse nodded, businesslike. "That's what the doctor said." She left the room and Lois sighed as she unfolded the gown. "You'd think they'd make these *bigger,* considering the size of the women wearing them. Uh, Clark..." "What? Do you want me to leave?' Lois was distracted, her arms reaching behind her. "What? No, of course not. It's just this sweater... buttons in the.. back..." She was struggling. "Can you help me?" "Oh... sure." He unbuttoned her and she laughed at him. "We've been here before - why do you always get so nervous when we walk into the examination room?" "I think it's the stirrups." **** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 18:42:39 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Leanne Shawler (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5; Episode 15 (part 3 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Lois looked at him with horror. "Crawford's working for Tempus? Are you sure?" "Just listen," her husband begged her. "I'll tell you everything. Just listen." And Lois listened, despite herself, despite her anger, her pain. She sat there on the bench and listened to his story, starting with H.G. Wells coming to him nearly two weeks before while he sat on that very bench. His trip six months into the future and then six months after that. How he'd witnessed her murder, his experience in the time vortex... "...So I got sucked out of the bubble and landed on this very bench... only to find out that I'd been gone for ten days!" Lois nodded slowly. "You were trapped in a cornfield for ten days." He couldn't tell if she was just trying to assimilate the information or if that was actually skepticism in her voice. Either way, he really couldn't blame her. "I... well, I think so. It didn't seem like it to me. Time must have sped up, or slowed down, or... something. I'm not sure." "Clark... wait a minute. Tempus is -- *was* in jail! How could he get out?" "Lois, I have no idea. But he did. Do you really think I would make a story like this up?" Lois sighed. "I don't know, Clark. Would you make up a secret identity and make everyone including me believe you were someone else?" "Oh, let's not go there." He laughed, trying to lighten the mood, and she smiled as well as she got up. "I really have to get back to the Planet..." Superman jumped up. "Wait, Lois! Uh... is that all you have to say?!" "No," Lois said, gathering up her briefcase, "but that's all I have time to say right now considering the fact that Perry's expecting a front page story from me for the evening edition and I don't really have anything to work with." "Lois, I know this whole thing is a shock... I know it's almost unbelievable. But you have to believe me. I didn't walk out on you. I would never leave you." Lois looked noncommittal. "What do you want me to write?" Clark shook his head. "It's an exclusive. Write whatever you want." "Fine." She turned to go. "When can we talk?" he asked desperately. "I don't know, Clark." She started to leave then. "Lois, please!" Lois turned back one last time. "Look, Clark, I do believe you were taken somewhere. I really do. But whether it was Tempus or a flying saucer... I don't *care.* You say you'd never walk out...but the point is... all this happened because you *did* walk out. Everything else was after." Now she did walk away without looking back. Clark started to follow her, but changed his mind and stopped, watching her disappear down the path. **** Tom Crawford sighed inwardly when Tempus burst into his office. "This is it - this is hell, right?" he thought to himself. "Tom!" Tempus cried, crossing the room to him. "Have I told you how well you're doing? Anti-Superman sentiment is sweeping the city! People are hating that goody-two-shoes right and left - isn't it marvelous?" "Yeah, great," Crawford muttered. "But we've got to keep moving, Tom," Tempus continued, crossing the room and turning to face Crawford, excitement etched on his face. "We've got to keep *going* - the *world* needs to hate Superman. Don't you see? If Superman is gone, it will save us - it will save all of us! The future depends on this!" He sighed happily. "Thank goodness I had the foresight to take care of Herb. Nice guy, you know, the original do-gooder, but can't mind his own business, you know what I mean, Tom? At least we know he won't be poking around in any alternate universes *this* time. And I suspect he won't be back here either." Crawford just stared at him. **** Lois had been sitting on the couch for hours, thinking, attempting to write... but mostly playing and replaying Clark's voice over and over on her tape recorder. There wasn't much to it except Clark's asking her to turn the recorder off, but she just wanted to hear his voice. She knew what he was telling her was the truth - there was lying and then there was lying and Clark didn't lie - not like this. But the reality was, although she knew why he had been gone so long, she couldn't get past the fact that he had left in the first place. The memory of their argument still made her cry and she could still hear the horrible sound of the door closing behind him. But finding him on the porch yesterday - it was just like that night she'd come home, thinking he was on New Krypton, and found him there on her porch, like out of some kind of dream. Only yesterday, she'd let her pride overshadow the relief she'd felt, seeing that he was OK, he was alive... she'd been so afraid something had happened. Because she knew he'd never leave her - not really... Her thoughts a jumble, she looked at the half-written story on her computer. "Perry is never going to go for this," she groaned, picturing him at the Daily Planet, already running around, getting ready to put the evening edition to bed. She had stopped answering her phone about 3 hours ago. Looking up she saw a news story flash across the muted TV screen and grabbed the remote to turn it up. Lynn James was reporting on the "rapidly escalating dissatisfaction with Superman." "Everyone wants to know where Superman has been," her voice intoned and Lois sighed as the image cut to Tom Crawford on yet another street, surrounded by another crowd of supporters. "I demand," he shouted, over the cheers of the crowd, "that Superman give Metropolis an explanation as to his whereabouts during the past ten days. I give him twenty-four hours to explain to this city why he abandoned them in their hour of need!" The crowd roared their approval and Lynn James went on to reiterate Crawford's deadline. Lois shut the TV off in disgust. "Twenty-four hours. And then what? What are you going to do then?" It was rhetorical, of course, but she did wonder - what did Tempus have up his sleeve this time? Why was he so quiet? Turning her attention back to what she'd been doing, she flipped the tape recorder on again. "Lois, stop this," came Clark's voice. She clicked it off, thoughtfully, looked back towards the TV and nodded. **** Martha Kent answered the phone on the third ring. The local affiliates had picked up Tom Crawford's challenge to Superman and she and Jonathan had seen it replayed a half-dozen times in the last ten minutes. They were trying to figure out the best way to help their son when the ringing interrupted them. "Hello?" "Martha? It's Lois." "Lois!" Martha looked at her husband with raised eyebrows. She had known it wouldn't take long for those two to work things out - it never did. Jonathan hadn't been as sure and he grinned at her now, hopefully. "Sweetheart, how are you? We've been so worried about you..." "Martha," Lois said, quickly, "I don't mean to be rude, but do you know where Clark is? I really need to find him and I don't even know where to look -" Her voice broke then, and she cursed herself for crying now. "No, honey, I haven't seen or heard from him since he left to meet you this morning. I gather it didn't go well?" Lois collected herself as best she could. "It went... well, it went. He told me what happened. I didn't... well, I couldn't..." "Oh, honey," Martha sighed. "He was afraid you'd still be angry." "I was angry. Now I'm just confused. And worried. We still need to settle things between us, and now Crawford's made it more important than ever that I write this story about where Superman's been - but I can't do it without Superman." "He'll come back, sweetheart. He loves you. And he knows you love him. I've told you before, that's all you need - you can get through everything else." "Not if I can't find him," Lois mourned, but any further musings were interrupted when Superman himself appeared through the window. "Oh! Never mind, Martha, I found him. He's here." Lois hung up and turned to face her husband, who returned her gaze nervously. "I - uh - I wanted to give you some time to yourself, but I heard about Crawford and..." He broke off because he had expected Lois to respond before this and he was running out of things to say. "Uh... Lois?" Lois looked at him in the eye. "Can you... can you change? Because it's so much easier when you..." The words were barely out of her mouth before a strong wind whipped through the room and Clark stood before her, looking apprehensive. "Thanks." She had so much to say to him, but now that he was actually here, all she could do was look at him... He decided to break the oppressive silence. "I know you're still mad, but we have to figure out what to do about Crawford and Tempus. Whether or not you believe me, there's still a danger there -" "Clark - " "We can discuss what I did wrong later; right now we have a crisis to figure out - together." He walked over to the couch and read through Lois' story (what there was of it) in seconds, as Lois tried again. "Clark..." "Um, Lois, there isn't much here..." *Clark!*" Lois finally got him to look at her. "What?" "I do believe you." He just stared at her for a minute. "You do?" "Of course I do. I know you wouldn't make up something like that." Clark looked as if he were near tears as she continued, "And you're right." "I am? About what?" Lois indicated the laptop. "There isn't much there." He smiled at her and sighed. "That's OK - let see what we can come up with." "What I've been thinking," Lois began, falling into the easy rhythm they were so good at, "is something like 'Superman has been off fighting someone out to get him...'" "That's good, that's good..." he said, picking up where she left off, "'and even though he can't promise to prevent every emergency that may occur, he can promise to do the best he can with the time he does have.'" Now Lois thought she would cry as she looked up at him. "Oh, Clark..." "Lois," Clark said, urgently, flinging the laptop aside, "I *am* sorry. I am so sorry for walking out like I did - it was wrong. It just felt like everything was spinning out of control..." "You didn't know what was happening; none of what happened was your fault..." "Yes, it was. I promised myself I'd never make you cry and that night that's all I did." "I should never have doubted you. I *know* you would never just leave me like that." Clark gently cupped Lois face in his hands. "I will never, *ever* leave you. If I've learned anything from all of this, it's that we are a team. We belong together. All three of us." He kissed her then and now despite herself, Lois began to cry. Clark put his arms around her and held her tightly until she was finished. When she lifted her head finally, his sweater wet with her tears, she seemed calmer. "I'm sorry," she smiled sheepishly, "I don't know where that came from." "You're entitled." He smiled at her. She shook her head. "We have so much work to do..." He laughed at her then, and they set to work. Between the two of them, they had the story written in no time and sent to Perry who was, of course, delighted to have it, as well as to have his two star reporters back together. "Who gets the byline on this?" "We do, Perry," Lois smiled into the phone. "Lois Lane and Clark Kent." She hung up and turned to her husband, who was watching her with a look of pride on his face. "What?" "Nothing. I was just thinking how much I love you." "I love you, too." He cocked his head for a second and grinned at her. "So... you wanna go flying?" She laughed then, a sound both of joy and of relief. "I thought you'd never ask." **** Being in Clark's arms again was the most wonderful feeling in the world. It was a clear night, and Lois could pick out every star in the sky. Clark's arms and his cape kept her warm, and as she huddled in his arms, she sighed with contentment. "What are you going to do when there's three of us?" she asked him, teasingly, leaning her head on his shoulder. Clark shrugged. "Oh, we'll just have one of those baby backpack things." "Clark!" Lois smacked him on the shoulder and he laughed. They returned home the way they left, via the window, and Clark floated them up to the bedroom. They made love urgently, with a passion that was born from each of them having wondered if they'd ever see the other again, and afterwards, it was Lois' turn to hold Clark. She comforted him while he told her more about what had happened during his trip to the future, how devastated and helpless he had felt watching her die, how he thought *he* would die in the vortex after Tempus had sent Wells back in time. She lay back, stroking his head as he calmed and she cursed Tempus for what he had done. "It gets worse and worse, Clark, every time," she noted. "And now, he's got to be angry, because his entire plan was foiled when you came back." Clark nodded, but didn't answer. Lois stopped what she was doing as she grew deeper in thought. "We have to stop him, Clark. That's why Wells didn't come back from wherever Tempus sent him. Because he knows it's up to us." Clark sighed. "Why is it always up to us?" Lois smiled slowly. "Because the two of us," she took his hand, "together, are stronger than anything else. I think you know that." Clark gently rolled over and kissed her. The baby kicked then, startling both of them and Lois giggled. **** Lois awoke the next morning as the sun streamed through the windows. Opening her eyes, she smiled to herself and rolled over to kiss Clark... only to find the bed empty. She sat up in a panic. Had she dreamed it? Had he not been here at all? Then she saw it. A single red rose on the pillow next to her, and she brightened. There was a note attached to the rose. It read, simply, "I love you." Lois felt the tears well up in her eyes. She reached out and picked up the note. On the other side, Clark had explained that he had gone to talk to Perry, to explain his absence by saying he'd been "helping Superman. I'll be back... for breakfast." She laughed. **** Perry White was seated at his desk, staring at Lois and Clark's interview with Superman in the morning paper. It had run in the evening edition and Perry had felt it was worth running again. It was a great piece - probably Kerth Award winning material. He shook his head. As long as he lived, he'd never know how those two did it. As if on cue, Clark Kent knocked on the door and stuck his head in. "Chief?" Perry looked up and raised his eyebrows. "Well... look what the cat dragged in," he said in his slow Southern drawl. Clark had the decency to flush as he came in. "Do you have a minute?" Perry looked at him for a long moment and then shrugged and indicated the chair. Clark shut the door behind him and sat down uneasily. It was obvious Perry wasn't going to make this easy for him. "I thought... I mean, I know Lois told you that I was back... that we wrote the piece together," he started. "But I wanted to come and talk to you... explain where I was. Why I was gone." "I imagine it's quite a story." **** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 18:42:36 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Leanne Shawler (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Episode 15 (part 2 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Martha Kent carried a blueberry pie over to the table as she and Jonathan listened to Clark finish his story. "She just went inside," he said, sadly. "She didn't even turn on the lights." "Oh, sweetheart," Martha put a hand on his shoulder as she went past him to get plates. "I didn't know what to do - if I should stay or not. I mean, she obviously didn't want me there, and flying up to the second floor wasn't going to change that. So I came here. I didn't know where else to go." "Well, honey," Martha began, setting the plates down on the table, "you're certainly welcome to stay here as long as you like - especially after what you've been through, but -" Jonathan interrupted, shaking his head, "Staying here isn't going to help settle anything between you and Lois. You need to get back there and talk to her. Explain what happened. Make her listen to you!" "Your father's right, sweetheart..." Clark half-smiled at this. "This is Lois we're talking about. How am I supposed to 'make' her listen to me?" "My point is, son," Jonathan said gently, "you two are not going to settle this unless Lois knows what happened to you, and if you're not in Metropolis, you're not going to be able to get through to her." Clark pushed his chair back and got up. "I know, you're right..." He moved off to the living room. "Clark, don't you want some pie?" Martha called after him. Clark wearily sat down on the couch. "No thanks, Mom." Martha exchanged concerned glances with her husband as their son began channel-surfing. "Jonathan, I'm worried about him," she whispered. Jonathan nodded in agreement. Clark had stopped on the USNEWS station which was questioning, "Superman has finally returned. You saw his daring rescue earlier, but he hasn't felt the need to share with anyone where he's been. What is he hiding? Why is the Man of Steel lying to the world?" Clark felt the blood drain from his face as he cried, "What?!" Martha and Jonathan ran to join him. The reporter continued, "Tom Crawford, Metropolis City Councilman, is here with us. Mr. Crawford, as a representative of the people, what are your feelings about this Superman situation - his mysterious disappearance and sudden return?" Crawford, surrounded by a crowd of people on a busy street, looked every inch the concerned politician as he answered, "Superman, who is supposed to protect the people, suddenly decides he can take off with no notice at all? And then Superman, who is supposed to stand for truth, suddenly returns and refuses to explain? Where exactly has he been? What has he been doing? And *why* won't he tell anyone?" Martha reached over and gently touched Clark's hand which was trembling with rage. She was furious herself and as they listened to Crawford continue, she could see Jonathan getting worked up as well, "He has obviously been up to something sinister - and possibly illegal. As an elected representative of the people, it's my job - my *duty* - to protect them and get to the bottom of the evil plot Superman is obviously perpetrating. And fear not! I will!" Clark hit "mute" on the remote and got up as Martha reached out to rescue the control from his hand, fearful of it being launched into space at any moment. "'Evil plot?!'" Clark exclaimed. "How did we get from 'mysterious trip' to 'evil plot?!'" "He seems determined to crucify Superman," Jonathan agreed, his own fists clenched in anger. "Yes, and it's awfully convenient that I *can't* explain," Clark added. He stopped suddenly and clapped himself on the head. "Oh, how stupid am I? He's obviously still working for Tempus." Martha gasped. "Then you have to stop him!" "What am I supposed to say?" Clark cried out. "My own wife doesn't even want to talk to me!" Jonathan got up and turned his son to face him. "Clark, now you listen to me," he said very firmly. "You need to get back to Metropolis, talk to Lois and straighten this whole mess out!" Clark shook his head. "Which brings us right back to - how do I make her listen to me?" Martha, staring at the TV, nodded thoughtfully. "She has made her feelings very clear... she doesn't want to talk to 'Clark'..." She paused as the footage of Superman exiting the school with gunman in tow played again. "Right..." Clark agreed, unsure of where she was going with this. Martha grinned. "But what if she *had* to talk to Superman?" Clark and Jonathan just stared at her. **** The Daily Planet newsroom was abuzz with activity. It was late, and everyone was trying to gather as much Superman information as possible for the morning edition. Jimmy Olsen was frantically typing at his computer. Before she left, Lois had half-heartedly turned in a story on the Superman rescue, but Perry thought it lacked a few details. Rather than call Lois back in (which his instincts told him would be a very BAD idea), he was allowing Jimmy, the only other witness on staff, to add what he could before he himself finished it off. Now, however, there were bigger fish to fry. He and Lois had been in meetings all day with the legal department regarding the lawsuit filed by Tom Crawford. Besides, he was not going to let Crawford get away with casting aspersions on Superman. Not by a long shot. Perry opened his office door. "Jimmy!!!" Before the syllables were out of his mouth, Jimmy was in his office, breathless. "Yeah, Chief?" "Jimmy, I want you to go through our photo files and pull 10 or 15 good photos of Superman making a dramatic rescue, saving somebody, or performing a great feat..." Jimmy nodded, seeing where Perry was going with this. "Yeah, Chief, I get it." A furious Perry barely heard him. "...I don't care what Crawford says - that sleaze bag is not going to destroy Superman's reputation!! Not as long as I'm alive and kicking and *RUNNING THIS NEWSPAPER*!!" Jimmy nodded once again, and, mindful of his own safety, took the first opportunity to flee. Perry went over to his desk. Still steaming, he began angrily shuffling through papers. Most of them scattered on the floor when Superman landed. "What the -" Perry glanced up and was startled to see Superman stepping through his window. He usually used the door. "Sorry, Mr. White," Superman greeted him, indicating the strewn papers. "What? Oh, never mind that, son. Are you all right? I mean -" Superman held up a hand. "Yes, thank you. Well, at least I will be - with your help." "Of course! Anything you need! What can I do?" Superman fixed his gaze on the older man. "I need to tell my story, Mr. White. I'd like to tell it to the Daily Planet, because I know you'll be fair." Perry's heart leapt. He knew this day had to end better than it began. "I pride myself on always telling all sides of the story," he said confidently. Superman nodded. "I'm counting on it, Mr. White. There's just one thing." "Oh?" Perry asked, nervously. "I want Lois Lane to write the story." Perry grinned, relieved. "Superman, I think that can be arranged." The two men shook hands, each privately delighted with their coup. ***** Early the next morning, Lois Lane stepped off the elevator into the Daily Planet newsroom, looking as though she could chew nails. Most employees, already exhausted from working until all hours on Superman's return, made the extra effort to steer clear of her. As she headed towards her desk, she stopped at the coffee machine to pour herself a cup of decaf, as she gave a longing glance toward the regular. "What I wouldn't give for a little caffeine this morning..." she muttered, stirring in some milk. Sighing, she patted her stomach. "Don't worry, little one," she whispered reassuringly. "There will be plenty of time for caffeine addiction later - I promise." Raising the cup to her lips, she was seconds from taking a sip when Perry exited his office and spied her. "Lois!" he shouted. "In my office! Now!" Lois sighed and turned to look at him. In his eager state, he ignored the obvious "don't mess with me" signals Lois was sending out and waved her towards him. Lois put her coffee down and took off her coat, throwing it and her briefcase in the general area of her desk. The briefcase made it, but the coat ended up on the floor. Jimmy silently came by and picked it up. Lois ignored the whole thing and took her coffee to Perry's office. "Yes, Perry?" she said, trying to maintain her calm as she entered. Calm was not in the air, though. Perry was so excited he could barely breathe as he turned to her, waving his hands in the air. "Where have you been, Lois? We've got a paper to save! And you're just the woman to do it. Wait until you hear the assignment I have for you!" "Oh, that's... great, Perry," Lois answered, trying unsuccessfully to drum up some enthusiasm. Perry stared at her. "Did I forget to mention that we're trying to save the Daily Planet from bankruptcy sometime this century, Lois?" "Yes, Chief. In fact, yesterday alone, several times." "Well, since the Crawford story is the crown jewel in the middle of this whole mess -" "Chief, there was no evidence to pull the story except the word of Bobby Bigmouth. We talked about this!" "Lois! I don't think I'm asking too much if I could have your undivided attention!" "Right," Lois said, trying to focus. "You've got a... story for me." Perry stopped for a moment and sat down on the side of his desk. "Look, honey," he said quietly, and not without concern. "I know things haven't been easy for you the last couple weeks. I'm not even sure how you're managing to get up and come to work. Now, I don't know exactly what's happening between you and Clark," he held up his hands as Lois started to respond, "and quite frankly, I don't want to know. But I'm not going to just stand by and let everything in your life go down the tubes. The Lois Lane I know carries on - no matter what the odds. The Lois Lane I know doesn't just accept her fate without a fight!" Lois just stared at him. She was so tired of this. Perry had no idea what was going on and she was so tempted to just tell him - to pour her heart out and have him comfort her. But she also knew she couldn't do that, so she just stirred her coffee again and tried to think of something to say to reassure him. But Perry was still talking. "I know exactly what will put some color back in those cheeks, though! Picture it, Lois: The biggest story we've had hit Metropolis in weeks. And the story that may just yank us off death's doorstep." Lois put her coffee down. "Chief, even the 'Elvis Sighted at Club Med' story didn't get this kind of buildup. What's up?" Perry just smiled at her. "Superman. That's what's up." Lois felt as though she'd had the wind knocked out of her. "Way up," Perry exclaimed, jumping up from his desk and indicating the windows. "High above the Metropolis skyline, no doubt, now that he's back in town." "Uh-huh," Lois muttered. "And now that he's back," Perry continued, his excitement building, if that were even possible, "every reporter and news outlet in Metropolis - heck, the *country* - would practically sell themselves out to get the lowdown on where he's been for nearly two weeks. And yet..." he paused for dramatic effect, something Lois would have found incredibly annoying if she didn't have a feeling of doom about to descend, "only *one* paper will get the exclusive interview with Superman himself - The Daily Planet." He finished with a flourish, expecting bells and whistles or somesuch, but Lois was just desperately trying to keep her breakfast down. She nodded briefly, thinking "I can do this," but the only thing she could say was, "What?" "Specifically, Lois Lane." "*What?!