From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9806A" ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 01:24:37 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: Lois's backstory In-Reply-To: <199806010031_MC2-3EBC-ECC6@compuserve.com> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 12:31 AM 6/1/98 -0400, you wrote: >Hey, can someone refresh my memory...? > >When did Ellen & Sam get divorced -- how old was Lois? Was she in >high school? And I've a vague memory of a comment Lois made in Lucky Leon, >that she had a big fight and moved away from home -- when was that? > Yep that's the right ep...except the fight was with her dad so it must've been before the divorce. >And how do I reconcile the girl who was in chess club & math club & >never played hooky (PML) with the one who dated the quarterback and was >friends with the popular kids (IASWAA)? :-/ > You've got 4 years of high school to work with... >Thanks for any and all responses! :-) > >PJ > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 01:41:13 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: The Zoomway Subject: Re: Lois's backstory Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-06-01 00:32:19 EDT, you write: << When did Ellen & Sam get divorced -- how old was Lois? Was she in high school? And I've a vague memory of a comment Lois made in Lucky Leon, that she had a big fight and moved away from home -- when was that? >> I think Lois says in Season's Greetings her parents broke up when she was 12. In Lucky Leon she says she had a huge fight with her father when she was 18 (senior) and moved out. Now, how long she was with her father before the big fight, who knows. Since her parents were divorced by then, maybe she'd first had a huge fight with her mom, moved in with her dad, had a fight with him, and then moved out on her own She wouldn't be the first child of divorced parents to move from living with one to the other as it suited her 'temperament' ;) It's not specified, so I think anything goes really. >>>And how do I reconcile the girl who was in chess club & math club & never played hooky (PML) with the one who dated the quarterback and was friends with the popular kids (IASWAA)? :-/<<< Are you saying chess and math club members are inherently unattractive and unpopular? In Return of the Prankster, Lois said she was popular in high school, though that could have been her own self-assessment. Since It's a Small Wold After All was written by Teri, maybe it was something of dream/revenge fiction. She admitted to being a nerd in high school, a late bloomer and that boys not only turned her down when she asked them to dance, they turned her down as cruely as possible. However when she did finally blossom, guys weren't in short supply anymore. Lois could have been the same way (nerdy, awkward, and then blossoming) and if she was, snagging the star quarterback would have been a coup singnaling that the ugly duckling to swan transformation was a complete success Also Lois was Class President, which really isn't in the same league as the other "big shots" like the quarterback, head cheerleader or homecoming queen. The popularity of a Class President can go either way, it can be a popular kid that others vote for whether that person is qualified or not, or be someone most of the other kids never heard of, and got voted into office by the dozen or so kids who went to the trouble to vote In Pheromone, My Lovely, Lois said she had "fun" in high school, but never said whether she was or wasn't popular. Those who join a chess or math club must find it fun,or why join? ;) My friend belonged to the Spanish club in high school, not because he was great at speaking Spanish, but (a) they had some fun fieldtrips and cookouts, and (b) he had a crush on one of the girls in the club I don't think there's anything incongruous with the Lois of P,ML and the Lois of IASWAA, but both may indicate a pre and post transformation of her, just as happened with Teri. Zoomway@aol.com (suffering from "posting frenzy" today ;) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 02:06:08 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: NFIC rated (Re: once a month...) In-Reply-To: <2.2.16.19980530174728.0cff109e@swcp.com> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 06:46 PM 5/30/98 -0600, you wrote: > >>I agree, they don't fight enough. > >I don't want them to fight unless it's a logical consequence of what's >happening in the story. I would like to see some "conflict" as a way of >showing that the story is dealing with people who are different from each >other and not in predictably sync 110% of the time. > >From Lucky Leon: (As if everyone doesn't know ;-) Clark: "You know...when you think about it, the only time people ever really seem to express themselves is when...they're passionate, and that polite veneer of society drops off, you know, like when their fighting." Lois: "Or make love." Me: I read Lois and Clark (n)fanfic to see expressions of the characters. And in Lois and Clark's own words we have the best methods of doing so. >Debby >Debby@swcp.com >who will read all the stories eventually... >hopefully before installing Win98 :) > I believe Win98 has been delayed... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 02:15:37 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: Lois's backstory In-Reply-To: <23f7bebb.35723efa@aol.com> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 01:41 AM 6/1/98 -0400, you wrote: > Those who join a chess or math club >must find it fun,or why join? ;) I and several others were "drafted" into the math club since no one wanted to join. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 06:34:28 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: NFIC rated (Re: once a month...) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 11:10 AM 5/31/98 -0400, you wrote: [snip] >Close. not "close" - right on! :) >Chinese? Yes. That's what half the little booklet was written in. >Are they meant for hand use? Well, that is what you are >supposed to tell naive folks when they ask what they're for, although I >supposed it is a legitimate purpose all by itself. However, my hands never >felt better using them. (Not that I've used them. ;-) One other use that I know of is not outlinable on this particular list... also, the booklet recommends keeping the "iron balls" clean and *dry*.... ;) >>>The bell inside sounds like "bao-ding" while the balls are moving, and the >>>metal of each exterior, clashing together, also makes an interesting sound. >>>For the show, I suspect they used some other kind of no-sound ball-shaped prop. >'bao-ding' is the sound they make not a Chinese word, right? I suspect "bao-ding" was the direct translation of the Chinese and probably a translation by a Chinese person. This word (bao-ding), understand, was in the booklet. >The Chinese word or term I've heard of is "ben-wa", Ah, yes, I've heard that, too. I think "bao-ding" is more musical :) >I don't know the translation. Although Clark probably would know. And I suspect he's used them only when they were clean and dry... innocent boy that he was at the time... ;) >>Actually they say that the ball will have stronger effect if you can roll >>both of them with one hand rapidly and it makes no sound. While the booklet goes into some depth about the health benefits (the booklet also notes the certifications and awards the Bao-ding plant got from the government for its good work), it doesn't mention rapidity of use. However, I suspect what you hear may be right or at least another affect. Slow use may also be advised, just as Tai Chi is practiced slowly so that the practicer gets to know her/his body better and can use the martial arts forms efficiently at different speeds. >>Maybe they had >>this guy rolling these ball to give us an idea of his persanality as a very >>smart person or something like that. I'd say this was likely in fanfic but I don't think the director thought so deeply when filming the episode. The balls weren't mentioned in the version of the script I have, so I don't think it occurred to the writers, Blake & Jackson. "Wick" was just noted to be "a man who would make G. Gordon Liddy nervous." >>I don't know if you ever rolled these balls, it's not that easy. Keep practicing, Vanessa. :) >I think flipping a coin would've demonstrated his character more clearly. Well, it would have been trite, too. The balls made for something more interesting, so I give that credit to whoever thought of it. Debby Debby@swcp.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 06:34:32 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: once a month... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 04:35 PM 5/30/98 EDT, you wrote: >In a message dated 98-05-30 07:33:51 EDT, debby@SWCP.COM writes: > ><< I said, and I quote from my log: > > > some day L&C are *not* going to have perfect sex... then it > will be interesting. >> > >But see, there have been stories where that has been true, but if you had >nothing but stories where they never had 'perfect sex' (whatever that is >exactly ;) then that would be likewise boring. And I've never argued for that, never argued for "nothing but..." My argument has been and always will be for more variety. [snip] >>>then a few moments later, I said: > > > What if, due to being an *alien*, Clark needs all the > foreplay and Lois has to slow down?<<< > >Clark's 'alieness' has definitely been used in nfic stories. And the more that's explored, plus Lois's reactions to it, the more interesting I find the story. >However, if >you're going to set up a scenario where sex sounds or seems more entertaining >for just Clark, or at the very least sounds like Lois has to 'do all the work' >so to speak, then there would have to be a likewise sufficient payoff for Lois >if we're to have the woman who attacks Clark in elevators or while cooking >breakfast be believable Lots of ifs in that paragraph, but I appreciate that I inspired them. :) >>>then, a few moments after that, an IRCer who I won't identify here said... > > <____> I've read nfics where L&C don't have "perfect" sex. > In fact, i kind of did that in "_______" a little, where > Lois muses that it wasn't the most intense orgasm she's > ever had, but it doesn't take away from the tenderness she > feels for him.<<<< > >Actually that's true, and very good, Yep, in nearly every story she has an orgasm, simultaneous with his, every time she has sex with him. No mystery there. Yawn city. >though it's the same as Lois's "great >date" with Clark ... "it wasn't the wildest or the funniest ..." It doesn't >always have to reach the "pie in the sky summit" but that it is the two of >them, I think that's why it makes it 'perfect' even if it isn't the most >'intense' every single time. The truly interesting thing about their first official date is that Lois slammed the door in Clark's face. Totally unexpected. >Julie wrote one where Lois literally passed out >and it scared Clark, so that was 'intense' but not necessarily something Clark >would like to see happen often And what if it were so boring instead that she rolled over and went to sleep? >>>>to which I replied, using the word "orgasm" for the first time: > > > that's still sort of boring, __, that she has an orgasm > every darn time<<< > > >As was discussed above, the "big O" isn't always created equal and just >because one occurs doesn't necessarily mean it was 'perfect' and even that is >subjective in itself. Maybe it's perfect for Lois because it is Clark, and >vice versa, and nothing reaally more deep than that ;) Ah, okay. Still sounds boring to me in its inevitability and predictability. [snip] >Have you read Sheila Harper's nfic version of A Shot in the Dark? I'm >assuming you haven't from the above paragraph and you really might want to >give it a read. You assume correctly; I've only read the first version. >Lois was paralyzed by a gunshot wound, but of course Clark >still loves her, and is still sexually attracted to her, but he's afraid to >make a first move, and Lois reads that as disinterest, and that he no longer >finds her sexually attractive. It's a sensitive subject handled exceptionally >by Sheila. However, you ask what if Clark tried "but what if he failed" ... I >think the fact that he tried means he didn't fail ;) You've made my point, thanks! Sheila's different take on the subject makes her story memorable. All different takes interest me. >>>I'm sure she reflected long and hard upon that thought (for at least... >20 minutes?) after she realized that he let Lex take her away in >Double Jeopardy. :p<<< > >Wow, until you typed in 'Double Jeopardy' I thought you were talking about the >first season finale Nope, I was just replying to something you wrote :) >>>>Most Nfic stories, from what I've read, don't go real far to reach any point >but the two main characters being really happy at the end. In the other, non >Nfic stories, the author usually tries to tell a story and rarely start out >with "Well, this story doesn't have an A plot at all--enjoy!"<<<< > >Since when? Does this mean you'd like me to find some samples of authors warning us that their story has no A plot? >I mean we had a long thread here on Meet Me in Kansas City, >and that very long story has no A plot and yet fans voted for it repeatedly in >I believe six categories and it won in every single category it was nominated >for. Congratulations, Chris! And thanks for helping Zoom make my point about needing interesting things going on in stories. >Lois and Clark as a television series was character-driven, as opposed >to say Mission Impossible, which was probably as plot-driven as you could get, >and so L&C fanfic mostly becomes a character study just as was the case on the >series. Uh-huh? And? Since the show was character driven (which is very nice even when, IMO, they didn't get it right), why do so many nfics show such perfect, predictable people? [snip a lot of stuff that further proves my argument about L&C being interesting people, too interesting to be writen so trite in some otherwise well-intentioned stories...] >>>>However, in posting, writers must realize that people are going to >read their stories and that people are going to form opinions about them. >I've formed an opinion about what seems to me to be the typical, predictable >outcome of Nfic stories<<<< >I think there are fans who don't like certain genres, you don't like nfic >because the few you've read were 'predictable' from your point of view. What??? Excuse me, time out here!! I yawn at (never "don't like") *predictable* nfic. I also appreciate any good writing that may be in the same story, particularly if it attempts an interesting A plot that otherwise gets the couple into the trite nfic portion. I *really* appreciate everyone who has the courage to publish their work, in cyberspace and elsewhere, unpaid, for all to read. And when it comes to nfic, well, those authors are much more courageous than I am! So it's far more complex than you seem to think when you attribute certain likes and dislikes to me or anyone else. I'll note that I also I've yawned at a good number of the revelation, wedding and "I'm pregnant!" stories. I'm an equal opportunity yawner--as well as cheerleader when I read something I like, whether it be part of a story or the whole thing :) Also, of course, if I disliked nfic, I would have never started distributing ads for it a few years back. If I had started disliking it since that time, I would have bowed out of doing it. [snip] >>>>Yes! That's it! See how interesting *that* is? What if, on top of Clark not >telling her first that he was Supes before proposing, he waited until after >the wedding (the 2nd one, not the chicken one) to mention that he was >"*really really interested* only about 20 minutes a month? hmm..."<<<< > >Oh boy, then have we got a badfic for you It has the 20 minutes and >everything! Woo hoo ;) I look forward to it! >Zoomway@aol.com (and charades! ;) Keep miming away! We're watching...! Debby Debby@swcp.com strapping on her seatbelt...! ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 09:12:43 -0400 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: Lois's backstory Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >> In Pheromone, My Lovely, Lois said she had "fun" in high school, but never said whether she was or wasn't popular. Those who join a chess or math club must find it fun,or why join? ;) << I had fun in high school, as part of the planetarium club (science geeks ) but I doubt the football players even knew I existed... so fun ain't= the same as popular. Still, thanks very much for the refresher course, Gary & Zoom :-) I knew= I'd get what I needed! PJ = !^NavFont02F016F000FMGJHG97MG99HH70CC8C E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 01-Jun-1998 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/folc.html ~~~~~ "Are you under the care of a qualified psychiatrist, Constable?" = -- "The Ladies' Man", Due South "Women and cats will do as they please and men and dogs = should relax and get used to the idea." -- Robert A. Heinlein ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 10:24:45 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: NFIC rated (Re: once a month...) In-Reply-To: <2.2.16.19980601053525.09af84f8@swcp.com> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 06:34 AM 6/1/98 -0600, you wrote: >At 11:10 AM 5/31/98 -0400, you wrote: > >[snip] > >>Close. > >not "close" - right on! :) > >>Chinese? Yes. > >That's what half the little booklet was written in. > You have to remember that just like Bauch & Lomb sold the exact same contact lenses with different instructions to wear daily or for a whole week... the Chinese herbalist sold the same balls for whatever ailment the customer had. Nobody has said the "magic words" of the original intent of the little guys...but Clark's alcove where he kept the books with the secrets of lovemaking does. But seeing as though it is on the same theme, and Debby came close I'll give the list the guaranteed Kerth Award Winning story idea. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 10:38:45 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Guaranteed Kerth Award Winning (N)Fanfic Idea MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I think this fits in rather well with the boring nfic thread.... ************ "When Gods Test..." Story by Gary A Rudick Perry was beside himself, he didn't know what to do. Actually, he did know what to do, he just would rather chew his own arm off than have to be the bearer of bad news, no horrible news. Just then he noticed the arrival of Lois and Clark. *Right on time* he thought. It was still early and few others were in the newsroom at the moment and for that Perry was grateful. "Clark, could I see you for a moment?" Perry asked in as neutral a tone as he could manage. Lois and Clark had just settled down at his desk with their coffee. "Be right back." Clark said and kissed Lois on the forehead. Lois smiled as she sipped her hot coffee. "What's up Chief?" "Uh, Clark, uh, have a seat, please..." "Something wrong, Chief?" "Maybe, it's bad news, I just hope it isn't horrible news." "I don't understand, what news?" Perry handed Clark an obituary from a French newspaper. Clark, startled upon seeing the foreign language, he read it quickly. Two words stuck into his mind and nearly brought him to his knees, one of the words was the name of the man who had taken Lois' story along with her body. Claude. The other wasn't a word really, but it threatened to take even more of of his wife just as it had taken so many others. AIDS. ************ Anyone who wants to take it go ahead, just give me credit for the idea... (Feel free to change the title.) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 10:42:21 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Layney Dixon Subject: Re: Lois's backstory Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-06-01 00:32:32 EDT, you write: << And how do I reconcile the girl who was in chess club & math club & never played hooky (PML) with the one who dated the quarterback and was friends with the popular kids (IASWAA)? :-/ >> That was me!!! The first few years of my life, I stayed pretty close to the things that I knew how to do best...things that I had control over like a chess board and mathmatical equations. From a tiny tot in elementary to the awkward years of middle school, I tried hard to keep my nose in a book or my mind on academics. Had nothing to do with my home life, I grew up on the closest thing to "The Cosby Show" that ever existed. But then came high school and pushed my mild- mannered self to my personal limits (I skipped my own class to sit in on another). High school, however, is more than a caste system of popular kids and nerds. Unlike the raunchy zoos that are often seen on TV, I perceived high school to have a mid-culture. There, of course, were your screwball, dim-witted popular kids who wanted nothing more than to be crowned king or queen of the prom. There were also your leatherbacks who wore Hell's Angels leather jackets and made it their mission to thumb their noses at authority. And, of course, we had the neozoomdweebies with inch thick glasses and pocket protectors as well as our radical left, long hair, tye-dye wearing activists. I think it would be safe to say that all American public schools have their own little versions of each of these groups. The mid-culture people are the individuals who seem to be respected by all of the cliches. The people who are smart, friendly and respectful of people's differences. The ones who takes a genuine interest in a person b/c of their personality not b/c of their money or popularity. It is usually this quiet group that has the most genuine leaders. The ones who are elected class president because they truly do have the support of all of the people. (Lois was class prez not head-cheerleader) In IASWAA, villianous chickey (I forget her name) didn't really have a beef with Lois except that Lois was well-liked. Lois had never purposely been mean to her and had no idea that the villianous chickey was feeling so left out of the loop. If Lois had known, she most likely would have reached out to vc really quick and played a regular game of chess with her or something. Lois was most likely a classic "mid-culture" who dated little ( although most of the boys probably had secret crushes on her) and did not consider herself very popular (although most girls probably envied her). She had probably been friends with the quarterback and their relationship had taken on a romantic dimension after slaving over a few Trig exams. I am sure it wasn't for popularity's sake. Also, there is always the RL fact that Teri Hatcher was on her way to 'Polytech U' (or something like that) to become an engineer when she opted for acting and along the way was a SF49er cheerleader...hmmm, something to think about. I hope that helps reconcile the chess club member and the popular girl scenario. Layney ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 12:30:12 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Lydia Esterline Subject: Hello In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi there! I just wanted to say hello to you all. Some of you may remember me from the list or even irc. Lyds or jei-el. I was wondering if there is a place that might hold back issues or emails >from this list? If so could you please tell me where I can find them? Please send a reply to lje@poboxes.com thanks! take care! ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 13:03:18 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: The Zoomway Subject: Re: Lois's backstory Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-06-01 02:16:50 EDT, you write: << I and several others were "drafted" into the math club since no one wanted to join. >> But did you date the star quarterback? Pam said: >>>I had fun in high school, as part of the planetarium club (science geeks ) but I doubt the football players even knew I existed... so fun ain't the same as popular.<<<< That's what I'd said of P,ML. Lois said she had fun in high school in that episode, but not whether she was popular or not. The first time I remember her saying she was popular in high school was in Return of the Prankster. In my second high school (after we moved ;) we had the football team with one of the all time worst records. The quarterback wasn't very attractive. He had no neck and one continuous eyebrow. So, he wasn't popular either ;) In fact, as high schoolers can be cruel, sometimes the football players had food lobbed at them in the cafeteria when they showed up on Mondays. I'd still go with Lois being a late bloomer in high school. That makes her like Clark. He didn't start flying till he was a senior Then again, some people define 'popular' differently. Are you popular if you're well liked by many students, or only if you're *in* with the 'big shots' in high school? As far as that goes, the class clown can be popular. A guy wrote a book titled "The Class of ...(some year ;)" and said that you knew how popular you were in high schol by how many tables you were welcome at in the cafeteria. How many 'clique' lines you could cross and be welcome, in other words. So, could Lois sit at the 'geek' table as well as the 'rah-rah' table? Zoomway@aol.com (was I popular in high school? I stood up to eat lunch ;) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 13:16:38 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Getting archives of the Fanfic list MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To the address: listserv@listserv.indiana.edu you send INDEX LOISCLA-GENERAL-L end in the body and you get the list below, to that same address above send GET LOGXXXX GET LOGXXXX end in the body and you will recieve the log for that week. * * Archive files for the LOISCLA-GENERAL-L list at LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU * (weekly logs) * rec last - change * filename filetype GET PUT -fm lrecl nrecs date time * -------- -------- --- --- --- ----- ----- -------- -------- LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9708 LOG OWN V 84 8231 97/08/25 13:30:58 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9708D LOG OWN V 81 2991 97/08/28 22:30:37 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9708E LOG OWN V 80 5590 97/08/31 22:08:17 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9709A LOG OWN V 79 4623 97/09/07 11:05:52 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9709B LOG OWN V 80 4239 97/09/14 23:06:43 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9709C LOG OWN V 531 2373 97/09/21 23:18:32 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9709D LOG OWN V 190 9033 97/09/28 23:32:09 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9709E LOG OWN V 77 145 97/09/29 08:57:50 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9710A LOG OWN V 91 2922 97/10/05 21:35:39 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9710B LOG OWN V 87 2535 97/10/14 20:47:41 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9710C LOG OWN V 80 4809 97/10/21 22:47:51 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9710D LOG OWN V 83 9937 97/10/28 07:50:25 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9710E LOG OWN V 76 654 97/10/30 19:00:12 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9711A LOG OWN V 237 8326 97/11/07 18:01:43 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9711B LOG OWN V 80 11511 97/11/14 20:30:30 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9711C LOG OWN V 99 12360 97/11/21 23:06:35 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9711D LOG OWN V 80 7687 97/11/28 22:44:25 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9711E LOG OWN V 80 36066 97/11/30 22:33:42 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9712A LOG OWN V 553 1867 97/12/07 17:16:56 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9712B LOG OWN V 243 2157 97/12/14 22:24:25 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9712C LOG OWN V 106 8290 97/12/21 21:12:03 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9712D LOG OWN V 616 8620 97/12/28 16:25:14 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9712E LOG OWN V 78 783 97/12/31 18:03:58 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9801A LOG OWN V 90 10843 98/01/07 23:23:31 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9801B LOG OWN V 422 3780 98/01/14 23:19:44 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9801C LOG OWN V 137 8199 98/01/21 22:18:55 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9801D LOG OWN V 80 5980 98/01/28 18:21:54 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9801E LOG OWN V 79 1196 98/01/31 23:43:04 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9802A LOG OWN V 87 7385 98/02/07 23:41:35 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9802B LOG OWN V 82 3380 98/02/14 21:39:51 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9802C LOG OWN V 80 2717 98/02/21 18:47:33 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9802D LOG OWN V 85 1540 98/02/28 21:21:47 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9803A LOG OWN V 1103 11405 98/03/07 23:14:45 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9803B LOG OWN V 130 6248 98/03/14 23:16:48 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9803C LOG OWN V 79 6615 98/03/21 22:44:24 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9803D LOG OWN V 133 9605 98/03/28 22:44:31 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9803E LOG OWN V 165 6526 98/03/31 21:15:45 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9804A LOG OWN V 80 4930 98/04/07 16:45:18 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9804B LOG OWN V 85 4434 98/04/14 22:19:04 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9804C LOG OWN V 80 6334 98/04/21 21:33:17 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9804D LOG OWN V 110 10351 98/04/28 23:38:25 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9804E LOG OWN V 85 2664 98/04/30 15:31:26 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9805A LOG OWN V 214 2816 98/05/07 23:20:56 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9805B LOG OWN V 226 15223 98/05/14 23:53:24 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9805C LOG OWN V 321 7069 98/05/21 22:19:04 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9805D LOG OWN V 311 8162 98/05/28 23:55:31 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9805E LOG OWN V 85 2909 98/05/31 23:31:51 LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9806A LOG OWN V 80 746 98/06/01 12:03:33 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 13:23:06 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sandra McDermin Subject: Re: Charity Begins on L&C Fanfic List (was Re: Carom/Carob) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii At 07:49 PM 5/28/98 -0400, Sandra McD wrote: >Jeez, why can't I drum up this interest in my own work? Ah-h-h well, what >can I say. It's my lot in life. Always doing for others. Never thinking >of myself.... > >St. Sandra >>Your Lois is comical... but while this would be handled in a back-handed manner by some (paid) writers, making Lois a buffoon and the butt of jokes, you show us that in facing potential disaster that she is a strong and resourceful person.<< Lois couldn't be anything but strong and resourceful. She also has a sense of humor. I have always patterned my writing of Lois along the lines of comedic women of the past (or women in comic roles) especially those we've seen in movies. For instance, Carole Lombard (My Man Godfrey), Barbara Stanwyck (The Lady Eve), Katherine Hepburn (Bringing up Baby), Ginger Rogers (The Major and the Minor), Irene Dunne (Theodora Goes Wild), Rosalind Russell (His Girl Friday), Claudette Colbert (The Palm Beach Story, It Happened One Night). All of these women were bright, beautiful, strong *and* uproariously funny. Many times the joke was *on* them (or at least things happened to them) and yet they never seemed victimized because they gave as good as they got. I loved these films and their clever and witty female leads. (On a tangential note, I still laugh over the blurb in the Leonard Maltin movie book which describes "The Lady Eve": ".... Stanwyck is a con artist who sets her eyes on wealthy Fonda -- the dolt to end all dolts, who proclaims, 'snakes are my life.'" ) >>The jokes (i.e,. the shower) may seem to be on her (she was sure it would be a big joke), but somehow she fades aside so no cream pies hit her. Instead, she rises under your patronage to see a silver lining: her realization that the gifts were for a real baby--*her* real baby. Before this all the other writers have had her happy at being pregnant--but only now, in this one moment of this one story, did I have the feeling that Lois at last realized what the heck was going on and that it was really miraculous. Add to it that all the women around her really did like her and really wanted to be there for her. That was so sweet! Later on in the story she expressed this realization to Clark, doubling my reading pleasure. I know we would never have seen anything like this wonderfulness for Lois on the show (unless they contracted you to write it). Thank you.<< My goal, with the baby shower, was three-fold. 1) I wanted a "behind the scenes" build-up, which would give Lois the false impression that the shower would be a disaster for her (or at least something *she* wouldn't have planned.) That's why I made sure that Lois and her mother never actually "connected" throughout the story -- that she only heard about all the plans "second-hand". 2) *However*, I didn't want it to actually turn out to be a disaster. It would've been too easy to have Ellen put together something that Lois would find objectionable. I wanted Ellen to succeed, because, in my mind, she has the capability to do so. After all, she was the wife of a prominent doctor. No doubt she entertained important people during their marriage and was involved in society events. Why couldn't she put together a lovely shower? Ellen seems like the kind of woman -- to me -- who always *looked* like she had it all together, when, in actually, her life was falling apart, i.e., she was the closet alcoholic with the seemingly perfect marriage. 3) Since this story is a comedy (and, to my mind, a straight shower scene would have been boring), I wanted the shower to end up falling to pieces -- through no fault of Ellen's, or Lois' or anyone's, but through a simple misunderstanding which would lead to catastrophe. >>Your Clark is big hearted. We already knew this, of course, but you reminded us of this basic trait of his in several different, ingenious ways. You bring up, expand upon and use the idea that he set up the Foundation to distribute the wealth his image had generated (the show should have dealt more with this...). The money will go for only good things even though there might come a time when L&C need help. When he was affected by the red Kryptonite, he became super acquisitive... not for himself but out of worry for the future of his family<< I was attempting to draw a connection between Superman (a flying man) who was feathering his nest and/or nesting, i.e., preparing his nest for his young. It seems to me -- if red kryptonite was going to effect his mind -- it should bring out something that he *secretly* is concerned about. That's why I had Lois suggest to Clark that he might be worried about their finances -- playing off of the opening scene where Lois reads in the paper that it takes $1.2 million to raise a child. >>Betty as fun at parties--but quick to jump to her friends' defense (I could almost hear her accent);<< Betty? God! Ellen *is* good. She managed to invite someone to the shower who even I can't remember. Talk about characters taking control of a story. >>Ellen... trying her darndest, holding her tongue when saying something mean would have hurt others, and at last finding a job that really does suit her strengths: her organizational skills and her fierce loyalty, both traits that would scare Lex and Mindy combined. The Foundation is safe in her hands.<< Exactly! I always felt sorry for Lois' parents, who, through no fault of their own, will never be able to be close to their daughter just when they were trying to be. Not sharing in the big secret, makes them -- by necessity -- outsiders. *This* was a way of having Ellen become an insider without telling her the truth. >>You did very well with Jimmy. As I read the various short scenes that he was in, I thought that I should encourage you write a story focusing on him. Consider yourself encourage. And, hey, think about write a story for Perry, too. :)<< I've never had any desire to write a Jimmy story. I had an idea for Perry, but I'm not sure it would go over very well with folcs. >>I like how you write complex plots yet manage to make them all seem simple and flowing. There's a kind of frenetic energy in the atmosphere you build. I feel like I'm being pulled along and there's almost too much to see--and yet I want to see it all. This is particularly true, for example, in the scenes with Lois at the Daily Planet, trying to get her investigation in gear, shouting at Jimmy, and Jimmy trying to second guess her to save time. Your scenes with Clark and Superman don't have this same flavor, which is good since neither of them are/he isn't that kind of person despite his superspeed.<< You hit it right on the nose. Clark isn't a frenetic person, while Lois is. But, it's also the case that I can't write Clark/Superman very well. >>Dislikes...? The Red Kryptonite plot made me nervous at first, but I realized eventually this may be because I wasn't in the mood to read about anyone suffering.<< Except for the daycare scene, I tried to make the "suffering" as lighthearted as possible. >>This reticence on my part made me stretch the reading of #19 out over several days, and each time I'd return to it hoping that L&C would figure out quickly what was going on and get all that over with and get to the shower/party ;)<< If they had figured it out too quickly, the story would have been over. Hey, that would've saved on the e-mails. >>I hope you're happy now.<< Happy? Well, I am pleased that you liked the story. I was worried that I couldn't write something that one *might* consider an episode. And, I didn't, but it was the best I could do from ignorance. (When I looked at the instructions on how to write an episode that Sheila gave us, all I could see in front of me were the words "straight jacket".) I'm afraid I abandoned it instantly and hoped for the best. Thank you for the feedback, Debby. Sandy ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 13:24:02 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Ooops! Re: Getting archives of the Fanfic list In-Reply-To: <3.0.1.16.19980601131638.098f75f4@vmspop.isc.rit.edu> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 01:16 PM 6/1/98 -0400, you wrote: >To the address: listserv@listserv.indiana.edu > >you send > >INDEX LOISCLA-GENERAL-L >end > >in the body and you get the list below, to >that same address above send > it should be: >GET LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOGXXXX not >GET LOGXXXX >end > >in the body and you will recieve the log for that week. > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 13:29:02 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "K.M. de Castro" Subject: Re: New badfic - LnCgoPC Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-05-31 14:27:50 EDT, Frances wrote: << The end - unless anyone needs a glossary >> The glossary, please? Otherwise, very well-done. I wouldn't know what the PC version of that is... maybe you can translate! Marie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 13:28:54 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "K.M. de Castro" Subject: Re: FR: "MMIKC," "YEMK," + "the kitchen sink" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-05-29 22:38:08 EDT, Leanne wrote: << when I wasn't singing *very quietly* along to ABBA) >> I knew I liked you for some other reason! Marie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 14:34:17 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: The Zoomway Subject: Re: once a month... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-06-01 08:35:19 EDT, debby@SWCP.COM writes: << Yep, in nearly every story she has an orgasm, simultaneous with his, every time she has sex with him. No mystery there. Yawn city<<< Since simultaneous orgasm is extremely rare, Lois and Clark are being different already ;) >>>The truly interesting thing about their first official date is that Lois slammed the door in Clark's face. Totally unexpected.<<<< I loved it, I knew Lois was hooked already when she slammed that door. A woman accustomed to 'federal disasters' would scarcely know how to deal with a 'great date'. I loved Perry's confusion trying to comfort Lois because she had a great date and didn't know what to do next >>>And what if it were so boring instead that she rolled over and went to sleep?<<< Didn't you get that with the Lois clone? >>Ah, okay. Still sounds boring to me in its inevitability and predictability.<<< Well it is a 'romance' and so a lot of time they're just going to be darn nice to each other ;) >>>You've made my point, thanks! Sheila's different take on the subject makes her story memorable. All different takes interest me.<<< Actually I was hoping to make *my* point, that not all nfic is alike and there is a variety out there Speaking of Sheila, I'll assume you haven't read her NC17 version of Mxysplit wherein we have Lois pleasuring, and being pleasured by Clark *and* Superman both at the same time (kersplash! ;) >>>Does this mean you'd like me to find some samples of authors warning us that their story has no A plot?<<< No, what I'm saying is that strictly B plot fanfic has always been popular, not just in nfic. >>>Uh-huh? And? Since the show was character driven (which is very nice even when, IMO, they didn't get it right), why do so many nfics show such perfect, predictable people?<<< I don't write nfic, but I, like other 'non-fleshers' like to participate in nfic round robin because we know we can get away with a lot of double entendre and innuendo that we normally couldn't get away with in regular fanfic, but still are limited to how far we are willing to go, and so it doesn't entirely qualify as nfic, so we do appreciate the 'fleshers' out there who will cross the line that we don't feel comfortable crossing ourselves. As far as 'predictable' all fanfic is predictable to a certain extend. I'd say 99 percent of L&C fanfic has a happy ending regardless of the turmoil the couple might have to endure to get there. The other 1 percent have unhappy endings, ambiguous endings, or end with 'to be continued' and writers can be predictable too. If someone is known for writing stories that have heavy A plots and little B plot, or little to no romance, fans who are fond of that type of story will gravitate to that writer because he/she writes what they personally find interesting. Others who like romance, or as little A plot as possible, might avoid his/her stories for the same reason, they're predictable, but in a way that doesn't appeal to them. >>I yawn at (never "don't like") *predictable* nfic. I also appreciate any good writing that may be in the same story, particularly if it attempts an interesting A plot that otherwise gets the couple into the trite nfic portion. <<< Well, it's probably just me, but personally, I'd rather have something I wrote be disliked rather than "yawned" at or called "trite" At least if someone hated or disliked it, I'd have provoked an emotional response rather than boredom. >>Also, of course, if I disliked nfic, I would have never started distributing ads for it a few years back. If I had started disliking it since that time, I would have bowed out of doing it.<<< That's likely where my confusion comes from. When you first started distributing/advertising nfic, I wrote to you about one of the stories, and you said you didn't have an opinion on the story because even though you were happy to distribute nfic, you didn't read it, and so I figured you'd only gotten into reading nfic recently and had only read a few, so I apologize for the confusion. Zoomway@aol.com ("My girlfriend said, 'It's not the size that counts, it's what you do with it'. I said 'huh'? and then got on the phone with my buddy, 'Hey, Joe, she said size didn't matter, it's 'what you *do* with it' that counts. Yeah! me too, just forward and reverse. I don't get it." ;) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 17:27:29 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Frances Coogan Subject: Re: LnCgoPC + glossary Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Marie, there's no need to euphemise positive statements like well done, but thanks for the comment anyway; and thanks also to Michelle and Peace - I appreciated your comments and Michelle was quite correct to suggest that I should have written "helped him achieve his freedom" instead of "helped break him out". - My apologies to anyone on the list who happens to fall into the category of self-released clients of the correctional system, and who was offended by my inexcusable clarity of meaning. I promise it won't happen again. I should really have had Lois on the phone to Bobby Generously-proportioned- buccal-cavity, too! Maybe if I can find enough jargon - sorry, I mean terminologically inoffensive alternative wordforms - for a sequel. Okay, for those of you having trouble with the terminology (and I can't say that I'm surprised!) here's a translation of the PC terms in the order they appear in the story: nontraditionally ordered - untidy/messy terminally inconvenienced - dead metabolically different - dead nonviable - dead (again) anomoly - mistake terminated with extreme prejudice - murdered cerebro-atmospheric individual - airhead career-offender cartel - gang ethically disoriented - dishonest/criminal differently logical - wrong I sense the nondiscretionary fragrance of a rodent-American - I smell a rat (I love that one!) fail to maintain clearance from the ground - crash (aeroplane) energetic disassembly - explosion persons across the street presenting themselves as commodity allotments within a business doctrine - prostitutes temporally challenged - chronically late to join a career alternative enhancement program - to be fired person of torpor - lazybones motivationally dispossessed - lazy arbitrary deprivation of life - murder in the early stages of finalization - nowhere near finished controlled flight into terrain - plane crash sub-optimal coming together - bad crash super-prompt critical power excursion - nuclear meltdown optically challenged - blind aurally inconvenienced - deaf undocumented residents - illegal immigrants people with pharmacological preferences - drug addicts involuntarily undomiciled - homeless differently hirsute - bald skin-color genetically dominant world majority - black mutant albino genetic-recessive global minority - white self-released clients of the correctional system - escaped prisoners health-alterer - killer preemptive counterattack - attack knowledge-base non-possessor - ignorant (of the subject) counterfactual proposition - lie to achieve a deficiency - to fail to be terminologically inexact - to be telling lies to exploit Mother Earth - to farm significant other - husband (or wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/concubine, etc) I apologise to anyone for whom English is not a first language - you probably had trouble understanding it. And I apologise to everyone else - you probably had trouble understanding it. This should clarify things a little! Frances ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 18:00:28 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Lansbury 1 Subject: Re: Lois's backstory Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi, Didn't she also spend a semester or maybe the whole year as an exchange student in Ireland? Remember .....WHEN IRISH EYES ARE KILLING. Annie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 19:06:38 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: Help... Krypton Club Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi Fellow FoLCs... I am trying to get my paws on the old Krypton Club Newsletters. I have tried all the url links I can find, and none work, so I am assuming that the sites are down. Did anyone perhaps save them? If you have them, please e-mail me privately... I would really appreciate it. Thanks :) Crystal Wimmer JCWimmer@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 20:56:12 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sandra McDermin Subject: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >> We, fortunately, have quite a few writers that use their imaginations quite well. It's fun to read about the escapades of our favorite couple. I must agree, however, with Debby's point about completely mapped out stories' use of nfic. Whether there is an A plot or not, the longer plots are much more tantalizing with the nfic than the short stories.