From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9803E" ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 14:53:15 +0100 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: Kerth Awards Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Well guys Although I was only able to stay on-line for part of the Award Ceremony (phone bills and change-of-clocks), it was a great evening, and many thanks to all arrangers/writers/presenters etc. I have had such a good time reading and re-reading the nominations, some of which were old favoutites, and others that became instant new favourites. It was so nice to meet again some of my LAFFPals in the chat room, and to hear their presentation/acceptance speeches (some coming so fast it was difficult to see the seams) - Zoomie, ChrisP, ChrisM, Sheila, Julie, PatH and soooo many others - you were all so busy you probably missed this lurker, but I 'felt all your presences'!! One question: What happened to the rest of the UK? Were you all on-line *after* I left?? I will be looking for the full list of winners in the next few days - Leanne and her gang will need plenty of time to recover - but for now, thanks again for this idea and please make it an Annual event 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: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 10:44:37 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Margaret Brignell Subject: Thank you:D Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi all:) I hear that I'm a winner:) I wasn't online last night, but I hear through the grapevine that *all* of my nominated fanfic won a Kerth Award:) Since I didn't get to do this live, last night. I'd like to thank everyone who has helped me in writing my fanfic. As they can all testify (having seen my stories from initial draft through "final" execution), the stories would not be what they are today without their input, support, criticism and guidance. There are so many people I owe thanks to, if I named them here it would read like the end credits to a multi-million dollar sci-fi movie I want to also thank Debby for nagging me into co-writing SwapMeet:) If she hadn't done that we couldn't have won, eh? (Although, I *still* think shorter is better [/me ducks for cover;)]) Thanks are also due to everyone who has written to me expressing their appreciation for my stories:) I work for just that kind of feedback:) I hear that music playing now, so I'll just say one final thanks to everyone who helped me create these award-winning stories:) Margaret Exiting stage right...er, left...statues held high:) ****************************** Margaret Brignell brignell@capitalnet.com Ottawa, Canada %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% My fanfic now available at: http://www.capitalnet.com/~brignell/ ****************************** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 11:30:28 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: Fanfic: Full Circle: Chapter 11 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit *********************** Chapter 11 *********************** It had been four months since the baby's birth when Lois opened her eyes. Her brain activity indicated responses to sound and sight, but she did not react to it. Clark was the first to notice the big brown eyes of his wife begin to follow him. When he moved across the room her head would vaguely move to follow his movement, and her eyes began to fixate on him. The link appeared to only be with Clark, as she did not react when other people entered her room. Clark continued to care for as many of her needs as possible, and the nurses were relieved to have one less patient to bathe and turn. Nearly a month later, Lois left the ICU for a step-down unit on another floor. Dr. Klein continued his daily visits, although there was rarely any change in her condition. Dr. Klein feared that Lois had experienced brain damage as a result of the continued exposure to the pregnancy, and he felt responsible because he had both initiated the pregnancy and allowed it to continue against his better judgment. He was unable to look Clark in the eye, and he sensed a subdued rage when he was in the other man's presence. Once Lois was moved to the new floor, she was allowed to have visitors. CJ was able to visit his mother, and he was finally able to feel a part of a family again. He brought copies of the Daily Planet and read the stories to her one by one. Lois began to respond to more of her visitors, and especially to CJ. She vaguely imitated a smile, and followed him consistently with her eyes. Even the other physicians and the nursing staff remarked about her improvement. She was not talking, or caring for herself, but just the fact that she appeared aware of her surroundings was encouragement to those around her. Martha and Jonathan brought her pictures of the baby, and while Clark refused to look at them Lois stared at them for hours. The Metropolis General Hospital became a member of the Kent family. They lived there, slept there, and revolved their lives around it's schedule. Clark was there first thing in the morning, and last thing each night. More than once he slept next to Lois on the tiny hospital bed, his arms wrapped around her still form. The nurses knew that his happened, just as they knew it was against all the rules, but the most acknowledgment it ever received was when an extra blanket was left for him, or a reminder given to put Lois' rail up so he would not fall. Even the staff realized that something special was going on in the room, and they were loath to disturb it. ******************** "Can I go with you to the hospital today?" Kat asked as she sat down on CJ's bed. She had dropped by for a ride to school, and he was almost ready. "Sure. I wanted to take mom my new column. I finally got the farm piece edited, and I think she'll like it." CJ finished buttoning his flannel shirt, and turned around to tuck it into his pants. "What time did you want to leave?" Kat swallowed heavily and looked anywhere except for at her friend. Friends were not supposed to feel like this about friends. CJ thought about it for a moment. "Let's leave around four. Dad wants me to pick up some chow mein for mom. The doctor said she's ready for solid foods, and Dad doesn't want her starting with that nasty hospital stuff." "Leave it to your dad to think of everything," Kat commented. "Yeah, I guess." CJ didn't sound so sure. "I just wish, sometimes, he thought about someone besides mom." "You know she needs him, now." "I know. Forget I said that. We need to get to school." "CJ, talk to me," Kat pleaded. CJ had been quieter this week than he had since his brother's birth. She knew he was worried about his mom, and even his brother for that matter, but this felt different. "I'd rather not." "CJ!" With a sigh, CJ gave in to the inevitable. "Sometimes I just wonder why I'm even here. I feel like I'm just in the way. They give me these little jobs to keep me busy, but it's not like they really want me here." CJ sat on the bed with a miserable look on his face. "I just want stuff to be like it used to. I'm sick of living in that place, or living here alone. Even my grandparents spend most of their time with the baby, and they don't care about me now." CJ quietly began to cry. Kat was immediately by his side, with her arms around him. She hugged him as the small cries turned into wracking sobs, and cried with him when he began to shake. She was vaguely aware that he was hurting her with his grip, but she didn't feel it was a good time to mention it. After awhile, CJ loosed his grip on her and relaxed somewhat. "Sorry about that," CJ mumbled as he wiped his face on his sleeve. "That's what friend's are for," she replied as she wiped her face in a similar manner. They looked at each other briefly before breaking down into a laugh. "We're pretty pitiful," CJ commented. "Oh, well," Kat smiled. She sobered quickly and her eyes met CJ's. "You know your dad loves you. He'd do anything for you. He's just really having a hard time with this." "I know. Sometimes, it feels like I'm loosing both of them, and I'm sort of afraid of being left all alone." You'll never be alone, CJ. You'll always have me." CJ smiled and kissed Kat on the cheek in thanks. Then he took her hand in his and reached for their backpacks with his other hand. If they didn't leave now, they'd be late for school. Baby Boy Kent was moved into a regular baby isolette on the first Tuesday in May. He was no longer in need of oxygen, and he was eating more than two ounces of formula every two hours. Martha nagged the baby's doctor incessantly until he consented to allow the baby off the floor. With her husband and a nosy nurse following behind, Martha pushed the isolette to the elevator, went down three floors, then pushed the baby out of the elevator towards Lois's room. Martha had a bottle tucked in her pocket and was intent on allowing Lois the privilege of feeding her own son. When Martha saw Lois sitting up in bed, she smiled. She rolled the baby into the room and right up to Lois' bed. Her attention was so focused on Lois, that she did not see her son begin backing away from the bed with an alarming speed. "I've brought someone to see his mommy," Martha told her. She picked up the tiny infant, now just over four and a half pounds, and placed him on the bed next to his mother. Lois focused on the tiny infant and smiled. She wished she had the strength to hold him, but she couldn't lift her hand. She wanted to tell them how beautiful she thought he was, but her voice wouldn't make any sound. She stared at the beautiful child for several moments before she became so frustrated with her limitations that she began to cry. Martha, seeing Lois's tears, smiled at her daughter. She took the bottle from her pocket and placed it in Lois' hand. Holding her own hand around Lois's, she helped Lois guide the nipple into the baby's open mouth. The little boy latched on to the food source immediately, and within a few minutes had drained the bottle dry. Lois watched the boy eat with fascination, grateful that Martha had understood her need to be with the baby. Martha lifted the child into her arms, and patted gently until a large burp was heard. Then she sat next to Lois on the bed and laid the baby carefully into the crook of Lois's arm, supporting it with her hand. Lois smiled down at her son, then focused on her mother in law. Her lips moved to form the words "thank you", but no sound came out. Martha had been watching. "You're welcome." Lois smiled once more at her mother in law before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. When Martha took the baby back into her arms and placed the baby in the isolette, she was surprised to see that Clark and Jonathan had disappeared and the nurse that had followed her was wiping suspiciously moist eyes on a tissue. ******************** Jonathan had found Clark downstairs in the hospital cafeteria. He alone had noticed his son's hasty departure, and was concerned that he was quite upset. Clark was getting a candy bar from a rather uncooperative vending machine when he lost control of his temper. When the candy caught behind the spiral dispensing arm, Clark brought his hand down on the machine with a frustrated sigh. Unfortunately, the material that the machine was made of was not designed to tolerate such abuse. The aluminum crumpled beneath his strength, and would be quite useless to others in the future. Jonathan could see that Clark was at the end of his frustration threshold, and suggested a walk outside. Reluctantly, Clark followed his father into the May sunshine. It was a rare, clear day, that seemed filled with such possibility. Clark was momentarily stunned that the world was going on outside the hospital. His life had been reduced to the enormous cement structure standing behind him, and the metal and glass structure of the Daily Planet Newsroom. He saw little in between, whether flying or driving, and occasionally he began to feel that the world had ceased to exist. "Do you want to talk about it, Son?" Clark glanced back at this father and sighed. He really should talk to someone, but he had no clue how to put his feelings into words. It seemed impossible that anyone could understand the pain that he felt each time he looked at his wife and could feel that she was reaching for him but not able to get there. It was so frustrating to look into those brown eyes that he loved and not be able to communicate on any level more complex than awareness. It was tearing him apart to feel as if touching his wife, his privilege and joy in the past, was being observed beneath a microscope. "I guess I'm just tired," he finally answered. That didn't begin to address his pain, but it was all that he thought he could share. "Is there a reason you don't want to see your son?" Jonathan addressed his primary area of concern. He had watched Clark avoid the baby for months, usually under the pretense of caring for Lois, but he had never seen him actively turn his back on the child. He was becoming concerned that this ran more deeply than a matter of not having time for the infant, and might even boarder on disliking the tiny person. Clark leaned his back against a tree. They had walked to a small park that was located a block or so from the hospital. He could see children on swings and playing in a sandbox, boys chasing balls and Frisbees with their fathers, and various families taking advantage of the unusually pretty day. He wanted to feel a part of that. He remembered sharing similar activities with Lois and CJ in years past, and he longed for the feeling that he had lost. He just wanted to go back to the way things had been before. He wanted to take back the pregnancy and the illness that had followed. He wanted his wife back. "I guess it's not really the baby," he finally told his father. "I feel like I've lost Lois, and I just can't seem to care about the baby. I know how much we wanted him, but it doesn't feel right without Lois." Clark sighed. He knew his father couldn't understand. Jonathan had always loved Clark unconditionally, and it seemed unlikely that he had ever had doubts. Clark felt like a traitor. If he loved the baby, he was loving the one thing that had cost him his wife. If he hated the baby, he was betraying what Lois had wanted the most. He had stayed between the two extremes by ignoring the existence of the child, and this was becoming more difficult to do. The child wasn't a medical definition anymore, as his mother had just demonstrated. Martha had just forced Clark to see the child as his son, as Lois's son, and he wasn't ready to deal with the implications of this. "I'm afraid he won't go away if you ignore him," Jonathan told his son. It was hurting him to see Clark in such pain, but denial was not solving the problems. "The baby is nearly ready to be taken home, and you haven't even given him a name, yet." Clark looked up in alarm. His face blanched white, and he appeared near panic. Jonathan observed Clark sweating, a sure sign of panic, and reached out to steady his son. Clark was breathing rapidly, and thinking as quickly as he could. "You and mom can take him, right? You can take care of him for us, until Lois is better." The look of fear in Clark's eyes nearly broke Jonathan's heart. He had known the question would come, just as he knew the answer. "I just can't take him home. How could I take care of Lois and him at the same time? I just can't do it." "Son," Jonathan began, "I wish we could." He sighed and walked around the tree to lean against it, next to his son. "Your mother and I have raised our family. Martha turns seventy-five next month. I can't ask her to start over. It isn't fair to her, and it wouldn't be fair to the baby. Just the few hours she spends here during the day tire so much." Clark sighed as well. His father was right, and he knew it. The baby was his responsibility, and there was no way around it. He also knew that his father was being kind with his explanation. He had noticed how tired his mother had been looking. The older Kents had moved into the house in Claremont, and had been commuting here daily to see the baby and Lois. They had placed the farm up for sale, and were planning to move into an apartment closer to Metropolis to help with raising CJ and caring for the baby. He knew that this situation wasn't the only reason for the move. Martha had been having trouble with arthritis for the past few years, and Jonathan was just now realizing how much he had relied on Clark to get his work done on the farm. It had not been a fabrication, telling CJ that he was needed on the farm. There was too much work for the older man to do alone, and there was no reason to deny it any longer. In truth, Jonathan had looked into selling the farm long before this medical crisis had necessitated the move into Clark's house, but the final decision had not been necessary until Clark had asked for help in caring for CJ. Martha had enjoyed getting to know her grandson. Both of them, for that matter. She had spent hours talking with CJ about his concerns regarding his mother and the new baby. She had taught him a little more about cooking, and had helped him with his homework just as she used to do for Clark. She spent hours caring for the newest Kent while CJ was in school, feeding and diapering the little one, and holding him for hours on end. The experience had not been all bad, but she was tiring. She was sleeping longer at night, and beginning to feel less herself. She had shared her concerns with Jonathan when they realized that Clark was not even attempting to bond with the baby, and Jonathan needed to relay the concerns to Clark. Jonathan would do anything for Clark, but he could not commit to raising a child for him. He had hoped that Clark would start to show an interest in the baby when Lois had begun to improve, but if anything he had withdrawn from the child more. His care of CJ had not suffered, in fact he had seemed to grow continually closer to the teenager as the crisis enveloped their lives, but he would not acknowledge his newest son. Jonathan understood his fear, but he didn't know what to do about it "The nurses say the baby can go home within the next few weeks. You will need to make a decision, Son.” Jonathan knew that Clark would not face the choices without some prodding. "What decision? Can't the baby stay here until Lois is well enough to care for him?" Clark had never allowed himself to consider that Lois might not recover. They had always planned to raise the child together, and he had not dealt with any other options. Lois was strong, she was feisty, and she would get better. From the moment that she had come off the respirator, Clark had believed this, and he would not listen to the doctor's opinions to the contrary. Jonathan knew that his son was not dealing with the facts, but he didn't know how to force him to do so. "Son, we don't know when Lois will be able to come home. She may be here for some time, and even when she does come home she won't be able to take care of a baby for right away. This is something she can't do for you." Clark looked at his father sharply, ready to argue, but having no grounds to do so. Just because his father had a better grasp of reality, that was no reason to attack him. Clark took a deep breath and attempted to face a world without Lois in it. He contemplated the concept for several moments, then decided once more that it simply couldn't happen. He needed her too much. "I can't live without her, Dad." Jonathan placed his arms around his son, as Clark began to cry. Tears too long denied flowed down his face for several moments, and he was too shaken to stop them. His father held him tightly, just as he had done for CJ, and waited for the storm to pass so that he could continue with what had to be said. When Clark had calmed somewhat, Jonathan offered him a handkerchief, which Clark took gratefully. "I can't raise him alone, and you can't help. Lois isn't up to it now, and she may never be." Clark's voice was desolate as he recited the facts as he saw them. "We can't put him up for adoption, he's my son. Eventually, he'll be like CJ, and there are powers that would have to be explained. I don't want him winding up being dissected because I'm not capable of raising him." Clark turned to his father with a hopeless expression on his face, his eyes tortured, "Do you have any ideas?" "Not at the moment, son," Jonathan told him. "We'll figure this out together. I just wanted to make sure you were thinking about it. It's something we need to settle." Clark knew his father was right, just as he knew that he had a little time to make the decisions that would effect the rest of his life. At least the issues were out in the open. Where they would go from here, Clark had no clue. But at least he had a starting point. ***** to be continued tomorrow in chapter 12 ***** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 12:31:18 -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 Winners! :-) Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Congrats to everyone who was nominated, but each category could only have= one winner, so here they are... This list is also on my webpage, and tha= t version has some notes about how the voting went in each category (i.e., whether it was a close race or not) - if you're interested, set your browsers for= http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/kerth.html. But this i= s the short version. (Full logs of the ceremony will be available shortly)= Best Comedy - Lois's Revenge/Clark's Response by BB Medos Best Tearjerker - Heaven's Prisoners by Demi Best Dramatic Story - Love Beyond All Measure by Chris Mulder Best Fanboy Story - Faster Than a Speeding Bullet by Sheila Harper Best Alt Story - Always Something There to Remind Me by Zoomway Best Revelation/Lois - Dimensions of Loving by Chris Mulder Best Revelation/Others - Smallville Revelation by Pam Jernigan Best Wedding Story - Going to the Chapel by Pam Jernigan & Sarah Wood Best Pregnancy/Delivery Story - When You Needed Me Most by Erin Klinger Best Next Gen Story - Good Night Metropolis by peabody Best Alternate Beginnings - Meet Me in Kansas City by Chris Mulder Best Rewrite - Forget Me Not, Redux by Pam Jernigan Best Early Years Story - The One / The Rules / The Long Road by Margaret Brignell Best Series - Love Beyond All Measure / Dimensions of Loving by Chris Mulder Best Series Continuation - Season 5 (S5) (Leanne Shawler, Exec Producer) Best Fifth Season Episode - Mxysplit / All Myxed Up by Sheila Harper Best Music/Poem Adaptation - You Made Me Love You by Zoomway Best Poem - 'Twas the Day After...' poems by Sue Tremblay Best In-Betweenie - 12:01 by Zoomway Best Lex Story - Dimensions of Loving by Chris Mulder Best Tempus Story - Tempus Fugitive Revisited by Kaz from Oz Best Round Robin - Mirror Image by #nfic (Sheila Harper, Zoomway, Pam Jernigan, Chris Paterson, Annette Ciotola, Jennifer Stosser, Peace, Kathy Brown, Pat Heidkamp) Best crossover - SwapMeet by Debby Stark/Margaret Brignell Best nfic - Heaven's Prisoners by Demi Best Deathfic - Because You Loved Me by Michelle Putkoff Best Elseworld - Counter Clark-Wise by Zoomway Best WAFFy story - Camping with Clark by Kathy Brown Best Fic Overall - Meet Me in Kansas City by Chris Mulder And a suprise that wasn't on the ballot... Lifetime Achievement Award - Rhen Brink For her invaluable efforts in distributing fanfic as the fandom was just getting started, the Kerth Awards Committee (Leanne, Pam, & Erin) ar= e very pleased to recognize Renate Brink - and it should be noted that this= idea also came up in #kerth_chat before we announced it :-) so that makes= it nearly unanimous. And that's all she wrote... congratulations to all the winners, and to al= l the nominees - and remember, the real winners are the fanfic *readers* PJ (still recovering ) !^NavFont02F09180006MGHHPa2D36 E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 29-Mar-1998 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ Fanfic writer, Kerth co-coordinator, busy mom :-) Kerths will be awarded March 28th, beginning at 6pm EST! http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/folc.html ~~~~~ "Are you under the care of a qualified psychiatrist, Constable?" ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 13:59:05 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Donna Lehman <102262.2435@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Full Circle-Part 8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi, Can someone help me? I didn't receive all of Full Circle Part 8 and I don= 't want to miss any good parts. I just started reading from Chapter 8 until today. I have been enjoying this story. Congratulations to all of you Fanfic writers, it truly has been a life ra= ft this winter without new LNC on TV. Donna ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 15:29:06 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Fw: from Leanne MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Leanne emailed me the following, telling me that she's having problems with her ISP, and asking if I could send this to the fanfic list. So here it is! >Talk about a case of nerves last night -- not only did I jump the gun and >present an award Zoomway was supposed to have presented -- but I forgot to >thank people!!!! > >You can check out the log for those I've already thanked (coming soon, -- I >haven't checked my mail yet today) ... but those I missed: Peace, for >putting together the ballot form on her site and collecting bios etc on all >the nominees; and Genevieve for her very special gateway to the Kerth >stories on the web. Thank you both! > >And thanks everyone! > >Leanne >(who is glad Erin's organising all of this next year!) ACK! After last night, did she *have* to remind me that I'd volunteered to do all this for next year??? :P 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: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 15:28:26 -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: Is shorter better? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 10:44 AM 3/29/98 -0500, Margaret B. wrote: > [big snip!] (Although, I *still* >think shorter is better [/me ducks for cover;)]) Don't duck--you might be right! To get some conversation going on this list again, what do readers and writers think? Is shorter better? If so or if not... why? In 25 words or less... or more :) Debby Debby@swcp.com who won't go into shorter *what*... ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 17:42:16 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mar Brian Subject: Re: Is shorter better? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Debby- Personnaly I like a story that's not too short or too long. Usually around 12 to 15 pages. I'm just starting to write fanfics...I wrote one that was very very short and a friend who edited said that it need to be longer. It's hard to fit a whole story in under 10 pages. Anyway that's just an opinion. Mariann ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 18:10:31 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Margaret Brignell Subject: Re: Is shorter better? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 03:28 PM 29/03/98 -0700, Debby wrote: >At 10:44 AM 3/29/98 -0500, Margaret B. wrote: >> [big snip!] (Although, I *still* >>think shorter is better [/me ducks for cover;)]) >Don't duck--you might be right! Really? Then Mar Brian said: >Personnaly I like a story that's not too short or too long. >Usually around 12 to 15 pages. See Debby...I *told* you shorter was better (For Mar and other's info...Debby's stories usually *start* at 50 pages and only get longer) Margaret Who's been hanging around Debby so long that *my* stories are averaging up in 50 page neighbourhood now ****************************** Margaret Brignell brignell@capitalnet.com Ottawa, Canada %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% My fanfic now available at: http://www.capitalnet.com/~brignell/ ****************************** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 18:20:39 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Patric6928 Subject: Re: Is shorter better? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I think it all depends on the quality of writing and story. There are fics I have read well over 100 pages, and I have loved every single page, paragraph, word and whisper-- and I have read short fics that have not been my cup of tea. What I do like, is to see an idea fully fleshed out-- and sometimes that takes alot of pages. Patricia ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 18:39:23 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: Is shorter better? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-29 17:33:58 EST, Debby writes: << At 10:44 AM 3/29/98 -0500, Margaret B. wrote: > [big snip!] (Although, I *still* >think shorter is better [/me ducks for cover;)]) Don't duck--you might be right! To get some conversation going on this list again, what do readers and writers think? Is shorter better? If so or if not... why? In 25 words or less... or more :) >> Nope. As both Debby and Margaret know, I like long stories! And, personally, I found this comment from Margaret particularly funny since she had just told me how long the one she's currently working on is... Oh, I was supposed to say why. SOrry, Debby. MOre time to build up plot, more in-depth characterization, just plain more of L&C. OK? --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 18:48:46 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: I go where the ocean is deep Subject: Re: Is shorter better? Debby wrote: < To get some conversation going on this list again, what do readers < and writers think? Is shorter better? If so or if not... why? I think it depends on the story. (I know, that's the easy answer :) Some stories read like episodes (a & b plots, etc), and should be that long (about the length of a S5 or TUFS episode). Other stories, especially those that deal with character development *and* a plot, need a lot more room. I'm never turned off if a fanfic is too long, but may be if it's too short because sometimes that means the plot isn't fleshed out enough. But I'm biased towards long stories- the one I'm working on now is 47 pages and still not finished. -Christy kubitc@kenyon.edu ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 19:14:43 -0500 Reply-To: martelle@clover.