*" Perry clapped his hands together with what only could be described as glee as Lois stared at him, her eyes wide. "Superman came here himself, last night," he informed her. "He offered - *offered* - us the interview. Said he wanted his story to be told as only the Daily Planet could tell it. And only if you wrote it." "Oh, I bet he did." Lois was growing angrier by the moment and Perry, finally taking note of this, was confused. "Good Lord, Lois, what's your problem? You're the only reporter on the face of the planet whose *ever* had an exclusive with Superman..." "Well, there's going to be another, because I'm not doing it." Lois got up and prepared to leave Perry's office. "Oh, no you don't!" Perry crossed the room and blocked her exit before Lois even knew what happened. In all her years at the Planet she had never seen him move so fast. "Lois, this is the only story big enough to even have the *potential* to get the Daily Planet on respectable newsstands again. It's this or we can all kiss our jobs goodbye!" "Perry!" Lois, about to come back with a typical Lois response, suddenly stopped, the strength leaving her. "I'm sorry, Perry... I can't. I just... I can't." Perry gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Lois, *I'm* sorry. I truly am. But this is not open for discussion. Superman promised the Daily Planet an exclusive interview. The one and only catch is that it has to be with you. Now, I know you're having a rough time, but so is the Daily Planet... and we both know why," he added and Lois was annoyed at the implication. She stood behind her story, but she was also aware that this lawsuit was going to mean big trouble for the Planet and she also knew how worried Perry was about it. Burying her face in her hands, trying to figure out the right thing to do, she was startled to hear her own voice saying, "Ok, Perry, I'll do it." "Great!" Perry boomed before Lois could even think about taking it back. "The two of you can just sit down someplace quiet and..." "No!" Lois said quickly. Perry looked at her in shock. "I mean," she said, trying to think fast, "It's such a nice day... maybe we could meet in the park?" Anywhere in public. Anywhere she wouldn't have to be... alone with him. "Park, great," Perry said. "Superman said he would call me this morning to make sure the details were worked out." "Fine," Lois said, "tell him I'll meet him there in an hour." She raised her eyebrows at Perry, indicating the door he was still blocking. He backed out of her way and she left, slamming the door behind her and heading to the ladies room where she could cry in private. **** One hour and five minutes later, Lois was seated on a bench in Centennial Park, staring intently at her watch. "He has 15 minutes to show up," she told herself, tapping her foot. "And then..." And then what? If he was late, it probably meant he was saving someone from some horrible crisis and Perry would just send her back to do this again... How could Clark do this to her? It was so unfair to trap her this way... And yet she remembered the look on his face the previous evening when she had slammed the door in his face. It had almost broken her heart - Her thoughts were interrupted by the whooshing sound of Superman landing beside her. "Hi," he said, sitting down next to her. For a man who made his living with words... "Hi," she answered, with a pointed glance at her watch. "Sorry I'm a little late," he apologized. "I... actually, I wasn't sure you'd come." "Perry gave me an assignment and I'm here," Lois replied. Two could play at this game. She switched on her tape recorder. "Superman, the first question I have is an obvious one. Can you tell me where you've been for the last couple weeks?" Clark looked at her sadly. "No, Lois." "I see," Lois said curtly, making a note on her notepad. "Tell me, Superman, what kind of questions were you expecting at this interview?" "Lois," Clark said very quietly, "stop this. Please turn the tape recorder off." "This is an interview, Cl - Superman," Lois snapped. "And if you're not prepared to give one, I've got a job to get back to at the Daily Planet. While there still *is* a Daily Planet. Not that you've been around to know anything about that." Clark reached over and shut the tape recorder off. Lois looked at him angrily and began to gather up her things. "I know more than you might think, Lois. I know about Tom Crawford's lawsuit, and more than that, I know what's behind it. Lois," he reached out a hand to stop her from getting up and though she pulled away from him, she stayed, "I was trapped in a time vortex by Tempus. I only escaped yesterday." Lois just stared at him, and he laughed. "God, that sounds stupid! This whole thing is stupid!" He buried his head in his hands for a moment and then lifted his eyes to hers. "Lois, the only reason I asked Perry for this interview was so that I could look into your eyes and tell you the truth. Even if you wouldn't listen to me, I couldn't live knowing that you thought I'd walked out on you. Lois... it's all such a mistake." Lois still didn't respond and he sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do," he admitted. "I can't tell people, except you of course, the truth. I mean, really who's going to believe me?" "Who indeed?" Lois asked quietly. Clark stood up and looked at her. "You think I don't know what people are saying about me? How they feel I 'left' with no warning - nothing? And I can't tell them the truth! Lois," he sat down beside her again and took her hand in his, "you're the only one I can tell this to, who will believe me, who can help me. Lois, Tom Crawford is a dangerous man. He's working for Tempus." ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 18:42:31 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Leanne Shawler (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Episode 15 (part 1 of 5) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" "Lois? Lois, can you hear me?" Lois searched desperately through the inky blackness, straining to hear her husband's fading voice. "Clark? Clark, where are you?" "Lois..." She was barely able to hear him, and then he was gone. "*Clark?!*" But there was no response, and she realized she was lost in the darkness and she tried to scream, but now her voice was gone too... With a cry of terror, Lois shot up in bed, drenched in sweat and shaking. With a trembling hand, she reached for the lamp on the bedside table. Blinking at the sudden invasion of light, she looked over at the empty space beside her, still unable to believe it. She gave a short, bitter laugh at her own stupidity. Of course he hadn't come back. Why would he? She turned the light off again, but knowing from experience that there would be no sleep now, she got up and pulled the comforter off the bed. Wrapping it around her, she settled in the chair next to the window, staring out at the moon and the stars, slowly rocking back and forth. Time Vortex Clark sat cross-legged in the middle of the dirt road. He couldn't remember ever being this hot in his entire life. His throat was so dry he could barely swallow and sweat ran down his back in rivers. Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, he stood up, and, shading his eyes from the sun, looked down the road in search of shade or water or... something. There was nothing, though. He knew there was nothing. He had walked up and down the road until his legs gave out from exhaustion (something else he wasn't used to). But the road didn't go anywhere. "Just your typical time vortex road," he muttered to himself. In frustration, he kicked a rock in the road and then began to run across the field. He didn't really expect to get anywhere; in retrospect, he didn't know *what* he was expecting. He didn't expect what happened. He ran into the side of the vortex. At first he wasn't sure what had happened - one minute he was running, the next, the wind was knocked out of him and he was lying on the ground, dazed and bruised. Shaking his head to clear it, he got to his feet and looked around. There was still nothing to see, but when he reached out, it felt as though there were a glass wall in front of him. He tapped it first, lightly, then harder, then pounded on it. Summoning up all his remaining strength, he tried to break through the wall, succeeding only in bruising his knuckles and his ego. Frustrated now, and feeling the panic rise within him again, he began beating on the wall, slamming his fists into it again and again, until he sank to the ground, breathless and gasping. The sun beat down on him as he lay in the field, defeated and dying... EPISODE 15 - SECOND TIME AROUND By Cindy (and world-famous incognito co-writer) Metropolis - Present Day Tom Crawford's office was decorated as though an office party were in progress. Pizza boxes and soda bottles littered the top of his desk and music played low in the background. A celebration was definitely underway. The only party attendees, however, were Crawford and Tempus. Tempus had his feet up on Crawford's desk, and was contentedly munching on a thick slice of pepperoni pizza. Crawford stood in the middle of the room, absently chewing on a piece of pepperoni and looking decidedly uncomfortable. Tempus sighed, finishing up his slice. "Who knew that tiny, thin, round pieces of fat-laden pork could ever taste so good?" "Yea, right," Crawford muttered. If Tempus noticed Crawford's lack of enthusiasm, he ignored it. "And as we sit here, in the quiet serenity of this office dining on double pepperoni and extra cheese," he continued, "Superman has nothing better to do than start harvesting the crops in the infinite field I left him in, one stalk at a time. Perry White is on his third bottle of antacid trying to figure out how The Daily Planet is going to survive the lawsuit you filed this morning. Too bad they didn't find enough reason to pull the story, even after Lois was warned. And as for Lois..." He paused and grinned at Crawford. "I'll hazard a little guess and say that she's either crying her eyes out or having the locks changed." He laughed sardonically. Crawford looked at him. "Pretty clever how you worked it all out, I guess." "You guess?" Tempus stared at him in amazement. "Tom, don't you realize what this means? I can do *anything!* Anything! After all the years I've spend scheming and manipulating to destroy Lane and Kent, only to have every single one of my brilliant plans destroyed by that sanctimonious overly endowed do-gooder Superman... this is the triumph that could only come once in a lifetime! Or in my case, several lifetimes. The point is, this is the perfect end to the perfect day." He reached for another slice of pizza in sheer delight. Crawford began to look nauseated. "So now what?" he demanded, crossing back to the desk and flopping down in his chair. Tempus pondered that for a moment, putting down his pizza. "Now there's an interesting question. I haven't really thought about it. Ordinarily, a power-hungry, psychotic and sadistic villain such as myself would proceed to take over the world. But that's just been done to death, don't you think?" "Uh, I guess..." Crawford looked unsure. "No," Tempus decided, "this time, I think I'm going to do what every other man deserves to do after instigating the ultimate in diabolical crime: Sit back, relax, and take a few weeks off to sadistically replay the entire sequence of events over and over in my mind before I plan my next move." Happily, he reached for his pizza again, his eyes falling on Crawford, who was morosely nursing a can of diet cola. "Why Tom," Tempus exclaimed, reaching for a napkin, "I say, my boy, aren't you feeling well? I warned you about drinking all that carbonated liquid so close to your naptime." "I'm fine," Crawford muttered, looking anything but. "Tom! This is the biggest day of my entire life! Have another piece of pizza." Crawford set his drink down on the desk. "No, thanks. I think you're right about the carbonation. I'm feeling a little queasy. In fact," he rose quickly, "I think I'll head home." Tempus quickly swallowed the bite of pizza he was chewing and stood up himself. "Leaving my victory party early? Now, you know how I deplore a party pooper!" Sighing heavily, he pulled a gun from the inside of his jacket and aimed it at Crawford. "It's a shame. I did sincerely hope it wouldn't come to this." Terrified, Crawford swallowed and backed away slightly, well aware that the only thing behind him was a window with a 17 story drop behind that. "Come to what?" he managed. "The pathetic necessity to threaten you with bodily harm unless you do exactly as I say," Tempus replied darkly. "Now sit down." Crawford quickly seated himself in the nearest available chair. "See Tom," Tempus continued, moving closer to him, "for all I know, you're just going to walk out of this office and follow that silly, nagging instinct you're feeling that's telling you to head for the hills, get the heck out of Dodge, wave hasta la vista!" Smiling, he reseated himself opposite Crawford. "I'm afraid that simply isn't acceptable. Now that you've brought suit against the Daily Planet, which we've already acknowledged to be a pertinent part of my plan, I'm afraid you're going to have to stick with me just a little while longer. You being the key witness in the case and all." He cocked the gun and Crawford froze. "Got it, Tom?" Crawford nodded slowly. Tempus grinned. "Super." Time Vortex Clark opened his eyes and was surprised to find he was still alive. He moved slightly and since he wasn't dead, he decided to sit up. It had gotten so hot inside the vortex that the simple act of sitting up caused him to gasp for breath. He put his hand on the ground expecting to feel intense heat from the earth, but was surprised that while the ground felt warm, there was none of the blistering heat he expected. And then he realized why it was so warm. Why he was having such difficulty breathing. He was running out of air. He didn't even have the energy to panic now; it was all being spent in gasping for air. He lay back down and took off his glasses to rub his eyes. He had never felt as helpless in his life and he thought of Lois. Where was she? What was she doing? And what was she thinking? His thoughts were interrupted by the smell of smoke and he jumped up as he saw that the sun's reflection through the lenses of his glasses had ignited the dry grass. Moving quickly, knowing the fire would eat up the last of his oxygen, he stamped out the small flame and snatched up the glasses. As he examined them, an idea occurred to him, and he angled the glasses slightly. The sun's reflection caught and he aimed it towards the glass "wall" of the vortex. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the wall began to bubble and melt away. Clark cried out with joy, laughing to himself, "Superpowers are highly overrated!" The hole in the wall grew bigger, a vacuum effect formed, and before Clark knew it, he was being sucked out of the vortex, and disappearing, somewhere between space and time... Metropolis - Present Day From nowhere, as if suddenly awakened from a deep sleep, Clark found himself in Centennial Park, sitting on a bench. As a matter of fact, it was exactly the same bench he had been sitting on the night H.G. Wells had found him. On first glance, it appeared that nothing had changed. Everything was as it had been, except that it appeared to be day now. Afternoon, by what Clark could see, looking at the nearby people finishing their lunches around him. Confused, wondering what day it was, he picked up a copy of the Daily Planet lying next to him on the bench... and froze. "No... it can't be," he murmured, looking at the date. Ten days had passed. Ten days since he had stormed out of their house after a ridiculous argument that never should have happened. Ten days since H.G. Wells had appeared to show him how wrong he had been... and how much danger Lois was in. "Lois..." Clark flung down the paper, and jumped up, now anxious to find his wife and explain. Apologize. Warn her... Almost before he had time to move, he heard a cry for help so loud he clapped his hands over his ears. It took only a moment for the initial shock to wear off and for him to realize what was going on. His superpowers were back. "What a difference a day makes," he muttered. The cries got louder. There were children involved. He was gone in a swirl of leaves and papers. **** Metropolis South Elementary School was usually a well-maintained building, set apart from the rest of the city, adjoining a safe, fenced-in playground. Many of Metropolis' natives who had attended the school regarded it as one of their alma maters, as much as the nearby high school. Today, however, the school was surrounded by SWAT teams and members of the press, both electronic and print. The Daily Planet was represented, naturally; in this case, by Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. Lynn James, from LNN News, was broadcasting from as close to the front doors as she could possibly get without being arrested. "We're coming to you live from Metropolis Elementary School, where an armed gunman has taken a classroom full of schoolchildren hostage, along with their teacher. The rest of the school has been safely evacuated. Negotiations are at a standstill, though, and authorities are fearing the worst. It seems..." "Look! Up in the sky!" came a cry from behind her. All eyes turned upward as Superman approached and landed, heading straight for the chief negotiator. Lynn James was thrilled. This was her second Superman scoop in two weeks. It didn't get better than this. "Superman has just arrived on the scene!" she announced to the camera. "As you may know, Superman has not been seen anywhere for ten days! No one knows where he has been or why he's been gone, but I repeat! Superman is here!" "Lois! It's Superman! He's back! Isn't that great?!" Jimmy, puzzled by Lois' seeming non-reaction, began frantically snapping photos. In fact, Lois was standing still, the shock of seeing her husband rendering her temporarily speechless. Relief flooded through her as she fought to catch her breath. He was alive! She had been so afraid... But then where had he been all this time while she worried, while she agonized over his whereabouts? She didn't know whether to scream, cry or hug him, so she simply stood there, watching him fly through the window of the school and appear seconds later holding the gunman by the collar. Superman deposited the gunman with the cops, who hauled him away. Turning around then, he started towards Lois, a route which unfortunately took him into the press area where he was immediately swarmed by anxious reporters. "Superman! Lynn James, LNN News! Can you tell us where you've been?" "Superman! Tom Karron, Metroline! Can I get a quote from you?" Though he tried, the Man of Steel was still no match for hungry reporters and he stood, helplessly surrounded, as he met Lois' gaze. She looked at him for a long moment and though he tried, even x-ray vision could not help him read what was behind those dark eyes. "Superman!" "Superman!" He turned for a brief second to one of the reporters and when he looked up again, she was gone. **** Much later, Clark landed near 348 Hyperion Avenue and was straightening his tie by the time he climbed the stairs up to the townhouse. He tried the door, which was locked, and looked up at the second floor windows. No lights. Lois was clearly not home. Shrugging, he reached for his keys, but found his pocket empty. "No keys," he muttered, thinking. "Did I leave them in my other jacket... or did I lose them being sucked out of a time vortex?" He looked both ways, then up again at the windows. "No," he decided, "better not." He remembered Lois leaving a key once or twice in the flowerpot (or was it under the flowerpot?) and he was looking "through" things when he first heard her footsteps. She wasn't close enough to have noticed him yet, and she wasn't paying attention either, as she dug in her purse to find her own keys. She looked up at last as she began climbing the stairs, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Clark at the top. "Oh, look who's here," she said finally, climbing up the rest of the way. "Lois -" "Don't. I mean it." She put her key in the door and as she did, Clark reached out and covered her hand with his. Startled at the unexpected contact, she turned slowly to face him. "Oh, god, Clark..." Now that she was here, finally, right in front of him, Clark found himself almost unable to speak. "I just... I came back as soon as I could..." he tried. Lois, crying softly, turned away from him. "I can't do this," she said quietly. Clark realized he was losing ground. "Lois, I had to see you! We need to talk! I need to explain -" Lois seemed to regain control and went back to trying to unlock the door. "Yeah, an explanation. That would be..." She stopped and glanced up at him, helplessly. "I tried to get to you before," Clark continued, quickly, "but there were too many people around, so I just came home. But I couldn't find my keys..." Lois finally got the door unlocked and turned around to face Clark again as she opened it and stepped inside. "It wouldn't have mattered, even if you had them," she said firmly. "I changed the locks." She slammed the door in his face then as he just stood there, stunned. **** Tempus and Tom Crawford stood in front of the TV set in Crawford's office, watching Lynn James' report on LNN News. "...Superman was not forthcoming about his activities during the nearly two weeks he was gone, but I think it's safe to say that all of Metropolis is glad to have him back..." In a fury, Tempus swept the contents of Crawford's desk onto the floor. Crawford jumped, dropping the remote control, which shut off the TV. Tempus didn't even notice. "Not *all* of Metropolis!! Damn!! What is it going to take to rid this world - or any world! - of that red-booted-cape-wearing boy scout?!" Crawford couldn't help smirking, just a little bit. "It seems Metropolis is not in agreement with you." "Well, Metropolis doesn't know what *I* know," Tempus muttered in frustration. As if hearing his own words, he stopped and slowly turned to stare at Crawford. "Tom - I'm impressed. Every so often a small streak of clarity shows through." Crawford stared at him uneasily. "What?" Tempus began to pace the perimeter of the office. "I think the people of Metropolis - of the world! - need to be informed. They need to know that Superman is going to be responsible for the downfall of the future!" Crawford sighed. He knew he hadn't been up on Tempus' whole plan from the beginning, but he was now completely lost. "What are you talking about?" Tempus, nodding to himself, didn't seem to hear him. "Yes, yes that's it! Only you can't explain that to them - they won't understand." "*They* won't? And what do you mean *me?*" Leaning towards him excitedly, on a roll, Tempus replied, "You're a city councilman, Tom. It's your job - your *duty* - to protect the people of Metropolis against evil!" "Evil? Superman?!" Crawford stared at him in horror. "Wait a minute - you want to turn Metropolis against Superman?!" "No, no, not at all," Tempus shook his head and smiled at Crawford, who could see that he was, nevertheless, deadly serious, for once. "I want *you* to turn Metropolis against Superman. To expose him as the menace to society that he is." **** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 19:09:57 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: Continuity & Soul Mates In-Reply-To: <4a1965be.350c8964@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > >This is in response to your email. I am very proud to tell you that, YES, >the SoulMates Chronicles has gotten off to a good start. As of this date >three SoulMates have been written. The first is called SoulMates Chronicles: >The Falcon. >The second is called SoulMates Chronicles: The Sea Hawk and the last is called >SoulMates Chronicles: The Lone Rider. > Confession time: I haven't had a chance to read any of the SoulMates Chronicles (who me, have time? *grin*) but it's a concept that's also interested me too. (In fact, I went and wrote one just last week for the Buffyverse). So what era are the three current ones set in? The first is medieval, right? (Georgia, I do hope you corrected all that hollywood medieval nonsense!) and the last is the Western one ... need help on getting the second. I have a sense of maritime/piracy, but I ain't sure. Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Keeper of Giles' Sheets http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/ Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 22:22:34 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Lansbury 1 Subject: Re: Continuity & Soul Mates Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-15 22:11:46 EST, you write: << So what era are the three current ones set in? >> SoulMates Chronicles: The Falcon--- is set in Itlaly, 16th century, the Renaissance. SoulMates Chronicles: The Sea Hawk---is set in Cuba, 18th century. SoulMates Chronicles: The Lone Rider--is set in Texas, 19th century. If anyone has more questions, I will be glad to answer them. Annie Lansbury1@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 22:35:00 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Larus2407 Subject: Re: Continuity & Soul Mates Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-15 21:08:05 EST, you write: << I hope to see many more SoulMates Chronicles in the future. They are fun to do and very interesting to read. >> Yes, Annie, and I'm wondering when THe SeaHawk and The Lone Rider will be posted to this list... --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 22:43:56 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Lansbury 1 Subject: Re: Continuity & Soul Mates Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-15 22:36:16 EST, you write: << Yes, Annie, and I'm wondering when THe SeaHawk and The Lone Rider will be posted to this list... --Laurie >> Both The Sea Hawk and The Lone Rider are going through the editing and touch-up stages now. They should be ready for the list in the near future. Annie ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 21:51:53 PST 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: Re: List Humor: Addicted to IRC In-Reply-To: <64e20cb9.350c87c6@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > And Peace I loved your last little short story. It was great having Sup= erman > say that he was Clark. I just love a good Revelation Story. =3D) Thanks! Peace ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Have you voted yet in the L&C Fanfic Kerth Awards? = ~ ~ http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137/kerth_ballot.html = ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 04:43:00 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Zoomway Subject: Re: Continuity & Soul Mates Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-15 18:11:55 EST, blatham@HOP-UKY.CAMPUS.MCI.NET writes: << Continuity in that respect just ain't gonna happen for me. And, you know, I'm not sure but I think trying to make it happen might fry my brain. >> That's true, I'll admit staying within the show's established continuity is more difficult than just inventing continuity, but for me, if I stray often from the show's continuity, then it becomes a different show entirely. Lois and Clark: The Redefined Continuity Sometimes too the show's canon; certain established facts (Lois loves chocolate, Clark wrote an article about knob-tailed geckos, etc) gets confused with continuity; string of chartable events (Clark comes to Metropolis, meets Lois Lane, gets hired by doing the mood piece Lois wasn't in the mood for, etc) Continuity can also be canon, but not necessarily. That is, we know Lois agreed to go out on a date with Clark in Individual Responsibility. That's canon and continuity, but the date itself, what happened, where they went, what they did, isn't canon, just that they agreed to have a date is. Sometimes too, strories that were speculative when written 'way back when' seem out of continuity now, but weren't intended to be originally. There were a zillion revelation stories prior to We Have a Lot to Talk About, for example. Most of my older stories are out of continuity *now* but weren't when I wrote them. I wrote them when the series was still happening, and so certain directions were still possible, but didn't conflict with the continuity up to that time. Lois and Clark offers so many ways around continuity if you really don't want to do continuity, you can go that route. We did that round robin about Mxyzptlk making Lois go back to the pilot episode era and we did a smash and grab on continuity, but with the understanding that Mxy would put everything back as it had been if Lois succeeded. It was fun, it was a mixed bag of continuity and rewrite of history, but all temporary. There are also 'Elseworld' stories. A term/title that comes from the comic books. It's a story written that can go as far afield of continuity as you'd like, but is meant for that purpose. There's also starting off from the conclusion of 4th season. Anything you write from the ending episode forward is your own canon and continuity, it doesn't matter. It's also fun to stick in your own motivation for why a character did what he/she did if the series never covered that aspect. Then there's always time travel and alternate dimensions ;) Mainly I stay with continuity, no matter how difficult, because all of it is what I fell in love with; the good the bad and the other I'm not saying it can't be gratifying to rewrite an episode you didn't like the ending to and have it come out as you'd prefer, but I find it more gratifying to take continuity and canon as it stands, but put a spin on it that leaves it in tact, but lessens whatever the unpleasant aspect was. "What if" is how most stories start, but it doesn't mean if you say "what if Clark was blind in 3rd season when Lois was in on the secret" that you have to 'rewrite' continuity to achieve that 'what if' scenario. With Lois and Clark having elements of science fiction and fantasy, the options to circumvent continuity, without destroying it, is pretty vast. If there was a cosmic eraser, then I'd be tempted to erase some things I did in my life and do them differently, but even the mistakes (and I make tons of them ;) define me, and so I don't play the 'woulda-coulda-shoulda' game much. >>>No, that isn't actually the one I'd want to do. At least, I don't think so. I'm still pondering that. But I am wondering if this project ever got off the ground and if so what the rules are? I'm getting . . . more than interested. Not that I have time to be interested. Still, what eras have already been used in stories? Can they be put anywhere in the world? Or the universe? Past, present or future? <<<<< Well, if you mean the Soulmates Chronicles, as far as I know, it's only been done as round robin fanfics on IRC. We actually do research for them In a Lone Rider installment, Clark is Jefferson Higheagle who was born out West but when his parents died, he was raised and educated in Boston by his mother's parents. Lois (LuLu) quips "An ivy league Indian?" and that had to be scrapped since the story was taking place in the 1880s and 'ivy league' didn't come into use until the 1930s. We had to guestimate the era from the episode. They had the peacemaker Colt revolver, so that meant after 1873 and they had George Eastman apparently taking the photo and he didn't develope the dry plate for photography until 1880. Okay, so we might go overboard, but it's kind of educational (did I say *might*? ;) Basically though, as far as any 'rules' for the Chronicles, we follow pretty much what the episode established; re: where ever Clark's soul is, Lois's is, and that Clark's character has a secret identity. Even this isn't necessarily a hard and fast rule since one impromptu soulmate story had Lois's character with the secret identity and it definitely wasn't a researched story. I have no idea how it turned out, I only wrote a couple of lines for it since I was also in #nfic and that was grabbing my attention Zoomway@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 07:42:40 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: GWalden Subject: Re: Continuity & Soul Mates Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-15 22:11:33 EST, Leanne writes: << So what era are the three current ones set in? The first is medieval, right? (Georgia, I do hope you corrected all that hollywood medieval nonsense!) >> Sorry, Leanne, you'll just have to suck up that Hollywood medieval nonsense. ;) None of the stories I've been involved with used the medieval setting except to accept the events of the original Soul Mates episode as canon, and use them as a jumping off point. You might enjoy Philip Atcliffe's sequel to that incident, though. He wrote it long before the SoulMates Chronicles idea was even a gleam in Annie's eye, and it has no connection to this project at all, but for those interested in what happened to the real Sir Charles and Lady Loisette, give it a try. I make no claims at historical expertise in any time period - I just try to double check obvious bits of data. The real pitfalls in writing historical fiction are the stuff it never occurs to you to check - the things you take so for granted that you forget they weren't always around. Anyone who reads the Soul Mates stories expecting deep understanding of the period background is bound to be disappointed, though Zoom did a fabulous job of researching and using what she learned in an imaginative way. The writers mainly wanted to express that romantic notion of Lois and Clark finding each other no matter what the circumstances, and I think they did a great job. Bev asked: <> So far, just as in Soul Mates, Clark's soul has been born into an Earth body, so no super *powers* - but a hero's soul doesn't need them, does it? :) And on the matter of just when and where things have taken place, I've put together a time line describing what I think is the correct order of events, based on what we saw or has been written to date (but I don't have the Sea Hawk either, Annie - I wasn't involved in that one - so if you want me to plug it into the time line, could you send me a copy?) This was mostly for my own use, to clarify my ideas about *all* the time travel episodes and Wells' involvement in them and is subject to correction by anyone interested enough to think about it. If you'd like a copy, let me know privately. Georgia GWalden@aol.com or gwalde14@mindspring.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 21:44:09 +0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "" Subject: Re: unsubscribe Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 11:07:13 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JCWimmer Subject: Re: Continuity & Soul Mates Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-16 07:43:22 EST, Georgia writes: << (but I don't have the Sea Hawk either, Annie - I wasn't involved in that one - so if you want me to plug it into the time line, could you send me a copy?) >> Me neither, and I love these things. If you get your hands on a copy, can you send it my way please ;) . Thanks! Crystal ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 11:09:37 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: KampmeyerM Subject: Kerth's dress-up Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-14 03:38:20 EST, you write: << Well, Kathy, if you can't find that rope, or the drapery cord that Miss Manners, er, um, Pat ;) requires, you could always just skip the dress and come in Superman's cape... ;) >> Does that come with tassles, or are you going to be non-decorative? Marie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:05:57 -0500 Reply-To: Kassia@concentric.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Tanya Subject: Re: Kerth's dress-up MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey Pam, Leanne et al.... << Well, Kathy, if you can't find that rope, or the drapery cord that Miss Manners, er, um, Pat ;) requires, you could always just skip the dress and come in Superman's cape... ;) Paris calls.... Since so much 'controversy' has come about concerning the fashion for the Kerths, I am willing to volunteer my time as Fashion Consultant. I dress all in Halston, Armani, DKNY, Versace, etc....and, of course, Badgley Mischka. I'll make you all beautiful. We'll do lunch. ;) Laughing-out-loud... Tanya "EmmyRose" ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 15:51:03 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: AMCiotola Subject: Some fic research.... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi, I am looking for some info on Utopia and HG Wells for an idea thats been bouncing around in my head.... I would mostly like some input on what Utopia would be like. If you can help or have an opinion, please email me *privately* at AMCiotola@aol.com Thanks Anne :) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 17:08:31 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: demona Subject: Re: Some fic research.... In-Reply-To: <9808d1ab.350d90b9@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 03:51 PM 3/16/1998 EST, you wrote: >I would mostly like some input on what Utopia >would be like. /me coughs up her cream soda. (I'm still not used to Dr. Pepper yet ;) Anne, I hope you know what you're in for now The concept of Utopia is several years worth of reading, and that's only after you decide whose theory you want to go with! May your mailbox rise to the task at hand, or else may it rest in peace... LOL TC, Demi _________________________________________________ Demi (a.k.a) Demona or http://fantasia.simplenet.com/lcfantasy/demona.htm --- L&C Site http://fantasia.simplenet.com/lcfantasy --- "See, the thing is, I've loved him my whole life..." _________________________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 16:49:45 +0200 Reply-To: osangie@spinach.mscc.huji.ac.il Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Angela H. Garmaise" Subject: new fanfics question Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I was just wondering: do all the new fanfics posted to the archive (the one that Rhen used to run) get posted to the list as well? Just a bit of curiousity, because due to poor internet access, I can't check myself.... Thanks! Angie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 19:00:24 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: demona Subject: Re: new fanfics question Comments: To: loiscla-general-l@indiana.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 04:49 PM 3/16/1998 +0200, you wrote: >I was just wondering: do all the new fanfics posted to the archive (the >one that Rhen used to run) get posted to the list as well? Just a bit >of curiousity, because due to poor internet access, I can't check >myself.... >Thanks! >Angie The archive is currently administrated by myself and KathyB, with generous help from a few dedicated volunteers. In answer to your question, no, the fanfic which is posted to the archive does not get posted to the listserv by us. That's up to individual authors, should they wish to do so. :) We generally update with new stories every Sunday, so check back weekly and you should find all the new stuff for that week up and ready to read. Take Care, Demi __________________________________________ Demi / Demona Archive Coordinator Lois & Clark Fanfic Archive http://www.ixpres.com/chrispat/lcfanfic __________________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 23:38:18 -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: new fanfics question In-Reply-To: <3.0.3.32.19980316190024.00b1d8d0@mail.tor.shaw.wave.ca> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 7:00 PM -0500 3/16/98, demona wrote: >The archive is currently administrated by myself and KathyB, with generous >help from a few dedicated volunteers. In answer to your question, no, the >fanfic which is posted to the archive does not get posted to the listserv >by us. That's up to individual authors, should they wish to do so. :) And, on the flip side, fanfics that are posted to this listserv are not automatically uploaded to the Archive. It's up to the author(s) to send us their stories. We don't take stories that we see here and upload them on our own. :) Just thought I should clarify, since I have been asked this question before. The aforementioned KathyB. ;) _________________________________ Kathy Brown Editor-In-Chief Lois & Clark Fanfic Archive kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC _________________________________ VOTE IN THE L&C FANFIC KERTHS! NOW THROUGH MARCH 20, 1998! OR _________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 23:04:44 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Kerths Ceremony: Request for helpers! Comments: cc: lnc list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all! I'm helping Pam with the Kerth Awards ceremony, and here is a list of positions we need to fill: *DJ: somebody to play the wavs to the channel during the ceremony, and the music during the "commercial breaks" *Emcee and/or co-emcee: it would definitely help if this person(s) was familiar with IRC and OP status. (Or is willing to learn! :) What we'd like to do is moderate #kerth_awards, making it so that only the emcees and ppl who have the floor can speak. This would keep the ceremony chatter out (everyone could still talk in #loiscla) and make the ceremony go much faster. So if someone who knows the OP commands and how to use them would step forward and volunteer for this, it would be greatly appreciated! (or, like I said, would be willing to learn :) *Presenters--ppl are still needed to present the awards for the categories. For information on what exactly this entails, go to Pam's new site and read up on it! It's quick and painless. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/kerth.html *And lastly, we need someone to volunteer to log the whole ceremony, and clean it up for posting on Pam's site (or anyone else's site, too, I guess :) Any takers on these positions??? Please?? (We're not above groveling ) If anyone's interested, just email one of us. Pam's addy is: jernigan@compuserve.com and my email addy is: erink@ida.net Thanks in advance! With your help, we can really make this a fun and exciting event!! Erin :) ___________________ (aka ELK on IRC) erink@ida.net "The truth is, no one knows how long they've got. Anyway, it's not the years that count, it's the moments...right now...as they happen." CK to LL in BY ******* "You bet your sweet little chumpy I am." _________________ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 05:30:36 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: Authenticated sender is From: Doris Schmill Subject: Some online opportunities for writers and writer-wanna-bes In-Reply-To: <3.0.3.32.19980316170831.00b276f0@mail.tor.shaw.wave.ca> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable March 17, 1998 Hi, fellow fanfic writers and readers! Those of you who know me personally know that I have a little quirk about writing and the English language, always trying to learn more. In addition, as an aspiring writer, I want to make sure that the writing I do will be as good as it can possibly be. Thus I have been learning from you guys out there and in addition kept looking for opportunities and resources to keep me and my quirk fed. I have always wanted to take a creative writing class, but never had the chance. Then just the other week, I learned about some FREE opportunities there. I wasn't sure if any of you out there would be interested. If you aren't, I apologize for spamming your mailboxes, but seemed to great an opportunity to not share. With the two free creative writing class, you either join existing study groups, or, if you find four or more likeminded people, form your own if you want to. Wouldn't it be fun if a few of us could take such a class together and maybe even form an L&C fanfic writer's study group? I know *I* would like that. I have not taken any of these classes myself as I have to first find out if I'll be able to obtain the textbooks in time. Thus I cannot say if they are any good, but since they're free, I think it wouldn't hurt to try them. The information I pasted below I took directly from the corresponding websites. The creative writing classes are geared at native speakers as far as I can tell. I have also found a website offering free English as a second language classes at various levels. The url for the creative writing classes is: The website for English as a second language classes can be found at: I hope some of us might profit from this. The Internet surely offers some great opportunities. I'd appreciate if somebody interested in taking a creative writing class could maybe also contact me privately at: dorisschmill@gmx.net Maybe we could really work something out taking a class together. :-) I at least would love that. Thanks for wading through this. ;-) Doris ------------------------------------------------------ Information on classes below (taken from their web sites): I. Free online creative writing classes - 6 free lessons=A0 =A0 Fiction 98: Introduction to Creative Writing is a 6 week class and is intended to for=A0=A0 beginning writers or as a refresher course.=A0 Ficti= on 98 is requires a time investment of two=A0 or more hours a week.=A0 Check the calendar for weekly conference times to chat with an instructor or fellow writers. There is no charge for this class.=A0 I do, however, welcome Contributions and=A0 Volunteers; they help keep this site going and growing..=A0 Fiction 98 Sessions for 1998:=A0 (Actual classes begin in the second week of each session; the first week is to get familiar with the site, meet fellow students and to join study groups.)=A0 Classes start: February 16 April 27 July 1 September 7 November 2 Fiction 401: College level course on the craft of writing fiction and creative writing in general=A0 Live chats every week with an instructor.=A0 Conventional and non conventional techniques of writing fiction=A0 Meet and work with other writers from around the world=A0 Exchange ideas and critiques with fellow writers=A0 Learn how other writers respond to your fiction writing=A0 A chance to experiment=A0 and grow as a writer=A0 Each lesson supported by quotes and stories from the worlds greatest writers ... not just the Western Canon.=A0 Writers' discussion forums to share ideas, find answers and explore the future of literature=A0 Join study groups with like-minded writers: a chance to develop international friendships II. And for English as Second Language writers and/or readers: [Classes at various levels are offered here. You take an online placement test to find the right class for your needs.] What is StudyCom/English for Internet?=A0 StudyCom (of which English for Internet is a part) is an experimental academic research project initiated and overseen by David Winet, a teacher at the University of California at Berkeley (Extension) English Language Program .=A0 The purpose of the project is to explore the educational potential of Internet by offering online instruction by volunteer teachers, on a non-paying basis, to students from all over the world, and then analyzing and codifying the results=A0 in order to better determine:=A0 1)the advantages and disadvantages of online education as compared to traditional in-class education, and=A0 2)the optimal methods for instruction and learning within the online environment. For more information about EFI, contact David Winet, EFI Project Coordinator. =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 at dorisschmill@gmx.net OR dor2302@usa.net OR cschmill@zedat.fu-berlin.de OR schmill@students.go-on.net ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 08:30:06 PST 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: Re: The History of FoLCs and the LISTSERV Comments: To: L&C Listserve MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Cross-posting to both lists -- apologies for the duplication... Debbie Berg wrote: > down.....to recount the history of LOISCLA, or FoLC, or even the fanfic > archive. I would like to suggest an *Honorary* Award to certain > individuals who make the list and all the other amenities associated = with > it possible. I also would like to suggest that perhaps some of the > historical accounts of the list, or FoLCs be written down on a Web site > for someone new to the list to read. I know this is not exactly what Debbie is thinking about, but I'm working on a "Who Are The Nominees" page for the Kerths -- certainly to include a list of stories by each writer, but also to include whatever personal, biographical information each nominee would allow me to put up (and this will be up to each nominee -- I won't post information without an individ= ual's approval). Perhaps other biographical information could also be posted = at that site if someone else wants to write it -- I've got my hands full = at the moment! Nominees, please send me whatever information you would like me to put up at this site. If you sent a note to the list during one of the "who = are we" threads and want me to just use the information from that, that's fine, = I have those, just let me know. If I don't hear from you, all that will = go under your name at the Nominees site will be a list of your stories. (And I'll= try to contact individual nfic writers before even listing their nfic stories, = as I know some are wary of that.) Anyway, I'll post a note to the lists letting people know when this site = is up, which should be in a couple of days, I think. (And can be added to even after it's up as I hear from the nominees.) Peace ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Have you voted yet in the L&C Fanfic Kerth Awards? = ~ ~ http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137/kerth_ballot.html = ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 13:31:28 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JCWimmer Subject: Re: The History of FoLCs and the LISTSERV Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hey fellow FoLCs: << Debbie Berg wrote: > down.....to recount the history of LOISCLA, or FoLC, or even the fanfic > archive. I would like to suggest an *Honorary* Award to certain > individuals who make the list and all the other amenities associated with > it possible. I also would like to suggest that perhaps some of the > historical accounts of the list, or FoLCs be written down on a Web site > for someone new to the list to read. >> I just have to jump in here. This would be a great opportunity to recognize those who have made FoLCdom all that it is. I would love to see Zoom, Rhen, Demi, Kathy, and all the others who have been so instrumental in giving us this special world, both on listserve and IRC, to enjoy. Lets face it, without their dedication, many of us would never have known about L&C. I would have watched it, and then relegated it to the back burner of shows that I loved, but nobody else cared much about. It's hard to stay devoted to a show when your family hates it, and your friends don't care much either. Anyway...the history of this channel, it's listserv, its fanfic, ect. would be terrific to know, and it would give us the opportunity to thank those people properly who have given it to us. Just my opinion. Thanks! Crystal ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 13:53:31 PST 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: Who Are The Nominees? In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The first bit of the "Who Are The Nominees?" page is up. I don't have listings for all the nominees yet, just haven't gotten them all done! There are 89 nominees (!) and I have listings for about 28 -- I'll get the rest done tonight. If you want to see how it looks now, go to: http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137/kerth/kerthnom.htm Nominees, this is your chance to tell us about yourselves! email me privately at peace9@worldnet.att.net. Also, in going through this, I discovered some misspelled names on the ballot. They have been fixed, and I apologize to those nominees whose names were misspelled. Peace ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Have you voted yet in the L&C Fanfic Kerth Awards? = ~ ~ http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137/kerth_ballot.html = ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 15:40:00 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Zoomway Subject: Re: The History of FoLCs and the LISTSERV Comments: cc: LOISCLA@vm.ege.edu.tr Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-17 13:32:24 EST, you write: << Anyway...the history of this channel, it's listserv, its fanfic, ect. would be terrific to know, and it would give us the opportunity to thank those people properly who have given it to us. Just my opinion. >> I can give you a brief history of each, and those who were more involved with specifics in each category can fill in details. LOISCLA the 'listserv' was started by Tara O'Shea and a friend of hers during Lois and Clark's first season, but close to the end of the season (in the Spring I think) I do remember the season finale being discussed and people speculating that Lex wasn't really dead, or someone was going to clone him since his body was stolen, etc. Believe it or not, I didn't 'inherit' the list until 3rd season, around November in fact. This does lead to how the fanfic list got started though. Someone wrote a post to LOISCLA early 2nd season asking if there was a way fanfic could be posted to the list. We had low traffic in those days since it was before the romance. Tara said she didn't want to run afoul of WB by putting fanfic on the list. Copyright infringement and all that. So, I opened my big yap and said that I'd send out fanfic from my AOL account. That was stupid! At that time I could only send out about 25 mass e-mails and I seriously underestimated the interest in fanfic. Gail Lefkowitz offered to help since her e-mailer could send out 100 mass e-mails, but even with both of us working on it, it was just too overwhelming. Then someone opened a majordomo account, I think. Then it went to something else, and by this time Rhen was running the fanfic list. Rhen did a great job of running it, and I should say she worked a lot harder than I had in the old days, because she wanted the fanfic to be edited for spelling and grammar errors and formatted so it was easier to read. Then she got more involved in her kids school activities (her boys are so cute! ;) that she had to finally let go of the list. I think that brings us up current with Farah starting this fanfic list ;) #loiscla the IRC channel, believe it or not, I have no idea who opened that one. In the beginning, it was #loisnclark, but spammers kept joining and causing trouble, and so #loiscla, the same name as the listserv made it more ambiguous a name for 'outsiders' but very familiar to the rest of us. #loiscla had been on EFnet. It moved to Undernet sometime during 2nd season I think. Due to something James (ABBA) Esteves did, we had to get a channel bot One neat thing I do remember from the early days, is one folc wrote a Lois and Clark play, and so we all changed our nicks according to what character we were to play in the production. It was live theater, believe me. You're at the mercy of whomever has a nickname first and it's not like Superman is an unknown name ;) On IRC you also have something called 'netsplit' where your server can be so lagged (out of time sync) with other servers, that you literally 'split' away from the channel. I remember someone shouting "We lost Superman!" all you can do is vamp until a 'actor' returns. It was a lot of fun though. Congrats to everyone who cooked up the Kerth Awards, that's definitely the kind of enthusiasm that marked the early days of fandom. If you want to practice working a moderated channel for the awards, that's what we did in order to get the bugs worked out. Just form a practice channel and set to +M for moderated and practice giving winners a +V (for voice) so they can give their acceptance speaches Remember, "taking a chance" is what Lois and Clark is all about. Zoomway@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 14:29:55 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: anyone know the show's font?? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all :) The subject line probably says it all, but in case I've already confused you : I need to know what font is used for the LNC title, credits, etc. Does anyone know? Thanks. Erin :) ___________________ (aka ELK on IRC) erink@ida.net "The truth is, no one knows how long they've got. Anyway, it's not the years that count, it's the moments...right now...as they happen." CK to LL in BY ******* "You bet your sweet little chumpy I am." _________________ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 19:26:58 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: CLASSIC FIC: FMN Redux (2/2) Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 FORGET ME NOT, REDUX (2/2) by Pam Jernigan (75540.2554@compuserve.com) One small job for Superman had turned into three. Clark was glad to have challenges to expend his energies on, problems he was well able to fix. As soon as he could, however, he hurried back to his apartment. Lois wouldn't know why he'd been gone so long, and he wasn't sure what to tell her. He unlocked the door quietly. She wasn't in the living room, and his heart stopped for a moment before churning into overdrive. A quick x-ray scan located her, to his great relief. = He took a moment to make sure he'd stopped shaking, and walked into the bedroom. She was curled up with her head resting on the glass, fast asleep, and looking very uncomfortable. "Lo-is," he murmured softly, indulgently. He recognized her spot - this was where she used to wait for him to come home. = She must have been very tired. The doctor had said that she could use all the rest she could get, but she couldn't stay there all night. = He gently slipped his arms around her, gathering her to his chest. She turned in her sleep and snuggled into his shoulder, making soft noises. He stood stock still for a moment, revelling in her response despite his frustration, and then turned to carry her to the bed, floating over the floor to avoid the possibility of his footsteps waking her. = Clark gently lowered her to the bed, wishing with all his heart he could join her. She moaned a protest when he withdrew his arms. Unable to resist, he leaned forward to kiss her forehead, then settled back on his heels to watch her. He'd spent many hours in the hospital, watching her sleep. She'd never been so beautiful or so tempting as she was now, in his bed. He could only hope she'd be comfortable sleeping in her clothes, because there was no way he trusted himself to remove them. He tiptoed out of the bedroom and turned off all the lights in the apartment. If he could do nothing else, he could still guard her sleep. = *** Lois woke, confused. Why did she feel like she was lying down? She had been sitting up. She stirred, and opened her eyes. Ah, she was in bed - Clark must have carried her. She glanced around the room, which was dimly illuminated by the neon sign on the adjacent building. Where was Clark, anyway? = She rose up on one elbow. "Clark?" Almost before she'd finished calling his name, he was there, standing in the archway. How did he do that? = "I'm here, Lois. Are you okay?" She thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. I had some really strange dreams." He entered the room cautiously. "About?" "You, me, Superman... all mixed up. Clark, I need to ask you something." She gathered up her courage. "You've told me all about work, now tell me about us." "Us?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. He'd expected a question about Superman. That suddenly seemed like it would have been an easier issue to deal with. "Yeah, you know, us." She was blushing, but her voice was steady. She arranged the pillows so that she was sitting up against the headboard, and held out a hand to him. Slowly, reluctantly, he crossed the floor to sit on the edge of the bed. Clark was terribly nervous. He was afraid that she didn't want him, he was afraid that she did. Mostly, he was afraid of saying the wrong thing, or of losing control and kissing her the way he wanted to. "What do you want to know?" His voice was husky. Now that she had him here, she was unsure how to proceed, but she was determined to clear some things up. "How long have we been engaged? How long had we dated before then?" "We were only engaged a few months. And, well, we didn't really "date" much before then - we knew each other, and worked together, but didn't have many real dates." That was interesting, but didn't really tell her what she wanted to know. "But we were in love, right?" He smiled at a happy memory, his teeth flashing in the semi-darkness of the bedroom. "Yeah, we were. And after a while, we even admitted it to each other." Another clue. They'd had a difficult courtship, apparently. = Maybe there were other reasons that they hadn't moved in together. The next question was the most difficult, but she had to know. "Clark," she almost whispered, "were we lovers?" Clark groaned at the images that word evoked. Images from many passionate evenings danced in front of his eyes. He had trouble making his voice work. "No. We kissed... and things... but we'd both decided to wait until we were married before taking the big step." Lois mulled this over. She wasn't quite surprised, but she still didn't understand. She looked away from Clark, glad for the darkened room. "Why?" she asked softly. "Why did we want to wait?" Clark kneaded his hands on his thighs, keeping himself on a tight leash. He swallowed again. "There were a couple of reasons. You had had some bad experiences, so you were a little unsure." He studied the far wall as if it contained the secrets of the universe. "I'm kind of traditional. And I, ah, well... I've experimented a little, gotten pretty close... but I've never actually made love to anyone." Lois filed the information about her previous experience, but she was blown away by his revelation. Amazed and touched. This gorgeous man had waited - for her? What a precious gift. She had suspected he was a romantic. She reached out to hold his hand. "Well, as far as I can remember, neither have I." Clark looked down at her tiny hand on his, heard her attempt at a joke, and felt his control slipping away. The weeks of alternating highs and lows, of doubt and fear, of needing to be strong, suddenly caught up with him. To his horror, he began to cry. "Oh, god, Lois. I've missed you so much, needed you so much..." = Lois heard the ragged edge of exhaustion in his voice. He must have been worrying, waiting for weeks now; no wonder he was worn out. She swung her legs out of the way and hugged him as best she could. He instantly turned towards her, holding her tight, burying his face in her hair. She soothed him and patted his back as a few sobs escaped. Clark didn't know how long he clung to her, drinking in the feel of her body, the scent of her hair, the sound of her voice murmuring reassurances. She was there, she was safe, everything was okay. When he had recovered enough to stop crying, he pulled back just far enough to see her face. She removed his glasses and gently wiped away his tears, her heart in her eyes. He cupped her face in his hands, and slowly leaned in for a kiss. Lois watched him approach breathlessly. A small part of her brain noted how different he looked without his glasses, but she ignored it as unimportant. He was giving her plenty of time to escape the kiss, a kiss she had no intention of evading, a kiss she had been waiting for as long as she could remember. She closed her eyes and tipped her face up to await his touch. His lips brushed hers gently, then retreated a few millimeters. = She smiled, but quickly wanted more. Her lips parted of their own volition, and she closed the distance between them. = Finding her mouth open, he moaned and set his tongue questing after hers. They met in the middle, dancing passionately. His hands left her face to trail down her sides and across her back, leaving shimmering paths of desire along her skin. She ran one hand through his silky hair, while the other attacked his shirt, working the soft material loose from his waist. The touch of Lois's hand on his bare midriff brought Clark back to his senses. He pulled back from the kiss, far enough to see her face. She was wide-eyed and panting slightly, looking sexier than he'd ever seen her. But if he took advantage of her now, he'd never forgive himself. "Wait." It was the single most difficult word he'd ever said. "Why?" She didn't need her memory to know that she wanted to do this. It was right, more right than anything she'd ever done, she felt it deep inside. Along with an aching hunger for this one special man. He was breathing heavily, too, he noticed in a distant corner of his brain. "Because..." He was having trouble articulating a reason. "Because you don't know what you're doing." She shook her head, dead serious. "Oh yes I do. I loved you before, and I love you now - all I've lost are details." She searched for ways to convince him. "We made it to the church, we had every intention of getting married - it's not our fault that it didn't happen. I don't want to wait anymore." "Well then," he countered, with a flash of dark humor. = "Because *I* don't know what I'm doing, remember?" She laughed huskily, sending shivers down his spine. "Let's learn together," she suggested, then sobered. "Please, Clark, I need you. Please, be my first time..." His good intentions vanished before her obvious sincerity. = More confidently than before, he reached for her, bridging the gap between them. This time, there would be no pulling back. *** Lois woke and stretched languidly, feeling wonderful for no reason that she could recall. She froze when her outstretched hand hit something warm and solid, but then memory of the previous night flooded back, and she opened her eyes with a smile. "Morning, Clark." "Morning, Lois," he replied, grinning from ear to ear, revelling in the sight of her in his bed, in the touch of her hand on his bare chest. How long had he waited for a morning like this? It wouldn't be perfect until she had her memory back, but that should be soon; this Dr. Deter she would be seeing today was supposed to be the best. On impulse, just because he could, he leaned forward and kissed her. She returned the kiss, closing her eyes to devote her senses to it. It had been a spectacular night. Their mood had been changeable, from explosive to sweet, tender to funny, and they hadn't gotten much sleep. She reluctantly opened her eyes again when he pulled back. He propped himself on an elbow, watching her. She noted with amusement that he'd put on a pair of sleeping shorts at some point, and he was already wearing his glasses, too... She glanced down at herself, covered only by a thin sheet, and grinned. "You're overdressed." He felt the blood rushing to his cheeks, and elsewhere, but merely smiled. She was still recovering. "I made breakfast for you. Come on out when you're dressed." She watched him leave, noting from his profile that he wasn't as indifferent as he sounded. "I knew there was a reason I wanted to marry you!" she called after him. Sensitive, sexy, and he cooked... what more could she ask for? *** "Superman!" At the sanitarium, late that afternoon, Lois waved to the superhero that she was starting to remember. During her day there, she'd noted strange happenings, and had stumbled across an assassin for Intergang - apparently reporter's instincts don't have anything to do with memory. Luckily, Superman had arrived in time to save the day. = He detached himself from the newly arrived policemen and walked over to her, the cape waving in the breeze. He looked strangely familiar, but she ignored the feeling of deja-vu; she suspected it would be pretty common for a while. "Yes, Lois?" he asked in what he hoped was an impersonal tone, fighting his body's reaction to her. They'd spent hours last night exploring each other before drifting off to an exhausted sleep, but he still hadn't found the time to explain about Superman. "I'm starting to remember things, Superman!" she announced excitedly. He smoothed his face to a stern expression. What if she remembered her crush on Superman? Well, he'd just explain things to her again, if necessary, but the mere thought that she could fall for someone else after spending the night with Clark made him tense up. "That's good, Lois," he replied belatedly. She smiled brilliantly. "I need you to find Clark for me." Oh really? This was interesting. "I can take you to him," he offered. She nodded, and he scooped her up, trying valiantly to think of her as a sister. At least from this position, she couldn't see how tight his briefs were becoming. He flew her away from the sanitarium, towards Centennial Park, and the fountain where they'd gotten engaged. He wasn't above subtle hints. She looked around blankly when he set her down. That fountain was vaguely familiar, but she didn't take the time to chase down the memory. "Where's Clark?" Superman looked around, and she suddenly was afraid he would leave. "No, wait, I want to talk to you first." He crossed his arms and looked at her, unsure of what to expect. She started pacing, but glanced at him frequently as she talked. "I don't remember a lot, very clearly, but I think I remember that you... that you have romantic feelings for me." Clark had no idea how he should respond to this, but she didn't seem to require any input from him. "I just want to make sure you know that I'm in love with Clark. = And I have been, for a lot longer than I ever told anyone, I think." He blinked in surprise, temporarily speechless. Sometimes it still amazed him that she could love him at all, let alone that she could prefer *Clark* to Superman. She kept proving it to him, though, again and again, and it never failed to awe him. She saw the thunderstruck expression on his face, and winced. = "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you...." He shook his head slowly, and managed to reply. "You haven't hurt me, Lois." He began to smile, feeling happier than he'd ever expected to. In a way, this was even better than last night. Lois saw Superman's smile for the first time, and gasped, her eyes narrowing. This was more than deja-vu... she'd seen that smile, just recently... she searched his face, and the light dawned. "Clark? Is that you?" Clark nodded, his smile broadening. She slowly began to return the smile, and then suddenly she was in his arms. "I remember." = He held her tightly, and rose off the ground. It was time to head for home... *their* home. THE END I can't take credit for this last scene with Superman, this was apparently written by the L&C writers as an ending to FMN - this scene was actually filmed and included in an early director's cut (thanks, Zoomway!). I like it much better than what replaced it, so I've added it back into my version. = !^NavFont02F2D430007MGHHt44578F ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 19:26:50 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: CLASSIC FIC: FMN Redux (1/2) Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 To take the bad taste of tonight's episode out of our mouths , I humbly present... Let's assume that in FMN, Lois was only an outpatient at the medical clinic. The A-plot would be essentially unchanged - Lois, while being in treatment, would notice strange things and figure out the bad guy's plot. You've seen it, it's nothing special, I won't recreate it here. The B-plot, however, would go more like this... FORGET ME NOT, REDUX (1/2) by Pam Jernigan (75540.2554@compuserve.com) "Lois, are you sure you're okay?" Clark asked anxiously. = Although Lois had mostly recovered from her injuries, and could function in many ways, her personal memories had not yet returned. She'd had a steady stream of visitors over the past two days (her parents, his parents, their boss and others). With pictures and documents, they'd told her about her life. = Clark had been there most of the time, answering her questions, telling her stories of their lives, watching her sleep. He'd ignored the rest of the world; she needed him more, and he needed to be with her. In more ways than one. Mindful that she barely knew him, he'd struggled to act like a brother to her, not showing any hint of his desire for her. He was determined not to make her uncomfortable in any way. Being patient had worked before; it would work this time, too. He had to believe that, because he couldn't face a life without her. "I'm *fine*," Lois insisted testily from behind the privacy screen, struggling into the last of her clothing. She'd been in the hospital for two days now, and she was thoroughly sick of it. All bland, blank walls and cheerfully noncommittal nurses. = She still didn't remember much of her life, but that was no reason to hide from the world. She suspected that she'd never been one to back down from a challenge. "Maybe you should stay here a little while longer," Clark suggested uncertainly. He didn't want to do anything to hamper her full recovery. = "No, I won't, and that's final." Now fully dressed, she stepped around the screen to face him. His eyes were full of a concern that warmed her heart. He was so amazingly kind. She'd been told that as well as being her partner at work, he was her fiance. At first the knowledge of their engagement had caused an odd thrill of fright, but as she'd considered it, and seen his innate gentleness, the fear had melted away. This man could surely be trusted with her life. = And with her body? She couldn't remember if he was her type, or if she even had a type, but she found that she enjoyed watching him. The lock of hair that fell so engagingly over his forehead, the breadth of his shoulders, even his strong, gentle hands... all of these and more were starting to make her shiver in breathless anticipation of his visits, in hopes of his kiss. She could tell he loved her, she reflected in wonderment. It was there in the way he treated her, in the way he looked at her... and there was desire in there, as well, she'd glimpsed it... At the moment, however, he was looking harassed and beleaguered. She hid a smile. Her visitors had all mentioned that she tended to lead their partnership, and based on his reactions, she could believe it. He was resisting now, though, and she supposed he might have a good reason. "Out with it, Clark, what's the problem?" she asked, arms crossed. He looked at her helplessly for a second, then sighed. "Well, you were kidnapped right during the wedding ceremony." A familiar stab of guilt assailed him at the thought, but he steadfastly ignored it. Dwelling on what might have been was too painful. = "Yeah, and...?" Talk of her wedding--a wedding she couldn't even begin to imagine--caused her stomach to flutter, a sensation she preferred to deny at the moment. "Lois... you'd already moved into my apartment, and out of yours. It's been leased to someone else already; I checked." = He watched her anxiously. = "Oh." She sat down on the hospital bed, feeling as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her. So, she had nowhere to live. = Nowhere, unless... she looked up at Clark speculatively, and made up her mind. She took a deep breath and spoke quickly, not giving herself a chance to reconsider. "That's all right. I can stay with you." Clark felt his eyebrows raise in astonishment. She had, in a way, only known him for two days, and she was proposing to move in with him? It had taken him over two years to win that much trust, the first time around, to get through her protective layers. Surely even a memory loss couldn't erase such deeply ingrained barriers. She smiled tremulously at his surprised expression. "If I want to get my memory back, I should stay in familiar surroundings, right? All my things seem to be at your place, and I guess I was probably pretty familiar with it, anyway, wasn't I?" "Yeah..." he admitted reluctantly. "Well, there you go then." She stood again, gathering her courage. This would work out just fine; it had to. "The only other place I could think of to stay would be with my mother, in her hotel room, but just between you and me, I don't think she and I get along very well." He quirked a smile. "No, not really." Lois took a moment to appreciate what a great smile he had, reassuring herself. She smiled back at him. "Then you have no choice, do you? You have to help me; I'm homeless." He sighed once more, looking around the room for guidance that wasn't there. Could she really mean what she was saying, that she trusted him to be that close to her and not try anything? = Could he trust himself? Lois saw the worry written across his face and advanced until she was standing close enough to rest her forearms on his chest, her hands exploring his shoulders. She noted that he automatically opened his arms to receive her. His nearness, his *body* felt good, setting off waves of desire outward from where his hands rested on her hips. "Clark, look at me." He looked down into her intent brown eyes. God, she was beautiful, and he still marveled that he had found her again. He didn't care how long it took her to regain her memory, he could wait months if he had to, as long as she was safe. "Clark," she repeated, all trace of amusement gone. "There are a million things that I don't know about you, that I don't know about me. But I do know this. You are kind, patient, and more considerate than I deserve. And my... previous self... wanted to marry you. How could I not trust you?" How could he resist her? "Okay. Let's get you out of here." It took some time to complete the paperwork, but the hospital staff could no more stand in her way than Clark could. She would be an outpatient at a local memory clinic/sanitarium for the next few weeks, but she was free to stay wherever she chose. *** As Clark drove her Jeep to his apartment, an air of tension rose between them. Lois kept sneaking looks at him, when she thought he wouldn't notice. Who was this man? How well did she know him; how well did he know her? They were engaged (by unspoken agreement, that engagement was on indefinite hold, but she had no urge to break it); had they been... intimate? She felt her cheeks flushing, feeling excited by the prospect. She knew general things about lovemaking, but it was all distant, impersonal. Clark was aware that she was looking at him, darting glances at his face, and at his body. He shifted uncomfortably as he drove. What was the matter with him? She was injured, and barely knew who he was. He shouldn't even be thinking of making love to her. But he was. Under the cover of checking the Jeep's blind spots, he kept an eye on