From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9911B" ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1999 23:39:23 -0600 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: Untitled 1: 1 of ? In-Reply-To: <388632863.941996487711.JavaMail.root@web05.pub01> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi Joy, Cute story ... Season 2 is my favorite setting for fanfics. :) A few points to mention ... You didn't need to break it up into so many parts. Each of your posts was 4-7K. The fanfic list can support much larger posts, as can most subscribers. In the future, I'd recommend saving yourself the trouble of breaking it up into such small pieces, and make each post about 20K. You only needed to post maybe three parts, I'd estimate from the size of your story. It's also a lot easier to read in 2-3 parts than 11! :) >Trying to cheer her up, Clark tells her, "Well, in that case, you are coming >home with me to Smallville." I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again ... fiction is supposed to be written in *past* tense, not present. I have seen the occasional professional author use present tense, but it's not proper. I'm looking forward to seeing this story submitted to the Archive when you are ready, but please clean up the tenses first. :) >"Why can't Rachel SEE >that Ross is more than a friend? They are so obviously MEANT for each >other." LOL! >Lois happily accepts the decadent treat. "Mmmm. I love these. Martha, do I >taste two types of dark chocolate in the brownie, and a third in the >frosting?" Cute ... Lois is the chocolate *expert*! >He brushes his teeth, and >changes into a pair of black sleep shorts. An old pair of shorts, the kind >that are soft from repeated washings. and then: >Just like in her dream, Clark is wearing a pair of >black, silk sleep shorts, and a smile. Silk would not get softer from repeated washings, I don't think. That sounds like cotton (can you even wash silk that many times? The silk things I've had don't stand up in the machine very well and I can't picture Clark handwashing his underwear! ;)) Plus, do you really think Clark would have bought silk boxers a long time ago, before he and Lois were together? >He had his fingers crossed? What is this elementary school? Heh heh. >"Lois, I don't want to rush >you, and I know that this is fast, but I feel like Harry in 'When Harry Met >Sally'. My all-time favorite movie. :) >P.S. After reading this again, I realized that it is in the present tense. >I know one should wirte fics in the past tense, so I'll fix that before it >gets sent to the archive. LOL! You can tell I was writing notes in order as I read ... you read my mind, Joy. Ignore that comment. Overall, nice story, Joy. Very sweet and romantic. Try to get it wrapped up soon, so we can get it up over Christmas. We won't be accepting stories for much longer with a guarantee of 1999 posting! :) Kathy ______________________ Kathy Brown kathyb@springnet1.com kathyb@lcfanfic.com KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 00:46:47 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Thomas Cole Subject: Re: Teri's career MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Carolyn, I can't tell you the name of the show but it was on the Travel Channel. I caught the "what's up next" part of the show and decided to watch. Normally, I'm on the lookout for TH :-) Sorry I couldn't help more Thomas (USMC) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 19:17:07 +1100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jenny or Joe Stosser Subject: Re: Teri's career In-Reply-To: <0.67cc7318.2554f6df@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 10:13 PM 05/11/99 EST, you wrote: >In a message dated 11/5/99 1:53:24 PM Pacific Standard Time, >cschnall@MAIL.MED.CORNELL.EDU writes: > ><< Hi Thomas: > > Can you give some more detail about the program you saw featuring Dean? > > Dean doing bungy jumping sounds like a fantasy:) > > Thanks, > Carolyn > cschnall@mail.med.cornell.edu > >> > >I haven't seen the program myself but i have heard enough about it. Dean >goes on a fighter jet along with his then g-friend Gabby Reese. At the end >of the thing he gets sick. :( I think it took a lot of guts for Dean to face >his fears like that. =) > >Alexis ;-.) I believe teh programme was called The Extremists jenerator@ozemail.com.au -*-This message is umop ap!sdn (Jenerator or Some1Else on IRC) -*- JenerEight on AIM -*- ICQ: 11477318 Photos of David (7) and Megan (4) on the Stosser Family HomePage: http://geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/4583 Please sign our guestbook! ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 10:50:54 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nicole Wolke Subject: Re: Where do ideas come from? (WAS Re: Honeymoon ideas) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey Folcs :-) Chris wrote: > > Ceiling scene?! That sounds like something else I've missed! BBC should be hanged for that! Such a nice scene!! I know that Sky left the scene uncut, so I would try to find someone who can copy the scene for you! It's one of the best in fourth season ! After all this waiting, it was so nice to see them happy :-) I only recently posted a fanfiction on the german Fanfiction archive about the honeymoon and what really happened and so I'm pretty sure I remember the scene well, since I used it. Here's the dialogue: (Clark's appartement You see the bed (empty) and hear laughter and kissing noises. Camera goes up to the ceiling and there they are: Lois and Clark kissing. Then, cut to them lying next to each other on their back) Lois (sighing): "Wow..." Clark (with a definitely proud smile on his face ): "I know." (he turns around to Lois) "I mean..." Lois: "Exactly" (smiles) "The only thing I'd like more would be..." Clark (whispers in her ear): "More?" Lois (whide smile): "Yes" (They kiss) Clark: "You know, I could still make these reservations for Hawaii." Lois (pulls him closer to her): "We're not leaving this room" Kiss and cut to the Outside in front of the Planet take care Nicole -- AKA CKgroupie on IRC NKWolke@eifel-net.net ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 06:40:34 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Chris Carr Subject: Re: Where do ideas come from? (WAS Re: Honeymoon ideas) On Sun, 7 Nov 1999 13:57:31 -0800, TA Merrill wrote: > >Haven't you ever wondered why several people have given Dr. Klein a >girlfriend named Caroline? She shows up as his girlfriend near the end >of the 4th season.