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: martelle Subject: Re: Full Circle-Part 8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Donna Lehman wrote: > > Hi, > Can someone help me? I didn't receive all of Full Circle Part 8 and I don't > want to miss any good parts. I just started reading from Chapter 8 until > today. > I have been enjoying this story. > Congratulations to all of you Fanfic writers, it truly has been a life raft > this winter without new LNC on TV. > Donna There ya go!! Hope you enjoy ***************************** Chapter 8 ***************************** CJ discussed the new development with Kat the next day. They had been let out of school early, due to a teacher work day, and had a little time to talk before they would each need to attend their individual jobs. Initially, CJ had been leery of talking to Kat at all. He was still feeling pretty stupid about ruining her date, regardless of the fact that he really had helped. It had embarrassed her, and that fact alone embarrassed him. On the other hand, Andy's car was still not fixed and Kat needed a ride home. Her ankle had merely been sprained, but the walk home was uncomfortable even without the crutches. She was grateful for the offer of a ride. CJ had been surprised that she hadn't just asked him. After all, it wasn't as though it were out of his way. However, it did make him feel good to offer, and even better when she accepted with a smile. "So, what do you think?" CJ asked her as they pulled up in front of her house. Kat sighed. "I honestly don't know what to think. On the other hand, being adopted is less strange than being an alien, so I guess this isn't the biggest thing you've had to deal with lately." She smiled, and looked over at him to see if he shared the humor in the situation. What she saw was big brown eyes that were so sad that she didn't know what to do with him. "CJ, however they got you, they love you. They have been here for you, and taken care of you, and that's more than my folks have done when they did get me the ususal way." CJ closed his eyes a moment and thought about what Kat had said. She was right, despite his resistance to her answer. His parents *were* great. They had loved him, taught him, and supported him throughout all the pitfalls of growing up. They had held his hand when he was frightened and been honest with him when they could have easily lied. They did love him, and that was more important than a situation that they had no control over, and yet had made the best of. CJ had a lot of thinking to do. He would have to move a long way before he could forgive this, but he was now certain it would happen. He needed to apologize to his parents first, they must be frantic with the way he had been acting. Then he would call his grandparents. He should have listened to them in the first place. With a faint smile, he leaned over and kissed Kat lightly on the lips in thanks. It was just a peck, and it shouldn't have been any more than a thank you, but somehow it was more. Kat blushed from her neck to her hairline, and made a quick excuse to exit the truck. She nearly fell when she didn't remember her sore ankle, but she quickly recovered and hobbled into her house. CJ sat in the truck for a moment, watching Kat stumble towards the house. Why had he done that, he wondered? Why would he kiss her ... and on the lips too. He had never done that. It had just seemed the thing to do, and now he wasn't so sure. She had certainly reacted in a funny way to the little kiss. With a final shake of his head at the strange ways of females, he turned off the truck and walked across the street to his house. ***************************** The next morning, as Lois woke, she snuggled into her husband's back. She was grateful to wake up beside him for a change. Normally, early morning was a busy time for him, and she wasn't used to having someone warm to snuggle against before the alarm went off. Before she got too comfortable, or involved, she rolled away from him and reached into the drawer of her nightstand. She grabbed the glass thermometer that Dr. Klein had given her and gave it a good shake before slipping it beneath her tongue. After three minutes, she read the mercury and reached for her pen and chart. Once she had graphed the little number, she did a double-take, looking at the chart. Her temperature had risen a full four-tenths of a degree from her normal basal body temperature. This was it. She tried to contain her excitement, but was unable to do so. Unfortunately, this wasn't her cue to wake her husband up in a soft and fuzzy way, it was her signal to call Dr. Klein. She gently patted Clark on the back until he woke up a little, then she explained, "Honey, you have to wake up. My temperature is up. We need to call Dr. Klein." Clark burrowed more deeply into his pillow, hugging it tightly to his chest, and sighed. "Take some aspirin, Honey. I'll tell Perry you're sick." Lois almost laughed at this blast from the past. It had been a long time since they had worried about placating Perry White. With a wistful, remembering kind of smile she tried again. "Clark, I need you to wake up." Clark grumbled a little more. While normally he was quite the morning person, he had only been in bed for about an hour today. There had been a particularly nasty hostage situation that had required Superman's assistance, and while he was thrilled to have the headline to call in to the paper, he was also exhausted after twenty-two hours without sleep. Finally, he rolled over to see the excited face of his wife. This was odd. Normally, he was up and ready to go, and Lois was still grumbling and dragging far behind him. "What's wrong," he asked. "Nothing is wrong," she answered. "My temperature is up, and we need to call Dr. Klein so he can perform the procedure." Clark's eyes flew open as what she had said finally penetrated his mind. This could be it. After nearly seventeen years of waiting and wondering, this could really be it. He was trying not to get his hopes up, but it was really hard. They had wanted this so much, and to have the possibility here was amazing. He placed his palm against Lois's cheek, and looked into her eyes. She would be the mother of his child...he just knew it. He always had. After kissing her softly on the lips, he left the bed to give Dr. Klein a call. They agreed to meet him at Star Labs, as they had planned to do. Clark showered at superspeed, and left Lois to do the same while he prepared some breakfast. Lois was considerably slower as she showered, dressed, and put on her makeup. After doing so, she walked down the hall and knocked softly on her son's door. Once she had made sure that he was indeed up and getting ready for school, she met Clark downstairs. He handed her a travel cup of coffee and an English muffin with an egg inside. She smiled at his obvious attempt to hurry her along when she saw that he already had both her laptop case and her purse tucked under his arm. "Ready to go?" he asked as he started for the door without waiting for her answer. Lois smiled at his retreating back, "I guess I am." With that, she followed him to the car. ***************************** Lois sighed as she allowed Dr. Klein to assist her to a sitting position on the examining table and pulled the sheet more firmly around her legs to keep herself covered. This was still vaguely embarrassing, although he had been much more adept with his bedside manner than he had once thought possible. Years of caring for Clark's needs, as well as Lois's, had taught him to be slightly more tactful than he had once been while describing the demise of a snowman to a shrinking Clark. Clark stepped forward from his position at the head of the exam table and placed his hand on Lois's shoulder. "How long before we know, Dr. Klein?" The doctor considered the question for a moment before answering. "Assuming the procedure is successful, fertilization should occur in three to four days. After that, implantation could take as much as another week. The soonest it would show up on a urine test would be one week from now, but most likely it would be closer to two." Dr. Klein noted the pained expression on their faces, and took pity on them. "I'll tell you what, I'll send some test kits with you. Just follow the directions inside, and we'll know as soon as possible. You should start using them one week from today. You really can't expect a positive result prior to that." Clark thanked the doctor, and stayed with Lois while she dressed. They were both lost in their own thoughts. Lois was wondering if this time would be different, and Clark was thinking about how the morning had gone. Clark had learned long ago that the embarrassing process of providing Dr. Klein with his samples went much more smoothly when Lois was present. Her ... assistance ... made an otherwise humiliating experience not only faster, but almost enjoyable. This morning had certainly been a surprise. Lois had helped him out in producing a specimen, and then had asked him to stay while Dr. Klein performed the procedure. As promised, it had taken only a few moments, and there had gratefully been no needles necessary. Lois hadn't appeared to suffer any pain, and that in itself was a relief. Clark had always hated the infertility treatments that Lois had to endure. For years, they had dealt with medications, fertilization procedures, and other difficult and painful experiences. Of course, the worst part was always that the pain was for nothing. It simply led to more pain with the expected result wasn't achieved. The worst part for him was knowing that while the infertility was his fault, she was the one who had to endure the pain. He watched Lois pull on her blouse and begin buttoning it. He walked over to her and placed his hands over hers. She looked up and met his eyes, and he was not surprised to see tears in hers. He pulled her into his arms for a moment, comforting her. "You know," he told her, "whether this works or not I still love you. We have each other, and we have CJ. We're still very lucky." Lois sniffled slightly, resting her head against his shoulder. She hated this. She still felt silly when she cried about loosing something she never had. "I know, but I just want to feel your baby inside me." She lifted her head and looked into the depths of his big brown eyes. "I feel like I missed something by not being pregnant. I mean, I never sacrificed my figure or tossed my cookies. I feel like I never paid my dues, and someone is going to show up to collect." "I know that won't happen, Lois. If it did, I'd send them packing at super speed. CJ is ours ... we love him, we raised him, and we won't give him up to anyone." Lois put her head back on Clark's shoulder. She had known he would say that, she had just needed the reassurance. They had dealt with their fears of losing CJ, and their concerns about his origin, on many occasions through the years. Gratefully, the discussions had become less fearful and less frequent as the years progressed. There were even times now when they forgot entirely that he was not acquired in the usual way. At the very least, they almost forgot. With a sigh, Lois pulled away from Clark and finished getting dressed. Clark watched her, reminding himself that they did have to go to work today, as once again he realized how beautiful his wife was. She had her brown hair down today, and it curled softly at her shoulders as it had when he had first seen her. She was no longer self conscious about the occasional gray strand, but considered them to be awards for surviving a teenager. They were her badges of honor, as much as her Kerth Awards were. Once she was dressed, Lois and Clark linked hands and went back to Dr. Klein's office for the promised test kits and any other instructions that the doctor might have for them. **************************** Work went slowly for the Kents. While Lois sorted through possible stories to lead the headlines on the following day, Clark ran the daily staff meeting. Granted, Clark wasn't an editor, but no one on staff would consider questioning his authority. He wasn't just the boss's husband, he was an experienced journalist who had been assisting his wife in the running of the Planet since she had taken over her editorial position. He was good at it, he liked it, and if there was any question asked it was why he wasn't promoted to an editorial assistant as he should have been. Lois and Clark had considered the idea of allowing promotion to a full assistant editor, but always decided against it. The first problem was that of Superman. An editor couldn't be running off every time something newsworthy happened. The second problem was that of the job. It was bad enough to have constant demands on Lois's time, especially when CJ had been younger, but to have those same demands placed on Clark would have made a family life impossible. The entire purpose of the editorial assistants was to allow the editor time for a life, not to take away their spouse. Actually, Lois had completely rearranged the command structure within the city room, and her setup was much more effective than the one Perry had allowed. She was the day editor, she had Andrew to cover evenings and Pat to cover nights. Their salary was little more than the average reporter made, but the experience was excellent, and the benefit of working for the Planet made the jobs irresistible. Lois, of course, made all the final decisions, and had Clark to help her out during the day, but there was always enough work for everyone. Lois sighed deeply. Clark heard it, and was immediately at her side. When she glanced up and saw him she smiled. "You know, if I do get pregnant you can't stay by my side the entire time." Clark gave her a dirty look before replying, "Did you need something?" Lois lifted onto her toes, and kissed him rather soundly. "Yes, I need you. Always." She kissed him once more. Clark relaxed somewhat, and allowed himself to enjoy his wife's kisses. After a moment, he put his arms around her, and deepened his kiss slightly. As she pulled away, she asked him, "We're okay, aren't we?" She knew he would understand. "Yeah," he replied. Then he put his arms back around her and pulled her back to his embrace. "We're very okay." ***** to be continued tomorrow in chapter 9 ***** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 18:19:32 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Re: Is shorter better? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Debby wrote: >To get some conversation going on this list again, what do readers >and writers think? Is shorter better? If so or if not... why? >In 25 words or less... or more :) I don't think that shorter is necessarily better, as there as tons of shorts stories that are just fabulous! A great example of this is Jennifer Baker's fanfic, Heartbeat, which is only one page long and is one of my all-time favorites. :) But I have to say that so many of my other all-time favs are the big, long fanfics... the "Powerhouse" fanfics, as I like to call them. :) For example, Meet Me in Kansas City, Heaven's Prisoners, etc. A long fanfic definitely gives the writer time to delve into the personal lives and feelings of more than one main characters (and occasionally the smaller ones, too), and I think that gives the readers time to really get settled into the story and get really personally and emotionally involved. I believe that this can be accomplished in a short story, too, but I know from experience that it's very difficult to do, and takes a very talented writer to do so. I commend Jennifer Baker on doing it, and those other authors who've done that same emotional writing in a story only a couple of pages long. I certainly haven't gotten to that writing level yet! 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: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 19:06:28 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alyssa Mondelli Organization: Brought to you by the legal firm of Deceive, Inveigle, & Obfuscate Subject: S5 stuff Comments: To: loiscla@vm.ege.edu.tr MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Three things to mention: 1 - I'd like to congratulate all the S5 writers on their Kerth award. They've worked really hard on these stories, and as the lowly publisher who lives vicariously through them, I've been amazed and impressed at the continuing quality of the episodes. Take a bow, kids, you earned it. 2 - The visually-oriented graphics-geek part of me would like to direct you to the penultimate scene of Episode 15, where I've added an extremely cool animated gif that I found while surfing and couldn't resist putting up. It's lots of fun. (And squint all you want; the results of the poll - and, therefore, the ultrasound - are still inconclusive. What have we learned from this show? Patience is a virtue...) 3 - And now, what you've all been waiting for: Episode 16, Lori McElhaney's "Nightmare Over Metropolis", has been uploaded to the S5 website for your reading pleasure. It has WAFFs and WHAMs and an intriguing plot and yet another ruthless, megalomaniacal scientist (I hear the Biochemists' Anti-Defamation League is considering a lawsuit) - in short, all you've come to expect from S5. And yes, I realize this tells you absolutely nothing about the actual episode. Sorry. It was easier when the writers did these blurbs themselves; they could give away plot as they saw fit. Come play with us at http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/ or http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/s5text.htm for the low-maintenance version. I'm off to plow through my mailbox - I've been on spring break so if you wrote me last week and expected an answer, or are wondering why your comments haven't appeared on the webpage, it will be coming shortly, I promise. Until next week... ==Alyssa in St. Paul== (agmondelli@stthomas.edu)(AlyssaM on the IRC) Webmistress, Tempus Expeditions - http://www.tempus.simplenet.com Home of the Fortress of Insanity and Lois & Clark Season 5 "What's less than square one? Minus zippo? Negative bupkes?" --Capt. Don Cragen, _Law & Order_ ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 21:14:53 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Cristin J Whitley Subject: IS shorter better??? Here's my two cents on this one: I have only written one fanfic in my short emailing career. It was a mere 8 pages long. I consider this short in comparison to the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOng stories I have recieved lately. In many cases, shorter is better. Like when I'm writing it ..... or when I am in a hurry and reading a fanfic .... or when I want to print something out .... or, well, that's all I can think of :o)! However, in just about every case I can think of, longer is better!!! It gives us more to do on lite email days.... it provides even more enjoyment than short stories .... it allows an author more time in which to add all those delightful little details .... and, of course, it's more Lois and Clark for all!!!! LONGER IS BETTER! Well, that's it for now. This is Cristin Whitley, signing off! ***Cristin Whitley :o)***CKandLL4ever@Juno.com*** I love Superman!!!!! "You bet your sweet little chumpy I am." CK _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 21:18:37 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: Is shorter better? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-29 17:34:07 EST, you write: << To get some conversation going on this list again, what do readers and writers think? Is shorter better? If so or if not... why? In 25 words or less... or more :) >> I think that it depends on the story being told, the writer, the plot etc. Some stories are best told as a simple short. Witness my little piece "Doesn't anybody ever stay together anymore?" which has just been put up at the archive, hint, hint :) . Some you really want to sit down with a snack and a drink and just read and read because you can't get enough. Whiskey Galore, Heaven's prisoners SwapMet are examples. It all depends on whats being done with the story. Padding a story doesn't make it better. There is a science fiction story bt LR Hubbard. It's 10 books long. It was awful and I know that he's a better writer than that. On the other hand there are stories that should have been fleshed out a little more. I really don't enjoy stories as much when they read as more of a narrative than a detailed story. A story has to find its own lenght. Heres a way to take a poll though. Every one add to this list a short story and a long one that you really enjoyed. Let's see how many show up. No repeats please. If you only want to add to one list do so. Long Story Short Story 1.Whiskey Galore 1. Doesn't anybody ever stay... Sorry, I could't help myself budmayes@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 21:46:03 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: Full Circle-Part 8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ***************************** Chapter 8 ***************************** CJ discussed the new development with Kat the next day. They had been let out of school early, due to a teacher work day, and had a little time to talk before they would each need to attend their individual jobs. Initially, CJ had been leery of talking to Kat at all. He was still feeling pretty stupid about ruining her date, regardless of the fact that he really had helped. It had embarrassed her, and that fact alone embarrassed him. On the other hand, Andy's car was still not fixed and Kat needed a ride home. Her ankle had merely been sprained, but the walk home was uncomfortable even without the crutches. She was grateful for the offer of a ride. CJ had been surprised that she hadn't just asked him. After all, it wasn't as though it were out of his way. However, it did make him feel good to offer, and even better when she accepted with a smile. "So, what do you think?" CJ asked her as they pulled up in front of her house. Kat sighed. "I honestly don't know what to think. On the other hand, being adopted is less strange than being an alien, so I guess this isn't the biggest thing you've had to deal with lately." She smiled, and looked over at him to see if he shared the humor in the situation. What she saw was big brown eyes that were so sad that she didn't know what to do with him. "CJ, however they got you, they love you. They have been here for you, and taken care of you, and that's more than my folks have done when they did get me the ususal way." CJ closed his eyes a moment and thought about what Kat had said. She was right, despite his resistance to her answer. His parents *were* great. They had loved him, taught him, and supported him throughout all the pitfalls of growing up. They had held his hand when he was frightened and been honest with him when they could have easily lied. They did love him, and that was more important than a situation that they had no control over, and yet had made the best of. CJ had a lot of thinking to do. He would have to move a long way before he could forgive this, but he was now certain it would happen. He needed to apologize to his parents first, they must be frantic with the way he had been acting. Then he would call his grandparents. He should have listened to them in the first place. With a faint smile, he leaned over and kissed Kat lightly on the lips in thanks. It was just a peck, and it shouldn't have been any more than a thank you, but somehow it was more. Kat blushed from her neck to her hairline, and made a quick excuse to exit the truck. She nearly fell when she didn't remember her sore ankle, but she quickly recovered and hobbled into her house. CJ sat in the truck for a moment, watching Kat stumble towards the house. Why had he done that, he wondered? Why would he kiss her ... and on the lips too. He had never done that. It had just seemed the thing to do, and now he wasn't so sure. She had certainly reacted in a funny way to the little kiss. With a final shake of his head at the strange ways of females, he turned off the truck and walked across the street to his house. ***************************** The next morning, as Lois woke, she snuggled into her husband's back. She was grateful to wake up beside him for a change. Normally, early morning was a busy time for him, and she wasn't used to having someone warm to snuggle against before the alarm went off. Before she got too comfortable, or involved, she rolled away from him and reached into the drawer of her nightstand. She grabbed the glass thermometer that Dr. Klein had given her and gave it a good shake before slipping it beneath her tongue. After three minutes, she read the mercury and reached for her pen and chart. Once she had graphed the little number, she did a double-take, looking at the chart. Her temperature had risen a full four-tenths of a degree from her normal basal body temperature. This was it. She tried to contain her excitement, but was unable to do so. Unfortunately, this wasn't her cue to wake her husband up in a soft and fuzzy way, it was her signal to call Dr. Klein. She gently patted Clark on the back until he woke up a little, then she explained, "Honey, you have to wake up. My temperature is up. We need to call Dr. Klein." Clark burrowed more deeply into his pillow, hugging it tightly to his chest, and sighed. "Take some aspirin, Honey. I'll tell Perry you're sick." Lois almost laughed at this blast from the past. It had been a long time since they had worried about placating Perry White. With a wistful, remembering kind of smile she tried again. "Clark, I need you to wake up." Clark grumbled a little more. While normally he was quite the morning person, he had only been in bed for about an hour today. There had been a particularly nasty hostage situation that had required Superman's assistance, and while he was thrilled to have the headline to call in to the paper, he was also exhausted after twenty-two hours without sleep. Finally, he rolled over to see the excited face of his wife. This was odd. Normally, he was up and ready to go, and Lois was still grumbling and dragging far behind him. "What's wrong," he asked. "Nothing is wrong," she answered. "My temperature is up, and we need to call Dr. Klein so he can perform the procedure." Clark's eyes flew open as what she had said finally penetrated his mind. This could be it. After nearly seventeen years of waiting and wondering, this could really be it. He was trying not to get his hopes up, but it was really hard. They had wanted this so much, and to have the possibility here was amazing. He placed his palm against Lois's cheek, and looked into her eyes. She would be the mother of his child...he just knew it. He always had. After kissing her softly on the lips, he left the bed to give Dr. Klein a call. They agreed to meet him at Star Labs, as they had planned to do. Clark showered at superspeed, and left Lois to do the same while he prepared some breakfast. Lois was considerably slower as she showered, dressed, and put on her makeup. After doing so, she walked down the hall and knocked softly on her son's door. Once she had made sure that he was indeed up and getting ready for school, she met Clark downstairs. He handed her a travel cup of coffee and an English muffin with an egg inside. She smiled at his obvious attempt to hurry her along when she saw that he already had both her laptop case and her purse tucked under his arm. "Ready to go?" he asked as he started for the door without waiting for her answer. Lois smiled at his retreating back, "I guess I am." With that, she followed him to the car. ***************************** Lois sighed as she allowed Dr. Klein to assist her to a sitting position on the examining table and pulled the sheet more firmly around her legs to keep herself covered. This was still vaguely embarrassing, although he had been much more adept with his bedside manner than he had once thought possible. Years of caring for Clark's needs, as well as Lois's, had taught him to be slightly more tactful than he had once been while describing the demise of a snowman to a shrinking Clark. Clark stepped forward from his position at the head of the exam table and placed his hand on Lois's shoulder. "How long before we know, Dr. Klein?" The doctor considered the question for a moment before answering. "Assuming the procedure is successful, fertilization should occur in three to four days. After that, implantation could take as much as another week. The soonest it would show up on a urine test would be one week from now, but most likely it would be closer to two." Dr. Klein noted the pained expression on their faces, and took pity on them. "I'll tell you what, I'll send some test kits with you. Just follow the directions inside, and we'll know as soon as possible. You should start using them one week from today. You really can't expect a positive result prior to that." Clark thanked the doctor, and stayed with Lois while she dressed. They were both lost in their own thoughts. Lois was wondering if this time would be different, and Clark was thinking about how the morning had gone. Clark had learned long ago that the embarrassing process of providing Dr. Klein with his samples went much more smoothly when Lois was present. Her ... assistance ... made an otherwise humiliating experience not only faster, but almost enjoyable. This morning had certainly been a surprise. Lois had helped him out in producing a specimen, and then had asked him to stay while Dr. Klein performed the procedure. As promised, it had taken only a few moments, and there had gratefully been no needles necessary. Lois hadn't appeared to suffer any pain, and that in itself was a relief. Clark had always hated the infertility treatments that Lois had to endure. For years, they had dealt with medications, fertilization procedures, and other difficult and painful experiences. Of course, the worst part was always that the pain was for nothing. It simply led to more pain with the expected result wasn't achieved. The worst part for him was knowing that while the infertility was his fault, she was the one who had to endure the pain. He watched Lois pull on her blouse and begin buttoning it. He walked over to her and placed his hands over hers. She looked up and met his eyes, and he was not surprised to see tears in hers. He pulled her into his arms for a moment, comforting her. "You know," he told her, "whether this works or not I still love you. We have each other, and we have CJ. We're still very lucky." Lois sniffled slightly, resting her head against his shoulder. She hated this. She still felt silly when she cried about loosing something she never had. "I know, but I just want to feel your baby inside me." She lifted her head and looked into the depths of his big brown eyes. "I feel like I missed something by not being pregnant. I mean, I never sacrificed my figure or tossed my cookies. I feel like I never paid my dues, and someone is going to show up to collect." "I know that won't happen, Lois. If it did, I'd send them packing at super speed. CJ is ours ... we love him, we raised him, and we won't give him up to anyone." Lois put her head back on Clark's shoulder. She had known he would say that, she had just needed the reassurance. They had dealt with their fears of losing CJ, and their concerns about his origin, on many occasions through the years. Gratefully, the discussions had become less fearful and less frequent as the years progressed. There were even times now when they forgot entirely that he was not acquired in the usual way. At the very least, they almost forgot. With a sigh, Lois pulled away from Clark and finished getting dressed. Clark watched her, reminding himself that they did have to go to work today, as once again he realized how beautiful his wife was. She had her brown hair down today, and it curled softly at her shoulders as it had when he had first seen her. She was no longer self conscious about the occasional gray strand, but considered them to be awards for surviving a teenager. They were her badges of honor, as much as her Kerth Awards were. Once she was dressed, Lois and Clark linked hands and went back to Dr. Klein's office for the promised test kits and any other instructions that the doctor might have for them. **************************** Work went slowly for the Kents. While Lois sorted through possible stories to lead the headlines on the following day, Clark ran the daily staff meeting. Granted, Clark wasn't an editor, but no one on staff would consider questioning his authority. He wasn't just the boss's husband, he was an experienced journalist who had been assisting his wife in the running of the Planet since she had taken over her editorial position. He was good at it, he liked it, and if there was any question asked it was why he wasn't promoted to an editorial assistant as he should have been. Lois and Clark had considered the idea of allowing promotion to a full assistant editor, but always decided against it. The first problem was that of Superman. An editor couldn't be running off every time something newsworthy happened. The second problem was that of the job. It was bad enough to have constant demands on Lois's time, especially when CJ had been younger, but to have those same demands placed on Clark would have made a family life impossible. The entire purpose of the editorial assistants was to allow the editor time for a life, not to take away their spouse. Actually, Lois had completely rearranged the command structure within the city room, and her setup was much more effective than the one Perry had allowed. She was the day editor, she had Andrew to cover evenings and Pat to cover nights. Their salary was little more than the average reporter made, but the experience was excellent, and the benefit of working for the Planet made the jobs irresistible. Lois, of course, made all the final decisions, and had Clark to help her out during the day, but there was always enough work for everyone. Lois sighed deeply. Clark heard it, and was immediately at her side. When she glanced up and saw him she smiled. "You know, if I do get pregnant you can't stay by my side the entire time." Clark gave her a dirty look before replying, "Did you need something?" Lois lifted onto her toes, and kissed him rather soundly. "Yes, I need you. Always." She kissed him once more. Clark relaxed somewhat, and allowed himself to enjoy his wife's kisses. After a moment, he put his arms around her, and deepened his kiss slightly. As she pulled away, she asked him, "We're okay, aren't we?" She knew he would understand. "Yeah," he replied. Then he put his arms back around her and pulled her back to his embrace. "We're very okay." ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 22:09:31 -0500 Reply-To: NightSky@erols.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Genevieve Subject: Re: Is shorter better? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit First I want to congratulate all the Kerth winners, and to thank Pam and Erin and everybody else who put the ceremony together. Also, many people have asked mr to keep my web page up, and I will be. The list of nominated stories there links directly to the fanfic archives, or to alternate site if I could find the story somewhere else. > To get some conversation going on this list again, what do readers > and writers think? Is shorter better? If so or if not... why? > In 25 words or less... or more :) 25 words or less? Yikes! I'm glad somebody put the "or more" at the end. The glib answer, of course, is that the length should be just long enough to tell the story. Some stories are like the Energizer Bunny -- they just keep going and going and going. Never getting anywhere, but continuing ad infinitum. Some stories are too short, leaving you longing for more detail, background and description. Each story needs to have a beginning and an end. The middle should make the path from one to the other crystal clear. I read a lot of fanfic, for a variety of shows. I know when I visit a new fanfic archives I always read the long ones first. I look for the ones that are more and 100K in length. These are the stories that build on the characters, that add the depth that is often missing from the television episodes. With L&C fanfic, I've read a most of the stories; I didn't fall behind until this year when I started writing myself. I've enjoyed most of them -- long, medium or short. But I will admit it's the long ones I print out, the long ones I tend to reread, and the long ones I then to remember. Then again, I've always preferred novels to short stories too. But the short stories can be a lot of fun, too. You can read a "quickie" at work, or in a stolen five minutes somewhere. "In-betweenies" are misleading -- usually short, but they depend so heavily on the episode they are expounding on that you almost have to consider the episode script as part of the story. Has someone defined "short" and "long" yet? ------------------------------------- Genevieve (NightSky@erols.com) ; The Kerth nominated stories *and* pictures of my kids are now up on my website -- check it out. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 22:34:08 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LoriMcE Subject: S5: "Nightmare Over Metropolis" (part 3 of 3) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Daily Planet Clark pushed his notepad across the table in frustration. "STAR Labs seems to think that something is causing a change in brain chemistry, but they're no closer to how, or why. There's still a lot we don't know about the brain and dreams. But if this continues, it could be dangerous. When people don't get enough of REM sleep, they become more irritable, they lose the ability to perform complicated tasks, coordination suffers. The city could be in real trouble." "We've got to find this Dr. Morpheus, I just know he's involved somehow," Lois replied. "Jimmy managed to get a patient list from some of his sleep studies. We could interview some of them and see if there's a connection." "In the meantime, why don't you go home and try to take a nap, Lois. I'll do the interviews and then we can see what we've got." "C - l - a - r - k," Lois said warningly. "Look, I've got a compromise. You can fly me to your parents to sleep tonight. BUT, then you have to come and get me in the morning. That way, I'll sleep - but we still work on this TOGETHER. No arguments -" Clark's eyes brightened with relief. He hadn't looked forward to another discussion like this morning. "No arguments, Lois. I'll call Mom and tell her we're coming." **** Kent Farm, that evening Clark and Jonathan closed the barn for the evening. "You haven't said much tonight, son." Clark sighed and stared unseeing up at the night sky. "It's so hard, Dad," he said, his voice cracking a little. "It used to be a little embarrassing, the way people looked at Superman. But now, it's . . ." Jonathan waited for Clark to gather his thoughts. "You could stay here tonight, too, Clark. Get a good night's sleep, instead of rushing off half the night." "You don't know how tempting that is, Dad. The other night Lois had a nightmare. For a split second when she woke up . . . she had that same fear in her eyes." Clark took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "But, I'd just be running away, and you taught me that running away never solved anything. Maybe I can find something that will stop this." "You and Lois will find a way to fight this, Clark. The people of Metropolis don't want to feel this way about you. Once this is over, I'm sure everything will be all right." "I don't know, Dad. Nightmares touch people pretty deep. I told you about that anti-Superman group, and . . ." He paused, lowering his voice. "Don't tell Lois about this, Dad, but I think the military is following me around again. I've noticed several of the same people at rescues; I remember them from the military guard when Nor was here." "You don't think they're behind this do you?" Jonathan asked. "No. But after learning about their weapons development, I'm sure they'd love to know how this is happening." Clark said bitterly. "I'd better get back to Metropolis." Jonathan put his hand on Clark's shoulder. "See you in the morning, son. Remember your mother and I are always here for you." Going back to the house, Clark saw Lois waiting on the porch. "I'd better get back to Metropolis, Lois." He spun into the Suit. Reaching up, she drew him down to her for a long kiss. "I love you." Clark stepped back, caressed her cheek and took off into the sky. Lois remained on the porch watching the sky after Clark left. "Thank you for doing this for him, Lois." Martha Kent stood in the doorway. "He just wants to keep you both safe, but I know how hard it was for you to leave." "He's got enough to worry about right now. Tensions are beginning to run high with Superman. He doesn't know how to handle the resentment people are feeling. Several groups have canceled appearances by Superman. He might not be suffering the nightmares like everyone else, but he's hurting, too. I wish I knew how to stop this." "You'll find a way, Lois. Come on inside, I've got a few chocolate chunk cookies I've been hiding from Jonathan waiting for you." **** 5 Days later Over the next few days, the pattern remained the same. Night came and, with it, nightmares. Beds were no longer looked upon as places of cool, quiet calm, but rather as a place of dread and anxiety. Tempers flared, patience wore thin, babies cried. Metropolis had become a place of worry and fear. Gang wars escalated, traffic and workplace accidents skyrocketed as exhaustion eroded coordination. And at the center, Superman - revered as he raced from rescue to rescue - reviled as the focus of their nightmares. Clark flew away from his latest rescue, the obscenities the man shouted ringing in his ears. With a burst of speed he hurled himself across the sky. But he couldn't put distance between him and the hurt each rescue brought him. Arriving back at home, he looked for Lois. It was time to take her to the farm, his parents were expecting them for dinner. Lois was watching LNN showing coverage of his last rescue with tears running down her face. Even the commentator had a tinge of hostility in his voice when reporting about Superman. Turning off the TV, she held out her arms. "Come here," she said. He sank into her arms, shoulders shaking with the sobs he couldn't hold back any longer. *** Dr. Morpheus' Lab Tiredly, Dr. Morpheus picked up a cell phone from his bag. Dialing a familiar number, he waited for the phone to be answered. Mr. Chimera picked up the phone with a curt "Yes?" "How does it feel, Daniel?" Dr. Morpheus asked. "How does it feel to try and function on less and less sleep? Do your eyes feel like sandpaper? Do even small tasks seem difficult?" "Jacob?" "It's Jacob, now is it? Where was our friendship last week when you dismissed me?" "Have you been causing this havoc? You actually got that invention to work? Come and see me and I'm sure we can work something out." "No, Daniel, you just want to exploit this for that special project of yours. You still don't get it. I guess you never will. I'm turning the machine off, everything's over." He wearily hung up the phone. Another siren blared in the distance, and Dr. Morpheus walked over to the window. He heard voices arguing angrily in the street and his shoulders slumped. "What have I done?" Leaning against the window frame, he seemed to shrink within himself. He walked to the machine in the center of the room and reaching out with a shaking hand turned it off. It just didn't seem to matter anymore, any of it. Although he could modify the instrument back to its original design, he'd come to realize over the past week the awful potential of his invention. He'd had blinders on before, just wanting a semblance of a normal life. And it had seemed within his grasp when his funding and career were yanked away from him. He didn't feel he could trust anyone, not even Daniel, not to exploit this. **** Daily Planet Perry said, "Let's get this meeting started, people - where's Clark?" Clark ran into the conference room, adjusting his tie. "Sorry Chief - my ehh . . . appointment ran late. " Lois said, "When Jimmy posed as a potential patient, he was able to find some patient lists for us. We interviewed the patients in Dr. Morpheus' last sleep treatment. They were receiving an experimental treatment that was to try to extend REM sleep. They each were told to focus on an image they found peaceful: a child, a beach. He had some kind of instrument that he told them would keep them in REM sleep longer. These researchers were looking for a nonchemical way to treat depression. Studies have shown that the longer people are in REM sleep the more likely they to wake up feeling positive and upbeat." "All of these people told of their dreams being more vivid and real," Clark continued. "I don't know how he did it, but I think he's modified the instrument to actually change people's dreams. But I can't figure out why. There's been no demand for anything. Superman says he's never met this Morpheus, so why Superman is figuring in everyone's dreams is still a mystery." "Unless . . . " Lois thought out loud. "Unless what?" asked Jimmy. "Well, the patients said that this was the third trial. Until he gave them an image to focus on while falling asleep, they didn't feel as rested. Superman's known to everyone in Metropolis. If he could transmit a suggestion with this machine . . ." "Well, if that's true, than this is worse than we thought," said Clark. "If he can do that, then this thing could actually be used to control people's thoughts. Who could stop you, if you can attack people in their dreams? We've got to find this guy. If someone truly evil got their hands on this machine, the problems we've got now will seem like nothing." "Yes!" Jimmy exclaimed from the end of the table. "It works!" "What is it Jimmy?" "I think I've got something here," Jimmy offered. He turned his laptop to face Lois and Clark. "Ever since this started, the Daily Planet has been running a hotline for people to tell about their dreams, right? I've been working on a program to try to find a pattern. Well, one of the questions people have to answer when they call is what part of Metropolis they're calling from. This map shows Metropolis; the dots are where people called from." Lois interrupted, "That's citywide, Jimmy." "Wait, Lois. Now this is the number of nightmares they had each night. Black is five or more, down to white for one. See the pattern? The frequency of the nightmares declines in concentric circles around this area. It's got to be where the machine is." "Great work, Jimmy," Clark exclaimed. "Perry?" At Perry's nod, Lois said excitedly, "We're on it, Chief. Let's go, Clark." She was out the door in record time, with Clark following close behind. "Good work, son." Perry slapped Jimmy on the shoulder. "Okay, people, let's get ready for a front page scoop!" *** A Metropolis City Street Lois stopped the car and Clark opened the door. "Wait, Lois." He cocked his head to the side, listening. "It sounds bad." He sighed. "I've got to check it out. Stay here." With a quick look around he spun into the Suit and took off into the sky. Lois waited impatiently, scanning the skies to see if Clark was returning. Finally, she got out of the car and looked at the warehouse building surrounding them. Thinking to herself, 'He'd have to be high up, otherwise there would probably be interference with the beam. He'd have to have access to some high voltage to give it the power to broadcast city wide . . .' She looked over the buildings and noticed one building that stood out over the rest. "I'll just take a quick look and check it out." Waking around the building, she noticed a side door slightly ajar. Peering inside, the building looked deserted, the only sounds coming from the street outside. Stepping inside the building, she picked her way over dust-covered boxes and equipment until she noticed one area that was different. This area had obviously been disturbed recently, with trails in the dust indicating something had been dragged along the hallway. Opening a door, she found a room lined with electronic equipment. One large machine dominated the center of the room, with power cables snaking out of it on all sides. The room appeared empty, and she approached the machine cautiously. "Not much to look at, is it?" a man said quietly from the doorway of an adjoining room. Lois took a few quick steps backward in surprise. "Don't worry," the man slurred his words. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Dr. Morpheus, and this is my creation. My salvation . . . and my undoing." Sparing a quick look outside the window, she took a deep breath, saying, "I'm Lois Lane for the Daily Planet. Tell me why you've done this." She took a few steps closer to Dr. Morpheus. He held up a hand to stop her. "I just wanted people to understand . . . to show some compassion. . . . Feel how it is for people like me. . . . You have a cold . . . you get sympathy. . . . You have a fever, people tell you to take it easy . . . but you can't sleep? People tell you to drink coffee and get back to work. . . . This machine was going to be my cure. But it's too late for that now. Now that *they've* seen what it can do." Lois broke in excitedly, "Who are they? Tell me and we can stop them." Obviously having trouble concentrating, Morpheus spoke disjointedly. "Special projects section . . . why not take the money? . . . just a means to an end . . . Daniel said . . . ." Pushing himself away from the door, he took a determined step toward the machine. "There is only one way to stop them. I've burned my notes, and I must destroy the machine. And what's in here . . . ," patting his head," . . . will be gone soon." Lois rushed forward as he slumped to the floor. He grabbed her hand. "Promise me you'll destroy it, Ms Lane . . . please." His head lolled to one side, as he slipped into unconsciousness. Just then there was a whoosh of wind and Superman arrived through the window. "Lois," he began. "Clark, I think he's taken an overdose of pills. We've got to get him to a hospital." As Superman picked the doctor up to carry him, Lois placed her hand on his arm. "I promised him I'd destroy the machine." When Clark hesitated, she said quietly, "He knew that there were people out there waiting to misuse it. He was willing to die for that." Clark nodded and focusing his heat vision on the machine, melted it. "Maybe he kept a diary or something," Clark suggested. "I'll be right back." Shifting Morpheus in his arms, he flew off toward the hospital. Returning a short time later, Clark landed in the alley behind the building. Seeing no one around he spun out of the Suit and joined Lois in Morpheus' lab. "Find anything useful?" He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice, but didn't quite succeed. "I don't think so, but most of these notes don't make sense to me. Maybe STAR Labs can tell us more. He said he burned his notes on his invention. How is Dr. Morpheus?" Lois didn't miss the strain in Clark's voice. "They were working on him when I left, we can call the hospital later." He couldn't hold back any longer. "Lois why didn't you wait for me? Traipsing around an abandoned building, confronting a possible madman by yourself; is this how you define partnership? Being 'careful'? What if things had gone wrong, and I hadn't been able to get here in time? Just because everything worked out fine this time doesn't make it okay." "Maybe I should have waited for you, Clark," Lois replied defensively. "In fact, I did wait for a while. I *am* more cautious because of the baby. But this is who I am. I can't just sit on the sidelines. This is who you fell in love with, Clark, remember?" As Lois spoke, Clark felt most of his anger draining away. "When I flew back to the car and saw you were gone, I was so worried, Lois . . ." "We'll work it out, Clark. Both of us, together. She held out her hand. Partner?" Clark reached out to take her hand. "Forever." *** Daily Planet METROPOLIS SLEEPS screamed the headline from the afternoon edition of the Daily Planet. "Good work, everyone." Perry proclaimed. "Now get out of here so we can do it again tomorrow." Clark turned off his computer, and shrugged into his suitcoat, preparing to leave after their long day. "Wait, Clark," Lois said. "I just want to check with the hospital about Dr. Morpheus before we leave. You know, he wasn't really evil; he just wanted some compassion and understanding." She spoke into the phone. "Admitting, please." Her eyes were troubled when she hung up the phone. "They say that he's in a deep coma and they don't hold out much hope for recovery. They are going to monitor him there for a time, but if he doesn't improve, he'll be moved to the Happy Hollow Rest Home, the Sleep Centre is taking care of it." "I just feel Lex is involved in this somehow." Lois pushed back her chair and stood up to leave. "And we don't have any proof - again." Clark put a comforting arm around Lois, saying, "Let's go home. Time for some sweet dreams." *** Happy Hollow Rest Home Administrator's Office Voices drifted out of the office into the hall . . . "Yes, sir - we'll do our best. If the information's there we'll get it . . ." End ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 22:31:50 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LoriMcE Subject: S5: "Nightmare Over Metropolis" (part 2 of 3) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Metropolis Sleep Centre Lois and Clark waited for Mr. Chimera in his office. " Clark, I can't believe that woman stopped me on the street." Shifting impatiently in her chair, she continued. "It's like once a woman's pregnant, everyone thinks they can pat her stomach and give her advice. I was just stretching, Clark, and she tells me if I reach above my head for any reason, the baby could become tangled in the umbilical cord. I can't believe people believe that kind of folktale, much less pass it along." Her voice rose with irritation. Clark grinned. "You didn't mind the one that said you're having a boy since you look so beautiful, because girls steal their mother's looks." "Clark, you know what I mean, even Mother's been sending me clippings in the mail." Clark just smiled. He stood up and looked at the awards and certificates that lined the walls of the office. "Did Jimmy have any information about this place?" "Actually, this is one of the premiere sleep clinics in the country. They have people from all over come here for treatment. Mr. Chimera is the clinic director. Maybe he can give us some insight into these dreams." The door opened and Mr. Chimera walked in. "Lois Lane and Clark Kent, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please sit down, how can I help you?" "Thank you for seeing us, Mr. Chimera," Clark replied shaking his hand. "We wanted to talk to you about a story we're researching. Are you aware that a large portion of Metropolis experienced nightmares last night?" "We've had some reports, yes. But I'm not aware of anything that could cause a large population to do this. Perhaps the experience was not as widespread as you think. Most people don't remember much of their dreams, and they may be feeding off each other's experiences." "Well, what makes these dreams unusual," Lois interrupted, "is that in everyone we've talked to, Superman has been at the center of the dream. And in these dreams, he's not a force for good, but the instigator of death or evil." "That is unusual, but I'm afraid I can't help you further. I'm an administrator here, not a doctor. Perhaps one of our researchers can give you some insights. I'll get my secretary to page one of them for you." "Thank you, Mr. Chimera," Lois replied. "There was a Dr. Morpheus --" "Dr. Morpheus is no longer employed with us," Mr. Chimera replied smoothly. "But we have many other respected researchers here, Ms Lane. If you'll wait here, I'm sure one of them can assist you." *** Outside Metropolis Sleep Centre Clark looked through Lois' notes. "We've got a lot of interesting stuff in here. I never knew so many people's health was threatened by sleep disorders. But nothing in here gets us any closer to what happened last night." Lois yawned and rubbed the back of her neck tiredly. "That Mr. Chimera's hiding something. Did you see his face when I mentioned Dr. Morpheus? I think there's more to this place than warm milk and counting sheep." "You ought to go home and get some rest, I can coordinate with Jimmy and Perry this afternoon. I promise I'll come and get you if something breaks." "I'm fine, Clark, let's keep digging. We ought to try to get in touch with this Dr. Morpheus. If he no longer works there, maybe he can tell us more about the place." **** Daily Planet Lois and Clark made their way through the busy newsroom to their desks. Lois waved at Jimmy to get his attention. "Jimmy, I don't think Mr. Chimera was completely honest with us. Maybe this thing is an experiment that got out of control. I want to know who's paying for their research. Do you think you can get a list of major donors for the past year? " "Sure thing, Lois," Jimmy yawned, and turned to walk away. "Wait, Jimmy," Clark stopped him from going. "Are you still interested in doing some investigating? We might need you to really help us out on this one. Since they know Lois and I at the clinic, we could need you to pose as a possible patient and nose around a little. How about it?" "Are you kidding? You can count on me! I'll get on that research right away!" Jimmy bounded across the newsroom, stopping only for a 'Yes!' gesture. Lois grinned at Clark. "Well, THAT woke him up." Perry stopped at Lois' desk, a clipboard in his hand. "Did you find anything out at the Sleep Centre?" Clark shook his head. "We've got some information, but no really solid leads yet, Perry." "Okay, get the stories about the nightmares, and apartment fire on my desk. Maybe that hotline idea of Jimmy's will turn up something." Clark turned to Lois. "Let's split this up. How about I take the apartment fire, then I'll check with Dr. Klein and see if he has any ideas." "All right, Clark. After I finish the story on the nightmares, I'll see if I can get a line on Dr. Morpheus. If I can get an interview with him, I can insert it into the story for the late edition. I just hope there's not another anti-Superman group funding some research." "Okay, Lois, just don't try to sneak out without me," Clark warned. "Me, sneak?" Lois said in her best 'who, me?' voice. "Besides, like anyone could sneak past you. I don't envy this child, she won't be able to sneak out to meet boys with you around." "She?" Clark asked. "Until you tell me otherwise, 'Mr. I Won't Peek' -" "Lois, the doctor couldn't tell on the ultrasound; let's just leave it at that. It's like Christmas, the anticipation is half the fun." "I can't believe you're so relaxed - wait a minute, you haven't peeked without telling me have you?" "No." Clark reached out, smoothing her hair behind her ear. "Let's get this done so we can go home. You've got to get some sleep after last night." "Boy scout," Lois murmured under her breath. "And just so you know - I noticed you changed the subject. This discussion isn't over, Clark." *** Later that afternoon - Still at the Daily Planet Clark rolled his chair up to Lois' desk. "Perry okayed the stories. Did you get a line on Dr. Morpheus?" "Not really," Lois said in frustration. "Dr. Morpheus' phone number has been disconnected. I've got an address, we could check it out on the way home." "Sounds like a plan, let's go. Dr. Klein didn't have anything. He doesn't know of any hallucinogen that could cause everyone to see the same illusion." They were almost to the elevator when Jimmy stopped them. "Lois, C.K. - wait - I think I've got something on the Sleep Centre. One of the major corporate donors this year is Lex Luthor." "Great work, Jimmy. This time we're going to find something to nail him with." Lois's voice was filled with determination. *** Dr. Morpheus' Apartment Complex Lois pulled the car into the apartment parking lot. "I would have expected an important doctor to live in better surroundings," Lois said, looking around at the ramshackle complex. They walked up to the doctor's apartment, knocking on the door. Looking around quickly, Lois whispered, "Clark, check inside." Lowering his glasses slightly, Clark focused on the apartment. "It's empty," he said. "Stand in front of me, Clark, so no one can see me. Locks in this place should be a snap." "Lois! We can't just . . ." "Got it!" Lois whispered excitedly. "Come on, Clark, we'll just take a quick look around." "We don't even know this man is involved with anything, Lois." Clark said as he followed Lois inside. "Clark, why has he disappeared if he's not involved? We'll be careful, he'll never know we were here." Except for the bare essentials, the apartment was devoid of any personality. There were no pictures on the walls, no books in the bookshelves. "Lois, look at this," Clark called from the bathroom. He held a medicine bottle in his hand. "The medicine cabinet is full of these things. A few of the drug names I recognize from our interview this morning. They are all sleep aids given to people fighting insomnia. It looks like Dr. Morpheus needed help himself." "It still doesn't give us any clues to the nightmares last night, Clark. First thing tomorrow, we work on the Lex connection. I know he's involved somehow." *** Later that evening Superman was out, patrolling the city when he heard Lois cry out "No!!!" Racing back to the townhouse, he was relieved to see her thrashing about still asleep. "Not again," he thought, as he reached out to comfort her. "Lois, wake up honey." She blinked, her eyes trying to focus on him, her breathing erratic. She shrank away from his touch and he flinched. "Honey, it's me Clark, it's okay, you had another nightmare." She relaxed and sagged into his arms. "Oh, Clark, I'm sorry, it was just so real. I . . . Stay with me, please, Clark." Clark eased Lois back on the pillows and spun out of the Suit. Metropolis could survive the night without him. He slid under the covers and gathered Lois into his arms again. He felt helpless against this new threat to their happiness. "I've got to keep them safe," he thought, unconsciously caressing Lois' rounded stomach. *** Next morning Lois walked into the kitchen and Clark jumped guiltily. "I'll call you back in a minute, Mom." "What are you up to, Clark?", Lois asked warily. "I . . I was just talking to Mom, Lois. Why would you think I was up to something?" Clark replied defensively. "Clark, you look like a child trying to hide a cookie behind his back. What's going on?" "I think you should go to stay with Mom and Dad, until this situation is settled. You need your rest. Babies dream too; how is all this affecting the baby? This isn't something I can protect you from here." "So you just decided, without even talking to me, to ship me off to your parent's house? You really need to work on this partner angle, buddy!" Lois paced around the kitchen waving her arms. "You don't think I understand I need to be careful? Can't we ever discuss things together first, before you rush off trying to fix it?" "What's to discuss, Lois? Just how much sleep did you get last night? How many times did you wake up, sweating, heart racing? I can't just stand by and watch you suffer without trying to do something!" Seeing the almost desperate look in his eyes, Lois tried to calm down. Taking a deep breath, she said in a more normal voice, "Let's see what we can find out today, Clark. If this continues, I'll consider going to the farm, okay?" "I'm sorry, Lois. He reached out to hold her close to him. "I just can't seem to help myself, sometimes. All of my life I've dreamed of this: a normal life, a wife, a child. I never thought I'd have it. Every time I start to relax and enjoy it, something happens to threaten to take it all away. Lois, if anything ever happened to you, to our child . . ." Lois gave Clark a hug. "I'm fine, Clark. After this baby is born, we'll probably consider last night a full night's sleep. Let's get to work, we're going to solve this." *** Daily Planet They made their way to their desks through a subdued newsroom. The ususal chatter and activity were missing. The most active part of the room seemed to be the area around the coffeepot, as bleary-eyed reporters tried to wake up for the day's work. Clark picked up his phone. "I'll check with STAR Labs again, Lois. Why don't you see if Jimmy found out anything more on the Lex connection?" Lois sat at her desk. She sipped her coffee, turned on her computer monitor. Picking up a pencil, she absently doodled on her notepad. Coming to a decision, she checked her Rolodex and dialed the phone. Trying to hide the nervousness in her voice, she spoke into the receiver. "I'd like to speak with Lex Luthor, please. Lois Lane, Daily Planet." Almost instantly, Clark was at her desk. "What are you doing?" "Investigating, Clark - that's what investigative reporters do, remember? I thought we'd get an interview, nose around a little. We can't just sit here and hope the story comes to us." She sat up a little straighter, as the smooth voice came over the phone, "Luthor here." "Lex, Clark and I are investigating the recent rash of nightmares in Metropolis. One of the things that we noticed is that you are a big donor to the Metropolis Sleep Centre." "They do good work there, Lois. After my captivity I often had trouble sleeping; some of their techniques helped me. I can't see how they'd have anything to do with this. They *help* people sleep, not the other way around." Lex, paused, heaving an audible, and impatient, sigh. "And I'm tired of your insinuations that I'm a threat to Metropolis, Lois. If that's all, I'm very busy here." ** Lex hung up the phone with a thoughtful expression. Immediately he regretted snapping at Lois. "These last few sleepless nights have affected me too," he thought. He picked up the phone again and dialed a number. "Mr. Chimera, please." He listened to the annoying 'on hold music' while he waited. "Chimera, have you found him yet? Lane and Kent are nosing around. Be careful, but find him. Together, we can save Metropolis from this madman. The publicity for the Centre would be a side benefit, of course. Were any of his notes left at the clinic? Keep me informed. Lex rubbed his temples tiredly as he hung up the phone. "This could be the key to Superman's downfall," he muttered to himself. "If he can modify the machine to do this to a city, then it can be used to control minds." Pouring himself a stiff drink he lifted his glass in toasting gesture. Picking up the receiver again, he punched in a number. "General Moreland, please. Lex Luthor calling. General, I wanted to talk to you about this Superman problem. . . . Yes, I know you still consider him a threat. . . . Well, of course I understand. . . . Do you think any of these nightmares are a leftover from the Lord Nor problem? . . . They all did leave didn't they? . . . The military saved the day that time, I understand . . . I'm sure you keep an eye on Superman, correct? . . . I think that may be wise . . . Good day general. I'm glad you're keeping an eye on a potentially dangerous situation." *** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 22:30:12 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LoriMcE Subject: S5: "Nightmare Over Metropolis" (part 1 of 3) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Nightmare Over Metropolis by Lori McElhaney edited by Laurie As the clock behind him chimed three a.m., Dr. Morpheus looked out over the city lights. Striding to the cabinet, he pulled out several medicine bottles. He shook out several pills and swallowed them angrily. Laying down on the rumpled bed, he waited for the drugs to work, inwardly seething at his continued failure to sleep. **** Early morning, Metropolis Sleep Centre - Director's Office "Chimera," the voice said, curtly and authoritatively. "You guaranteed results, yet all I hear are more promises. I hear your top researcher can't even help himself -- not exactly a ringing endorsement." "Mr. Luthor, wait . . . Dr. Morpheus has an assistant who is brilliant, eager, hungry for glory. I think he can be persuaded to continue your research. The use of dream states to modify behavior or control attitude is possible, I believe. I'll get rid of Morpheus - if you'll fund us a little longer." "Six months," the line hissed as the connection was broken. Mr. Chimera let out his breath in a long sigh. He had an unpleasant duty to perform. But corporate donors were getting harder to find. Especially with the deep pockets Lex Luthor provided. *** Later that morning, Metropolis Sleep Centre Striding through the corridor of the Metropolis Sleep Centre, Dr. Morpheus nodded to the staff as he passed by. He was acutely aware of their scrutiny of his appearance. It was the ultimate irony: the head of the sleep disorder section was a chronic insomniac himself. The redness of this eyes and haggard looks were clear signals to his colleagues of another restless night. He sat at his desk and reviewed his technician's notes on last night's sleep lab. 