<< Generally, I agree that n-fic which has a well developed plot is much more entertaining than strictly a vignette piece. At least, in my opinion. I, myself, put a lot of thought and effort into the three stories I've written, and it bothers me that they are *only* defined by their "n" quality. One of my stories is 129 pps long, with -- *perhaps* -- 12 pps of adult material scattered about; the second is about 100 pps long with 9 or so "adult pps"; and the last is a grand total of 177 pps with -- maybe -- 20 pages of "n" material. On all of the other pages -- 365 of them -- a lot of suspense, comedy, and romance happen. When the Kerth's were created, I was frankly disappointed that "n"-fic stories -- a vast collection of very varied material -- could only be *fairly* considered in one category. I say fairly, because if "n"fic is nominated in a category with "regular" fanfiction, than the "n"fic story has an extra hurdle to jump. Ironically enough, the hurdle of limited exposure. One of my stories was nominated in a non"n"-fic, non-Chris, category, but when I saw that it would be up against only regular fanfic, all of which, combined, was much shorter than my story, I thought it was a rather awkward comparison (sort of like comparing a short story to a novel -- a novel which is in another language that only a subgroup could read) Therefore, I reluctantly withdrew it, even though I would have welcomed the exposure. Far, far more important than recognition to me is having people read the stories, (I mean, what other goal is there?) and I must admit to being disappointed when adult readers won't consider approaching a story because of its "n" fic content. I understand their feelings -- *really* -- and I respect them, but I can't help but be disappointed all the same, especially considering the totality of the excellent work which I know has been put into so many of them. (Of course, I won't read roundrobins, so who am I to talk? Such a hypocrite!) A few people have approached me about deleting the "n" material from my stories so that they can be posted to the regular fanfic archives; however, I was reluctant to do this for one very important reason. By deleting the "n" parts of the story, it's as if I were saying that what happened in those segments was of no consequence to the plot. And, frankly, that couldn't be farther from the truth. I've thought about this and I've looked at those portions of my stories and found that each of those scenes contained conversations and thoughts and revelations within them that contributed to the themes I was writing about or they wouldn't be there. In other words, if all I was going for was pure titillation then I could slice away at the story, but I wasn't. Within each encounter, something is learned about the characters and it would take a rewrite of whole portions of the story to reincorporate those developments elsewhere. In some cases, it couldn't be done at all and the story would be the poorer for it. It surprises me that others have been able to edit their own "n"-fic so well. I can only think that it must have been a lot of work. I'm sorry. I think I've gone off on a tangent.... On to the question of dissemination. >>I noticed that Peace posted her nfic with Piper "Heir Return" on Zoom's list yesterday. Well, talk about confict and resolution....that one certainly focuses on the problems that L&C could experience.<< "Heir Return"? I don't believe I've seen that. Are n-fic writers no longer sending their work to Debby's list? I haven't noticed much in the pipeline lately and wondered if all the fic was going to the website. I also wondered if I had to move my stories there (sans e-mail address, of course) in order to continue to have a readership. I certainly don't want to see all of that hard work go to waste. (I was going to say -- "go for naught," but with the use of the word "exposure," I thought it would be far too cute. I'm amazed at all the double entendres going on here .) Anyway, please advice. Sandy ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 20:41:22 +0000 Reply-To: Barbara.Geraud@mixcom.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: Authenticated sender is From: Barbara Knutson Subject: Re: LnCgoPC + glossary MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Frances explained her vocabulary.......:} > I apologise to anyone for whom English is not a first language - you probably > had trouble understanding it. And I apologise to everyone else - you probably > had trouble understanding it. Actually, it kinda scares me that I understood everything right as I was reading it.....:} And both Jon and I were ROTFL during and after the read! thanks for the giggles..... Barbara +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Barbara.Geraud@mixcom.com WAFFyBarb on IRC from the land of Cheese and Beer and my beloved Brand-new-wife of Jon Knutson - the most wonderful man alive And a believer that fairy tales *can* come true.... http://members.tripod.com/~WAFFyBarb/index.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 19:49:08 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Daddy knows best... (was re: Fanfic Review: "Yet Each Man Kills") Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 03:00 PM 5/31/98 -0400, Genevieve wrote: [big snip of good stuff to get to...] >I've never really trusted Sam Lane. Well, that's not true. I trusted >him in RFAS, when he handed Lois a tape and said "write your story." At >that point, I thought he was actually seeing his daughter (maybe for the >first time), as an adult, as someone he could count on. But ever since >then, there has just been something phony about him, something that made >me feel he had ulterior motives, or a hidden agenda. I agree totally. This is why when I think of Sam for my stories, I think of the RFAS Sam. For Ellen, the HoL Ellen. While it's true we didn't get to see much of either, at least we didn't see the awful, blaring stereotypes we got in seasons 3 and 4. Yech! I feel that by sticking with these two largely unknown people (including Uncle Mike and Lucy), I have a lot more to work with. Also, they all look like Lois ;) [big snip of even more stuff I agree with...] >We can ask the same question in >our fictional world too: why would Ellen go back to Sam? stop me before I say anything about them having perfect sex...! >[snip] Her entire vision of her own self-worth and her >self-esteem were tied up in what *he* thought of her, and how society >saw her as a wife. Does Ellen feel this way? Quite likely. I typed up a paper for a nurse whose in college and one of her themes was about how women became nurses in order to catch a husband. This was in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. That was the image of the nurse--not as someone competent, a professional, but as a woman en route to getting married and getting out of nursing. This can apply to "my" Ellen, but I think of her as having accomplished so much as a nurse that she could fall back on those skills and gain more after the divorce. The show's second Ellen instead became a wretched alcoholic. [snip] >So Sam and Ellen are "trying to get back together again." How sweet. >The "happy-ever-after" crowd was pleased. You have to recall, too, that this show was never very deep. If some characters were needed for some scenes, they dredge up some stereotypes and foist them off on us. This applied to everyone from parents (Lois's dysfunctional ones and Clark's perfect ones) to professionals (evil doctors, sleepy police, "duffer" security guards, etc), to the tissue-thin villains. If it succeeded in generating a temporary laugh or at manipulating our emotions, that was enough for the creative team. [snip] >The episode that pulled it all together for me was Family Hour. I was >surprised, the day after it aired, to see that everyone on LOISCLA >thought the Ellen scenes were hilarious. I didn't. I hadn't been so >embarrassed for a character since Jimmy had stood naked on a nightclub's >stage. I thought it was terrible how everyone -- even Jonathan and >Martha to a degree -- had treated Ellen with such disrespect. >Whispering about secrets in front of her, giving lame excuses when she >tried to call them on it, making her feel like an outsider in her own >family. And I felt such sympathy for her. I agree with you completely. I felt much the same way as I watched the show. The character was there only to be laughing stock and punching bag. She was an easy-to-write stereotype. If she had returned in season 5, I doubt she would change (change isn't easy to write, especially for writers depending on stereotypes). I also doubt any character would remember (or especially regret) how they treated her. Tossing aside the chance to boost Ellen into a helpful role, someone Lois could depend on--even just showing this was possible--was not a shining moment for the series. Contrast this to how her talents were recognized and put to use by Sandra's "Charity" story. There are suddenly a lot more meanings to that word, eh? >I saw Ellen being victimized by her own family, with Sam as the >instigator, and Lois as an unwilling accomplice. Unwilling? Hmm... not when they seemed to be getting along pretty well in INPY. But maybe Lois had amnesia about that, too. [Snip] Debby :) Debby@swcp.com whose glad we can do it better! ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 23:06:12 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic In-Reply-To: <85256616.007F4637.00@smtpmta.nas.edu> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 08:56 PM 6/1/98 -0400, you wrote: >>> > I'm amazed at all the double entendres going on here .) >Anyway, please advice. > >Sandy > I suppose pointing out the d-e in the Subject line would be too much.... Your stories "Something's Missing" and "Love As A Blonde" put that so-called Lois & Clark novel by CJ Cherryh to shame. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 23:11:57 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Review of CJ Cherryh novel MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Date: Sun, 08 Sep 1996 17:15:55 -0400 >Subject: Review of Cherryh novel > > Review of "Lois&Clark:A Superman Novel" by C.J.Cherryh > by Gary A.Rudick(gar8434@rit.edu) > > TWO THUMBS DOWN, WAAAAY DOWN! > > The reason there are two thumbs is for the A-plot and the B-plot. >The problem with this novel is that Lois and Clark spend virtually no time >with one another in either plot. In fact other than the fact that this is a >hard cover book, I thought I was reading another of M.J.Friedman's "young-adult" >novels where Lois and Clark also barely spend any time with each other in any >capacity. Superman is always keeping Clark busy away from Lois while she does >*ALL* the investigating, after awhile the "plot" gets real tired. > An speaking of the plot, we get these nice little vacations from it >every once in a while to get a new character analysis. It is appropriate to >provide ground work for a characters thoughts and actions, but do we really >need to have it in every chapter? And it is good that the author tries to get >into the characters, but since Lois and Clark barely talk to one another, what >is the point? The only time we get an analysis of the thoughts and feelings when >two characters are interacting is during Lois' prison confrontation with Lex, >which while it is good, has already been done and done better. > The analyses of Lois are good, but those of Clark/Superman tend to make >his superheroics just another boring, tiring, can't wait to get home to the woman >I love (not that he ever does) day on the job. Come on! This is SUPERMAN what he >does is NOT just another job. > Why do they put these clingy poses of the lead characters on the cover and >then keep them apart on the inside? So much for truth in advertising. Even when they >are able to talk to one another face to face the author doesn't allow them to touch >each other since he is in the suit and they are close to the nurses' station in the >hospital. Jimmy is sent through the side door to hail a cab, Jimmy should have stayed >put and let Lois and Clark go out the side door where they can be alone for five >seconds. A scene like this would normally be used as contrast, in contrast to what? >They've been apart and now they're still apart. > There are fanfics out there written before this novel which have world events >more current than this one has. My recommendation: choose a fanfic, any fanfic. Now >don't get me wrong I wasn't miserable reading this book, but I have an unquenchable >fire for Lois&Clark, heck I even liked the fanfic where they get divorced. Of course >if you really want to buy the book for the cover then just read the first and last >chapters and skip the rest. You won't miss much since the final chapter has just about >everything significant happening and repeats what you already know, and repeats what >you already know. > "She just wanted Clark. That was all. Was it too much to ask of the universe?" > Apparently it was to much to ask of this author....Ouch. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 23:11:44 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Anne Carlson Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi Sandy, << Are n-fic writers nolonger sending their work to Debby's list? I haven't noticed much in the pipeline lately and wondered if all the fic was going to the website. I also wondered if I had to move my stories there (sans e-mail address, of course) in order to continue to have a readership. I certainly don't want to see all of that hard work go to waste. (I was going to say -- "go for naught," but with the use of the word "exposure," I thought it would be far too cute. I'm amazed at all the double entendres going on here .) Anyway, please advice.>> Zoom started a fanfic section in her site when the AOL Boards went down last fall. She saved PLAN9's "On the Run" which is a marathon effort that has been in the works for almost a year now. She also added a Nfic section. A lot of old and new fanfics are there. Most of the old stories began appearing when the Kerths voting occured. Many of the voters had not read some of the nfic nominees ( sp? God, I'm a terrible speller. I can't wait until AOL has a spell check!!). There are several short stories......I think it was the main reason Debby started her "boring nfic" thread. I think Julie Mack has 25 different ones. Many people are starting to post the classic nfic for more people to enjoy. I think you should consider posting your work over there. You are such a gifted writer. Just this evening I finally went back to your post on the 18th of May about the outline for the "Taken" story. I certainly enjoyed that. I wanted to jump into this review business that you've started.......but I can't until school is out (just two more weeks....I keep chanting). Please keep up the in-depth discussion. You are spearheading this entire thread....Bravo! Check out Zoom's site. You have to sign-up and get the password. Beth is the webmaster and I'm sure you will get a quick response. Check out LabRat's stuff. It's short, but sweet. Also, you said you are not into group writing, but the "Project 69" is really good. http://acreativetouch.simplenet.com/zoomway/password.htm I'll be back in a couple of weeks..... Anne (ACdrift@aol.com) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 23:13:11 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Anne Carlson Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi All, Oops......I meant to send this to Sandy only. Sorry about that! Anne (ACdrift@aol.com) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 00:14:09 PDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: Re: Guaranteed Kerth Award Winning (N)Fanfic Idea In-Reply-To: <3.0.1.16.19980601103845.49b7202e@vmspop.isc.rit.edu> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > "When Gods Test..." Story by Gary A Rudick Boy, Gary, you sure do love torturing us don't you... Please somebody finish this story! Peace ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 00:53:11 PDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic In-Reply-To: <85256616.007F4637.00@smtpmta.nas.edu> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > >>I noticed that Peace posted her nfic with Piper "Heir Return" on Zoom= 's > list > yesterday. Well, talk about confict and resolution....that one certain= ly > focuses on the problems that L&C could experience.<< > > "Heir Return"? I don't believe I've seen that. Are n-fic writers no > longer sending their work to Debby's list? I haven't noticed much in = the > pipeline lately and wondered if all the fic was going to the website. = I Okay, just a word of clarification here. What I posted the other day to Zoom's list was Piper's PG story The Heir: Return (which was originally = just entitled The Heir) and the NC-17 sequel to it, The Heir: Healing. = The reason I posted both is that you really need to read Return for Healing to make sense. Both these stories were sent out on Debby's nfic list in August (?) 1997. They were just posted at Zoom's site by request. For the record, I have to agree with Sandy on the subject of trying take a story that is nfic and make it... not. Piper and I discussed the possi= bility of a PG version of Healing, struggled with it, and eventually gave up. = Too much happens that is too critical to the story as a whole -- as Sandy sai= d it would involve massive rewriting and would end up being a different story. Peace ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 10:02:40 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: Guaranteed Kerth Award Winning (N)Fanfic Idea In-Reply-To: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 12:14 AM 6/1/98 -0700, you wrote: >> "When Gods Test..." Story by Gary A Rudick > >Boy, Gary, you sure do love torturing us don't you... > >Please somebody finish this story! > >Peace > Yes, Yes I do, and I was such a sweet little boy...;-) But if you want to make pearls you have to be irritating. You or anyone else could make it a short story with great arguments and discussions ending with a test proving Lois is fine. Or it could be a long epic struggle with Lois actually getting ill and CK/S borrowing a little you know what from a certain DEA agent. I would recommend Celine Dion's "Let's Talk About Love" (the song, not the album). =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 11:03:47 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 6/1/98 9:15:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time, gar8434@RITVAX.ISC.RIT.EDU writes: > Your stories "Something's Missing" and "Love As A Blonde" put that so-called > Lois & Clark novel by CJ Cherryh to shame. Amen... I second this... but then, I fell in love with L&C for the relationship of the characters, and while Cherryh is unbeatable at weaving a seamless and intricate story line, she only had Lois and Clark in the same room a handful of times. It was a wonderful story... just not my favorite. You have a gift for turning the relationship into the A-plot... and making it amazing. Thank you so much for your stories :) Crystal ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 13:31:51 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Frances Coogan Subject: Re: Abba (was FR: "MMIKC," "YEMK," + "the kitchen sink") Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 01/06/98 17:29:31 GMT, Marie wrote: <> I knew I liked you for some other reason!>> Aaargh! I was still in badfic mode when I read this and all day I've been trying to avoid the temptation to do an Abbafic (ie working as many Abba song titles into the story as possible - and yes, I know them all!) If I weaken it's all down to you two! Frances finding it very difficult to proofread a not (intentionally) bad fic so soon after writing the intentionally bad variety. Mamma Mia! ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 16:52:43 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Joyce Fitch Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic In-Reply-To: <85256616.007F4637.00@smtpmta.nas.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 8:56 PM -0400 6/1/98, Sandra McDermin wrote: > >"Heir Return"? I don't believe I've seen that. Are n-fic writers no >longer sending their work to Debby's list? I haven't noticed much in the >pipeline lately and wondered if all the fic was going to the website. I >also wondered if I had to move my stories there (sans e-mail address, of >course) in order to continue to have a readership. I certainly don't want >to see all of that hard work go to waste. (I was going to say -- "go for >naught," but with the use of the word "exposure," I thought it would be far >too cute. I'm amazed at all the double entendres going on here .) >Anyway, please advice. "Heir Return" is one story is a trilogy. It is followed by " The Heir: Behind Closed Doors" which is a round robin, and the last story is "The Heir: Healing" by Piper and Peace. You might have seen all three under the title "The Heir." I think the n-fic debate is much like the debate over the series and how much of the relationship should be included. Including the relationship certainly adds depth to the characters and adds plot possibilities in the A plot as well as B. For me, it is just more realistic to include all aspects of the characters, and I get annoyed when a writer has to skirt around natural situations involving sex just because there is sex. There certainly is n-fic that is all frivolous sex, but that's another issue; and I'm not going there . Certainly your writing, Sandra, is not that. Joyce ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 19:17:29 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic In-Reply-To: <85256616.007F4637.00@smtpmta.nas.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 08:56 PM 6/1/98 -0400, Sandra McDermin wrote: >A few people have approached me about deleting the "n" material from my >stories so that they can be posted to the regular fanfic archives; however, >I was reluctant to do this for one very important reason. By deleting the >"n" parts of the story, it's as if I were saying that what happened in >those segments was of no consequence to the plot. And, frankly, that >couldn't be farther from the truth. I couldn't have said this better myself. Sometimes, the 'n' parts ARE the whole point of a story. One very graphic fanfiction writer's style immediately comes to mind. I cannot imagine any way her stories could be 'tamed' without losing the point of why the story existed in the first place. Of course, they're probably not for the faint of heart either. Back on topic, I've been following this entire thread with a great deal of interest and, I have to admit, quite a bit of surprise. Maybe even a little bit of irritation. Okay, maybe a lot of irritation. I mean, it really bothers me on a certain level that anyone would dismiss most of the stories distributed as 'n' fiction as boring, purely based on the assumption that there isn't anything more there than pages and pages of sex. That's sort of like saying that LOIS & CLARK wasn't anything more than Superman. Just because any story, long, short or in-between, may or may not be appropriate for all age groups does NOT mean that it's all graphic sex by any means. Sometimes the subject the writer wants to deal with itself causes a stronger than general rating regardless of sexual content. Not that that is the norm, by any means. Of course, once a writer knows that a story can't be placed on the general list due to content anyway, they then have a certain amount of freedom in other areas. >In other words, if all I was going for was pure titillation then I could >slice away at the story, but I wasn't. Within each encounter, something is >learned about the characters and it would take a rewrite of whole portions >of the story to reincorporate those developments elsewhere. In some cases, >it couldn't be done at all and the story would be the poorer for it. Oye, tell me about it. I have one nfic L&C story out there and it is not the most graphic around by any means. In fact, it's probably one of the tamest nfic because most of what made it nfic wasn't the sex scenes themselves but the situations and discussions Lois and Clark ended up in as a result of their, er, lovelife. [That and the fact that Clark couldn't seem to keep his clothes on for some reason past a certain point in the story . . . however, that was not my fault. Not at all. And furthermore I have proof that it wasn't all my fault. ***I*** wanted to put his clothes back on but noooooo . . . ] Er, where was I? Oh, yes, the minefields in terms of editing something down to less than PG are the conversations and one or two particular types of situations that may or may not even be considered 'sex' per se. So, then I started writing it as a different story in most respects to avoid those situations or at least the motivations that created the situations in the first place and what happens? Suddenly the same doggone subjects come up and before I know it if I'm not careful, wham, I'm right back in the exact same minefield of an 'adult' discussion flowing right out of my fingers. For me, those things are part of who the characters are and what they have to talk about in order to get to where they're supposed to end up. Remove those motivations and discussion or alter them to make the content PG or less and it IS a different story. No two ways about it. So I do a dance. Not a jig, mind you, more like a tantrum, because it's so difficult to get the CHARACTERS to cooperate and keep things g-rated on this one. I suppose my point is that some stories are like that and you really never know until AFTER they're written. If a writer attempts to write a story for a particular list, either way, I think that's where the problems arise. A good story is simply a good story, regardless of how it ends up being rated. Beverly :-) ******************************* Beverly Latham blatham@hop-uky.campus.mci.net ******************************* ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 17:39:47 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Gardners@htc.net" Subject: Re: Review of CJ Cherryh novel MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Gary Wrote: > TWO THUMBS DOWN, WAAAAY DOWN! > > The reason there are two thumbs is for the A-plot and the = B-plot. >The problem with this novel is that Lois and Clark spend virtually no = time >with one another in either plot. In fact other than the fact that this = is a >hard cover book, I thought I was reading another of M.J.Friedman's "young-adult" >novels where Lois and Clark also barely spend any time with each other = in any >capacity. <<>> Now >don't get me wrong I wasn't miserable reading this book, but I have an unquenchable >fire for Lois&Clark, heck I even liked the fanfic where they get = divorced. Of course >if you really want to buy the book for the cover then just read the = first and last >chapters and skip the rest. You won't miss much since the final chapter has just about >everything significant happening and repeats what you already know, and repeats what >you already know. I HATED THE BOOK!!! I was miserable reading it. I am not really in to = the whole Superhero thing, I always have just liked the show for the = Lois and Clark part. I thrive for drama, not disaster. The book was = awful. And also, what cover are you talking about Gary. Mines paperback, = and it is a golden shining "s". I want the good cover :) Brad Gardner Http://www.angelfire.com/ga/gardners/brdswrld.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 19:39:33 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: once a month... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 02:34 PM 6/1/98 EDT, you wrote: >In a message dated 98-06-01 08:35:19 EDT, debby@SWCP.COM writes: > ><< Yep, in nearly every story she has an orgasm, simultaneous with his, every >time she has sex with him. No mystery there. Yawn city<<< >Since simultaneous orgasm is extremely rare, Lois and Clark are being >different already ;) So... it's not boring? Since everything else about many nfanfic depictions of Clark is human normal, maybe that they always climax together should be thrilling. However, after reading about it happening the 20th time (in 20 different stories), without fail, I find it boring. [snip; we agree on the unexpected door slam] >>>>And what if it were so boring instead that she rolled over and went to >sleep?<<< >Didn't you get that with the Lois clone? Yep. And we got a still hot to trot, very disappointed, totally confused, all to human Clark. Yech! That's why I rewrote it. >>>Ah, okay. Still sounds boring to me in its inevitability and >predictability.<<< >Well it is a 'romance' and so a lot of time they're just going to be darn nice >to each other ;) Where did I say they shouldn't be nice to each other? >>>>You've made my point, thanks! Sheila's different take on the subject makes >her story memorable. All different takes interest me.<<< >Actually I was hoping to make *my* point, that not all nfic is alike and there >is a variety out there It's the different ones that stand out. I find the bulk of them so far to be practically interchangeable. I sense in them all that the author(s) had a great deal of fun and I truly appreciate and applaud that. I still like variety, as exemplified by Sheila, Gorn, and particularly Molly much better. >Speaking of Sheila, I'll assume you haven't read >her NC17 version of Mxysplit wherein we have Lois pleasuring, and being >pleasured by Clark *and* Superman both at the same time (kersplash! ;) Not yet. I really need a husband to take some of this Real Life burden off my hands... >>>>Does this mean you'd like me to find some samples of authors warning us >that their story has no A plot?<<< >No, what I'm saying is that strictly B plot fanfic has always been popular, >not just in nfic. I'm glad it's popular. It's just not real popular with me. >>>>Uh-huh? And? Since the show was character driven (which is very nice even >when, IMO, they didn't get it right), why do so many nfics show such >perfect, predictable people?<<< > >I don't write nfic, but I, like other 'non-fleshers' like to participate in >nfic round robin because we know we can get away with a lot of double entendre >and innuendo that we normally couldn't get away with in regular fanfic, but >still are limited to how far we are willing to go, and so it doesn't entirely >qualify as nfic, so we do appreciate the 'fleshers' out there who will cross >the line that we don't feel comfortable crossing ourselves. Well, great! I'm glad you have fun writing those :) >As far as 'predictable' all fanfic is predictable to a certain extend. I'd >say 99 percent of L&C fanfic has a happy ending regardless of the turmoil >the couple might have to endure to get there. It's the turmoil that makes, oh, 90% of the story for me. If there's no turmoil of some kind, then there may be no story worth telling. For example, Lois preferred to cover bank robberies and government fraud, and give the dog show stories to someone else. >The other 1 percent have unhappy >endings, ambiguous endings, or end with 'to be continued' and writers can be >predictable too. If someone is known for writing stories that have heavy A >plots and little B plot, or little to no romance, fans who are fond of that >type of story will gravitate to that writer because he/she writes what they >personally find interesting. Others who like romance, or as little A plot as >possible, might avoid his/her stories for the same reason, they're >predictable, but in a way that doesn't appeal to them. All true. >>>I yawn at (never "don't like") *predictable* nfic. I also appreciate any >good writing that may be in the same story, particularly if it attempts an >interesting A plot that otherwise gets the couple into the trite nfic >portion. <<< > >Well, it's probably just me, but personally, I'd rather have something I wrote >be disliked rather than "yawned" at or called "trite" At least if someone >hated or disliked it, I'd have provoked an emotional response rather than >boredom. I won't argue with you about that. I encourage writers to tell the thought-provoking stories :) >>>Also, of course, if I disliked nfic, I would have never started distributing >ads for it a few years back. If I had started disliking it since that time, >I would have bowed out of doing it.<<< > >That's likely where my confusion comes from. When you first started >distributing/advertising nfic, I wrote to you about one of the stories, and >you said you didn't have an opinion on the story because even though you were >happy to distribute nfic, you didn't read it, and so I figured you'd only >gotten into reading nfic recently and had only read a few, so I apologize for >the confusion. Accepted. I can't imagine every saying I never read it because, for example, I was on Gail's list and I'd read Gorn's work. It's true that currently I have a lot of backlogged fiction and nfiction to read (and lots of other stuff I've downloaded off the net), but I'll get around to it eventually :) >Zoomway@aol.com ("My girlfriend said, 'It's not the size that counts, it's >what you do with it'. I said 'huh'? and then got on the phone with my buddy, >'Hey, Joe, she said size didn't matter, it's 'what you *do* with it' that >counts. Yeah! me too, just forward and reverse. I don't get it." ;) Okay. I like the current advertising campaign for Godzilla: "Size *does* matter!" Now I have to find time to see the movie! Maybe the weekend after next... or maybe in July... No, the bosses go on vacation then... hmm... August? Maybe... Debby Debby@swcp.com anticipating more overtime this month... ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 19:39:52 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 08:56 PM 6/1/98 -0400, you wrote: >[megasnip] Are n-fic writers no >longer sending their work to Debby's list? I haven't noticed much in the >pipeline lately and wondered if all the fic was going to the website. I haven't had time to visit the website (someday I'll take a long vacation and catch up with everything!) (then, of course, Mt. Popo will explode and all the lights will go out and I'll have to read fanfic by candlelight...). Lately it seems I've been getting stories from Joyce but no ads for them, or ads but no story yet, *or* an ad for several stories at once but I've only received one of the stories and I'm waiting for the others. I send out the ads after I get the story(ies). So you can see my dilemna! I'll recheck my mismatches again before I upload this explanation :) Amendment: no change, and the stories I have received sans ad outnumber the ads sans stories... oh, well :) soon, hot summer reading...! then Anne C. wrote (in a message she inadvertantly sent to the list) re Zoom's site... >[snip] There are several short stories......I think it was the main >reason Debby started her "boring nfic" thread. I think Julie Mack has 25 >different ones. I regret the juxtaposition here between my "boring" thread and Julie Mack's stories! While I've named some of the authors I (and we all) like for their long, complex stories, I haven't searched out the names of any of the other nfanfic, so I have no idea if Julie's are boring or great or what. With so many under her belt, so to speak, I feel safe in saying that she must feel great while writing and may well one of our most creative (definitely prolific) writers. Congrats, Julie! --who just recalls now that Julie participates with joyful abandon in the IRC round robins, hmm? I think so :) Debby Debby@swcp.com June 2, 1998 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 21:54:43 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Annette Ciotola Subject: Re: once a month... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Do the words let it go and "private email" mean anything? These book legth posts are getting rediculous! ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 18:42:09 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: Review of CJ Cherryh novel In-Reply-To: <01BD8E64.52E2A1E0@pppw72.htc.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Gary Wrote: > >> TWO THUMBS DOWN, WAAAAY DOWN! Brad wrote: > >I HATED THE BOOK!!! I was miserable reading it. I am not really in to the >whole Superhero thing, I always have just liked the show for the Lois and >Clark part. I thrive for drama, not disaster. The book was awful. And >also, what cover are you talking about Gary. Mines paperback, and it is a >golden shining "s". I want the good cover :) OK, so I confess -- the cover was *totally* misleading. Regardless, I *loved* the novel. It was kinda season one flavoured -- and perhaps Cherryh had been given instructions on writing it. I was fascinated by how she went into the mechanics of Superman's flying and problem solving (something I have not read *anywhere* else) and highlighting Lois' own bravery and problem-solving skills -- which, instead of being used to think up a Clark excuse, or get into even more trouble, or have a brain leak and miraculously save the day ... it was done realistically, and I for one appreciate a touch of realism in the L&C 'verse (of course, I'm incapable of writing it (thinking of my "X&Y Equals", but that makes me appreciate it even more). So, sure, there could've been some way of bringing the two together to work together and so on ... but it worked very nicely as a valid, alternate view on those days when L&C isn't "on the air" working together. I give it a B+ 'cause I couldn't put it down. Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 22:53:52 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: Review of CJ Cherryh novel In-Reply-To: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 06:42 PM 6/2/98 -0800, you wrote: > >I give it a B+ 'cause I couldn't put it down. > >Leanne > > I couldn't put it down either...I kept telling myself: "maybe Lois and Clark will talk to each other in the next chapter..." Brief Summary of book: Chapter 1: Intro/setting something happens in Metropolis and something happens in other side of world Chapters 2-one less than the last: Lois is solving the story and getting nowhere and talking to Lex for I don't know why. Superman helping the villagers on the other side of the world. Final Chapter: Events happens at such a rapid pace that I felt like a idiot for reading the last several chapters...resolution is accomplished and when Lois and Clark finally get together... THE BOOK ENDS!!!!!!!!! And we thought the end of TOGOM was frustrating. "She just wanted Clark. That was all. Was it too much to ask of the universe?" This is a direct quote from the book. It was not a Lois and Clark novel. It was a Lois Lane novel. It was a Clark Kent/Superman novel. It was not a Lois AND Clark novel. I'm not saying anyone can't like it. If you like it, fine. I'm honestly happy for you. But the title and the cover (of the hard coverbook) was completely misleading and dishonest. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 23:35:06 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Anne Carlson Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi All, I must apologize for my faux pas concerning the comment I made to Sandy about Julie Mack's nfic short stories. I really enjoy Julie's writing. Whenever I need a short break from reality, I turn to one of her vignettes. I made a mistake in sentence structure in my post. As soon as I e-mailed my note and read on-line what I wrote, I realized what I had done. First, I had unintentionally posted to the entire list. And next, I had made such a rude remark. I meant to say that there are a lot of nfics on Zoom's site. I also wondered if the stort stories from that site, whose plots were lighter than the epic nfics, could be the topic of Debby's dilemma with nfics in general. In a message dated 98-06-02 21:40:22 EDT, Debby wrote about Julie Mack: << With so many under her belt, so to speak, I feel safe in saying that she must feel great while writing and may well one of our most creative (definitely prolific) writers. Congrats, Julie! >> I must agree with you here, Debby. I feel terrible making such an insentitive remark. Sorry. Back to lurk mode, Anne (ACdrift@aol.com) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 21:17:28 PDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Caroline Amberson Subject: old news rehashed Content-Type: text/plain Hey everybody, I was just wondering about (no, nothing nfic :) the 3rd Soulmates Chronicles story. I remember there being a small question about it a little while ago but I don't seem to remember anyone telling me where I can find it. Could somebody please tell me if this issue was ever resolved? Also, I asked in an earlier email about when the last time the main archive was updated because I've got some computer problems but it was just a little sidenote and I don't think anyone even noticed it. If somebody could just tell me when the last update was, please, then I would be eternally grateful. Thanks for your time and responses! -Caroline Amberson supersticky@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 00:27:35 -0400 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: once a month... Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >> Do the words let it go and "private email" mean anything? These book legth posts are getting rediculous! << Umm... I beg to differ, actually. This list is supposed to be where we discuss fanfic, and this discussion is clearly about fanfic, so... I don't see any reason for them to take it to e-mail. And, personally, I'd much rather read Debby & Zoom argue over fanfic than= read 15 short posts (on LOISCLA) that are all variations on "I hate Mindy= " :-) PJ who still hasn't gotten around to doing that fanfic review... !^NavFont02F01AA000FMGJHG5AMG5CHHAB6FD9 ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 02:17:59 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: once a month... (not private email ;)) In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Do the words let it go and "private email" mean anything? These book legth >posts are getting rediculous! You know I love ya, Anne, but I have to disagree here. I came back from a long weekend (congratulate me, everyone, we closed on our house and I'm now a homeowner! :)) to 200 messages and it was this thread, as well as a couple others, that kept me reading late into the night when I should be sleeping. I've enjoyed this thread. It seems to be winding down on its own, as all threads do, and I see no reason to take it to private email before it meets its own natural demise. Kathy (Let's all honor that little button in the upper right corner of our keyboards labeled "Delete". ;)) ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 02:38:39 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Archive updates In-Reply-To: <19980601041439.28930.qmail@hotmail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >p.s. Can anyone tell me the last time that the archive was updated? According to my records (I don't have Netscape up at the moment, or else I'd go check to be sure), we last updated the Archive on May 10 with 7 new stories. There are more stories in the pipe though, so don't think that either the Fanfic Archive staff or the authors have forgotten you. :) There should be new stories up in the near future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for visiting the Archive, and for your patience as we keep it updated. During the "school year" (yes, I've been out of school for nearly a decade and still call it that ), we tried to keep to a once a week schedule for updates, but it will be difficult to keep up that pace over the summer months. We all do this (by "we" I mean the Archive staff) in our spare time, while dealing with our jobs, school work, families, etc. In the summer, that usually means vacations, final exams, kids home from school .. you get the picture. :) Various staff members have also recently had to deal with computer problems, graduation, job hunting, moving out of state, as well as their other on-line responsibilities (oh yeah, and those pesky friends and families that seem to actually want *attention*! Can you imagine?? The nerve! ) And so, I thank everyone for their continued patience as we balance keeping the Archive updated with keeping a little sanity in our "real" lives. :) Kathy (who's added 4000 miles to her cars in the last 4 weeks with still more to come. Buying a house 600 miles away is an experience. ;)) _________________________________ Kathy Brown Editor-In-Chief Lois & Clark Fanfic Archive kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC _________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 03:09:01 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: The Zoomway Subject: Re: once a month... (not private email ;)) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-06-03 02:16:43 EDT, kbrown@TOOLCITY.NET writes: << I've enjoyed this thread. It seems to be winding down on its own, as all threads do, and I see no reason to take it to private email before it meets its own natural demise. >> I think it's winding down too, when Debby and I start agreeing more than disagreeing, we've reached the wind-down It was fun though ;) Zoomway@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 07:31:43 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Annette Ciotola Subject: Re: once a month... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hey Guys (ya know I loves ya, too, but.....) I agree that it was fun to begin with, even I jumped in there, however, it is to the point where it is taking forever and a day to download the emails. And right about now it does seem like going in circles. I did not mean it as a flame, but not everyone has time to sift through emails that is no more as imformative as the one posted the hour before. (ok maybe I am a little sarcastic there ) Sorry, but that is *my* opinion. Anne :) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 04:38:11 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Grace Wong Subject: Re: Review of CJ Cherryh novel MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii ---"Gardners@htc.net" wrote: > > Gary Wrote: > > > TWO THUMBS DOWN, WAAAAY DOWN! > > > > The reason there are two thumbs is for the A-plot and the B-plot. > >The problem with this novel is that Lois and Clark spend virtually no time > >with one another in either plot. In fact other than the fact that this is a > >hard cover book, I thought I was reading another of M.J.Friedman's > "young-adult" > >novels where Lois and Clark also barely spend any time with each other in > any > >capacity. <<>> > Now > >don't get me wrong I wasn't miserable reading this book, but I have an > unquenchable > >fire for Lois&Clark, heck I even liked the fanfic where they get divorced. > Of course > >if you really want to buy the book for the cover then just read the first > and last > >chapters and skip the rest. You won't miss much since the final chapter > has just about > >everything significant happening and repeats what you already know, and > repeats what > >you already know. > > I HATED THE BOOK!!! I was miserable reading it. I am not really in to the whole Superhero thing, I always have just liked the show for the Lois and Clark part. I thrive for drama, not disaster. The book was awful. And also, what cover are you talking about Gary. Mines paperback, and it is a golden shining "s". I want the good cover :) Don't bother Brad, it's not worth it:) I totally agree with you guys here, this book sucks! and I didn't even got to finish it yet...now I probably don't ever want to. Grace _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 11:08:05 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sheila Harper Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 12:53 AM 6/1/98 PDT, Peace Everett wrote: >For the record, I have to agree with Sandy on the subject of trying take >a story that is nfic and make it... not. Piper and I discussed the possibility >of a PG version of Healing, struggled with it, and eventually gave up. Too >much happens that is too critical to the story as a whole -- as Sandy said >it would involve massive rewriting and would end up being a different >story. Considering that Peace wrote both R and NC-17 versions of her "My World Divides and Shatters," I'm inclined to accept that she knows what she's talking about. That may also be why I got so many comments from the S5 staff about the level of sensuality in "Faster Than a Speeding Bullet." Just taking out the specific descriptions of the sex still left it at an R level (as opposed to NC-17). Even after I cut everything I could and rewrote paragraphs to indicate in more general terms what had made L or C react that way, my editor still said it was PG-13. I'd never have gotten it to G. However, for most of my stories, the sexual relationship isn't the focus of the story -- unlike several of the nfics that have been discussed -- so I can do some cutting and minimal rewriting and make the stories work as PG. I tend to think of my love scenes as painting a picture of L&C's relationship, but the relationship has been demonstrated in other scenes, so people who don't read the NC-17 version aren't missing the point I was trying to make, just one of the various techniques I used to make it. For example, in "A Shot in the Dark," I used two love scenes. The first one was to demonstrate that L&C's lovemaking was less about orgasms (which Lois couldn't have at that point) than about pleasuring their beloved and using sex as a physical expression of their love and caring. It also gave me a chance to point out that people with disabilities could still have fulfilling sex lives, even if they never had another orgasm. Some of that came through in the PG version, since people who read it off the archive wrote to comment on it, but it was clearer in the full version. The second scene was to show that Lois was back to normal physically. While Clark's continuous orgasm made the issue of simultaneous orgasms a moot point, I also got a chance to indicate that human females were capable of a similar response with a partner who was willing or able to help them (read the book on ESO, if you have questions :). Most of those ideas made it into the PG version. What I have a hard time deciding is what discussions are too adult in nature. My last scene in ASitD was a discussion of sexual positions, and I included it in both the PG and NC-17 versions. But I think I got away with that because L&C were speaking in general terms. I've always used that as my guideline: I can talk about anything in general terms; it's only when I start getting specific that I have to start restricting my audience (ala Beverly's scene in Sanctuary where Lois is realizing that some people would pay anything to get some of Superman's sperm--hah! and didn't I make that general and academic? :) Interesting. I haven't really written a story yet which focuses in large part on L&C's sexual relationship ("Happy Birthday" doesn't count: that was a request fic vignette). I'd do it, but I suspect I'd have a devil of a time thinking of a story idea. Sheila sharper@cncc.cc.co.us ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 13:01:27 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Layney Dixon Subject: Re: Review of CJ Cherryh novel Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message, FoLCs guided the cursor to write: << TWO THUMBS DOWN, WAAAAY DOWN! >> << I HATED THE BOOK!!! I was miserable reading it.