(Can't remember the ep) Superman flies her to >Metropolis to be with Dr. Klein so he will stay in the lab and work on >a computer chip. > Um, no. I hadn't wondered... Okay, confession time. It's been a long time since I saw the fourth season episodes. Clearly, in addition to a lot of stuff the beeb has cut, I have lost a lot of detail to a faulty memory! Still, I'm catching up on the repeats now. Thanks, TerriAnn and Nicole for filling me in re the ceiling scene! Chris (who has now given up on asking what turn out to be naive questions, and is going to be quiet for a while!) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 15:37:42 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Fic recommendations MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Yesterday there was a treat in store on the Archive for lovers of great writing: stories by *two* of the best newer fanfic writers around. Mobile Richard - author of that great mini-series 'Life in a Different World' - has come up with a very humorous premise in which Lois, married to Clark for a year, has just discovered a very important fact about her husband. It's a very amusing 'what-if,' written with the author's usual skill with words and emotions. Thoroughly recommended! And although there can't be anyone left out there who doesn't know that LabRat's 'Caped Fear' has to be one of the very best stories of this year, the PG-13 version is now available for anyone who doesn't read nfic. Edited to PG-13, it's still a stunning, well-plotted and gripping story, with all of LabRat's skill at weaving a fascinating tale, great supporting characters and heart-warming emotions. And there is a scene near the end which will have your heart in your mouth - I defy anyone to read that particular scene without being tempted to forget to breathe. Of course, 'Caped Fear' has the distinction of being the longest story on the Archive by far, at over 1MB (beats my 'Congo' hands down!). So I think Rat will understand if people are a little slow with the feedback . If there is anyone who hasn't yet started CF, however, my advice is to FLY over to the Archive and download it NOW! You're in for a real treat! Wendy ---------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 13:11:04 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carolyn Schnall Subject: Re: S5, Ep 3 Review In-Reply-To: <199911060211.VAA25156@mail2.mia.bellsouth.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Sheesh! you *know* you are a groupie >when the *review* of a an ep makes you >bright and sunny and happy all over > >Thanks Carolyn! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, I'm totally delighted that you are enjoying my episode thoughts:) Thank you back:) Carolyn ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 14:13:20 -0600 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: Where do ideas come from? (WAS Re: Honeymoon ideas) In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 6:40 AM -0500 11/8/99, Chris Carr wrote: >Chris (who has now given up on asking what turn out to be naive questions, >and is going to be quiet for a while!) Oh, don't do that ... if you hadn't asked, the rest of us wouldn't get to relive the ceiling scene in our heads via the posted dialogue. Kathy ______________________ Kathy Brown kathyb@springnet1.com kathyb@lcfanfic.com KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 18:14:10 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Anita Dicker Subject: Caped Fear: The Novel MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! LabRat Your story was Fantastic. There are very few stories that I have run across, that I am unable to put down. You know how to use words, to tell one of the most gripping novel sized stories that I have read in years. I almost stopped breathing a few times, and felt an ache in my chest toward the end. Their was a small part of me saying 'This has to end well'. I am waiting for your next epic. Anita ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 23:30:21 -0600 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: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The Fanfic Archive will be taking its annual holiday break from December 15, 1999, until January 15, 2000. AUTHORS: Please keep in mind that if you want to have your story edited and uploaded in 1999 (and thus be eligible for the 2000 Kerth Awards this coming spring), you must submit it to the Archive no later than **December 1, 1999**. Submissions should be sent to: Stories submitted after that date may not be uploaded until January 2000, and if so, will not be eligible for this spring's Kerth Awards. (These stories will, of course, be eligible for the 2001 Kerths.) Any story submitted after December 15, 1999 will sit in my mailbox until January. I haven't had problems with my email losing mail, but still, to be safe, I'd recommend waiting until January if you can't get it to me by December 15. *** If you do submit a story between now and December 15 and you wouldn't mind having it uploaded during the first two weeks of January, please let me know. We'd like to continue uploading stories during our hiatus, but that will require me to compile four to five weeks worth of uploading assignments in advance. If you, as an author, really want to have your story qualify for the 2000 Kerths, I will do my best to accomodate you. But if you don't mind waiting until January, please let me know so I can free up a spot for someone who really wants their story up in December. :) (Personally, I'd vote for January ... the 2000 Kerths look to be *really* strong. ;)) If you have any questions, please let me know. Kathy _________________________________ Kathy Brown Editor-In-Chief Lois & Clark Fanfic Archive kathyb@springnet1.com OR kathyb@lcfanfic.com KathyB on IRC _________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 05:02:19 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Hazel Subject: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Kathy