her. She was pale, and thinner than she should be... but she still took his breath away. And he was going to be sharing his apartment with her. = He swallowed hard. "Well, here we are." His tone was determinedly cheerful as he pulled into the parking spot. Lois looked around, hoping for a glimmer of memory, but none came. "Nice place," she offered, to let him know that nothing was coming back. He nodded, not really disappointed. He knew that when he'd lost his memory, two years earlier, it had taken time for familiar people and places to bring him back to himself. He got out of the Jeep and headed for her side to open her door and help her out. He found her standing on the sidewalk, looking around. He smiled despite himself. Some things apparently didn't change. "The entrance is around the side." He touched her elbow to guide her, and she fell in step next to him. Lois felt a jolt of awareness at his touch. It was only his hand on her elbow, for pete's sake. She had to get control of herself. = At least until she had some answers. "Oh, what an unusual entrance!" she exclaimed, enchanted by the wrought-iron porch. He smiled tightly as he fumbled with his lock. Taking a deep breath, he swung the door open. "Welcome home." Lois stood on the threshold, seeing his apartment as if for the first time. It was more or less all one room, decorated with souvenirs of his trips around the world; he'd told her about that sometime yesterday. She noticed a tenseness about him, and suddenly realized how hard this must be for him. He'd expected to bring a bride here, not a virtual stranger. She turned to meet his eyes, surprised to feel a glimmer of tears in her own eyes. "Oh, Clark, this isn't what we planned, is it, for me to not know you..." Clark felt his heart twist at her wistful expression. On its own accord, his left hand reached up to cup her cheek, and she tilted her head into his palm, the way she always did. "No," he admitted hoarsely. "But I'm just... so grateful, that you're safe, that you're here, that you don't hate me." She enjoyed the touch of his hand on her cheek - it was an unusual gesture, and yet it felt so natural. How could a simple touch make her feel so good? "I don't think I could ever hate you," she whispered, running her gaze over his face, focusing on his gorgeous eyes, and his full lips. On impulse, she raised herself on tiptoes and leaned forward to kiss him. It was a quick kiss, a mere brushing of their lips, but it left her breathless and tingling. Clark closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. = "God, Lois, don't do that." I can't control myself if you do that, and I have to control myself. Hurt, she stepped away, and entered the apartment. A few steps later, however, she thought she understood, and she was ashamed of herself. He was determined to treat her like a sister, to not take advantage of her. She shouldn't make things harder for him. Unless, of course, her treacherous inner voice whispered, you want him to take advantage of you. She smiled. A few deep breaths gave Clark back his balance, and he followed his fiancee into the apartment. She was looking around appraisingly, carrying her small bag from the hospital. = Acting as if nothing had happened, he pointed out the apartment's features. "Okay, here's the living room, with the new lamps we bought after the old ones were shot up." The lamps were one of few features they'd purchased together; they had been waiting until after the honeymoon to make decisions on major pieces of furniture. "In the kitchen, we have all the regular kitchen stuff - plus I stocked up on cream soda and chocolate ice cream for you." She followed him, looking around with interest. "I like ice cream?" He chuckled. "You like chocolate." "Ahh, that's good to know." She nodded wisely. "Good thing I have you to tell me all this stuff." "Just ask, and I'll tell you what I know," he promised. "So why were the lamps shot up?" She turned to face him, with an inquiring expression. He grimaced, wishing he hadn't mentioned that detail. "This couple was trying to kill me, and kidnap you..." He really didn't want to tell that story in any detail. The subject of Superman had come up several times in the past two days. So far, he'd always managed to gloss over things, only telling her what was general knowledge. He fully intended to come clean to her again sometime soon, but not yet. Not until they had some other things sorted out. She lifted one eyebrow. "This happens to us a lot, does it?" He shrugged helplessly. "We're reporters," he temporized. = "And we're good at it, especially you, so sometimes people don't appreciate us investigating them." "Good thing we've got Superman to look out for us then, huh." = She could tell that he wasn't telling her everything on that particular topic, but it could wait. One mountain at a time, Lois. She wandered further into the kitchen. "Yeah." Clark let it go at that, glad to escape the topic. = "Okay, behind this wall is the bedroom..." The tension that had leaked away earlier was suddenly back as they stood by the side of the bed. Lois swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Had she spent much time in that bed? They obviously hadn't been living together, but that didn't mean they hadn't slept together. She looked up at him, wondering if she dared to ask. Clark commanded himself to think of something to say, anything to move the focus away from his bed... the bed he longed to be in, with her a full and willing participant. It's not an option, Clark, he told himself sternly. Behave. You don't want to scare her. He looked around the room, searching for something to say. "Um, no one can see in the windows, so you don't have to worry about that." That was better, he told himself encouragingly. "Over here's the dresser - you've got the top two drawers, and most of the closet." He pulled open the top drawer to demonstrate, and froze when he saw her lacy undergarments lying there. Good one, Clark. He pushed the drawer shut after an endless moment, but it was too late. He could feel his blood rushing southward, bringing him back to the familiar, aching fullness that had begun with her innocent kiss. Lois was too far away to see into the drawer Clark opened, but she could guess the contents by his expression. A blush crept over her cheeks, but more importantly, she thought this was a clue. He wasn't familiar enough with her underthings to be blase about them. That was interesting. Clark moved blindly back towards the living room. He couldn't stay here much longer, not with them both upright. "I'll sleep on the couch." She followed him, feeling curiously elated. She could tell, now, that he was just as affected by her as she was by him, and it was equally clear that he didn't intend to act on his feelings. = This seemed to leave her in control. A familiar, safe feeling, but thrilling at the same time. Just like flying... where had that thought come from? *** The evening passed slowly. Clark was very business-like, drawing on years of painful experience in controlling his feelings around Lois as he told her about their stories and their sources. Her nearness still affected his breathing, though, and he was achingly aware of every move she made. = Using the excuse of getting them dinner, he took a break around eight. He wanted to take time for a quick trip to the Arctic (he somehow didn't think a cold shower would be enough, and besides, in order to take one, he'd have to explain himself to Lois, and he just didn't feel up to that conversation) before heading for their favorite Chinese take-out restaurant. Before he could get far, however, he'd heard the familiar refrain of "help, Superman!" and he'd had to respond - he'd neglected the world for too long already. Left completely alone for the first time in days, Lois wandered around the apartment. She saw many pictures of herself, alone and with Clark. They both looked so happy. She picked up one of the pictures, and wistfully touched Clark's image with a finger. Why couldn't she remember anything about her life? = The more time she spent with Clark, the more she wanted him. = This boldness, inexplicably, surprised her. Had she been previously uninterested in sex? She couldn't see herself as shy, unless perhaps she'd had bad experiences before meeting Clark... With those memories gone, perhaps her true desires were coming out. Whatever the reason, she'd felt herself hungering for him, leaning towards him as he'd spoken about invisible men, cyborgs, and Intergang. None of those topics had been anywhere near as fascinating to her. She decided to sit in the living room to watch the door for his return, but that didn't feel right. A restlessness gnawed at her, so she rose to pace again. Her steps took her into the bedroom. = In the darkness, the bed was even more inviting (and she was tired) but that wasn't quite right, either. A-ha! The window seat, under those wonderful glass panels. She curled into one end of it, arranging pillows around her. She could see a strip of sky from here, and most of the apartment's small balcony. She couldn't explain why, but this felt like the perfect place to wait. (to be continued) = !^NavFont02F35A80007MGHH|A942C0 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 20:17:14 +0500 Reply-To: mulders@mindspring.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Bob or Chris Mulder Subject: Old Fanfic: "I'm Not a Doctor, But I Played One on TV" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Hi, FoLCs, While watching FMN tonight, I couldn't help but think of a nice little "revenge" fic that I wrote back when this episode first aired. It helped me with some of my negative feelings at the time, and I thought it might help some of you, too. So, here it is ... I originally posted this to LOISCLA, which will help explain some parts of the introduction: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi, FoLCs! I haven't been able to stay caught up on the mail that keeps flowing into my box, but most people seem to be as repelled as I was by that so-called "doctor's" behavior during FMN. I'm also concerned about this continual battering of Clark. It's bordering on sadistic, and I don't like it. There were some good moments in FMN (Clark's ecstatic, "Lois thinks I'm a jerk!" ... Jimmy and Clark's collision ... Perry talking about the mayor's assistant, "We both like the King." ... Lois and Clark's exchange in his apartment--god did that make me nostalgic for the good old days when all we had to deal with was the odd Scardino or Mayson hanging around ... Those moments do not make up for TPTB continuing to keep L&C apart by such artificial and mean-spirited ways, however. So, I'm making this appeal to Singer & Co. in the words of one of my favorite characters from my *still* favorite TV show: "I appeal to whatever shred of humanity is in you -- stop this! It's barbaric and cruel." And ... it's not even good TV. :-( In the meantime, I really *really* want Dr. Deter (that's how it's spelled in my TV Guide--and it seems appropriate since his "bedside manner" would certainly deter me ) to get his comeuppance, swiftly and thoroughly. So, in view of that, I want to share with you all a short fanfic I wrote on my lunch hour today. It's called, "I'm Not a Doctor, But I Played One on TV." Hope it makes you smile. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*******~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A gray light came through the curtainless windows, reducing shadows and making the waiting faces look pale and flat. There was an expectant air in the room, which had nothing to do with the approaching storm outside. A door in the east wall opened and in walked two men. The older of the two was wearing a three-piece wool suit and a watch on a chain. The other man, thirtyish, was dressed in full doctor's regalia: crisp white lab coat, a stethoscope hanging from his neck, tongue depressors and other small implements in his pockets, and an old-fashioned reflector perched on his head. In his hand he carried a black, leather doctor's bag. Both men held themselves in a manner befitting the solemnity of the occasion; their shoes were polished, their backs straight and their eyes never wavered as they walked to the center of the room before turning to face the assembly. One of the doctor's in the waiting crowd whispered to his companion, "This is a bad, *bad* business." "Yes, Watson," the other whispered back. "Still, it has to be done. Can't let this sort of thing go on, you know." "Quite, quite." The wool-suited doctor cleared his throat and collected the attention of his colleagues. "Gentlemen, ladies. We all know why we are here today. One of our own has betrayed our cause, himself and all that we believe in. Never in the 60-year history of our organization have we had a fellow doctor stoop so low, completely turning his back on the ethics and standards established long ago for the Guild of Television and Radio Physicians. The ritual we are here to perform today, has not had to be invoked in 30 years." A heavy silence descended on the room as Dr. Marcus Welby turned to the man standing next to him. "Dr. Maxwell Deter, you have been found guilty by a gathering of your fellow fictional doctors. By the authority invested in me by the State of Make-Believe I will now divest you of the trappings and accoutrements of your rank." All watched in fascinated horror as the venerable TV doctor took the three tongue depressors from Dr. Deter's pocket and broke them in half, one by one, dropping the pieces onto the floor. Then he took the reflector off of the younger man's head and the hammer for checking reflexes from Dr. Deter's other breast pocket. The group held their collective breaths as Dr. Welby smashed the mirror with the hammer. And so the bizarre ceremony wound on. Each treasured tool, appliance and apparatus was taken and broken, snapped or smashed until Dr. Deter's pockets and medical bag were empty, and a pathetic pile of metal, plastic and rubber lay heaped at this feet. Dr. Welby reached for the last, most visible sign of a physician--the stethoscope. An anguished cry arose from the assembled watchers. "For pity's sake, not that!" Dr. Ben Casey reached over pulled his neighbor back onto his seat, patting the over wrought young man on the arm to help him steady himself. "I know this is harsh, Dr. Kildare, but what Maxwell Deter did to Lois Lane was even harsher. You know this *must* be done." Dr. Kildare, rose unsteadily to his feet. "My apologies to all of you. I can't help it. It's the way I'm written." "Yes, I know," said Dr. Welby. "Fortunately for you, I'm written as a kindly, family physician, so I'll let it go this time." He looked sternly at the watching doctors. "There can be no further outbursts, however." Dr. Welby turned back to Dr. Deter and reached once again for his stethoscope. Taking a pair of surgical scissors out of his vest pocket he proceeded to cut the rubber parts of the 'scope into 1/2" pieces. Walking around Dr. Deter, he helped him remove the lab coat, turned it inside out and held it out for the younger man. Deter looked at Welby pleadingly for a moment, but for once the kindly doctor's heart was unmoving. Dr. Deter slipped his arms back into the inside-out coat. Lastly, Dr. Welby picked up the black doctor's bag -- for as long as there have been TV doctors, a symbol of all that is good and noble in the profession. With a deft twist of his wrists, he turned the bag inside out and walking forward two paces, he placed the bag on Dr. Deter's head. Stepping back, he spoke, "Dr. Maxwell Deter, you are hereby stripped of the title of Doctor. No longer may you practice on the airwaves of this country. Your name will be expunged from our roster and your purfidy doomed to play out in reruns for all eternity. Go now, Citizen Deter. Go, and sin no more." All watched as the former Dr. Deter made his way out of the silent and hostile room. The door closed behind him and a crack of thunder was heard. Lightning briefly illuminated the faces that were still turned towards the door. It was going to be a dark and stormy night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, that's it. Hope this helped. :-) --Chris mailto:mulders@mindspring.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 15:14:16 +0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 03:12:41 PST 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: Re: Who Are The Nominees? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Well, the Nominees page is getting fuller. I've gotten through Leanne = Shawler, if anyone wants to look at what's up there. Nominees, if you've sent me stuff or pointed me to stuff and it isn't on = your section yet, hang on, I'm still working on it. I haven't put up much at = all in the "Other Stories By" section -- I'll get to that tomorrow. For tonight I = was trying to get sections up for all the nominees. Didn't quite make it but= I'll finish in the morning. If you haven't yet sent me anything to put in your section because you = weren't sure what I wanted in terms of information, take a look at my section or = Pam Jernigan's -- if you want to include age, that's fine, although I've been= assured that Margaret Brignell is just "mumble, mumble years old." You migh= t want to include some reference to your offline life, assuming you have = one -- you'll notice how sparse the description is on mine! ;) -- or how you got interested in fanfic, or that time you met Dean (lucky you!) I got brave= and put up a small photo of myself -- it's old, but it's the only one of me = that I have scanned and that I'm willing to let anyone else see If you want= to send me something about that same size (about 10K) to put up in your section, that would be fine. Pam and I both also point to our personal = pages, and I'll be glad to do that for anyone else that gives me that informatio= n. In case you've forgotten, here's the URL: http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137/kerth/kerthnom.htm or you can get to it through the ballot. So go have a look around, and then email me *privately* with your informa= tion at peace9@worldnet.att.net. I look forward to hearing from all 88 of you= ! Peace ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Have you voted yet in the L&C Fanfic Kerth Awards? = ~ ~ http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137/kerth_ballot.html = ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 08:15:23 -0600 Reply-To: jwbrogden@bigfoot.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jeff Brogden Subject: Lost Story(ies) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hello, All this Kerth stuff got me to thinking about some of my favorite stories, and when I went to re-read one of them I couldn't find it. It was by Gail Lefkowitz, but her name no longer appears in the author listing on the archive. I don't remember the name of the story - just what happened in it. :-) (LnC on an elevator) Any idea where her stories disappeared to? Any idea where I might be able to get this story? Thanks, ================================================================= Jeff Brogden jwbrogden@bigfoot.com http://www.bigfoot.com/~jwbrogden/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 11:10:51 PST 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: Re: Kerth's dress-up In-Reply-To: <350D6A04.11F3@concentric.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Well, personally, I've decided to eschew offers from Donna Karan and Vera Wang to dress me, and plan to go with Jacques Pennieux -- a soft clingy little number from his Racque collection. ;) Oh, but then Tanya wrote: > Since so much 'controversy' has come about concerning the fashion for > the Kerths, I am willing to volunteer my time as Fashion Consultant. = I > dress all in Halston, Armani, DKNY, Versace, etc....and, of course, > Badgley Mischka. > I'll make you all beautiful. We'll do lunch. ;) Okay, so I'll admit it -- the other was my cotton nightshirt from J.C. = Penney. :D If Tanya's offering to dress me in Badgley Mischka, I'll take that any = day! Dahling, just make sure I'm not wearing the same thing as Teri... LOL!! Peace ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Have you voted yet in the L&C Fanfic Kerth Awards? = ~ ~ http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137/kerth_ballot.html = ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 11:50:09 -0600 Reply-To: ginachar@horizon.hit.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: GINA AND CHARLIE JONES Subject: Kerth Wavs Comments: To: Lois & Clark MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Kerth Wavs ***** Kerth Wavs ***** Kerth Wavs ***** Kerth Wavs ***** Kerth Wavs Just a quick reminder to all of you Kerth Awards Show viewers.............. Be sure to download the sounds to be used on the show to maximize your VIEWER ENJOYMENT for the evening (or afternoon, or morning). The sounds can be found at www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5968. Also, if you have any wavs that you think should be included in the Kerth Awards broadcast, just email them to me and I will put them on the website asap. I will be sending out this reminder every few days just so everyone can take advantage of having the sounds before the show. Until next time............ Gina (D.J., Sound Producer, Director of Sound Usage, Music Lady, Wav Addict, Wavsite Manager, and maybe even Presenter........now if I could only find that "perfect" dress) ginachar@horizon.hit.net (loisrae on IRC #loiscla) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 12:56:32 -0500 Reply-To: Kassia@concentric.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Tanya Subject: Re: Kerth's dress-up MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Peace wrote: If Tanya's offering to dress me in Badgley Mischka, I'll take that any day! Dahling, just make sure I'm not wearing the same thing as Teri... Here's my 2 cents: Oh, worry not, Peace! Teri is NOT wearing Badgely Mischka for the Kerths. (But I have already dressed one mystery FoLC in BM) Teri's chosen something different for this occasion. But...for you, Peace. I am seeing vivid colour....VALENTINO, dahling! Go with me on this one. I'll make you a stahh!! Already Decked in Goosebumps, Tanya "EmmyRose" --Fashion Co-Ordinator for the Kerths. p.s. Peace, e me privately for your selection! ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 20:19:08 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JCWimmer Subject: New Fanfic: Full Circle: Prologue Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hello Fellow FoLCs: As many of you know, I have been writing a monster of a story. I have a rather unusual idea for distributing this story...please bear with me. The story, for the most part, is done. I would like to get some feedback on it before I put the whole thing together and submit it for editing and the archive. I will be posting a chapter a day until I have distributed it all. If you don't wish to read it, please delete it. If you have comments, please send them to me at: JCWimmer@aol.com Please don't send them to the list in general...I don't have that much confidence in my writing yet . The comments I recieve WILL be reflected in the final draft of the story, so feel free to be honest (in a kind way). Thank you all for your time, and happy reading!! *********************************************************** This is probably what would be considered an "Elseworld" story. It bears little resemblance to the series, except in the characters. Further, I go off on a tangent with those. It is one of those thoughts that just wouldn't go away until I wrote it down, so after many months I gave in, and here is the result. This story is quite different from anything I have ever written, or seen written. Further, it differs in several respects: * This takes place in seasons 10, 20, and back into 4. It gives what is, in my opinion, a different explanation for the baby that Lois and Clark receive in The Family Hour series finale. *There is no villain, other than the emotions and life situations of the characters themselves. I range through simple development into major life trauma, and even I got confused at times . * At times, Lois and Clark become supporting characters to the rest of the story. Fear not, they play a large roll in the majority of the story, but at times they seem to fade into the background. As with any family, the same members are not always in the limelight. * I took some liberties with exploring different levels of emotional development, and even physical development, and some aspects of lifetime friendships that have intrigued me for years. This was a personal tangent, and I hope it doesn't confuse anyone. * Warning: There is a very serious WHAM in this story. I am a believer in happy endings, but it is through testing that the strength of the individual is developed, and the value of the family is realized. I made this medically realistic, so be forewarned. * As with many other authors, I chose the starting point and an idea for the ending, and the characters took over from there. I spent several months furiously trying to keep up with them, and every time I got close they took off again! As a result of this process, the story became a little long (almost as long as my explanation for it ).