>> Yeesh, talk about some strong opinions. I, myself, read the book before I knew about fanfic and found it wanting even then. Still, it had some merit. As a story, it gave a different rendition of how Clark feels about his job as Superman. True, it made it seem like just another second job, but maybe that is how Clark feels about it sometimes...particularly, when he hasn't had much time to see his fiancee. I agree that the hardback cover was misleading. I also disliked the fact that LnC only saw each other two or three times...that was frustrating, but they can not be together all the time. Besides giving us a different perspective about the Man of Steel, this book showed Lois as a separate entity...not just as a driving force or partner for Superman/Clark Kent. That aspect was refreshing. After all, she was a hard- bitten, award-winning news hound before CK changed her sky from blue to blue, red and yellow. Outside of all that, IMO, this book reflected the work of someone who is most likely not a FoLC. I felt the same way about M.J. Friedman's work. These were people hired to do a job, not pour out their souls. I read the book with that understanding...a grain of salt, if you will. I don't think anyone should NOT read the book, just be aware that the nuances of the characters that many FoLC writers capture with passion is missing... nuances that often make or break a story in folcdom. Layney ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 12:47:44 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Hall, Melissa" Subject: Re: Review of CJ Cherryh novel MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ><< TWO THUMBS DOWN, WAAAAY DOWN! >> ><< I HATED THE BOOK!!! I was miserable reading it.>> > >Yeesh, talk about some strong opinions. No kidding... >I, myself, read the book before I knew about fanfic and found it wanting even >then. Still, it had some merit. Outside of all that, IMO, this book reflected the work of someone who is >most likely not a FoLC. I felt the same way about M.J. Friedman's work. >These were people hired to do a job, not pour out their souls. I read the >book with that understanding...a grain of salt, if you will. I don't think anyone should NOT read the book, just be aware that the >nuances of the characters that many FoLC writers capture with passion is >missing... nuances that often make or break a story in folcdom. I got the book before I'd seen more than half-a-dozen episodes, and certainly before I knew of the existence of FoLCs. It was decent, yes, but it lacked the spark that most fanfic has- the sense that the author cares deeply for the characters, and has some emotional interest in how they turn out. I'm also not much of a fan of Ms. Cherryh. Her ideas in both sci-fi and fantasy are intriguing, but I've never really gotten very interested in any of her characters- they simply don't have the emotional depth I expect in 'real' people. Misha > ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 15:03:42 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: goldengrove unleaving Subject: Re: Review of CJ Cherryh novel << I'm also not much of a fan of Ms. Cherryh. Her ideas in both sci-fi and fantasy are intriguing, but I've never really gotten very interested in any of her characters- they simply don't have the emotional depth I expect in 'real' people. >> It's funny that this book is being discussed on the list since I just started reading it. I also found Cherryh's writing to be lacking. Besides missing an emotional component, I'm sure I've read better writing in fanfiction. I did just start it, though, and will finish it since it does have to do with Lois & Clark, but it wasn't up to my expectations. I haven't reread Friedman's books in a while, but I remember having liked them more after the first read than I am currently liking Cherryh's. -Christy kubitc@kenyon.edu ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 16:17:42 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic In-Reply-To: <199806031708.LAA11753@sage.cncc.cc.co.us> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 11:08 AM 6/3/98 -0600, you wrote: >Interesting. I haven't really written a story yet which focuses in large >part on L&C's sexual relationship ("Happy Birthday" doesn't count: that was >a request fic vignette). I'd do it, but I suspect I'd have a devil of a >time thinking of a story idea. > All you have to do is ask.... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 16:48:33 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sandra McDermin Subject: The Issue of N-Fic & Roundrobins Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Gary said, regarding double entendres and "the Issue of N-fic" >>I suppose pointing out the d-e in the Subject line would be too much....<< You know, I *just* got this comment. Boy, there are *definitely* flies on me. Debby said: >>Lately it seems I've been getting stories from Joyce but no ads for them, or ads but no story yet, *or* an ad for several stories at once but I've only received one of the stories and I'm waiting for the others. I send out the ads after I get the story(ies). So you can see my dilemna! I'll recheck my mismatches again before I upload this explanation :) Amendment: no change, and the stories I have received sans ad outnumber the ads sans stories... oh, well :)<< Ah ... that would explain it. I'm not on the automatic send list anymore so the only way I know what's being written is through the ads. Hey, people, write some ads, will ya!? Anne said: >>Zoom started a fanfic section in her site when the AOL Boards went down last fall. She saved PLAN9's "On the Run" which is a marathon effort that has been in the works for almost a year now. She also added a Nfic section. A lot of old and new fanfics are there. Most of the old stories began appearing when the Kerths voting occured. Many of the voters had not read some of the nfic nominees << Voters *voted* without reading all of the nominees? I hope not. (This sounds too much like the Academy awards.... "Love you, dahling; hate him!") >>Many people are starting to post the classic nfic for more people to enjoy. I think you should consider posting your work over there.<< Well, of course, I'd want to look at the site first to see what's there, see how it's set up and evaluate its security.... [Day later] Hmm, security is *very* good ; ). I went to the site before I left my office yesterday, signed up, and as of this afternoon, I haven't heard a word or even a password. How did *they* know I'm really under 18 and all of those birthdays I've had since are dirty lies? >> Also, you said you are not into group writing,<< No, I'm definitely not into group *writing*. But, when you put it in those terms, it does have a certain appeal.... I should explain about the group thing, though. *I know* that recently the roundrobins have become more polished as a result of editting. But, when I read earlier ones, I must honestly say that they seemd a bit like stories written by committee. There were erratic jumps in both style and quality which ruined the pace for me. I loved some of the ideas and wished they had been written by one -- or at the most -- two people, but otherwise I really found them to be an exercise which was probably more fun for the writer than for the reader. As I said to Peace, when I had read her multipart story, "The Heir," which included a roundrobin... >>"....the insert of the roundrobin -- I felt -- took away from your story. Obviously, from the list you included, some of the people who participated are quite good, but their voices are not yours. I didn't think it flowed as well and seemed not to have quite the feel of where your characters should have been at that moment. The roundrobin was a bit on the playful side, while the scene itself should have been more tentative -- maybe moody, perhaps angry...."<< Sheila said, with regard to editting out the "n" in the fic: >>However, for most of my stories, the sexual relationship isn't the focus of the story -- unlike several of the nfics that have been discussed -- so I can do some cutting and minimal rewriting and make the stories work as PG. I tend to think of my love scenes as painting a picture of L&C's relationship, but the relationship has been demonstrated in other scenes, so people who don't read the NC-17 version aren't missing the point I was trying to make, just one of the various techniques I used to make it.<< Yes, I agree that that's a good function for love scenes, and I've done the same. However, I really see my stories holistically. If I took them apart to tone them down, they would no longer be the same and I might as well write something else. Many of my love scenes aren't just about making love. They involve conversation, they involve revelations, and sometimes they can include extraneous occurrences that aren't even about sex, i.e., the last encounter in "Something's Missing" where L&C end up buck naked on their lawn with a nosy neighbor snooping about. In other words *within* the scene there are other developments that couldn't be there if they weren't doing what they are doing. Don't take it from me, take it from Lois Lane, herself: Clark: You know, when you think about it, the only time people ever really seem to express themselves is when they're passionate and that polite veneer of society drops off, you know, like when they're fighting. Lois: Or make love. For me, storytelling is not like building blocks where one can pull out one block and replace it with another -- or do without that block altogether. I think it's a bit like weaving, whereby pulling out one thread unravels the whole cloth. Sandy ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 23:09:50 +0000 Reply-To: dom-mel@dial.pipex.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Dom Melaragni Subject: For every time.... In-Reply-To: <80ea07ca.35753420@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT This is different from the once a month theory but in a similar vein..... I read in a book recently, can't remember what, think it was a short story - if it was a fic, then I do apologise..... That if a couple put a penny in a jar every time they made love during their first year of marriage, and took one out every time they made love after that, they'd never empty the jar Have to say I've never seen our nfic LnC having that problem, although perhaps adopting theonce a month solution would help the savings situation! Dom ================================================================= Dom Melaragni (FlakeyDom) The LnC drinking game and Fest pics http://ds.dial.pipex.com/dom-mel/index.htm ?8-)] Clark Kent smiley with the superhero squarejaw chin ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 19:55:40 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: Vignette Fanfic: Watch Out Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 10:25 PM 5/29/98 -0400, Gary wrote: [snip one wowser of a teasy story...!] Gary quoted... >"To a certain extent a man *loses* himself though >connecting with his partner." Interestingly (I think), Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy (in stories told in the first person) called having sex "the little death" and Lovejoy generally considered women totally superior in the sexual intimacy department. He reveled in it as well. I should note that that is about as graphic as Gash gets in the novels; it has always seemed quite adequate to me :) Debby Debby@swcp.com who advises Gash's books if you enjoy antiques, mystery and excellent story telling ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 19:55:45 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: once a month... (not private email ;)) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" First, I come home late (which I'll be doing for a few weeks... overtime is great and pays well; I just hope I survive to spend some of the $$$...) and I find I've missed some comment by Anne, who has the right to make it, certainly, but I suggest she start a new threat about something she'd prefer to talk about :) At 03:09 AM 6/3/98 EDT, Zoom wrote: >In a message dated 98-06-03 02:16:43 EDT, kbrown@TOOLCITY.NET writes: ><< I've enjoyed this thread. It seems to be > winding down on its own, as all threads do, and I see no reason to take it > to private email before it meets its own natural demise. >> >I think it's winding down too, when Debby and I start agreeing more than >disagreeing, we've reached the wind-down It was fun though ;) I agree!!!! I feel that fun like this not only sharpens my arguing skills (I'm a lot better at than I used to be, I think), but it has been known to invigorate my creativity. Also, private email arguing can be so... *boring!* We can all relax now for a while since I don't think I'll have much time to argue... until maybe July. *sigh*! Debby Debby@swcp.com who thinks it would be nice if we, oh, sent a 2nd helicopter to Mexico to help fight the fires... ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 19:55:47 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 11:35 PM 6/2/98 EDT, Anne wrote: [massive snip] >I must agree with you here, Debby. I feel terrible making such an insentitive >remark. >Sorry. Nearly all of us have sent out email and later realize we've misworded or misspelled something, or made some other simple error that rereading would have probably caught. More than once as I've watched Eudora sent out my queued mail I've had to stop everything and redirect a piece to the right person or group. In longer messages, I try to remember to use my spellchecker and to reread the whole thing a couple of times. Even then, things still slip past. >Back to lurk mode, >Anne (ACdrift@aol.com) Please burst out again and surprise and delight us, okay? Debby Debby@swcp.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 19:55:49 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Stark Subject: Re: The Issue of N-Fic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 07:17 PM 6/2/98 -0500, Beverly wrote: [megasnip] >I suppose my point is that some stories are like that and you really never >know until AFTER they're written. If a writer attempts to write a story for >a particular list, either way, I think that's where the problems arise. A >good story is simply a good story, regardless of how it ends up being rated. Bev, if anything remotely resembling a boring, trite or uninteresting story came out with your name on it, I'd strongly suspect that the real you was being held captive somewhere (by a man with curly hair and some Lex Luthor genes, no doubt) and that a clone had taken your place. Realizing this, all FoLCs would all rally round, make T-shirts, put up web sites dedicated to your plight, pool our funds... find there wasn't enough to hire the finest detectives but we could buy a box of Clark Bars for you... and then we would endlessly debate what we should do. We'd settle on writing letters to the police in your area. We're good at writing letters. In the meantime you would fight your way out (a certain Kent would assist you), trounce the clone, return in triumph, and incorporate your adventures into your next story. Your fan, Debby Debby@swcp.com (How will recognize her? "I'll wear half a moustache, she said. If ever you meet a person with the other half, that'll be me!") ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 22:20:56 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: Vignette Fanfic: Watch Out In-Reply-To: <2.2.16.19980603185636.252f623a@swcp.com> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 07:55 PM 6/3/98 -0600, you wrote: >He considered women totally superior in the sexual intimacy department. Well, Duh! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 19:25:27 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: Vignette Fanfic: Watch Out In-Reply-To: <2.2.16.19980603185636.252f623a@swcp.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >At 10:25 PM 5/29/98 -0400, Gary wrote: > >[snip one wowser of a teasy story...!] > >Gary quoted... > >>"To a certain extent a man *loses* himself though >>connecting with his partner." > >Interestingly (I think), Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy (in stories told in the >first person) called having sex "the little death" and Lovejoy generally >considered women totally superior in the sexual intimacy department. He >reveled in it as well. I should note that that is about as graphic as Gash >gets in the novels; it has always seemed quite adequate to me :) > "the little death" is also what Shakespeare and others of that century (and a little after -- and a lot after it seems) called sex. Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 20:05:31 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Editing sample now online Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hey, Remember that project I started a while back (in April) to put together an editing page? Well, it's up and online now .... at http://www.znet.com/~volterra/fanfic/edit/edit.html What follows now is my story "First Impressions" which has been edited to death :) (No, not quite!) Many thanks to my editors who bravely volunteered to edit my story and did such wonderful jobs. Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 20:10:47 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: First Impressions (part 1 of 6) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" This is an "unofficial" Soulmates Chronicle, not at all involved with the timeline as set up by Zoomway and co. (otherwise there would be some overlap!) I just had to write it, regardless. This is set in Regency England, 1813, just after Waterloo. Author's Note: "St. John" is pronounced "sinjin" First Impressions By Leanne Shawler Louisa and Lucia Lane entered the grand ballroom close behind their parents, their dark brown curls brushing together as they whispered in excitement. Mr Lane appeared as if he wanted to be far, far away and the reason for this could be reasonably judged by his wife's indecorous squeal of delight upon seeing the richly decorated room crowded with the fashionable ton of London. "Oh, Mr Lane!" exclaimed Mrs Lane. "Will you just look at that fine flower arrangement! Where did Lady Bellingham get such beautiful lilies at this time of year?" She gasped as another vision presented itself. "Oh look, girls!" Lucia craned around her mother's plump form while Louisa tried to pretend she was not a part of their little group. She had hoped that London would be different. On that one instance, she and her father were of one accord. "Do not all the men look so handsome! We'll be sure to find you girls husbands this very night! Mark my words!" "Mother," murmured Louisa warningly. "Pish tosh, Miss Lane!" remonstrated her mother. "I'll have no modesty from you tonight! My marriage may not have been the most wonderful of matches --" Mrs Lane set her fan flourishing, glaring at her husband over the edge of it, "-- but that shall not prevent you girls from making an excellent match. May you have better luck than I -- oh, and when they find out about your inheritance!!" "Mother!" Louisa's voice rose slightly. "My dear Mrs Lane," interceded her father, aware of the girls' acute embarrassment. "We do not wish to attract fortune hunters to steal our girls' securities, now do we?" "I swear you don't want *either* of our girls wed and then where would we be? Poor and destitute because of your brother's silly will!!!" Mrs Lane harrumphed and paraded into the ballroom, skirting the stately dancers. "Oh look at that silk scarf!" Mrs Lane said, in an over-loud whisper. "It must be from France." Louisa wished herself anywhere in the world but here. The same thing had happened in Bath. Her mother had been so embarrassing that their company, in the end, had been shunned. They settled themselves into chairs by the wall, the girls feeling very demure in their new ball gowns. Lucia had chosen the palest cream silk, whereas her elder sister had gone for a pale mauve colour. Mr Lane murmured something about investigating Lord Bellingham's library, bowed and left. "We'll not see him again for a good many hours," Louisa observed astutely to her sister, who nodded absently, more concerned with drinking in the sights and sounds of this, her first London Season. It was Miss Lane's first London Season too, but she had had the benefit of travelling to Bath for their Seasons for the two previous years. Her mother had almost ruined the family finances in trying to get Louisa married without a decent sum settled upon her. Bath had declared her pretty, but with her pert mouth and negligible fortune, the marriage mart had little to offer that would please Miss Lane. Their uncle's death, however, had put a new complexion on things and Mr Lane had bowed to his wife's pleadings to take their children to London. "Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Mrs Lane, who hadn't been able to stop talking since the day they had arrived in London. The speed of her fanning made the feathers in her turban headdress bob. "It's my dear schoolhood friend, Lady Bellingham herself, coming this way! She made the best catch of all from our little school." She shot a look at her daughters. "Straighten yourselves up, my dears, don't look slovenly!" She rose and beamed at the approaching Lady Bellingham, who was trailed by some of her guests. "Lady Bellingham, how delightful to see you after all these years!" Lady Bellingham smiled kindly. "I'm glad to see you could accept my invitation, my dear Ellen." She smiled at Louisa and Lucia, who had also risen to their feet. "Such pretty daughters too!" She turned back to Mrs Lane. "My dear, I hope you will not think this remiss of me, but I know how little you have kept up with London Society. I thought I could introduce you to some young friends of mine." Lady Bellingham stepped to one side and ushered her guests forward. "May I present Mr Luther, Mr Kent and Miss Grant." Both the gentlemen were impeccably dressed: Mr Luther in a style that would rival Beau Brummel with the exquisite cut of his black coat and the smooth line of his tight cream breeches, showing off his athletic form to perfection. His brown curls were tamed and his green eyes flashed with intelligence. Mr Kent was dressed more severely: his black coat and tight black stovepipe trousers were unrelieved by the black on black brocaded waistcoat he wore. Only the perfect fall of his white cravat relieved the dark picture he presented, standing out against his finely coiffed black hair, dark brown eyes and slightly swarthy skin. Miss Catherine Grant was wearing an orange gown with white rosebuds as a trim. Louisa could not help but notice her arm was firmly into Mr Kent's. Lady Bellingham gracefully gestured at the Lanes. "Mrs Lane, Miss Lane and Miss Lucia Lane." The introductions duly made, she stood back and allowed nature to take its course. There was no doubt in her mind that the Lane girls were fine fillies ripe for the picking. Mr Luther bowed over Miss Lane's hand. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Lane," he intoned in his husky, mellifluous voice. "It would be an honour to stand up with you for the next dance." Louisa gracefully bobbed her head and accepted his offer but not without noticing that Miss Grant quickly reminded Mr Kent of his claim on her for that particular dance, thus stranding Lucia. Mr Kent and Miss Grant followed them out onto the floor. Luther and Louisa took their positions in the lines. Luther smiled charmingly over at Louisa, who couldn't help but smile back, if a little nervously. There was something about his demeanour that unnerved and excited her. His sultry, light brown eyes seem to sear her soul and yet there was no menace in them. Mr Luther's name was well-known to her. No woman as yet had caught Luther, one of London's most wealthiest men, although many of them flirted with him desperately. He was charming, yet an enigma. As they danced, Louisa was aware of the cat-like grace with which he moved. His hand clasped hers with a warm surety. As they took a turn in the center of the line, Mr Luther opened the conversation. "Miss Lane, this cannot be your first time in London." Louisa inclined her head. "It is, Mr Luther," she replied, smiling a little. "But my dear Miss Lane," the cotillion allowed Luther to move in close as he said this, "you have such poise and assurance, you're not a green girl at all." Louisa raised an eyebrow. "If perhaps, sir, you are referring to my age, you are quite correct. However, I have been 'out' for but two years and those were spent in Bath." Luther smiled civilly. "You must have outshone everyone there." "If that were so, Mr Luther," Louisa replied archly the next time they were closer together, "why was I not snapped up in Bath?" "Because you hadn't met me." Luther delivered this line with such seriousness, Louisa found it difficult to swallow her laughter. "You are amused by that," Luther remarked, a hint of amusement about his eyes. "You might turn my sister's head with that one, but not mine!" Her dancing brown eyes laughed at him. "Really, Mr Luther, do all the girls in London fall for that one?" Luther's smile widened. "You *are* a rare one, Miss Lane." Louisa regarded him warily. "Thank you. I will take that as a compliment." The dance came to a close. Luther bowed over her hand. "It was meant as one," he murmured. His lips barely brushed the back of her hand, startling Louisa, although she hastened to conceal it. He escorted her back to Mrs Lane and made her promise to save another dance for him. "Ooh! Louisa, you lucky girl!" exclaimed Mrs Lane, fortunately waiting until Luther was out of earshot. "A second dance! I hear tell there's not many who get a second dance with that one!" "Mother!" Louisa softly warned. "What?! What did I say?" Mrs Lane squawked. Louisa knew better than to try and answer. "Where's Lucia?" she asked instead. "Dancing with some officer somewhere," replied Mrs Lane airily, waving her fan vaguely at the dancers. "Had we been introduced?" Louisa asked worriedly, her eyes scanning the crowd for her little sister. It would be just like her mother to allow Lucia to venture into the wilds of London society without aid. "Oh? Eh, he said he was a friend of your father's. Bumped into him on the way here apparently. Very nice young man." Mrs Lane gently fanned herself. Louisa had to be content with that, although her eyes never stopped searching for her sister. She noticed Mr Kent was dancing nearby with Miss Grant, although they did not see her. She didn't want to eavesdrop but couldn't help overhearing Miss Grant ask, "Will you dance with one of the Lane girls next?" Kent barked a short laugh. "A waltz, Miss Grant? I hardly think so!" Miss Grant's laugh tinkled gratingly on Louisa's ears. "Too intimate for you, Kent?" she teased. "Where the Misses Lane are concerned, yes." Louisa did not see the dark look he directed at his partner. "They're from the country. They don't dance the waltz there." Miss Grant laughed derisively. "Poor country mice!" Louisa inwardly fumed. How *dare* they make fun of her! Did Kent dare to think she was incapable of dancing a waltz? It was utterly rude and totally despicable. She glared at their retreating forms. Kent shook his head. "That was unkind, Catherine," he said in a low voice. "Your aunt raised you in the city; I would have expected her to teach you some manners." He could see Catherine considering to make a face at him and, given the public circumstances, deciding not to. "You're the unkind one," Catherine retorted. "Ever since you came back from the Peninsular, you've been mean to me." He managed a strained smile. "I was mean to you before; you've just forgotten. Your aunt has spoiled you." "You're no fun." Miss Grant looked away and saw Lucia being led out of the room by a dashing officer. "Have you heard about the Lanes, though?" "What do you mean?" replied Kent warily. "Their uncle's will is the talk of the Town," she replied. "How can you not have heard it?" Kent frowned. "Where did you hear it?" "From Aunt Isabel who heard it from Lady Bellingham herself." At Kent's silence, Miss Grant bravely continued. "Mr Lane's brother settled a fine amount -- 10,000 pounds, imagine! -- on the two of them, but only after they're married, otherwise they don't get a penny. Mrs Lane married poorly, they say, taking the younger brother instead of the older." Miss Grant took a breath. "But imagine! A dowry like that will have the worst rogues after them." "Well, at least I won't have to worry about them chasing after you," Kent replied. "Jealous?" Miss Grant batted her eyelashes at him. "On the contrary," Kent replied. "I promised your aunt I would help find you a suitable husband. Speaking of whom, there is someone I would like to introduce to you." When the dance ended and Lucia wasn't returned, Louisa rose. "I think I'll take a turn about the room." She left without waiting for an answer, causing Mrs Lane to remark to an inattentive neighbour over her fan that "the girl is too headstrong for her own good!" A quick turn about the room revealed that Lucia was not among the dancers. Louisa bit her lip. How could Lucia get into trouble with her first dance? Louisa checked the cloakroom, still bustling with ladies arriving and removing their cloaks, but there was no sign of Lucia. In the corridor outside, she bumped into Mr Kent. Her gaze slowly travelled up his imposing, handsome black outline until her head was tilted back to see his face. "Miss Lane?" Kent smiled kindly at her. From the look on her face, it seemed to him that she was feeling a little lost and was determined not to show it. "I see you are without a partner. Would you care to dance?" Louisa, looking up at him, bit the inside of her lip. She had to continue her search for Lucia but the only way to refuse him was to say she no longer wished to dance -- and she was engaged to stand up with Mr Luther later that evening. Frantically, she looked down the hallway for divine inspiration. She could scarcely let a complete stranger know about her sister's scandalous behaviour and she certainly wasn't about to waltz with him after he had made fun of her. In fact, she was certain that this was now his plan. Well, she would refuse. Kent wasn't about to make a fool of her! "I--I'm already engaged for this dance, Mr Kent," she said. "The fellow hasn't come to claim me. However, I don't feel I ought to stand up with you in case he does show and sees us." Mr Kent bowed, disappointment in his dark, chocolate brown eyes. "I understand, Miss Lane. Perhaps later?" "Yes!" exclaimed Miss Lane with false brightness. "That would be wonderful. Now if you'll excuse me?" Louisa slipped by him and hurried down the corridor, leaving Kent to look at her with a furrowed brow. Two other large rooms opened off the far side of the hallway, away from the ballroom. Louisa poked her head into one, and found it to be the library. She thought of enlisting her father's aid but he was deep in conversation with another gentleman. The second room was laid out for supper and Louisa ducked out again before she startled the servants who were setting up. That left the garden. Louisa hastened towards the archway leading to it and hurried down the last few steps, not wanting to be seen by anyone inside. The garden was neatly laid out with privet hedges marking off each section and lit by a few torches along the walkways, for the moon was not quite full. A few yards away from the bustle and noise of the house, Louisa heard the sound of muffled sobs. "Lucia?" she called softly. A few feet ahead of her, Luther appeared from around the corner of a tall privet. "This way, Miss Lane. I can't seem to calm her down." Louisa's face darkened with fury. "Why you--" He held up his hand as Louisa bore down on him. "No, Miss Lane, it was not I." He stepped back and as Louisa followed, she saw an army officer lying prone on the grass. Lucia was in a huddle by the privet. Louisa turned with an apology on her lips. "Mr Luther, forgive me. How did you find her?" She didn't wait for her answer but knelt by her sister, hugging her. "Lucia, it's Louisa. Are you well?" Lucia gasped out between her sobs. "He -- he pawed me and kissed me and wanted to--" She burst into tears again. "But he didn't, did he?" Louisa quietly persisted. Lucia dumbly shook her head. Louisa looked up at her sister's rescuer. "Mr Luther, let my apologies turn to thanks. I don't know how I can thank you enough." "As soon as your sister is recovered, perhaps you will allow me to dance with her and then with you?" "Dance?" Louisa looked up at him in shock. "She's in no state to--" Luther interrupted her gently. "Then you must make her ready. Scandal will follow if you both flee this house too early. You must both appear as if nothing untoward has happened." He crouched down beside her. "And you may trust me to help her keep her composure while we dance. She will need the breathing space." Louisa nodded and murmured to her sister. "Come, Lucia. We mustn't let the Lane family name down. Dry your tears and we'll fix your dress." She delved in her reticule for her emergency supply of pins and expertly set to refastening a sleeve that had been torn loose, revealing Lucia's bare shoulder. Luther proffered a white handkerchief and Louisa shook her head. "I think I hear a fountain out here somewhere. Could I impose upon you to dip your handkerchief in the water? The cold will bring my sister some relief." Luther nodded and walked off. "Hush now, Lucia. Stop your crying. All's well that ends well. You're safe now and all in one piece." "I want to go home," Lucia said plaintively. "You can't go home, not just yet. Mr Luther is right. We must return to the ball or we'll be sure to ruin our chances of a good marriage. There," Louisa said patting down a lace border she'd just pinned. "Your gown is as good as new." Luther returned with his dampened handkerchief. "Here," he said. Gently, Louisa mopped her sister's face. "There, doesn't that feel better?" A groan that was not her sister's startled her. A glance over her shoulder revealed that the officer was regaining consciousness. "Shall we go back inside?" she asked Lucia, exchanging worried looks with Luther. Lucia rose and Louisa brushed off any grass she could see. She couldn't tell in the poor light, but it didn't look as if any grass stains had marked her sister's white dress. Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 20:10:40 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: First Impressions (part 2 of 6) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Luther crooked his elbow. "Miss Lucia, it would be an honour to escort you." He carefully folded the girl's arm around his and led them back inside. Their return appeared to go unnoticed and Louisa watched her sister closely as Lucia and Luther moved out onto the dance floor. She smiled as the solicitous Luther somehow made her sister laugh. Kent was at last free of Miss Grant for a while, his introduction to a fellow officer having been a great success. No doubt it helped that the gentleman was still in active service and had a fine uniform to dazzle her with. This evening's ball was not of the first water, but he had not the resources to get Miss Grant into the esteemed Almack's where the best matches were made. He strolled about the ballroom at leisure. Having been refused by Miss Lane, he no longer felt the desire to dance. In fact, aside from his obligations to Miss Grant, his ward, he had not felt the desire to dance since his return to England. There was simply too much to be done. He kept half an eye on Miss Grant and wondered where Miss Lane had vanished to. He'd seen her sneak outside. Perhaps the crush was too much for her. Maybe he should -- His eyes widened as he saw Luther enter in the company of both the Lane sisters. He watched Luther graciously take his leave of Miss Lane and lead her sister out onto the floor. His eyes remained on her. Her flushed brilliance attracted him as much now as it did when he met her in the hallway earlier. He saw Miss Lane watch every movement of Luther's as he danced. A pit hollowed out in his stomach. Could Miss Lane have been so desperate to get her hands on her inheritance that she would fling herself at Luther? The man was charming and rich on the outside, but Kent knew of his rotten core. Kent wanted to be proved wrong about her. "Miss Lane." He touched her lightly at her elbow and she turned. "Would now be a good time to ask you to dance?" She nodded and he led her to the end of a line of dancers. He noticed how her head turned to keep an eye on Luther and her sister as they danced. "You seem a little flushed, Miss Lane," observed Kent, wanting her attention. Louisa regarded him carefully. "It's the press of people and dancing," she replied, in an almost successful attempt at airiness. Although the line of her mouth was hard with anger, Kent recognised, with some dismay, that unshed tears glittered in her eyes. Abandoning his jealousy to the ever-present urge to be of assistance to someone, Kent said tenderly, "Perhaps, but you seem quite disturbed. May I ask what happened?" "That, sir," replied Louisa archly, "is none of your business." "Miss Lane," Kent said kindly and smoothly, "I cannot help but notice that the ladies of your family are without a male chaperone. In London that can be dangerous." "Papa's in the library," Louisa replied. "Just so," agreed Kent. "You need someone who knows who is respectable and who is not." He nodded to where Luther and Lucia were dancing. "Mr Luther may appear to be so, but I assure you he is not." Louisa was stunned. "I thought he was a particular friend of yours?" Kent shook his head and murmured a negative. "Then perhaps you do not know, as I do, that he is the perfect gentleman!" "You know this from one evening's acquaintance, Miss Lane?" Kent asked, his mouth a severe line. Miss Lane may not have taken the air with Luther, but it seemed she already admired him. "I am a fine judge of character, Mr Kent," responded Louisa blithely. "An evening's observations of people's words, gestures and facial expressions can be quite informative." Her confidence made him smile, and he couldn't help but tease her. "What do you think of my character?" Kent's mouth twitched in amusement. Louisa looked at him sidelong and examined him closely as they made a half-turn, switched arms and turned again. His brown eyes were open, amused and strangely intent as if he were daring her to discover his soul. "I haven't been with you long enough to decide," she said at last. "Then perhaps we should dance again, Miss Lane, and talk of innocuous matters like the weather?" He grinned at her. "I have promised the next dance to Mr Luther," she replied. "Perhaps later?" they said together. Kent smiled in spite of his jealousy. The quadrille ended and Kent returned her to her mother, where Luther was already waiting for her, having handed Lucia back to Mrs Lane. Lucia appeared recovered, although Louisa could tell otherwise. "Gracious me, child!" exclaimed Mrs Lane. "Where have you been?" Louisa couldn't even begin to explain. She flushed slightly under Kent's piercing gaze. He bowed and left them, and Louisa was sure his suspicions were confirmed: Miss Lane was fast and a liar. "No, don't tell me. I don't think I want to know," continued Mrs Lane. "We're leaving. Poor Lucia is feeling poorly." "But--" Louisa looked helplessly over at Luther. He stood with his arms behind his back in a semi-parade rest, with a look of considerable patience on his face. 'Welcome to the madhouse,' Louisa thought bitterly. Luther bowed. "Miss Lane, it would be an honour to claim your hand on the next occasion we meet." Louisa dropped a short curtsey. "Thank you for your kindness, Mr Luther. I-" She looked up and faltered a little under his charming, sultry gaze. "I look forward to meeting you again." Mrs Lane rose, ending the exchange and ushered her girls out of the ballroom. On the way home, she chattered about the generosity of Mr Luther and clucked impatiently over Lucia's wan expression. Louisa managed to succeed in mostly keeping her mother's attention away from her younger daughter. ***** Kent made sure that Miss Grant was safely delivered to her aunt's house before driving on to his own. It was close to dawn and he would only have a few hours of sleep before heading over to the orphanage. But sleep would not come. Instead, the image of Miss Lane tortured and teased him. His attraction to her was undeniable although how such a charming girl could have such a mother, he could not comprehend. Perhaps it was Mrs Lane who was hurrying her into marriage. If the family were poor, perhaps they were expecting something back in return. But Luther! The man was a charming rogue and Kent had reason to know it personally. He could hardly believe that it had been over a year ago when he had to extricate Miss Grant from the man's clutches. He shook away the memory. That was when he'd taken a more personal, wholly brotherly, interest in who Miss Grant associated with. His thoughts turned back to Miss Louisa Lane: her boldness, but only within the bounds of accepted society; her beauty and the way the light shone in her hair as they had danced; her beautiful brown eyes which sparkled and displayed her emotions while everything else was masked. Kent rubbed at his eyes. He shouldn't get carried away like this. Miss Lane may be beautiful but her blindness to Luther's black-heartedness discomfited him. Why couldn't she see? ***** Upon their return to their rented London townhouse, Louisa quickly ushered her sister upstairs. She dismissed their maid and prepared Lucia for bed herself. She said little while she combed out Lucia's light brown hair, waiting until her sister was cozied up in bed. "Is there anything else you need, sister?" Louisa asked gently. Lucia uttered a negative. Louisa settled herself on the edge of the bed. "Do you want to talk about it?" she added softly. Lucia flung herself into her sister's arms. "It was awful, just awful! Lieutenant Ludley was so charming. Halfway through the dance he said he needed some air and would I accompany him. I thought he was ill, he had a strange look on his face--" "Oh Lucy," murmured Louisa under her breath. "-- and once we were outside, he stumbled down the stairs. I followed to see if he had hurt himself." She began to sob. "He -- he grabbed me and took me to where you found me. I could hardly breathe!!" Louisa smoothed down her sister's hair. "He kissed me, if it can be called a kiss, and began pawing and ... and *touching* me. He tore my dress. I--I managed to cry out and the next thing I know Ludley had gone!" "It was Mr Luther?" prompted Louisa gently. Lucia nodded. "Ludley said: 'Be a sport and leave us alone.' Mr Luther punched him! He came to see if I was all right, but I couldn't stop crying and then you came." Lucia hiccuped. "I guess you know the rest." Red-eyed, she looked up at her sister. "Louisa, am I ruined?" "No, dearest. Mr Luther made sure your reputation is safe. You need never fear." Louisa hugged her sister tight. "And I promise that I will take better care of you." "Mr Luther promised to keep a weather eye out for me too," came Lucia's muffled voice, punctuated by a teary hiccup. Louisa patted her sister's back. "I'm sure he did. Why don't you try and get some sleep now?" A short time later, alone in her room, Louisa pondered the evening's events. Their entree into London society had certainly been eventful. If only Mr Kent's offer to be a chaperone had come an hour earlier. Lucia would've liked to have been squired by such a handsome man. Louisa thought he was handsome, if a little boring. Her thoughts turned towards Luther. She had initially underestimated him, thinking he was little more than an accomplished flirt who had underestimated *her*, but his coming to her sister's rescue and ensuring they remain in Society's good graces could not be discounted. Nor, she thought with a shiver, could his incredible leonine good looks be ignored. Handsome, charming *and* kind, not to mention wealth that would not make him care about her own. What more could a girl want? Louisa snuggled into the pillow, looking forward to the next time she would meet Luther. ***** Mrs Lane's solution to her daughter's illness was to take both the girls for a carriage ride through London's Hyde Park. The three of them fitted comfortably in a landau hired for the purpose and Mrs Lane was pleased to see the colour come back into Lucia's cheeks. "Why," she said, catching sight of an approaching carriage, "isn't that Miss Grant and Mr Kent?" It was indeed. There was a third person in the carriage and when it had stopped opposite them, the introductions were duly made, revealing the other's identity as Mrs Grant, Miss Grant's aunt. She said little but looked on Mr Kent admiringly, almost as possessively as her niece did. Desultory chatter was made about the weather in London. Lucia interposed, "What a fine open space, Hyde Park is. It quite reminds one of home." "Oh my!" exclaimed Miss Grant. "I'm sure the spaces in the country are much bigger by far. It must be so uncomfortable for you being cooped up in a city such as London. You miss the country greatly." The Lanes made polite noises, but their hackles were raised at such condescension. The sight of two officers from the Militia caused Mrs Lane to cry out with delight. "Such fine looking men!" she exclaimed. "It is a wonder that not every able-bodied man would wish themselves among them!" Realising what she said, she hastily apologised to Mr Kent. Kent, grim, said only, "My duty is here in London, madam, and even if it were not, the wholesale slaughter of men for the sake of a few miles of ground seems totally unnecessary when there are more peaceful methods to be investigated first." He was referring to the recent battle of Waterloo where Wellington's forces were almost decimated before eventually gaining the field. "Napoleon isn't exactly known for his parleying," interjected Louisa. "If Wellington hadn't stood his ground, Brussels would have fallen into French hands." Kent conceded that point. "However, I have seen war, ladies and it is not a pretty sight. Certainly, little thought seems spared for the real victims of such battles." "Everyone remembers the dead," Mrs Lane assured him. "I mean those widows and orphans, ma'am," Kent replied coldly, "who have to find a living with no support from husband or family. Or have you not noticed the beggars on our streets?" He smiled at Louisa's nod of approbation among the confused looks of her relations. However, realising that he was boring the Grants, not to mention being surrounded by patriotic-minded females, he said no more on the subject, asking only how Louisa was enjoying London. Louisa responded pleasantly enough, intuiting the motive behind Kent's change of subject. Eventually, the Grants had to move on and both parties made their farewells. Louisa was quietly astonished. Most pacifists were creatures of complete inaction. Kent seemed to follow up on his words. "La, Louisa!" exclaimed her mother as their barouche rattled away. "For all his odd ideas, that Mr Kent is a *fine* figure of a gentleman. Lady Bellingham tells me he rarely dances, so after last night you must consider yourself most fortunate!" "What else does Lady Bellingham have to say about Mr Kent?" Louisa asked. Mrs Lane fidgeted with her parasol. "She tells me he's the most serious of gentlemen. Spends most of his time and money on charitable works. 'Vice' isn't a word in his vocabulary!" Louisa privately thought that gossip was a vice and Mr Kent appeared to excel at that, so she said no more on the subject but was forced to listen to her mother chatter on about both Mr Kent's and Mr Luther's lineages. ***** Rumours of the Lane sisters' escapade *had* got out. Louisa could tell by the mountain of invitations they received over the next two days. Ruefully, she pinned the culprit as being the wretched lieutenant who caused all the talk. However, it seemed that the whole truth had *not* been revealed -- London, it seemed, wanted to hear the story for itself. Louisa was determined to disappoint them on that score. They dined the next evening at Lady Bellingham's, who felt that seeing as the event took place at *her* ball, she should be the one to know the whole story first. Her hedged questions elicited only confusion from the parents, a fearsome trembling from the young Miss Lucia Lane and cool answers from the elder Miss Lane. Louisa was not unaware of the admiring glances she received from her dining partner, Mr Luther. Nor was she unaware of the censorious looks she was receiving from Mr Kent. Well, if he believed the rumours and thought she was lying, *she* didn't care for him one whit! It would serve him right for thinking she was unable to waltz! After dinner, the men remained in the dining room for port and talk of other matters, while the women retired to Lady Bellingham's drawing room. Lord Bellingham made Mr Lane aware of the scandalous rumours currently attaching themselves to his daughters. Mr Lane steadfastly refused to believe them and was encouraged in this attitude by Mr Luther. Mr Lane decided it would be best not to impart the information to his wife. The drawing room was decked out cheerfully in pale blue striped wallpaper and cream and pale blue furnishings. Lucia eased her nerves by playing a gentle sonata on Lady Bellingham's pianoforte, while the other ladies listened quietly. She broke off her playing when she noticed the gentlemen enter. "Please, Miss Lucia," exhorted Lord Bellingham, "don't stop on our account." Reluctantly, Lucia resumed her playing. Mr Luther settled himself beside Miss Lane, delivering one of his charming smiles. "Your sister plays beautifully, Miss Lane," he murmured. Miss Lane nodded in agreement. "Thank you," she replied. "She's always had a love for the pianoforte. Lucia rather exceeds my own meagre skill." Mr Luther was surprised. "You do not play?" "A little," admitted Miss Lane. Mr Luther smiled. "When women say 'a little', they are being too modest." "On the contrary, Mr Luther," responded Louisa, smiling triumphantly. "When I say 'a little', that is precisely what I mean!" Miss Lucia ended her sonata to the rapturous applause of her mother and the polite applause of the rest of the room. "Oh!" exclaimed Mrs Lane. "Does she not play beautifully?" "Indeed, madam," Lady Bellingham said kindly and truthfully. "She plays with a great deal of feeling. You are lucky to have such a daughter." "Ah! But I have two such daughters!" said Mrs Lane, a little too loudly for their tete-a-tete. "Miss Lane is also musically skilled." Luther turned and raised his right eyebrow quizzically in her direction. Louisa smiled innocently. Mrs Lane called over to her. "Louisa! Why don't you sing with your sister?" Louisa didn't even attempt to protest. She looked over at Lady Bellingham and gained permission via a gracious nod. As she rose and moved to join her sister, Louisa favoured Luther with a mischievous smile. A few moments of consultation with Lucia resolved the choice of song. Luther leant back and listened in evident satisfaction as the two young women performed an English translation of an Italian opera lament. Louisa more than matched her sister's talent. Her voice was a high alto, reaching into the soprano range whilst still filling the each note with the warm depth of an alto. Even Mr Kent became entranced as the emotions of the song poured out of Louisa's mouth. She sang beautifully and touchingly, her sister's accompaniment matching her spirit. Lord Bellingham resorted to a quick dab of his eyes as the song came to its tragic end. "Bravo!" cried Luther as everyone in the room applauded. Both Louisa and Lucia coloured prettily. Louisa was urged to sing again. She agreed and after another whispered conversation, the girls broke forth into a rousing song about love and dancing, causing much amusement among all except Mrs Lane, who privately thought that women should sing sweet love-songs to their men, not rollicking dance tunes! Louisa gently refused to sing any more and resumed her place beside Mr Luther, blushing at his murmured compliments. Mrs Lane could have watched the two of them quietly talking all evening but Mr Kent rose to take his leave and the party found itself breaking up soon after that. Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 20:11:26 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: First Impressions (part 3 of 6) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Kent had sat there beyond all bearing. He wondered why Lady Bellingham had invited him to the dinner but could not figure it out. What he didn't realise was that Lady Bellingham had noticed that he had danced with only Miss Grant and Miss Lane. Miss Grant had eagerly informed him of the gossip the very afternoon they had spoken with the Lanes in Hyde Park. "The gall of them!" Miss Grant had exclaimed as she paced the floor of his study. "So there was a reason you came to visit?" Kent had said, laying down his pen. "Yes! Haven't you heard?" Miss Grant finally laid down her parasol and sat. "One of the Lane girls was seduced in Lady Bellingham's gardens last night!" Kent paled. "What?" He recalled perfectly seeing Miss Lane going into the gardens. "I've heard it said that both girls were involved," Miss Grant said eagerly. "But that can't possibly be true. Both at once? They'd have to be willing." "Enough, Catherine!" Kent held up a hand. "This kind of gossip is beneath you and doubtless has little credence at all." "Oh, fiddlesticks!" retorted Miss Grant. "You saw them arrive in from the garden all together, didn't you?" Kent couldn't deny it. "With Luther? Surely they were just standing outside escaping the crush?" "Think what you like!" Miss Grant rose, collecting her parasol. "Anyway, I thought you ought to know." "Ought to?" "Yes." Miss Grant smiled. "Don't deny it, but you have a little tendre for Miss Lane. I can tell." Kent brought his mind back to the present. He couldn't stay and watch Miss Lane and Luther flirt together. It was intolerable and seemed to confirm all the gossip Miss Grant had reported. Abruptly, he rose and took his leave. ***** Although Lady Bellingham resolved that the Lane sisters were innocent of any such nasty rumour, the Lanes still had their pick of invitations for the next week. Mrs Lane went through them all, declaring her girls the success of the Season and seized upon the most influential and prized invitations. It was the Duchess of Roxburghe's ball. Even Lucia could throw off her nervous fears and become excited. To move about in the absolute cream of society was absolutely thrilling! All Louisa could hope for was that Luther would be there and the gossips would cease their chatter. Against all expectation, Luther arrived late to the ball but he was quick in claiming a dance with Louisa, although he first danced with Lucia while waiting impatiently for Louisa to be returned to Mrs Lane. Louisa's eyes sparkled when she saw him and saw an answering warmth in Luther's eyes as he led her out to form a cotillion. "I had almost thought you were not coming," Louisa began. "You missed me?" Luther asked with a note of teasing raillery. "On the contrary, Mr Luther," replied Louisa archly with a smile, "I did not wish to forswear your promised dance to another. The poor gentlemen have had to cope with waiting until the very last minute before each dance all evening! They all seemed to understand I couldn't break my promise. Some of them weren't too happy about it, I can tell you." Luther chuckled. "I can well imagine, Miss Lane. I would not care to be held at bay from so beautiful a woman for such a length of time." Louisa laughed. "You flatter too much, sir!" "Not I, Miss Lane. I mean what I say," he told her, causing her to flush. They continued the dance with all the appearance of companionship but both were all too aware of a frission of tension between them. Louisa was sad to see the cotillion end. She enjoyed dancing with Luther so much; he was such a pleasant and charming man. "My dear Miss Lane," Luther began, "do you not recall that you have promised two dances to me?" "Two?" Louisa searched her memory. "You are quite right, sir. Before and then after the--" she hesitated, "-- the incident." "I am sorry to remind you of such distress, Miss Lane," said Mr Luther. "I will endeavour to make you forget it completely." "You're too kind, Mr Luther," responded Louisa, smiling prettily. "However, you do realise that this next dance is a waltz?" Luther's lip curled in amusement. "You do not dance the waltz, Miss Lane? I would be happy to sit it out with you." Louisa firmly took his arm, causing his smile to widen. "Of course I do!" she declared. The music began and Luther took her firmly in his arms. Louisa's eyes widened, feeling his hand possessively at her waist. Louisa had only danced the waltz before with her sister Lucia in their drawing room and thus she found the experience of dancing with a male so close to be quite intoxicating. Luther kept the proper distance and did not attempt to become familiar, but still Louisa fell under the spell of his magnetic smile and charming eyes. He swiftly put her at her ease, making her laugh. They made a handsome couple. At the end of the waltz, Louisa found herself promising one more dance to him at their next mutual engagement. She smiled dreamily as other men came to claim her as a partner. She did not notice Kent's disapproving gaze which rested on her and upon her sister, who was also being feted by Luther but when Kent came to dance a quadrille with her, she was stonily silent. "Miss Lane," began Kent in an attempt at conversation, "has your opinion of Luther changed at all as you continue your acquaintance?" "Not at all, Mr Kent," replied Louisa coolly, "and I begin to wonder at your sources, seeing as you are not a particular friend of his." "And you are?" Kent could not resist the barb. Louisa wisely ignored it. "Shall I tell you what I know?" At a nod of her head, he continued. "He's an inveterate, if mostly successful, gambler. He does not tend to his lands as he ought but always seeks to expand his conquests." Louisa peered at him through her eyelashes. "You mean to tell me that I could be considered such a conquest? Anything I could bring would be small indeed." "Not so small as you might think, Miss Lane, if a debt needed to be swiftly paid." Louisa laughed derisively. "Mr Kent, I swear you are telling me these stories because you are jealous. Yes, jealous!" she exclaimed at Kent's benign expression. "After all, what proof can you give me besides malicious gossip?" Kent's face darkened with frustration. "I have none that I can give you now, Miss Lane, but earnestly believe it to be true. Does that not satisfy you?" "Indeed it does not, Mr Kent," responded Louisa haughtily. "Why should it? Perhaps if you were my father, a brother, or a particular relation, I may pay more heed to your words, but you are not and you bring nothing but Lady Bellingham's word to commend you -- and as she commends Mr Luther to me as well, how am I then to judge?" He had no answer to that. She suffered his presence for the rest of the quadrille in silence and stalked off when the dance had ended. She met Luther returning Lucia to her mother. "Why, Miss Lane," exclaimed Luther in surprise. "You seem out of sorts." Louisa watched Lucia being swept off by another gentleman officer. She glared at him, letting him know that she expected her sister to be returned safe and sound. Finally, she replied, "Mr Kent has been very annoying," and attempted a smile. Luther bowed. "Then, Miss Lane, in order that I may best distract you from your irritations, may I have the honour of dancing with you again?" "Three dances!" exclaimed Mrs Lane joyfully as Louisa opened her mouth to reply. "Oh Louisa!" She took one look at her mother and knew that if she didn't accept this dance with Luther, she'd never hear the end of it. Dancing three times with the same person was almost tantamount to announcing such an engagement and as her mother often reminded her, they needed the money held in trust for the girls desperately. "The honour is all mine," she said to Luther huskily, meeting his eyes. He led her out onto the floor. As they began to walk through the cotillion, Luther passed close to her and murmured, "Do not think that I am unaware of your mother's thoughts." Louisa looked at him wide-eyed, unable to reply. Luther smiled charmingly. "I ask you only to think that those thoughts are reflected in my own." "Mr Luther! I-- I don't know what to say!" Louisa blushed, overwhelmed with this sudden onslaught of attention. Luther took her hand and they turned together. "Then say nothing, Miss Lane. Not yet. Let us merely enjoy the possibilities together." Louisa's head whirled with the possibilities. Only one remained uppermost in her mind: a deepening of their relationship, leading to an engagement and marriage. What else was she to think? ***** Louisa sat at her needlework, awaiting the return of Lucia and her mother >from their shopping. She glanced up briefly as she heard a carriage stop in front of the house but returned her attention to finishing a stitch. "Louisa!" hollered her mother as she came running into the salon. She looked up, startled. "What is it, mother?" "Oh it's terrible! So terrible!" Mrs Lane's bonnet had fallen off the back of her head and her face was bright red with exertion. "Lucia has been carried off!" Louisa leapt to her feet. "What?!" "Gone!" Mrs Lane exclaimed, collapsing onto the sofa and sobbing in earnest. "It must be that --" Louisa suddenly stopped thinking aloud. Mrs Lane, in her agitation, hadn't noticed and continued to shriek the house down. "Mother! Does Father know?" "Yes, yes, yes!" exclaimed Mrs Lane, waving a sodden handkerchief in the air around her. "I sent Jones around to the club the moment they got away >from us. I hope nobody recognised us." "That's not likely, mother," Louisa replied. "But what happened?" Mrs Lane feebly waved her handkerchief, incoherent. "Oh, oh! 'Tis the end of us!" was all she could manage. Quickly, Louisa called for her maid and procured some hartshorn for her mother. She began to pace at the windows, constantly looking out of them. Her thoughts were in a turmoil. Who could have carried Lucia off like this? That dreadful Lieutenant Ludley, getting his revenge on the family? It seemed most likely. Poor Lucia! How would they ever get her back safely? Indeed, how would they ever get her back at all? Jones, the footman, eventually returned with the news that Mr Lane had set off in pursuit of the abductor and his daughter. He had left Jones with the message that he would not return until he had recovered Lucia. Louisa thanked Jones, but privately thought that there was little chance of her father catching them in time. Mrs Lane eventually retired to bed, but Louisa could not even start to think of sleep. Her hands could not remain idle: she attempted sewing until it grew too dark for her, flicked through the ladies magazines just for the action of doing it, stirred up the fire more than was good for it and started a good half-dozen notes to Luther requesting help before discarding them all. It was just before dawn when the rattling of carriage wheels in the streets brought her out of a half-doze. Louisa dashed to the window and recognised her father's coach. She tugged on the bell-pull to awaken the butler and hastened to the front door herself. Mr Lane helped his daughter out of the vehicle and, his arm tight around her, guided her inside. Louisa closed the door behind them. Her father's complexion was pale but not as nearly as white as Lucia's, who was shivering as well. "We've had a lucky escape, daughter. A lucky escape indeed!" He turned to Lucia. "My dear, I believe the best thing to do will be to get you to bed straight away." "I'll take care of her, father," Louisa offered. "You must be exhausted yourself." Mr Lane saw his eldest daughter's wan looks, recognising the same weariness he felt. He nodded briefly and lead the way up the darkened stairs. Once in Lucia's chamber, Louisa attempted to get her sister ready for bed by first removing the black cloak tightly wrapped about her petite body. Lucia clutched the cloak even tighter. "I--I will sleep as I am, sister!" exclaimed Lucia. "Please leave me alone." "Let me at least remove your shoes." Lucia sat on the edge of her bed and proffered her feet. Louisa gently unlaced Lucia's boots and pulled them free of her feet. Softly, she asked, "Are you able to talk about it?" Lucia nodded. "Was it that dreadful Lieutenant?" Lucia shook her head and said, a sob catching in her throat, "Luther!" "What?!" Louisa sat back on her heels in astonishment. "No! Surely you must be mistaken!" Lucia started to cry and Louisa rose and hugged her, sitting next to her on the bed. "It is true!" Lucia gasped out between her sobs. "He made himself known to me, most intimately!" "Most --" Louisa couldn't even complete the sentence. "How could we have been so mistaken about him?" "I do not know," replied Lucia, leaning against her sister's shoulder. "He was so kind and sweet, so protective. I was beginning to suspect his affections --" Louisa wondered how that could be: his attentions were for her only, were they not? "-- but not like this!" "What happened?" Louisa asked in a small voice. "Mother and I were walking to Mason's for the lace we needed for our dresses next week. A carriage came to a halt just in front of us. As we drew level, the footman leapt off his perch and bundled me into the carriage. I screamed, and I could hear Mother scream. I even heard Jones drop all our packages and holler. A hand clamped over my mouth and the carriage swiftly jerked off. I was gagged and when my eyes became accustomed to the darkness, I saw him. Luther." "But how? Why?" Louisa's torment made her voice tremble shockingly. "He had a debt that needed paying." Louisa went white as she recalled those words coming from Kent's mouth. He'd warned her, hadn't he? "I was of little consequence in Town, he said, and what's more, the gossips had already labelled me as fast so nobody would be surprised, nor care, about the scandal." Lucia raised a trembling chin. "He meant to marry me to get at our money immediately. He needed it to cover a debt." She covered her face with her hands. "Oh, he was horrible!" Lucia flung her hands down into her lap, forming clenched fists. "He abused me terribly! I am ruined!" Louisa hugged her sister tight. "Nonsense, Lucia. You are not ruined." "But I am!" Lucia interrupted. "I am a maid no more! No one will have me!" Horrified, Louisa tried to reassure her. "Nobody knows of this scandal and now that Father has thwarted Luther, he will not dare to say anything either. You must try and forget it ever happened." "But Louisa, Father didn't stop Luther." Lucia had hitched upon Louisa's earlier statement. Surprised, Louisa asked, "Who did?" "A highwayman! He held up our carriage and when he saw I was in difficulty he carried me off! This is his cloak." Lucia fingered the thick woollen material. "I only wish I saw his face, he was so gentle and kind with me, but it was dark and he was masked. We were on our way back to London when we met Father. The highwayman delivered me up to him and as you know, we returned here." "An amazing story," Louisa breathed. "Lucia, you don't know how relieved I am that you're back safe and sound!" The girls hugged again. "Perhaps we should try and get some sleep?" Louisa began to move away. "Oh sister! Sleep with me tonight!" cried out Lucia, grabbing at her sister's arm. "I couldn't possibly sleep alone!" Murmuring soothing sounds, Louisa slipped off her slippers and tucked them both into bed. For a long time she listened to her sister's breathing as it slowly subsided into the deep breathing of sleep. Louisa couldn't sleep herself. Her thoughts kept twisting around: how Luther had betrayed her family, ruined her sister, and yet he had dared to profess affection for her! Had that been part of his game? Her stomach tied in knots, Louisa eventually slept. ***** Louisa couldn't stay in the house. Between her mother's rantings and Lucia's crying, her nerves were extremely frayed. She ordered their carriage around the front. "Harry," she asked the coachman. "Do you know anything about a widows and orphans organisation? For those who lost their men overseas in battle?" Harry nodded, helping her into the carriage. "Indeed I do, miss." "Will you drive me there?" Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 20:11:57 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: First Impressions (part 4 of 6) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The orphanage was not in a very salacious part of town. On the street outside the building, wounded veterans begged passers-by for a penny. Louisa disembarked from the carriage and entered the building. Quietly, she sought out the matron, a Mrs Muller, who was happy to show her around. The children were not dressed well, but they were well-fed. "Does Mr Kent come here often?" Louisa asked at the mention of his name. "Oh yes, miss. He's here every day. He loves playing with the children. He helps out the ladies too -- a lot of the war widows work here once or twice a week, to supplement their income and their boys can get schooled here for free." A shriek came from the upper levels of the house and a red-faced, plump woman charged down the stairs. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "You can tell Mr Kent that I quit! Those miserable wretches!" Mrs Muller looked at Louisa in dismay. "It's the young ones. They're so boisterous. Excuse me, I'll have to send them to their beds. I have no one to care for them until Betsy comes in tomorrow." "I have a few hours to spare," Louisa offered. "They can't be that bad, surely." At Mrs Muller's horrified look, Louisa smiled. "I'll manage, and if not, well ..." "I couldn't possibly ask you to--" Mrs Muller began. "Nonsense," Louisa replied. "Just tell me what they're supposed to be doing." Mrs Muller frowned. "Natural History, I think." She opened the door and the muted ruckus inside dimmed to silence immediately. "Here you go." Louisa entered the school room. Mrs Muller closed the door, giving the children, who were no more than seven or eight years old, a stern look as she did so. "Well, children," Louisa said brightly. "My name is Miss Lane and I'm new to the city. Who would like to tell me about London?" Instantly, the boys raised their hands and were shouting out answers. "One at a time," Miss Lane called out over the din. She pointed to a redheaded lad. "Please, miss," the boy said. "I ain't ever been to the country. What's it like?" "Haven't ever," corrected Louisa absently. She sat on the floor and gestured to the children to leave their desks and do the same. Once settled, she proceeded to tell them all about it, interjecting questions about the city as she did so. Below, Mr Kent entered the building. "Mrs Muller!" he greeted, smiling. "What's to report today?" "Janey quit," Mrs Muller told him bluntly. "So the boys are abed?" "No, sir. A Miss Lane is with them. I haven't heard a peep out of them since." Mr Kent paused in removing his overcoat and looked up the stairs. "Miss Lane?" he said incredulously. He took the stairs in great bounds, leaving the astonished Mrs Muller to trail more slowly after him. Reaching the schoolroom, he peeped in the window in the door and blinked in astonishment. One of the boys was sitting in Miss Lane's lap, while the others hung on her every word. He watched her listen closely to the boys asking questions. He backed away from the window and found Mrs Muller watching him. "She ... certainly has a way with them," he said awkwardly. Mrs Muller took a quick look for herself. "Indeed," she replied, smiling at Mr Kent. "Know her, do you?" "Somewhat," admitted Kent. "She seems very nice," offered Mrs Muller. She looked at her watch. "Goodness, she's been in there for two hours now! It's almost time for the boy's afternoon break." "Let them go early," advised Mr Kent. "I would speak with Miss Lane." He opened the door and entered the room. Miss Lane immediately lost her audience as the boys ran to Mr Kent's side, shouting their hallos. Louisa walked up behind them more slowly as Mr Kent gently extricated himself and Mrs Muller led the boys off to eat. "You're very popular," Louisa murmured. "So were you, I noticed," Kent replied, looking down at her intently. "What brings you here?" "I needed to escape my mother for a little while," Louisa said, telling a half-truth. "I remembered you talking about this place so I thought I would come and see. There are so many little ones." Kent nodded. "There are, indeed. Have you seen all of the place yet?" Louisa shook her head and Mr Kent took her arm. "Would you like to?" "Yes, of course." He proceeded to show her the facility. Passing through the dining room, they were invited to eat with the boys that Louisa had recently supervised. Covertly, they watched each other interact with the children, finding a strange sense of peace and joy as they did so. Eventually, they broke away and Louisa found herself being led to the front door, Kent reluctantly announcing that he had work to do. They parted cordially. ***** After a few days of quiet rest, Lucia's nerves were steadied and the Lanes were ready to face the world again. There had been no inquisitive callers wanting to sniff out details of the disaster and their peace had been disturbed only by Lady Bellingham returning Mrs Lane's call. It was fortunate that they had not had accepted any invitations over that time for they had been saving themselves for what could be the event of the Season: the Duchess of Montrose's ball. Louisa could tell her sister's high spirits were forced but her parents never detected anything amiss. She linked arms with her as they entered the Duchess's home and discreetly gave Lucia's hand an encouraging squeeze. The ballroom and all the corridors leading off it were jam-packed with beautifully dressed people. Over the hum of chattering and laughing, music could be heard. The press was such that it took them a full quarter of an hour to reach the ballroom itself. The ceiling-high windows were thrown open for air but it made the room only slightly more bearable. While there was more room to move, the energy expended by the dancers had increased the temperature. Louisa almost wished they had come early to avoid the crush of people. Lucia gripped Louisa's arm tight and exclaimed, "Impossible!" Louisa turned to her sister. "What? What is it?" "Luther!" Lucia whispered. Louisa followed Lucia's direction. "He *dares* to be here? My God, if I were a man, I'd storm over and demand satisfaction! How *dare* he not be ashamed of his gross act?" Sensing her sister's trembling, she managed to calm herself. "I'm sorry, Lucia. We must pretend he simply doesn't exist." Lucia took one long look at the handsome Luther across the room, recalled his large hands and shuddered. "There is nothing simple about that, sister." Louisa gripped her hand. "We must try," she urged gently. However, the anger continued to simmer within Louisa. Her sister was suffering and not hiding it very well. There *he* was laughing and flirting as if it had never happened. She couldn't help but glare daggers at him whenever he came into view as she danced with other young gentlemen. One of these gentlemen was Mr Kent. "Miss Lane," he said, softly, after having noted her forced gaiety and angry looks. "How is your sister?" Louisa gave him a sharp look. "She is very well, Mr Kent, and why shouldn't she be?" Kent looked abashed. "I was talking with your father at the club when the news came. I see she was recovered in time?" Horrified, Louisa stuttered, "You have not said anything, have you?" "Of course not." Kent did not sound insulted. "But if you keep looking at Luther like that, people are going to start talking." Louisa's flung her furious gaze at Kent, who remained unaffected. "How *dare* he show himself here?" she hissed. "For the same reason you do," Kent replied calmly, "to avoid talk or suspicion. There is nothing you can do." "There has to be!" Louisa's mind whirled as she tried to vainly think of a plot that would not damage her sister's name. She looked at him with sudden keenness. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you? How many other girls has this happened to?" Kent nodded. "I thought you would be his target. I don't know how many girls he's treated like this, but rumours say most of them have not been gentlewomen; that he's essentially used and robbed women who had no hope of gaining a fair redress." Encouraged by Louisa's intent gaze, he continued, "I know for a fact he's ruined many a man through gambling, and again the rumours have it that his business practices are of the lowest kind." "A thorough wretch," murmured Louisa. "What a fool I was." Kent's touch was gentle as they exchanged hands, and his fingers lingered against hers longer than necessary. "His beauty and charms blind many. Look at how he is feted now. Deceived, all of them." He looked down, admiring how beautiful she looked when she was angry. Almost as beautiful as when she had played with the orphans. Louisa looked at him oddly as they talked: some change had come over Mr Kent and she couldn't quite grasp what it was. Her feelings for him had grown slightly since Luther's betrayal, stemming from the time they had spent together in the orphanage and from his general kindnesses. As they talked quietly, Louisa found that she was enjoying his company, in spite of her concern for Lucia. There was a genuine warmth in his manner and he was making a sincere effort to put her at ease. Perhaps, his feelings too had changed feelings since their meeting at the orphanage. Alas, it was hopeless to think like that: he knew of the family's ruin. He was being kind to her out of pity only, she was sure. A shrill scream startled them out of their quiet tete-a-tete. Musicians and dancers halted awkwardly, turning towards the source of the sound. Louisa couldn't see anything, but Kent, who was taller, could. He turned to her and murmured, his eyes anguished, "It's your sister." Louisa began pushing through the crowd, closely followed by Kent. The ruckus of the ball had subsided, only the soft, disturbed muttering of the people around her could be heard. She could also clearly hear the altercation they were heading towards. "Calm yourself, hysterical girl." That was Luther's voice and its hardness chilled Louisa. "You beast! How *dare* you touch me?" shrilled Lucia. 'Oh God,' thought Louisa hopelessly. She and Kent broke through the circle to find Lucia and Luther at a stand off. "Stop behaving like a mewling baby," commanded Luther coldly. "'Tis commonly known you're fast!" "No!" screamed Lucia, sobbing now, echoed by Louisa's softer cry of horror. Luther's turned at Louisa's voice and he stared right through her. He turned to the uniformed gentleman at his side. "Ludley, have you ever seen such a shambles?" Lieutenant Ludley swaggered to the fore. "The lady protests too much I think. No, I know she does! We took the moonlight at Lady Bellingham's ball and fine sport it was too!" Ludley's vulgar behaviour caused the majority of the ladies to drift away, often accompanied by their partners, although it appeared that a few gentlemen were ordered to stay to discover the outcome. Louisa couldn't stand any more. She moved forward and put her arm around Lucia's shoulders, saying loudly, "Come, sister. We do not have to hear such slander against our names. Let us leave. I cannot believe the Duchess invites such low and crude shysters!" Louisa abruptly about faced with Lucia and passed through the parting crowd, her head held high. Kent joined them. "Very bravely done," he murmured. Louder, he asked, "May I call on you tomorrow, Miss Lane?" Louisa looked at him in puzzlement and annoyance. Then, realising what he was doing, she smiled. "Mr Kent, I would be honoured." Kent bowed. "I will fetch your parents and send them on after you in my own carriage." "You are too kind." In danger of becoming seriously misty-eyed, Louisa turned away and continued to lead her sister out of the ball room, escaping the prying eyes and hum of gossip. ***** "We're ruined!" exclaimed Mrs Lane, entering their sitting room, where Louisa had sat up waiting for them. Lucia had been quickly packed off to bed with a few laudanum drops to calm her nerves and to help her sleep. "We must give the house up and return home at once! Oh, I'll never find husbands for you girls now!" Mr Lane, saddened, agreed. "Nothing can be said for Lucia's lack of control. One can't but begin to think that her escapade with Luther was planned and, jilted, this is Luther's means of revenge." "No, Father!" exclaimed Louisa. "How can you say that? Luther wasn't jilted, he *stole* Lucia. He didn't get her money so now he's ruining us!" "My dear, I applaud your loyalty to your sister but if we are to maintain any respectability --" "No!" Louisa leapt to her feet. "You cast off one daughter, you cast off *both*!" She stormed out of the room. ***** The next morning, Louisa was attempting to concentrate on some needlework when Mr Kent called. She rose as he came in, putting her work away into a basket as she did so. "I honestly didn't expect you to come," she said, gesturing for him to sit down. "I never break my word, Miss Lane," Kent said as he seated himself. "How is your sister?" Louisa managed a shaky smile. "You always ask that. What are your intentions towards her?" "Don't jest, Miss Lane," warned Kent, frowning. "Lucia is still upstairs in her room," Louisa responded, more subdued. She hadn't been joking. It became clear to her that Mr Kent held some regard for her sister. "And your parents?" Kent was suddenly aware of the lack of a chaperone. Louisa smiled tightly. "My mother refuses to quit her room, and my father is making the final preparations for us to leave London." "So we are quite alone." Kent got up from the couch quite sharply as one of the maidservants burst in. "Miss!" shrieked the maid. For some reason disturbed that Kent did not wish to remain in the same room with her, Louisa snapped, "What is it?" "Miss Lucia, miss!" The maid was white and shaking and it suddenly occurred to the two young people that something had gone dreadfully wrong. "She's gone!" Louisa sprang to her feet. "Gone?!" She hastened past the maid and took the stairs at an unladylike gallop, Kent followed close behind. Lucia's bedroom was empty. Lucia flung open the wardrobe door. "She's run off?" Kent asked. Louisa turned and found him standing in the doorway. "Looks like it. There are some clothes missing." She frowned. "I would have seen or heard her come down the stairs." Kent pointed. "The window." It was open and the pale green curtains moved languidly in the breeze. "Impossible," muttered Louisa, going to the window and looking out. She looked down and her face turned white. "LUCY!" she screamed, her hands tightly gripping the window ledge. Her world swam around and Louisa fainted, falling back into the arms of Mr Kent. ***** Kent carried the unconscious Louisa to the bed and laid her on it, returning to look out the window. Lying on the ground below lay Lucia lying at an unnatural angle: her bonnet smashed under her head, caked with blood and small sack of clothing was just out of reach of her outstretched hand. How and why her fall had not alerted the household astonished him: why hadn't she screamed? He turned away to see the maid staring bug-eyed at him. "Get some smelling salts for your mistress," he ordered, "and close those curtains. I don't want her looking out." He glared at her. "You either." He strode out of the room, meeting Mr Lane on the stairs. "What is going on, sir?" Mr Lane asked, angry that Mr Kent apparently had free access to the more private areas of his house. "I have some sorry news to tell you," Kent replied curtly. "Follow me, Mr Lane." Passing the astonished Mr Lane, he led the way downstairs at a hurried pace and out the back of the London townhouse. Mr Lane saw her almost immediately. "Oh *no*!" he cried and ran to his daughter's side, picking her body up in his arms, her head falling lifelessly back, the bonnet dangling by the ribbon tied around her neck. "My little Lucia ..." ***** Louisa came to with a sharp smell being wafted under her nose. She sat upright immediately, ignoring the dizziness that affected her head. Ignoring her maid's solicitations for her health, Louisa got to her feet, mentally pushing away the horror of her sister's death. "Where's Mr Kent?" she asked. "Downstairs with your father, miss," was the reply. "Good." Louisa hastened out of the room, followed by her maid. She entered her father's dressing room and headed for a certain chest of drawers. From there she retrieved one of a set of pistols. "Miss! What are you doing?" shrieked the maid, reaching for the gun. "Revenge," replied Louisa, her brown eyes black with anger. "You are not to tell my father," she added as she primed the gun for firing. She swept out past the maid. Her father's carriage was at the front door. The coachman was astonished to see her climb into the vehicle. "Drive on," Louisa exhorted, giving him directions to Luther's London abode. "But your father, miss," protested the coachman. "Never mind him. This is an urgent family matter. Drive on!" Her voice was as sharp as the crack of the coachman's whip, hastening to obey. The Lane carriage moved out into the bustle of the London streets. Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 20:12:31 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: First Impressions (part 5 of 6) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The enforced rest gave Louisa unwanted time to think. She turned her mind away from her vengeful plan or her sister's death and towards Mr Kent. The last two days he had been very kind and solicitous, so unlike what she expected from her initial impression of him. The Kent she thought she knew would have cut her and her family without a further thought, concerned only with freeing himself of any taint of fast and loose women. Instead he had shown only kindness and support. Louisa covered her face with her hands. She had thought she had known, had loved, Luther. Then he disgraced Lucia, taunted her, now had veritably killed her. Now, the man she had despised was proving himself worth of her attention. It was too much to comprehend. Her world was turned upside-down. Upon arriving at the Luther home, Louisa told the coachman to be ready for a swift departure. Frowning at her, he nodded his understanding. Calmly, Louisa announced her presence to the butler at the door. After a moment's waiting, she was shown into Luther's study. Luther leant back against his large, wingback chair, his shirt sleeves a bright white against the old, dark brown leather. Louisa watched him watch her closely and her fingers clutched her reticule tightly in sudden nervousness. "Why Miss Lane," drawled Luther. "I am surprised to see you. Have you a message from my dear Lucia?" He chuckled. "As a matter of fact," Louisa replied, unclenching her teeth to speak clearly, "I have." She loosened the strings of her reticule and dipped her hand into it. As she did so, Luther rose and came around to the other side of the desk, a lazy smile giving him a dreadfully handsome and dangerous look. "I'm surprised she didn't deliver it herself," he remarked. "I'm not." Louisa got a hold of the handle of the gun and pulled it out of her reticule in one smooth movement. "Goodbye, Luther." The gun fired, the recoil causing Louisa to stumble back, dropping it from her nerveless fingers. The gun smoke momentarily blinded her. When she could see again, Louisa saw Luther lying on the floor. She turned and found the butler blocking her way, he having been alerted by the noise. "Miss Lane," said Luther's voice behind her, and she turned to face him, wide-eyed. He was standing and dusting himself off. The bullet had flown wide of the mark. "I believe your sister meant 'au revoir' as in 'we will meet again'." At his discreet nod, the butler grabbed Louisa's arms, pinning them back behind her. "I hope it will be soon," Louisa snarled, struggling. "Because she's dead!" Luther calmly approached her and slapped her hard across the face. "And so may you be, my dear Louisa, but not before I have got what is my due!" Louisa, her eyes teary from the blow, responded, "Your *due*? I owe you nothing! You, on the other hand, owe me my sister's life and her reputation!" Luther smiled evilly. "Miss Lane," he said smoothly, "you do realise that all I have to do now is turn you over to the justices for attempted murder?" Louisa's face went white. "All I have to say is that you came here in a jealous rage, declaring you had killed your sister so that you could have me and when I spurned you, you tried to take my life." "No!" exclaimed Louisa, struggling vainly. "You should have thought of that before you came here on your hare-brained adventure." Luther's voice softened. "There is another opportunity open to you." "What's that?" Louisa asked dully, hanging her head. "Marriage," responded Luther crisply. Louisa's head shot up. "Never!" "Oh," replied Luther coolly, his hand gently brushing the cheek he had so viciously slapped earlier, "I think you will. I have a debt to pay that Ludley fellow after all." He walked over to the curtain and pulled free the cord that held the curtain back. Handing it to his butler, he waited as the butler tied Louisa's hands firmly behind her back. When the butler had done, Luther gave the order for his carriage to be brought around the front. Luther guided her to a chair and pushed her into it. "I *hate* you," Louisa hissed at him. Luther smiled. "Good," he replied. "That makes it all so much more fun for me." She glared at him in silence, as he returned to his desk, putting away papers. The butler returned with Luther's coat and helped him into it. "Miss Lane's carriage is still out in front, sir," the butler informed him. "Damn!" muttered Luther. "Send him away, St. John." "He won't go without my personal orders," Louisa declared. Luther leered. "In that case, St. John, tell him that Miss Louisa sends him away and he is to return in an hour's time." St. John departed and returned a few minutes later to say that the carriage had moved off and that his was ready for departure. "Good!" Luther turned to Louisa. "Come, my dear, I know a lovely place up in Scotland by Gretna Green where we can be wed." "No!" shrieked Louisa, cringing away. "Gag her, St. John," ordered Luther coldly, "and bring her to my carriage." The butler bowed. "Yes, sir." Although Louisa fought like a wildcat, a handkerchief was forced between her lips. Ignoring her frantic kicks, the butler lifted her up and carried her outside, Luther's evil and triumphant chuckling ringing in her ears. ***** English weather greeted them on the road north. Thick fog swept in from the sea and as it began to lift, a steady rain started to fall. Luther had closed up the coach completely so that nobody could see in. Until they left the city, Luther was content to watch her only. Louisa trembled, knowing >from his lascivious eye that he was not about to wait for their marriage bed to consummate their forced union. "Do you want to hear something amusing, my dear Louisa?" Luther began suddenly, his eyes hooded. Louisa turned her head away from him. Luther leaned forward and with his hand on her chin, he forced her to look at him. "I mistook your sister for you." Louisa's eyes widened. "Now what do you have to say to that?" he asked as he leant back. Louisa grunted pointedly, still gagged. Luther chuckled and again leant forward, this time to release her gag. "You bastard!" Louisa exclaimed. "I half wish it *had* been me. At least Lucia would still be alive!" "How poetic for her to take her life over me," Luther remarked with practised idleness. Louisa turned her head away, her heaving chest the only sign of her agitation. "She fell." A short silence fell. Glaring at Luther, Louisa took a deep breath and screamed long and loud at the top of her lungs. She subsided, panting from the exertion, back against the coach's seat. Luther merely smiled. "You may scream all you like, my dear," he said, twitching his cuffs. "Nobody will hear you." "Someone will," Louisa challenged. "And if we ever get as far as Gretna Green, Luther, I'll be kicking and screaming that not a soul there would be *willing* to marry us!" "As my future wife, you should call me Alexander." Luther appeared unconcerned. "You'd be surprised what money will pay for, my dear." "I thought you didn't have any money," sneered Louisa. "I have enough. Yours will pay my debt handsomely and then some. Besides," Luther's smile turned into a leer. "if by chance no sum is great enough for Gretna Green, I will simply take you as my common-law wife. Your family will insist on our marriage. It will all come to the same end." "I'll see you dead first!" Louisa's eyes flashed as she flung the words at him. "I love the way you look when you're angry." Luther moved to sit next to her and she inched away. His hand came to rest on her thigh and Louisa twisted out of reach. "Let's see if you're a better sport than your sister," Luther murmured, close by her ear. Louisa's protest was muffled as he covered her mouth with his, his tongue snaking in and out before Louisa had a chance to clamp her teeth down hard on it. His hands roamed her body, squeezing first her thigh and then travelling upwards to squeeze her breast. With her arms still pinioned behind her back, Louisa was utterly helpless against his onslaught. At long last, she had the chance to cry out. "How low! You cannot even wait until our wedding night!" Luther looked up from where his mouth had pressed against her neck. "Nice of you to come around to my way of thinking on one matter at least." He saw the contempt in her eyes and his narrowed in turn. "You try to trick me, eh? Well, it won't work." His hand ripped at her dress savagely, tearing away the bodice. "No!" she screamed and as she did the crack of a pistol-shot brought the coach to a screeching halt. "Goddammit," muttered Luther. The door was flung open. "Out!" came the imperious command through the pounding rain. "Have my money and be off with you, scoundrel," challenged Luther. "Damned if I'm going to get out in that weather." A gloved hand holding a pistol presented itself. "Out," the command was repeated. Luther reluctantly got of the carriage and stared unbelievingly at the man who faced him. He looked about for his coachman and found him lying face down on the road, quivering in the mud. He dug about in his coat pocket and produced his purse. "Kent? What's the meaning of this?" "The lady, I want the lady." Luther's eyes narrowed and he peered at Mr Kent through the torrential downpour. "You?!" Luther laughed. "You can't have her. She's mine." Kent drew his sword, aiming the point for Luther's heart. The rainwater poured over the lip of his broad-brimmed hat. He gestured to the coach. "The lady, if you please." Cursing under his breath, Luther returned to the coach and bodily hauled Louisa out, dumping her unceremoniously into the muddy road. She shivered, soaked in a matter of minutes by the heavy rain. "Untie her." Luther knelt to do his bidding, pushing Louisa over further into the mud. Freed, Louisa pushed up the torn flap of her bodice to cover herself. With hands held closely to herself to keep the clothing in place, she rubbed at her wrists and arms, trying to restore the circulation, looking up in astonishment at Kent. Kent flung away his hat into the dark night. "Do you have a sword at hand, Luther?" Luther nodded. "I had wondered why you were solicitous towards the Lane females." He went to retrieve his sword from within the coach. Kent helped Louisa to her feet. He removed his riding cloak and placed it about her shoulders, concealing her badly torn dress. "Cover yourself and wait in the coach," he told her. "I'll come back for you." "So confident," Luther sneered, sword now in hand. "I suppose you have the place chosen already?" He had. The arena for the duel was a natural clearing in the woods that fringed the road. The storm raged around them, whipping the tops of the trees. Unnoticed, Louisa followed them, shivering. Even though she was wrapped in Kent's long black cloak, she was soaked to the skin. She cared not for her state, however, her eyes focussed wholly on the duel before her. Both men had stripped off their coats, their white cambric shirts clinging wetly to the hard muscles of their bodies. They stood in the centre of the wood's clearing, circling each other, the points of their swords moving as if to seek a first, fatal opening to the attack. At last, Luther's rapier point darted forward, only to be parried away by Kent's quick reflexes. They began to duel in earnest: cutting and parrying, jabbing and dodging, and all the while Louisa's nerves teetered on the edge. She couldn't bear it if Kent lost, for she would be thrust back into the clutches of Alexander Luther. She couldn't bear it if Kent won either, for to be indebted to such a man as he! It made her grind her teeth in frustration. To be sure, this battle for her honour showed that he had more stuff in him than Louisa would have previously guessed. Louisa gasped as Kent's rapier snagged in the wet folds of Luther's sleeve. Kent side-stepped, dragging his rapier free but was unable to completely avoid Luther's attack, getting slashed across the chest. He staggered back, clutching at his chest, where blood seeped into his already-soaked shirt. Luther bounded forward, eager to end the duel and make off with the prize. "She's mine!" he exclaimed as he thrust. He did not see the look of determination that flashed across Kent's features and was amazed to find his attack blocked and ferociously returned. Luther found himself backing across the clearing, trying to hold his own against Kent's fury and only momentarily succeeding. Kent was untouchable: his work with the blade revealed him to be the master that Luther had been previously hailed as being. With a quicksilver spin of the blade, he caught the pommel of Luther's rapier and sent the sword flying out of Luther's reach. Kent pressed the tip of his rapier against Luther's chest and a spot of blood appeared on Luther's wet shirt. They stood for what seemed a long time, staring at each other, their breath appearing in puffs. "Have done with it," Luther rasped. Kent stepped back. "I'll not kill an unarmed man." He gestured with his rapier to where Luther's lay. Luther stepped warily back to where his sword lay, scooping it up and never for a moment taking his eyes off his opponent. The sword once more in his hand, he smiled confidently. "You're a fool, Kent!" Kent glared and said nothing, waiting for Luther to open the next phase of attack. Coldly and clinically, Luther advanced, swishing his blade to get the feel and balance of it once more before he engaged. The skirmish this time was brutal and brief. Louisa screamed involuntarily as Kent plunged his sword into Luther's body. Kent stood back as Luther slowly collapsed on the ground, the blood spilling through his fingers clutched at his chest. He lay still. Wearily, Kent bowed his head for a moment. His chin lifted and he looked over to where Louisa stood under the dripping trees. "Miss Lane," he said softly. She saw his lips move but gave no notice that she had heard what he said. Kent knelt, swiftly cleaning his blade on the wet grass before sheathing it. He picked up his sodden coat, uncomfortably shrugging it back on and approached her. "Miss Lane," he repeated. Louisa looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Yes, Mr Kent?" "We must take shelter." He took hold of her arm and suddenly Louisa found herself in a rough, tight embrace. Quickly, Kent pulled back. His voice hoarse, he said, "My God! You're soaked through! We must hurry." Numbly, Louisa followed where he led. Luther's coachman, seeing them exit the woods, leapt off the coach and hastened past them into the woods, his face white with fear for his master. Louisa looked longingly at the dry confines of Luther's coach: a space she had recently wished herself out of. Kent caught her look. "No, Lou- Miss Lane. Luther may have need of the coach. If there's a chance to save his life; I would not want to be responsible for his needless death ..." Louisa looked queerly at him but held her peace. He had contradicted every peace-loving precept of his to fight for her honour and now he wanted Luther to survive? Louisa felt the heat of her anger rise. At least it kept her mind off her chattering teeth. Silently, she accepted his help up onto his horse. She leant back against him, unaware of the flinch Kent made as she came into contact with his chest wound, grateful for the little shelter it provided against the howling, wet wind. "How did you find me?" she asked, as they travelled. "Your maid informed me directly when your father and I came back into the house," Kent told her. Louisa twisted around to face him in indignation. "But I told her not to!" Kent smiled. "My dear, you told her not to tell your father. There was nothing to prevent her from telling me." Louisa turned to face the front again and stared stonily at the rain. "It is just as well she did. When I arrived at Luther's, your coachman was waiting just down the street. He told me everything, including hearing the gunshot. I came after you, guessing he was taking you off to Gretna Green." Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 20:13:01 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: First Impressions (part 6 of 6) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Within a few miles, they came across a small village and posting house. Kent dismounted and went to bang on the door. Louisa slithered off the horse behind him. Inside, they were informed they had but only one room. Louisa looked at Kent in dismay. Surely, he didn't mean to share! "Then I will sleep down here and the lady will have the room." Kent replied, instantly banishing her fears. The innkeeper took one look at their bedraggled appearance. "You can pay?" Kent nodded. "I have the blunt, my good fellow. A little wet, but it's genuine." He reached into his coat, floundered for a moment, and then came up with a small leather bag. He held it up and let it jingle. "This will surely cover one night's lodging." The innkeeper still appeared reluctant. The couple had the all the airs and graces of Quality, but the manner of their arrival and the sorry state of their clothing did not. Louisa caught his doubtful look. "Please, sir. Our carriage broke a wheel on the way home. It was madness to go abroad in this unseasonal weather but I'm afraid I would not be denied. Mr Kent," she gestured to him and in that instant realised her gaffe and hastily improvised, "my brother, managed to free our horse and we've ridden here. With all this dreadful rain and mist, we rather got lost." The innkeeper's eyebrows raised until they vanished into his bushy grey hair. "Eloped, have you?" he demanded. "No!" exclaimed Louisa, horrified. Kent smothered a grin. "I'm not that bad, am I?" he asked, more to himself than her. He spoke louder for the innkeeper's benefit. "No my good man, I was rescuing her from being abducted by the worst rake of London. However, I had only planned on catching them up and rescuing her." Abashed, he added. "I'm afraid I didn't think much further than that and certainly didn't expect this weather!" Louisa made a little "oh!" of annoyance and rolled her eyes. Kent's eyes darkened. "I can take you back to him, if that's what you want. You should be grateful." The innkeeper listened in amazement. Louisa lowered her eyes, gazing at her hands. "I am," she said. She looked up at him. "I'm sorry. Oh!" Louisa's eyes widened as she saw the hint of red mostly hidden by his coat. "Your wound! It still bleeds!" Kent shrugged. "'Tis but a scratch." "Nonsense." Louisa rounded on the innkeeper. "I'll need hot water brought up to my room immediately." She glared at him as he was about to protest. "I'm sure you'd rather I tended to his wound up there rather than put anyone off their drink down here?" "Yes miss," the innkeeper said reluctantly and turned to do her bidding. "Some clean linen too!" Louisa called after him. "And dry clothing if you have it!" ***** Louisa apologised as Kent flinched for the umpteenth time while she bathed his wound. It was a shallow cut across his upper chest, but they lived in a time where even the simplest malady could become fatal and the simplest of wounds was prone to infection. He had survived such wounds before: Louisa could not help but be aware of the old scars on his arms and chest. He was sitting on a stool by the fire and their clothes had started to steam from the heat of the flames. Louisa bandaged the cut up firmly, constantly aware of Kent's intent gaze upon her. He broke the silence. "Thank you," he murmured. Louisa nodded and sorted through the bundle of clothing the innkeeper had left them. It was rough, sturdy clothing, but it was dry. "Here, put this on and I'll hang this by the fire to dry." She took his wet, torn shirt that she had made him remove earlier and hung it on a rail by the fire. "You're soaking wet too," Kent observed. "You should change." Louisa nodded and continued to sort through the clothes. "Here are some breeches for you and it seems they've found me a nightgown but little else." She shrugged. "Well, my clothes should be dry enough by morning. I'm sure I can borrow needle and thread from our hostess and --" "Louisa." She stopped her babbling, stunned by his use of her first name, and stared at him, her mouth open slightly. "Louisa, come here," Kent commanded gently. He watched as she reluctantly drew closer. He gently took her hand in his. "Louisa, it would be a great honour if you would become my wife." "What?" Louisa jerked her hand out of his grasp. "What are you talking about?" Kent continued in his gentle voice. "Surely you must realise the situation we're in leaves us no other alternative. I meant to prevent your reputation >from being ruined. I had hoped to restore you to your family tonight, but the fates have decreed otherwise." Louisa slowly shook her head. "No," she said. "Mr Kent, I cannot ask this of you. What about Miss Grant?" It was Kent's turn to frown. "Who? Oh, Cat!" He smiled. "She's been after me since she was out of her nursery strings. A dear thing who will be miffed at our marriage, but not for long. She's an incorrigible flirt. She'll find someone 'ere long." "And you do not love her?" Louisa despised herself for asking the question but couldn't help asking it anyway. Kent reclaimed her hand. "No, my dear Louisa, I do not." Louisa choked back a laugh that was partly a sob. "I was under the impression you thought I was a fast little country mouse who was unable to stand up to a waltz with you." Kent chuckled. "Louisa, that was Miss Grant's spin on my words. I remember being mortified that she would think so of me. Of course, she was just trying to put herself in a better light. As for the other accusation ..." Kent bowed his head. "Your beauty and vivacity caught me first, but then I saw you hasten out to the garden and return with Luther. When I heard your mother give you a drubbing-down..." Louisa could not bring herself to ask, "What changed your mind?" His thumb caressed the back of her hand. "So, Louisa, will you marry me?" He looked up and saw her eyes brimming with tears. She shook her head and pulled her hand away. "You do not love me, Mr Kent. I cannot marry you." "But I do, Louisa." He retrieved her hand, gazing at her intently. "My dear one, the circumstances that surround us demand no other solution than marriage. I promise I will treat you with the greatest respect." He looked away from her face. "Perhaps you will come to have some affection for me in time." "Gratitude I have for you," Louisa stammered, her lip trembling with unspoken emotion. Kent nodded and rose. "You are tired and have been sorely abused this day." His face was filled with pity. "Rest, Louisa. I will see about hiring some sort of chaise or carriage for our return to London." He bent and kissed her forehead before picking the loaned breeches and shirt, leaving her in front of the fire. "Mr Kent!" Louisa called and he halted in the open doorway. Her voice trembled. "I know how things must seem to you but I came to no serious harm. Luther did not get as far with me as he did with my poor sister." Kent smiled, his knuckles white as he tightly gripped the lintel. "That is a relief to know." **** Louisa, dressed in her borrowed nightgown, lay in bed, eyes wide open. She had cried bitterly for the loss of her younger sister and there seemed to be no tears left for the moment. Her thoughts turned now towards her impending, inevitable marriage. She'd accepted his proposal, only belatedly realising it after he closed the door and left her. She examined her emotions closely. There was gratitude for all he had done for her and her family; a sense of awe that Kent had actually duelled to preserve her honour; an undeniable physical attraction to the handsome man. Without a doubt, Louisa could trust him with her life and her honour. Could she trust him with her heart? That night she found no answer to that particular question. ***** Breakfast had been a strained affair. Louisa had been unable to think of anything but the spectre of Lucia, her own subsequent humiliation and looking at Kent across the table, her forthcoming marriage to him. The journey back to London in a hired chaise had been equally uncomfortable, as they jolted along the poor roads. Louisa had managed to mend her overgown and dress and so looked passable. The Lane house was silent when they returned. Upon their arrival, however, the house went into an uproar. Louisa sat quietly on a sofa, her eyes downcast at her demurely folded hands, while her mother, notified of their arrival came downstairs in full mourning dress, glad of an audience. "What mother," exclaimed Mrs Lane, "could possibly have two more wretched daughters than I! I swear, between the two of you, you'll be the death of me!" Her attentions turned towards Mr Kent, standing awkwardly by the doorway. Her face brightened. "Why, Mr Kent! It was so kind of you to return our Louisa to us -- wretched girl!" she hissed in an aside to the unperturbed Louisa. "How can we ever thank you?" Mr Kent bowed slightly. "No need for thanks," he replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business with Mr Lane." Louisa looked up, startled out of her barely held together composure and bit her lip, seeing his cool look. 'No doubt,' she thought, as Mr Kent left the room, 'he is already regretting his proposal and is trying to escape it.' She endured her mother's vocal mourning about Lucia for some time, quietly shedding a few tears herself, until they were interrupted by the gentlemen. Louisa looked up. Kent saw her tearful face and frowned. Mr Lane smiled. "Well, wife, some good as come of these past few days events," he began. "Oh, Mr Lane!" cried Mrs Lane between sobs. "How can you say such things with our darling daughter so treacherously taken away from us?" Sadly, Mr Lane crossed the room and rested a hand on his wife's shoulder. She looked up at him, unused to his touch. "The loss hangs heavily on all of us." He attempted a smile. "Yet the news I bring will brighten your day." Mrs Lane looked up at him questioningly. "Louisa is to be married to Mr Kent." Mrs Lane's eyes went wide. "Mr Kent?!" she exclaimed, darting suspicious looks at the unhappy couple. "What of his character?" "His character is a fine and upstanding one," Mr Lane patiently replied, with an apologetic glance at Mr Kent. "You have heard as much from Lady Bellingham, I'm sure. Indeed, madam, I have spent some time in his company at the club and all the reports are exemplary." Mrs Lane was not quite ready to give up. "A marriage? So soon? There will be a long engagement until the mourning is over, surely." Kent ducked his head. "Madam, as much as we would wish an extended engagement, alas the circumstances will not allow it. I will apply for a Special License immediately." "Special License?!" exclaimed Mrs Lane, astonished at the expense. "What circumstances?" Louisa spoke quietly. "Mother, I was alone in Mr Kent's company while we sheltered from the storm last night." She was cut off from continuing by Mrs Lane's shriek. "Alone?!" "Nothing happened, Mother," Louisa replied with the same tired patience as her father. "The impropriety of it simply dictates we wed." "It's not so simple to me, daughter!" declared Mrs Lane, indignant. "Your sister lies dead upstairs and you talk of weddings?" "It will be simple, quiet and private," Louisa replied, noticing Kent's approving nod. "It won't be the wedding you wished for us, Mother, but it will wait until after Lucia's--" her voice broke, but she recovered, "--funeral." Kent spoke up. "I would not wish to force this wedding upon you, Mrs Lane. I had hoped to restore Miss Lane to you without such a circumstance attached to it, but the fates were against us. It will be as Miss Lane says: quiet, private, no finery, no reception and no honeymoon. Be assured that Miss Lucia's memory will be uppermost in our minds." Louisa gave him a queer look at this last statement of his, particularly the emotion he attached to it. Mrs Lane at last saw there was no more to be done about it and retired from the room, claiming she was too fatigued to deal with one daughter's funeral, let alone another's wedding. In her absence, this naturally led to discussion of funeral arrangements. Mr Lane had decided that Lucia would be buried in their home parish's plot. It was hoped that her death would be ruled as accidental, and the journey back to Westonfield was being made in preparation of that decision. Reluctantly, it was conceded by Louisa that to marry quietly in Westonfield was impossible, just as it would be too expensive to travel back to London. Thus, it was decided that Miss Lane and Mr Kent would marry in London before the family's departure and travel with the Lanes to Westonfield for the funeral. ****** Aimlessly, Louisa wandered around the rooms of Solitas Park, the Kent family home in Sussex county. Her new husband was out riding the estate, renewing relations with his manager and the people who worked his land. Louisa hoped to make their acquaintance soon, but for the moment had pleaded weariness. Kent had looked at her disapprovingly, but in her half-mourning dress and her wan complexion, he did not force her to it. In fact, mused Louisa, aside from the marriage itself, he hadn't forced her to do anything. It was as though he expected her to shatter any minute. They slept separately: each night Kent would leave the connecting door between their rooms open and each night Louisa would gently close it. Naturally, neither Louisa or her mother had attended the funeral. The entire day had been a great weight upon Louisa's shoulders, bearing her mother's hysterics and her husband's quiet stoicity. Shaking herself out of her listless attitude, Louisa went downstairs to the study, intent on at least familiarising herself with her new home. She perused the bookshelves, noting a number of books she could read at leisure in the cold winter months. On her husband's large mahogany desk, the estate books were laid out. She traced her finger down the columns, noting that the estate was doing well. Aside from the recently used books, the desk was very neatly kept and mostly bare. Curious as to what her husband did in his study, Louisa began to pull open a few drawers. In the bottom-most drawer, under a pile of letters written from Mrs Muller of the orphanage, there lay a mass of black silk. Louisa pulled it out, holding it up, revealing it to be a large flat triangle with two small openings: a mask. Louisa's breath caught in her throat. What was Kent doing with this? Illicit meetings? Masquerades at the Vauxhall? Robbery? She thrust the silk back into the drawer and closed it abruptly. Fleeing the room, she hastened out into the garden, heart pounding. What kind of man *had* she married? Was he another who was to all respects honourable but full of deceit? Pressing her fingertips to her temples, she tried to calm her thoughts. 'Think, Louisa, think!' she told herself. 'Don't get all melodramatic like your sister did.' Louisa stared sightlessly at the roses in front of her. Her sister, Lucia. A highwayman had rescued her. Could it be? Her hand bunched into a fist amidst her skirts. Who else had known about her sister's plight in time to save her? Louisa clung to this thought desperately. She would rather believe that, than to think that Kent was in reality, less than a gentleman, less than the man she was falling in love with. Her shoulders straightened. She had to know the truth: it would mean giving her heart, or breaking it, but she had to know. She would speak to him when he returned. ***** Kent returned in time to dress for dinner. Louisa waited until they were alone in the summer drawing room before she broached the subject. "Husband?" He looked up from his newspaper. "Yes, Louisa?" Louisa rose from her place and paced to the window. Clasping her hands in front of her, she began. "I found a mask," she said, breathlessly. "I need to know why you have it." "Where did you find it?" Kent didn't answer her directly. Louisa flushed. "It doesn't matter where I found it. I know it's yours." Kent folded his newspaper. "Yes, Louisa," he said softly. "It's mine. As to why I have it ... I used it to disguise myself when I rescued your sister. I thought that would be the best way to prevent scandal attaching to her name." Louisa hands trembled. "Or to your own?" She sank to sit in a nearby stool. Kent moved to a chair closer to her. "I wish now that I hadn't," Kent confessed, looking down at his own hands before looking up at her. "I wish I had killed Luther the first time." Louisa fell silent, wishing the same thing. After remembering Lucia's death yet again, Louisa continued. "You rescued my sister and so you rescued me. You fought that duel for her, for what Luther had done to her." "Partly," admitted Kent. "Yet it was mostly for the anguish Luther caused for the woman I love and her family." He added as an afterthought, "And for all those other women who had no defender against that wretch." He captured her hand, his thumb running over her palm tenderly. "Louisa, I have loved you from the very first moment I saw you. I became prejudiced against you afterwards, I admit, but your sister helped me get over them." At her puzzled look, Kent continued to explain. "On our way back from her abduction, she could talk of nothing but how your dreams would now be ruined. She told me about that first night at Lady Bellingham's and how you had come to her aid. She raised you greatly in my esteem. That morning when Lucia passed away ..." Kent paused uncomfortably. "That morning, before I came to see you, I called on Lieutenant Ludley who was still sufficiently in his cups to give me the whole story." Louisa sniffed, raising her chin and trying to hold back her tears. This man had done all, everything, for her and her family and she had been so cruel as to act unlovingly towards him. She gazed at him evenly, her eyes swimming. "I do not deserve you, Mr Kent," she told him. "I have done nothing but think ill of you until the Duchess of Montrose's ball." "And since then?" Kent asked, with a ghost of a smile. "Then I found you had not gossiped about Lucia's misfortune, showing you were good, gentle and kind." Louisa briefly covered her face. In a low tone, she added, "Oh, Mr Kent, I do not deserve you at all." His fingertips lightly brushed away her tears. "Louisa ..." Louisa caught his fingertips in her hands. "I have been a fool," she murmured huskily. Her eyes began to sparkle with unshed tears. "I have been trying to make sense of my feelings which have been confused since the Duchess's ball." She paused and then continued, intensely aware of Kent's gaze upon her. "The circumstances were not ideal, but I begin to believe our destination would be the same if we had travelled by some other course." She took a deep breath. "Clarence Kent, I love you." "Louisa!" Kent gasped in delight and pulled her into a tight embrace. His lips sought out hers and she offered them up to him willingly, knowing that her happiness could only grow from hereon in. THE END Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 08:58:26 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Hall, Melissa" Subject: Re: Vignette Fanfic: Watch Out MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >>Gary quoted... >> >>>"To a certain extent a man *loses* himself though >>>connecting with his partner." >> >>Interestingly (I think), Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy (in stories told in the >>first person) called having sex "the little death" and Lovejoy generally >>considered women totally superior in the sexual intimacy department. He >>reveled in it as well. I should note that that is about as graphic as Gash >>gets in the novels; it has always seemed quite adequate to me :) >> >"the little death" is also what Shakespeare and others of that century (and >a little after -- and a lot after it seems) called sex. Huh. I was under the impression that 'le petit mort' referred to orgasm, specifically when the (let's make up a new word here! :) orgasm-er faints. Misha > ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 13:17:03 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sandra McDermin Subject: Re: First Impressions (part 1 of 6) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Leanne: I didn't expect this so quickly. You are a wonder. I'll look forward to reading the story and all of the comments this weekend. But, first off, isn't "First Impressions" the initial title Austen gave to "Pride and Prejudice"? I think it must be, but I haven't been able to find that nugget on my trusty Austen website. In all other ways, it's a wonderful site. For those of you who love Austen (like me) here's the address: http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/janeinfo.html Secondly, just glancing briefly at Pam's comments, I wanted to mention that I don't find using the name Lucia for a British woman to be that odd. Don't the British have a "strange" fascination with the Mediterranean, specifically Italy and Spain. (I suppose it's because these are big vacation spots for Northern Europe.) My reading in this area is not far-flung by any means, but, off the top of my head, I can think of "A Room With a View," "Where Angels Fear to Tread," "Brideshead Revisited," and "Enchanted April" as examples where Southern Europe is seen as a place to "let go," "be free," "find oneself," or "become educated". In "A Room With a View," Cecil was always calling Lucy by the italian, Lucia. Italy seemed to be a great attraction, but, of course, this was a later time period, and I don't know how Southern Europe was viewed during the Empire period. By the way, if you do this kind of thing again, I would love it if you would allow us to follow along *while* you are writing and interacting with the editors. Looks great though. Sandy ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 14:34:56 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Frances Coogan Subject: Re: Vignette Fanfic: Watch Out Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 04/06/98 01:56:15 GMT, Debby wrote: << who advises Gash's books if you enjoy antiques, mystery and excellent story telling >> I'd agree, but if you saw the Lovejoy TV show first (only the 1st season, circa 1985, was really excellent) the novels come as a real shock! Kind of like trying to relate the Cherryh novel to the L&C series: not much connection. Frances ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 18:54:52 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: Batchelor Party... Fanfic Request Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 6/4/98 10:01:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time, CraigByrne writes: > In a message dated 98-06-01 18:48:33 EDT, you write: > > << I would like to receive a copy of your story "Bachelor Party". I have not been able to get into the Krypton Club archive, so would it be possible for you to send it to me? I would really appreciate it. >> > > You know, that *I* don't even have a copy? :( So I guess you'd have to keep > looking... if you find one let me know... I am going to take this as permission from the author to ask if anyone has the story ... if you do, please contact me by private e-mail so I (and craig) can get ahold of it :) Thanks Much, Crystal JCWimmer@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 19:14:11 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: First Impressions (part 1 of 6) In-Reply-To: <85256619.005B4DBA.00@smtpmta.nas.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sandra writes: >I didn't expect this so quickly. You are a wonder. I'll look forward to >reading the story and all of the comments this weekend. But, first off, >isn't "First Impressions" the initial title Austen gave to "Pride and >Prejudice"? I think it must be, but I haven't been able to find that >nugget on my trusty Austen website. In all other ways, it's a wonderful >site. For those of you who love Austen (like me) here's the address: > >http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/janeinfo.html > Ye gods, Sandra! I recently became a "regular" at Pemberley. I check the "Past Times" section daily :) And yes, you're right. "First Impressions" was the original title of P&P when it was written as a series of letters. (like quite a bit of her juvenalia). (I'll note though: that Pemberley is *massive* and exists on donations, or on folks who buy books through their site) >Secondly, just glancing briefly at Pam's comments, I wanted to mention that >I don't find using the name Lucia for a British woman to be that odd. >Don't the British have a "strange" fascination with the Mediterranean, >specifically Italy and Spain. (I suppose it's because these are big >vacation spots for Northern Europe.) My reading in this area is not >far-flung by any means, but, off the top of my head, I can think of "A Room >With a View," "Where Angels Fear to Tread," "Brideshead Revisited," and >"Enchanted April" as examples where Southern Europe is seen as a place to >"let go," "be free," "find oneself," or "become educated". > Well, when Napolean wasn't rampaging around the European mainland, the English were -- sightseeing, young men going on their Grand Tour etc, poets drowning in lakes or sighing after married Italian ladies .... It's interesting to read of the panic in Paris when Napolean escaped Elba ... actually "An Infamous Army" is a good read for those who want some background. Georgette Heyer isn't always accurate speech-wise (she loves the slang and uses it where it ain't appropriate -- to be frank, I love it too!) Perhaps next time someone's fic is ready to be edited, why not post it to the list and have folks post their edits to the group? Very educational for all, I would think! (Hey, if *I* can do it and have it on a website for perpetuity!) Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 00:38:03 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: The Zoomway Subject: Re: First Impressions (part 1 of 6) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-06-03 23:13:49 EDT, you write: << This is an "unofficial" Soulmates Chronicle, not at all involved with the timeline as set up by Zoomway and co >> I should make a correction. I think it should read Annie Lansbury and Co. ;) She really pushed for the Soulmates Chronicles and I think she deserves the credit. Just thought I'd make a mention ;) Zoomway@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 23:56:08 -1000 Reply-To: shore@maui.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jamee Jones Subject: last part of S5 ep#15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi everyone! I was reading S5's episode #15 (can't remember the name of it, but it was a continuation of #14, the one with Clark stuck in the time vortex >from tempest and Lois thought he left her.) and I don't have the very end! I guess when I copied it onto disk from the archive, it didn't copy all the way. I also can not get into the archives now (what is going on with that?) like I've heard so many others complain about. I was probably almost to the end, but it left off at the part where Clark insisted on taking Lois to the doctors (Dr. McGrath) and they had just been called into room 6. If any one has that story saved, can they please email me the end of it? Thanx a bunch! j-me ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 08:53:38 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Lori McElhaney Subject: Re: last part of S5 ep#15 Comments: To: shore@maui.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I've got it saved - I'll send it to you Lori ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 10:10:14 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Patricia Chenenko Subject: Re: Editing sample now online MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I just wanted to say "thank-you" to Leanne and her editors for allowing those of us who are interested in writing and editing fanfic to see the effort that goes into bringing a story to fruition. It was very interesting to see how different editors approached "First Impressions." The use of "First Impressions" for this was particularly interesting because of the complexity of writing in the Regency style in addition to all of the other components that go into a good story. Though I am not a great fan of Regency-style romance, I really enjoyed this story. I felt that it was very "true to form" in the use of descriptive text and period dialog. I would have liked to have seen more of the developing relationship between Mr Kent and Miss Lane, but even that seemed consistent with the style of the story, so I didn't miss it too much. I really hope to see more of this either on the list or on a website, I think it contributed greatly to my enjoyment of the story. Thanks again. Patty pchenenko@worldnet.att.com chenenko@eden.rutgers.edu ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 07:23:18 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: First Impressions (part 1 of 6) In-Reply-To: <99a9a084.3577762c@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >In a message dated 98-06-03 23:13:49 EDT, you write: > ><< This is an "unofficial" Soulmates Chronicle, not at all involved with the > timeline as set up by Zoomway and co >> > > >I should make a correction. I think it should read Annie Lansbury and Co. ;) >She really pushed for the Soulmates Chronicles and I think she deserves the >credit. Just thought I'd make a mention ;) > Oops :) I didn't know that. Sorry Annie -- forgive me??? Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 11:29:35 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Hall, Melissa" Subject: Soulmates (was- RE: First Impressions (part 1 of 6)) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >In a message dated 98-06-03 23:13:49 EDT, you write: > ><< This is an "unofficial" Soulmates Chronicle, not at all involved with the > timeline as set up by Zoomway and co >> > > >I should make a correction. I think it should read Annie Lansbury and Co. ;) She really pushed for the Soulmates Chronicles and I think she deserves >the credit. Just thought I'd make a mention ;) Weeny lil question- timeline? I've read "The Lone Rider" and the one set in Italy (I forget the title alread) and I've heard rumors of "The Seahawk" running around in n-fic land, so I've got an idea of what the Chronicles end up like, but is there an 'official' timeline set up for these things? Are there more in the works? What are Annie Lansbury and Co up to? Misha > ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 20:33:18 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Joan Organization: MailCity (http://www.mailcity.com:80) Subject: Re: Batchelor Party... Fanfic Request Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Well, I am looking for the fanfic "Batchelor Party" as well. When the Krypton Club distributed it, I only got part 1, and part 2 never came. So, please, if anyone has a copy of the fic, please send a copy to me? Thanks in advance.:) --- Joan aka dmj ***************************************************************** * My Lois & Clark page: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~dmyeung/ * ***************************************************************** Get your FREE, private e-mail account at http://www.mailcity.com ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 00:00:30 -0400 Reply-To: datah@epix.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Raymond Woodruff Subject: SoulMates Chronicles? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi, With all this talk of the "Soulmates Chronicles" I was wondering if someone could tell me where I could get them? Thanks, Ray ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 21:45:56 +1000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jenny Stosser Subject: news for aussie FoLCs (Melbourne & Perth only) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I'm on digest, so I don't know if this news has gone out yet. Lois & Clark airs on Sunday afternoon (7 June) at 4pm on Channel 9, starting in Melbourne with Stop The Presses. According to my TV Guide (online at http://www.sofcom.com.au and work your way from there) STP will also air in Perth on Saturday June 13 at 4pm. -- Jenny Stosser -*- jenerate@ozramp.net.au -*- (Jenerator or Some1Else on IRC) -*- My ICQ# is 11477318 -*- This message is umop ap!sdn -*- Photos of David (5) and Megan (2) on the Stosser Family HomePage: http://geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/4583 Please sign our guestbook! ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:15:30 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Goodfic ;)-- NEW FANFIC Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit With all this badfic going around, I figured that we were all ready for some serious stuff-- goodfic! Or perhaps I should say, "longfic" :) Well, I hope it's good, anyway. It is a brand new piece of fanfic that I wrote-- the longest one I've ever managed to complete. It'll take quite a few emails to send all of it to the list, so bear with me. I hope you enjoy it and, if you do, please tell me :) It's entitled "Purple Haze", and it stars Clark, Lois, Lana Lang, and Claude (uh-oh!) That said, I'll start putting it into emails. Peace, Love, and Superman, ~~>Susan<~~ ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:15:45 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 1/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Thanks go to Paul McCartney and my sister, Laura, for the title of the story (although it was an accident on Laura's part--she was quoting Paul) and to Laura for the title of the drug (which was also sort of an accident--she thought I wanted a gang name and said 'Purple Flower Gang'). Also to my friend Lena, who unknowingly contributed Claude's last name. Special thanks to my other sister, Rachel, for letting me talk out new ideas until they worked in the story and for making me combine my two A-plots into one because she hates the kind of story that switches back and forth. (She also advised me to team up one main character with one new character since I was dividing them, but I refused to make a team of Lana and Clark, Lois and Claude, Clark and Claude, or Lois and Lana for any kind of permanent thing.) I was also inspired a good deal by Marta Olson's "Gypsy Clarkie". My mom gets extra special thanks because she let me have a laptop in my very own room, so I didn't have to worry about people looking over my shoulder as I typed. As you can imagine, it greatly increased my productivity. :) And don't everybody email me at once telling me I'm terrible at writing 1st season Lois-- She hasn't been hurt by Claude yet, so she's not quite so paranoid about men. Clark has already found the globe, and so knows about Krypton, but he is not Superman yet. And a small beagle named Snoopy helped me with the beginning of my story. :) PURPLE HAZE by Susan VanCott (Kirshnera@aol.com, Kirshnera on the IRC) It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, a shot rang out. A door slammed. The maid screamed. Suddenly a pirate ship appeared on the horizon! While millions of people were starving, the king lived in luxury. Meanwhile, on a small farm in Kansas, a boy was growing up. The next day was clear and calm. The shot had actually been a tire blowing out. James apologized for slamming the door. The maid realized that the fuzzy thing was not a spider, but a piece of lint. Sean's mother made him clean up his pirate ship made of legos. Mark turned off the movie when he saw that the king was played by Nicholas Cage. The boy in Kansas grew into a man and became a reporter. It was a slow day at the Smallville Press. It was always a slow day. Very seldom did anything happen that would merit attention of a real newspaper. But today was especially un-newsworthy. There were no large events in state, nation, or world news. So the SP staff were bored. Clark sat at his desk, thinking about the future. He seemed to do that a lot. He was only 24, and he had his entire life ahead of him. He could never make a career out of editing this paper. It wasn't the kind of life he wanted. Newspaper, yes. Smallville's, no. He wanted to work on a real paper. One that was always filled with murder, scandal, and all sorts of real news. Lana knew this about him. She understood that he couldn't stand being so close to what he'd always wanted to do, and yet so far from it. He had talent, real talent, and this was no place to use it. He *should* go to some big city, LA, New York, or Metropolis, maybe, and get a job in one of those big papers. He *should*, but he wasn't going to. This was mostly her fault. She didn't want him to go. They'd talked about it so many times in the past, and they would undoubtedly talk about it again in the future. In fact, they'd probably talk about it tonight. He was bringing it up more than ever before, and days like this were just the kind of days for which brooding about futures were made. If he went to the big city, it would mean he'd have to leave Smallville, to leave *her*. And she didn't want that. He'd fly away and never come back. He'd always been rather uncomfortable in the country after his parents had died four years ago. Oh, he'd deny it and try to pretend it wasn't true, but it was. She could tell. So once he got out, he would never come home. But now she was facing a new problem. This disagreement was driving them apart. She had thought that it wouldn't make a difference, that he would just forget about it, but he hadn't. And now there was only one solution. If she wanted to keep Clark and keep Clark happy, she would have to go to the city as well. She didn't want to leave her home, but maybe the big city would be okay. She'd always fancied being a city girl. Besides, it wouldn't hurt if Clark had a bigger salary. ************************ That night, as Lana and Clark were walking home, she told him her idea. He was ecstatic, as she knew he would be. "Oh, Lana, you won't regret this! We'll both love the city! Metropolis! Just think of having a job at the Daily Planet. It's the biggest newspaper in the country! Or maybe the New York Times." "I've always wanted to go to Metropolis, Clark," she lied. She merely liked it better than New York or LA. She'd heard the people of Metropolis were nicer than those of than New York and the city was less polluted than LA. "Metropolis it is, then." He draped his arm around her and squeezed her close, sighing contentedly. She allowed herself a smile, too. Pleasing Clark was more important than staying in the country. Besides, she could always make him come back home if she was there, too. Her hold on him wouldn't be able to diminish the way it would if he left alone. A while later, in Metropolis... "Clark, Lana, welcome to the team," Perry White said. "You're good writers, and I think you could be an asset to us." "Great!" Lana exclaimed. "What can we work on first?" "Slow down, there, Lang. First of all, you two are not going to be a team. I'm sorry, but I just can't put two new reporters together. Now, Kent, from what I've seen of your writing, and believe me, I'm glad I looked past that 'Knob-Tailed Gecko' thing, you would be a good match for Lois Lane." "Lois Lane? But she's--" She's what? Referred to as 'Mad Dog Lane'? The most famous reporter in the country? "She's a good complement for your writing skills. Now, for you, Lang, I think Claude Bardeau. Yes, definitely." Perry leaned out of the door of the conference room. "LOIS!! CLAUDE!!" he bellowed. They came running. "Yes, Chief?" Lois asked. "I'd like you to meet Clark Kent and Lana Lang. They're new to the Planet." Lois and Claude knew what that meant. It meant that they would soon have partners, if only for a short time. "Lois, I want you to team up with Clark here for a while, and Claude, you work with Lana. Show them the ropes and write some good stories while you're at it. Lois, what are you working on?" "The Kelley murders." "Good. Take Kent and fill him in on what you've got. Claude?" "The Purple controversy." "Okay, do the same with Lana. Now, get to work!" ***************************** They all walked out of the conference room in a group. "Come on, Clark, let's get to work," said Lois. "Yes, we'd best get going as well," remarked Claude. Lana looked at Clark. "See you later. Good luck." "You too, Lana." Then the two teams walked their separate ways. Lois and Clark headed for the elevators. "I hope you wore comfortable shoes," said Lois as they got in and the doors closed. "Okay, here's what's going on with this story. There's a family. Theodore Kelley, his wife, June, and their twins, Charlie and Brian. Last night, all of them were murdered in their house. Four bullets, each through the head. Everything was wiped clean of prints and there were no signs of struggle. Right now, we're trying to find people who have a motive to kill these four." "What line of work was Theodore in?" She nodded in approval at his question. "He was a scientist at STAR Labs." "STAR?" "It stands for Scientific Technological Advanced Research, or something like that. Lots of impressive, state-of-the-art equipment and lots of controversy." "Is that where we're going?" "Very good. Yes, it is." They got off the elevator when it reached the basement. Clark followed as Lois walked to a parking space with a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee. "And here's something to learn right now. This," she pointed to the space her car was in, "is *my* parking space. Do not park here." "I don't even have a car." "Public transportation maniac?" "Nope. Just can't afford one yet." "Oh." She unlocked the car doors. "Get in," she commanded. Clark got in the passenger side and Lois got in the driver's side. The doors slammed in unison. Twenty seconds later, the car pulled out of the space and drove out of the garage. ******************************** CONTINUED IN PART 2 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:16:01 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 2/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ******************************** "Okay," said Lana. "What's the deal with this purple thing?" "Well," said Claude, "Purple is a new drug. It's mind-altering. The creators were thinking to use it as some sort of corrective behavior. An alternative to lethal injection, if you will. Anyways, they've been testing it on animals, but obviously the results will not be the same as they would be on people. So the scientists want to use human subjects. Criminals who have long sentences. The criminals would volunteer to be guinea pigs for the new drug in exchange for a reduction of their sentences. Naturally, this creates controversy with two groups of people. The human-rights activists who say that scientists should not test drugs on any people, willing or not, and the people who say that the testers should not offer a sentence reduction to hardened criminals. They say that it is dangerous, that even if a man appears to repent, he may still kill or whatever again. Also, the animal people are still on the scientists backs for testing on animals." "Sounds like a lot of people hate this new drug." "Yes, but a lot of people are really hoping that it will turn out to work. Purple could save billions of tax dollars that go into building jail cells and caring for prisoners." "Has it hurt any of the animals tested?" "If it had, would they be testing on humans?" Whoops. That was stupid, Lang. She'd have to get better in this field if she was going to continue here. Her skills might pass in Smallville, but they were going to take some improving to make it in Metropolis. "Okay, so what are we doing now?" "Well, we're going down to STAR Labs to get a few quotes from the protesters and a few from the scientists. Then we write it into a story." "That's it?" "What were you expecting?" "That, I don't know, there'd be more to it than that. I mean, this is Metropolis. Aren't there bigger stories than this?" "There are, but we aren't currently on them. Lois and that new guy, what was his name..." "Clark." "Right. Clark. Lois and Clark are on the bigger of the two stories. A murder case. So what we do is finish this story and then go work on theirs." "Wouldn't that be too many people?" "Sometimes you can never have too many people. Not all of reporting is sneaking around. Some of it is good old fashioned leg work. And the more legs, the merrier." He glanced down at Lana's legs, not quite to her embarrassment, with a look that stated that hers were particularly welcome in the job. "Well, ah, let's get going, shall we?" "Yeah." They left via elevator and went down to the garage to get Claude's car, a black convertible. "Stylish, no?" he asked. "Very," Lana replied. "I would have gotten red, but the job occasionally requires me to blend into the shadows, and red is not quite blendable." "I see." "Well, get in, get in. We don't have much time to stand about." ************************* Lois and Clark had to fight their way past a huge crowd that was outside of STAR Labs' door. All the people were protesting the new drug that was being tested, Purple. There was a guard at the gate, preventing their entrance. Lois held up her press ID and shouted, "Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Daily Planet!" over the din of protester's voices. The guard allowed them to enter. When the door shut, the place was suddenly quiet. They walked to the front desk and showed their IDs. They got permission to go into one of the laboratories, where a Dr. Bernard Kline worked. They walked in and up to a plump balding man in a lab coat. "Dr. Kline? Lois Lane." She stuck out her hand and shook that of the man in the coat. "And I'm Clark Kent," Clark said, shaking Kline's hand as well. "We're with the Daily Planet and we were hoping you could help us with our investigation." "Teddy Kelly's murder?" Dr. Kline asked. "Yes." "Terrible thing, that. He was a great scientist. June was a wonderful woman too, and those twins were so adorable..." "Dr. Kline, we were wondering if you could tell us what Dr. Kelley was working on when he was murdered." "Oh. Right. He was working with me. On Purple." "Purple?" Clark asked. "You haven't heard of Purple?" "He's new," Lois offered for an explanation. "Oh. Well, Purple is a new drug, still in the experimental stage. It would be used for a kind of mind control. Well, that's not it exactly. It alters the brain so that we can program out specific things. We'd use it on criminals to reduce or even destroy their criminal tendencies. It would work best on kleptomaniacs, but it would help a lot of criminals to change their ways. The only problem is that we need to do some human testing. As with a lot of drugs, we would test it on criminals in exchange for a sentence reduction." "Is that what all those people are protesting?" "Yes. They think we shouldn't test on humans, they think we shouldn't give criminals sentence reductions, they think we should not be allowed to develop ways to mess with human minds, blah, blah, blah. Personally, I think it's a wonderful idea, as long as it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." "I see your point. So, Kelley was probably killed because of Purple?" he asked. "Well, that's the strange thing. Nobody really knew that he was working on it. If anybody, they'd go after me. He wasn't in charge or anything. So I doubt it was for Purple." "Well, thanks for talking to us, Dr. Kline," Lois said. "It was no problem." He handed Lois a business card. "If you need anything else, I'd be glad to help." "Thank you," said Clark. ****************************** When they got out into the lobby, the receptionist pointed them out the back way. "It's a lot less crowded that way." They thanked her and moved out of the building. "She was helpful," commented Lois. "What?" "The receptionist. Shirley." "What makes you say that?" "Usually when I go in, she's kind of rude or at least cold. She never offers anything useful." "Well, maybe she's had a change of heart." "Maybe..." Lois said, doubtfully. She knew why Shirley had been so weird. It was obviously Clark. Some women were so shallow. Just because there was a good-looking guy there, they'd go all over themselves just to help him. Okay, a great-looking guy. Really, really... Lois made herself stop. He and that Lana Lang woman seemed to be a couple, and that meant hands off. But he could be useful, getting information and getting away from people. As a rule, Lois didn't really love to have partners. You didn't get where she was today by being nice, friendly, and part of a duet. At least she didn't. But now that she was where she was, she could use this to her advantage. And heck, he *was* easy on the eyes, in a way that was different from other people. He just sort of had an aura of small-town charm, good looks, and kindness. In short, he was unlike Claude. Claude was handsome as well, but in a different way. Claude was more, well, French. He seemed to be more of a James Bond type. So sexy, million women at his beck and call, that sort of thing. Clark had the surfer thing going. No, that wasn't quite it. That kind of body, yes, but not that kind of intelligence. He looked smart. Really smart. Well, she'd find out eventually if they were going to be working together. "So, what do you think?" she asked him. He could tell by her tone of voice that she already had a theory and was testing him. He said what he had been thinking and hoped it was what she wanted to hear. "Well, I think Dr. Kline is wrong. It's gotta be Purple. There are probably thousands of people who don't want that drug to come out, and not all of them would be content holding signs on the street corner. A drug like that could be extremely dangerous. Things that are extremely dangerous usually seem to fall into the wrong hands." Well, so far she was pleased with what she was hearing from the new guy. "That's what I was thinking. So now we have to find out who it was. Claude and...?" "Lana." "Claude and Lana are working on the people protesting Purple. They might be able to find out who some of the main people who don't want Purple to come out are. Also, we should find some people that Kelley has been talking to. I've got a hunch that it might prove useful." "Good. Now where to?" "Back to the Planet to do some research on Purple, mind-altering drugs, and the people who hate them." They got into Lois' car and drove off. "Where are you from?" asked Lois as they drove. "Smallville, Kansas." "No kidding? A farm kid..." Clark wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult or not, so he let it be. "I edited the paper, but I wanted to try a real paper. There was almost never any news at home." Except for the accident. "What accident?" Clark was startled, not having realized that he'd spoken out loud. He sighed. "I was nineteen when it happened, and still a reporter. It was the only really big story I'd ever done. And I almost couldn't handle it. My parents were..." he paused for a second when his voice wavered. "They were hit by a truck. The truck belonged to something called 'Bureau 39'. Alien hunters. It was the biggest thing to ever hit Smallville, and the worst thing ever to hit me." He balled his hand up into a fist, and mentally castigated himself for getting so emotional. Some impression he was making on Lois. She'd probably think he was whiny and juvenile. She didn't, though. "I'm sorry, Clark. It must be hard to talk about. Especially since it was so recent. Only..." "Five years." "You loved them very much, didn't you?" "Yeah. More than anything." They had been the only ones ever to know that he was different. He hadn't even told Lana, and they had known each other for as long as they could walk. After his parents had gone, he hadn't had anyone to talk to. No one would have understood. Lois tried to switch the subject. "Is Lana from Kansas, too?" "Yes. She and I grew up together." "Well that's nice. Are you two a couple?" Clark blushed a little. "Yeah..." "Wow, and she came all the way to Metropolis for you?" "Well, at first, she didn't want me to go and leave her or something like that. She didn't want to leave Smallville. But then she must have changed her mind because here we are." So he was only here because she had *let* him come, with her supervision. Lois was starting to really not like Lana, which was not a good thing to start. She was part of the team now, and Lois didn't really know her yet anyway. Besides, anyone who could get this kind of guy couldn't be *all* bad. Clark had to see something in her. ************************** CONTINUED IN PART 3 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:16:11 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 3/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ************************** Lana was quite surprised at the size of the crowd around STAR Labs. It seemed like everything in Metropolis was on a larger scale than that of her hometown. Claude didn't seem to be fazed by any of it. She supposed he was used to it already. "Look, I'm going inside, all right? Get some quotes from the protesters outside. They'll be perfectly willing to talk to the press, but only talk to the ones who look like they know what they're doing. Some of them are just here because there's a chance of getting on TV, and some are just here because friends or relatives talked them into it." "Okay. You're going to talk to the scientists?" "Hopefully. They know me in there, so I would be able to get in easier without you. Sorry, but that's they way it is." "That's okay. I'll just do the work out here." "Good luck, cherie." With that, he left, pushing through the crowd of people towards the door. Lana looked around her, feeling rather overwhelmed by it all. She was supposed to get quotes from people who looked like they knew what they were doing. Right. How could she tell what people those people were? She didn't know who to talk to. This was not going well at all. The first and hardest part was probably getting started. She had to talk to somebody, so she might as well talk to... Her thoughts were interrupted by a huge explosion coming from the laboratories. All of the windows blasted outward, raining glass along the sidewalk and on the front yard. Smoke and fire poured from the empty spaces. *************************** "Clark?" asked Lois. She looked around the Planet, but her new partner was nowhere to be found. She figured he had probably had to go to the bathroom or something. ************************** People who were in the building suddenly felt themselves propelled outward by some unknown force that felt like a powerful pair of hands. Many ended up on the sidewalk in safety, not knowing how they got there. Just about every single person in STAR Labs got out safely, and not one of them knew why. Claude felt himself fly through the air and land. There was a gust of wind and then nothing. Had he been blown by the force of the explosion? He didn't think so. He wondered what had caused the explosion. Had it been a bomb? A science experiment gone awry? Now *this* was news. He bet it had something to do with Purple. Lana ran over to him. "Claude? Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. What a story this will be!" "What happened?" "I have no idea." They looked around at the other people, who were mostly confused. Some of them were on their knees, thanking the Lord for the miracle they'd received. Others were just looking around, trying to comprehend what had just happened. ************************** Police, fire trucks, and ambulances arrived on the scene moments later. The ambulances went away empty, thanks to the "miracle", and the firefighters soon had the fire out. There was surprisingly little damage. The blast had been confined to a small area, although it had seemed tremendous. Claude had called Lois, who, after finding Clark, pulled him down to the laboratory to investigate. When they got there, they found a shaken Dr. Kline. "Dr. Kline, do you know what caused the blast?" Lois asked. "No idea. It was in the section of the labs that was testing Purple. This could be incredibly dangerous. Everybody who was in the area is exposed. We don't know what it can do yet!" he exclaimed. As he talked, his voice had become more and more hysterical. Now he was practically shouting. "They were here protesting the testing of the drug, and now it's tested on them! We have to get back in there now and study it! It may be a matter of life or death!!" "Dr. Kline, please, calm down!" Clark put his hand on the man's shoulder. "It didn't hurt any of the animals, did it?" "No. They were all fine." "Well, then, it probably won't hurt people." "But we don't know that for sure. It didn't hurt animals in a controlled testing situation, but who knows if it would hurt them in a blast! We don't know how much the people got of the drug. Heat makes it grow! We hadn't tested what a quick intense blast of heat would do, but I think it would grow over 200%. Who knows what that kind of exposure could do to people?" "The people outside. Would they have been at risk? They weren't in the direct blast. They didn't get the fire. So they should be safe, right?" Lois asked. "Y-yes. I suppose that's correct. The people inside, however..." "Well, they were all scientists. They should be willing to help test the effects of the drugs." "That's right. I'd better go talk to them right now! Excuse me!" With that, Dr. Kline left. "He's quite a character," Clark remarked. "Yes, but some of his concerns may be justified. We don't want to start another cancer. Let's find Lana and Claude." "Lana, are you okay?" Clark asked as soon as they saw the other reporters. "Yes, we're both safe. All the people who were in the lab got out somehow. We've been talking to them, and they say it was some invisible force propelling them out the nearest window or door and then placing them safely on the ground." "That's strange," said Lois. "Well, you two keep working on that angle. Make it a puff piece if you have to, but find out different people's theories on what happened. Clark and I are working on how the blast got started and what the effects are." "Got it," said Claude. He knew better than to argue with Lois when she was hot on the trail of a story. They parted ways, and Lois turned to Clark. "Let's go inside." "Inside? But Lois, there are cops and people all over. We can't go inside! Besides, who knows if it's safe in there? We'd be exposed to Purple!" "Clark! We have to do it to get the story! Besides, all of the smoke and gas is gone. Come on!" She ran off, leaving Clark with no choice but to follow her. He knew he could probably protect her from anything, but he didn't really want to reveal himself unless it was absolutely necessary. He was also harboring a small, nagging doubt. He wasn't sure if he had remained totally anonymous. It could just have been his paranoid brain, made especially active by this being his first big rescue in what he hoped to be his home, but he had been almost positive that some of those people had looked directly at him. Still, it had felt so very good to help. He had always tried to help wherever he went. Lana didn't know, but he had traveled around the world. Extremely short trips, as he hadn't wanted to be caught, but he had still taken them. It was what had fueled his desire to move to a big city. He loved the life that pulsed from them. It was so intriguing. It was that life which called to him, begged him. He saw a disaster coming and he just had to stop it. It would be a tragedy to kill all that life. He somehow knew that he had been brought here to help, to make a difference. He never thought that on his first day on the job, he'd be breaking into a large burnt laboratory, however, with a beautiful intrepid reporter. But then that was the pace of the life he'd chosen. And it *was* kind of exciting. He wondered briefly why it was so exciting. Just being someplace that he wasn't supposed to be? Was that it? Or was it the company? He had to admit, he felt *something* for Lois Lane. He also felt guilty for feeling it. What would Lana think? She'd get jealous and upset, that's what would happen. So he had to hold this feeling in check. He barely even knew Lois anyways, and Lana had been his best friend his entire life. They poked through the rubble that had been blown into the hallway. There was a ton of broken glass and some strange-looking things. With the eye of an expert, Lois picked her way to where the blast seemed to have originated. She turned to Clark as they walked in the doorway. "I'll bet anything this is the room that they were testing Purple in." They looked through cabinets and drawers, but most of the things were burnt and unidentifiable. It did appear that they were testing some kind of drug, however, as far as Clark could tell from the remnants of the equipment. He told Lois as much. She seemed rather surprised at his knowledge. "I did a lot of research while I was in school," he offered by way of explanation. She bought it. "Okay, then. It was definitely Purple." "Not *definitely*, Lois." "Fine. *Probably* Purple. Is that better?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "So it's gotta be someone who doesn't want this drug on the market." "Well, there are a lot of people like that." "Disgruntled scientist who was fired?" "We could ask Dr. Kline if there were any." "Other than that, we should probably find out what Claude and Lana know about who doesn't want this drug to be tested. It has to be someone who knows people, who has connections." "Lois, is there any chance it could have been an accident? They do happen, you know." "I know they happen, but they *don't* happen here. STAR Labs is the most professional, most careful laboratory in the world. They have never had an explosion. It just doesn't happen. Somebody had to have planned this." "What about Kelley? He was working on Purple. Do you think his murder had something to do with this?" "Yes. They have to be connected." ******************************* CONTINUED IN PART 4 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:16:30 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 4/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ******************************* "Who is this we're meeting again?" "Bobby Bigmouth, Clark. He's one of the best sources in the business. He knows *everything*." "And you think he might have a clue as to who killed Kelley?" "He always does." They drove in silence for a few minutes, and then Clark broke it. "Why are we stopping?" "For food." "Lois, it's ten in the morning. How can you be hungry?" "I'm not. It's for Bobby. It's how I pay him." "And how he earned his name? I thought it was because he blabbed other people's secrets." "Nope. It's for his big appetite." ********************************** After getting food from an Indian restaurant, they drove to Centennial Park, where they were to meet Bobby. He soon showed up, grinning. "What'd you bring me?" he asked. "Indian. What do you know about Theodore Kelley?" "Scientist for STAR Labs." "We know that." "Worked on something called Purple." He took one of the bags of food and started digging through it. "Mmm. I love this." "Bobby, we know all about Purple. Was Kelley killed because of it?" "Word on the street is that Kelley was taking bribes from someone to keep him posted on the research, and then later give him the drug. Kelley apparently decided it was too dangerous a drug to give to such a large criminal, and went back on his deal. So he was killed." He rammed some food into his mouth. "Who is this someone?" "It's a crime gang known as Intergang. They're not much yet, but the things they're planning--look out, Metropolis. Curry and apples. You wouldn't think that would taste good, but it does." "Bobby, did this have anything to do with the explosion?" "Wha?" he asked with his mouth full. "For thith?" He gestured to the bag. Lois held out the second bag. Bobby swallowed and smiled. "Somebody else knew about the drug. Another scientist. Daniel Moore." "What did he do?" queried Clark. "I don't know. He might have had something to do with it, though. He was the kind of person who, if he took it into his mind, would be capable of doing something like that." "About Intergang, do you know who's involved with it?" "What did you say your name was again?" "Clark Kent." "Right. No, Clark, I don't know. There aren't even whispered names going on right now. But tell you what. Since you're new to Metropolis, and you look like a nice guy, I'll poke around for you. See what I can dig up. I'll call you if I find anything. And if I do, dinner at the restaurant of my choice." "Deal," said Lois. ****************************** "Okay, now I say we go talk to Daniel Moore. See what he knows." "You're getting good, Kent." "Thank you." "Don't let it go to your head." He grinned. "I won't." Lois turned the car into the driveway. "This is the right house?" "Yup, Moore said 231 Eastwood Ave. This is it." "I was surprised he said he'd talk to us." "Wouldn't it look suspicious if he didn't?" "Well, he could easily have covered it with something else. He was too busy, or he didn't like the press, or something like that." Moore was waiting for them at the door as they drove up. He greeted them when they got out of the car. "You must be Lois Lane and Clark Kent. I'm Daniel Moore. Please, call me Daniel." "Daniel, then. We'd like to ask you a few questions about the explosion." "The explosion? At STAR Labs? I'm afraid I don't know anything about it." His voice was calm. "You see, I was home sick that day. Amazing coincidence." "Well, be that as it may, we'd still like to--" Daniel interrupted her. "Of course, of course. Please come in and I'll answer your questions." He ushered them inside his house and they sat down in the parlor. "Now," he asked, "what would you like to know?" "For starters, did you know about something called Purple?" asked Clark. "Purple?" Brian paused, deliberating over whether to lie or not. He didn't know what they were getting at yet, so he went with the truth. It was easier than a lie. "I've heard of the drug, yes. A very dangerous thing, that." "Did you know Theodore Kelley?" asked Lois. "Everybody who worked at STAR Labs knew Teddy Kelley. He's quite the scientist. His morals weren't always in the right place, but his brains were certainly functioning amazingly well." Daniel's eyes widened slightly as he realized he'd just made a mistake, mentioning Teddy's morals. He hoped the reporters wouldn't pick up on it. But they did. "His morals? What do you mean by that?" "Oh, it's just a vague impression I got of him when I started working," he tried to explain. Lois and Clark didn't buy it, but they didn't press further. "We heard that Kelley was making deals with a leader of a criminal gang concerning the drug. Did you know this?" "No... No I didn't. I guess my impression was right. His morals weren't in the right place. But I never guessed he'd do something like that!" "Well, thank you for your time, Daniel." Lois stood up, followed by Clark. They both shook Moore's hand. "No problem. Tell me if I can be of any further service." Lois and Clark left and drove away. Moore watched them from the window, looking out even after they were far out of sight. He clenched his hands into fists. "Too close. They're too close. I'll have to do something about that. All I wanted was to keep the drug away from Intergang. Was that too much to ask? Obviously." He turned away and let the curtain fall into place. ************************* Lois and Clark were driving home from work about a week later, talking. "What made you want to come to Metropolis?" asked Lois. "Oh, I don't know. The city just sort of called to me. I didn't want to work at such a small newspaper any more. I wanted to do something real, substantial." "Well, the Daily Planet certainly is that. I understand what you mean about the city. It's something about all the people, all the *life* going on all around you. It's addictive." Clark smiled. She really *did* understand. But then his smile faded. "Lois, do you see that car in back of us?" "Yeah..." It was a dark blue Chevrolet. "Does it look familiar?" "Now that you mention it, yes. It does. How long has it been back there?" "I don't know. I just saw it now, and remembered seeing it before." "Damn. They're following us." "Intergang, you think?" "Either them, or somebody Moore hired." "Can you lose them?" "Are you buckled up?" "Yeah." "Hang on tight." She swerved the car into a small side alley. The Chevy followed. Yup. They were definitely tailing them. Lois took a zig-zagging course through alleys, small streets, and main streets, always avoiding places with lots of traffic and dead ends. She knew the streets of Metropolis like her phone number, and she used all her knowledge. After a while, the car disappeared from their line of sight. "Yes! We've lost them!" "Don't celebrate so quickly, Clark. We don't know why they were following us in the first place, and they won't be gone for long. We're going to have to be very careful from now until we really get them." She drove to Clark's apartment and dropped him off. "Thanks for the ride, Lois," he said, as he did every night. She almost told him to stop saying that, but she kind of liked it. He was so polite, and that was refreshing in a guy. *********************** CONTINUED IN PART 5 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:16:40 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 5/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit *********************** The next day, Lois came to pick Clark up for work. As they were driving, they noticed the same Chevy behind them that had tailed them the night before. Since they were going to the Planet and the tailers probably knew they worked there, they ignored the car. When they had been at work for about an hour, Lois got a phone call from Moore. "Lois!" he exclaimed over the phone. "I'm glad I caught you! I've found something out that might help you. But I can't tell you over the phone. Come to the warehouse at 311 Ewing Street and I'll talk there." "Why a warehouse?" "I don't want anyone to know where I live if they follow us. I might just be being paranoid, but I'd feel safer in a warehouse." "Okay, we'll be there in fifteen minutes. Thanks a lot, Mr. Moore." She hung up and told Clark about the call. "A trap?" he asked. "Maybe. But if it is, we can probably get out of it. I know karate, and you look like you could take on Hercules at least." "Thanks," said Clark. ************************** They drove to the warehouse. It looked like no one was there, so at least Moore didn't have a gang of guys after them. Yet. They walked up to the door, which was open. "Mr. Moore?" called Lois, as they stepped inside. He walked out of the shadows, holding a gun. "So good of you to come, Miss Lane, Mr. Kent. Please step over this way." He gestured with the gun, as three other men, also bearing guns, walked out beside him. They forced Lois and Clark into a small storage room. It was probably used as cold storage when the warehouse had been functional. And it had not been abandoned for very long. The locks were still new, and the door was thick enough so as to be impossible to break down. The cooling system was still in place. It was obvious what Moore's plan was. "Get in." Lois and Clark were shoved at gunpoint into the freezer. "Now, I asked myself over and over what kind of death you two deserved. At first, I was going to shoot you. But that's too good for reporters. At least, it's too good for you, Miss Lane. But Kent is shaping up to be just like you, so I might as well get rid of you both now. So I opted for something a little longer, a little less pleasant. Perhaps it will serve as a warning to future investigators. You shouldn't meddle in other peoples' business! All I wanted to do was to make sure Intergang didn't get the drug." "Then why are you doing this? That's a noble cause," protested Lois. "No, you don't understand. I didn't want Intergang to have the drug, but that didn't mean *I* didn't want the drug. I wanted to be the exclusive owner of Purple, for distribution in small doses to the criminal element. Intergang would have taken that position and they would have made the millions." "So why did you *destroy* the drug, if you wanted it?" It was becoming Lois' opinion that this guy was galactically stupid. "Well, *I* can get it again. It's no problem to make. I just had to blow up the test area because I wanted to keep it a secret that Kelley had been dealing with Intergang. If everyone knew, others might try to strike the deal Kelley had with Intergang. That meant they'd get the drug, and I'd lose. The explosion destroyed all the evidence of Kelley's deal." "Did you kill Kelley?" asked Clark. "No. That wasn't me. I don't know who it was, or why. He was probably just mixed up in the wrong company and couldn't take it. I hated him, but I didn't kill him." "You realize that Intergang will still be trying to get the drug. They won't give up." Lois said it matter-of-factly. "I know that! But the explosion buys me some more time! So do your deaths. So say your prayers. And you'd better do it fast, because it gets pretty cold in here. And you're not dressed properly for the weather." Moore walked out and shut the door behind him. Lois ran to it, but it was locked tight. And it wouldn't budge. Overhead, they heard the coolant system kick into place. A minute later, the temperature began to drop. As the temperature in the room got lower and lower, Lois turned to Clark. "I guess this is it," she said, her voice slightly choked. "I can't believe I was so cocky that I thought the two of us could take whatever Moore had up his sleeve." "It's okay, Lois." "I'm sorry for dragging you into this." "You didn't do any dragging. I came along myself. It's not your fault." "I feel like it is, though." She bit her lip to keep her teeth from chattering. "Come here," Clark said. She moved over to him and he wrapped his arms around her. Pressed against his powerful chest, she felt a little warmer. She shivered a little and snuggled in closer. Despite the cold, she couldn't help but feel almost giddy at his nearness. She had been attracted to this guy since she had met him, and she guessed it was fate that dictated she spend her final hours with him. Clark held her in his arms comfortably. The cold didn't bother him. But he didn't know what to do. If he broke out, he'd have to tell Lois his secret. If he didn't, she would die. She sighed against his neck and he felt terribly guilty for enjoying the sensation. She was enjoying the sensations, too. His hot breath tickled her ear, and his arms felt *so* good around her, and not just because he was warm. Shivers born not of cold, but of excitement, ran up and down her spine. She pulled her head back enough to look into his eyes. There she saw a thrilling look of forbidden longing. She pressed forward to meet his lips. At first, Clark was startled, but it was what he had wanted, too. Lord help him, he *wanted* to kiss her. Lana's protesting voice sounded in his head, but it was faint and her words unclear. So he did what he wanted. Clark put his hand on the back of Lois' neck and kissed her passionately. She responded with a soft moan to the feel of his tongue in her mouth. It felt so *right* for them to do. But the voice inside of Clark's head grew louder. He pulled away sooner than either would have liked. "Lois, I..." She was breathing hard and her face had become slightly flushed. "I'm sorry, Clark. I know...Lana." "Lois, I'm sorry, too. If things were different..." "But they're not." He looked down. "No, they're not. Not in that way." He made up his mind. He couldn't let Lois just die. "They're different other ways, though." "What do you mean?" "Lois, I can get us out of here." "You can? How? Why didn't you tell me before?" "Because... I wasn't sure if I could tell you." "Clark, you can trust me. What is it?" "Lois, I'm not... from here." "I know that. Kansas." "No. Not Kansas. Somewhere else. Farther away. A different solar system." "Clark, this is no time for jokes." "I swear, Lois, this is no joke. I'm from a planet called Krypton, and I'm not quite like humans. And I can get us out of here." "And past the guards that are probably outside?" "We can go up." "Up?" "Up." He lifted her up, breaking through the ceiling, and out a window of the second floor. Lois looked down at the streets and houses that were getting smaller by the second. "Clark!" she gasped. ******************** CONTINUED IN PART 6 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:16:48 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 6/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ******************** They flew over the rooftops of Metropolis and landed on Clark's balcony. "Lois, we need to talk." "You bet your ass we need to talk!! What the hell *are* you?" "Let's start at the beginning." "I'm listening." "Maybe you should sit down," he said. They went inside and sat on the couch. Once they were seated, she turned to him and said, "Okay, explain. What is going on?" "Lois, there was a planet called Krypton. It was far away and had a red sun. A scientist named Jor-El learned that the planet was going to explode in a very short time. There was no time to build a spaceship large enough to hold both him and his wife, Lara, so they built one for their only son. "They sent the boy, Kal-El, to a different planet, one with a yellow sun. They did this because they knew that the people there were very close, biologically, to the Kryptonians and that the boy could blend in there and seem to be from Earth. "He landed in a small field in Smallville, Kansas, where two people who had wanted to be able to have children but couldn't found him and took him in. They raised him as their own, and they were the only ones who knew that he was different. Until their death, five years ago. Then the secret was held only by the boy himself, until..." "Until he told me." Clark nodded. "Lana doesn't even know?" "No. I could never bring myself to tell her. I don't know why." "I thought you two had been a couple for years!" "Yes, but it never seemed right. I mean, I didn't know what she'd have to say about it. She probably would insist that I never used my powers, but I have to, Lois. I have to help when I can. It's part of who I am." Lois couldn't argue with what Clark thought Lana would do. She knew Lana pretty well now, and Clark had known her for longer. Actually, it was uncertain whether Clark knew her better or not. Lois had seen that Lana's personality totally changed when she was around Clark. So if Clark had only seen that side of her... "Lois? Are you okay with this?"' She realized that she had been silent for a while, and that it was making Clark nervous. "Yeah. It's really neat, Clark. You probably have all sorts of advantages over other reporters. What can you do?" "Well, I can fly, but you already know that. I can see through pretty much anything, except for lead. I can hear things from far away. A lot of the time, if someone's in trouble, my hearing kicks in and I know where to go to help them. I can shoot these sort of heat beams from my eyes, and I can control the diffusion of the heat and the temperature. And then I can blow on things to freeze them. I can fly or run so fast that I'm almost invisible. I can't be hurt by anything." "Nothing hurts you?" "Nothing that I've seen so far. And I'm really strong. I'm not sure exactly how much I can lift, but that's because I've never come up against something that I couldn't lift." "Wow. Do you need to sleep or eat or anything?" "I need to sleep, but not as much as humans. Usually, I sleep the whole night through, but if I can't, it doesn't make a difference to me. I don't have to eat, but I like to, so I do. That's pretty much it. Oh yeah, the speed thing isn't just flying or running. I can do things like read a thousand page book in half a second, and still have read the entire thing and be able to remember it." "College must have been pretty easy for you." "Yeah, it was." He grinned a little. "You don't have to worry, Clark. Your secret's safe with me." "I know it is, Lois. I trust you." "You've only known me for a little over a week!" "Yeah, but I feel like it's been longer." Boy, did he. "I feel that way, too. And then it's like I don't know you at all, with these powers." "But I'm still the same person," he added, a little worriedly that she would look at him differently. "I know you are," she replied. "It's not your personality that's changed." He leaned over and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Lois. For understanding." He wished Lana would be the same way, if he ever got up the courage to tell her. "It's okay, Clark. Besides, it's got to have been hard, hiding this from everyone. How could you stand it?" He pulled back a little to look at her. "It *was* hard, and that's why having someone who knows means so much to me." But he still felt guilty. This should be Lana he was having this conversation with. The thought made him drop his arms from around her. She could almost tell what he was thinking. "Clark, you need a *friend* who knows. It doesn't have to be your lover. Sometimes it's okay if your friend and your lover are separate people." "She's not really my lover," he told her. Why did he say that? Why should he care if Lois thought he was sleeping with Lana? Lois smiled a little. "I didn't think she was. I mean, you don't seem to be the kind of person who would get that involved with someone without telling them... well..." She broke off, wondering whether he would think that she was criticizing his decision not to tell Lana. Clark just grinned. "You really *do* understand me." CONTINUED IN PART 7 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:16:56 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 7/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ABOUT A MONTH LATER: Clark heard a knock on his door. He quickly x-rayed through it, and saw that Lana was on the other side. He ran up the steps and flung it open. "Lana! Come in!" She walked in and hugged him hard as the door shut behind her. "What a month! Can you believe it? All this! I never knew the city would be like this." "I know. It's pretty amazing. Life in the fast lane." They walked down the steps, hand-in-hand. They sat down on the couch, and Lana turned to face Clark, a serious expression on her face. "Clark, are you happy? I mean, is this what you wanted?" "Lana, I can't explain how I feel about the city. I love it--it's so full and busy. This job is a dream come true. It's nothing like I'd expected it to be, but then it's *exactly* what I expected. Can you understand what I'm trying to say?" "Yes," she smiled. "I understand." She leaned forward and kissed him, lightly. She pressed forward into the kiss, forcing him backwards over the arm of the couch, opening her mouth against his passionately. He responded to her kiss, although not with the passion that she'd hoped for. She decided to move on anyways. She'd waited too long as it was. She reached down to untuck his shirt from his grey pants. This startled him, and he pulled back, except there was nowhere to pull back to, so he stood up suddenly. Lana looked up at him. "What? What's wrong?" "Nothing, it's just that... I'm... I'm not ready. It's too soon. I-I can't..." He toyed with his shirt cuff nervously. "Clark, you always say that. You're *never* ready! Why?" "Why? Um, I don't really know..." She sighed in exasperation. "You don't know? How could you not know? And how could it be too soon? We've only been dating for over a decade!" "Lana, I need--" "*You* need?! I've given you everything *you* need! You needed a friend to help you through your parents death, I was there. You needed someone to talk to in the small hours of the morning, I was the one on the other end of the phone. You needed to move away from the country, to throw your life away in the city, I came with you. I have needs too! And this happens to be one of them! I don't want a platonic relationship with you, Clark. I *need* a lover!" He almost didn't hear the end of her comment, he was so distracted by one in the middle of her speech. "Throw my life away in the city? Is that what you think I'm doing?" Lana realized that she had made a big mistake in confronting him like this. Well, they were going to get everything out in the open now, like it or not. "The truth, Clark? Yes. I think that's what you're doing. You're running away from Smallville because you didn't want to be there without your parents, and you're hiding in Metropolis. You never had some burning desire to be in the big city until they died. They're *gone*, Clark. Everyone has to let go sometimes, and you have to, too." Clark felt like he'd been slapped in the face. "How could you say that, Lana? I'm not *hiding* in Metropolis. *This* is what I've been missing all my life. Maybe it was my parents' deaths that released the final hold that Smallville had on me, but the city has always called to me. Why did you come here with me, then?" "Clark, you know that if you left you'd never come back. And you obviously weren't content to remain in Smallville with me. So I really had no other choice." "So you pretended it was what you wanted, too? Lana, didn't you think I could take the truth?" "No," she said defiantly. "I know you too well for that. Even if I had gotten you to stay, you'd never be mine. You'd be so miserable that we'd drift apart. So I gave you what you wanted, your way. But now it's my turn to get what I need. Do you think it's been easy, Clark? You've always played hard-to-get, and that's fine. But impossible-to-get is not fine. It's too much for me. I can't do this any longer. So what *is* it with you? Why are you so afraid of sex?" "Why are you so obsessed with it?" he countered. "Is that all a relationship is to you? Physical?" "Clark--" "That's all I am? A good body?" Clark had never felt so hurt in all his life. "No, Clark. That's not all you are. If it was, I'd have been gone a long time ago. You're my best friend, too. And it's just hard. I'm sorry I started this." She really did look contrite. "Lana, I'm sorry too. I'm just really really skittish about this. I thought you'd understand." "I do understand, Clark. I just blew up, and I'm sorry. I think I'd better go now." "Goodbye." They both got up and Clark walked her to the door. They tentatively kissed goodnight, although it was a bit uncomfortable after their conversation, and she left. Clark went back into his apartment, wondering what she had not told him and clueless as to where this relationship was going. Lana wanted sex... was that all she wanted? Had she really been his best friend all those years just for that? Why would anyone do that? She was so different from Lois. Where had that thought come from? It was true, though. Lois was constantly there for him, listening to him whenever he had a problem. She understood him completely. And Lana didn't. Well, he'd never given Lana an opportunity to understand *that* about him. But she'd proved that she didn't understand him even in things like why he'd moved to Metropolis. Was it a lack of communication? Or did Lois really know him better than the woman who'd been his 'significant other' all his life did? But maybe this whole conversation was just a lack of communication. And he *had* known her for his entire life. So he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. ********************* CONTINUED IN PART 8 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:17:04 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 8/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ********************* Lois woke up in the middle of the night, sweating. She put a hand to her flushed face, surprised by her dreams. She had been dreaming of Clark Kent. She knew that she was falling for him, and she hated herself for it. She hated herself, she hated Lana, who undoubtedly didn't deserve Clark's love, she just hated what was happening to her. Her emotions were closing in on her, a frustrating net that entangled her. She punched her pillow as hard as she could, but it didn't help at all. Why? Of all the men in the world, why him? Why the one that she could be only friends with? It was just not fair. She smashed her face into the pillow and let her tears of frustration flow. ********************** Lana drove home from Clark's house, upset. She had blown up at him, and she regretted it. But what she had said *was* true. She wanted him, and she didn't have the patience to wait any longer. He was really starting to get on her nerves. She had devoted practically her entire *life* to him, to his needs, and the *one* thing she wanted, he was too afraid to give. What the hell was the *matter* with him? What was she missing here? ********************* "LOIS! CLARK! IN MY OFFICE!" It was a normal day at the Planet. The sound of busy people working hard surrounded the reporters until Perry's voice cut through the noise. They rushed into his office. "I've got a story I want you two on. You'll have to go undercover. See, there has been a rash of murders down at 'Atlantis', and I want you two on it." "No," replied Lois. "No?" Perry repeated. "No. I'm not going undercover at Atlantis. Not again." "But Lois..." "No! Get Claude and Lana to do it!" "What's Atlantis?" asked Clark. "A nightclub," Perry replied. "Why not, Lois? You already know the moves. They love you there." "Forget it. Let Lana and Claude learn the moves." "But *you* already know how." "Clark doesn't." "You could teach him." "Forget it! Nothing doing!" "Besides, Claude isn't the right type." "Tough. We're not doing it." Clark had no idea what was going on, but he had never seen Lois so openly defiant of going on a story that Perry wanted them to do. She had griped to him, but she had never refused like this. "Lana and Claude are working on something else. You're doing the club." "Why undercover?" "It will be easiest." "Perry..." He interrupted her. "Lois. Read my lips. You're doing this story. So go. Teach Clark the routine. And don't try to tell me you've forgotten it, because I know it's not true." "Would somebody please tell me what is going on here?" Clark asked, exasperated. "Lois will fill you in," Perry said before turning back to Lois. "Now, you've got a spot that you can get in. You're a new act." "Both of us? Together?" "Yes. So work out a routine. I know you can do it." "Perry, please--" Lois began, disgustedly. "Lois!" He held up his hand. "I don't want to hear it. If you *do* have trouble getting a good routine, I can get someone who will help you. But try it on your own first." Lois opened her mouth to reply, but Perry's expression convinced her not to try it. So her visage changed into a glare and she turned around and left the room with Clark in tow. "Get your stuff," she commanded him. He did as she told, and then they got into the elevator. But before the doors closed, a young man carrying a large box rushed in. "Hi," he said. "Lois Lane and Clark Kent, right?" They nodded. "I'm Jimmy Olsen. I'm new here. Mr. White wanted me to give you this box. He said you'd need it for your story." He handed the box to Lois, who peeked inside. Something akin to a growl escaped her lips, and Clark wondered what exactly was in the box. The doors opened out onto the parking lot, and Lois rushed out. Clark paused a second to thank Jimmy, and then chased after her. "Lois, what's in the box?" he asked when they reached her car. They got inside and Lois tossed the box onto his lap. He opened it to find an Elvis costume and a fifties' outfit, complete with a poodle skirt. "What do we need this for?" he asked. "Our undercover assignment," she said resentfully. "He's making us do Elvis. I should have known." "I don't get it." "Let me put it this way. Congratulations, Clark. You just got a new job. You're a stripper." Now he understood her vehement protesting in the office. But there was something else that gave him pause. "You've done this before?" She twisted her face into a grimace. "Yeah, for a different story. Last year. It was the most humiliating experience of my life. At least this time, I won't be the only one." "Thanks a lot." "Well, it's easier to face something embarrassing in a group." "I know. So where are we going now?" "Your apartment so I can teach you the moves. Mine is too small to dance around in." Clark was silent for a minute. "You know, this reporter thing is not all it's cracked up to be." *************************** CONTINUED IN PART 9 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:17:12 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 9/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit *************************** Lana and Claude were called into Perry's office. "What do you want, Chief?" asked Lana. "Well, there's a rumor that there's some drug dealing going down over at a married couples' retreat up in Maine. I want you two to go there and find out what's been happening." "A married couples' retreat?" asked Claude. "Yeah. You'd have to go undercover. I already had some ID's made up for you. Claude and Lana Martin." He handed them a manilla envelope. "This has your ID's plus all the information you need, including the name and location of your contact. Go home and pack. Your plane leaves tomorrow morning at nine. Here's the tickets," he said, handing them another envelope, this one letter- sized. "Good luck." **************************** "I don't like this." Clark frowned as he looked in the mirror at the stupid Elvis costume. "Oh, I don't know. It's kinda cute." She almost giggled when she saw his glare. "Well, how about this?" she asked, twirling around. "I feel like I'm in a bad period movie." "No, poodle skirts are definitely your style. And I love the sparkles." "Shut up. Where's your guitar?" "I don't want to use it." "Tough. Get it. You'll throw it into the crowd anyways." "Good thing it's plastic." "Are you going to take off your glasses? Why do you wear them, anyways? I know you can't need them." "Lead crystal. When I was younger, they helped remind me to keep my powers in check. Now, I'm just used to them. They make me feel comfortable." "Well, if you want to keep them on, go ahead, but I think it'd be better without them. Or you should swap them for sunglasses. Yeah, sunglasses. Definitely." "I think I've got a pair around here." He walked around opening drawers until he finally pulled out a pair of sunglasses. He took off his glasses and put on the dark ones. "What do you think?" "Elvis didn't wear Ray-Bans, but it'll do." "Elvis' costume was a jumpsuit, and it didn't come off in small pieces." "This is true. Come on. I'll show you how it's done." They walked into the living room. "Could you move the sofa and stuff?" Lois asked. "Sure," Clark replied. He picked up the sofa with one hand and put it over by the bookshelves. He did the same with the coffee table and all the rest of the furniture. Lois grinned and shook her head. She had gotten used to his powers, but when he did things like that, she just had to pause in amazement. When their "stage" was cleared, Lois walked over to Clark's CD player. "Now, we'll have to get something with a good beat to practice with. Eventually, we should do an Elvis song, but we just need to learn for now." "There was an Elvis CD in the box," Clark offered. Sure enough, he took one out of the box that had contained their costumes and handed it to her. "Okay. That's good. This way we can learn to the music we'll have to perform to. But first, I'll show you what I learned a while ago. I'm just trying to see if you have a copy of the song I used." She looked through his CD's for a minute until coming up with 'Savage Garden'. "Good. You have it." She popped the CD into the player and skipped to track 6. "You'd better sit down," she advised. "And do *not* laugh. This is supposed to be a serious thing. And besides, I need to concentrate because my outfit's different and I have to change things because of that." "That, and it's embarrassing." "Yeah," she admitted. "And it doesn't go outside this room." "Don't worry, Lois. After all, I'm going to be doing the same thing." "I know." "Ready?" "No, but I'm as close as I'm going to get." She hit the play button and quickly moved into the center of the floor as a pulsing beat and haunting music filled the room. Then she began to move with the music. *** The moonlight... shines down interstellar beams and the groove tonight is something more than you've ever seen the stars and planets taking shape a stolen kiss has come too late *** Clark couldn't believe how much she was saying with hip and shoulder movement. A gauzy scarf that had been tied around her neck floated gracefully to the floor, and she was really getting into the feel of the music. *** in the moonlight carry on, keep romancing carry on, carry on dancing in the moonlight carry on, keep romancing carry on, carry on dancing *** She faced away from him, undoing the velcro in the front of her skirt that replaced clumsy buttons in only half a second, and bent over backwards to look at him. As the next verse blasted out of the speakers, she reached her hands up and flipped over slowly and gracefully, leaving the skirt to fall onto the floor. She continued dancing, with a red panty with a short skirt on the back half instead of the poodle skirt. *** you're never safe 'till you see the dawn and if the clock strikes past midnight the hope is gone to move under... in the moonlight carry on, keep romancing carry on, carry on dancing in the moonlight carry on, keep romancing carry on, carry on dancing *** As the music broke off into a more pulsing, demanding beat, she stripped off her shirt and danced in a tassled red bikini, gazing at Clark invitingly over her shoulder, flouncing her hip at him. He swallowed. *** Move. Closer. Passion. Stronger. there's a magic only two can tell in the dark night ultra violet is a wicked spell the stars and planets taking shape a stolen kiss has come too late *** She did not remove anything else, but continued her suggestive dance for the rest of the song, wearing her so-small-it-was-almost-illegal outfit. Clark couldn't imagine what the effect would be if this was in a dark smoky room with flashing lights. *** in the moonlight carry on, keep romancing carry on, carry on dancing in the moonlight carry on, keep romancing carry on, carry on dancing moving on... moving all night *** CONTINUED IN PART 10 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:17:29 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 11/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ******************** "Care for a drink, cherie?" "Sure, Claude. That'd be great." Claude opened a wet bar in their hotel suite and fixed Lana a drink. She accepted it and smiled winningly at him. Claude was quite the charmer. As she took the glass, her hand brushed his. Both froze for a few seconds, gazing into each other's eyes. Their faces were only inches apart. "Claude..." Lana whispered, unaware that she had spoken at all. Their lips met, shyly at first, but with a rapidly increasing passion. Lana's drink was spilled on the floor and the glass broken as she wrapped her arms around the French reporter. His arms went around her waist, pulling her closer, deeper into the kiss, his body demanding more in a way she had never felt from Clark. Clark... "Claude," she moaned. "I... I shouldn't..." "Why?" he murmured, nibbling on her ear. "Ummmm...Clark." She sighed as his teeth lightly scraped her neck. "Clark won't know." "He'd find out," she said, but made no attempt to pull away or to temper her response. "I won't tell him." "Oh..." she moaned. The part of her that didn't want to betray Clark was on the wrong side of the battle. In a coup d'etat, the side that wanted Clark won. She allowed herself to be picked up and carried to the bed, to be slowly undressed, to be taken... **************** Clark hit stop on the VCR. "I love that move," he said. "Yeah, so do I. Dustin Hoffman's pretty hilarious." "I wonder how Lana and Claude are doing on that drug story." "I don't know. I sort of doubt that there is any drug dealing going on there. They might be on a wild goose chase." "Yeah..." Clark was silent for a moment. "You're worried about Lana and Claude being together in a hotel room, pretending to be married, aren't you?" Lois asked. Clark looked startled. "How'd you--" "I know you, Clark. I can tell. Don't be worried. Trust her. Trust is a big part of any relationship. Trust that she can handle herself." "But Claude is so..." "I know. But it takes two to tango, if you get my meaning. If you trust her, trust that she won't betray you." "Yeah, I guess. I suppose there's nothing to get all stressed over. Lana can take care of herself." **************************** Lana lay in Claude's arms. He was asleep, and she was awake, wrestling with her mind. She had physically betrayed Clark. And it felt so...good. Liberating. She waited for the terrible guilt she had expected, but it came only in a tiny amount. Maybe Claude was just what she'd been needing. A lover. If Clark wouldn't be one to her, Claude was a good substitute. She wasn't really betraying Clark; she didn't love Claude. He was just good in bed, and that was all that mattered in their relationship. She snuggled a little closer to her paramour, content with her decision. Her eyes soon closed and she was asleep. **************************** The next day, Lana and Claude did a lot of investigating, and came to the conclusion that there was indeed no drug dealing going on. Every single lead they had followed had not panned out. They weren't upset at the loss of a scoop; they were just slightly uncomfortable as they would not know what to tell Perry. He didn't much appreciate it when a source turned out to be wrong. They were discussing whether or not to remain in Maine. Lana wanted to stay, to spend a little more time together where they were safe from prying eyes. Claude, having known Perry longer, figured that it would take quite a bit of explaining to get them out of trouble if they returned at the regular time, and didn't have a story. The budget was not a thing to be trifled with. Eventually, Lana decided to go along with Claude. They would leave that afternoon, and be back in Metropolis that night, as they were driving. The only thing was, neither one looked forward to having to hide their relationship. Claude because he enjoyed gloating about such things, and Lana because she hated having to worry about being found out. But they would have to return to their homes eventually, and now was better than later in the big picture. ****************************** Lois and Clark spent the day looking into the Atlantis murders. They couldn't find very much in the way of clues, but they figured that once they were undercover, it would be easier to sniff around. They had an audition tonight for the part of strippers. It was rigged; Perry had seen to it that they would get the job unless they were absolutely *awful*, and they weren't. They were just about to leave to get ready for the audition when the elevator doors opened and in walked Lana. Claude was not with her; they had agreed to come in separately as if they had each gone to their separate apartments, which they hadn't. "Lana!" Clark exclaimed surprisedly. "What are you doing back so soon?" She ran up to him and hugged him. "The source didn't pan out, so we came back since there was nothing to do." That was the understatement of the century, but whatever. "Well, that's really... great!" It wasn't great. He had to audition as a stripper that night, and now he would have to duck Lana. He had hoped that he and Lois could wrap up the entire case before she came back. There wasn't anything going on between him and Lois, he just knew she wouldn't like the two of them together. "Isn't it? Would you like to have dinner tonight, just the two of us? A sort of... welcome home?" She smiled winningly. Clark wasn't won. He wasn't paying attention. "Actually, Lana, there's something I have to do tonight, and I won't be back until late." She put on a pouty face. "How late?" "I'm not sure, but I think very late. I'm sorry." And he was. He really did want to spend time with her; she was the woman he loved, right? "Oh, Clark. What do you have to do?" "It's an undercover work thing." "Can't I come along?" "No. I'm sorry, Lana. You can't. It's just not possible." "Fine, I guess. We'll have to postpone my welcome home for another night." She smiled a little sadly. At least she'd have something to do this evening. She was sure Claude was free. And although she'd rather spend the evening with Clark, Claude wasn't too bad. "Well, I need to go home, get my stuff unpacked. I'll see you tomorrow!" She reached up and gave Clark a quick kiss on the lips. At this point, Claude walked in the door. He saw Lana kissing Clark and was overcome by a surge of jealousy. 