wrote: >The Fanfic Archive will be taking its annual holiday break from December >15, 1999, until January 15, 2000. > >AUTHORS: Please keep in mind that if you want to have your story edited >and uploaded in 1999 (and thus be eligible for the 2000 Kerth Awards this >coming spring), you must submit it to the Archive no later than **December >1, 1999**. Eep! Kathy, how frightening to think that Kerths are coming up and we'll have to narrow down our favorites for nominations and votes. Just to give you all an idea of how challenging this is going to be -- *Irene* is eligible for "Best New Author." Says something, doesn't it? :) Kathy, if a story was posted here on the list or on Zoom or Demi's boards, does it still qualify for this year's Kerths? Another question that should probably be directed to the Kerth organizers (if they know who they are yet!): What does everyone think about adding a new category -- Best Video? There are dozens (well, maybe not dozens, but prolly two dozen or so) of incredible music videos out there, made by very talented FoLCs who spent hours selecting the most appropriate scenes for their favorite songs and then cobbling the whole thing together. For me, in particular, these videos are fabulous, as it gives me an actual glimpse of the show. :) But seriously -- music videos are just another genre of fanfic, if that makes any sense. Surely these FoLCs also deserve recognition for their efforts? Just a thought. I know how difficult the Kerths are to organize, and I'm not trying to give the coordinators *more* work! There's also the problem that not everyone has the computer capabilities to view the videos, which leaves some of the FoLCs unable to vote on them. But I thought I'd toss the idea out for the rest of you to consider. Hazel ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 11:48:51 -0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Subject: Re: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hazel wrote: > Another question that should probably be directed to the Kerth organizers > (if they know who they are yet!): What does everyone think about adding a > new category -- Best Video? Oh, good idea, Hazel! I'm in the camp who can't download and play many of these. Not actually through tech problems but simply because they usually take so long to download that my phone bill wouldn't bear the cost. But some very nice FOLCs have transcibed most of them to tape or CD for me. Thanks, guys. And I, for one, certainly wouldn't let that be a barrier to having an award. I certainly have some candidates I'd love to nominate. I've always been in awe of anyone who can sit in front of a VCR for 8 hours fiddling with bits of tapes to produce a 2 minute music video. And some of the mv I've seen have captured the spirit of LNC as well as many fanfics I've read and provide waffy moments for me to savour when I get LNCWS. LabRat :) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 12:16:15 -0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Subject: Re: Caped Fear: The Novel MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Anita wrote: > Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! > And lots of other very nice things. No, thank *you*, Anita. I've been having a small crisis of confidence latterly, which has led me to be not so keen to write in general, but isn't it amazing what a good old honest pat on the head will do for the Muse? You made me feel so much better. I'm glad you enjoyed CF and thank you for taking the trouble to let me know. Sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but to be honest your post rather left me lost for words for a time there. :) And thank you, Wendy, for the recommendation. And more very kind comments. Hey, I'm on a roll. Course I suspect you have an ulterior motive. You want Masques, right? ;) LabRat :) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 08:50:36 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Re: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive In-Reply-To: <3.0.6.32.19991109104519.008f3ab0@actcom.co.il> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi everyone ;) Just thought I'd give a quick reply to this (btw, how late were you up last night, Hazel? My email says this came through at 3:20am. ;) > if a story was posted here on the list or on Zoom or Demi's boards, > does it still qualify for this year's Kerths? I definitely side with Kathy that it's much easier for us organizers if we can see the archive's date stamp on the fanfic heading and it tells us 1999. ;) But, as I'm learning with these Kerths, there always seems to be a strange exception. For example, last year's 'On the Run,' which was posted to the message boards and not the archive since it was an ongoing story and not all the way finished yet for a completed archive submission, had so many nominations we went ahead and let it on in. The thing to remember is, this Kerths thing is supposed to fun, not alienate FoLCs. (I keep saying that because I don't want anybody hating me. I'm funny that way ) If there are circumstances I'm not aware of, please let me know. Us organizers are not ogres. ;) (Well, don't ask my kids to verify that ) But definitely do your best, authors, to get your stories in to Kathy (our beloved archive Editor in Chief ;) by December 1st to make things easier on us. And as busy as Kathy is, I'm sure she'd be your friend for life. ;) As for your question, Hazel, about including a Best Video category, I'll leave that up to you FoLCs. Think on it and give me your opinion. But remember, the Kerths won't be until the end of March, so we have lots of time to decide. Gosh, my baby will almost be due then. Let's hope I don't pull a "Pam." Hope this helps! Erin :) __________________ erink@ida.net Visit my LNC/Kerth Website: www.ida.net/users/davek ***** "It's not the years that count, it's the moments...right now, as they happen." __________________ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:40:37 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive In-Reply-To: <3.0.6.32.19991109104519.008f3ab0@actcom.co.il> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Tue, 9 Nov 1999 05:02:19 -0500 Hazel wrote: > Just to give you all an idea of how challenging this is > going to be -- *Irene* is eligible for "Best New Author." > > Says something, doesn't it? :) Yes... and so are Chris Carr (now *that's* amazing!), Nan Smith, Notrepooh, Tank Wilson and even, possibly, LabRat depending on how New Author is defined, since this is the first year Rat has had stories on the non-nfic Archive! Tough choices all around this year (I'm feeling glad I started last year! ) Wendy ---------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:43:30 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: Caped Fear: The Novel In-Reply-To: <008e01bf2ab5$e31ae120$eb3d883e@d9t5t7> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Tue, 9 Nov 1999 12:16:15 -0000 LabRat wrote: > Course I suspect you > have an ulterior motive. You want Masques, right? ;) Hmmm - how did you guess? (And if anyone doesn't know what Masques is, go read LabRat's brilliant and disturbing vignette, Wedding Jitters. Masques is the full story). Wendy ---------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 12:23:49 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/09/1999 10:53:06 AM Eastern Standard Time, zis-s@ACTCOM.CO.IL writes: << how frightening to think that Kerths are coming up and we'll have to narrow down our favorites for nominations and votes. Just to give you all an idea of how challenging this is going to be -- *Irene* is eligible for "Best New Author." >> Yup, I am WELL aware of that and she's been on the top of my list all along. :) --Laurie (Irene's #1 fan) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 09:28:34 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Stories MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I have a question. I've received several e-mails from various people on this list, who apparently don't have internet access, about my "Dagger" series. A number of them have wanted me to post it on the list , especially since I use Word Perfect 6.1 and many of them can't receive it in readable form. Is it okay? I don't want to do anything I shouldn't. Could someone let me know? If it's okay, I'll do it over the next few days. Nan Smith ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:07:05 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carolyn Schnall Subject: Re: Teri's career In-Reply-To: <0.67cc7318.2554f6df@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >In a message dated 11/5/99 1:53:24 PM Pacific Standard Time, >cschnall@MAIL.MED.CORNELL.EDU writes: > ><< Hi Thomas: > > Can you give some more detail about the program you saw featuring Dean? > > Dean doing bungy jumping sounds like a fantasy:) > > Thanks, > Carolyn > cschnall@mail.med.cornell.edu > >> > >I haven't seen the program myself but i have heard enough about it. Dean >goes on a fighter jet along with his then g-friend Gabby Reese. At the end >of the thing he gets sick. :( I think it took a lot of guts for Dean to face >his fears like that. =) > >Alexis ;-.) Oh, that's Extremist! I've seen that one, Is it the same? Carolyn ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:07:59 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carolyn Schnall Subject: Re: Teri's career In-Reply-To: <0.cf09786f.2557bdc7@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Hi Carolyn, > >I can't tell you the name of the show but it was on the Travel Channel. I >caught the "what's up next" part of the show and decided to watch. Normally, >I'm on the lookout for TH :-) > >Sorry I couldn't help more >Thomas (USMC) Was that Extremists with Gabby Reece? They went up in fighter jets? Not Bunghi jumping? Carolyn ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:09:03 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carolyn Schnall Subject: Re: Teri's career In-Reply-To: <3.0.6.32.19991108191707.00892b10@pop.ozemail.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Thanks, I have seen that show, it just sounded like something different, Carolyn >At 10:13 PM 05/11/99 EST, you wrote: >>In a message dated 11/5/99 1:53:24 PM Pacific Standard Time, >>cschnall@MAIL.MED.CORNELL.EDU writes: >> >><< Hi Thomas: >> >> Can you give some more detail about the program you saw featuring Dean? >> >> Dean doing bungy jumping sounds like a fantasy:) >> >> Thanks, >> Carolyn >> cschnall@mail.med.cornell.edu >> >> >> >>I haven't seen the program myself but i have heard enough about it. Dean >>goes on a fighter jet along with his then g-friend Gabby Reese. At the end >>of the thing he gets sick. :( I think it took a lot of guts for Dean to face >>his fears like that. =) >> >>Alexis ;-.) > >I believe teh programme was called The Extremists >jenerator@ozemail.com.au -*-This message is umop ap!sdn >(Jenerator or Some1Else on IRC) -*- JenerEight on AIM -*- ICQ: 11477318 >Photos of David (7) and Megan (4) on the Stosser Family HomePage: >http://geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/4583 Please sign our guestbook! ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 10:14:18 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii You ladies are going to embarrass me. Again. Thanks, Irene --- No Name Available wrote: > In a message dated 11/09/1999 10:53:06 AM Eastern > Standard Time, > zis-s@ACTCOM.CO.IL writes: > > << how frightening to think that Kerths are coming > up and we'll > have to narrow down our favorites for nominations > and votes. > > Just to give you all an idea of how challenging > this is going to be -- > *Irene* is eligible for "Best New Author." >> > > Yup, I am WELL aware of that and she's been on the > top of my list all along. > :) > > --Laurie (Irene's #1 fan) > ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 10:15:42 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii And let's not forget all the other categories that you're still eligible for, Wendy. In some cases, you're going to have your own stories competing against each other. Irene --- Wendy Richards wrote: > On Tue, 9 Nov 1999 05:02:19 -0500 Hazel > wrote: > > > Just to give you all an idea of how challenging > this is > > going to be -- *Irene* is eligible for "Best New > Author." > > > > Says something, doesn't it? :) > > Yes... and so are Chris Carr (now *that's* > amazing!), Nan > Smith, Notrepooh, Tank Wilson and even, possibly, > LabRat > depending on how New Author is defined, since this > is the > first year Rat has had stories on the non-nfic > Archive! > > Tough choices all around this year (I'm feeling glad > I > started last year! ) > > Wendy > ---------------------- > Wendy Richards > w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk > ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:43:42 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Hazel Subject: Re: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Erin wrote: >Just thought I'd give a quick reply to this (btw, how late were you up last >night, Hazel? My email says this came through at 3:20am. ;) I used Phil's time machine, what do you expect? ;p I posted it sometime after 9 a.m. my time after reading Kathy's post. I'm seven hours ahead of the States; and time stamps seem capable of marking dates that are weeks in the past or days in the future. Maybe Phil's time machine isn't such a joke after all, hm? >> if a story was posted here on the list or on Zoom or Demi's boards, >> does it still qualify for this year's Kerths? > >I definitely side with Kathy that it's much easier for us organizers if we >can see the archive's date stamp on the fanfic heading and it tells us 1999. (exceptions snipped) As I said before, I certainly will not object to anything you organizers decide... what an incredible amount of work you put in! But I wondered about people like Tank, frex, who posts his stories on Zoom's message boards in bits and pieces, and then doesn't get them to the archive until much later. Or me. :) I do remember last year that aside from the archive, there was a list of fics that were available elsewhere... and IIRC, the problem with "On the Run" wasn't so much that it was only available on Zoom's old message boards, but that it wasn't yet complete, which meant it didn't yet qualify (unlike, say, Margaret's "Only You" or Debby's "Dawning"; while these stories technically aren't yet complete, each part is a story unto itself.) Since you were in charge, of course, your memory is prolly more accurate. :) I do remember that Kathy (or you? Or Genevieve?) ended up deciding that anything that "technically" qualified for the '99 Kerths would be allowed in the running to avoid unnecessary upsets, but that the rules in the future would be... Well, my memory runs out of steam over there. As you say, there's time to think about it. I brought it up because of Kathy's post, so blame her! ;) Hazel ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:54:42 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Organization: http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam/ Subject: Re: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hazel thought she remembered that last year, we said: > anything that "technically" qualified for the '99 Kerths would be allowed > in the running to avoid unnecessary upsets, but that the rules in the > future would be... Well, my memory runs out of steam over there. I think we decided that anything that qualified for the 99 Kerths wouldn't qualify again for 2000 ... so I hope someone kept a list of what was eligible in 99! But I bet Kathy has it on one of her spreadsheets Now I just have to decide if I want JLT/BLL uploaded this year, or next ... if it's this year, it might compete with "Fate" in a category or two, but by next year, everyone will have forgotten it... hmmm... PJ who should work on her modesty ;) -- ------------------------------------------------------- Pam Jernigan | jernigan@bellsouth.net ChiefPam on IRC | ChPam on AOL IM ------------------------------------------------------- "Something this screwed up had to have taken a committee." _Barrayar_ by Lois McMaster Bujold ------------------------------------------------------- http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:18:59 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Re: Kerths 2000 In-Reply-To: <3.0.6.32.19991109195927.009153c0@actcom.co.il> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hazel wrote: > As I said before, I certainly will not object to anything you organizers > decide... what an incredible amount of work you put in! But I wondered > about people like Tank, frex, who posts his stories on Zoom's message > boards in bits and pieces, and then doesn't get them to the archive until > much later. Yep, this is exactly why we make exceptions. ;) There are many truly wonderful stories that are put out there for us fans to read, sometimes via personal webpages, or on message boards or fanfic lists that don't, for whatever reason, make it to the archive by year's end. And I do know a couple of authors who've just not gotten around to submitting their stories to the archive. And if they don't chose to do so, I certainly don't see a reason they should be punished (is that the right word? ;) by not having their stories eligible just because it wasn't posted to a certain place. All us coordinators need is a way to verify that the story was made available to the readers in the calendar year of 1999, and that's usually easiest to do with the date stamp on the heading of the archive fics. But that certainly doesn't mean that's the *only* way a story can be eligible! > I do remember that Kathy (or you? Or Genevieve?) ended up deciding that > anything that "technically" qualified for the '99 Kerths would be allowed > in the running to avoid unnecessary upsets, but that the rules in the > future would be... Well, my memory runs out of steam over there. Mine, too, because I don't remember us making any set-in-concrete rules. Maybe we did...hmmm. But even if we did, I'd like to jump in here and say that there are usually some weird exceptions that seem to come up, and I don't want to be so militant over something that's supposed to be a fun experience designed to thank the authors who do such a great job of keeping LNC alive. After all, that's what this is all about, right? (Not that I've been contributing much lately, but Real Life has kind of intervened lately ;) Anyway, any further comments and/or suggestions (especially when it comes to new categories, etc) are definitely welcomed. Don't be afraid to share your ideas! I'd just like to make this whole shindig a fun experience for everyone, and I doubt I could do that without your feedback. ;) Back to lurking, Erin :) __________________ erink@ida.net Visit my LNC/Kerth Website: www.ida.net/users/davek ***** "It's not the years that count, it's the moments...right now, as they happen." __________________ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:25:36 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: "Dagger" Series MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit A number of people on this list, who apparently do not have internet access, have e-mailed me privately about my "Dagger" series. (Don't ask me, I didn't exactly advertise). Since my computer has a very nasty and uncooperative personality about sending attachments--mostly they come out unreadable, as Kathy Brown knows--I figured it would be easier for all concerned if I just post them to this list. If you've already red them, just delete them. April 2, 1999 Dagger of the Mind by Nan Smith deimos1@earthlink.net Introduction The story of Superman's encounter with the Nightfall Asteroid and what happened later always bothered me. I thought there must be more to the story than we were able to see in the 46 minutes or so of "All Shook Up". His amnesia after slamming into the asteroid was wrong. Amnesia can follow a head injury, but it is of a specific type, called "retrograde amnesia" in which the victim forgets what happened to him for the past 24 hours or so, not his whole life and identity(This information is courtesy of my father, a very fine doctor and retired Navy commander). The kind of memory loss he exhibited is associated with a psychological problem called " hysterical amnesia", usually caused by an intense desire to forget. The blow to the head is just the mind's excuse for the condition. But we all know Clark's mind is pretty healthy and he shouldn't have mental problems like that, so there must have been another reason for it. Suppose there was a chunk of Kryptonite buried in Nightfall, composed not only of green, but a little red as well? And what might have happened after he shattered the big asteroid if that piece had somehow reached Earth and he ran into it again? This story takes place between "Whine, Whine, Whine" and "And The Answer Is..." I hope you enjoy it. As always, the characters portrayed in this story are the property of D.C. Comics, Warner Bros. et al. and I am only borrowing them for awhile, and I have to credit the title to the bard of Avon(Macbeth, Act II Scene 2) but the story is my idea and my property, so here goes... Dagger of the Mind by Nan Smith(deimos1@earthlink.net) It had begun its journey 29 years before, a dull chunk of crystal which glowed a sickly green, speckled with tiny flecks of red; a piece no larger than a man's fist, fused and pitted with the tremendous heat that had formed it. It had been part of a planet once, flung into space with the force of the explosion that had destroyed a world, then caught in the warp field of a tiny ship which escaped the destruction by bare minutes, and in that way it reached the Solar System. But here chance intervened. Well behind the other pieces of the planet Krypton that trailed the ship, it encountered an obstacle rolling through space on its own track and smashed into it at high speed. Embedded now in the mindless mass of rock which years later would be called the Nightfall Asteroid, it continued its slightly delayed journey toward Earth. And for 27 years nothing happened. The destruction of Nightfall by Superman was followed a few days later by nearly a week of nights made spectacular by shooting stars, harmless debris left over from the shattered asteroid, most of which vaporized in the Earth's atmosphere. But here and there a piece survived and became the subject of intense interest by the scientific community, and others, fortune hunters who collected and sold such articles for profit. One piece was found in Northern Africa over a year later and eventually packed into a crate with other items of value and sent by various channels to the United States, where there was money to be made from those who collected such treasures. The chunk of crystal, buried in the rock, lay there anonymous, waiting. 1 Clark Kent entered his apartment and resisted the urge to slam the door behind him. He had run out on Lois again, and her angry words were still ringing in his ears. "If you run away again, Clark Kent, don't even bother coming back!" He had gone anyway to deal with a gang war down at the riverfront. Of course, Lois couldn't know that. All she had seen was that Clark Kent, who had promised not to run away, was doing it again and now she was certainly so angry at him that she really wouldn't want to see him. He had changed to Clark Kent afterwards to interview the police who were herding the gang members into police vans and paramedics treating the wounded, then come home to try to figure out what to do. This couldn't go on; hurting Lois like this was tearing him up, too. Something had to be done. He flung himself onto the sofa, kicking himself again. What was he, a coward? He'd faced all kinds of dangers, one way or another, but this one small woman had the power to make or break the rest of his life, and, face it, she scared him silly. What was he going to do? He dropped his head into his hands, trying to think, but nothing coherent would come, other than the fact that he had blown it again and Lois was never going to forgive him. This had been the final straw. Something was tugging at him for attention, but it was several minutes before he noticed and when he did it seemed simply like the cap off to a lousy evening. His wallet was missing. He must have lost it somewhere on the riverfront. The discovery seemed almost funny. He laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh. Somehow, he had to figure out a way to tell Lois how he felt without one of these damned interruptions getting in the way. If she would even listen. He was fresh out of excuses, angry at himself, angry at circumstances, almost ready to give up the whole Superman thing altogether. Superman was playing havoc with his life. Was it really worth it? Slowly the anger drained away, leaving depression in its wake. For an unmeasured time he sat staring blankly at nothing, then roused himself with a jerk. This was getting him nowhere fast. There had to be a way to do this, even