'YES', he thought. 'It worked. Now I've just got to adjust the equipment, and . . . ' The intercom buzzed. "Dr. Morpheus," the secretary's voice chimed, "Mr. Chimera would like to see you in his office right away." **** "What is it Daniel? I think we've made a breakthrough last night, I need more time to review this data. . . ." "Doctor," Mr. Chimera interrupted formally, "I've just met with the rest of the board and I have some unpleasant news. They have chosen not to renew your contract with us. At the end of the day, I'm going to have to ask you to turn over your case files and research notes and seek employment elsewhere." "What?" thundered Morpheus, slapping his hand on the table. "Why?" "This is a respected institute for research, but what pays for that research are the people who come here for treatment. I'm sorry, your physical condition conflicts with your work here. How can we market successful treatment when one of our directors, no less, has been unsuccessful in treatment himself?" "No treatment is 100%, and my new line of research has shown promise . . ." "Not again, Morpheus -- sleep rays?" Mr. Chimera snapped impatiently. "We need facts here, not science fiction. And I am well aware that every case is different, and that there are no guarantees. This is not about any of that, although continuing that line of research against the Board's advice did not help your case any. This is about money and the public's perception of us. There are other places, other cities they could choose -- but they come here because they think we're the best. We can't have any perceived weakness. This decision is final." "Is this about those special projects you were trying to get me interested in? What have you gotten into, that you can let an outsider make research decisions?" "That's really none of your concern." Mr. Chimera's voice was cold and distant. "Sometimes funding comes with certain expectations. That's true anywhere. But, the decisions about your tenure here were made by the Board and myself. Good-bye, Dr. Morpheus." *** Midnight. Dr. Morpheus' private laboratory Later that evening, Dr. Morpheus was determined to continue his work despite the earlier confrontation with Mr. Chimera. Electronic equipment filled the room. Boxes overflowed with tools and circuit boards. A small television, set to the all-news channel, droned in the corner. Looking over the machine in the middle of the room, he adjusted several settings. He talked aloud as he worked, "Science fiction, he says. No one wants to take chances. Wait until I show them. They'll regret letting me go." He rummaged through a box filled with electronic parts. "The last patients in the sleep lab reported, long happy dreams. The data logs showed that even after the ray was turned off, REM sleep was extended by more than two hours. With this new power source, I should be able to extend the range to cover the city. After the city has a few nights of nightmares, they'll see it's not science fiction." Morpheus paced, thinking furiously. "All I need now is an image for the people to focus on. The lab tests showed the ray worked best when the subject had something to build their dream on. I just have to encode the image in the beam, and . . ." As he mulled over the problem, an LNN news report interrupted him. "Superman," the reporter asked, "How do you manage to help so many people?" "Well, I try to help as much as I can. I guess it's a good thing I don't need a lot of sleep." Superman smiled. "Lucky you," Dr. Morpheus sneered. A stillness came over his face, as he considered the screen. "Everyone knows Superman - he'll make the perfect focal point for my little demonstration. You may find your 'help' a little less welcome this week, Superman." ***** Lois and Clark's home, 348 Hyperion Ave Lois woke up as Clark slipped into bed beside her. Stretching sleepily, she snuggled into Clark's embrace as they lay spooned against each other in the bed. "Everything ok, Clark?" Clark nodded as he held her close to him, her presence always comforting to him after a long night patrolling. "I had the best dream," Lois murmured sleepily, turning in his arms to look in his dark eyes. She reached up and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. "Was I in your dream?" Clark asked, nuzzling her neck. Lois smiled, entwining her legs with his as she replied against his lips, "You're always in my 'best' dreams, Clark." *** Meanwhile back at Dr. Morpheus' lab Morpheus took one last look at the settings of the machine. Taking a deep breath, he flipped the switch. "Sweet dreams, Metropolis, Mr. Sandman is on his way . . ." **** Back at Lois and Clark's home Lois dreamed . . . She was flying . . . Superman was cradling her in his arms . . . the day was beautiful, bright and sunny with a warm breeze. Superman smiled down at her and suddenly everything changed. . . . It was dark with an ominous thunder in the distance and she was falling. She screamed for help and suddenly Superman was there, but just as he reached her he stopped and watched her fall . . . Lois jolted awake with a start, and found her staring into Clark's worried eyes. "Lois, are you okay?" Lois said, "I had a nightmare, Clark. I'm fine. It was just a dream." She glanced over at the clock. "It's two a.m., let's get some sleep." **** Next morning "Honey, wake up," Clark cajoled. Lois opened her eyes a slit, and saw Clark sitting on the side of the bed holding her coffee. 'Decaffeinated, of course,' she thought grumpily. 'This morning I could have really used the caffeine.' "Are you sure you want to go in this morning? I know you were up a lot last night." "I'm fine Clark, just give me a minute. Maybe if I pretend there's caffeine in here." "I've been reading, Lois. Lots of women -" "Not again, Clark," Lois replied exasperatedly. "I thought we agreed. No more books!" She noted the title in his hand: "You're Pregnant & Your Dreams Are Driving You Crazy." "It was only one little nightmare -" "Two nightmares, Lois." He reached out to hold her hand, his eyes concerned. "Please tell me about them. This book says most pregnant women have intense and strange dreams. It helps to talk about them. It's just one way of adjusting . . ." "Clark, put the book away in your 'library' and let's go. Perry wants that rewrite finished first thing this morning." Clark sighed and put the book down with the other pregnancy books he'd purchased. He looked guiltily at the piles of books in the bookcase Lois was calling his "library." He promised himself right then that she'd never see the ones he was keeping in the treehouse at the farm. Or the printouts from the Internet that he had in a file at work. **** Daily Planet Lois and Clark arrived at the Daily Planet, settling into their usual early morning routine. Jimmy stopped by Lois' desk, sighing. "Man, what a night - I kept having the craziest dreams." "What kind of dreams, Jimmy?" Lois asked, her attention on the computer screen. She continued to type, her brow furrowing in concentration. "Nightmares, weird ones. I'm just about to take this picture of this fire - and I'm balancing on this balcony to get 'the' perfect shot. Superman shows up, and I'm shooting pictures and he sees me. Great, huh? I get the picture, and the scoop from Superman. But get this, he flies up to me and pushes me off the balcony! So then I get back to sleep, but I have another one. Superman is in it again, and he's just letting people die. I'm trying to help, but I can't. I've never gotten so much sleep, but felt so tired in my life either." Lois closed the file she was working on, all her reporter's instincts on alert. "That's strange, Jimmy. I had some dreams about Superman myself last night . . ." "Dreaming about Superman, Lois? Hoo- boy, Better not let CK hear about those dreams!" Jimmy joked. "Jimmy!" Despite her growing feeling of concern, Lois smiled. Clark approached Lois' desk with a look on his face that she had come to know as 'trouble'. "Hey, Jimmy, what's up?" He absently listened to Jimmy's response while whispering in Lois' ear, "We need to talk." "Jimmy!" Perry bellowed from his office. "Gotta go. Later CK." Jimmy ran off to Perry's office. Lois followed Clark into the conference room. "It's not just Jimmy, Lois. He's about the fifth person I've talked to this morning that has had a bad dream about Superman. Was Superman in your dream, too?" Lois nodded and noted the pain that appeared in Clark's eyes. "Yes, we were flying, and then I was falling, and you didn't catch me. Clark, you know that there's got to be something behind this - let's talk to Perry and see what we can dig up." "Lois, wait. I've got to --" Clark did the hand-motion he and Lois used for his flying. "You talk to Perry, and let's see if Jimmy can find out anything useful." **** Superman flew over the city, zeroing in on the frantic screams of a mother. "Help, someone! My daughter's still in there!" Superman landed at the scene of an apartment fire. "I'll find her, don't worry." Superman found the little girl cowering in the corner of her smoky bedroom. "Don't be afraid, I'll help you." He started to wrap his cape around her when she screamed "No, you're a bad man!" and tried to run away. Caught off guard, she slipped by him through the doorway. Just then, the ceiling caved in; although he reached her in time, some debris hit her. He took her outside to the waiting paramedics, and noting the fire was under control left, feeling shaken. ********** Later that afternoon, Daily Planet Perry, Lois, Jimmy and Clark sat around the conference room table discussing possible ways to approach the story. "Okay, people tell me what you've got so far ..." Noting the dark circles under the Chief's eyes, Lois didn't have to ask about his dreams last night. Tapping her pencil impatiently on the table, she replied, "Right now, not much - just a cluster of people who all had nightmares last night. I called the hospitals - calls to the Suicide Hotline were up 10% last night." She flipped through her notes, scanning them quickly. "The phenomenon seems to be centered around Metropolis; I checked with my contacts in other cities, and there haven't been any reports." Perry turned to Clark, "Clark, can you contact Superman? It seems he was at the center of most of the nightmares. We ought to get some comment from him." "I talked to him this morning and he has no idea what could be causing it. But he's concerned, a little girl almost died this morning because she was afraid of him and tried to run away during a rescue in an apartment fire this morning." Lois reached under the table and squeezed Clark's hand. "Okay, we can run the apartment fire story as a sidebar to this one. I remember seeing some sleep doctor on T.V. lately? Jimmy?" "Yeah, a Dr. Morpheus was on Metropolis Today a couple of weeks ago. They were doing a show about dreams and sleep therapies. He's a researcher at the Metropolis Sleep Centre." Perry picked up his notes. "Lois, Clark, get over to this sleep center and see if you can get some background about what could cause this type of problem. Jimmy, check the 'Net and see what you can dig up on dreams and nightmares." Jimmy spoke up, "How about we start a hotline for people to call about their dreams? Maybe we can get a lead that way." "Good idea, Jimmy," Perry said. "Why don't you set that up?" Perry paused on his way out of the conference room, "You can also write the piece telling the public about it. We'll run it boxed on the front page, next edition." "Well, what are you waiting for?" Perry asked. "I'm on it, Chief!" Jimmy hurried from the room. **** ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:03:01 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: angela garmaise Subject: Re: IS shorter better??? In-Reply-To: <19980329.211457.4222.0.CKandLL4ever@juno.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Just thought I'd put my two cents in here: it's far easier to write a good long story than a good short story and that's the simple reality. So I personally tend to prefer the longer ones (besides a selfish motivation that just needs something to read all the time), although I have read some very short ones that were absolutely great. Although there's always short and then there's short. 8-10 pages is a perfect length for a well-rounded short story if it's well down. And I'm so very happy that there are so very many well down ones here among the LNC fanfiction! Thanks to all of you writers out there! Angie G ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 07:22:19 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Donna Lehman <102262.2435@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Chapter 8 - Thank You MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Re: Chapter 8 of "Full Circle" Thank you to those who responed and sent me this important chapter. There are good friends here on this list. Donna ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 08:17:25 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Michelle Glenn Subject: Re: Is shorter better? In-Reply-To: <62f19022.351ed749@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII I agree with Patricia. If the story is good, length doesn't matter. However, there are some stories that just should be shorter because they don't keep your attention. I think there was only one Lois and Clark story that I just never got allthe way through, but I don't remember what it's called. By the way, I like how long the Dawning series is because it's a good story and it's kind of like I feel about a new episode...I don't want it to end. Michelle "Someday we'll look back on all this and...plow into a parked car." On Sun, 29 Mar 1998, Patric6928 wrote: > I think it all depends on the quality of writing and story. There are fics I > have read well over 100 pages, and I have loved every single page, paragraph, > word and whisper-- and I have read short fics that have not been my cup of > tea. What I do like, is to see an idea fully fleshed out-- and sometimes that > takes alot of pages. > > Patricia > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 11:07:45 -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: Is shorter better? Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Budmayes wrote: >> Padding a story doesn't make it better. << and >> On the other hand there are stories that should have been fleshed out a little more. I really don't enjoy stories as much when they read as more of a narrative than a detailed story. A story has to find its own lenght. << And I have to thank Bud for saying what I was thinking Some stories only need a few pages, others need to go longer - I've read stories that were way too short for what they wanted to say, and I'v= e read stories that went *way* too long, often wandering aimlessly for page= s. A good rule I've heard is that the author should edit out any word that doesn't advance the story in some way. A good long story? Anything by Phil Atcliff (Couch Potatoes is the most recent) A good short story? Hmm, Heartbeat's already been mentioned... Cyberlink= , by Zoomway PJ !^NavFont02F02B00022MGHHGVMGXHGyMG{HG~MG39HGE9MGEBHIB19A30 E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 30-Mar-1998 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ Fanfic writer, Kerth co-coordinator, busy mom :-) Kerths will be awarded March 28th, beginning at 6pm EST! http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/folc.html ~~~~~ "Are you under the care of a qualified psychiatrist, Constable?" ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 12:44:04 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jeff Brogden Subject: Re: Is shorter better? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="------------D975F8F8D7FB0D88B6464184" --------------D975F8F8D7FB0D88B6464184 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit It would seem the recent Kerth nominations and awards would be a good place to look. Were more long or short stories nominated? What won more categories - long or short? ================================================================= Jeff Brogden jwbrogden@bigfoot.com http://www.bigfoot.com/~jwbrogden/ --------------D975F8F8D7FB0D88B6464184 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

It would seem the recent Kerth nominations and awards would be a
good place to look.  Were more long or short stories nominated?
What won more categories - long or short? 

=================================================================
Jeff
Brogden                    
jwbrogden@bigfoot.com         

http://www.bigfoot.com/~jwbrogden/
  --------------D975F8F8D7FB0D88B6464184-- ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 12:29:05 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Re: Is shorter better? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Debby wrote: >To get some conversation going on this list again, what do readers >and writers think? Is shorter better? If so or if not... why? >In 25 words or less... or more :) I don't think that shorter is necessarily better, as there as tons of shorts stories that are just fabulous! A great example of this is Jennifer Baker's fanfic, Heartbeat, which is only one page long and is one of my all-time favorites. :) But I have to say that so many of my other all-time favs are the big, long fanfics... the "Powerhouse" fanfics, as I like to call them. :) For example, Meet Me in Kansas City, Heaven's Prisoners, etc. A long fanfic definitely gives the writer time to delve into the personal lives and feelings of more than one main characters (and occasionally the smaller ones, too), and I think that gives the readers time to really get settled into the story and get really personally and emotionally involved. I believe that this can be accomplished in a short story, too, but I know from experience that it's very difficult to do, and takes a very talented writer to do so. I commend Jennifer Baker on doing it, and those other authors who've done that same emotional writing in a story only a couple of pages long. I certainly haven't gotten to that writing level yet! 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: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 12:43:39 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: oops! sorry :P MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Oops! Sorry for the duplicate posts, guys. Somehow my troubled computer decided to send duplicate emails out to ppl last night and today. :P Sorry again! 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: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 14:36:43 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 12 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ******************** Chapter 12 ******************** As CJ entered the room, Lois roused herself from the half sleep that had followed her moments with the baby. She had been so pleased to see the tiny child. Somehow, it made it all worth it to realize that the fear and frustration had resulted in such a perfect person. CJ leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before making himself comfortable in the large chair that sat beside her bed. As usual, he pulled out today's copy of the Daily Planet, and began to read it to her. Column by column she was able to catch up on what was happening in the world she remembered. It all seemed so far away, hidden from her. She could remember being a part of it, and she could feel that she belonged there now, but it felt as if she were surrounded by cotton. Every image was dulled, every feeling muted. She felt isolated from the rest of the world, and she had no idea how to bridge the gap. Regardless of this feeling of separation, she clung to each of her son's words. As he read, she became aware of a second presence in the room. She turned her head to see Kat moving into the room, with an odd look on her face. Kat moved close to CJ and sat next to him, sharing the large chair. Lois nearly smiled as she thought of how she and Clark used to do similar things. She missed cuddling with Clark. Often, he stayed for hours with her, but they rarely touched unless he was saying hello or goodbye, or when he was tending to her needs. Kat listened with Lois and was struck by how hollow Lois looked. Kat had rarely been to the hospital, and then she never went in to Lois's room. Today, however, CJ had seemed so shaken that she didn't want him to do this alone. Every day, CJ came to read to his mother after school, and every day he came home quiet and withdrawn. Today, Kat had made a quick trip upstairs to see the baby, then she had decided to join CJ in his time with his mother. Lois appeared to be paying attention to the reading, but she still looked so far away. Kat wasn't sure what she could do, but she could see from his expression that CJ was worried as well. Cautiously, Kat slipped from CJ's side and moved closer to Lois. She saw the brown eyes following her, and realized then that Lois had not taken her eyes from her since she had entered the room. Carefully, Kat eased herself onto the bed next to Lois, and took the older woman's hand in hers. Lois squeezed the connection to life tightly, and then released it slightly as her strength diminished. Kat understood the nonverbal signal, and continued to hold Lois's hand. She had missed time with this woman who had acted as her mother for so many years. She hoped that Lois felt the same way. Lois reveled in the feeling of connection that the contact brought her. She felt so lost in this bed all alone, and everyone treated her as if she were fragile. She knew that she had been ill, but she needed her family, now. She couldn't find the words to tell them, and when she thought of them they slipped away once more. How could she make them understand that she needed to be with them? She squeezed Kat's hand once more, gently this time, and held on as her son's words flowed over her. She listened to most of the paper at this sitting, without the usual grogginess that she had been experiencing. It felt good to feel a connection. As CJ was finishing his reading, she began to feel really tired. Her eyes drooped, and she clung tighter to Kat's hand in hopes that she could delay the inevitable. Kat saw Lois's struggle, and quickly spoke to reassure her. "We'll be back tomorrow, Mrs. Kent. I promise we'll be back so you won't have to be here all alone. It's okay for you to sleep now." CJ marveled at how calm Kat sounded, how she seemed to know just what his mom needed to hear. Lois released Kat's hand, and allowed herself to sleep. "I think she was afraid we were going to leave, "CJ commented to his friend. "I think so, too. She seemed to like having me here. Maybe you should sit next to her when you read?" "Maybe," CJ thought aloud. "I bet she does get lonely, here. You know," he mused, "I don't think Dad holds her hand very much, either. He usually sits where I do. Maybe I should tell him how much she seemed to like this." "Good idea, CJ. It's getting late. We need to head back home, now." Kat was reluctant to leave the sleeping Lois, but they had been there for hours, and she did have school the next day. "Okay. I need to check upstairs to see the baby, then we can go." Together, CJ and Kat went up to see the infant. CJ declined holding his brother, and instead left that task to his grandmother. Martha smiled her understanding, and went back to rocking the baby as the two teenagers headed to the truck. ******************** Clark eased into Lois's room just after dark. He had seen CJ getting in his truck with Kat, down in the parking area, and he realized that Lois would be alone. He needed to talk to her. For nearly two decades she had been his best friend. He needed to use her as a sounding board for his confused thoughts and emotions, even if she couldn't provide any feedback. She had been asleep when he entered, but as he seated himself on the edge of her bed she opened her eyes and smiled faintly. She knew him, and that was some relief. She had not yet responded verbally, but she was showing a definite awareness of her surroundings. "Hey, Sweetheart," he said, leaning down to kiss her on her forehead. He wanted to linger, to hold and caress her, but he knew that there were cameras that reflected each motion she made to the nursing station down the hall. What he really wanted was some privacy. He slipped his arms beneath her, and lifted her up onto his lap. Her body was mostly slack, but she had more strength now than she had possessed even a week ago. He positioned her head on his shoulder, so she appeared comfortable, and relaxed onto her bed. Her hands moved faintly where they rested against his chest, as though seeking contact, and he held them against him as he spoke into her ear. "I've wanted to hold you for so long. I missed you," he told her, placing a kiss on her cheek. "I wish I knew what you wanted. I wish I knew what you were thinking. I need you, now, and I feel like you're so far away from me." Clark rubbed his hand up and down her back. He could feel every rib along her sides, and her spine was so prominent. She had lost so much weight that she appeared to be only a shadow. "I've got some decisions to make," he continued. "They effect us both, and you need to be involved, but I have no idea how to know what you want." Clark sighed and held her a little tighter, feeling the need to share his thoughts with her. "Dad says I'll have to make a decision about the baby. He can't stay here indefinitely, and I have no clue what to do." He looked down into Lois's face, and was stunned to see a tear in her eye. He lightly brushed away the drop, and replaced it with a soft kiss. "I know you wanted him so much, but I have no clue how I can take care of him. It isn't like when we got CJ. I don't have you there to help, and my parents are getting too old for this. Lucy has a family of her own, so I don't really want to hit her with this. I don't know how to do this." Looking down at Lois once more, Clark could sense that she was listening. Not just hearing, but really listening to all that he said. He felt better sharing his fears with her, so he decided to tackle the big stuff as well. "I haven't held him," he admitted. "I thought about it, but every time I look at him all I feel is anger. I know I can't blame him for what happened, he was the result of the decision, not the cause, but it's how I feel. Every time I see him, I think that if he weren't here, you would be back at home and we could forget about all of this. I've lived without you for half of a year, and it feels like a lifetime. I just want you back." Clark relaxed against the raised head of the bed, and cradled his wife in his arms. "I can't live without you, Lois. I don't know how, and I don't want to learn." Clark closed his eyes, and sighed at the feel of his wife in his arms. He was only going to rest a moment, he told himself. Just a moment, then he would lay her down and go home to CJ. Several moments later, a very observant nurse carried a blanket in to the sleeping couple. She quietly raised the rail behind Clark's back, then covered them both with the blanket. She smiled slightly as she closed the door to the room behind her. It was strange, she thought, that other nurses complained about patient families. She walked back into the nurses station and touched the "off" button for the monitor to room eight. She was quite certain that if she was needed, the man would call her. Meanwhile, they were married, and certainly didn't need her to watch over them. With her mission accomplished, she sat down at the desk and began her documentation in one of her patient's charts. ********************* It was two in the morning when Clark woke. He glanced down at his sleeping wife, then gently lowered her into her bed. He watched her briefly before deciding that she would indeed continue sleeping, and leaving the room. He needed to get home. He was certain that his parents were with CJ, but it was still his responsibility to be there. He stepped into the elevator, and really intended to go down to the parking levels, but instead he pressed the button for his son's floor. His son...that didn't even sound right. He stepped off the floor and walked to the windows that shielded the babies from drafts. He watched the hustle and bustle for a moment before he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. "Can I help you, sir." The nurse was young, and her voice was soft. "Maybe. I haven't been here before. My son is here, the name is Kent." He felt odd making the admission, but he had to start somewhere. The nurse smiled. She had been told that the baby's father had not yet come to see him because his wife was ill. She found it odd, but as the child had such dedicated