* I believe in a world of infinite possibilities, but I have done my best here to maintain a temporal stability. The bulk of this story takes place over a two year period, and has flashes into other time periods as well. There is a great deal of change within the characters, and this was inevitable. With all of that said (and I am assuming some readers will make it through that mess ), I do hope you enjoy my interpretation of the future of Lois and Clark. Comments are always welcome at: JCWimmer@aol.com Full Circle ... by Crystal Wimmer Prologue: (In March of 2002) Lois glanced out the window of their new two-story home. She could still smell the paint in this room, so she struggled until she was able to raise the window wide open. She enjoyed the fresh air, the sound of birds, and the peace of this quiet neighborhood. Raised in the city, Lois had her doubts about moving into the suburbs, but Clark had for once been insistent. "Lois, think of the crime rate," Clark had argued. "It would be safer for CJ, and the schools are better. It's time we moved." "Clark, no. I don't want to commute. We can't do our jobs from forty minutes away. Besides, we have a good daycare here, and I don't want to search for that again." "Lois," Clark had pleaded, "his school is as important as his daycare." After months of argument, Lois had conceded defeat more as a measure of Clark's persistence than actual agreement. In truth, he had some good points. The Metropolis School District had been plagued with crime and accusations of apathetic teachers. There were guns in the schools, and often in the teacher's desks. The classrooms were overcrowded, and children failed to receive the individualized attention that they really needed. The entire issue of drugs was another point of contention. While Lois had difficulty believing it, drugs had been reported in the primary grades. Art and Music had been dropped due to their expense, and journalism training as well. The sports programs were failing, and in general the entire school system was a mess. No, she didn't want her CJ there. Finally they had found a small land plot in the tiny suburban area of Claremont, just outside of Metropolis. They had assisted in the design for the building of this three-bedroom, two-bathroom brick home with a full basement. It was beautiful. Lois was pleased with the house, but still concerned with CJ. He had been despondent since the move was initially discussed. He had looked forward to starting kindergarten with his friends at the daycare center, and was disappointed that he would not have the chance. Lois and Clark had enrolled CJ in a before and after school activity program, and he would begin school at Claremont Elementary in a few days. Lois was confident that CJ would make friends quickly. Although he had Clark's reserved nature, he was as friendly as any child Lois had ever seen. The schools out here had a better reputation, and she had less fear of the situation. Just then, Lois heard CJ's voice drifting softly up to the window. She couldn't make out the words, but she could hear the concern in his voice. Peeking out the open window, she saw her son carefully looking both ways to cross the street in front of the house. She considered stopping him, but as she had an excellent view from where she was, she elected to observe. ********************** CJ looked carefully, left, right, and left again, before crossing the small street. There were no cars to be seen or heard near by, so he figured he was pretty safe. His mom hated him to leave the townhouse without permission, but things felt different here, and she hadn't told him he had to stay at home. He heard a small voice, and it sounded as if it were crying, so he needed to find out what was wrong. Approaching the house across the street, a smaller and older version of their new house, CJ saw a little girl sitting next to the steps leading to the porch. "What's wrong?" CJ asked her. "You're not a girl," the child sobbed softly. "That's not something to cry about." "My mama said that a girl might move into your house. But, you're not a girl. Now I'll never have anyone to play with." "You can play with me," he assured her. "I'm CJ. What's your name?" "I'm Katie. Well, my mama calls me Kathryn, but at school everyone calls me Katie." "What school do you go to?" "I'm in kindergarten." "I get to start kindergarten on Monday. My mom says I'll like it better than daycare, but I don't think so." "It's okay. At least there's someone to play with. There's no kids on this street, just old people. My mama says that's why it's so quiet, but I think it's just boring." "Maybe we could be friends." The little girl looked up at CJ from her seated position. Her huge green eyes were obscured behind blond bangs that had become too long, and her ponytail was on the verge of coming untied. "I'd like a friend," she told him solemnly. CJ smiled and sat down next to her, using the cement steps as a backrest the way she did. "Good," he told her, "cause if we're the only kids here, we'd better stick together." ************************ Lois witnessed the exchange from her perch at the window. CJ sat next to the small girl. After a short conversation, they began drawing in the dirt with sticks. She realized she would have to reprimand him later for crossing the street without asking, and not telling her he was leaving, but that was for later. Now, it appeared he had made a friend, and that was more important. There were few children that she had seen in the neighborhood, and she was glad that there was someone that CJ could talk to that was around his own age. She hoped the child would be a friend to her son. He seemed lonely lately, and it was a loneliness that a mother couldn't breach. He needed friends, and this was a good start. With a satisfied sigh, Lois left the window and went back to shifting clothes from boxes into the dresser. She would find Clark in a few minutes to tell him of CJ's new friend. She was feeling slightly better about the move, now, and she wanted to let him off the hook. After all, this was really the first time that Clark had insisted on making a major decision that Lois disagreed with. Perhaps that was why she had let him sway her into this move. She didn't want to leave the city, but she did know that Clark always had their best interests at heart. He would never hurt their family. In addition, his arguments had been right. She had never questioned his accuracy, just his insistence. At the moment, she was glad she had deferred to him this time. The house was beautiful, and it was theirs. CJ seemed to be adjusting, and that would steadily improve when he entered school. It was with a light heart that Lois flattened the box she had just emptied and carried it back to the living room to get another. ****** to be continued tomorrow, in chapter 1 ************* ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 19:47:26 -0600 Reply-To: ginachar@horizon.hit.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: GINA AND CHARLIE JONES Subject: Kerth Wavs Comments: To: Lois & Clark MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Just a quick note to let everyone know I've added a few wavs to the site. www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5968 g ginachar@horizon.hit.net (loisrae on IRC #loiscla) Check out my webpages at www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5968 and www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3286. ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 22:24:39 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mhcman Subject: "Deter"ized Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi ya. Tonight, on L&C, Lois finally gets a clue and everything is back to "normal" after she clocks Deter in the snooz. hope I am not alone in this when I think that Clark should have ripped his head from his spine a long time ago. But that is not what I am posting about. I am really wondering about different actors who have made appearanced on L&C. ****I was catching up on J.A.G. on Tuesday and a character there got me thinking. The character was the guy who played Dr. Deter on L&C. Well anyway, he was playing a lawyer this time and he was in trying to force Maj. McKenzie to "love" him but she is in love with Cmdr. Rabb. For the last few weeks he has been stalking Maj. McKenzie and Cmdr. Rabb gets mad, yadada, yadada, blah, blah, blah and on Tuesday he is killed, shot SEVERAL times . The series also stars the guy who played the computer genuis in "CONTACT"**** ****The guy who played Scardino starred in some kind of sitcom, I only saw one ep so I am not sure if it was ABC or NBC? Handsome strong hero type. GAL => Georgous damsel in destress. VILLIAN => Numerous and all have starred as villians elsewhere. LOVE => Unrealized and constantly tested. Well that's all I can think for now.:-} Thomas ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 21:42:50 -0600 Reply-To: renate Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: renate Subject: Re: Lost Story(ies) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Jeff wrote asking about Gail's stories: >Any idea where her stories disappeared to? Any idea where I >might be able to get this story? Back when I was still doing the fanfic archive, Gail asked me to yank all of her stories for reasons of her own. I imagine that the only right way for you to get the story is from her. Rhen renate@mcs.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 22:10:08 -0600 Reply-To: renate Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: renate Subject: Re: The History of the Lois & Clark Fanfic List MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This recollection is to the best of my knowledge - my memory isn't as good as it could be (all this has become a muddled mass in my brain ;) but I have Gail Lefkowitz to thank for the dates and info from the beginning. Back in October of 1994 Zoomway, Gail and I met on IRC. We were the only 3 on #loiscla that night. Zoom told us about about some L&C rewites and in-betweens (later to be known as in-betweenies - I made that up ;) that she and a few friends were writing. We asked if we could read them too. She told us we could *if* we wrote our own versions of "the revelation". That same month, on the 22nd, Gail wrote her story and sent it out to a small group that included Zoomie, Andie Dunham, Rita Palmer, Evelyn Catano, Laurie (Sicard?), Leigh Raglan, Diane Levitan, Nancy Jones, me and Gail. That was the start of the Lois & Clark fanfic list. I wrote my story shortly after that. For the rest of October and beginning of November of 1994, Zoom and Gail sent out stories, dividing the list in half. Then somewhere between November 11-19, Gail asked me to take over her half of the alphabet. She was very busy with her life - school and work. On December 2 of that year, I started handling posting the fanfic to the whole group, which by that time included 76 people. Zoomie handled greeting newcomers and giving them the "what's out there" list as well as filling requests for old stories. In one year's time the list ballooned to over 500 subscribers. Dave (Grr) Miller (who coined the term "nfic" for Naughty Fanfic, BTW) set up a majordomo for me to use along with an e-mail accessible archive. We were in business! Time marched on and Dave lost interest in L&C and it became a chore for him to do maintenance for the list. Even though he was wonderful about it - I knew his heart wasn't in it anymore. Then my friend, Mike (Spoiler Boy) Williams, stepped in and let me use a machine where he worked. It was great - except for one thing - I had to send stories out in the middle of the night when the machine wasn't being used. Even doing that, I caused several crashes and began to worry about poor Mike's livelihood. That's when Joshua (St. Joshua) Dinerstein wrote a program for me to use at my own home - no more majordomo for the list! It was a godsend. Membership was over 800 people at that time. I briefly ran the archive from a computer we had hooked up in our basement - until the bill arrived from my ISP - you see, I didn't have the limitless account I thought I had. The list nearly died right there. Zoomway suggested that I let the list know what happened. My husband, Bob, thought it was a waste of time. But, out of sheer desperation, I wrote to all the fic subscribers and explained my plight. Money came pouring in from all over the world. But not just money - I got cards, kids drew Superman pictures for me, I got a homemade Superman book mark that I still use ... 2 of the younger members sent me their allowances. People wrote to me offering good thoughts and prayers. I got all but about 2 or 3 dollars back. During the middle part of 1996, I believe it was, after Bob saw how devoted everyone was, he put the archive up at his place of business. So ... we had an FTP site for the archived fic which was up around the clock. Some time in May of 1996, Lauren Willowby, one of my favorite L&C people, set up a beautiful web page to allow people to retrieve fic from the web. She worked so hard and did such a great job. And that's how it stood till August 1997 when I retired to try to get my life back. The story continues - but now it's out of my hands and in the hands of others - capable and diligent. There's more to this story but others have to continue it from there ... ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 20:39:22 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jenny Mills Subject: Lost Story(ies) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" On 18 March Jeff wrote: > >Hello, > >All this Kerth stuff got me to thinking about some of my favorite >stories, and when I went to re-read one of them I couldn't find >it. It was by Gail Lefkowitz, but her name no longer appears in >the author listing on the archive. I don't remember the name of >the story - just what happened in it. :-) (LnC on an elevator) > >Any idea where her stories disappeared to? Any idea where I >might be able to get this story? > Jeff This is a story I too have been looking for for some time now - I understand it's a 'classic'. Unfortunately, Gail requested that her story be taken out of the archives, and those who have copies feel they cannot distribute without her permission. While I fully understand this, it is very frustrating.......so if *anyone* has *any* links with Gail *PLEASE* ask her permission to send out this story (by request,of course). If anyone has an addy for Gail, I will be happy to ask her personally, and assure her of my eligibility and adherance to 'usual rules'. Any leads on this story would be much appreciated Thank you Jenny ----------------------------------------------------------------- Jenny Mills j.mills@netcom.co.uk jmills@ccta.gov.uk Lois: In one lousy second, I lost my partner and my best friend. He died without knowing. I never told him. - ToGoM Wells: Destiny has blessed you both with each other. No small gift indeed. There's many people who travel alone through, well, their whole lives and envy what you two have together . . . greatly. - Soul Mates ------------------------------------------------------------------ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 19 Mar 1998 19:03:53 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JCWimmer Subject: Fanfic: Full Circle: Chapter 1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit This is Chapter 1 (ten years later...) Kat smiled as she watched the ending to the movie. She loved this sappy stuff, and CJ was the only person she knew that would tolerate it with her. He was her best friend, and had been since kindergarten. She probably knew more about him than was good for her, but he didn't seem to mind. He was really sweet, and he seemed to be good at everything. He had helped her with sports, math, and even cooking. In addition to all this, his mom was the nicest mom there was. Kat appreciated Lois Kent almost as much as she did CJ. Kat's mom had died when she was young, and she missed having a mother around. Lois made up for that. In fact, lately Lois had spent almost as much time with her as CJ did. "That was really good," CJ said as he stopped the tape and hit the "rewind" button on the VCR. "Yeah, I love that one." Kat picked up the box for the tape, an old VHS copy of Highlander, and handed it to CJ. "I'm not sure that immortality would be all it's cracked up to be, but I kind of think it would be cool." CJ ducked his head in a gesture that had become familiar to Kat. He was hiding something, and she intended to find out what it was. He had been this way for the last few months, shying away from her at odd times, and the feeling made her uncomfortable. "CJ, do you trust me?" His head jerked up to look at Kat. "Of course I do! We've been friends forever. Why?" "I feel like you're hiding something from me. It's like you just get quiet all of a sudden, and I can't reach you anymore." Kat vainly tried to explain her feelings, but after a moment she just shrugged, looking rather sheepish and wishing she hadn't brought up the subject. CJ smiled gently, "welcome to puberty," he commented softly as he wrapped his arms around Kat. "You're a girl, and I'm a boy, and there are some things that we just can't understand about each other." Kat snuggled into his arms for a moment, drawing comfort, then leaned back with a grin. "So you mean this is a sex thing?" "Not really," CJ said, returning her smile. "Just a growing thing. Everyday I feel different than the day before. It's kind of weird. Sometimes, I just, I don't know. It's like I can't relate to anyone. I can't tell my parents, they'd think I'm crazy. I can't tell my friends, it's just too weird. I can't even tell you, because you're not a guy." He smiled anew at the expression on her face, "See what I mean? You already think I'm crazy." "Nah. I do tell you everything." She glanced at him with a wry expression, "I even told you when I started my period." CJ laughed at that. "Actually, you came over here screaming and crying because you thought you were dying and you were afraid to tell your dad." Kat found it a little more difficult to laugh at the incident. She had been terrified. She had run to the place she felt most safe to have them take care of her. She hadn't known what else to do. CJ hadn't been nearly as frightened as she had, and had immediately called for his mother. Lois had patiently explained the facts of a maturing female reproductive system in a very matter of fact way. Kat had felt better, and had even allowed Lois to walk her home and explain the situation to her father. In retrospect, the only one who had appeared uncomfortable that night had been Clark. He had looked around the room almost panicked before announcing that he had forgotten to do something and dashing out the back door. But, then, Clark did that a lot. "Well, my point is that there isn't anything you don't know about me." "Frightening thought!" "CJ! Be nice!" Kat yelled as she tackled him. The two of them engaged in a short wrestling match, then sobered as CJ allowed Kat to come out on top. "You never used to let me win." CJ had that guarded look in his eyes once more. "I just don't want to hurt you," he said simply. "I'm a lot stronger than I used to be, and you might get hurt." Kat looked puzzled at the thought. "You'd never hurt me." "Not on purpose, no. But sometimes I do stuff I don't mean to. I break stuff. I just want to be careful." Kat noted the real concern in CJ's eyes and took his hand in hers. "CJ, I never feel more safe than when I'm with you. You're my big brother. You fight the bullies and charm the teachers, and I know for a fact that you could never hurt me." CJ smiled at Kat's confidence in him. The fact was, she was two months older than he was, and nearly as tall. Sure he was protective of her, but that came from years of confiding in one another and backing each other up in battle. Truth be told, he had gained as much from her protectivness as she had gained from his. She had defended him against numerous teachers who demanded that he live up to his "potential", letting them know in no uncertain terms that he deserved a life as well as an education. Actually, what he had told her was more than true. He could hurt her. It had been years since she could actually beat him in a wrestling match, and he had just been beginning to get strong, then. His dad had explained the situation last year when CJ had gotten mad and pulled off a doorknob that had been locked. CJ's initial shock had been nothing compared to the surprise he had received that evening... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CJ stood with the doorknob and a good sized chunk of wood in his hand, looking and feeling stunned. When he raised his brown eyes to that of his father, expecting a serious verbal lashing, he was surprised to see an amused understanding there. "Son, we need to have a talk." "I know I shouldn't have been mad, and I'm sorry I broke it, but it isn't my fault this stupid thing broke. I mean, it's a door and it should be able to keep out burglars much less a fourteen year old boy. I didn't even pull the thing that hard, you know, I just pulled a little and this happened. I'll pay for it if you want, I just..." "SON!" CJ stopped in mid sentence to look at his smiling father. "You don't have to yell." Clark broke in to a full laugh. "Son, you remind me so much of your mother when you get nervous. Nobody can babble like your mother, but you sure come close." Once he was under control, he continued. "I'm sorry for yelling, but we need to have a talk, and we need to do it before you break anything else." "I didn't mean to," CJ said sullenly. "I know. Let's go in to your room." Clark took the doorknob from his son and placed it on the table as they passed through the kitchen. He made a mental note to replace the door and knob as soon as possible. Then, he led his reluctant son into the small but colorful bedroom at the top of the stairway. Once seated on the edge of the bed, Clark eased into the conversation he needed to have. He had been rehearsing this since he realized that the tiny baby entrusted into his and Lois's care would be around for awhile. The years of practice made little difference, this was still going to be hard. "There's a reason you can't control your strength. It's kind of a ... hereditary thing." "You mean I'm strong because you are?" "Oh, yeah. But it's more than that. CJ, this is really hard, and you might not believe me at first, but you know I could never lie to you." "Yeah, I know." "This is ridiculous. You're my son, and I can tell you anything." Clark was exasperated at his own difficulty to deal with this subject. "First, though, I need you to promise that what I have to say will not leave this room. Your mother knows, and your grandparents, but nobody else can find out. Do you understand me?" "Not really. What could be that bad, that you don't want anyone to know about it?" "It's not bad. Not exactly. Just watch." With that, Clark decided that a picture could be worth a thousand words and he stood up to spin. In a moment, Clark was standing before his son wearing a blue and red suit that had made him a household word for more than a decade. Wide eyed, CJ watched his father transform into a super hero. Staring, he immediately saw the resemblance between the "two" men, and wondered why he had been so blind. "Oh, wow!" Clark stood with the suit on and his glasses in his hand. As he put the glasses back on, he looked down into the stunned eyes of his son. "Any questions?" "You have no idea!" CJ replied. Clark smiled and twirled back into his jeans and sweatshirt. "Shoot." CJ considered the first thought that came to mind. "Am I as strong as you?" "I'm not sure. Probably not, or at least not yet. I was about thirteen when I started bench pressing cars, but you have your mother's genes too, so it may take you longer, or you might not get as strong at all. There isn't any way to be sure except to wait and see." "What else can I do?" CJ's mind was reeling with the possibilities. "That remains to be seen. You have always had really good hearing, so I don't know if it's ‘super’ or not. The rest was mainly concentration for me. Learning to control how much I see or hear, or how much strength and speed I use are just a matter of really concentrating. That should be the same for you, but I have no idea what limits you will have because of your mother." Finally, a big thought jumped into CJ's mind. "Can I FLY?" Clark smiled. This was his son, but also a true boy. "I doubt it, he said. At CJ's crestfallen expression, he elaborated. "I was in my late teens before that started for me, so it will probably be awhile before it starts, if it starts, for you. CJ's eyes became unfocused a moment as he considered the information. Deliberately, he focused his vision across the room and onto one of his birthday cards. He had left the cards sitting up on his dresser, and now he concentrated on the small image of a basketball in one of the pictures. He concentrated as hard as he could, focusing his energy on this one point. Gradually, he saw the basketball begin to darken as the card started to smoke. Clark watched his son focus his eyesight, and knew what he was trying to do. He considered stopping the experiment, but decided that this was a good time to evaluate just how much power CJ had acquired. When the card began to smoke, Clark placed his cupped hand before his son's eyes, effectively blocking the beam. The sudden appearance of a hand before his face startled CJ from his task. He looked up to see his father smiling. "You need to be careful what you focus on," Clark told him. "You can do a lot of damage that way." "This is amazing!" CJ shouted. "What else can I do?" "That's something that will take time to find out. It may be fun, but we'll need to find a safe place to do it." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It had begun that day. CJ had started experimenting with his abilities and had rapidly found that they could be quite useful. Suddenly he had that little extra for football, that great jump for basketball, and a little more speed for track. It was fun, really. He had a secret that made him different. On the other hand, it bothered him that his family's safety was dependent on secrecy. Clark had taught him from an early age that truth was to be honored above all else, and he felt very much that he was violating the good faith of his friends. He kept his word to his father, and he told no one about his abilities. He had to be cautious about using them, so that he wouldn't get caught. The hardest part was hiding himself from Kat. She had always been his confidant. He could tell her anything, but telling this would mean lying to his father. It felt unnatural to keep something from Kat. He had shared with her every joy and every hurt for as long as he could remember. Usually, he told her things before even confiding in his parents. At first it was easy to hide the little changes. After all, unless he had been actively looking for the abilities, he would probably dismissed them as a little extra athletic ability or just really good senses. As time progressed, it became harder to hide the differences. He wasn't just a little stronger, he was a lot stronger. He wasn't exactly able to control all of the powers, especially as teenage hormones began coursing through his system, so the incidents where he could be caught became more frequent. What worried him the most, though, was that Kat was noticing changes. She mentioned frequently that his improvement in sports seemed sudden, or his strength too great. Lately it was harder to make excuses when he could see things that she couldn't, or when he heard things that she was unable to hear. She was suspicious, but it was more than that. She made him feel like he was betraying her trust. This was the most exciting thing in his life, and he wanted to share it. He wanted her to be excited with him. He had wondered for nearly a year whether it was time to share his secret, then be became frightened for a different reason. His father had told him that Mom had flipped out when she figured it out on her own. Mom had felt betrayed because he did let her in on the secret. Would it have been different if Dad had told her? It was with these thoughts that he had gone to Lois early on a Saturday morning. Clark had been up and out early handling a fire near a gas station, and he had not returned, yet. "Mom," CJ began, "I need to ask a question." Lois was still far from June Cleaver, but she took some pride in managing her kitchen. She set two slices of buttered toast in front of her son, and wiped crumbs off the counter with the other hand. "What's up?" "It's kind of serious," CJ began. The tone of his voice was the trigger. She looked at him sharply before sitting and waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was definitely the voice: the exact same voice that Clark used when he was about to tell her something she really didn't want to hear. With a fifteen year old by, this could not be good. Nightmare images of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, drug dependence, alcohol induced stupors, and failing grades flashed through her mind in no particular order. This could not be good. "Let's have it," she stated, with as much confidence as twenty years of reporting could give her. CJ saw the look on his mother's face and nearly smiled. She really was expecting the worst. In a way, this would probably be a relief. "It's not that bad, Mom. I just want to know something about you and Dad." "That doesn't sound terrible," Lois said with relief. Raising a teenager was never easy, and CJ reminded her so much of Clark that sometimes she just forgot he was a kid. "So, what do you need to know?" "Dad said you were mad when you found out about him." He didn't have to elaborate on what Lois had found out. "Why were you mad? Was it because of what he could do, or because he lied to you?” Lois pondered the question for a moment, searching for why he needed to know this, and hoping that the knowledge would help guide her answer. "Is there someone that you want to tell about this?" CJ's instant blush told her more than his hesitant words of "not really." Lois smiled softly. She loved her son the most when he was so like his father. They were linked in a way that they were just beginning to understand, and she wondered how rocky that road would be. "He never told me one of the most important things about his life, and that hurt. I really think that it was more embarrassment than anything else, though. I had said things to Superman that I never wanted Clark to know, and that embarrassed me. When I'm on the defensive, I do get angry. It's just a part of me." "So, would you have been as mad if he told you?" "I really don't know. Like I said, it had more to do with my embarrassment than his dishonesty. What he did was wrong, but he did it for all the right reasons. He wanted to protect me, and it's hard to stay mad at someone who is trying to keep you safe." "That really doesn't answer my question," CJ said with a sigh. "It didn't answer mine, either. Who is it you want to tell?" This time, CJ's sigh was long and loud. "How do moms always know everything?" "With you, it isn't hard. I have spent almost twenty years figuring out your father, and you have his eyes. Sometimes I swear I'm looking at him, especially when you have something to hide." Lois smiled and sat down in the chair next to her son at their breakfast bar. "Is it Kat?" "You DO know everything!" he said with surprise. "Not everything, but I know you. You've known her for years, and I know you tell her everything. This must be hard for you." "Yeah, it is. We don't do secrets. We never have, not about anything. This is the biggest thing in my life, and I can't tell my best friend. I know all the reasons why, but this is still hard. I mean, I know she would never tell anyone. I can trust her more than she can trust me, now." "It's more than a matter of trust, CJ. If you tell your secret, you tell your dad's. That isn't really your place." "I know that. That's what makes it so hard. It's like I'm in between Kat and Dad, like a tug-of-war, and I'm loosing." The anguish on his face made Lois hurt for him. He had such a soft heart, and it was easily bruised. He had Clark's sense of honor, and her impulsivity. She often wondered just how volatile this combination would become. "I can't tell you what to do. Maybe I should, but I won't. I can tell you what your dad said, but you already know that. All I can say, is just go with your heart on this. Remember, though, that if she knows, she becomes a target. You'll be making that decision, too." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was with all this in his mind that CJ faced Kat across his bed. She wanted to know, she had said so, and this was as good a time as any. With the feeling that what he was doing was right, but the result would be bad anyway, CJ dove in. "We're both growing up, Kat. You know how you learn new stuff about your parents all the time? Well, I learned something and it kind of effects me. It has me worried. I want to tell you about it, but my parents told me not to." There! It was in the open, or sort of, and he had been totally honest. That had been too easy. "So, tell! You know all about my dysfunctional life. My dad had an affair, my mom made herself sick and died, and my dad makes a lousy mom. There's nothing you don't know about me. We just don't have secrets." "This is a big one, Kat. If I tell you, you might get hurt." She needed to be forewarned. "Oh, please! Quit with the melodramatics and just tell me what's bugging you. It won't leave this room, I promise." "Okay," CJ began. “You know how my folks are friends with Superman?" That was a good start. "Yeah, I got to meet him. So what's the point?" "My dad really *is* Superman." "WHAT!" "Don't shout! And don't tell anyone." "Right, like I'd repeat that. CJ, come on, what's really wrong. It's not like you to make things up, so I'll forgive this whopper. But, you need to tell me what's wrong." "I'm not lying," CJ declared defensively. "Right." "My dad's Superman, and I have powers, too. Not like his. Not yet. But they're getting better. I can outrun anyone except my dad, and I can burn stuff by looking at it. And I can see through stuff, too. My dad says I may be able to fly, but that comes later." Kat was stunned. She had never heard CJ utter so much as a fib, and this was ridiculous. She couldn't figure out his motivation. They always told each other the truth. Her life had been one big soap opera, and she had always told him about it. For him to make this up was insulting and hurtful. Her emotions had been uncertain at best, lately, and this set them off once more. "CJ, this isn't funny," she said quietly. "Tell me about it!" CJ said in an exasperated voice. "Can I just show you?" She looked at him quizzically. This was getting out of hand. This was out of the fib zone and into delusion. "I don't think so." Rolling his eyes, CJ did the first thing that came to the mind of a fifteen year old boy. He concentrated and looked her over from head to toe. "You have on a lacy pink bra and white underwear with blue dots." Kat's eyes flew open in shock. This was crazy! This couldn't be right. Either he hadn’t lied to her, or he had been peeking looks in the girl's locker room. In any case, she'd had enough. "CJ Kent, I never want to see you again in my life!" With that, she marched out of his room, through the house, and left, slamming the door behind her. CJ just stood there gaping. It never occurred to Kat that she had been more melodramatic that even CJ had seemed. ***** to be continued tomorrow in Chapter 2 ******* ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 00:43:59 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: New Kerth Jobs Comments: cc: lnc list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all! Sorry to those of you who get this post twice. But I wanted to post this to both lists so everyone could have the opportunity to volunteer to help out with our Fanfic Kerth Awards ceremony! :) The jobs of wav jockey, historians (ceremony loggers ) and emcee have been filled, but here are the openings we still have for the ceremony. If you want to be part of the fun, definitely volunteer for one (or more!) of these! You can email either Pam Jernigan at jernigan@compuserve.com or me at erink@ida.net to let us know which job(s) you would like. **Presenters: we still need some presenters to present the awards in several categories. It's not a difficult job...and it's a great opportunity to show off that gorgeous dress or tuxedo you plan on wearing! To find out exactly what's involved in being a presenter, you can go to Pam's new site to see: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/kerth.html **Greeters: we need one or two ppl to be at the ceremony who can jump over to #loiscla to tell folcs there what is going on and to invite them to come on over to the ceremony. Just a simple "For anyone interested, we're about to start the Fanfic Kerth Awards ceremony in #kerth_awards" and things like that. It's simple! TTYL! Erin :) ___________________ (aka ELK on IRC) erink@ida.net "The truth is, no one knows how long they've got. Anyway, it's not the years that count, it's the moments...right now...as they happen." CK to LL in BY ******* "You bet your sweet little chumpy I am." _________________ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 00:55:12 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Kerth Awards Unofficial Rules (JOKE) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi folcs! I got this truly hilarious email from a buddy regarding the Kerth Awards and I was laughing so hard that I thought I should just post it to the list so everyone else could enjoy it, too! P.S.--Sorry, Rachel...but I couldn't resist sharing this with everyone since I was ROTFL through all of it! >>> ***************************** The Unofficial Rules for those nominated for an award 1) never call back after the first date (oh wait wrong set of rules, scratch that) 2)Upon receiving a nomination, the phrase "wow its just such an honor to be nominated", must be repeated at least 3x per interview, particularly if asked "so how would you feel if you won?" 3)What to wear to an award show is extremly important, or rather what you don't wear. Women should try to dress in a gown that either a)is so skin tight it looks like it was painted on (leave nothing to the imagination, dahling) b)is made with less material then a wash cloth c)has at least 2 slits going alllll the way up d)if you must cover yourself from head to toe, the material must be see though e)you have to pay at least double the amount of money the average american will ever see in their lifetime f)wearing a gown that has a slit on either side and keeping the crowd guessing on "is she, or isn't she, wearing underwear", is always a fan favorite Men's attire is not as complex, but they should avoid the following a)wearing a Hanes undershirt as their shirt b)wearing Hanes boxers as their pants c)sunglasses that are louder then teenage girls at a Leonardo DiCaprio film 4) Once the ceremony is under way, the following rules apply to all winners a)the start of every speech begins with the phrase, "there are just sooo many people to thank I hope I remember all of them" b)Or "wow this is really unexpected" c)All speeches are to be drowned out by the band, and the winner is then required to speak LOUDER and/or move closer to the mike. d)once the speech is over the winner is then required to move to the opposite side of the stage from where they are supposed to be, so that they can be politely tugged in the right direction by the presenter (in case the presenter is as clueless as the winner, the "model" award giver must come to the rescue, and hope some directer will spot her "take charge" spunk and cast her in his next film) 5) Nominies who do not win, must remember to look "happy" for the winner. And Keep the "it was a honor just to be nominated" look during the entire prodcast until the after awards party where they can get drunk and think about having the winner's knee's hit with a club. *******************************<<<< Erin :) ___________________ (aka ELK on IRC) erink@ida.net "The truth is, no one knows how long they've got. Anyway, it's not the years that count, it's the moments...right now...as they happen." CK to LL in BY ******* "You bet your sweet little chumpy I am." _________________ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 00:44:54 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sara Kraft Subject: All done voiting.... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Well Folcs, I am finally done reading and re-reading many, many fanfics. I filled in the ballot and sent my vote off. After this LONG process, I've realized just how wonderful this group of Folcs is. At no other time was I faced with such decisions to make, loving it at the same time. I wanted to send a HUGE THANK YOU!!! out to ALL of the authors, who have kept such a cherished obsession alive. Good luck to all of you! Sara (I'm turning the computer off now, Dad, I swear! ) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 08:37:38 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Linzy Hill Subject: going nomail Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi all I'm away for 3 weeks, so I'm having to go nomail... Have a *great* time at the Kerths, I wish I could be there but there's a really good reason why I can't, it's my wedding!! If some kind FoLC could post me the log I'd be very grateful! Linzy l.hill@iop.bpmf.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 10:54:19 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JCWimmer Subject: Fanfic: Full Circle: Chapter 2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Chapter 2 Life was not fair. CJ had learned that in a hurry. School was out, he was finally old enough to drive, and he was miserable. Life was really not fair. CJ went back to the list his mom had given him of things to do, and groaned. "Stop at the store, get milk, bread, and cake mix for Grandma to make my cake, and remember to fill the car with gas." CJ read the list aloud to be sure he wouldn't forget anything, then grabbed his keys to the car on the way out the front door. CJ had been driving for six months. Because he had a job, he had received his driver's license at fifteen, rather than sixteen, and his parents gave him full access to the truck. He liked driving the small pickup truck that his dad had fixed up for him. His only responsibilities were to keep it in gas and pay his own insurance. It seemed reasonable to him, and much more fair than what most of his friends were dealing with. Kat had always liked driving around with him. Kat...bad thought... and just when he was feeling almost normal again. Kat had spoken to him only briefly in the last several weeks. She had explained that she did believe him, but she was no longer comfortable having him for a friend. The entire "alien" issue had her seriously confused, and she was still angry that he hadn't told her the truth right away. This was part of the reason CJ just didn't care about his birthday this weekend. What good was a party when your best friend wasn't there. He did look forward to the visit from his grandparents. He loved Grandma Martha in a way that he couldn't put in to words. She was always on his side in any argument, and they had forged a bond that he didn't begin to understand, but couldn't live without. Grandpa Jon was a lot of fun. They could talk about anything, and CJ never had to worry about it getting back to his parents. Maybe he would ask to go back to Smallville this summer. He had helped out on the farm a couple of summers, and he always enjoyed the break from his parents. It would also get him away from the tension of having Kat mad at him. He just couldn't deal with that. Yes, that's what he would ask for on his birthday. He would miss some work, but other than that he had no reason to stay here this summer. After finishing the errands his mom had requested, and switching out her car for his truck, he went back into the small town of Claremont. He drove by the convenience mart where Kat worked, twice, before he got up the nerve to stop. Entering the store, he waited for Kat to finish with a customer before walking up to the counter. "What's up?" "Not much." Kat kept her eyes down. She had been avoiding him since the incident in his bedroom. It really bothered her that CJ wasn't entirely human. Like every other teenage girl on the planet, she had a fair sized crush on Superman, and realizing that the hero was the father of her best friend had given her a major case of the weirds. She had rarely given Mr. Kent more than a passing glance, other than to consider him a better father than her own, thinking of him in *that* way made her feel really uncomfortable. "I wondered if you got the invitation to my party," CJ said quietly. "I got it," she replied. "I don't think I can come. I may have to work." "Okay. I get it." CJ turned to leave, then turned back around. He scanned the store quickly to ensure that it was free of customers, then he faced Kat once more. "Actually, I don't get it! You have been my best friend since I can remember. You haven't missed one of my birthdays since I turned six, and if you don't come it isn't because you have to work, it's because you don't want to come. I'm sick of you being so damn polite when I talk to you. If you're mad at me, then fine, but admit it. If you hate me, I'm sorry, but I can't change what I said, or didn't say. I'm doing my best here to be a friend, and I can't change who I am just for you." CJ finally ran out of steam and walked to the door. Before he left the store, he fired a parting shot. "I may not have done everything right, but I was always your friend. I really thought you were mine." Kat managed to watch CJ leave the store, get into his truck, and drive away. Once he was out of sight, she calmly walked to the door and locked it, and then returned to her place behind the counter. It was with his words ringing in her ears that she began to cry, sinking down to the floor behind the counter so nobody passing by on the street would be able to see her. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CJ's sixteenth birthday was thoroughly depressing. He moped in his room most of the day, coming out only when Martha served the cake that she had made for him. CJ ate the cake, smiled politely when he thanked her, and promptly went back to his room to mope. There had been no party. CJ had only given out one invitation, and when that had been refused he had torn up the rest and decided not to bother. "I'm getting worried about him," Lois told Clark as they shared the job of filling the dishwasher in the kitchen. CJ had refused to eat dinner, and Lois had refused to listen to Clark's assurances that CJ most likely would not suffer from one lost meal. For that matter, they didn't even know if CJ required food. Clark didn't, but Lois most certainly did. They assumed that CJ fell somewhere in the middle, as he did with so many other things. "He won't eat, he doesn't sleep. Clark, he's going to make himself sick." "Lois, you need to relax. He's just a teenage boy who got his feelings hurt. He'll bounce back, he always has." "But, he's always had Kat to run to. He needs her, now, and she's the problem." Clark looked at his wife with a wry grin. He smiled at her has he lifted his palm to cup her cheek in a familiar gesture. "Lois, she's reacting the same way you did." Lois pressed her face against Clark's hand for a moment, then she moved back. "I'm not proud of that, you know." Clark expanded his grin into a true, heart-stopping smile. "I realize that. I just think that we need to give Kat some time. You came around, and so will she. Besides, this can't be easy on her. It isn't just CJ that she has to get used to, it's me too. The few times I've run into her since this started, she can't even look me in the eye." Lois sighed, "At the very least, I think the secret is safe with her. If she isn't willing to talk about it with us, I doubt she'll spread it around. Besides, she thinks too much of CJ for that. She may be hurt and angry, but she won't hurt him. I trust her." "Now that's something. You don't trust anyone, " Clark said with a smile. Martha entered the kitchen carrying the remainder of the dinner dishes for Lois and Clark to wash. "I know it's not my place, but I really want to talk to you about CJ." Jonathan and Martha had immediately noticed that their grandson was not himself. While Clark had explained on the phone that CJ was "a little depressed", and the reasons for that depression, Martha had been unprepared for the desolation she saw in his face. CJ had been a part of her heart from the moment she had held him. She had always felt a strange attachment to the child, and she assumed that it came from his resemblance to Clark. Jonathan, too, had been drawn to the child more than one would have expected, even considering that this was their only grandchild. Initially, they had assumed that it was the fear of loosing him to his own time that had intensified their reactions to the child, but that thought had been pushed to the back of their minds for years now. They had given up waiting for the impending arrival of some time traveler that would carry CJ away, and had learned to enjoy each moment as it came. On the other hand, they had never entirely forgotten, and their attachment to him had never lessened. "Jonathan and I have been talking, and we were wondering if a change in scenery might get CJ back to normal," Martha offered. "You mean, take him back to Smallville?" Lois inquired. "Well, yes. We've had him there before, and he seemed to enjoy the time with us. He loves to explore the farm, and Jonathan could really use the help." Martha frowned, wondering how to be more convincing. The truth was, she just felt the need to spend some time with her grandson. "I know that he's working now, but he can write at our house as easily as here, and the stories might even be better. He could always e-mail them to you." Lois considered the suggestion carefully. CJ's column in the paper was a teenage perspective section that was designed to increase the circulation of the paper by reaching the younger audiences. He had shown Clark's flare for words, and his writing was unbelievably good for his lack of experience. It was true that he could write from anywhere, and his comparisons of farm life to city life could be as interesting as the series he had done last summer on the differences of city life to suburban living. He had an amazing analytical mind, and the potential for a good story was always there. In addition, Martha was right about getting his mind off Kat. The boy had lost his best friend, literally. Perhaps removal from the immediate situation would be a good thing. Clark's reasoning had followed the same pattern as his wife's. He had watched her face run the gamut of emotions as she considered sending their son away for the summer. This was always hard for her. The first time, back when CJ had been only nine, they had sent him to Smallville for purely occupational reasons. Lois had been promoted to Editor of the Daily Planet after Perry's failing health had mandated his retirement. While she was more than capable of running the paper, the initial adjustment in time management had threatened their marriage and undermined her confidence in her ability to parent CJ. The two month long break that the Kents had provided had allowed her to get together a routine that did allow her time for family. While Perry had insisted that it was impossible to have both, Lois managed to do so with her determination to have it all. Within a few weeks, she had established a daily pattern that included a home computer, cell phone, and message system. She had also delegated authority to two junior executives to eliminate the constant nightly phone calls that had plagued her. Finally, when the system she devised was working perfectly, they had brought CJ home to a much happier arrangement and found that the whole family, Martha and Jonathan included, had benefited from the situation. CJ had spent two other summers, and one Christmas break, with his grandparents. He loved the time with them, and he learned so much from the older values that Martha and Jonathan instilled. This really wouldn't be any different, Lois decided. He would spend a few weeks with them, and by the time school started in September CJ would be back to normal. Hopefully, by then Kat would have resolved this confusion she had, and they could go back to being friends. "That really may be a great idea, Martha," Lois said. Turning to her husband, she inquired, "What do you think?" "I think it's perfect. Now we just have to talk him into it." "That shouldn't be too hard," Jonathan said, as he walked into the kitchen with CJ behind him. "CJ just asked me how to talk you guys into letting him spend the summer with us." "It's all I want for my birthday," CJ added. "Well, then," Martha said with a smile, "it looks like you're coming home with us." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lois helped CJ to pack, and Clark and Jonathan loaded his things into the car. Because CJ had wanted to take his truck, Clark had offered to drive his parents car for Martha while Jonathan would ride with CJ. Normally, Martha and Jonathan would have come to Claremont by "Superman Express", but this time they had impulsively decided to drive. The scenery as they traveled through the mountains of West Virginia was beautiful along 64, and they had decided it would be fun to just drive. Under the circumstances, they were glad for the decision. CJ would be happier taking his truck to the farm, and this trip would provide Clark time to talk with Martha, and Jonathan time to talk with CJ. At the moment, however, Lois was feeling decidedly left out. As her family piled into the vehicles, she regretted the responsibilities that would keep her near the Daily Planet for the night. It was at times like this she really wanted to skip being an editor, and go back to just being a simple reporter. Odd, she had thought she had worked through this. Yet here she was, having just celebrated her sixth anniversary as Editor in Chief, and still having difficulty with the responsibilities of the job. Some things would never change. "I'll be back before morning," Clark whispered in her ear as he hugged her good-bye. "I know," Lois smiled weakly. "I just feel like I'm missing something, and I can't shake it." "I'll miss you." "I know. I love you." "I love you too, Lois. I'll be back as soon as I can." With a last lingering kiss, Clark left Lois standing on the porch, waving at her family as they drove away. Lois had said the rest of her good-byes in the house, so she was surprised how bereft she felt at the moment. She knew they needed her, and knew she was loved. At the Planet she was irreplaceable (as they informed her frequently), but at home she often felt like a fifth wheel. Perhaps it was because Clark and CJ had this new bond from sharing powers that nobody else had, or maybe it was just that CJ was growing up and needed less direct intervention. She missed playing "mom" to Kat as well. Lately, she wondered just how important she really was in the grand scheme of things. Oh well, she decided, this mood could be cured by only one thing. Moments later she settled herself in front of the television with a pint of cookie dough ice cream and put in a favorite video. If she wasn't necessary, she would just have to enjoy herself. ***** to be continued tomorrow in Chapter 3 ***** ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 11:27:12 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JCWimmer Subject: Fanfic: Full Circle: Chapter 3 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Chapter 3 CJ had been on the farm for nearly three weeks when he finally started opening up to his grandparents. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to them, he just couldn't seem to find a starting point. They hadn't been kidding about the amount of help Jonathan needed on the farm. CJ was constantly utilizing his powers to toss hay bails and clean equipment. He lacked his father's skill with repair, but Jonathan gave good directions, and they even managed to fix some of the larger pieces of equipment working together. Time with Martha was also a joy. Despite CJ's lingering depression, he couldn't help but feel better about life when he was with his grandmother. She cooked and cleaned for him, and he was on his own for finding ways to keep busy. When Jonathan wasn't around, he often helped around the house with the heavier cleaning chores and even occasionally with cooking. He became adept at flipping pancakes, and he gradually mastered the art of blueberry waffles. CJ made another strange discovery. It seemed that the more he used his newfound strength and speed, the easier it became to control the unique abilities. He was able to lift and carry greater amounts on a daily basis, and he seemed to get faster by the day as well. The wide open area of the farm allowed him more freedom to experiment, and the experimentation resulted in increased abilities. He discovered that his hearing was more than acute. He was able to hear his grandparents discussions in the house all the way from the barn. He could pick up their heartbeats if he was close enough, and he never missed his grandmother calling him in to dinner, wherever he was on the farm. His vision continued to develop as well. He was able to find his grandfather from quite a distance, and he was starting to be able to see through walls. He could heat objects (which came in handy for branding and welding) and only started a few accidental fires in the process. His strength became easier to control with practice. He was less apt to crush objects accidentally now, and yet he was able to deliberately crush bricks, rocks, and some metals with more skill than before. He could outrun the horses on a nearby farm, and had no difficulty catching the chickens to remove them from the hen house for cleaning. CJ's comfort with his abilities was directly related to his grandparent's encouragement of his learning to use them. They seemed to naturally know what he needed, and when he needed it. He supposed it came from raising his dad. They had been through this once before, and Martha was the first to admit that the previous experience was a help. They'd had no idea how to help Clark when he began to differ from the children around him, but they had those mistakes to learn from and were eager to use their knowledge to help their only grandson. When CJ finally felt ready to talk about his life, his grandmother was more than willing to listen. She didn't interrupt as he told her of his decade long friendship with Kat, and the pain involved in loosing that relationship. CJ eloquently expressed his fears for the future, realizing that if he was unable to maintain an established friendship, initiating new ones would be difficult. He cried as he told Martha about Kat storming out of the house and refusing to come to his party, then he cuddled in her arms as she held him, crying with him as she had done with Clark many years before as they had sat on the floor of the Fortress of Solitude. Martha had been through this once before, but she realized now that CJ had an advantage in the situation that Clark had never had. CJ had Clark. Simply, he had the benefit of not being alone in the world. Martha was not so naive as to believe that Clark was the perfect father. He certainly tried, but just as she and Jonathan had made their fair share of mistakes, she was absolutely sure that Clark had made his share of goofs along the way. Nevertheless, Clark and CJ shared something that could be wonderful if they could breach the father/son gap of generations and get together on this. Martha told CJ as much, and was surprised when it initiated a fresh wave of tears from the boy. "I know he loves me and all," CJ told her through the tears. "But this is my fault. He told me not to tell anyone because this could happen. I did it anyway, and that makes it my fault." "CJ, your father has never been one to hold a grudge. Was he that angry when you told Kat?" "He wasn't really mad, he just got this disappointed look, you know. It was like he was too hurt to be mad, and that made it worse." "Oh, Sweetie," Martha soothed. "Your father has been through so much in his life. He was trying to save you that hurt, but he can't protect you from everything. If he was hurt, it was because you were hurting." "But, he never even talked to me about it." "That's because he's a man." Martha said with some exasperation at the male of the species. "He may be the sweetest boy in the world, but he still expects everyone else to read his mind. He was probably waiting for you to come to him, and if I'm right he's just as disappointed that you haven't talked this out as you are." CJ wiped his face and sat up straight. "You really think so? You think he wants to talk about this." "I'm sure of it. Honey, he loves you. You and your mother are the most important things in his life, and you always will be. He wants to know everything about you, and this is even more special because it's something that only the two of you can share. Even your mother can't quite be in on this, although she has some experience with learning to use super powers." "What do you mean?" Martha smiled, happy that she had apparently cheered her grandson, "Now, that is something your mother will have to explain." CJ conceded that argument with a smile, and kissed his grandmother on the cheek before walking out into the yard to help his grandfather with a tractor that had gotten stuck in the mud. CJ had been trying to tighten the faucet handle enough to stop the consistent drip that had formed an inconvenient puddle under the faucet when the entire faucet had come off in his hand. By the time he had found Jonathan, and the laughing twosome had turned off the main water valve long enough for CJ to weld the faucet closed, the entire front yard had been flooded. Yesterday, they had spent the day installing a new pipe and faucet to replace the one that CJ had destroyed inadvertently, and today they needed to get the tractor out of the muddy yard and plant a new crop of grass to replace what had been drowned by the incident. Jonathan directed CJ as he carefully maneuvered the large piece of farm equipment out of the mud hole and onto firmer ground. He was not able to lift the entire unit, but he could pick up various wheels on the tractor and tilt it while he shifted it out of the water. He was extremely careful during the process, taking each of his grandfather's suggestions to heart, and hoping that he would not do any additional damage in the process. For his part, Jonathan made sure that CJ maneuvered the tractor onto hard packed dirt, and that he didn't hurt himself in the process. He kept up a running commentary on what CJ was doing, interspersed with funny stories of Clark's similar accidents during the initial development of his powers. CJ was relieved to see that Jonathan had quite a sense of humor regarding the incident, and also relieved that his father had made mistakes, too. It was a common misconception among teenagers that their parents had never made mistakes. Jonathan realized that the awkwardness that CJ was demonstrating was more than just an adjustment to super powers. He was in the unnatural state of being in between adult and child, and regardless of his physical abilities that was a hard place to be. He was dealing with adolescence as well as could be expected, Jonathan supposed, and he would handle the situation better with time. When Jonathan quizzed CJ on his conversations with Martha, he was surprised at the answer he got. With a huge smile, his grandson relayed Martha's ideas that Clark would be a wonderful resource for him and that they shared something really special. It was a new concept for CJ, the idea of different being a good thing. He had spent most of his life learning to fit in, and the permission to be different from those around him was a relief. He had taken a lot of flack for being a writer when his athletic abilities were so promising, and it had been hard to follow his heart on the matter. Certainly his parents had been encouraging, and of course Kat, but that was where the support had stopped. Other students had always growled when he threw off the bell curve with his test scores, and his true enjoyment of writing had earned him condescending looks from even the teachers. Half of them seemed to think he was simply trying to impress them, while the other half spend so much time trying to make him live up to his imaginary "potential" that they had devised that he had nearly begun to hate school. Kat had always seemed to be able to encourage him when the teachers really got on his nerves. She had a way of understanding what he needed, and when he needed it. Sometimes she had used jokes or stories to pull him out of his bad moods, but more often she used a rare sarcastic wit that challenged him on another level than school. Keeping up with her mood swings lately had been an additional challenge, yet he seemed to manage. If it hadn't been for the Superman thing, he would most likely be with her now. They always kept each other busy over the summers. Two years ago, when he had come to visit his grandparents, Kat had been allowed to come along. It had been that summer that Katie Lynn had ceased to be, and Kat the tomboy had truly taken over. She had changed that summer from the pristine little girl that her mother had encouraged into a tough little scrapper that could play baseball, football, and even hockey. She had become his equal in many ways, able to keep up with him on a physical level while occasionally surpassing his mental abilities. Little Katie had grown up. She had climbed trees, milked cows, and ran through fields with no dress in sight. Martha had sewn her two jumpers to replace the dresses she had ruined, and had bought her the first pair of running shoes that she had owned. Kat had abandoned the girlish nickname that had followed her since birth, and decided that she was not yet ready for the formal "Kathryn" that was on her birth certificate. It was this summer, when she had barely turned fourteen, that she had truly captured the hearts of the Kents. This little spitfire reminded them of Lois in her spirit and energy, and they were touched by her presence. CJ had loved that summer. He had been so afraid that he would loose his best friend to the inevitable changes of puberty. Most of his male friends seemed to fade away at the first sign of a girlfriend, and the few friends that were girls were only interested in a boyfriend. CJ wasn't ready for the whole boy-girl relationship idea, and he was grateful to find that Kat shared his ideas about staying friends. It wasn't that he didn't want a girlfriend, just that he wasn't ready to deal with the concept yet. CJ sighed loudly as he glanced over the yard. With the tractor out of the way, it was impossible not to see how much damage had been done to the grass. It was simply a muddy mess from where CJ stood. He couldn't believe that he had done all of this in just a few minutes. One second of misjudged strength would take weeks of growth to repair. "I'm sorry, Grandpa Jon. I didn't mean to do this." "I know that, son. We'll get it fixed up soon. Why don't you use that rake to even out the mud, and we'll let the sun dry it out for the next couple of days. We can reseed it later, for now I just want to get it level." "Okay. I'll give it a try." With that, CJ quickly (very quickly) raked out the worst of the hills and valleys of the yard, and left a relatively even surface. It was still quite wet, but it would dry quickly in the July heat. CJ stood back and surveyed his work. "How's that?" "Clark couldn't have done it any better." CJ smiled at what was so obviously a compliment. He liked being compared to his dad. He liked being *like* his dad. With pride in his voice, he offered to bring his grandfather a drink. Jonathan smiled at the boy and asked for some of the lemonade he had seen Martha making earlier. CJ came back from the kitchen with two large plastic tumblers of lemonade. He was happy to help out his grandparents even in small ways. They were getting older, well into their seventies, and it worried him that they might not always be here for him. He always felt so safe here, so loved and accepted. It was a feeling that he had always had, ever since he was a tiny child. There was something about this couple that was also a part of him. Being with them was just a pleasure. He simply could not understand the friends he'd had that complained about their grandparents. His were wonderful, and he was aware that this was a time to be treasured. "Good, lemonade. Thanks for bringing it out," Jonathan said as he sat down on the porch steps. "You're welcome." "So, what's the deal with your girlfriend?" "Well, she's not my girlfriend." Jonathan turned to look at his grandson as he sat beside him on the steps. "Is that the problem?" "Nah. She has a problem with me being half alien." Jonathan's eyes flew open at that remark. "Do you?" CJ sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he replied, "I'm not sure. I never really thought about it. I like being the same as Dad, and it's cool to be able to do stuff, but I get tired of having to hide everything that I can do." Jonathan nodded in understanding. "Your dad used to feel the same way." "I'm already different than everyone else. I like to read and write, and I'm better at sports without really trying. Some of the kids don't like me because my grades are too good. It's like I just can't win. The only person who ever really liked me, kid I mean, was Kat. Now she's not even talking to me. I feel pretty alone." "Your dad spent most of his life that way. In fact, until he met your mother, I don't think he ever told anyone about his secret." "I just really thought that Kat would understand. I knew she would be mad because I didn't tell her right away, and maybe the way I told her wasn't the best, but she was my best friend. Best friends aren't supposed to just stop liking you when you do something wrong." CJ paused before continuing. "Besides, it's not like I can help the ‘alien’ thing. I can't make my dad from Earth any more than she can make her dad stop drinking. You don't get to pick your parents, and I'd rather have my dad than hers any day." "It sounds like you and Kat need to talk this out." "But I told you, she's not talking to me. She wouldn't even come to my party." "CJ, your party was over a month ago. Have you called her since you came here?" "No. I'm afraid to." Jonathan looked up in surprise, and said, "Now why would you be afraid to talk to your best friend?" CJ closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He wasn't sure how to put his fears into words, but he owed his grandfather some explanation. "As long as I don't talk to her, I guess I can think she will talk to me someday. If I try, and she won't listen, then I know I've lost her. I don't think I can stand to lose my best friend." Jonathan smiled at the sincerity in his grandson's voice. The child apparently had thought of little else since he had come here, and his thoughts were clearer than he realized. Unfortunately, denial was not going to get him back together with his friend. "Go call her, son. You need to know if you're going to move on. This way, if she won't talk, you can have some time here to get used to the idea before you have to go home. If she does talk to you, you can relax and enjoy the rest of your summer." "That makes too much sense," CJ told his grandfather. They met each other's eyes, and then they both began to laugh. Sometimes, the answer was just so simple. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Kat was just walking into her bedroom when she heard the phone. She flopped over the end of the bed, and answered on the third ring. "Hello?" There was silence on the line, then a small voice, "Uh, hi." Kat was somehow not surprised to hear a voice all the way from Kansas. "How's the vacation?" "Quiet. Working some for Grandpa, but mostly just reading. He makes me write every afternoon for an hour and send it in to Mom." "What are you writing about?" "Mostly the farm stuff. How to milk cows and clean chicken coops. I'm putting together a story on country life for the column, but that's about all." "Sounds pretty good to me. Does your grandma still make those blueberry waffles?" Yeah. She taught me how, too." With that, Kat made a decision that eased her mind and quelled her conscience. "Maybe you could show me how when you get home?" All the way from Kansas, the catch could be heard in CJ's voice when he replied with a simple, "I'd really like that." He knew Kat would probably hear the sniffles, but that really didn't matter to him. She had seen him cry before, and most likely would again. "I can't talk long. I don't want the bill too high for Grandma and Grandpa." "Okay. I just wanted to say that, well, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, CJ. I miss you." He could hear that she was crying, too. In a small way, it made him feel a little better that she missed him. He wouldn't tell her that, of course, but he felt better just the same. "I miss you, too, Kat." "When are you coming home?" "Soon. Maybe Grandpa will let me drive back next week. I really want to talk to you." "Me too, CJ. Me too." "Good-bye, Kat." "Bye, CJ." When CJ hung up the phone he felt a thousand pounds lighter. He had no idea what was going on in Kat's head at the moment, but she missed him as much as he missed her, and that gave him hope. ***** to be continued tomorrow in chapter 4 ***** ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 12:03:48 PST 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: Kerth "Who Are The Nominees?" page Comments: To: L&C Listserve MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Crossposting to both lists -- apologies to those who get this twice. Well the voting on the Kerths is closed and the ballot is gone. However, the nominees' page is still up and still being updated as I receive information. I have plenty of space at my site right now, so I intend to keep this page up indefinitely. So if you are a nominee in this year's Kerths and meant to send me information about yourself to go on the nominees page, but figured it was too late, it isn't! Send your bio, list of other stories, links to homepages, etc. to me, and I'll put them up. If you've participated in round robins, don't forget to mention those -- I'm working on getting a list of all the participants = in all the round robins, but so far, I don't even have a list of all the rou= nd robins! If you have a *small* photo of yourself (10K or less; larger can be negotiated) that you'd like to include, send that too -- I have one up at my page Peace A FoLC Named Peace Come visit me, and read my fanfic http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 14:22:13 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Ellimrac Subject: Reading Room Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hello I was wondering if there might be a way to access the reading room. Any information will be very helpful. Thank you. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 16:14:19 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Budmayes Subject: Re: Reading Room Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit >Hello I was wondering if there might be a way to access the reading room. Any information will be very helpful. Thank you.< Try this address and see if it works for you. aol://4344:113.lcrrss.454048.519087304 Good luck budmayes@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 19:40:36 -0600 Reply-To: ginachar@horizon.hit.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: GINA AND CHARLIE JONES Subject: Kerth wavs Comments: To: Lois & Clark MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi there........ Your friendly wav-jockey here to remind you to download the Kerth wavs before the show. www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5968 Also, due to requests from some of you (and the new larger size limits granted by geocities) I have now included zipped files of the wavs. I hope this makes it easier to download them. Keep in mind, though, that if you d/l all of the wavs you will have used up approximately 2.67 mb of memory. Thats all for now............... g ginachar@horizon.hit.net (loisrae on IRC #loiscla) Check out my webpages at www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5968 and www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3286. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 22:32:56 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Kerth Ceremony Date/Time Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Well, the polls are closed, the voting is over, let the counting of the votes commence (or, ideally, let it continue, since I hope the counters have been counting as they went along, but whatever ). The burning question now is, how long will it take for the votes to be counted? Is i= t at all possible to have our awards ceremony next Saturday? If you're a vote counter and you know you absolutely cannot make that deadline, pleas= e speak up... otherwise, I move we start planning for the 28th. I've spoken to two vote-counters that say they've been keeping up with the ballots; those two think they can get simple tallies (just a list of winners; statistical analysis will take longer, if we do it at all) by th= e middle of next week. Would it be a reasonable compromise to give out *half* the awards (or however many are tallied) on the 28th, and save the= rest for the next week? = (I confess I have selfish motives for pushing for an earlier date; April 4th is my son's first birthday party, we'll have out of town guests, and = it will be very difficult for me to get online until late in the evening, if= then.) More importantly, though, I think we've got a bunch of impatient people who've gotten all excited - that level of enthusiasm cannot be maintained= for weeks on end. We've got volunteers who need to know a date in order = to plan their time. If some presenters can't make that date, I need more volunteers (I could use more volunteers anyway, actually ). = The *other* important question to consider is, what time of day should we begin? I don't know if it's possible to set a time that will accomodat= e all the FOLCs around the world. And if it comes down to it, I think that= we have more Australians than Germans, so that's the group we have to try= hardest to include. I'm sorry, my German friends, but that's how the numbers work out. Just as a starting point, let's think about doing it at 8pm Eastern time (from Eastern time, subtract 3 to get the Pacific time; add 6 to get Germ= an time, and add 11-14 to get the time across Australia (I think)) (There's= another reason to do this thing sooner than later - starting in April we'= ll have to worry about Daylight/Summer time around the world...). = So... would 8pm EST work for you? Do you prefer earlier, or later? By an hour or more? = I hate to seem harsh about this, but we've got to get this thing moving or it'll never happen at all, and *that* would be a darned shame. PJ !^NavFont02F07BF0007MGHHNC1400B E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 21-Mar-1998 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ Fanfic writer, Kerth co-coordinator, busy mom :-) http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/folc.html ~~~~~ "[You want to know] what's the Mountie like? He's Superman, alright?" --Due South, Red White or Blue ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 21:54:42 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beth Guide Subject: Re: Reading Room MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey everyone. When aol revamped the boards, the took it down. Anyone who was a reading room author is more the welcome to post their stories on the regular FF boards on Zoom's site (which is set up like the old reading room). I have many of the stories saved, but am not sure how the authors of some of them would feel about their stories being posted without their permission. So I would rather have them do it... Hope that helps. Beth -----Original Message----- From: Budmayes To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Date: Sunday, March 22, 1998 3:14 PM Subject: Re: Reading Room >>Hello I was wondering if there might be a way to access the reading room. Any >information will be very helpful. Thank you.< > >Try this address and see if it works for you. >aol://4344:113.lcrrss.454048.519087304 > >Good luck >budmayes@aol.com