if he had to write it down and let her read it. Not exactly romantic, but certainly better than what was going on now... Well, why not? At least a letter wasn't going to give her some lame excuse and dash off to rescue somebody while she was reading it! Writing about how he felt, putting it down in ink on paper, couldn't be considered exactly easy, either. Composing a love letter wasn't only embarrassing, it wasn't even his style. Besides, he had no previous experience, and the last thing he wanted was some juvenile-sounding effort that would make her sneer in contempt. After all, he was a journalist; he made his living with words. This had better be good or he might as well not try. For some time he stared at the paper, trying to formulate in his head what he really wanted to say, but at last he sighed. Never mind the fancy wording--just say it. Chewing on his lip, he began to write. He had written a total of six sentences when the inevitable happened. He should have expected it. He couldn't even write a letter without being interrupted. The sounds of disaster always crept in, whether he wanted them to or not. With a sigh of exasperation he plunked the letter onto the coffee table, set his glasses on top of it to hold it in place and spun into the Suit. Superman wasn't being given any breaks tonight. Maybe the Fates had it in for him. Without further thought, he launched himself through the window and made a beeline for the harbor. (continued in Part 2) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:28:32 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger--Part 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit At least the emergency was a real emergency. As Superman arrowed toward Metropolis Harbor he could see the smoke billowing up into the late evening sky, black and ugly against the first stars. He could hear the cries and screams of human beings trying desperately to escape the conflagration, the shriek of sirens as the fire control boats headed toward the burning cargo ship. Within seconds he was on the scene and drew in his breath in horror. The ship was engulfed in smoke and flames. The fire had spread rapidly, to all appearances. People were literally leaping from the blazing decks to get away from the heat, struggling to put some distance between themselves and the inferno behind them. He saw men who obviously could not swim thrashing in the water, apparently willing to chance drowning rather than stay to be roasted alive on the deathtrap that had once been a ship. He moved in fast, scooping men from the water with as much speed as he could manage without seriously injuring anyone. There were probably a few strained muscles here and there, but if he was to save the lives of the crew he could not afford to waste time. There were fire control boats on the scene, of course, but no one wanted to get very close; there was too much chance of an explosion. The fire was much too hot. Something of which he wasn't aware must be feeding the flames. He scooped the last man from the water, dropped him on the deck of a rescue craft and flew back to the ship. His x-ray vision told him that there were no more people trapped, but the fire was growing by the second. Whatever was fueling this thing must be really volatile. He dived into the innards of the craft, trying to snuff the flames with super-cooled breath. His hopes weren't high. The fire had apparently started in the cargo hold and was eating at every flammable surface. There wasn't anything more to do. For a second he smelled an odor, almost unrecognizable amid the acrid smoke, and a jolt of pain contracted his muscles. Something was terribly wrong. It was his last coherent thought before the ship blew. He wasn't even aware of his body, thrown halfway across the harbor, or of the cold water of the bay closing over his head. Lois Lane stood on the dock amid a crowd of other reporters, watching Superman's dramatic rescue of the cargo ship's crew, then gasped in horror at the magnitude of the explosion. Superman was thrown through the air to splash down violently in the water. She waited, counting the seconds. Where was he? The familiar blue and red figure did not reappear and in the dusk that was rapidly falling she couldn't tell if he was floating on the surface or had sunk. One of the Harbor Patrol boats was speeding toward the site, its floodlight fixed on something in the water. "What's going on?" Jimmy Olsen asked from behind her. "Do you see him?" "I can't tell..." The boat was circling, light rotating to remain on one spot. Now it was pulling to a stop. A man in a life jacket jumped from the side, but she couldn't see... "They've got him!" a woman shouted. Lois felt her stomach contract in a hard knot. They were pulling someone from the water all right, someone in red and blue who sagged like a rag doll as he was lifted to the waiting hands above. "My God..."a voice said from somewhere to her left. "Do you suppose he's dead?" "Of course he's not dead!" Lois didn't recognize her own voice. "He can't be!" She spun, beginning to push her way through the mob of spectators and members of the press. "Come on, Jimmy!" "Where are we going?" Jimmy was right behind her. "They'll take him to Metropolis General...we want to get there first!" "But Superman's a friend of mine! You have to let me see him!" Lois clenched her fists in frustration. The admitting nurse wasn't impressed. "Miss Lane, the doctors are examining him now. We can't release any statement at this time." "I don't want a statement! I just want to know if he's all right!" The woman's expression didn't change. "I can't tell you what I don't know. When they finish they'll be able to tell you a lot more. Why don't you sit down over there and wait. Standing here blocking traffic isn't going to make them finish any sooner." Lois had to admit the justice of the statement but it didn't make it any easier. She had seen him loaded into the ambulance and the sight had not been reassuring. Someone had been giving him oxygen and the sight of the all-powerful superhero in such straits was nearly enough to make her burst into tears. If only Clark were here, but she wasn't speaking to him right now. She wasn't sure she would ever speak to him again after this