grandparents, she hadn't given it much thought. It was not uncommon for babies to be abandoned when they were so ill, especially by young parents. What surprised her was that this man was so old. Most of the parents who had such tiny children were children themselves, in her experience, and she was pleased to see this father now taking interest. “Let me show you where to dress and scrub, then I'll show you your son." Clark hesitated briefly, then let himself be led to a large sink. He followed the nurses instructions and removed his watch, then held down a foot lever to dispense some water. He used the little brown scrubber sponge to lather his hands and arms up to the elbow, and continued to scrub for the required five minutes. Once he had rinsed the foul smelling lather from himself, he dried with the towel she handed him and allowed her to help him into a blue paper gown. She escorted him into a nursery that consisted of tiny babies and enormous machinery. He finally saw his son lying on a table with shallow raised sides, and what appeared to be a sun lamp over him. He was tiny, lying on his stomach with his diapered rump sticking up in the air. Clark felt a familiar and unwelcome surge of anger that this tiny person had caused his wife so much harm, but he was able to quell it for the moment. The nurse offered to allow Clark to hold the baby, but he declined. He chose instead to stand there, just watching the baby sleep. So this was the person whose fate was held in his hands. This was the child who must be cared for. He wondered what Lois would want him to do. Would she want him to hire a nanny and keep the baby at home? Should he demand that the baby be kept here even when it was well enough to live at home? Should he expect CJ to help raise the child, or do it himself? Seeing the baby made the situation more real, and more important. He would have to figure out what to do, and soon. With a sigh, he left the newborn nursery, and walked back to the little room where he could dispose of his paper gown. He then went back to the elevator and headed down to the parking garage. He would have to be at work in a few hours, and he needed a shower. There was so much to be done. ********************** Clark entered Lois's room early the next afternoon following work. It had been a quiet day at the Planet, and he was relieved not to have to bring work here with him. After kissing her hello, he walked into the small bathroom and placed a towel on the bottom of the tub. He ran water into it, making sure that it wasn't too hot, and arranged Lois's shampoo and soap on the floor next to the tub. Once the tub contained about six inches of water, he went to get Lois. He made sure that her catheter bag was attached to the IV pole before lifting Lois into his arms and maneuvering the pole before him with the arm he used to support her knees. When he had her in the little bathroom, he stood her on her feet, carefully supporting her weight with one arm while unbuttoning the shirt she wore with the other hand. He carefully placed her in the tub, seated on the towel, and continued supporting her with his left arm. He used his right arm to wash her body, and use a cup to wet her hair. He was quite skilled at bathing his wife. He knew just how to position her so that the catheter wasn't pulled and the IV into her neck didn't become wet. He washed her hair efficiently, as he did every other day, and cleaned her with her favorite shower gel. Once she was clean, he wrapped a towel around her hair and another around her body before lifting her from the tub. He took another of his flannel shirts from a hook behind the door, and slipped it over her shoulders. Clark managed to get her back into bed, the shirt buttoned, and the towel removed without exposing her body to the cameras that monitored both the main room and the bath room. It seemed a small thing, but he wanted to protect her modesty just as she would if she were able. When he had her in bed beneath the covers, he dried her hair with the towel and carefully combed the tangles from it's length. Her hair had grown past her shoulders, and was quite easy to braid, so he combed it over her right shoulder and quickly braided it to keep it out of her way. He wondered if she would want it cut, but he didn't want to make the decision for her. All he really could manage was to keep it tended until she was able to make the decision for herself. Clark reached into her bedside table and grabbed a bottle of her favorite lotion. He used it as he rubbed her arms and legs, back and chest beneath the shirt. He needed to keep her circulation stimulated, and prevent the bedsores that were so common with extended hospitalizations. Also, he completed her physical therapy as the technicians had trained him to do. He carefully moved her body through a full range of motion: arms, legs, fingers, toes, hips, and neck. It was important to keep her muscles familiar with movement so that she would be able to recover her strength more quickly when she was able. Clark had the procedure for Lois's daily needs down to a routine. He accomplished the task in just over an hour, and it allowed him time to relay the events and frustrations of the day to his wife. He was careful to be finished before normal visiting hours began, that way she always looked her best when others came to see her. Just as Clark was finishing his task, and reaching for the pasta he had brought for her dinner, Lois moved. She deliberately raised her arm, and rested it against his cheek for a fraction of a moment before it fell back to the bed. When Clark met her eyes, he saw unshed tears there, most likely from frustration at her own weakness. Gently, he lifted her hand back to his cheek, and held it there for several minutes. Lois's eyes were grateful, as he assisted her in doing what she most wanted to do. Her lips formed the words "I love you," and Clark saw it. He bent down and kissed her, lingering for longer than he normally did. He felt her respond slightly, although certainly not like she would normally do, and a feeling of unbridled hope speared through him. He pulled back for a moment to look at his wife, and saw a faint smile on her face. For the first time, Clark really felt like everything would be okay. He pulled Lois into his arms, feeling her still damp hair against his shoulder. He held her for several minutes, just enjoying the feeling of her in his arms, then released her to deal with practical matters. Reaching to the table behind him, he picked up the container of angel hair pasta that he had purchased at her favorite Italian restaurant. He used a fork to twirl single strands of the pasta, and lifted them gently to her lips. Lois took tiny bites of the meal, chewing carefully, and swallowing with some difficulty. She was grateful that Clark brought her meals, and hopeful that she would soon be able to eat enough to get the horrible needle out of her neck. She forced herself to take several more bites even after she was full, then she slowly turned her head away. Clark understood her signal, and placed the remainder of her meal back on the table. She had eaten more than usual tonight, and he was pleased. Clark reached into the pocket of his shirt, and withdrew a small foil wrapped candy. The chocolate was slightly melted, so it would require little effort on her part, and he knew it was her favorite. He unwrapped the little kiss, and bit a tiny piece off it to place between her lips. Lois devoured the candy, allowing it to melt on her tongue and enjoying the sweet flavor. Clark repeated the process until the candy was eaten, then licked the remaining chocolate off his fingers. "Thank you," a tiny voice said. Clark's head snapped up in shock at the familiar sound of his wife's voice. It was faint, barely a whisper of sound, but it was her voice. When he met her eyes, he saw the glimmer there of so many words unspoken. He reached for her and held her in his arms. Lois cuddled into Clark's embrace. She knew he would think that the "thank you" was for the chocolate, and that wasn't really what she had meant. She would explain it all to him later, she thought, when she was feeling stronger. For now, the bath and massage had relaxed her, and eating always tired her, so she rested her head on her husband's strong shoulder and drifted off to sleep. ***** continued in Chapter 13...probably tomorrow...but don't quote me on that ;) ***** ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 14:19:39 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: LNC Fanfic Kerth Awards a Huge Success! Comments: cc: lnc list , rachel MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sorry to you folcs who are on both lists and get this post twice. I wanted to let everyone know how the Kerths turned out! Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun. It was a great night that will definitely go down in "folcdome" history! :) ************************************ LNC Fanfic Kerth Awards a Huge Success! by Erin Klingler and "spy" (to be referred to as “Sore Throat” :) Yes, its true what they say, the lighting does make them look bigger, at least according to Gina Jones, the evening’s wav jockey. The first ever Kerth Awards were a huge success, with the after-awards party going well into the morning (unless you were in Australia where it first started in the morning ;). There was a huge turnout for the ceremony, with the user list growing to 70+ at one count. (It made everyone feel nostalgic for those good old Sunday nights when a new LNC ep aired :( Here is a quick run-down of some of the crazy Kerth moments: 1. A netsplit of “operatic proportions” occurred just before the eleventh category, sending Kerth ceremony coordinators into a state of shock. Quit commands scrolled past so quickly that one folc joked it was as if someone had yelled “Fire!” in the auditorium. :) The evening’s "Streaker" was said to have been “just devastated" because he was about to have his moment of glory when everyone split. 2. One presenter had trouble with her "teleprompter" (aka cut and paste;) and was heard to be muttering something about "Windows 95 under her breath." 3. The commercials during the ceremony about everything from a giant sale on colorful ties and bolts of unused spandex to an ad sponsored by Dr. Friskin for MIRC (Metropolis Intimate Relations Counseling) were a big hit. And we’re please to announce that the "writers of these commercials (Debby Stark and Ellen Garnett) have now been hired by Disney to breathe some new life into their network. (Disney owns a network? who knew? ;) 4.One winner was said to have been so ecstatic over her award that she forgot to thank her agent in her acceptance speech, then she remembered she had no agent. She was overheard saying, "Thank goodness, that would have been so embarrassing". 5. Security was tight at the awards, one disgruntled "fan", who we'll call "John Doe", had to be removed when he kept muttering "Duh, don't you see? Clark Kent *is* Superman" (hello! like we knew that). 6. A major highlight of the Awards was when Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Rhen Brink, danced with her Kerth award to the music "Heaven, I'm in Heaven". One folc was overheard to say, "Talk ‘bout your deja-vu". The After-Awards Party: The party began when Chris M yelled, "I'm the king of the world, now lets party!" And party they did. But first, what did they wear? Well, everything from sweatshirts to rope (yes rope! And it certainly looked dashing on Kathy Brown, despite the duct tape showing slightly through in places ). Less was more for this crowd. (I believe I even spotted someone wearing Sharon Stone's Gap T-shirt from last year’s Oscars :). Rhen promptly announced that the drinks were on her, so Stacey volunteered to be the bartender. She cracked open a bottle of champagne and watched the cork go bouncing around the room. Debby grabbed a bottle of seltzer and sprayed Gina, who was just so relieved that she didn’t get lynched for playing the drumroll and applause wavs 28+ times over the course of the evening that she didn’t even mind. :) Zoomway and Jeff Brogden were seen to be doing the mamba with tiny objects resembling Doppoblufo frogs, and Jen (Kinipela) formed a conga line, urging folcs to join in. Demi jumped right in, but immediately said, “Wait, is People magazine here yet? ” Kathy Brown’s dress (is rope under the category of dress? Hmmm… I wonder. Memo to self: write to Vera Wang and find out the definition of "dress" :) began unraveling, when "an unidentified guest" stepped on it (police are talking to some x-files authorities as we speak). Missytoo stuck a lampshade on her head and started belting out her version of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”. Overheard at the party were the rumors that Chris Mulder and Zoomway were looking for a BIG bookcase (apparently they are all out of “bottom of a closet” space ). Also heard was the fact that Kathy Brown was interested in purchasing some drapes. Apparently she had some extra rope in the house. ;) Now here is the After-math of the Kerths as heard by this columnist’s source, “Sore Throat”: 1. Chris M is scheduled to be featured in the new Milk ads with the slogan "I like mine, with a good fic on the side." 2. Zoomway set to have starring role in film about TH’s life (we all *knew* it was her :) 3. James Cameron is said to be devastated that he lost (we didn't have the heart to tell him he didn't make the nominations) Well, that’s all FoLCs!! I hope you all had fun at the awards, and we’ll see you next year! :) 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: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 16:32:22 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: Re: Fanfic: Full Circle: Chapter 12 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-30 14:45:27 EST, you write: << Her lips formed the words "I love you," and Clark saw it. >> SOB! SNIFF! WHERE ARE THOSE KLEENEXES WHEN I NEED THEM! Marie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 16:49:06 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Lalapoop2 Subject: Log of Kerth Award Ceremony Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi everyone. I was one of the unfortunate ones who had to miss the festivities on Saturday. I've seen the winners and wanted to say congratulations to everyone. I was wondering if and when the logs were going to be posted to the list. Does anyone know? Michelle Lala2 on IRC ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 17:22:01 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: LNC Fanfic Kerth Awards a Huge Success! Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-30 16:06:42 EST, you write: << 5. Security was tight at the awards, one disgruntled "fan", who we'll call "John Doe", had to be removed when he kept muttering "Duh, don't you see? Clark Kent *is* Superman" (hello! like we knew that). >> I should relate a couple of embarrassing things here Some people I only know by signon names, and yet many, if not most, had their real names on their fanfic. Well, our own dear bullfrog joined the channel, and I merely said "howdy, ben" or something equally grabbing Anyway, others whom I recognized as nominees when they joined, I congratuated them on their nomination (if they weren't already on the channel) But with Ben, it took me all the way to his name being announced as a nominee before I snapped to "Oh, *that* Ben" and congratulated him since I hadn't connected him to the name earlier, but I got it in Then there was my *huge* slip when I had been away from the computer a moment, I looked at the Kerth screen and saw the names Pam Jernigan and Sarah Wood and thought they were listed as winners and not just nominees, so I typed in my glowing congratulations to them on the #Kerth_chat channel (where we could speak openly since it wasn't moderated) Happily, they did end up as the winners, but it was no less embarrassing One thing that wasn't funny was a couple of kids from AOL (it's always AOL ;) who thought they could show up and cause trouble saying rude things. Fortunately they were completely unfamiliar with a 'moderated' channel format. When a channel is moderated, the only way you can be heard and seen is if you are a channel operator or have been given voice (+v status) So they could only pull their pranks on the chat channel, sort of a pale victory >>>Zoomway and Jeff Brogden were seen to be doing the mamba with tiny objects resembling Doppoblufo frogs<<< Well, Jeff's a darn nice dancer, but more than that, he's a darn nice guy. He gave a great parting chat to the nominees and it was very touching. There really are some Clark Kents out there. >>>2. Zoomway set to have starring role in film about TH’s life (we all *knew* it was her :)<<< Please, poor Teri. Cast Demi, she's younger and an actress If I could be anything in Teri's life story, it would be a fly on the wall ;) Zoomway@aol.com (buzz-buzz) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 18:53:59 -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: Play Teri? In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 05:22 PM 3/30/1998 EST, Zoomway wrote (in response to Erin casting her in the role of Teri Hatcher): >Please, poor Teri. Cast Demi, she's younger and an actress LOL Poor Teri either way! ;P >If I could be >anything in Teri's life story, it would be a fly on the wall ;) Actually I'd only do it if Dean played himself .. you think I could get that added to my contract? If not, then... maybe Patricia can play Teri...I'll play some other insect, but if it's all the same to wardrobe...there are too many flys out there on walls.. I want a stinger! ;) Demi (This is kinda like playing hot-potato isn't it? LOL) ____________________________________________________ Demi (a.k.a) Demona or http://fantasia.simplenet.com/lcfantasy/demona.htm --- L&C Site http://fantasia.simplenet.com/lcfantasy --- "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. for I have the biggest, *meanest* dog in the whole damn valley." --(excerpt from Phil Atcliff's 'Couch Potatos') ______________________________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 20:28:16 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Brittan Webtv Subject: Log of Kerths Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT MIME-Version: 1.0 (WebTV) I was on Spring Break & away from my computer for Kerths, could some wonderful folc please send me the log? Thank you ahead of time, sorry to bother anyone else. Britt ****************************************************** Lois: "Who's asking...Clark [removes glasses] or Superman?" Can you believe we survived the summer for that one? ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 15:24:56 -0700 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Re: Log of Kerth Award Ceremony MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Michelle wrote: >Hi everyone. I was one of the unfortunate ones who had to miss the >festivities on Saturday. I've seen the winners and wanted to say >congratulations to everyone. I was wondering if and when the logs were going >to be posted to the list. Does anyone know? The logs of the ceremony are being edited as we speak and will either be posted to the list or to several web sites very soon. If we end up not posting them directly to the lists, we'll definitely send an announcement telling where they can be downloaded and/or read. So stay tuned! :) 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, 31 Mar 1998 00:55:19 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Patric6928 Subject: Re: Play Teri? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-03-30 18:53:02 EST, you write: << If not, then... maybe Patricia can play Teri...I'll play some other insect, but if it's all the same to >> LOL. Poor Teri, again. Somehow I don't think she would take that casting choice as a compliment. Patricia (but if Dean is playing himself....whoohoo) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 10:02:13 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: Fanfic: Full Circle: Chapter 13 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ***************************** Chapter 13 ***************************** Lois was getting better. Clark finally was able to believe things were going to be okay. Of course, she was not getting better terribly quickly. Even though each day brought a new phase of her recovery into view, she had such a long way to go that it would be quite some time before she was her normal self. The baby, on the other hand, was ready to go home. As Clark had feared, the doctors were no longer willing to allow a healthy child to remain in the newborn nursery. He was eating normal amounts, taking no medications, and in general was as normal as if he had been born right on time. Against all his arguments, Clark was faced with a choice. He could take the baby home, or he could relinquish him to foster care. Although Clark certainly advocated adoption, this was not a possibility for their baby. He was normal enough now, but CJ's abilities proved that the Kryptonian heritage was a dominant one, and the baby would most likely grow to be like his brother. The decision was finally made that the baby would have to come home. Clark wasn't sure how he would deal with caring for both an infant and the daily needs of his wife who was still in the hospital, but he had accomplished super feats before, and he assumed that he would have to again. Martha found her son up in the attic, searching through CJ's old baby things. He was looking for a crib, but he had not been able to find it. Currently, he was sitting and staring at the old basinet that his parents had sent before they had found CJ. It was slightly yellowed, but it was still usable. He knew that there was a set of sheets and a fancy cover somewhere in one of the boxes, but he had no clue which one, and it took time to x-ray each box layer by layer to find the appropriate cloth. "What's wrong, Clark?" Martha hadn't taken much time to quiz her son on his unusual behavior of late. She knew that Lois's illness had been hard on him, and she suspected that he still held some resentment towards the baby. Jonathan had said that Clark was uncomfortable with the child, but hadn't gone beyond that. She needed to know just what was going on with her son before they brought a helpless infant into the situation. Clark sighed, lowering his eyes. "It's just so different, Mom." "What's different?" He held up a little overall outfit that CJ had worn many years ago. "It doesn't feel like this baby belongs with us," he said. "I know he's ours, but I felt more attachment to CJ the first time that I saw him then I feel towards a baby that has been here for nearly a year." Martha had been treating Clark gently since this ordeal had begun. She vividly remembered his voice when he had told her that Lois was ill. She remembered the devastation in his face when she had first seen him in the hospital. He had seemed so lost, so afraid and alone. She had followed her instincts since then, coddling him as any mother would do. She hadn't pressed him on the issue of his son because she didn't feel that he was ready for it. She had hoped that once Lois had begun to improve he would start to accept some responsibility for the child, but this hadn't been the case. If anything, he seemed to be withdrawing even further from his baby. Clark always managed to be conspicuously absent when the baby was taken to Lois's room, although that was virtually the only time he wasn't by her side. He refused to go up and see the baby, and wouldn't even give the poor child a name. She was beginning to wonder if she needed to be a little more stern with her son. After all, a mother's love gave a child what it needed, not what it wanted, and he needed for her to put him in his place. At least, she hoped that was what he needed. "Well, I must say that you were a lot more excited about CJ than you have been about this baby," Martha began. "And, you certainly spent more time with CJ." Clark continued to fail to meet his mother's eyes. He knew that she was right. He hadn't allowed himself to fall in love with the baby because he was still so angry at himself for allowing the pregnancy in the first place. Granted, he'd had no idea how things would go so badly wrong, but he still felt responsible for both putting Lois's life in danger when the pregnancy began, and allowing her to continue the pregnancy against medical advise. If he were honest with himself, he would have probably seen that the decision had been Lois's and not just his, but he wasn't seeing things quite that clearly. Self reproach was easier. "Do you honestly think that you could have changed anything that happened, Clark?" Martha's voice was quiet as she seated herself with some difficulty on the floor of the attic next to her son. "I know you think you can protect the world, but you can't take the blame for everything." Clark finally met his mother's eyes, a mixture of pain and longing clouding the normally soft brown. "I just want her back, Mom." Martha hugged her son briefly, then pulled back to look him in the eye. "And just how do you think your wife will feel when she realizes that you won't have anything to do with her son." Clark hadn't thought of it in quite that way. The baby looked mostly like him, rather than like Lois, or so he had thought in the few brief instances that he had looked at the baby at all. He hadn't really considered the baby as a part of Lois, because her body so clearly hadn't been able to tolerate it. Maybe he did need to rethink it. Things seemed so much clearer in his own home, rather than in the artificial environment of the hospital. He couldn't wait to get Lois back home, so he could think clearly all the time. "So," Martha added as she turned away from her son, "Do you think you have room for this in your room?" She carefully stood and inspected the basinet that Clark had been working with when she had come in. "He's sure small enough for it now, although we will have to look for the crib soon." Clark allowed the change of subject, and went back to preparing for the baby's arrival. With his mother's help, they found the cover for the basinet, several sets of sheets, baby clothes, and even managed to locate the crib, although they elected not to get it out just then. Clark was still helping his mother sort through which clothes were too big for the baby to wear when he heard the screams. Children were calling out in fear. He was normally able to block out cries for help, allowing himself to believe that he had his own problems to worry about. He hadn't worn the blue suit in nearly a year, and after the first few weeks the public had seemed to forget about him. Now, though, a child was most specifically calling for Superman, and the terror in her voice was more than he could ignore. Martha saw the expression on her son's face, and was relieved to see it there. He had buried himself beneath pain and fear for too long, and she was refreshed to see him concerned for someone else. Perhaps it was because Lois was doing better, or maybe it was the discussion about responsibility that they had just had, but whatever the reason she was going to encourage it. "Go!" she told him firmly. Clark hesitated for only a moment more, then he sped from the room and down the stairs to his closet. Within seconds, he had opened the false back to the closet, retrieved the suit, and flown from the window. ***************************** He followed the scream to a school bus that was recklessly veering into oncoming traffic. Quickly, he lifted the bus into the air, and out of the path of danger. The wheels of the bus continued to spin for several minutes, and Clark finally maneuvered himself beneath the bus and tore the fuel line from beneath it. Once the fuel had harmlessly drained to the field below, the motor sputtered and died, and he rested the bus in the grass. A quick check assured him that the children were all shaken, but appeared to be unharmed. He silently gave a prayer of thanks that the school busses were now required to have seat belts, and that no students had been thrown around within the bus. The driver of the bus was quite dead, and Clark spared a brief thought that if he had been a little faster he might have been in time to save him too, but he was too grateful for the little girl clinging to his legs to allow himself to grieve. "Oh, thank you, Superman," the child kept saying. "I'm so glad you came back." Clark held the little girl tightly, reassuring her. as well as himself, that he was indeed "back". He would have to get the bus back to the school, as it was very much disabled at the moment, and parents would certainly be worried. He briefly used the bus's radio to let the dispatch office know what he was planning, then he had the children buckle themselves back into the bus for the flight back to school. ***************************** It was later than usual when Clark arrived at the hospital. He had been caught up in the media rush that had followed Superman's return, and it had taken him hours to satisfy their curiosity about his absence and return. Finally, they had allowed him an opportunity to leave, and he flew straight to his wife's side. Lois was just finishing up her lunch tray when Clark arrived. She was surprised that he was so late on a Saturday, but she realized that life did go on outside of her world. "You look tired," she commented, as he greeted her with a kiss on her forehead. He smiled at her concerned look. "I am tired," he replied. He took a seat on the edge of her bed, and quietly watched her for a moment. He felt awful that he had forgotten to bring her lunch. He normally didn't allow her to eat the hospital versions of food, and instead he brought her favorites from the take-out restaurants that they had frequented before. In all the chaos of the morning, it had slipped his mind. "What's wrong, Honey?" Lois hadn't seen him look this upset in quite some time. He always came to her room with a smile, and it bothered her that he wasn't sharing what was wrong. "I forgot your lunch," he mumbled quietly. He didn't meet his wife's eyes. "Look," she said firmly, getting his attention. "I know I'm not up to one hundred percent, here, but you can talk to me! I want you to talk to me. You think I can't see that something is bothering you. I know you better than that, and I know when you're hiding something, and you are most definatly hiding something..." "Lois!" Clark said, effectively interrupting her babble. He smiled softly at the reminder that while his wife might not be back up to full speed yet, she was still his wife. He placed the palm of his hand against her cheek, and smiled at her. "Do you know that I missed you?" Lois covered his palm with hers, absorbing the love in his eyes. "Don't think you're going to get out of answering me." Clark smiled once more, and took a deep breath before starting. "Superman made his return appearance, today," he told her. "It wasn't planned, but I couldn't just ... I had to ..." He couldn't think of a way to explain the feelings he'd had when he heard the child screaming. "What happened," Lois asked, taking his hand in hers and gently kissing his palm. He had forgotten how much he relied on her to pull out the things he didn't want to deal with. While he wasn't thrilled to have to find words for the emotions, he did know how much she helped him to get through the confusion that the feelings caused. "I heard a little girl screaming," he began. "It was a second grade class on a field trip. They had to have the trip on a Saturday because of all the snow that we had over the winter. They needed the rest of the week for school." Lois listened carefully. Just the fact that he was muttering about the inconsequential details of the day, like the mandatory number of school days in a year and the necessity of moving extra curricular activities to the weekend, let her know that he was avoiding the issue. She considered prompting him, but decided instead to allow him to continue at his own pace. After a moment more, he continued. "The paramedics said that the driver had a heart attack. He probably died instantly. When the bus started swerving into traffic, the kids started screaming. I heard this little girl," he continued, tears in his eyes. "God, she sounded so much like Kat. She was calling for Superman. The others were just screaming, but she was specifically calling for Superman." He looked up into Lois's eyes, and saw understanding and acceptance there that he relied on. Clark allowed himself to be pulled into her embrace. She gently wrapped her arms around him, and just held him. She wondered how he had gone so long denying this part of him that needed to help. It just wasn't in his nature to see things going wrong and not jump in. She wondered what it had cost him to stay at her side for so long. "I'm glad Superman's back," she told him quietly. "What did you tell the press?" Clark pulled back slightly and smiled. "Well, I gave the Planet an exclusive interview," he said with a smile. "I told them that there had been some problems on New Krypton that required my attention, and that I had needed to leave without much warning." He looked up at Lois with a question in his eyes, if not his voice. "I told them that the situation was still erratic, and I might need to go back." Lois shook her head. "I've told you before, the world *needs* Superman. I won't monopolized your time." As she rested back against the pillows, she sighed. Just the little effort it had taken her to eat and hug her husband had left her exhausted. She wondered how much longer it would be before her body recovered from the extended inactivity. "But, I need to be here for you." Clark sighed again, allowing some of his frustration to surface. "I need to be here to bring you lunch, and listen to you yell about your therapists, and gripe about the limited visiting hours. My place is with you." Lois could see his frustration. His sense of duty was one reason that she loved him so much, but he was tearing himself up trying to forget about his other responsibilities. Granted, they were responsibilities of choice, but they were no less real because of that. "Clark, I'm not upset that you saved some lives today. As a matter of fact, I think that saving children is definitely more important than bringing your wife her Spicy Pork." She smiled, hoping he would see the humor in the situation, but his face remained serious. "I *need* to be here for you, Lois. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have to be here." He looked down, unable to meet her eyes, tears filling his own. "What are you talking about, Clark? I'm here because I couldn't tolerate a simple pregnancy, not because of you." "You could tolerate a *simple* pregnancy, what you couldn't handle was having *my* baby." Lois looked at Clark, completely confused for a moment. Certainly he couldn't hold himself responsible for this as well. She had been the one who insisted on continuing the pregnancy against Dr. Klein's advice. She had been the one who insisted that they not give up on trying to have their own child, whatever the risks. She had been the one who had placed her own life in danger without realizing that she would be orphaning CJ if things didn't work out. She was fully responsible for the situation, and she had payed for her arrogance with a year of her life. "What are you talking about, Clark. This was my choice. In fact, I distinctly remember arguing with both you and Dr. Klein when he wanted me to take the safe way out." "But, Lois," he told her, his voice anguished. "It was my physiology that caused all this. If I had been normal, you never would have been in danger." "And if you had been normal," she yelled back, "I would have died on the space shuttle, or married Lex, or been boiled in oil, or any of a hundred other things that you saved me from. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you!" Exhausted from her outburst, Lois fell back once more onto the pillows. She reached out for the bed railing to steady herself as the world began to spin. Hearing her small sound of distress, Clark immediately reached for his wife. He grasped her hand firmly, while reaching for the call button. Lois halted his motion with her hand over his, then closed her eyes against the spinning once more. "It's okay, Clark," she told him. "This happens when I do too much. Between feeding myself and yelling at you, I just went past my limitations for a moment." Clark accepted her explanation, but still held the remote control call button in his hand. Within a moment or two, Lois's heart rate slowed to the familiar rhythm of sleep. He sat listening to her for several more minutes before he was relieved enough to return the call button to it's place next to her pillow. He reached out his hand, caressing the fragile skin of her cheek, and tracing the skin down to her neck. She had a small scar where they had removed the Broviak line that had fed and hydrated her for so long. It was pink now, and barely an inch long, but to him it was a constant reminder of how long she had been out of his reach. Clark sat for a long time watching his wife. He would need to go home and pick up the car. He was supposed to take the baby home today. Glancing at his watch, he realized that he was late for that as well. He hated to leave Lois, especially after the half argument that they had been having, but he was needed elsewhere. After kissing her cheek, he removed the two foil wrapped candies from his shirt pocket and placed them on the bedside table next to her nearly empty tray. He had made a habit of bringing her tidbits of chocolate every day. It was one tangible way that he could show her his love. The other way he could show her was to take her baby home. He really wasn't ready for this. His parents were staying with him for awhile longer to ease the transition, but he had no desire to take this baby into his home. With CJ, he had always felt an attachment, a love, that had eased the hard times. He had also been able to rely on his wife to care for him when he wasn't able. This was entirely different. At best, he felt indifference for the baby. He couldn't even bring himself to name the child. At worst, he felt an irrational anger at the child for all that he had lost. If he could have wished the child out of existence, he would have done so. That surprised him. He had always loved children, all children, even those that weren't his. Now, he wasn't able to look this child in the face without anger. He didn't know what to do about it. He didn't feel like he could talk to Lois about it. He certainly didn't want to admit his feelings to his own parents. After all, they had loved him unconditionally when he wasn't even from their planet, and he couldn't love his own son. It embarrassed him, and it humiliated him as well. What kind of a man couldn't stand his own child? What was wrong with him. With another sigh, and a final glance at his sleeping wife, he left the room. He stepped into an unused conference room, and quickly spun back into Superman. He flew from the window, and soon arrived at the grove of trees behind his house. He descended quickly, and spun back into his jeans and flannel shirt. When he entered the house, he saw that his mother had been quite busy. She had laundered the baby clothes, and set up the basinet in the living room. Clark found a note inside the basinet: Clark, We've taken the car to pick up the baby. Please bring CJ's truck so he can run some errands for us after we've finished. Love You. Mom Clark used his spare keys to unlock CJ's truck. He made the drive to the hospital in good time, and even found a parking place relatively close. With a feeling of dread, he met his mother at the admissions office of the hospital, and signed the paperwork that would allow him to take the baby home. Once that paperwork was complete, he walked beside his mother to the elevator, carrying the infant car seat that they would use to transport his son. As they left the elevator, his mother stepped in front of him and forced him to stop. Confused, he looked down into a very determined face. "Okay," she told him. "I know how hard this has been on you. I realize that this is the last thing in the world that you want to do, and that you don't think you're ready. But I also know that there is a baby in that room that needs your love. He was born of you and Lois, and I will not allow you to ignore my grandchild, any more than I would have tolerated you ignoring CJ when he was that age. You *will* be his father, because you *are* his father. Do we understand one another?" Clark lowered his head. If he had felt ashamed of himself before, this made him feel worse. The reprimand from his mother had put him effectively in his place. With a quiet, "Yes, ma'am," he followed her to the nursery. ***** to be continued tomorrow, hopefully ***** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 14:39:09 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: About the Ropes (Was Re: Kerth Awards Ceremony) In-Reply-To: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Okay, so it's really not about the Kerths, but this way I get you to read it.... At 09:55 PM 3/11/98 -0500, KathyB wrote: >At 6:05 PM -0800 3/11/98, Linda Mason wrote: >>I'm coming out of lurkdom to ask what are you all talking about? > > >LOL, well even though the question is vague, I'm going to assume you are >wondering what the joke about "rope" and "tape" is, and not what the Fanfic >Kerth Awards are about. :) > >These are all references to Teri's two Movieline covers. The one that >garnered her the most publicity was a shot of her nude, wrapped in >strategically placed rope (the big sailers kind of rope). It was a very >erotic picture, and she actually got invited on most of the major talk >shows around that time to talk about it. Because it was so erotic, only >magazine subscribers got the issue with the rope cover. > Are you sure about that? I bought the issue with the ropes from the newstand. The non-rope was for subscribers wasn't it? (e.g. doctor's office ;-) If you order a back issue which one do they send? Sorry for the off-Kerth topic... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:12:48 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eraygun Subject: Re: NEW FANFIC ALERT: LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi There Folcs , The IRC round round fanfic writers have been busy again :). This time we've written "Lois and Clark in LaLa Land " which recounts the adventures of our favorite couple when they go undercover in Hollywood to investigate mysterious happenings involving a major studio and TV network. This is another of the *enhanced* round robin stories, meaning that even though the majority of it was written *live* on the IRC additional sections were added that we believe improve the story. And we also called upon the expertise of several of our folcs who live in southern California to get our geographical details right :). We hope you enjoy it. Many thanks to our editor, Georgia Walden, who did her usual spectacular supporting role . Eileen Eraygun@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:55:37 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eraygun Subject: NEW FANFIC: LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND Part 3 of 7 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND: continued from part 2 _____________________ ***** Superman landed next to the battalion chief. "Need any help?" A grin of relief crossed the firefighter's soot-covered face. "Boy, do we, Superman! These darn Santa Ana winds have started up a brush fire. There are homes that might need to be evacuated." "Tell me what you want me to do." "We can handle the evacuation process, but winds are causing havoc with our fire lines. Just when we think we have a handle on the situation, the fire jumps the line and starts up somewhere else." Superman looked at the hillside. "How do people live on these hills?" The chief shrugged. "It's Malibu, Superman. If you're not on the beach and worried about being washed into the Pacific Ocean, you're in the hills and worried about either mudslides from El Nino or fires from the Santa Anas. This time, the Santa Anas won out." "Okay, let me work on putting out the fire. You deal with the people." "Right." The battalion chief barked orders into his walkie-talkie as Superman lifted off and flew in the direction of the nearest firebreak. Assessing the situation, he quickly flew toward the Pacific Ocean. Once over it, he began to spin, creating a wind funnel that drew water up into the vacuum he was creating. He flew back to the fire, continuing to spin, the water trailing behind him. Hovering over the fire, he stopped. The vacuum was broken and the sea water fell to the earth. A loud hiss and a column of steam was all that remained of that part of the fire. Smiling, he went back for more water. He waved to the cheering firefighters below. ***** "Hey, you asked me what my idea was...why are you all looking at me like I have spinach in my teeth?" Lois asked, looking around the table at faces absolutely aghast at her. She ran her tongue over her teeth quickly, just to be sure, and was certain dental hygiene wasn't the problem. "Look, Jo...it's...well, it's high concept, I'll give you that..." Lois turned her head toward the speaker. Rosenblatt, she recalled. He continued, "But...maybe you're jumping into the deep end of the pool without a net." What is this guy talking about? Lois wondered. And what kind of analogy is that? This guy's a writer? "Okay, hey, I know this is a little different than, oh, let's say, the female lead getting amnesia and falling in love with her doctor while her true love pines for her, but I thought the plan here was to come up with something earth-shaking, that would give this show some ratings grip." "Hey...amnesia...now there's an idea!" Rosenblatt leaned forward in his chair, and started scribbling notes. Lois huffed, her bangs whisping around on her forehead. Well, truth is stranger than fiction, and I could pawn off a lifetime full of truth for this fiction, she thought. "Okay, you like typical soap opera story-lines, dragged out for weeks with unsatisfactory resolutions, huh? Someone start taking this down..." And she began relating, embellishing with surreal details, a plotline these 'creative types'...these so-called 'artistes'...gobbled up like Thanksgiving turkey...except she figured, out here in California, it was probably tofu shaped like a turkey. She was just getting to the really bizarre part of her narrative, when four beepers went off, and everyone jumped from the table. Set to vibrate, too, Lois thought, and rolled her eyes. Linear spoke up. "Uh, thanks for the...uh...input, Jo...but when the beepers buzz..." "No!" Simpson said. "Not *this* time. We're going to have this out. We got notes from the top to make Peter Parker a clone, and that he's been a clone since the 'Jackal Attacks' episode in first season." All of the other writers sat in stunned silence, all save Lois, who sat in dumb silence. Macintyre threw his notepad on the table. "You're kidding me, right? Every story we did since then -- the landmark 100th episode where they had a baby --everything will be a lie." Lois drummed her pencil. "This is a bad thing then?" Linear sighed loudly. "It will only get us killed in the ratings, burned to death by fans, and have Marvel wondering why we'd repeat their stupidity." Rosenblatt shrugged. "They already hate me, so it's business as usual." Macintyre thought a moment. "Then we send them a dummy script. Let them think we're doing the crap they want. Jo, you have your assignment." Simpson nodded. "Okay, Jo does the dummy script. And we do...what, exactly?" Macintyre smiled. "The play's the thing, Daniel." "Hamlet," Clark said, straightening his tie as he came back in and sat down. Rosenblatt looked at Clark. "A Princeton boy?" "Midwest State, actually," Clark blushed. "What we do is write all this intrigue into a script. The vanishing writers, the sabotage from the network..the buyout from Sidney Corp.." "Sidney Corp," Lois sighed. "I can't believe the same people who gave the world Dorky Duck would do such a thing." "*Believe it*," Simpson said. "That duck has fangs." "Okay, then," Rosenblatt said. "We do this arc and then meet in the unemployment office for cocktails." "Yep, and Jo and Jerry, you've got to write something awful," Linear reminded them. "No problem," Clark smiled. "We have our integrity," Linear added. "I'll be looking for your dead body hanging from the 'Welcome to Hollywood' sign, Jimmy boy." Macintyre said wryly. The writers laughed nervously, but agreed to hang together to avoid the rest of that cliché. ***** Lois was sitting cross-legged on the bed in their hotel room typing away fiendishly on her laptop, sometimes laughing aloud. Clark looked over her shoulder. "Honey, no offense, but that's really bad." "I know. I love this. It's liberating." "Well it should liberate us from the Screen Writers Guild forever. Not that I mind. I've been doing some digging." Lois stopped typing. "And?" "We should backtrack the steps of Geraboa and Bolten the night they disappeared." "'The Chart House in Malibu it is then, huh?" Lois looked at her husband inquiringly. "That's where they were seen last," Clark replied. "I'm sorry about the restaurant." "Me too." Lois made a face. "I heard they have frog legs. Said to be their specialty." "Well, there were no corpses found, so chances are the fact they were eating there didn't kill them." Clark grinned suddenly. "You know, I have an idea ..." ***** They were sitting at a table at the back of the restaurant. Lois tried to lose herself in the menu she was studying intently without any interest. It was good that at least Clark was doing all the talking. She listened to his perfect delivery of a French accent. His wide travels and his *super* aptitude for languages were certainly helpful. He had been talking to the waiter and then the chef for over half an hour now. They were slowly but surely losing their nerves. No longer were the fake Frenchmen as highnosed as they had been in the beginning, Clark having spoken to them in perfect French, which they, of course, hadn't understood. Clark was pretending to be the connoisseur for a famous restaurant guide perfectly. Lois was wondering where Clark had learned that much about French cuisine and frog legs in particular. He didn't even like them. But he did cook. Lois suppressed a smile as she saw the chef and owner of the establishment flinch yet again. Just then Clark passed her a look that told her the two were about ready to be cooked. After that, the conversation soon drifted to other guests and famous authors having eaten in the restaurant, particularly two who had made a rather hasty exit after they had been joined by two gentlemen in dark long coats, wide-rimmed hats and sunglasses. They had no more than a cup of coffee each, most of which Lois left untouched since the milk in her 'cafe au lait' was sour. Back out on the street, she quickly whistled for a cab to get back to their hotel and to take inventory of what they had learned. The brakes of the car that they had rented had mysteriously failed when they were leaving for the restaurant. Lois couldn't shake the feeling that someone, someone important, was getting worried. Back at the hotel, they sat down on the bed heavily. "What a day!" Lois looked at her husband. "Agreed. But let's see what we've got so far." "...yeah, let's see what we've got so far," Lois mumbled. Clark shook Lois' shoulder. "Wake up, honey. We'll be late for that dinner reservation." Lois gazed up at him blearily. "Huh? I thought we already did that?" She turned her head and peered down at the computer beside her feet. The cursor blinked patiently at the bottom of the screen. She'd only leaned her head back on the pillows for a moment, just to rest her eyes... Clark chuckled. "Wow, doing that really bad script writing really takes it out of you, huh? That must have been some dream." "Dream? Oh, God, Clark, I was going to eat frog legs!" Clark grimaced. "I thought we agreed never to say f-r-o-g again as long as we live." "Then I think Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones kidnapped those writers." "I hope your dream doesn't get any weirder than that, honey." "I whistled for a taxi, and I actually got one." Clark stroked her hair. "In Los Angeles? You *were* dreaming." Lois sat up. "And just where were you when I got stuck with that writing chore?" "Well, you know how it is. Duty called." He made that flying gesture they used as code for Superman. "Yeah, right. How come duty always calls when there's something you don't want to do?" "Lois, I'm sorry. Now let's get going." "Okay," she agreed grumpily. "You just better not leave me alone in the wilds of Malibu." ***** Lois and Clark enjoyed their dinner at the restaurant overlooking the beach, but struck out on finding anyone who had seen the missing writers. They decided to take a moonlight stroll and discuss what they had discovered so far, which wasn't much. They lingered to enjoy the view and a few stolen kisses and then headed back to the restaurant parking lot to retrieve their rental car. As they approached the parking lot, Clark pulled Lois around the corner of the building. "Shhh. I think I see someone we know." They peered around the corner and saw Richard Songer talking to the blonde who had interrupted the writers' meeting. "What are they doing here?" Lois hissed. Clark shrugged. "Be quiet, honey. I'm trying to hear what they're saying." Lois looked annoyed but obediently kept quiet. "Lois, you won't believe this. They're... Clark hesitated for a few moments. "They're what, Clark?! Having a date?! Doing a drug deal!? What?" Lois interrupted. "Well, I don't know whether drugs are involved but money certainly is," Clark replied. "That envelope Songer handed her had ten thousand dollars in it. And she handed him an envelope containing a locket." "Well, that sounds suspicious. Maybe we should nab him. Or her." "For what, Lois? Their conversation could have been about anything." "Well, then, let's follow him; see if he says anything else or drop any clues." Clark nodded. "I guess we could do that. It's the closest thing we have to a lead on this story. And it beats going back to the hotel and engaging in more bad script writing. Let's get the car." Continued in Part 4 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:55:32 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eraygun Subject: NEW FANFIC: LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND Part 2 of 7 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND continued from part 1 _____________________ "I was very impressed with your spec script, Ms. Miller. I don't write myself, of course, but I know talent when I see it." Clark folded his arms. "Isn't it unusual for an Executive Producer of a show? Not being a writer, I mean." Einstein cleared his throat. "Writing is more than what's on paper, Mr. Clark. Richard Songer is the show-runner. He doesn't write either, but we have the 'eye' necessary for finding talented writers who can translate our vision into something concrete..graspable. The audience doesn't seem to be going for 'high concept' this year, so we gauge, huddle, and come up with a new game plan for the writing staff." "So your function is much like Mr. Songer's was a couple of years ago," Clark commented. "When he was brought in to replace Denise Felice Ravine." Einstein narrowed his eyes; obviously the comparison made him uncomfortable. "Ms. Ravine had no desire to do a 'hero saves the day' show but that's what BCA said they wanted, Rich had experience with action shows, and so was a natural choice." Lois tipped her head back slightly. "Interesting that the action direction failed so miserably. Almost got the show canceled as I recall." "Fortunately Songer saw which way the wind was blowing and brilliantly switched the premise to a real romance between Mary Jane and Peter." "Really?" Clark asked. "I thought that's what the fans had clamored for." "As much as we dearly love the fans, it's the millions of viewers we have to be concerned with, not a couple of thousand on-line fans." "Well, I'm new to television," Clark admitted. "But isn't that how the Nielsen ratings work? They get logs and diaries of viewing habits from a couple of thousand people and use that as a barometer for millions of viewers? Also," Clark added quickly before Einstein could interrupt. "aren't the fans credited with averting the disaster of BCA's plans to foist a wedding fakeout on viewers? That could have caused a plummet in the ratings if fans hadn't been forewarned and launched their famous protest. They got the *real* wedding, and the show prospered." "You're trying to prove a negative, Mr. Clark," Einstein said curtly. "There's no way to prove that the fakeout would have cost the show viewers. Who knows, it might very well have raised the ratings even, and we could have had a real wedding later." Lois, admiring her husband's tenacity in wading through the ponderous paperwork presented by Ms. Zoomer, felt it was time to change the subject. "Um..when do we meet the cast..other writers?" "Come with me," he said. "They're shooting on 20, I think." "Stage 14," a secretary corrected. They made their way to the Daily Bugle soundstage, the whole time Einstein telling them how difficult it was to take over a show cold from the original creator, and how magnificently Songer had done so. The red light was not on, so they walked onto the set. "Wow, the set is smaller than I thought," Lois whispered to Clark. Clark looked up into the catwalk and around at the crew milling about. He touched a Panaflex camera and smiled. "Hollywood." Suddenly a man grabbed Clark's arm. "You're supposed to be in wardrobe!" "Excuse me?" The man smiled apologetically. "Sorry, pal. You look like the actor we hired to play a stand-in for Superman. We're still hoping Supes will make a cameo in this episode, but his agent can't get ahold of him." "That's okay," Lois smiled. "My partner has never had such a nice compliment." Clark shrugged. "I guess those workouts have paid off." Lois tapped Clark's arm. "There he is! Dane Staff," she sighed. "He looks good in tights. Don't you think, Clark...Clark?" "Hmm?" he asked, as Sheri Brooden stepped onto the set. Lois half-smiled. "You must be the guy who downloaded her 'naked wrapped in a spiderweb' jpeg one hundred thousand times." Clark laughed. "I did happen to see it on Jimmy's screen..once or twice." Lois nodded. "It's not hard, it's his wallpaper." "Everyone," Einstein said loudly. "These are our new writers." Everyone turned around, making Lois and Clark a bit uncomfortable Sheri and Dane waved from the set. Dane pulled off the Spider-Man cowl. "Make me sound intelligent!" he joked. Sheri put a hand on his shoulder. "They're writers, not magicians." A tall man with reddish blond hair stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Jim Linear. When you get a chance, could we...talk?" Lois nodded. "No problem...and you're...?" "Just another writer. I'll see you in the writers' building.." He cut himself off when he saw Einstein approaching. "Later," he said, and hurried off. "That was strange," Lois commented. "It's just Hollywood, Ms. Miller," Einstein said. "The only town where excrement rolls uphill. Let me introduce you to the stars." Lois and Clark couldn't help but notice that Einstein's two stars looked uncomfortable with him around. The introductions were made, and Lois decided that, up close, Dane didn't look as good in his "suit" as Clark looked in his. She had to remind herself that here she was Jo Miller, screenwriter, who was probably supposed to be a bit gushy around such a big star. Perry was going to owe her big time for this! "It's an honor to meet both of you," she said, distinctly conscious that Einstein had moved closer to her. If he pinches me, she thought, I'm dropping him right here--story or no story. Clark, too, moved forward to shake hands, not too unobtrusively pushing Einstein away from Lois as he did so. "Yes," he added, "we're looking forward to working with you." Einstein puffed out his chest--a little man who was used to deference from bigger men than himself. He started to remonstrate with Clark, but when he encountered the younger man's eyes, he wisely changed his mind. "Well," he said, pulling himself together quickly. The guy was only a writer, after all. "I've got important people waiting for me back in my office. You four carry on." Just then Sheri and Dane were called back to the set. The next scene was about to be shot. Jerome and Jo were told they'd have to wait elsewhere and warned under pain of death and dismemberment not to talk. Clark raised an eyebrow in Lois' direction, which she saw and correctly interpreted. "I can be quiet!" She proved as good as her word, and they watched fascinated at TV magic being made. Neither one had ever visited a production studio before and so everything they saw was interesting. It was another thirty minutes before Sheri and Dane were able to rejoin them, but they hardly noticed the time. Lois and Clark wondered how they were going to get the two stars off to a quiet place for a talk, but it seemed that that had already been taken care of. "Care to come to lunch with us in the studio cafeteria?" "Sure." "We better hurry," Sheri said as she ushered the two reporters towards the exit. "The commissary is often overcrowded. Some people seem to think it's the world's most important competition to get to the commissary first." She shot a pointed glance in the direction of Rhodes Jones. "Well, no hurry this time," Dane whispered confidentially. "I made sure that he won't have an unfair advantage today." Lois looked from one actor to the other. "I'm afraid you lost me. How would 'Jonah Jamison' be at an unfair advantage ...? And what commissary race?" Lois shot a glance in her husband's direction. Clark looked politely interested. "You see," Dane chimed in. "They don't have that many salads, and they're only good when they're fresh. We need to watch our diet to stay in shape. Anyway, today there is no hurry." He pointed up at the ceiling, just as they were about to exit the building. "Rhodes's bike is out of the way, so to speak." Glancing upward, Lois could just barely make out something suspended from the rafters. "What ...?" Turning around, Clark quickly lowered his glasses for a peek. After a moment, he whispered in her ear, "It's a bike all right up there. Don't worry, it's secured with chains." Out loud he added, "You must have had the help of the lighting crew with that, Dane." "I did," Dane smirked. "They are as ticked at Rhodes always getting to the commissary first as the rest of us are." When they arrived at the commissary, there was indeed a choice of salads left for the two actors, and they found an unoccupied table by a window overlooking the studio site. The meal passed in companionable conversation. They had begun to feel at ease with each other. Lois only wished for a bit of privacy with her husband. As it was, they were seated across the table from each other. She tried to keep her face straight as she started to feel Clark's foot beginning to travel up and down her calf under the table in an attempt to caress her leg. A quick look under the table told her that he had slipped out of his shoe. His efforts were mainly tickling her, though, which brought her closer to breaking out in giggles. The other contributing factor to her amusement was the obvious envy with which the two actors, Dane especially, were watching Clark eat. Not having had much time for breakfast this morning, Clark was digging in with a healthy appetite. Clark's tray was laden with just about everything the commissary menu was offering, and he was having double servings of some of his favorite desserts. It never ceased to amaze even her how much and how fast her husband, who didn't really need to, could eat if he set his mind to it. And today he was obviously having an all-out day. Dane and Sheri were picking away at their salad, growing slower by