'She's just doing it to keep up appearances' he told himself, but even he didn't believe it. She had known Clark for so long. But just maybe she didn't like him as much as she appeared to. She *had* slept with him, after all, and so she evidently didn't have too many qualms about betraying Clark. So he pretended he hadn't seen it, that it was inconsequential. It was only a little peck anyway. Nothing like what had passed between the two of them last night... and this morning. And this afternoon before they came into the Planet. He smiled at the memory. Lana might not have quite the amount of experience that other women had, but she *was* pretty damn good. *************************** CONTINUED IN PART 12 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:17:20 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 10/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit *** She stood still in the center of the room, catching her breath. She felt pleased at the... stunned look on Clark's face. At least there was one good thing about this story. "Well?" she asked. "It's... um... I don't think I can do that." She patted his shoulder. "Neither did I, but here I am. Don't worry. You can. It just takes some getting used to. Do you mind if I open a window?" "Go ahead." She walked to the window and opened it, letting the breeze cool her off. She almost didn't want to put that hot outfit back on, but she certainly wasn't going to walk around in front of Clark in *this*! On the other hand, he was going to have to get used to seeing her like this. The more it bugged him, the more reason she had to keep wearing it. So she could wait another few minutes before getting dressed again. She walked back over to Clark. "Now, the trick is to use everything. Any props, all your clothes, your body, everything. Since we're going to be dancing together, we have to use each other." "I thought we'd just sort of be doing the same thing, you know, like a line dance." "This isn't line dancing, Clark. No, we can't do the same thing. That could get boring." "I doubt it." "Well, yeah, but I mean it would be more interesting if we didn't. Besides, it's what they expect. We wouldn't want to get fired before catching the murderers, now would we?" "Well..." "Don't answer that. What I mean is that we have to use each other as props. Okay?" "I guess. Lois, would you mind getting dressed or something?" It was bothering him. Damn. "Sorry, Clark. You've got to get used to it. This is probably going to be the most difficult part. We have to get really comfortable seeing each other like this. Otherwise it will never work." Clark was about to protest, but he couldn't think of a good reason. "Okay." "Now, at the risk of sounding indecent, take off your clothes. Well, as much as you'd take off if we were performing. I need to see, you know, what you... look like so I can plan this routine to our best advantage." Clark started to leave, but Lois stopped him. "We've got to get used to this, remember?" So she watched as he took off the Elvis costume to reveal something half the size of what she was wearing. A little black thing that only covered the essentials. She bit her lip and pretended as hard as she could not to be affected. It didn't work. She closed her eyes for a second. This guy was *gorgeous*! He had a smooth lean torso with firm, slightly rounded pectorals and an attractive six pack for abs. His arms and legs were covered with muscles and very powerful looking. This was not going to be easy to get used to. She opened her eyes. "See, we have to get used to this. It wouldn't do for us to get all flustered on stage, now would it?" "Um, no. I guess not." "So let's get to it." ****************************** Lana and Claude had a lovely hotel room in Maine. It was a very romantic setting, and it was probably meant to be that way. They had spoken briefly to Kerri, their contact, and were now unpacking. Lana took the drawers on the left, and Claude had those on the right. After she had unpacked, Lana took a good look around the hotel room. It wasn't exactly luxurious, but it was nice. She drew back the curtains to gaze out at the pleasant scenery. From their position on the fifteenth floor, they could see not only the building where there were seminars and recreational rooms, but also all the houses and trees within miles. "It's lovely, isn't it, Claude?" she asked the man at her side. "Yes. It is very lovely, but not as much so as you are. In the light, you look like a ray of sunshine and warmth. When it is dark, you are as a moonbeam, cheering the bleak night." Lana blushed slightly. "Why, Claude!" she tittered. She was not used to being so complimented. Why couldn't Clark be more like Claude? The goodbye they'd said last night had been sweet, but not as romantic as this. ******************* Dr. Kline was busily testing the effects of Purple on human beings. It didn't seem to do much, but appearances didn't count for anything in the world of science and technology. Cancer never looked like much, either. Not until it grew. It started out as a little clump of cells. But it *was* possible that Purple was mostly harmless. That could be it. But Dr. Kline wasn't giving up until he knew for sure. ******************** "Okay, Clark. That's good for today. I'm beat." "Fine with me. You want to watch a movie?" "Sure." "How does 'Tootsie' sound?" "Sounds great to me." She flopped down on the couch as he moved it back into place, and put her feet up on the coffee table as soon as that was replaced. Clark shoved the tape into the VCR and hit play. Then he flopped down next to Lois. Both were still in their skimpy ending outfits, but they didn't feel like taking the time to get dressed again. Besides, they were getting comfortable enough with each others' bodies that they no longer minded. Well, it didn't *bother* them, anyways. They had been practicing their routine all evening, and it was very exhausting. It looked pretty good so far, and they were getting over the "I'm-too-shy-to-touch-you-like-that" thing that they had started out with. And it was a good thing, too. They couldn't exactly bump and grind if they were afraid to touch. After talking to Perry, they had opted to ditch the Elvis routine in favor of something a little more mature. There had been some question as to what song they would actually use. They had considered "This is Your Night" and then rejected it. There was "My Love is the Shhhh!" by Somethin' For the People, but that was a little too slow. Then Clark threw in "Toucha Toucha Touch Me" >from the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' and the conversation went downhill from there. Finally, they narrowed it down to either Garbage's "#1 Crush" or "Carry On Dancing" by Savage Garden, the one Lois had used before. They decided on "#1 Crush" because it was really sexy and intense. Plus, it was just a cool song. It was a good thing Clark had the "Romeo and Juliet" soundtrack. They settled in and watched Dustin Hoffman deal with his myriad problems. ******************** CONTINUED IN PART 11 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:17:38 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 12/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit *************************** Lois was dressed up in her stupid outfit once again, and Clark was in his. They looked like idiots, but they were going to get the story. She just hoped it would be worth the humiliation. The humiliation in front of all the people in the club, that was. She didn't really mind doing this in Clark's apartment with him; in fact, she rather enjoyed it. She just wished that something real would happen between her and Clark. But it never could. Not while Lana was still around. And Lois would never try to take Clark from her. Much as she hated the girl, she knew that Clark loved her. And Clark would never give her up. She sighed a little, looking in the mirror. What she wouldn't give for Clark to love her like that... "You ready, Lois?" his voice came from the other room. "Yeah," she called back. "Ready as I'll ever be." She walked back to Clark and gave him a rueful smile. "Do we have time to do a quick run-through before we go?" "I don't think so. We're early now, but that might make us late. I guess we're just going to have to go in cold." "Okay." She grabbed her coat and they left. They drove to Atlantis and went inside. The manager, Frank Benson, met them at the door and escorted them into his office. "Welcome back, Miss Lane. We're happy to have you here. And you must be Mr. Kent. I assume you have a routine set up?" "Yes," said Lois. "Would you like us to perform it for you?" "All in time," he said, smiling a slightly greasy gin. "First, we have to take care of the basics. You two are going to be called Chrissy Johnson and Jim Peretti. Okay?" "Fine," said Lois. "How do you spell Peretti?" asked Clark. "P-e-r-e-t-t-i," spelled Frank. "Thanks," Clark replied, tucking the information away for future reference. "Now, Lois, you already know your way around here, and you probably remember some of my dancers. That's why you're using the same name. I'm counting on you to show Clark the ropes, get him used to this. Now, let's go do the audition." Frank led the way out of the room. Lois and Clark glanced at each other and sighed. What were they getting themselves into? ************************ Lana had invited Claude over to her apartment, and they were having a grand old time. The more time she spent with Claude, the more she liked the man. Claude, in turn, was starting to like Lana as well. Not more than he had liked any other women, but he did like her. But Clark was still bothering him. Of course, making her forget all about him was easy, and fun at the same time. Later that night, as they lay in bed together, heartbeats coming down, Lana kept thinking she heard noises. A turn of the doorknob, or a step in the livingroom. She was afraid that Clark would come in to see her. This was the only part of being with Claude that she hated-- the hiding from Clark. It reminded her that Claude was only a temporary solution. Clark was the permanent answer. Eventually they'd get together, she'd dump Claude, and everyone would be fine again. Even better, as she'd have Clark. And this way she wouldn't have to go through the lonely nights before Clark and her. ************************* Bernard Kline had been working off and on, testing Purple. Everything he had done so far came up negative. But there was something wrong, something that didn't quite feel right. He had learned to trust his instincts about science, as they were usually right. He knew that there was something wrong with Purple. It wasn't the harmless substance it appeared to be. He just didn't know what the problem was yet. ************************ Not only did 'Chrissy' and 'Jim' pass the audition, everyone who saw it agreed that they had real talent. Lois and Clark weren't sure if they should be pleased at that, or embarrassed, and so they sort of shrugged it off. They got a position in the next night's schedule, and everything was set. They could look around during the time they weren't dancing. The only problem was that they only had one routine. They had to be able to make up spur-of-the-moment ones to any number of different songs. Lois had warned Clark about this, and they had practiced being spontaneous, but it still was rather weird. It was different than having to move this way, then that way. There were no defined steps. They hoped that it didn't look too awkward. At least not as awkward as it felt. But nobody had said anything when they'd had to improvise for their audition, so they must have looked okay. Still, they wanted to get in a little more practice before the next day's gig. So they made a date for after work. The next day, Lana noticed that Clark seemed to be a little bit nervous about something. He apparently had something important to do after work that day. Try as she might, she couldn't get him to tell her about it. And that made her suspicious. What made it even worse was that Lois was the same way. She had something to do, too. And although it was unreasonable, Lana just *knew* that they were doing something together. So when Clark and Lois left, together, as Lana had suspected, she followed them. They got into Lois' car, and Lana hailed a cab to tail them. The driver was more than happy to oblige; he loved this sort of thing, he confided. Lana was upset when she saw that they were headed to no other place than Clark's apartment. "No, not this," she mumbled. She had the driver stop a half a block away from Clark's apartment. She quickly paid him and went towards the place she knew so well. She waited a few minutes after the doors had closed, and then moved to one of the lower windows in the kitchen. As she was heading towards it, she paused at a different window, one she knew opened onto Clark's bedroom. No, she wasn't even going to think it. She'd go to the kitchen window. Still... She stood on tiptoes and peeked into the bedroom window, preparing herself for the worst. But it never came. She couldn't even see Clark or Lois from where she was. Uh-oh. Wait a second. Lois was walking into the bedroom, Clark right behind her. Oh, *shit*! Lana closed her eyes for a second, praying that she was seeing things. But when she opened them and glanced in the room again, she realized that, yes, they were in there, but they weren't exactly doing what she had thought they were. They were talking companionably. Okay, maybe they were on a story and had stopped here to get something, she reasoned. And whatever it is, Clark keeps it in his bedroom. He has a lot of stuff in his bedroom, and in that attic that comes off of his bedroom. That must be it. No, that *wasn't* it because Lois started unbuttoning her shirt. Lana tried her hardest not to scream. But Clark didn't seem to care. Or at least, he wasn't paying attention. He got some clothes out of a drawer and went into another room. Lois got some clothes out of the same drawer, which caused Lana to fight a scream again, and stayed there. She changed into the outfit, which was extremely skimpy. Then she put more modest clothes over it. At this point, Clark walked into the room, pulling a shirt on. He said something to Lois, and she answered back. Then they both walked out of the room. What the hell were they doing? Lana couldn't figure it out. She had to see more. She ran to another window to look into the living room. The furniture had been moved to clear a large area of floor space. Clark went to his CD rack and seemed to randomly choose a disc. He popped it into the player, picked a song, and got it ready to play. Lois nodded and waved a hand. Clark hit play and ran over to where she was, just as the music started. The volume was turned up rather loud, and even Lana could hear the music, albeit faintly. But she no longer cared about the music when she saw Lois and Clark start to dance. At least, it was almost dancing. Lana refused to admit to herself that it was stripping. Well, she tried to, anyway, but it was difficult to refute it when they were both wearing tiny, skimpy outfits, and had their hands all over each other. Lana swallowed and dug her fingernails hard into the palm of her hand. No wonder he hadn't wanted her sexually. He had somebody else. She tried to turn away from the window, but found that she couldn't. As she watched in horror, her hatred of Lois Lane grew. "Who does she think she is, that she can touch him like that? He's MINE!" While she was ranting, she must have missed something because all of a sudden Lois was laughing like an idiot, and hanging on to Clark for support. Clark moved over, taking her with him, and stopped the CD. He was laughing too. 'Oh yeah, it's *real* funny,' thought Lana darkly. Lois sat down on the floor, hard, overcome by mirth, and Clark went down with her. Lana had seen enough. She finally tore her gaze away and left, tears stinging her eyes. Tears not only of the pain of betrayal, but also of anger. Why? Why this? How could he? ********************** CONTINUED IN PART 13 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:17:47 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 13/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ********************** "Oh, yeah, we're *great* strippers," Lois said. "We can't even keep straight faces." "And we have our first performance tonight. Sheesh. At least we get to do our routine first. Maybe it'll... loosen us up a little or something." "Yeah, and then it'll be easy to dance around a pole in front of a hundred people." "Well..." "Now would be a good time to get smashed, I think." She giggled a little again. "No, then you couldn't investigate. Besides, *I* can't get drunk." "Right. Too bad, though. It would have been more fun that way." "*More* fun? You think this is fun?" He raised a fist menacingly, put his other hand on her neck and pinned her to the floor. She ignored his 'threatening' position over her. "Damn right, I think this is fun. Aren't you having fun?" she asked sweetly. Clark rolled his eyes and lowered his fist. "Oh yeah," he said sarcastically. "This is just a *ton* of fun. Not only do we get to look like idiots, we get to do it in front of a ton of people. Oh boy, I can hardly wait to get out there!" "You're boring," she announced. "Thank you very much. I think I'll stay this way." "Good idea. Don't ever change." Her voice was suddenly serious, and a wistful smile came to her face. She reached up and touched his cheek gently. Clark melted inside, but forced himself to pull back. "Not a good idea," he said tersely. "I'm sorry, Clark. I just-- It won't happen again." "Okay." He stood up, no longer comfortable. "Well, we should get dressed and be leaving. We don't want to be late for our first day at work." "Yeah," she said, a little subdued. As much as she didn't like being a stripper, she was really going to miss the freedom to touch Clark. It wasn't the same as it could be, but it was still better than it would be after the case was closed. They got dressed and drove away. Lana was only about a block away, and saw the car pull out. She didn't know where they were going, or if they were both in the car. She prayed that it was Lois, and she was leaving, but she doubted that. No, Lana knew what had happened between Lois and Clark. If not this night, then it obviously had happened before. They were lovers. ********************** Lois and Clark walked into Atlantis, and down to the dressing rooms. They were already wearing the outfits they'd need, so they didn't have to change. They had a half an hour until they were on, so they decided to snoop around. They asked some of the other strippers (*other* strippers- oy!) what they had heard or seen. Most knew nothing, but a few had some idea of what was going on. One even suggested three people that might be responsible. "What do you think?" asked Lois. "I don't know. We'll just have to find out what the four girls who were murdered have in common." "Well, they were strippers." He grinned. "So are we." "Don't I know it," Lois said ruefully. She glanced at her watch. "Whoa! We better get going or we're going to be *late* strippers." They rushed back up to the stage, and got there just as a tall, long-legged blonde was stepping off and heading towards the dressing room. "Whew! Just in time!" said Clark. "Do they have the right tape?" "Yes. Don't worry about it." "I'm nervous. I don't want to do it." "Pretend we're in your apartment." 'Chrissy' and 'Jim' sauntered onto the stage and got ready to perform for all the sick perverts in the audience. The lights were dim, the air was filled with smoke and alcohol, the people were rowdy, and the music was starting. While they 'danced', the room actually got quiet. Clark imagined that they were indeed in his apartment, and that no one was there watching them. Lois disregarded the people in the crowd-- she had gotten used to doing that already. She played the part as if she were really in love with Clark, as if they were alone doing this... As they stood together, back to back, arms thrown up in the air, holding each others' hands, wearing almost nothing, the audience clapped, stunned. The music was over, and they left the stage. "Hey, they really really love us!" exclaimed Clark. "Ha ha ha. You can tell it's funny because I'm laughing," Lois said dryly. "Come on. We've got some time to snoop around." They went down the hall and found a woman, who seemed to be arguing with Frank. "I won't do it! Forget it!" "Shawna, sweetheart! It's nothing. You'll just make a few bucks, and it'll be over. There's nothing wrong with easy money." "No, Frank. You can get those other girls into it, but not me! I'm just biding my time here, until I can get a real job. You know that! I'm not getting in that deep." She stormed down the hall, almost bumping into Lois and Clark. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there. Hey, you're that new act, aren't you?" "Yeah," said Lois. "I'm Chrissy, and this is Jim." "I'm Shawna," she said. "We couldn't help but overhear you and Frank. What's he trying to get you to do?" "Oh, that." Her voice sounded disgusted. "He wants me to sleep with some of the customers. I said, forget it. Nothing doing. I don't want to be doing *this*, and there's no way I'm going to do *that*. Maybe some of the other girls, but not me." Clark seemed to be almost startled. "People do that here?" "What did you expect?" Shawna was amused at his naivete. "Well, I don't know..." "Anyways, yeah, there's a lot of the girls earning extra cash as hookers. But it's a dangerous profession. Pregnancy, STD's, some of the girls were murdered." Lois and Clark glanced at each other excitedly. "Murdered?" Lois asked. "Yeah, four of 'em. All this month. Not something I want to risk." "Well," said Lois, "it's been nice talking to you, but we've got to change. Goodbye." "'Bye." They went their separate ways. As soon as Shawna was out of sight, Lois' fist shot up into the air. "Yessss! A lead!" "Maybe the murderer is one of the customers." "Exactly. So whoever it is, he's probably going to kill again." "The question is--why?" "I don't know, but if his name is Jack, I'm going to scream." "I don't think Jack the Ripper had too many fans, Lois." "I guess not, but still..." "Point taken. Now we need a way to find out where each of the girls were going the night they were killed. Julie Bornig, Janice Ford, Tina Geller, and Michelle France. We need to talk to their friends." "What about Frank?" "I don't know if he was involved or not. On one hand, if he was he'd probably not have let us investigate." "But wouldn't it have looked suspicious if he had refused?" "I guess. So he might be involved." "Okay. Talk to the friends first." They did just that. In a half an hour, they had ascertained that all four girls were indeed going to the same guy's house on the night that each one of them was killed, although the other strippers were starting to ask why the newbies were asking so many questions. Lois and Clark had explained it off as curiosity. The very next night, an opportunity was dropped into their laps. They were talking to Shawna, and she happened to mention that one of the girls, Jess, had a job that night, for some guy. They asked her the name of the guy, but she couldn't quite remember. "Sean, maybe. Yeah, Sean, um, Elman? Eggman? Something like that, I think." After they were done talking to Shawna, Lois turned to Clark. "Sean Edmand! Jess is going to the murderer!" "We have to stop her." "Stop her *and* catch Edmand." "But how?" "*I* have a plan." "Uh-oh." "Don't worry. It's foolproof." ************************** CONTINUED IN PART 14 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:18:03 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 15/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ************************** Lana saw a familiar silver car coming down the road. She quickly hid in the bushes and watched as Clark and a very disheveled Lois got out. Lois was wearing an extremely short skirt, and a low cut shirt that had apparently been ripped by something. 'Or some *one*' she thought darkly. She was holding it up to provide some cover. Clark was all in black. They went into Clark's apartment. That was it. Now was the time to confront them. It was past midnight, and they had work the next day, but she had to do it now. She walked up to the door and knocked loudly. As Clark opened the door, Lois was walking back into the living room, buttoning one of Clark's shirts. "Lana!" "Clark, what is going on? What is *she* doing here?" Clark knew from Lana's tone of voice that he was in trouble. "Um, Lois and I just got off a story." "It must have been some story for Lois' shirt to get ripped." She was close to tears, but she hid them with anger. "Lana, my shirt got ripped by accident." "Yeah, right. Why are you here at one in the morning?" "I told you. We just finished a story. We're going to the Planet and then writing up the details so we can get it in the morning edition. My apartment was too out of the way, and I needed something a little more... intact to wear." "Then what have you been doing every night? You leave together. I followed you once and looked in the window. Why, Clark? How could you betray me like that?" "Lana, it was part of the story." "Right. This is just the story of the century here." "No, it really was," said Lois. "We had to go undercover as strippers, so we needed to know the routine." "Can't you think of a better excuse than that, Lois? Please! You expect me to buy that?" "Lana, it's the truth!" "I saw the way you two looked together. That was *not* undercover I'm- forcing-myself-to-do-this." "Lana." Clark took her by the arms and looked into her eyes. "I did not betray you. You know I'd never do something like that." She paused for a minute. When Clark got like that, it was hard not to believe him. "I don't know, Clark. This situation isn't exactly..." "It's not what it looks like. Trust me. A good friend once told me that trust is a big part of a relationship." "I... I think I need some time to think this over. If I leave, will she?" "We're both leaving. We have to work on the story and get it done by the time the paper goes to print." "Okay, fine. Goodbye." With that, Lana left. Clark sighed heavily. "What am I going to do?" "You're going to write the story," Lois said. "Tomorrow, she'll see it in print, and then she'll have to believe what we told her. There's nothing going on between us, and she'll figure that out. She's a smart woman, Clark." "I guess. Well, let's get to work." With the help of Clark's super-speed typing, they were done with the story in plenty of time, and got it on the front page of the morning edition of the Daily Planet. Lana read the story, and realized that Lois and Clark hadn't been lying, at least, about going undercover as strippers. And they had an excuse for Lois' apparel and their late return. But she still doubted that there was nothing between the two of them. She could sense it. But without hard proof, she gave them the benefit of the doubt. For now. She went to Clark and apologized to him for misjudging him. She didn't apologize to Lois, however. She knew the reporter was dying for a chance to take Clark from her. Things were back to normal, more or less. **************************** Lois was walking down the hall when she heard noises coming from the supply closet. As all good reporters, she was curious as to what was happening, so she crept up and put her ear to the door. Her jaw dropped as she realized what she was hearing. "Ooooh, Claude! Not here!" "What's the matter, Lana? The door's locked." Lana and Claude! What the... "Stop! Somebody'll notice we're missing, or need something from the closet or something." She giggled a little. "Oh, you're far too paranoid, my dear." There was silence for a short time. Then, Lana's voice said breathlessly "Maybe you're right. I am being silly." "Now that's better." "Mmmm. Much better." Lois turned away. She had heard enough. She left quietly, although there was hardly any chance of her being heard by the disgusting people in the closet. How could Lana do that to Clark? Just a few days ago, she was all freaked out because she thought he was cheating on her, and now here she was doing it to him? What was going on here? But the big question was what was she going to do about it? She had to admit, she wanted to tell Clark about it for purely selfish reasons. If he dumped Lana, she'd have a chance with him. But she knew she could never do that. It would cause him too much pain. She loved him too much to hurt him like that, to let him be hurt like that. She knew she couldn't tell Clark. She wouldn't tell him. She *could*, however, let Lana know that she knew, maybe talk her out of being with Clark. She could use it as a threat. "Give up Claude, or I'll tell Clark." That would be the best solution. That way, no one got hurt. Except for her. Clark would be happy, at the price of her own happiness. Lois sighed. So this was love. *************************** CONTINUED IN PART 16 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:17:55 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 14/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ************************** Lana was in her apartment, still upset. She had barely talked to Clark the other day. He hadn't even noticed! His attention kept wandering, and he explained that he was investigating something really big with Lois. 'Sure,' thought Lana. 'He must have a lot to investigate. I bet Perry never sees the story.' Maybe she should just ditch Clark, and stay with Claude. No, she wouldn't be happy with Claude. She knew enough to know that. It had to be Clark or nobody. But if Clark was cheating on her... It was probably all Lois' fault. That slut! The only thing wrong with *that* argument was that Lana had tried as hard as Lois could have to get Clark, and she hadn't. So how could *she* get Clark, when Lana had failed? But it was time to confront them both, or she'd go crazy. Tonight. She'd do it tonight. They were probably leaving together again. Work?! Shyeah, right. Nobody put that much of their free time into their work. There had to be something else going on on the side. Lana had seen it for herself. Sure enough, they left together, with the false pretense of working on a case. After they were gone, Claude came over to Lana and somehow persuaded her to come back to his apartment after work. She didn't know why she had agreed, but she need not have worried. Even after spending a couple hours with Claude, Lois had still not returned home from Clark's. Of course, they weren't at Clark's place, either. So what were they doing? They had left like this last time she saw them together. A hotel, maybe? So that they didn't have to worry about people they knew coming to visit them? She sat in the shadows near Clark's house, waiting for their return. **************************** "Are you sure about this?" Clark asked as Lois drove to Sean's house. "I'm sure. It was nice of Jess to let me have the job." "Well, you *did* offer to give her the money." "Which is coming out of my pocket, unless he pays me in advance. Because I don't think I'll get much after he's taken to jail." "There is one problem, though." "What?" "I doubt he would kill them *before* sleeping with them." "Yeah... that *is* a problem. Maybe if I'm really annoying, he'll just kill me?" "*Try* to." "Right, try to kill me. And then you can come in and save me." "I hope this works." "It will. Either that, or I can get him to confess." "I doubt that." "So do I, but maybe. Worst comes to worst..." "No." "Well..." "Lois!" "You're right. I wasn't even thinking about it. Well, I wasn't *seriously* thinking about it anyway." "Worst comes to worst, we don't catch him for murder, just for frequenting a prostitute or something. *Then* we can nail him for murder later." "Okay. Is this the right house?" "Yeah. Sure is fancy. Whoever this guy is, he's got money." "All right. X-ray the house and keep an eye on me. Listen, too. Once he either tries to kill me, or confesses, come in." "Right. And if things get a bit too... intense." Lois rolled her eyes. "Okay, Daddy." "Lo-is!" She got out of the car. "I'll be fine. How do I look?" "Very slutty." "Good." "Good luck, Lois." "Thanks." "I'll be watching." "You'd *better* be!" Lois went up to the front door and knocked. Clark disappeared into the shadows, keeping an eye on her with his x-ray vision once she went inside. "You must be Mr. Edmand," she said. "Please, call me Sean." "I'm Chrissy." "Chrissy? I thought your name was Jess!" "Jess is sick, so I came in her place." "Oh. Well, that's okay then. Come in. You look... lovely." Lois twirled around. "Thanks. This is my first time doing this." "I'll be gentle," he promised. Lois smiled, and her eyes gleamed. "Thank you." "Well, shall we... retire to my bedchambers?" 'He actually talks like that?' "Good idea." He took Lois' arm and, instead of shying away from his touch the way she wanted to, she leaned into it. They walked into a bedroom. Sean turned on a stereo system. "Would you care to dance?" he asked Lois. "I'd love to," she replied. What a lunatic. He was treating her like she was his date. Well, in a way she kind of was. They danced close together, too close for Lois' comfort, but she endured it, even when his hand got a little bit too familiar. Outside the room, Clark tensed a bit. He was very protective of Lois. That's all it was. He wasn't jealous or anything. Lois wasn't his girl. He just felt protective, like he would be towards his sister. She was his best friend, and he didn't want to see her have to suffer this. Lois forced a smile as Sean's hands slid up and over her breasts. She pretended to be enjoying his fondling. All the time she was thinking, 'what am I going to do?' Clark looked around the room, and his eyes rested on the contents of a closet. Guns, knives, all sorts of ugly weapons. Sean was definitely the murderer. How to tell Lois... "Excuse me while I change my clothing for something more... appropriate," said Sean. He left Lois alone in the room. Here was Clark's opportunity. He tapped on the window. Lois ran to it. "What is it, Clark?" "See that closet?" "Yeah." "It's got the murder weapons in it." "Weapons? Plural?" "Yes." "Great. That gives me an idea." "Get away from the window. He's coming back." Lois ran over and opened the closet. She was looking in it as Sean returned to the room. He frowned as he saw what she was looking at. "Sean? What's all this?" "It's, ah, nothing. I enjoy hunting." "With butcher's knives?" "Get out of there and come over here." "No. What do you need all these weapons for?" "It's *not* your concern." "You're the one that killed all those girls, aren't you?" "Chrissy, I'm warning you. Get away from the closet." "You *did* kill them!" "Okay, fine. I did. I killed them, and I'm going to kill you. But not until after you give me what I'm paying for!" He lunged for her, and she quickly moved away. She tried to run out of the room, but he snuck up from behind and grabbed her, ripping her shirt and trying to push her skirt up. At this point, Clark ran through the door, having come in the window of the next room, and rushed over to help Lois. He grabbed Sean and pinned his arms behind his back. He took a cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Lois. She called the police, who promised to be there in a minute. Then she called Perry. "Chief? We've got a page one for you. Murder, prostitution, *and* attempted rape." "Judas priest! What have you and Clark been doing?" "Our jobs, Perry. Our jobs." "Wonderful!" They hung up, and Lois smiled at Clark. "I'm thinking 'Kerth'. What do you think?" "Forget the Kerths. We deserve a Pulitzer for this one!" "Damn right we do. And if Perry *ever* tries to get us to do this again..." Clark laughed. Sean grumbled. Soon, the police came and took him away. "Lois Lane? Is that you?" one of the policemen asked. "It's me, Henderson." "You look... awful." "Gee, thanks." "And you must be Clark Kent. Inspector Henderson. Nice to meet you." Clark shook hands with the inspector. "How'd you get yourself out of this one, Lane?" "My new partner here." Henderson looked at Clark. "Good job. You've got your work cut out for you. This one's a handful." "Don't I know it!" said Clark. "Hey!" protested Lois. They all laughed and then left. Lois and Clark were driving down the street. "That was one of the most degrading things I've ever done in my entire life," said Lois. "I can imagine. It's got to be awful." "At least you were there. I can't imagine going through that alone, without the knowledge that you were outside, ready to jump in at any moment." "I'm glad I could help." ************************** CONTINUED IN PART 15 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:18:11 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 16/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit *************************** "All right, Lois. Out with it. What's bothering you?" Clark had had enough of her troubled look, and he didn't believe that nothing was wrong. "Clark, nothing's wrong. Everything's fine." "Lois, everything is *not* fine, something is bothering you, and you have to tell me what it is!" "There's nothing bothering me! The world is wonderful! Now go away!" "Lois, you can't fool me. Tell me what it is." "Clark, it's nothing, okay?" "Lo-is!" She thought quickly. "If you *have* to know, it's that time of the month, okay?" "Oh." Now Clark felt like an idiot. "Um, I'm sorry." She sighed. "It's okay. Now please let me get back to work." "Right." Clark left, and Lois sighed to herself again. Clark kept asking her what the matter was, and she *couldn't* tell him what the real problem was. All these stupid excuses... She *hated* lying to him, and yet she still had to, to protect him. She didn't know if she could keep this up much longer. She knew that Clark was going out to dinner with Lana that night, and the thought made her shudder. How could that woman do that to such a wonderful man? She didn't deserve Clark, that was for sure. But then, Lois got the feeling that *nobody* would ever be worthy of Clark. *************************** "What are you doing tonight?" "Oh, Claude. I'm sorry. I have plans tonight." "With Clark?" he asked testily. "Yes," she said defiantly. "Lana..." "What do you want, Claude? Do you want to come too? We could make it a double date." "Fine. Good idea." Wait, Lana hadn't meant it! But it was too late now. She didn't want Claude going out with another woman! He walked over to where Lois was. "Hey, Lois." "What do you want, Claude?" "I need a date for tonight. Lana and Clark want to double-date. Would you like to come?" Come with Claude? On a double date with Lana and Clark? What a mess that would be. "Sure. What time?" "Six thirty. I'll pick you up." "Okay." No, it wasn't really okay. She didn't want to go out with Claude, didn't want to see Lana and Clark together, didn't want to be with Clark and not be able to be with him. Why had she agreed? Oh well, it was too late now. ********************** It was six forty-five, and they were all in an Italian restaurant. All four of them. Lana and Clark and Lois and Claude. Yikes. Lana wasn't speaking to Lois, Lois wasn't speaking to Lana. Claude kept trying to catch Lana's eye, but she was only looking at Clark, who seemed a little bit uncomfortable. He hated seeing Claude with Lois. Lois hated seeing Clark with Lana, and she didn't really like Claude at all. She wanted to be with Clark. Claude was extremely jealous of Clark, and wouldn't talk to him. The conversation was a total failure. Claude talked to Lana, but she didn't talk back. Lana and Clark talked, but Clark wanted to talk to Lois. So Lois and Clark talked, but Lana wouldn't participate in that conversation because she hated Lois and Claude wouldn't because he was jealous of Clark. So they ate in a not-quite-companionable silence, any attempts to make conversation shot down by the Red Baron of people who shouldn't be going anywhere together. Lana kept inching closer to Clark, making Claude retaliate by taking Lois' hand and smiling at her. Lois knew what game he was playing. In fact, Lois was probably the only person at the table who knew all of what was going on. And she was not pleased with the information, not one little bit. Dinner seemed to last an eternity. Everyone was uncomfortable with each other. It was a complete and utter disaster. Finally, they all left. Claude took Lois home, and she barely spoke to him, knowing what a creep he was, and disbelieving that he could be jealous of Clark. He had no right to be with Lana in the first place! Lana and Clark went home as well, and Clark was confused about what had happened. He knew why Lana wouldn't talk to Lois-- she was probably still upset about what she had thought had happened between him and Lois. But what was with Claude? Why wasn't she talking to the guy? They had always gotten along; they were partners, for crying out loud! And why wouldn't Claude talk to him? Why wasn't Lois talking to Claude? She had no great love for the guy, but she didn't hate him! He got the feeling that he was missing something. He got out of Lana's car and kissed her goodbye. "See you tomorrow, Lana." "Bye, Clark." She retained a pleasant smile until she was out on the road again. Why the hell had she let Claude and Lois destroy her evening? She could have had a nice quiet romantic dinner with Clark, but nooooo. Instead, there was a silent battle going on between all the people around the table. What a nightmare. ********************* RING! RING! RING! Clark picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Clark?" "Oh, hi, Lois. Can you believe that dinner? What a disaster." "I know." "What was going on? Why are you suddenly so mad at Claude? Why was Lana ignoring him? Why wouldn't he speak to me?" "I don't know, Clark," she said vaguely. "And something is still bothering you--" "I told you--" "Lois, it's not that. I've never seen you like this before. What is it, really?" Lois sighed. "I shouldn't tell you..." "Why not?" "But I'm going to. I have to. I just can't keep it from you any longer." "Lois, what is it?" "It's hard to say over the phone. Lana's not there, is she?" "No." "Can I come over?" "Sure. Do you want me to come over there? It's faster." "Come-- oh. Sure. That'd be great." "Is your window open?" "Yeah." He hung up the phone and in a second, appeared in Lois' window. She grinned a little. "I'll never get used to that." Clark laughed. "Now, what is this thing that's been causing you so much trouble these past few days?" Lois immediately sobered. "Well, it's like this. A couple days after we had that big blow up with Lana about the stripping thing, I was walking down the Planet hall, and I heard noises coming from the supply closet." "And..." She bit her lip. "It was... Claude and Lana." "What?" he asked, his voice a shocked whisper. "I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd be upset. Also, I wasn't a hundred percent *positive* that that was what they'd been doing. So I followed them one day when they left 'on a story'. And I saw..." "What did you see?" "Clark, they're..." She took a deep breath. "They're sleeping together. I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you. I thought maybe I could talk her out of it, confront her, but since she's not speaking to me, it's been that much more difficult, and you know how far I'd get reasoning with Claude, so..." Clark shook his head, and Lois trailed off. The look on his face was so painfully sad. "How could she do that? Especially after being so suspicious about us... I wish I could say I don't believe you, Lois, but I do. It all makes perfect sense." Well, everything made perfect sense except for why she had done this, until he realized something else. "It's my fault. I drove her to this." "What? Clark, this can't be your fault. You gave her everything." He grimaced. "Not... everything, Lois. I wouldn't... sleep with her. We had a big fight about it... about a month after we came to Metropolis. She said that she needed a lover, and I didn't understand why. I told her I wasn't ready. I said it wasn't time yet. And so, obviously, she got what she wanted >from someone else." "Clark, that's not your fault. If she doesn't love you enough to wait for you, then that's her problem. There's nothing you can do about it now. I'm sorry." She moved over and held him close. He wrapped his arms around her. "Don't be. It's not your fault, either. At least now I have the truth." ************************* CONTINUED IN PART 17 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:18:19 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 17/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ************************* "Oh, shit. Oh *shit*! Not this!" Dr. Kline almost smashed the test tube on the floor, stopping himself just in time. "This isn't possible. This can't be happening. This is not happening. It didn't happen. I'll run the tests again, and it'll be fine. Because this never happened. Just-- calm down." He took the test tube of stuff over to the lab equipment and set it up for another test. He sat down to wait after everything had been set up, confident that the results of the test would be negative. After all, it must have been a fluke. There was no way that what he thought had happened had actually happened. Still, he was a little nervous during the waiting period. When he finally finished the testing, he looked at the results with a quivering hand. Purple was indeed dangerous. More so than any disease ever encountered. Identical to AIDS, but transferred from skin contact with the solution. "AIDS. Lord help us. We've created another AIDS." His second thought was of the scientists who had been exposed. Every single one of the scientist working on Purple. And all but one of them were married. There had been six people directly affected by the explosion. Six exposed to Purple. Five men, four of whom were married, and a woman who was married. They were all at work that day and he had them paged. They went down to the lab. "What's the problem, Bernie?" one asked him. "You know the testing I've been doing on Purple?" "Yeah, we're familiar with it. Did you find anything?" "I did," he said quietly, handing the results of the test to one of the people. The man took it and looked at it for a minute. "No..." he said. The woman, who had been looking over his shoulder, said, "AIDS? How is that possible?" "I don't know. It's not quite AIDS; there may be a cure. But I need to see everyone who's been exposed to it. All your wives, or in your case, husband. Any partners." "What about the reporter?" asked one of the men. "What reporter, George?" "The reporter who was in the room with us during the explosion. He was a Planet guy, I think." *********************** "Hello, Daily Planet," Clark said into the phone. "Clark?" "Oh, hi, Dr. Kline. What do you need?" "Do you remember all the protesting about Purple?" "Yeah, that was right when I first came to Metropolis." "One of the Planet reporters was in the lab during the explosion. Do you know who it was?" "Let me think." Clark's mind flashed back to the people he had pulled out of the lab where Purple was being tested. His memory served him well. There were six... no, seven people. Five men and a woman, all scientists. And the seventh was... "Claude Bardeau." Ironic that Claude owed Clark his life and now was the one who had taken Lana from him. He still hadn't confronted the two of them yet. He didn't know if he was going to be able to, even with Lois' help. She'd promised to be there for moral support. Clark realized that his train of thought had jumped the rails, and that he had missed something Kline was saying. "I'm sorry. What did you say?" "I said I need to speak to Claude. And fast!" "Claude!" Clark called. "Call for you on line three!" Claude picked up the phone and Clark hung up. Lois walked by Clark's desk. "Hey, Clark. How are you holding up?" "Okay, I guess. It's just-- she's been a huge part of my life for so long, and now I'm not going to have that anymore. There's no way we can stay together after this. I can't believe she'd do something like this. I thought I knew her!" "Clark, I've seen both sides of her. I noticed a long time ago that she was different when you walked into the room. She changes somehow when she's around you. It's all you've ever seen of her, and so of course that's how you'd know her. Don't spend a lifetime criticizing yourself for blindness. You're allowed to make mistakes." He smiled at her, a little tired, and looking very lost. "Thanks, Lois. I have no idea what I'd do if it weren't for you." His voice sounded so dependent, so needy. It amazed Lois. This... incredible being needed *her*. "I'm always here for you. You know that, Clark. Anything you need. Anything at all." He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand, tenderly. She turned her face and kissed his palm before taking his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. The way he looked at her, there was no mistaking it. He felt something for her. Something more than partners, more than friends. Something he'd felt all along, but had been hiding. Something wonderful. But the most wonderful part was that she was looking back the same way. An exclamation from Claude broke the spell that had been woven around the two reporters. "No!" he cried. "It can't be! How is that possible?" He listened on the phone for a second, and then hung up. "Why me, God? Why me?" he asked an invisible entity. He left in a hurry, not telling anyone where he was going. "What was that all about?" wondered Lois. "I don't know, but speaking of Claude, I think that we need to get everything out in the open." "Clark, are you sure? I mean, are you sure you're ready?" "Yes. I'll invite Lana over for dinner. I don't know how we'll get Claude there." "I'll call him and ask him to come once we're all there because we have something important to discuss. He'll probably come." ******************** CONTINUED IN PART 18 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:18:36 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 19/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ************************* Claude arrived about a minute before Lana. After they had all gotten settled in the living room, Clark announced that he had something to say. "Lana, I know about you and Claude." "What?" Lana was shocked. "How'd--" "I found out," said Lois. "Almost a week ago." "I see," said Claude. "I suppose we owe you some answers, then." "Claude!" exclaimed Lana. "How long?" asked Clark. "It started at that retreat in Maine." Lois winced; she remembered telling Clark not to worry about Lana and Claude at the retreat. "Clark," said Lana, "I'm sorry. I never meant..." "I know," he interrupted. "I know. But things get out of control." "Oh, so you understand! Well, that's good." "Lana--" "I'm so glad, Clark. I was so worried that you'd find out and we'd break up and--" "Wait a minute!" protested Claude. "What about me? After everything, you're going to go running back to Clark?" "Claude, I was never--" "Of all the low down, dirty-- How could you use me like that?" "I just--" "Hold it a second," said Clark. "Nobody ever said that Lana and I were getting back together." "We're not?" "Lana, you betrayed me! How can I ever trust you again?" "Well, you know, I--" "Stop. There's more to it than that. Even if this wasn't true, we couldn't stay together. Lana, we're not right for each other. Can't you feel that?" "Clark, no, I never-- You *are* sleeping with Lois, aren't you? That's what this is!" "Lana, we're not sleeping together. Clark wouldn't betray you. Too bad I can't say the same thing about you!" "It's *over*, Lana. It has to be this way." "Fine," she said. "I'll just go back to Smallville and marry a farmer." "That might not be such a good idea," said Claude. "Why not?" "Because I have something to say, too. Remember Purple?" "How could we forget?" "I was in the lab when it exploded. I was contaminated with the drug." "What?" screeched Lana. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because I didn't think it would turn out to be dangerous. Dr. Kline's been testing it, and it took him this long to figure out what was wrong." "What is wrong?" asked Lois, intrigued. "Purple is a kind of a lab-created AIDS. Transferred through the usual means, plus through skin contact with the drug. It's not too dangerous, as you have to get quite a bit on you to contract it, but I was in the room when it exploded." "And heat makes it grow," added Clark. "200%." "I'm getting tested tomorrow. And Lana..." "No!" she said, horrified. "There's no way that could have happened! There must be something else!" "Don't you think I've thought that a million times? There *is* nothing else. That is what happened, it's all there is to know. And we can't tell anyone about Purple. They think if we can contain the virus to a small number of people, it will be destroyed after we die." Lana stood up. "I have to leave now." "Lana, you should come down to STAR Labs tomorrow at noon for the testing." "Fine," she said, her voice showing no emotion. "Tomorrow. Goodbye." With that, she left. "I have to go, too," said Claude. He left. Lois sighed and moved into Clark's lap. "Well, that was... surprising. I can't say Lana didn't deserve it, but I feel sorry for her." "There might be something that Dr. Kline can do. I don't think Purple could be *exactly* like AIDS, so there's a chance at curing it. It's kind of strange." "What is?" "My entire life changed in just one day. One evening, even." "Changed for the better, though." "Yes..." He leaned in and kissed her lovingly. She moved back onto the sofa so that he was on top of her. He seemed unsure for a second. Lois could feel his hesitation. "Clark, it's your choice," she whispered. And he made his decision, letting himself come down on top of her, causing her to squeal in delight and kiss him gleefully. "I love you so much," she whispered. "And I love you," he returned. And then they lost themselves to each other. Everything was right with the world. CONTINUED IN PART 20 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:18:26 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 18/20 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ******************** "Well, looks like everything's ready." "We've still got almost 45 minutes." "I know. But better early than late, I say." "You've never said that, Lois. *You* usually say, 'better late than never'." "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said breezily. But then she got serious. "Are you sure you're prepared for this?" "Yes. Actually, I'm almost looking forward to it. I know that sounds terrible, but..." The radio was playing softly in the background. "I understand, Clark. Would you like to dance?" Clark smiled. "I'd love to, Lois." She moved silently into his arms, rested her head against his chest. It felt so right to be that way with him. Their bodies fit together as if made for each other, and the feeling she got when she was in Clark's strong arms was incredibly powerful. They swayed to an unnamed tune, drinking in the feelings, the emotions that were in the air. "Lois, this is so... amazing." She smiled. "It is." She snuggled in a little closer to him. "Everything with Lana-- it felt nice, but not *right*. This is right. I just know it." His arms tightened around her. "It *is* right, Clark. You and I are right. I've known for so long..." "Have you?" "I have. I think you knew, too." "I knew. I didn't want to know, but I knew." "Why did you hold on to Lana for so long? If you knew?" "I didn't want to be wrong about her. I didn't want to give up so much of my life. I've always had her, and it seemed like there was nothing else to do; no other options." "But now you know there are." He reached his hand up to her chin and tilted her face towards his. She pressed upward and kissed him tenderly. The gentle pressure of his tongue and lips was a feeling that she had wished for for ever so long. It *was* right. Just being in his arms like this. "I love you, Clark." "I love you, Lois." He held her close against him, and she gloried in the feel of him. Then she noticed that neither one of them had their feet on the ground. "Clark!" He looked startled. "What?" Then he looked down. "Oh." She giggled a little. "Wow." She nuzzled her face into his neck and kissed him, slowly moving her lips up to his ear. Clark returned the favor, starting on her jawbone and working his way down to the collarbone. Lois sighed. "Mmmmm... that feels so good." He brought his lips back to hers, not so gentle this time. He was rewarded with a soft moan and a passionate response. She had never felt so absolutely high, and was thrilled to finally have something so right. "Oh, Clark..." she murmured, pushing in closer. The phone rang. And rang. And rang. Finally, they pulled away to answer it. "Hello?" said Clark. It was Claude. "Clark. Have you seen Lana? I need to talk to her right away." "I don't know where she is now, but she's coming over here in about half an hour. You can come, too. Besides, we wanted to talk to you as well." "I wouldn't want to impose on your date," he said a little harshly. "You aren't. Lois is here, too." "Oh. I'll be there." They both hung up. "Well, Claude's coming," said Clark. "So what'll we do until dinner time?" "I have an idea..." But Clark's idea was not used, as somebody else had a different idea. Exasperated, Clark picked up the phone again. "Hello?" "Clark?" "Hi, Lana." "Um, is it okay if I come a little early?" "Sure." "I can be there in five minutes." "Okay." "Bye." "Bye." He hung up and Clark turned to Lois. "Lana's coming in five minutes. We should call Claude again." So they did, and he promised to be there ASAP. "Well, it was a good thing we were ready," said Lois. "Yeah, I guess." ************************* CONTINUED IN PART 19 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 13:19:40 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Purple Haze 20/20--finally, the end!! Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit EPILOGUE Dr. Kline tested both Lana and Claude for the Purple virus. He had discovered that it was less serious than AIDS. They both tested positive. There were 15 people total infected with the virus. The number stopped increasing at that point. Dr. Kline worked frantically for several weeks to develop a cure, but never did. He did, however, develop something that would allow the victims to live with Purple, although experiencing a number of unpleasant side effects. Lana and Claude were upset, especially when they realized that they could never sleep with anyone else again without risking giving them the virus. They stayed lovers, and continued to be reporters, but were not invaluable to the Planet anymore. Neither had been that great to begin with, and now with all the side effects from the drugs, they were not exactly page-one writers. Lois and Clark were crazily in love for the rest of their lives. A month after Clark dumped Lana, they got engaged. The writing team of Lane and Kent earned a Kerth award for the Atlantis murders story, and the skills they had learned while investigating that story served them well for years to come. ;) Lois came up with a brilliant idea for Clark to be able to help people without being found out-- it all had something to do with glasses and spandex... Lana and Claude didn't have much to do with Lois and Clark after all this had taken place, but they got along well enough until Lana and Claude moved to Kansas to write for the Smallville Press. As always, I love comments and (gentle) criticism. And I'll take all the 'I loved your story's I can get. :) I hope you all had a good time reading this. Sorry it was so long, but the ideas just kept coming and coming. Standard disclaimers: Lois and Clark are owned by WB, "Carry On Dancing" is owned by Savage Garden. Peace, Love, and Superman, as always, ~~>Sue<~~ ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 15:16:26 -0500 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: Re: Purple Haze 20/20--finally, the end!! Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT MIME-Version: 1.0 (WebTV) Sue, Pretty great story! I loved the idea of a love triangle, or should I say, rectangle? It was neat how Clark and Lois discovered why their relationships didn't work with Lana and Claude because of each other. Here are a few suggestions, you don't have to listen to. I wouldn't have titled it Purple Haze because the Purple Virus played such a minor role, although using a Beatles song did intrigue me and made me eager to read it, I would suggest making it be a bigger part of the story if used as the title. Your Lois was really sweet, which was weird considering her headstrong personality on the show the first season. Maybe you could add a little punch to her, maybe add a scene where she has to fight off Claude or have a jealous arguement with Lana over Clark, I always remember how gratifying those scenes were in the DEA Dan Scardino/ DA Mayson Drake Story Arch, but especially with the Max Deter episodes. The audience likes a little action, revenge against the meanies. The first two paragraphs confused me because the sounds didn't have to do with the story, but it was an attention getter. I would suggest having Jimmy involved a little more, he kinda appeared as an extra, and he's not. Great story though, keep writing and lovin' L&C! I love that line: Peace, Love, and Superman! Britt Edwards ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 17:53:28 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jon Neil Subject: Re: Batchelor Party... Fanfic Request I'll take a copy of the fanfic Bachelor Party too, if it's not to much to ask Thanks Cassie jnc57@Juno.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 22:17:47 +0300 Reply-To: osangie@spinach.mscc.huji.ac.il Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Angela H. Garmaise" Subject: Re: Batchelor Party... Fanfic Request Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hope no one minds a "me too"! Angie Jon Neil wrote: > > I'll take a copy of the fanfic Bachelor Party too, if it's not to much to > ask > > Thanks > > Cassie > jnc57@Juno.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 16:29:43 -0400 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: Fanfic Review: Season 5 Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 In preparation for doing a Season 6, I started wondering just how involved people were with our extended plot lines in Season 5... I didn't= really see much discussion of our "episodes". So, tell me... Did you tune in each week to see if Lois could get pregnan= t? Did you like the way we brought Lex back? What did you think of the clone story? Did you enjoy the Intergang saga? Could you follow it all?= = Did you care? Would you like to see the same sort of extended plot in Season 6, or is that just too much trouble for you to keep track of? Your answers may well influence the way we write it, so if you've got an opinion, by all means share it! :-) PJ S5 writer & S6 co-coordinator !^NavFont02F02280006MGHHIq478C E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 07-Jun-1998 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/folc.html ~~~~~ "Are you under the care of a qualified psychiatrist, Constable?" = -- "The Ladies' Man", Due South "Women and cats will do as they please and men and dogs = should relax and get used to the idea." -- Robert A. Heinlein ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 16:26:55 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Karen Ward u Subject: Re: Batchelor Party... Fanfic Request Comments: To: "Angela H. Garmaise" In-Reply-To: <357AE75B.7C1F@spinach.mscc.huji.ac.il> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Hi there! > Hope no one minds a "me too"! > Angie ...and here's a "me three". Perhaps someone should just post it to the entire list, there seems to be quite of bit of demand for it. > > Jon Neil wrote: > > > > I'll take a copy of the fanfic Bachelor Party too, if it's not to much to > > ask Thanks! Karen :) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 16:39:25 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Fish Sause Subject: Re: Batchelor Party... Fanfic Request Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi, If it's not too much trouble, I would like a copy of Bachelor Party too. Thanks, Fishsause ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 16:48:21 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Jason G. Vaughn" Subject: Re: Fanfic Review: Season 5 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-06-07 16:30:13 EDT, you write: << h discussion of our "episodes". So, tell me... Did you tune in each week to see if Lois could get pregnant? Did you like the way we brought Lex back? What did you think of the clone story? Did you enjoy the Intergang saga? Could you follow it all? Did you care? Would you like to see the same sort of extended plot in Season 6, or is that just too much trouble for you to keep track of? Your answers may well influence the way we write it, so if you've got an opinion, by all means share it! :-) >> I just found out about it last week so far Im on episode 4 and am really enjoying it Jason ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 04:07:41 PDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: FANFIC: Bachelor Party 1/2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Okay, I got permission from Craig to post this to the fanfic list. Enjoy! The Bachelor Party by Craig Byrne (CraigByrne@aol.com) "Are you crazy!? This is the social event of the season! Everyone who is anyone is going to be there, and you want to go to bed early!?" It had been three and a half years since Clark Kent had heard those very words. The first time he had heard them, they had come >from the mouth of the beautiful, vivacious reporter, who he was paired with, Lois Lane. This time the names were the same but that was about it. Sitting in Clark's apartment, he and Lois now discussed their evening plans. Little did she know that she'd have to convince Clark to attend his OWN bachelor party. "I don't know Lois, it's just -- the drinking, the dancing women -- I don't want to sound like a prude but I'm really not sure that's what I want to get into the night before our wedding day. I mean, what if Mom finds out about--?!?" "So what if she does Clark!? You're 30 years old, the least you could do is have a little fun", Lois said, giving him a quick kiss and a wink, "just remember, Clark... that you'd better not lose your patience until AFTER our wedding". Clark began to blush. The "patience" thing had come up once again in conversation. After dating Lois for nearly two years, planning and passing a wedding that was destroyed by Lex Luthor, and flying off to New Krypton only to find himself coming home to save Earth, Clark would finally be able to consummate his relationship with Lois, as they'd begin their new lives together -- as man and wife. "Clark... Earth to Clark!" Lois said. "Oh, sorry, Lois, I was just thinking...." Clark told her. "Clark, you are always thinking! That's what I love about you," Lois said, putting her arms around her husband-to-be and giving him a peck on the cheek. "You realize Clark, that if you don't go to the party, there will be a lot of people who will be VERY disappointed! Besides that, you'll end up being here all alone with nothing to do but twiddle your thumbs and download that picture off the Internet another thousand times! And I'll be off with all my friends at Lucy's bachelorette party for me. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Clark grinned. "I suppose not," he told her. "But... if I do go to this party, you have to promise not to worry about me. You also have to promise that you won't spill the beans about my... secret if you happen to get a little... tipsy." "Clark, I'm astonished!" Lois said, pretending to be surprised. "Me -- have anything to drink on my own bachelorette party? In your dreams, Kent. In your dreams." Lois' last phrase brought about another memory from Clark's past with her. Clark remembered the time when he was seeing club manager Toni Taylor and he had accused Lois of being jealous. He remembers her response as if it were yesterday. "You'd like that wouldn't you. Me -- home alone, in a schlumpy robe, crying into a tub of rocky road? In your dreams, Kent. In your dreams." Little did he know what Lois really had been doing that evening. Suddenly, the phone rang and Lois picked it up. "Clark, that was Perry. You'd better get dressed! Your party is beginning at 7 over at the Krypton Club. On your way over there can you drop me off at the Tropicana Club for my party? I'm already running late." Within seconds Clark was dressed up nicely. Still somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of going to his party, Clark now scooped Lois in his arms and set off in the direction of her party. After gently putting her down and kissing her softly good-bye, he gave her final instructions to behave and flew off to the bachelor party of his own. ----------------------------------------- "It's about time Sis!" said Lucy as Lois walked in the door. "Come on in, everyone's waiting for you!" Lois entered the large main hall of the Tropicana Club to find all of her closest female friends and coworkers. There were even a few there she had secretly hoped to never see again, but that wouldn't stop her from having a fun night. The Tropicana Club was once a great musical club back in the 1950's, a heyday where featured performers included Ricky Ricardo and his babaloo band, and often his crazy wife, who like Lois, always seemed to have a way of getting into trouble. The club was still a fun place to hang out, but business was now so slow that anyone wanting to rent the club out for an evening for parties could easily and affordably do so. Lois then continued to survey the room at all the smiling faces with their eyes on her. She looked over to the far right of the room, to see someone sitting at a table -- her mother. And she was headed Lois's way. "Oh Lucy, you didn't tell me Mother was coming!" Lois complained to her sister. "I didn't invite her, don't blame me!" Lucy told her, trying to cover her own behind. "You know Mom, she kind of... invited herself." Ellen finally reached her daughter. "Lois, you're slouching again! Stand up straight! Clark doesn't want to be married to a woman who's bent over 90% of the time!" "Maybe he does," Lucy whispered in Lois' ear, giggling. Lois jabbed her sister in the rib. "Oh... Mother... what a pleasant surprise. I think I'm going to go, ah... mingle, but I'll catch back up with you... promise!" Lois quickly ran for cover, finding her first refuge in her old friend and former rival Linda King. The last time Lois saw Linda, she was going to star in a movie about her trials and tribulations as the pawn of wannabe media mogul Preston Carpenter. Linda went on to tell Lois that the movie thing didn't work out, something that secretly amused Lois. Lois then, of course, rubbed into Linda's face the fact that she's finally met a "super" guy. Lois was once very jealous of the closeness that Clark and Linda shared, and now it was time for payback. Suddenly, another familiar face came up behind Lois, much to her surprise. It was Martha! "Sorry I'm a little late, the flight in >from Kansas took forever. Things are so much easier when I can get that, uh... discount fare... if you know what I mean," Martha said to her, winking. "Jonathan decided to stay back at home and take care of the farm while I'm in town. Of course, if you ask me I think he stayed home so he could catch the season premiere of the X-Files. Did you really think I'd miss this?" Across the room, Ellen watched. It really bothered her that Lois would get along with Martha even better than she got along with her own mother. It wasn't because of lack of trying; in Ellen's mind, it was lack of effort. Disgusted, Ellen left the bachelorette party before the festivities would begin, and unfortunately, at least for the moment, no one noticed her absence. ----------------------------------------- Across town, at the Krypton Club, Clark finally made his entrance where he was greeted by Perry and Jimmy at the front door. Clark then walked in to see many of HIS coworkers screaming at him, "Surprise!" Ironically enough, the "surprise" wasn't much of a surprise at all, and neither was Lois'. Having super-hearing does have its advantages and disadvantages at times. What was surprising, however, were all of Clark's friends and acquaintances from the past that had shown up at his bachelor party. "C'mon son, let me get you a drink," Perry said, leading him to the bar. "I, ah... don't think so," said Clark. Even out of costume Clark maintained his own personal boy-scout image. Even though alcohol apparently didn't affect him, Clark didn't want to make a fool of himself... especially on the night before his wedding night. The night where he and Lois would finally be together, and Clark would finally lose his... patience. Soon an hour had passed. Clark looked around noticing everyone was drinking festively, but he decided that the non-alcoholic punch being served would be his best bet. Clark walked over to the punch table when he heard something crawling around below the table. Using his x-ray vision to see through the tablecloth, he saw that the "critter" down below was Jack. Lifting up the cloth, he asked him, "What are you doing here?!? Isn't there a sign on the door that says you must be over 21?!?" Lucky for Jack, Clark didn't see what he had hidden in his pocket. "Chill, Clark. I pulled some strings... besides, I haven't seen you all in quite a while. And now, you and Lois... not like I didn't know there was something between you two to begin with. So, you told her yet?" Jack said. "Told her what?" "You know...." "Oh, that. Yeah, she knows." "How'd she take the news?" "Well, this is Lois we're talking about." "Good call." Suddenly Jack and Clark heard Jimmy calling them over. "The entertainment's about to begin, come on you guys!!" Jimmy screamed to them while taking a sip of a little beer. "Entertainment?!?" Clark said, asking Jack if he knew what was going on. "Yeah, Clark, ENTERTAINMENT. Just because you're going to be married doesn't mean you're going to have to be blind," Jack told him. "What are you waiting for? Have some fun! I'll bring you some punch." Clark went towards his friends with caution. He took a seat next to Perry. Perry had also obviously had a little too much to drink already, and it had only been an hour. "Hey Clark! How's it going son?" Perry said, before belching. "Uh, fine, Chief. Fine...." Clark said, putting his hand on his forehead, and shaking his head. Soon the "entertainment" at the Krypton Club started coming out from the stage, and soon there stood four scantily-clad women, singing a song while "taking it off." Jimmy sat in the front row with a large grin on his face. Perry, sitting next to Clark, also seemed enthused but obviously something was bothering him. Clark... well, Clark was just surprised. ----------------------------------------- Back at Lois' party, it had been two hours and everyone there, too, had had a little to drink. Even Lois herself was a little tipsy, not holding herself back from saying things that would tend to be embarrassing later. And in her direction came "her" entertainment... a group of male dancers. They all began dancing in front of her and Lois looked at them wide-eyed. She then pointed to the crotch of one of them and looked at Lucy. "See that? My Superman's bulge is bigger!" Martha, who had also had a little to drink but obviously had a little more control over her consumption than Lois had, gave Lois a dirty look and made the knife-cutting-over-throat motion with her finger. It wasn't soon enough. Lucy was already asking Lois about her last statement. "How would you know about Superman's bulges? I thought you were marrying Clark," Lucy said to her sister. "Yes!! It's so wonderful!! I'm marrying both of them!" "Both of them?" Lucy looked, puzzled. Lois finally came to a little bit of her senses and realized what she was saying, "Well, not exactly, you twit! But every woman in love thinks her man is a Superman -- and Clark is mine. And I bet Clark's bulge isn't that bad either," Lois said, winking. "Lois, you should be ashamed...mind in the gutter" Lucy chided kiddingly. Taking another sip of her drink, she grinned devilishly at her sister, "Luckily, that's something I won't be giving Clark a piece of tomorrow night!" With that the sisters busted out laughing together. The dancing men, not getting enough attention from Lois, ended up at the other side of the runway where Cat was making some time with a dancer. "Oooh, handsome, want to ditch this place and have a party of our own?" Cat said to him, meowing softly at him. "Tell you what -- I'll show you mine if you show me all of yours!" she said seductively. The dancer looked a little shocked, but agreed anyway. ----------------------------------------- Back at the Krypton Club, all of the men were ogling the four dancers. The dancer's outfit brought back memories of the times he and Lois, particularly Lois, would have to dress up and go undercover. Clark remembered the first such time; when Lois had dressed up in a chicken outfit when the two of them went undercover in a club much like the Krypton Club. He then remembered the vampy outfit Lois wore as they tried to apprehend "The Sound Man." Then he remembered the time when Lois dressed up like a man when they were trying to get into a men's-only club and also when the two of them entered a prison in disguise as two lowlifes. And then his most recent memory came drifting back to when Lois dressed as a concubine so she could visit him on the "New Kryptonian" spaceship. The memories he had with Lois were priceless. And, the memories were a bit interrupted as he was awakened from his daydream--with two breasts shoved in his face. "Go Clark! Go Clark! Go Clark!" cheered Jimmy and Perry from the side. Soon Jimmy decided to run up on the stage and took the microphone. He walked up to one of the dancers and did his best possible imitation of "Johnny Bravo." "Clowns never laughed before, beanstalks never grew, ponies never ran before, 'till I met you!" The dancer he was singing to, Amy the "mermaid," gave him a dirty look. "Get lost." It didn't faze Jimmy in the least! "Surf never broke before, artists never drew, snow never fell before, 'till I met you!" Amy looked at him again. "This is NOT in my contract. No one told me that some drunk bozo was going to come up to me and start singing songs to me from the Partridge Family!" "Brady Bunch," Jimmy interjected. "Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, the Dukes of Hazzard, it's all the same. Now get off the stage or I'm leaving!" Amy threatened. Jimmy knew when he was beat. Stumbling from drunkenness, Jimmy limped off of the stage while singing the words of the Brady Bunch's "Time to Change." Back over where Clark and Perry sat, Perry took another sip of his drink as Jack came over and brought Clark his punch--punch which, unknown to Clark, had been spiked. It was then that Perry had finally had enough that he started talking about what he was REALLY thinking about. "You know, before I married Alice, I had one heck of a shindig! Man, Alice... if only I could still be with her...." "Chief, I thought you were over Alice," Clark said to Perry. "Naw... I could never forget her. You know how each Chip's Ahoy cookie has all of its chips, or it isn't a Chip's Ahoy? Well, Alice is my chips... I miss her, son..." It was the first time that Perry admitted his secret feelings for his wife. Clark was speechless; he really didn't know what to say. Jack watched Clark to see if he was getting any kind of buzz >from the alcohol he had placed into Clark's punch. It wasn't fazing him so Jack decided to try again. "Clark, you still thirsty?" Jack asked him. "Actually, yeah. Bring me some more of that stuff, it was good," Clark told him. Clark was well aware of what Jack was trying to do, and he felt that Jack should have known better than to try to get Superman drunk. It had never happened before, and it wasn't very likely EVER to happen! In the back of the room, some visitors at Clark's party, who decided to watch the dancers from afar, held conversation. One of them was Ron Troupe, a coworker of Clark's. The other was Dan Scardino, who almost took Lois from Clark two years before. And yes, both of them, had had too much to drink also. "You know, Troupe, no one, I repeat, NO ONE, could handle a plunger like Lois could. She could stick a plunger in just the right places.... I miss her, man..." Scardino told Ron. "But hey, she's with Clark, he's a good guy... even if he is a sorta wimp...by the way ..you see him in Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 list?...You know, I think I'm gonna tell him that...Kent, you're a wimp... I'll be right back." The drunken Scardino stumbled his way towards the front of the room where Clark stood. "Hey there, WIMP!" Dan said to him. "Excuse me?" Clark said. "Scardino, if you've been drinking, maybe you should take a little breather." "Yeah, what is your PROBLEM, anyway?" Jimmy said to Scardino. "I'll tell you my problem! This--this--Clark--who was too stupid to even realize he wasn't marrying the real Lois the last time around--took away MY woman!" Scardino replied. "Your woman?" Clark asked. Clark was getting a tad pissed. "Yeah, MY woman. Got a problem with that?" Dan was starting to get a little bold. "Listen Mr. Scar-dee-no, you'd better stop, or I'm gonna have to cuff ya and stuff ya!" said a voice from behind. It was Rosco Coltrane, a retired sheriff of Smallville and a very good friend of the Kents, who had moved out to Metropolis several years before with his sister Lulu after her husband, the former commissioner of Smallville, had died. "Now hush, or I'm gonna have to knock you into the middle of next week! Y'hear? Don't you sass Rosco P. Coltrane!" It was enough to get Dan to sit down and shut up. Rosco's warning was enough for Dan, but now Jimmy was at it again.... this time on the stage singing a drunken duet of "All Shook Up" with Perry. Clark groaned. I've gotten past Lex Luthor, Nor, Diana Stride, the Prankster, Winslow Schott, Spencer Spencer, and Tim and Amber Lake... I don't know if I can handle this.... he thought to himself. I don't even know what I am doing here. I wish I was spending the evening with Lois. I wonder what she's doing right now.... ------------------------------ (continued in next email) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 04:10:08 PDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: FANFIC: Bachelor Party 2/2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable ---------------------------------------------------------------- The scene cuts to Lois and Martha, both a little tipsy, and both stuffing some dollar bills in very sensitive places. "This is fun," Martha told Lois, "you know, I haven't had this much fun since Mabel Cherry's bachelorette party!" This IS fun, Lois thought with an evil grin, Here's Martha Kent, stuffing dollar bills down men's pants, a regular party animal! And here Clark was worried about her finding out about HIM! I wonder what Clark would say? Soon Lucy yelled over to Lois. "It's time for PRESENTS!" "Goody!" the tipsy Lois said. She opened up the first gift... a present from her friend Julie Keaton. It was a bit heavy so she opened it up from the top. She pulled out the gift... a ceramic statue of a FROG! "Blecch," Lois said, "yucky yucky!" Julie didn't know what Lois had against frogs, but she offered to trade it in for something else. The next present Lois opened was from Lucy. And it was... a Superman cape! "I know how you used to be sort of obsessed with him, sis... and besides, I bet Clark would think you looked really good wearing nothing but a Superman cape wrapped around you!" Lois remembered with a smile their secret photo shoot no one knew anything about. "As long as he doesn't take a picture of me wrapped in it and stick it on the Internet, I think it could be a VERY--nice--idea," Lois said innocently to her sister. "Thanks sis." Lois then looked back to see what her dancers were doing. She couldn't see them! "Where'd they go," Lois pouted. "Well, hour's up, they were on the clock. Sorry, sis. Maybe next time you get married we'll get 'em for longer," Lucy said. Next time you get married. Lois didn't want to tell anyone, but she was sick and tired of "getting married." Her first wedding, to Lex Luthor, ended in failure. Her second, to Clark, she wasn't even able to attend. And the third such wedding, Clark was to marry someone else. After the next night she'd never want to get married again. The next present to head Lois' way came from Martha. It was a very large package. Lois opened it up, to find a rather odd sculpture. "I made this a few years ago, around the time you met Clark," Martha told her. "I called it 'Too Much, Too Soon, Tortured Heart, Waning Moon.' I hope you like it." "Yes! Martha..I....well" Lois stumbled "It's... very..... interesting..." The next gift, a little small, came from Cat. "Open it up honey, then I've gotta go. This dancer--Claude--offered to give me a ride home," Cat said, with one of the dancers at her side. "Claude?" Lois asked. She gave the dancer further examination. He looked a bit familiar. And of course, Lois looked a little familiar to him. "You two know each other?" Cat asked her. "Us? Oh, no, not at all." Lois said. "You know, it would really be sucky to be a prize-winning reporter, who gets in bed with this other reporter and tells her he loves her and thinks she's wonderful and marvelous but actually STEALS this other reporters' articles ...and THEN become a male stripper!" No one understood what Lois was babbling about, but Claude surely got the idea. "Now open the present!" Cat told her. Lois opened it up. Garter belts. "Why am I not surprised?" Lois said to her. "It'll be good for your se--" Cat started to say, before noticing Clark's mother was standing next to her. "You know, it'll be good for your seven dwarves. You know, the movie." After that Claude and Cat went out the door. The night was passing, every one of the women was getting a little more sober, and the time came for Lois to open her final present -- from her mother. Lois looked up to see if her mother was looking, but didn't see her. Thinking nothing of it, Lois opened the package. At the top of the package was a little note. "To my dearest Lois, your mother is very proud of you. I am so sorry if at times it doesn't show. Love, Mom" Below the note laid Lois's present--a framed photo of Lois as a child and her mother, with her mother pushing her on a swing. "Oh, Mother..." Lois whispered with a tear in her eye. "I love you too." After the exchange of gifts it was time for all of the women to head home from the Tropicana Club. ----------------------------------------- Across town, at Clark's party, Perry and Jimmy were still very drunk, but they had at least stopped singing. It was now time for Clark to open HIS presents. "Here you go son, this is from me," Perry slurred, handing Clark his gift. Clark opened it up to find a new CD player. "Yeah, I know, not something you'd expect, but now you and Lois have something to play Elvis on. Used to work for Alice and me," Perry said to Clark. "Thanks Chief," Clark said smiling nicely at him. Jimmy was next to walk up to Clark. "I didn't get a chance to wrap it, but here's your gift," Jimmy said, grabbing one of two bags off of his seat. Clark opened the bag to reveal an issue of "Hooters" magazine. "Oh wait, uh, oops, wrong bag. HERE is your present," Jimmy said. Clark opened up the bag to find the signal watch that Jimmy had made when Clark and Lois had fought Trask in Smallville. "I still think that thing works, and you seem to run into Superman more than I do anyway, so here you go C.K." Jimmy said. Then the drunken side of Jimmy started to take over again. "Now give me back my magazine!" Jimmy said, running with it towards the bathroom. Clark continued opening the gifts from everyone, when he got to the final present. It was from Jack. It was also a very small box. Clark opened it up and found that it was a box of condoms. Clark's face turned red. Little did the others know that this would be the first time he would be using such a thing. Perry then interjected his words of wisdom. "You know, Alice and I used to have the greatest sex--" "Uh, Chief!! I REALLY don't have to know this...." Clark interrupted. "Not even about the time when I tied her up in nothing but rope and decided to be her -- huh-uh -- 'Superman'?" Perry asked. "What kind of rope?....I mean...Chief, you've had a little too much to drink. Maybe you should sit down," Clark suggested. "Sit down?!?! No way dude!" said a voice. It was Jimmy. And he was wearing a chicken outfit like the one Lois wore so many years ago. "Oh my god," Clark said, pinching himself with hopes that he was dreaming. "Nanny nanny boo boo! You can't catch me!" Jimmy screamed. He ran around the Krypton Club and made a virtual mess of the place. Even worse was that the drunken Perry, Ron, Rosco, Dan, and everyone else were participating in this game. Of all of them, Clark and Jack were the only ones who had not been drinking. And if THAT weren't bad enough, Jimmy announced "FOOD FIGHT!" Food flew all around the room. Jack got hit in the face with a vegetarian pizza. "Darn it, I TOLD them that what goes in a salad does not go on a pizza." Frustrated, Jack entered the food fray and threw a banana at Dan Scardino's forehead. "Take THAT!" Jimmy picked up a piece of pie and said "Hey Chief!" wiping it all over Perry's face. "Dammit son, I'm gonna have your hide!" Perry screamed. Clark just watched in disbelief. This has got to stop, Clark thought. Clark told Jack he'd be right back, because he had something "Super" to do. Not ten seconds had passed before Superman showed up at the Krypton Club to break up the food fight. Unfortunately, it was a little too late. The two owners of the Krypton Club, Craig and Matt, had pulled up in their limo. Craig walked out into the main hall of the Krypton Club and got everyone's full attention. "Unfortunately because of this great mess that all of you caused, we're going to have to ask you to clean up and leave. We've been doing a lot of thinking about this -- actually, Matt is STILL out in the parking lot thinking -- and we have come to the decision that if you all keep this up, there won't BE a Krypton Club because you all would have wrecked it in your drunkenness." "Aww, we're just having fun," Jack whispered to Superman while giving Craig the finger. "You heard the man. A bachelor party can only go so far. Now if you'd excuse me, I've got to fly," Superman told the crowd. Within minutes everyone was gone, except for Clark (who had returned JUST after Superman left -- funny how that works), Perry, and Jimmy. Perry wasn't much help because he was still very drunk and sitting in his chair at the club mumbling about Alice, and Jimmy... well, Jimmy was passed out on the floor in the chicken outfit. Clark just sat there, still in disbelief. I can't believe this.... it's a good thing I can't get drunk, because there's no telling what kind of havoc I would cause, Clark thought. Clark couldn't use his super-speed to clean up because Perry and Jimmy were there. Soon, a voice came from the front door. "Can I come in?" It was Lois. "I, uhhh, saw what was going on here. Quite a 'shindig'," Lois said to Clark. "How would you know?!?" Clark said. "Oh... nothing. But you know, my party DID end two hours ago," Lois said to him. That must have meant that Lois saw all of the craziness that was going on. "Oh look, poor Jimmy!" Lois walked up to Jimmy, still in the chicken outfit. She slapped him gently on the face to try to wake him up. "Jimmy, wake up!" Jimmy's eyes opened slowly. He couldn't believe what he his eyes. Here was a beautiful woman at his "bed"side! Jimmy couldn't help but begin to sing "I Found My Thrill On Blueberry Hill" as Richie Cunningham used to do on Happy Days. "Come on, Jimmy, let's get you home," Lois said. "Clark, I'll take Jimmy home in his car. Don't worry, I'm sober now... haven't had a drink in a few hours. Come pick me up at his place." Lois took the keys from Jimmy and told him, "Let's go outside and get you into your car." As Lois dragged him into the car, Clark heard Jimmy muttering "...and then you said..'Jimmy! I can a man of you....'" After Lois left, Clark walked up to Perry. "Let's go, Perry, I'll take you home." "Isss Alice there?" Perry mumbled. "No, not now. Which is not to say she never will be," Clark assured while taking Perry's keys. "One question though Clark... why're you driving me home when you can fly me there?" drunk Perry said. "Fly you there?" Clark asked wide-eyed. "Aww, nuthin'," Perry responded. Whatever idea must have entered Perry's mind must have come and gone that quickly. Right then Perry got the drunken giggles as Clark tried to steer him to his car, "Cockadoodledoo ....fly me to the moon!!" Clark smiled nervously at him now, hoping that in the morning Perry would remember nothing but his name and address and oh yes! to marry him and Lois. Clark put Perry in his car before returning one last time to the Krypton Club and clean up with super-speed. He then gathered his gifts, as well as Jimmy's "Hooters" magazine which was left behind, and put them in the back seat of Perry's car. "Let's go home, Chief," Clark told Perry. "Great shades of Elvis! The night's still young Clark!" Perry exclaimed right before passing out. After dropping off Perry, Clark then flew to Jimmy's to pick up Lois. "Only one more night, Lois," Clark told her. "Are you ready?" "I'm more than ready to marry the man of my dreams," Lois said. "Fall for me, farm boy. I HAVE time for it." Lois and Clark approached her balcony, and he put his precious cargo down gently. "You are a strange one, Lois Lane, but I've got you all figured out. See you tomorrow, sweetheart" and with that Clark kissed Lois on the forehead, and silently flew off. THE END ****************************************************************** Note: This was originally distributed through the Krypton Club newslett= er and is reposted here with the permission of the author. The only alteration = is that it has been divided into two emails. -Peace ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 16:18:03 -0500 Reply-To: peabody@mcs.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pat Organization: Amarna House Subject: Re: Fanfic Review: Season 5 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Pam, Just a very short response, while I take a break from writing my last scene for the TUFS finale. BTW, your "Lois gives birth episode" was one of my favorites in S5's season! I don't think we'll be able to top your interchange between Lois and Clark when Lois's water broke. Beautifully in character for both of them! I'd hoped to get a short note out to you about that, but things got more hectic than usual. Glad your request for feedback re-opened my window of opportunity. And I had a question about how you choose the names for your villians in that particular episode... you asked: > > So, tell me... Did you tune in each week to see if Lois could get pregnant? I tuned in each week *after* Lois got pregnant, to see how the pregnancy was going to be handled. After I knew Lois was pregnant, I went back to the "fanfic storage" area of my hard drive and read the few episodes that I'd missed. > Did you like the way we brought Lex back? What did you think of the > clone story? I wanted to see Lex come back, but didn't especially like that particular episode. A clone was the most logical way to handle it, but I guess I'd had enough of clones in the fake wedding arc! Did you enjoy the Intergang saga? Could you follow it all? > Did you care? I liked the idea of using one villian to help tie the episodes together, and Mindy Church has always been a favorite of mine. I had a little difficulty following/understanding the relationship between Intergang and Lex, but I followed (and enjoyed) everything else. Yeah, I cared Otherwise I wouldn't have read the episodes every week! > > Would you like to see the same sort of extended plot in Season 6, or is > that just too much trouble for you to keep track of? I think it works well to have a recurring villian. I liked the way season one handled that issue: Lex was always there in the background, and always a threat, but wasn't necessarily the villian every week. The idea that Lex might want to kidnap baby Kent makes for some interesting scenarios, too. > Your answers may > well influence the way we write it, so if you've got an opinion, by all > means share it! :-) Glad to hear that you've decided to do a 6th season! Pat -- peabody@mcs.com pattijean@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 16:21:49 -0500 Reply-To: peabody@mcs.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pat Organization: Amarna House Subject: Sorry! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In my haste to respond to Pam's inquiry about S5, and get back to finishing my own scenes, I seem to have sent my opinions and questions out to the entire list. Sorry to add to the clutter in your mailboxes, FOLCs! Pat -- peabody@mcs.com pattijean@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Jun 1998 23:36:56 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nightwing Subject: Pretender/L&C fanfic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Sorry if this has been mentioned, but I just found a Pretender/L&C crossover fanfic. It's on http://drmm.simplenet.com/fanfic/television/pretender/xover/lnc.html. It's a really good fanfic. Nightwing