the minute as they continued to watch the supposed screenwriter eat. Eventually, as Clark was biting into his second piece of chocolate cream cake, Dane pushed back his plate. "All right, how do you do it?" "Do what?" Clark looked at the man sitting across from him. "What you're doing. You eat ... I don't know ...an eight year old has a better understanding of what's healthy to eat. But you're in shape ... as if you could play Spider-Man any time without any workout. And you're a paper-pusher mainly, aren't you?" "Well ..." Clark looked somewhat uneasy. "Oh, it's natural. " Lois came to the rescue quickly. "His country upbringing. Nothing like fresh air and lots of chores to toughen a guy." "I wish ...." Dane started, but never finished as the speakers called them back to the set. "We have to get back to work," Sheri apologized, "but it was nice meeting you. If there's anything we can do to help you settle into the writing team, let us know." She smiled at Clark who seemed a bit dazed. Lois and Dane exchanged glances and both rolled their eyes. "Don't worry, Jo. She has that affect on all the men. He'll get over it." Lois laughed. "And I'll bet you have that same effect on all the women." He grinned sheepishly and blushed. "Do you mind if we walk back to the set with you?" Lois asked. "We were kind of curious about why we got hired in the middle of the season and on such short notice." "No, we don't mind, do we, Sheri?" The foursome started back to the set and Sheri spoke up. "It's really strange, but two of our writers have disappeared. They were partners and wrote some of our best episodes. More important, they were the show-runners. With them gone, Songer is the show-runner, but he's never been one before. He used to be the one to assign show-runners. The network is putting pressure on the producers to get the rest of this season's episodes written even though they seem to hate the show and are going out of their way to hide it from the viewers." Lois and Clark exchanged glances. This was the kind of information they were looking for. "When did they disappear?" Clark asked, " and where from?" Dane answered, "They said they were going to meet at the Chart House in Malibu for dinner and then go back to Willamena's place for some rewrites, but after they left the restaurant, they just disappeared. Richard Songer lives with Willamena and he says she never came home." By this time they had arrived back at the set and separated, the actors going back into the soundstage and Lois and Clark heading to a writers' meeting in Einstein's office. "Okay," Lois said as they hurried across the lot. "I know you've done the background work, so give me the rundown on who's going to be at this meeting besides Einstein and *Dick*." "You know I read somewhere he prefers to be called Richard or Rich," Clark said offhandedly. "Yeah, but Dick fits him *so* well." Clark shrugged. "According to Ms. Zoomer's background material, besides Jim Linear who we met earlier, there are Ron Macintyre, Glenn Rosenblatt and Daniel Simpson. Willamena Martini-Geraboa and Chad Bolten are missing, of course. With the exception of Linear who joined the show this season, they've all been with November 4th Productions for a while. But they aren't particularly happy with Einstein or the direction he's been taking the show. They feel that Songer is now nothing more than a figurehead." "Like what happened to Ravine." Lois nodded. "Sounds like no one is pleased with Einstein, but he's clearly in charge. I wonder what or *who* he knows that enables him to do that." Just then they reached Einstein's office and heard loud voices coming from inside. Lois and Clark stood at the entrance of Einstein's office and scanned the room. All talking stopped. Every pair of eyes was focused on them as they took the closest vacant seats at the oblong table. As soon as they were seated Einstein continued. "Everyone, these 'new kids' here are Jerome and Jo. They're going to be contributing to our little show for the time being. Now let's get this meeting back on track." With that each veteran writer started talking at the same time. A solitary figure remained conspicuous by his silence. Apparently that was Richard Songer. Not nearly as imposing as Lois had imagined. Jim Linear, the closest to Lois and Clark, spoke up above the din and asked, "What exactly does the network want from us? What direction do they want the show to take? One month they tell us to write as if the couple barely are on speaking terms and the next thing we hear is yes, start heating up a relationship for them. I'm at a loss. I get one outline for a episode completed then it's scrapped because the show has changed directions." The other writers had stopped talking and were nodding in agreement to what Jim had said. "Einstein, what direction are we taking now?" Lois and Clark were watching the whole exchange between the two. It was obvious Jim was at odds with his boss and his network. Lois wrote on her pad - We have got to talk to him after this meeting - and slid it over for Clark to read. He glanced at her and gave a nod. Just as Einstein was about to answer Jim's question in walked... ...a blonde who hesitated at the door, unsure of whether or not she was welcome. She looked directly at Einstein and gestured that he had a phone call. Everyone in the room saw his look of puzzlement. "Sorry. Be right back. Go ahead with the meeting." With that, he ushered the blonde back out of the room by her arm. Clark's hearing tuned in and he heard part of their conversation out in the hallway. He quickly scribbled some notes. Lois glanced at his notepad, her eyebrows rising as she read, then looked at Clark. Jim Linear turned to them. "OK. Jo, Jerome. Got any ideas?" Clark cleared his throat. "Well, I --" He hesitated as his superhearing again tuned in, this time to the Los Angeles Fire Department's dispatch. He turned once again to Lois. "Um, Jo? Why don't you tell them what you were thinking about?" He turned to the writers. "I'm sorry. Something's come up." Lois threw him a look of exasperation. "Probably your lunch, Jerome." Clark smiled weakly and left the room. "OK, boys. Here's what I was thinking.... ***** Continued in Part 3 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:55:27 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eraygun Subject: NEW FANFIC:LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND; Part 1 of 7 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND; or, Surreal You Can Feel It by ChrisM^ (mulders@mindspring.com); ChrisnDor/DorDor (dorisschmill@gmx.net); Ckgroupie (NKWolke@t-online.de); Eraygun (Eraygun@aol.com); Lansbury (Lansbury1@aol.com); PeaceEv (peace9@worldnet.att.net); Zoomway (zoomway@aol.com); chrispat (cp13607@aol.com); Mackteach (Mackteach@aol.com); Nekanuq (Nekanuq@aol.com) **Any resemblance to real people in this fanfic is purely coincidental. The names were changed to protect the guilty. No actors or producers were harmed in the production of this fanfic.** Perry White hung up the phone in his office and yelled for his top reporting team. Lois and Clark had learned not to dawdle when they heard that tone in his voice. "Yes, Chief?" "What's up, Perry?" "I hope you two don't have any plans for the next few days because I'm sending you out to California." Lois and Clark exchanged looks of surprise and speculation, but always wisely opted against interrupting their boss when he was on a roll. "I just got off the phone with Mr. Stern ... he's got a job for you. Seems one of his larger investments, Broadcasting Corporation of America is facing a hostile takeover by The Sidney Corporation." He paused and looked at them over the top of his glasses, but they maintained a respectful silence. "BCA has a hit show called 'Mary Jane and Peter: The New Adventures of Spider-Man' ... maybe you've seen it?" Lois looked at Clark, and Clark looked at Lois. She turned back to Perry. "No, Chief, superheroes on TV don't hold much of a thrill for me...," Clark could hear her undervoiced mutter, "... since I'm hanging out with the real thing." He had to suppress a grin as he faced Perry once again. "I'm afraid we don't have much time for TV, Chief." "Well, I'll see about sending some tapes along with you, then. You'll need to do some homework if you're going to pass yourselves off as screenwriters for the show." Lois had been thinking about how nice it would be to explore California with her super husband, but at Perry's last remark she gasped. "Perry! You can't be serious!" "You bet I am!" he retorted. "If this takeover goes through, Mr. Stern might have to consider selling the Planet in order to recoup some of his losses, so you can bet your last Elvis souvenir that I'm serious." "I didn't know that Mr. Stern was so heavily invested in TV, Chief." "Well, he is. Things have been going from bad to worse, but last night the two head writers, a man and a woman, disappeared, so you two are going to take their places and investigate their disappearances at the same time." "But, Perry, how can we do that? We don't know anything about writing for a TV show!" Perry brushed aside their concerns. "You two are the best. I've seen you do some amazing things and I'm sure you can do this, too. You'll have some help. Mr. Stern has got a contact for you out there, someone he can trust. Her name is ... let me see, I wrote it down. Oh, yes, here it is ... Zoomer. Ms. Zoomer. She's the media liaison for the studio where the show is produced. Knows everything there is to know about TV, so you listen to her." "Okay, Chief." Clark and Lois turned towards the door, but Perry had one last word of advice. "Be careful around the show's Co-Executive Producer, Mickey Einstein. Mr. Stern doesn't trust him, and that's good enough for me." As they walked to the elevators, Clark said to his less than happy wife, "Well, Lois, it could have been worse." "How Clark?" "We could be writing a sitcom." As the door dropped into the lock behind them, Lois leaned back against it heavily. "I thought we had been through just about anything with these undercover projects," she sighed. "Well, at least you can't complain about getting bored." Clark smiled as he laid his arm around her. "We'll have some time off too, you know. Spending a day in Sidneyland with your husband isn't so bad, you know." "Yeah, I know." Lois was in a bad mood. "Everything has to be in a rush again, though. How can we possibly be ready to meet with Ms. Zoomer? "Don't worry so much. I'll help you pack." "We'll have to go via a regular airline. Perry had already arranged the tickets with Accounting. Heck, he didn't even wait for us to give him our okay to book!" "Ms. Zoomer will meet us at the airport and take us to our hotel from there. No way around it." Clark was helping her out of her coat. "But, you know, there's plenty of time till tomorrow. And maybe we can arrange a connecting flight on Superman Airways, giving us additional time tonight." As Clark pulled her close and kissed her gently, Lois felt herself relax and her resistance ebb away. Maybe things *weren't* so bad. "Well, we better start packing then. We could get most of it done tonight. Remember, you promised to help." "Sure do." Clark picked her up unceremoniously and zipped up the stairs, putting her down just inside the bedroom. He was back with their suitcases a split second later, placing hers on the bed. "We can start with yours. Now let me see ..." He had begun to search through a chest of drawers. Turning, he held up a teddy. "This looks a little small. Are you sure it still fits after you washed it last time ...?" "Hey, do you think ...?" She was beginning to become exasperated again, but then caught the teasing grin on his face. Walking up to him, she poked him in the chest playfully. "I could try it on ...." "Would you? We want to make sure you have the right attire when we're out in California ..." He was beginning to kiss her neck and helping her with the preparations to try on the teddy. "But the packing ..." ***** They never finished the packing that night. It was done at superspeed the next morning, allowing them to catch the flight to California just in time. Lois was glad that super pilots and their "aircraft" didn't get out of breath easily. Thus they were not the worse for wear when they arrived at the LAX airport lounge . It was seven o'clock and the January morning was pleasantly cool. But in the lounge waited another surprise. Ms. Zoomer wasn't there, only her secretary, who apologized and explained that Ms. Zoomer wouldn't be able to come. They would meet her later in Burbank at the studio. "So what shall we do now?" Lois asked after the secretary had left. Clark shrugged his shoulders. "I think we should rent a car and try to get to the studio, okay?" They decided to do it this way and by eight they were on the highway heading towards Burbank. "It seems to be easy to find, Clark," Lois said, fumbling with a huge map in her lap. "Just change from this highway to the 405 and then we have to get off at the second exit. It's a piece of cake." Lois' first thought about this whole undercover assignment had been right. Changing highways turned out to be a very bad idea. Once on the 405 the early morning fog partially obscured their view of an endless line of cars in front of their own creeping through the valley. But there was no turning back. "Uh uh..." Clark said. "Come on, Clark, we've been in a rush hour before. It can't take so long. I'm sure we'll be at the second exit soon." "That's not what I meant, honey," Clark answered. "'Uh uh' meant I have to go." "Go?!! Now?! Here!?" Lois stared at him as if she couldn't believe her ears. "No, Clark. Please, tell me you're kidding!" Clark had the grace to look really uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, honey, but there are tornadoes in Missouri - weren't you listening to the radio? I can't stay...see you later!" With that he spun in the air at superspeed, visible only to Lois, who sat in her seat, speechless, staring after the red and blue blur. "Oh no!" she said between clenched teeth, "sometimes I hate superheroes!" One hour later Clark returned to California, flying first to Tarner Brothers Studios. When he didn't see Lois there he headed back to the freeway. He spotted the rental car pulled into the emergency lane with its hood up. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, Clark scooped up the car and whisked it to a relatively quiet side street near the studio. Spinning back to his regular clothes he approached Lois carefully. "Hi, honey," he said cautiously. "What kept you?" "Well, there was a train derailment in Arizona and I..." "Never mind," Lois said. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you but the car died and I had no cell phone, and where are all those nice-looking highway patrolmen when you really need one?" "I know, I know, it's always something," Clark said soothingly as he took her out of the car and into his arms. "You need to rest. Why don't we just go to the hotel and check in?" "No, Clark, we're here now, we might as well get this over with. Besides, I've got plans for later," she said with a small smile. "Oh really?" Lois nodded. "I can hardly wait." "Good," Lois replied. "So what are our cover names?" "I'm Jerome Clark and you're Jo Miller. We've been writing partners for the last two years, mostly off-Broadway plays, minor productions and the like. Our spec script was picked up by November 4th productions and that's why we're here." "Okay, anything else I should know?" "Nothing that I can think of right now, sweetheart. Ready?" "I guess. Do I look okay?" "Lois, you always look okay." "Thanks, you're a big help." "Hey, I mean it!" "Hand me my hairbrush, would you? It's in the glove compartment." Clark reached into the glove compartment and took out the brush. Looking in the rearview mirror, Lois rearranged her hair. "Okay, now I'm ready to go inside." They walked down the sidewalk to the studio. When they gave the guard their contact's name, they were directed to the Public Relations Department. "May I help you?" the receptionist asked. "Ah, yes, we're here to see Ms. Zoomer," replied Clark. "I need your names, please." "Jerome Clark and Jo Miller." "Go right in," she said, pointing to a door. "You're expected." They walked into the room the receptionist had indicated and saw a woman sitting behind a cluttered desk. "You must be Jerome and Jo. Pleased to meet you," she said, extending her hand. They each shook her hand. "Have a seat," she invited. "Well, I suppose you'd like to hear about the hostile takeover by Sidney." "That is what our job is." "Well, the thing is--Sidney would ruin us. Nothing could be worse for MJ&P than that stupid gerbil." "But you suspect that they are sabotaging the show?" "Well, yes. They have made it no secret that they want to take over BCA. And MJ&P's ratings have never been this low. Our biggest competition has been CBN's FishTrek. Old Lady Mysteries on SBC is keeping the number one spot, but we were usually second. Not anymore." "But why would Sidney want to sabotage the show?" Lois asked. "If the show fails, can they buy the network for less or something?" "Something like that. The important thing is stopping them. Now, you're going to be scriptwriters?" "Yes. It shouldn't be too hard, right? We're already journalists," Clark said. "Okay, well, I've got a lot of papers here for you. It's all the information I could think of on the show." Ms. Zoomer reached into her desk and brought out a huge pile of papers. "All that?" Lois and Clark could just gape at the pile. "Yeah, this should prepare you to work on the show." Lois frowned slightly. Sure, Clark could cram all that info in five seconds, but she sure couldn't! And there was no way she was letting this ruin her evening plans. After talking with Ms. Zoomer for a little while longer, she offered to make arrangements for another car. When it arrived, they drove to the hotel where they had reservations. It was fancier than most, and looked pretty comfortable. They walked up to their room. "Well, this is nice!" exclaimed Clark. He closed the door and turned to Lois. "You know, we've got plenty of time to read that stuff later." "Oh, I don't know, Clark," she replied. "We should start now." He raised an eyebrow. "Kidding!" she exclaimed. "We've got," her voice got softer, "better things to do right now." She put a hand lightly on his chest. "Excuse me while I go change." She moved away from him with a wink. A few hours later, a smiling Lois and Clark left the hotel. Armed with the information Ms. Zoomer had given them, they returned to the Tarner Brothers lot. Once past the guards at the main gate they headed for the soundstage of MJ&P for a writers' meeting with the head of production, Mr. Einstein. From what Ms. Zoomer had written he was one slippery man to nail. Einstein was a recent addition, slipped in through the back door when the ratings had dropped this season. Lois was feeling a little hesitant about meeting with him. She had run into his type many times before and she already had a strong dislike for the man and hoped it didn't show. He was the proverbial snake in the grass, always trying to make himself look better no matter who he had to step on or sleep with. "Clark, I know this man is going to have a pot belly and smell of Cuban cigars. I don't think after reading everything Zoomer has written I can be objective about him." Clark looked at her. "Honey, I know you can put all your personal feelings aside. I've seen it happen too many times." Clark led them to Einstein's office. Again they were met by a beautiful young blonde receptionist. Once they had given her their names, Einstein himself answered the door. He reached out to both. "Come in...come in. I have heard a lot about you." Lois felt Einstein's eyes travel the length of her body. She met his gaze with a look of cold disdain. On the other hand, Clark was not used to someone openly ogling his wife and found he was reaching his boiling point. But this wasn't supposed to be his wife -- she was his writing partner. Focus on that, Kent. He stepped forward quickly and held out his hand. "Mr. Einstein, we appreciate your taking the time to meet with us." He felt Einstein squeezing his hand hard, and for a moment the two men engaged in the age-old ritual of testing each other's strength. Lois realized what was going on and rolled her eyes. She knew Clark could easily crush Einstein's hand, realized too that he was just angry enough about Einstein's ogling to go a little overboard. She stuck out her own hand, determined to break the ritual before it got out of hand, so to speak. "Mr. Einstein," she said crisply. "Jo Miller. I'm Jerome's writing partner." Einstein took her hand a little gingerly, trying to conceal a wince. Continued in Part 2 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:55:46 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eraygun Subject: NEW FANFIC: LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND :Part 5 of 7 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND continued from part 4 ______________________ A while later Lois stood by the water tower of the studio. It was very near the guard gate. Finally there was the familiar ==whoosh== and her spandex- clad husband landed. "Talk about a dramatic entrance," she smiled. Clark shrugged. "It's Hollywood." Suddenly the guard came out of his booth. "You're the third one to sneak by in that costume today, pal. This time I'm calling the cops." Clark floated up out of reach and Lois shook her head. "What a ham." The guard's jaw dropped open. "Su..Superman?" "Afraid so," he smiled and then descended. The guard beamed and shook his hand. "I'm sorry, Superman. Can I show you to the Spider-Man set?" Lois looped her arm through Clark's. "Actually, that's why I'm here. You can go back to keeping the studio safe from phony superheroes." The guard looked slightly disappointed, but returned to his booth. "So," Clark said as they headed for stage 14. "We get some Superman publicity for Spider-Man, and then later tonight hit up the IRC?" "That's the plan," Lois sighed. "But having fans put on a show of force is what really would help." "Then maybe we can convince Sheri and Dane to be available?" Lois smiled. "I think Superman might charm them into saying yes." Clark x-rayed the soundstage. "Unfortunately they aren't on the set." "Maybe their trailers." Clark smiled rather wickedly. "Think if I x-ray Sheri's trailer, she might be dressing?" Lois elbowed him in the stomach. "Just to make sure you *don't* run the risk, x-ray that trailer that says 'Dane Staff' on it. If he happens to be dressing, I'm okay with that, and you can use long, descriptive words." Clark laughed. "Fair enough," he said, and x-rayed the trailer. "Oh my..." Clark said, just staring. "What is it?" "Um..he's not alone in the trailer." "Oooh," Lois smiled. "Anyone famous?" "Well, yeah...you could say that." Lois tugged at his arm. "Who!" "Sheri Brooden, that's who." "What!" screamed Lois. She gave Clark a slap on the forearm. "You had better not be kidding me, buster!" "Honey, it's a good thing you can't see inside his trailer. I'd probably be picking you up off the pavement of this parking lot," Clark teased. "Are they doing anything interesting? "Define 'interesting'," Clark said with raised eyebrows. "Let's just say they know more about each other than you and I did three months after we were married." "Clark, were they finishing or beginning? If you catch my drift." Clark hesitated. "Lois, do you really want me to...?" "Naahh, we better wait them out." Some two hours later Lois and Clark returned to the actor's trailer. "Do you think they're still in there?" Lois asked. Clark lowered his glasses and scanned the trailer for only a second. He pushed his glasses back up with a sigh. "Well? What's happening? Are they still in there? Lois' impatience was showing. She was the type of person who always wanted to be in the know about everything around her. "I wish you could somehow let me see what you see when you're using your buzz-buzz." "Well, we might as well take another long walk around the lot. They're still 'involved' with possible plot changes," he said as a group of tourists walked by. Lois laughed. "Sounds like Dane might be related to you. Are you sure your parents didn't send another spaceship?" Clark grinned. "I'm sure, Lois. Maybe we should go find whoever's in charge today and get details of my Superman appearance ironed out. They can't possibly last much longer." As they started to walk away, a harried production assistant rushed up to the trailer and started banging on the door. "Hey, you two, you're needed on the set right now!" Clark's superhearing picked up the sound of muffled groans, and after a few minutes, Dane appeared at the trailer door. He looked a bit rumpled, but started off toward the set mumbling something about Sheri being there in a few minutes. Lois and Clark exchanged an amused look and followed. Lois and Superman followed Dane onto the set. Along the way Lois noticed the curious glances and surprised looks that her partner was getting from the other cast members and the crew. Even in Hollywood where they'd probably seen everything, Clark could still turn heads in his red, yellow and blue. Dane came up then to let the director, Wade, know that Sheri was on her way. "Oh? Okay, thanks, man," was all the response he got before being hustled off to the makeup department. Wade seemed to hardly notice that one of his stars had left and that the other one was nowhere in sight. He was too busy talking to Superman. Clark tried to get in a word edgewise. "I don't think you've met Jo Miller, Mr. uh ...?" "Wade, Superman, just Wade." He turned to Lois, "Hi, nice to meet ya," and then quickly turned back to Superman. "So, Superman, tell me ..." Great! thought Lois, another Superman fanatic. She had just decided to mingle with the crew to see if she could get any leads on the missing writers, when she caught the rest of Wade's sentence. " ... just what is Lois Lane really like?" Lois spun back around, caught the dumbfounded look on her husband's face and nearly fell over laughing. I can't wait to hear this, she thought gleefully. Superman cleared his throat and seemed to be giving the matter a lot of thought. "Well ... Wade. She's ..." "Yeah, she's what?" "Married." Lois watched Wade for a reaction. She wasn't sure how to interpret the long look he gave her husband. She never got a chance to ponder this any further, though, as suddenly there was a commotion behind her. She heard Sheri's familiar voice coming from the entrance of the set. She turned and watched the actress walk onto the set. She looked a little ... disheveled, and her mood seemed to match her appearance. She was complaining about the working conditions to anyone who cared to listen, which, from the looks of it, weren't too many people. A couple of the crew members apologized quickly and went back to their various tasks. Lois made a mental note about the actress she had gotten to know only the day before. She was quite something, talented, friendly, intelligent, but with a temper. One that would be a match to her own, Lois thought with a wry smile. In the meantime, the bathrobe-clad actress had made her way over to Wade. He was giving her considerably more interest than he had given her co-star, but eventually he reminded her about the makeup touch-up too. After complaining that he thought she needed one, Sheri obliged suddenly when Dane's name was mentioned. Lois could hardly suppress a grin. She shot a look at Clark who had withdrawn to the sidelines unobtrusively. Lois slowly made her way over to him, trying not to appear too interested in him. She didn't want to get a reputation of being a 'supie groupie', though everybody else seemed to be one. In an attempt to appear to be gathering information for a future script based on the life of *this* particular superhero, she had a notepad in hand, but was doodling on it rather than taking notes. Instead, she was talking to Clark in a low voice. Clark was gathering information of his own. Still trying to pick up clues about the disappearing writers, he had cocked his head lightly as he was scanning the sets and adjoining rooms. Suddenly, he blushed as his ears homed in on the make-up room. "What is it?" Lois asked. "Oh, I ,,, I eavesdropped ..." Curiosity aroused, Lois raised her notepad and faked scribbling faster. "Okay, spill." "Lois ..." "Aww, c'mon. This is Hollywood. Everything here is ..." Still looking somewhat uncomfortable, Clark relented. "Dane and Sheri are whispering about finding a way to get back to her trailer ... Belay that, they've just sent the makeup person out on an errand. -- And have locked the door from the inside." "Really ...?" Lois's voice held a mixture of amusement and ... jealousy. Pretending not to know her husband that closely was becoming harder by the minute, especially with so much hanky-panky going on around them, however covertly. She gave him a conspiratorial look and whispered in turn. "You know, I'll tell Wade I have to gather some *very* important information for the script about *another* superhero. Do you think you could help me obtain that information ...?" Catching on her mood, Clark grinned, though blushing slightly. "I'll do my best, though this might not be the best location for that." "Oh, don't worry about that." Lois smiled knowingly. "I'm sure we can find some place more suitable for the ... interview. Gosh, I feel as if I haven't really kissed you in ages." "Not since we left the hotel." Clark grinned, then added a little more seriously. "Which is *way* too long. I'll meet you over ..." He nodded his head towards a deserted area behind the trailers. With that, Lois marched off towards Wade's director's chair. Clark turned to launch himself into the air, but before he could make his escape, he heard a voice behind him. "Superman," Linear smiled. "Here's your script." He put a hand on Superman's back and headed him back to the center of the soundstage. Clark's cape sagged with disappointment. Lois observed her husband's dejected face with amused sympathy. "Oy," she sighed. Linear talked with excitement about Superman's lines as he ushered the superhero onward. "I think this can have pathos, Superman. Wade's great in getting to the emotional center." "Emotional..center?" "Yeah, that heart and soul stuff." "Let's give it a try, Supes," Wade said, putting Superman in front of the cameras. "We'll run a little test on you. You can read from the script, or we can set up cue cards." Clark frowned and handed him the script. "I've memorized the whole thing already. Someone misspelled Metropolis." "Okay, Supes, I like a quick study. Has Dane gotten out of makeout..er makeup yet?" "No, sir," the assistant director said. "Okay, we just need a reader. Ms. Miller, would you read with Supes here? You can do Sheri's lines. I'll do Dane." "But, I--" "Thanks a million, doll," he interrupted and handed her the script. "I'm going to say 'action' and that's on you, Supes. Ms. Miller, you cue off him. Got it?" "Not really." "Perfect, here we go. Action." Clark cleared his throat. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mary Jane. You and Spider-Man have--" "Ouch, cut!" the director called. He grabbed Clark's shoulders and moved them back and forth. "Let it go, Supes, don't be so ... stiff. This is real. It's happening! Superman and Spider-Man meet! Moses would weep. Ready? Feel it? Action!" Clark blinked. He felt ... assaulted. "It's a PLEASURE to meet you, Mary Jane!" "Cut! Supes, baby, louder isn't what I had in mind. Can you smile?" "Of *course* he can smile," Lois said, finally recovered from the horror of seeing Clark act. "How about a thud intro?" Clark raised his eyebrows. "Th..thud?" The director climbed on a chair, made whooshing noises, and then dropped down. "Thud! Get that?" Clark's eyes narrowed. "Got it." "Good deal, Supes! Circle the building, swoop down and thud on your mark. It's that X on the floor." "I *know* what my mark is, and the name is *Superman*. Not 'Supes'. Not 'baby'." "Whoa, attitude, babe! You've got it. Hold it!" Clark drifted up and flew off the soundstage and Lois set her script on the chair. "I'll see you later, Wade baby. Supes ain't comin' back." Wade stared after Lois for a moment as she left the soundstage. He turned back toward the set and saw several dozen pairs of eyes trained on him. "Waddaya all lookin' at? He's a superhero, for pete's sake! Maybe he had to go save someone from jumping." He looked to his assistant. In a low, carefully controlled voice, he spoke. "Tell those two to get on the set now! I don't care if they're half-dressed. This scene gets shot now." The assistant scurried to comply. The director plopped wearily back into his chair. "And for this I gave up med school..." he muttered. ***** The phone rang. A dainty, manicured hand reached for the speakerphone button. "Einstein here." "There's chaos on the soundstage." Einstein abruptly dislodged the blonde from his lap and pulled the receiver from its resting place. "Chaos? What do you mean?" "The makeup room is locked. And Superman just flew off." Continued in Part 6 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:55:49 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eraygun Subject: NEW FANFIC: LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND Part 6 of 7 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND: continued from part 5 ___________________________ The blonde stood up, smoothing the front of her skin-tight dress. She came up behind Einstein intent on continuing what they had begun. Einstein wasn't interested and dismissed her with a wave of his hand. The blonde pouted and walked toward the office door, her hips swaying in an exaggerated manner, hoping that he would notice. Einstein didn't notice that; he was seeing his carefully laid out plans ...make that *their* carefully laid out plans... coming to fruition. "Really? You don't say. So, I guess that means that there'll be a delay with the episode?" He could almost hear the shrug on the other end of the phone. "Maybe, maybe not. There's a lot of questions being asked. Mainly by Jo Miller and her writing partner." "Miller? I read her script. Talk about hackneyed and trite. My mother could write a better script." "That may be the case, but she's asking an awful lot of questions. And people are talking to her. *Especially* that Linear guy." Einstein began to mumble. "Never did like that guy. Too darn nice to be true." Einstein thought for a moment longer. "Keep me posted." "Will do." The connection was broken and Einstein immediately dialed another number from memory. Once he got through, he started in. "It's me. Everything's going as you said it would. But, we've got some problems." He paused, listening. "Yeah. Jo Miller....Uh huh....yeah, Linear's been talking to her and her writing partner......" He listened again. "Right. I understand. What about ....? Oh, OK. You'll take care of Dane and Sheri. Right." He hung up the phone and decided that he needed to see for himself exactly what was and wasn't going on down on the soundstage. He quickly left the office. As the door closed, Superman let himself in through the window. He had suspected that Einstein might have a 'mole' on the soundstage, so he had kept his superhearing trained on the phone lines. To make doubly sure, he had hovered outside of Einstein's office, out of sight, thankful that he didn't have to see Einstein and the blonde doing the horizontal lambada. He lifted the receiver and pressed 'redial'. He waited for the connection to be made. When he heard the voice on the other line, he smiled. Hanging up, he left through the window in search of Lois. One of the final pieces of the puzzle had just fallen into place. He spotted Lois walking away from the soundstage. He noticed she was trying to act as if nothing was wrong, but his 'mate-sense' clued him in immediately that she was on the scent of something big. He swooshed down behind the catering truck and came around the front dressed as Clark. As soon as he approached her both began to talk at once. "You won't believe what I just overheard after you flew away!" "I homed in onto a phone call to Einstein," he said, before she had a chance to continue. "You go first." Lois looked up at him. "I heard his phone conversation with the director. When he was finished he placed another call. I waited until he was gone from the office and went in to find who he was talking to. You won't believe this, honey. It was Mr. Mort Sidney himself." Lois shook her head in agreement. "I'm not surprised. I just overheard he's making a deal with the production company to end the series. He wants to replace 'Spider-man' with a more 'inline' series. He's setting up a private hush-hush meeting for later this afternoon. "Ah," Clark smiled. "Makes sense. I do remember Sidney saying he wanted a return to Sunday nights of 'The Amazing World of Sidney'." "Only a couple of things are in the way," Lois offered. "Right. Spider-Man and 'America's Most Appalling Videos'." "Exactly!" "You know," Clark whispered. "This all smells of the so-called 'sweetheart' deals we discussed earlier. They get rid of shows that aren't Sidney, and it literally becomes the Sidney Network, but the name BCA remains like a straw man ... a front." Lois nodded. "It's like Russia's good old days of taking over countries , but letting them keep their flags." Clark sighed. "Well, I'll swallow my pride and return to the set as 'Superman' and suffer the director. You go back to the hotel and get that laptop rigged for the IRC. Maybe we can stem the tide." He kissed her briefly. She smiled. "Please be good on the set, Supes. I've always wanted to go to the Golden Globes," she said, and tugged his tie playfully. "That's *not* happening, honey, but keep the Razzies in mind." "Ouch," she laughed, and he watched admiringly as she departed. She made his life so much easier and fuller. He truly wondered where he'd be without her, but would be touched to know she thought the same thing "Mm," he said, and ducked back behind the catering truck and spun back into Superman. When he re-entered the soundstage, Dane and Sheri were in front of the camera doing a scene. Clark watched them with fascination. He felt like he was eavesdropping on real lovers. Though to tell the truth, he had been all day. "Cut! Great, thank you. Supes ...Superman. You're back!" "Yes, I'm sorry. I had an emergency earlier." "Ha!" the director shouted triumphantly. "I told ya, he was out doing the superhero bit. What was the emergency?" "I had to leave to save your life," Clark said with a completely straight face. The tension broke and Dane and Sheri began laughing. The director mopped his brow. "Don't scare me like that, Supes..Superman," he laughed nervously. "Break! Five minutes to change the camera," he said, and walked to the craft table for a snack. Clark took the opportunity of Wade's departure to speak to Sheri and Dane. He wanted to talk them into offering their services in the name of saving their show. However, if they weren't willing, he was not opposed to blackmail. The rest of the shooting day passed uneventfully. After signing a few autographs and taking pictures with the cast and crew, Superman zoomed off to meet Lois back at the hotel. ***** Lois looked up from her laptop screen and smiled as she heard the familiar whoosh that accompanied her husband's arrival. He entered through the window that she had left open and spun into his Clark clothes as he walked across the hotel room toward the sitting area where Lois was. "So, ready to chuck the worries of the world and 'go Hollywood,' Supes?" The twinkle in her eye and the light teasing tone in her voice told Clark that things had gone well since they had last seen each other. "Don't think so. I don't think I'll even get a nomination for the Razzies." Lois acknowledged his comment with a short, "Hmm," her focus back on the laptop. Clark leaned over her shoulder and read her screen. "Any trouble getting on IRC?" "Kind of. Washington was closed, so I had to try Springfield. I'm on through that, but I think I'm lagged." "I wouldn't be surprised, honey. Just hang in there. The important thing is that you're on." "Yeah. And I'm in #webslinger. Linear was right. These people know who I am. Jeez! They know more about the show than even the writers do...." Her voice trailed off and she and Clark read the screen as the chat scrolled by them. Suddenly, Clark spoke up. "Hey! Do you see who just came on the channel?" Lois checked the screen. "Wow. He's got a lot of guts...." "Yeah, but look at how everyone's greeting him. Like he's been on before." "He probably has. Let's check this out...." Lois began typing. >>>Hi Jim! This is BlkWidow. WidowMate is here with me too. How're things going? >>> Lois and Clark held their breaths waiting for a reply. Finally it came... >>>Hey Widow and Mate! I'm lagging, but everything's going A-OK ... BTW, our mutual rocket scientist friend, 'relatively' speaking, is getting worried ...>>> >>>As well he should be, Jim. We think we know how to end this "theory" with positive results ... but we're not singing a Sidney tune while we work >>> >>>Great! Sounds like all fronts are united on this .>>> Lois couldn't help a little teasing. >>>Well, at least all the fronts we can see ...some of the time, it's only their backsides that are seen ... way too often >>> >>> ... I know, Widow ...>>> "He knows? How many people know about Sheri and Dane?" Lois shrugged. "Apparently, more than we thought. Even some of the FoWs have heard rumors." Clark pointed at the screen. "Look who just came on now." Lois checked the names. "TheWEBBys? You don't think....?" Clark nodded. "Dane and Sheri. Superman convinced them that it would be a good idea to spread some positive spin on the show." Lois looked up at her husband. "Good for Superman." She reached out to caress his face. "Good for you, too." >>>Hi WEBBys... >>>hola TheWEBBys... >>>howdy WEBBys, spin any good webs today?>>> The banter went on as many others on-line greeted TheWEBBys. ***W changes the topic to: "Please /msg hellos and goodbyes!"*** >>>Hello everyone..Did anyone see this week's episode? What did you think of it?>>> TheWEBBys continued to talk about the series and the episode until one quick- witted on-liner took special notice of a response Sheri made about her character's hair and wig problems. Boom jumped in and asked >>> What did you think of Wade's treatment of Superman on the set today?>>> Without stopping to think they typed: >>>We wouldn't blame Superman if he made Wade into a wad.>>> That was just the opening others needed who sensed who they were. Questions and comments sent the screen scrolling by. The channel was packed. Widow and Mate were silenced by the joy of the fans. Lois and Clark watched in fascination at the fast moving scroll on the screen in front of them. It was obvious how much the fans loved MJ&P, and how much Jim, Sheri and Dane appreciated their fans. It was such a shame that a rodent's greed was interfering with all that. Little by little, Jim and the show's two stars were letting slip some of the behind-the-scenes stuff -- the underhanded way that the network was treating their show -- and the reaction was predictably nuclear. Everything was going smoothly when suddenly Jim said he needed to log off. Lois and Clark looked at each other. Why would he be leaving now? Everything 'looked' all right, and yet ... Then, when Jim called her BrnWidow, they knew they were right. Something *was* wrong. Lois looked over to Clark again, but saw that he was two spins ahead of her. He was already changing into a certain superhero. Before she could turn back to the screen, he was out the window and headed for Jim's condo. She was just sending Jim a message to try and let him know that help was on the way without alerting any nefarious types to the fact that they were about to be badly outnumbered when she got a private message from 'Sman.' It said that he had gotten there in time and was going to take his new "friends" on an aerial tour of L.A., to see if they could point out any interesting landmarks to him ... like the one where a couple of screenwriters were being housed. She wished him luck, and returned her attention to the channel where the FoWS were busily plotting to save their show. ***** It didn't take too long for Superman's passengers to see the wisdom of being completely open with him. As it turned out, they were the same men responsible for Willamena and Chad's disappearance. Continued in Part 7 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:55:53 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eraygun Subject: NEW FANFIC: LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND Part 7 of 7 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND continued from part 6 ___________________________ A trip with Superman Airways was always special. For those not used to it such as Clark's two involuntary passengers, the scenic route over the city was taking longer than they cared for even though it was free. Clark later said that he wasn't intentionally cruel, but there just seemed to be a lot of turbulence that day, and it took extra aerobatics to get around it. After about fifteen dozen loops and evasive turns, the passenger stowed away under Clark's left arm, taking on an even deeper shade of green, mumbled something under his breath that even Clark had a hard time picking up. "What was that ... Vince?" Clark's patience was wearing thin, and he went into another somersault. "The ... Yummy Fudge..." was all green Vince managed. "Yummy fudge ...?" Clark asked, somewhat incredulous. He silently added, I'd think that would be the last thing that would be on your minds by now. Clark was elegantly turning and beginning to start on another downward spiral. "No, wait ..." The other spoke up for the first time since takeoff, trying to tighten his hold on Clark's belt. "He's not pulling your leg. That's where they are." Clark frowned for a moment. Then he suddenly recalled a review of new places to eat in Metropolis. The Yummy Fudge had been one of them. It was part of an ice cream parlor chain in the not quite so elegant northern part of Metropolis. Taking a sharp turn that brought another groan -- and something else that was subject to gravity -- from Vince's mouth, Superman homed in on the part of Los Angeles that housed a Yummy Fudge and, as Clark knew, other shady establishments. Not bothering to check if the front door was open, Clark, having seen the large "Closed" sign suspended in the window, went straight to the back. The door there didn't offer much resistance to the super-handshake Clark offered in greeting. Instead, it bowed towards Clark as it came off its hinges willingly. Discarding the obliging door, Clark entered the back storage room of the ice cream parlor, depositing his two passengers in an empty garbage container. Then deciding that they might appreciate being out of bright sunlight for a while after their flight, he closed the sliding lid above them. His eyes adjusted to the dim lighting inside quickly, but his super nose didn't. The place reeked of sour milk and ... evidence of people being held captive without proper sanitary facilities. Clark idly wondered if the authorities would approve of the overloaded porta-potty sitting off in a corner right next to a large carton of malt flavor powder. Crossing the room, Clark then saw two people lying on cots. They weren't moving, but Clark could hear their steady heartbeat and even breathing which told him that they were only sleeping. They were tied up with ropes, and Clark bent to remove them quickly without startling them too much. Bending over them, he confirmed what he'd already guessed. There was stubble on the guy's face, but otherwise they matched the pictures of the two missing writers he had seen earlier. ***** Superman, the writers, producers, cast and a few thousand fans gathered at the press conference. It was a dream finish for Perry White, what he would call a 'defining moment' well, maybe an 'increased subscriber' moment. Lois smiled at her husband as the reinstated writers wove their tale of captivity. Lois, having heard the unembellished version of the story drifted through the crowd and a sea of Spider-Man T-shirts. A network executive, happy to have Sidney Corp off his back, was practically drooling at the ratings this 'tragedy' would mean to the TV series. He shook his head, "Eat your heart out, Seinfeld." She found herself 'backstage' at the press conference where Dane and Sheri seemed to be arguing over some point. Happening to eavesdrop she heard that Dane was encouraging her to use this spotlight to admit that she and he were having a 'relationship'. Dane seemed to be frustrated by the outcome of the argument, and walked away. Lois put a hand on Sheri's shoulder. Sheri turned. "Oh, Ms. Miller..or I should say Ms. Lane." "Why don't you just come clean, Sheri?" Lois said matter-of-factly. Sheri dabbed a tissue at her nose. "Because I'd look like a...a.. cliché. Falling in love with my co-star? Please." "Well, then I'm *living* a cliché," Lois said. "I married my co-worker, and believe me, I fought the attraction every step of the way." "What made you change your mind?" Sheri sniffed. "Persistence on his part. That, and he's probably the kindest, most romantic man I've ever known." Lois looked thoughtful. "If I had given him a chance earlier, I could have been happy a lot sooner, but I ... held back." Sheri glanced up from the tissue. "Why?" "Ah," Lois sighed. "Part of it was image. I'd made a fool of myself with a jerk named Claude. The Planet staff had to suffer my wrath, depression, and chocolate binges over that one. Then I made an international fool of myself by almost marrying Lex Luthor. I figured after two monumental disasters like that, the 'co-worker cliché' would seal my reputation as love-starved lunatic forever." "I can understand that," Sheri sighed. "No place is more image-conscious than Hollywood. Maybe that's the main thing holding me back, too." Lois shrugged. "Do you love him?" "Yes," she sighed again. "But...I'm not divorced." Lois laughed. "That's Hollywood for 'I'm married'?" Sheri laughed in response. "I guess. My 'husband'.." she said, drawing air quotes, "and I haven't lived together for months, but sometimes maintaining the status quo, no matter how bad, seems ..safer." "But you might end up without either of them if you keep this up." Sheri took on a philosophic air. "Being alone is sometimes better than wishing you were. If you know what I mean." Lois patted her back. "Just ask who you'd rather be with a year from now, and I think you'll know what to do." Clark entered, smoothing his tie. "Am I interrupting?" "No," Sheri said, "I was just leaving. I have to go find Dane." Clark put his arm around Lois and watched Sheri depart. "Been giving advice to the lovelorn?" Lois smiled up at him. "I think I'm at least as good in that department as you are in the acting department." "Uh oh," Clark teased. "I'll read the lawsuit update section in Entertainment Leaky closely the next few months." Lois suddenly leaped into his arms. "Let's go back to Metropolis, Clark. We've destroyed as much of LALA land as we can." Clark laughed. "Our work is done here." "You think Einstein will be prosecuted?" "Probably, but first there's a press release about his new TV sci-fi show 'TimeClock', produced by our beloved Mr. Songer. Einstein's holding a media conference with cocktails at the L.A. county jail at midnight before sentencing." "Midnight?" "Well, he had a premiere to attend first," Clark winked. "And *why* would Songer work for a crook who kidnapped his..associate?!" "Thirteen with an option on the back nine." Lois raised her eyebrows. "Translation?" Clark laughed. "Thirteen episodes guaranteed, with an option for nine additional episodes to create a full season if the first thirteen rate well. "I hate this place," Lois said, but kissed Clark's cheek tenderly. "Oh," Clark added. "Remember that locket and that cash?" "Vaguely," Lois said airily, wiping lipstick from Clark's jawline and then making fresh lip prints in the same spot. "It seems the blonde was a go-between for Einstein and Sidney, whose arrest is imminent, assuming they find him." Lois feigned shock. "He took a powder?" "Yes, but someone phoned in a tip to search Red Riding Hood's Cottage at Sidneyland." Lois laughed softly against Clark's ear. "Someone with x-ray vision?" "Could be," he shrugged. "Anyway, the blonde was trying to make money on the side. She told Songer she'd be good to Willamena for a bribe, but Songer wanted proof she had access to Willamena, so--" "So little Miss Blonde Bombshell took a locket that Songer would know was Willamena's." "Yep, and the head writers were kidnapped because they found out what Einstein was up to and threatened to contact the FCC, the L.A. Times, and Variety." "Variety? Skip it, it's Hollywood." Clark set Lois down a moment, looked around and then spun back into Superman. He picked her up and left the hoopla and klieg lights behind. Lois stroked his hair. "Ever think they'll do a show about us?" Clark shook his head. "Who'd believe it?" They both laughed as they flew into the palm-strewn sunset. THE END ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 19:55:41 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eraygun Subject: NEW FANFIC: LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND: Part 4 of 7 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit LOIS AND CLARK IN LALA LAND: continued from part 3 ____________________ As Lois and Clark got to the car Lois hurried to the driver's side and got in before Clark had a chance to stop her. "Honey, why don't you let me drive? You know what driving on the freeways does to you." "Don't be ridiculous. I'm a very safe and careful driver. It's not my fault if the drivers around me are lost and don't know where they are going." Lois backed the car out of the parking place and pulled over to the side of the lot to watch for Songer to pass by. Within seconds his silver gray Lexus passed their car and turned out onto the highway with them in hot pursuit. "Honey, slow down. Sweetheart, watch out for that Bentley. Sweetie, that's an eighteen wheeler going eighty miles per hour you just cut off. Don't you think I had better drive?" "Clark, stop 'Honey, Sweetheart and Sweetie' - ing me. I know what I'm doing." Clark started to say something else but was cut off by her side glance and the car speeding forward. She drove through the traffic, always keeping the car they were following in sight. They followed him off the next exit and into a part of Los Angeles that had seen better days. "Wonder who he knows down here?" Clark murmured. "Where are we, Clark?" Clark looked out the side window. "From the looks of it, honey, we're near USC. Exposition Park, to be exact." "USC? I thought that university was on the west side of Los Angeles." Clark shook his head. "Nope, that's UCLA. You're getting them mixed up. It's the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins." "Bruins. Trojans. Who cares? Use your hearing buzz-buzz and listen in on what they're saying." Lois pointed ahead of them. They both watched as a dark limo pulled up to Songer's car. He walked toward the back and leaned in as the window rolled down. "Well, what are they saying?" "Honey, no offense, but I can't hear them very well when you're yelling in my ear." "I'm not yelling!" "You are when I'm using my buzz-buzz." "Oh. Sorry." As Lois sat silently, Clark listened for a moment longer. "Lois! You're not gonna believe this!" "Lemme guess. That's the CEO of the Sidney Corporation in that limo, and he's giving instructions to Tricky Dick?" Clark turned to his wife and smiling, reached out to cup her face in his hand. "You are *good*." Lois smiled back, turning slightly and kissing his palm. "I'll hold you to that. Later." "Deal." "So, that explains the notes you scribbled down during the writers' meeting this afternoon." Clark nodded. "Partially. I heard 'Blondie' and Einstein talking about a 'meeting' and 'dealing with the rumors.' Guess they really do play for keeps here in Hollywood." "I still don't get it, Clark. Does it really just come down to money and profit?" Clark shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it does. As long as the right 'spin' is put on things, John and Jane Q. Public won't suspect a thing." Lois smiled. "This is a switch. Usually it's the other way around and I'm the cynical one." He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "What's that phrase I keep seeing on all the billboards out here? Oh yeah, 'It's the cheese.' Either that or you can blame it on El Nino. They say it's responsible for everything else." "Well, let's get this wrapped up quickly. If this were an hour-long drama, we'd only have the last fifteen minutes to resolve everything." "Right. We still need to figure out where the missing writers are, Songer's part in all this..." "*And* expose the Sidney Corporation for what it really is." "*And* try to save 'Mary Jane and Peter.' " Lois grimaced at that last remark. "I'm not sure if that last part is our responsibility, Clark. Jim Linear seems to have a good idea of what the show needs, and the other writers, albeit a bit unimaginative, aren't such a bad lot." "Okay, then. Let's focus on finding the missing writers and exposing the Sidney Corporation. The rest of it we'll leave to fate." Lois and Clark watched the clandestine meeting end and the limo drive away. Songer stood there for a moment before returning to his car. As he drove away, Lois and Clark headed back toward their hotel. Lois took the wrong ramp onto the freeway, and soon found that she was taking them on a trip to Tijuana if they didn't find an off ramp. "What is it about the LA freeways? I swear...," she muttered, "back home you get on the turnpike, go through a couple tunnels and some toll booths, cut through the park, and you're there." The next exit up said Burbank, though, and Lois sighed thankfully that she wouldn't have to refold the already spindled and mutilated map they'd used constantly since arriving. 'Burbank 1/4' said the sign. Looks like a stock market ticker, she thought. Stocks. Sidney stock. "Clark! I've got it!" The car veered as her mind raced. "Great, honey. Just don't kill us before you solve the whole Hollywood plot." Lois eyed him, unperturbed. "Like that would ever happen. Look, this whole thing revolves around the Sidney Corporation. The fate of the show, the fate of the missing writers...I think it even affects the fate of Sidney." Clark looked at his wife admiringly. "You got all this from a freeway sign?" "Shhh, I'm thinking...It's kind of like when you can't hear others over me with your buzz-buzz. Okay, here's the deal --we need to get the remaining writers together, and set up that awful script I wrote to shoot, and flush out the bad guys." "Bad guys? God, you even sound Hollywood, Lois. Who says bad guys when they're talking about criminals in real life?" "When in Rome, Clark. Listen..." "... it's simple. Sidney wants a network--" "Honey, they have the Sidney Channel." "Yes, but *that's* premium cable. They want to enter the commercial network arena, but they don't want to have to start from scratch to do it like 20th Century Vixen did. Now Vixen is a major player, but it took them a decade to earn it, and so--" Clark's eyebrows rose. "--so Sidney buys an established commercial network, sabotages programs they don't own, and installs theirs instead." "Exactly! They get the revenue and cut themselves a sweet deal by buying their own product for a Songer..er a song." "That's why Stern was afraid his BCA stock was in jeopardy. The other two major networks are owned by Corporal Electric and.." "Easting House," Lois added. "Neither of which produces television or motion pictures, and therefore can't flood their respective networks with product from one major studio." Clark shook his head. "We should have seen this coming, honey. Remember that story about the producers from BCA's top-rated sitcom 'Home Renovation' suing Sidney Corp, accusing them of entering into a 'sweetheart deal' with BCA." Lois rested her head against the seat. "It was right in front of us the whole time, Clark. Even though 'Home Renovation' is owned by Sidney, the production company..oh, what is it? WingWalker? WindSkater?" "AirDancer." "Right!" She smiled. "AirDancer wanted to shop 'Home Renovation' around to the top bidder because it had reached its obligation with BCA and so was sort of a free agent." "But Sidney went over their heads and sold it below fair market value to BCA. Maybe in hopes that would finally convince BCA to sell the network to them. Lock, stock, and..." "Spider-Man." Clark suddenly leaned toward Lois and ran a finger along her jawline. "Lois, remember that scene in the movie 'Network'?" "You mean the 'mad as hell' scene?" "No, the scene with William Holden and Faye Dunaway where they're discussing ratings." "And get more and more...excited?" "That's the one," Clark said, his voice low and very sensual. Lois veered quickly back toward the exit to their hotel. ***** The next day Lois and Clark hurried into the writers' offices. They had overslept. When they arrived, everyone seemed quite somber. Linear looked up as they entered. "They're on to us. We're sunk. We have to do the network's storyline." "Not necessarily," Clark smiled. "You guys were trying to get Superman to do a cameo in your episode, right?" "Superman," Rosenblatt laughed bitterly. "No problem. I'll pick him up at LAX. What time is his flight?" "If Jerry says he can get Superman, *believe* me, he can get Superman." "That's great, Jo," Macintyre said. "But he can't save Spider-Man from the network." "Maybe not, but it's better than giving up," Simpson conceded. "There's one thing we can do to try and forestall--" "You don't mean--" Rosenblatt said, looking a bit horror-stricken. "Yes, I do," Simpson smiled. "Major spoilers plastered all over the internet. Jimmy, you take AOL, Mac, you take Compuserve, and alt.tv.mj-spider is all mine." Linear laughed evilly and opened his laptop. "That leaves the IRC. Can you handle that, Jo?" Lois shrugged. "I'm still trying to figure out 'spoilers'. Sounds like something on a souped-up Chevy." "It's advance info on upcoming episodes. I don't know how fans find this stuff out, but they do," Macintyre explained. Linear whistled innocently as he typed. "Okay, so we go to the relay chat and blow the whistle on Sidney, BCA, and Hamster--" "Gerbil, honey." "Whatever." "That's about it," Simpson nodded. "We have to have a rush of e-mail, posts, whatever we can get." "What about the fans themselves? " Clark suggested. "Can we get them to come to Burbank?" Linear laughed. "Just ask them if they'd like to meet Dane and Sheri in person. They'll be here." "Would Dane and Sheri be willing to help?" Macintyre shrugged without losing a beat in his typing. "Depends, but you can ask." Lois glanced at Clark. "Or Superman could ask." "On my way...to use the phone..and ask him," Clark said. "Uh..Superman." "You'll have to hit up the IRC at night. Go to #webslinger. They'll be there." "But why would they believe *me*? I'm nobody." Linear laughed again. "You've already been posted on message boards and usenet as the 'new writers'. *They* know you." ***** Continued in Part 5 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 21:16:54 -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: About the Ropes (Was Re: Kerth Awards Ceremony) In-Reply-To: <3.0.1.16.19980331143909.4b478ce6@vmspop.isc.rit.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 2:39 PM -0500 3/31/98, Gary wrote: >>Because it was so erotic, only >>magazine subscribers got the issue with the rope cover. >> > >Are you sure about that? I bought the issue with the ropes from the >newstand. The non-rope was for subscribers wasn't it? (e.g. doctor's office >;-) Yes, you are correct. I misspoke. (Miswrote?) It is the other way around. Thanks. >If you order a back issue which one do they send? Good question ... Kathy ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________