evening. "Miss Lane--" The admitting nurse was beginning to sound a little irritated. "There are several people behind you. Please go sit down." Without another word, Lois moved away. At least she could phone in the story, such as it was. The fact that she was a known friend of Superman had kept her from being thrown out of here with the other reporters; she didn't want to push her luck too far but it galled her that she wasn't being allowed to see him. The Man of Steel could be in there dying right now and there was absolutely nothing she could do for him. Being helpless wasn't something she could resign herself to easily, especially regarding her friends, and Superman definitely qualified as a friend, considering how many times he'd saved her life in the last two years. Even if he wasn't considered a suitor anymore, he was still important to her, but all she could do now was wait. It was a little more than an hour later when an emergency room doctor stepped out into the waiting room. "Miss Lane?" She was on her feet at once. "Yes? Is he all right?" "Step in here, please." The woman gestured her through the door and led the way into a small cubicle that was apparently her office. "Sit down." Lois sat, gripping her hands in her lap. This was already not looking good. "How is he? Is he all right?" The doctor frowned. "More or less. This is off the record, is that understood? He regained consciousness in the ambulance. We're keeping him overnight for observation, but except for having inhaled some water, he's physically okay." She paused. Something didn't sound right. "Then what's the matter?" The doctor bit her lip. "Ordinarily I wouldn't tell you this, but as far as we know Superman hasn't anyone to contact. You, and your editor--Mr. White is it?--" at Lois's nod she continued, "--seem to be the only ones who have any connection with him." "What's the matter with him?" "Part of the problem is that we know nothing about Kryptonian physiology," the doctor said. "He seems alert and aware of what's happening to him now, but he doesn't remember who he is or what happened to him out there on the bay. Naturally this is somewhat disturbing, both to him and to us." Lois could imagine. "Can I see him?" The doctor nodded. "I think that might be a good idea. He's a little upset. Maybe you can help settle him down." Superman was sitting up on the emergency room examining table when she entered the curtained booth. The top of his uniform was around his waist, and a hospital gown hung halfway off of his muscular torso. His face was puckered in a frown as he stared at the hands clasped in his lap. Lois smiled tentatively. "Hello, Superman." She was dismayed by the lost look on his face as he met her eyes. "I heard what happened to you." "They tell me I was caught in an explosion." "Yes. I'm a friend of yours. My name is Lois Lane." He didn't smile, but the lost look eased slightly. "You know me?" "Yes. I've been your friend for two years. May I sit down?" "Sure." Even a catastrophic thing like this couldn't take away his instinctive courtesy, Lois thought. She took the chair near the head of the examining table. "You saved a lot of lives," she said. "I saw you. It was impressive." "I don't remember. What do I do now?" Lois stood up and put a hand over his clasped ones. "They want you to stay here overnight so they can be sure you're okay, then you're coming with me. I'll tell you about yourself and help you remember. It will be all right, I promise." He nodded hesitantly. "That sounds better than anything I've been able to think of." She patted his hands. "Try not to worry about it right now--God, that sounds so stupid, doesn't it!--but, try, anyway. Your memory will come back. You never stay sick long." Well, that might be only technically true, but she wasn't going to introduce any more complications right now. The last thing the guy needed was more things to worry about. "Just take it easy and rest. I'll be back in the morning to get you." He nodded. "All right. I guess I don't have much choice, do I?" "Well, you could check out right now, but I don't recommend it. Let the doctors do their jobs and you and I will take it from there." A ghost of a smile. "All right." She squeezed his hands. "Would you like me to stay for awhile?" He hesitated. "Would you mind?" "Not at all." She glanced around as a nurse entered. "What happens now?" The nurse was an older woman, perhaps fifty with a sturdy, no nonsense air. "We see about getting Superman into a room for the night. If you'd like to go with him you can. Or, if you'd like to get him a bag..." She felt herself blushing. "I guess you can't sleep in your uniform, can you? And hospital gowns are a bit drafty. I'll tell you what; I'm going to get you something to wear, then I'll come back. Will that be all right?" He nodded. "That sounds like a good idea." "Okay, I'll be back in about an hour." She returned in less than the promised time. Clark had not answered his phone, but Jimmy had come through with some baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt which she presented to Superman. He retired to the bathroom to change and emerged a few minutes later, uniform dangling limply from one hand. Lois felt her eyebrows rise at the sight. She had never seen him in anything but his uniform before, but apparently the man made anything look good. She took the Superman suit with a smile. "This is kind of a mess. I'll get it washed and bring it back in the morning." "I appreciate that." He met her gaze soberly. "I hope I'm not being too much trouble." "Of course not! What are friends for? Besides, I'm just glad you're all right. For a while I was scared we'd lost you." (continued in Part 3) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:30:49 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger--Part 3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit He shook his head. "I don't seem to be hurt at all...I just can't remember anything." "And that's a temporary condition. Tomorrow I'm going to take you to the Daily Planet--that's where I work. You have friends who work there besides me--Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, my partner Clark Kent. We'll all help you to remember. Clark can probably help more than all the rest of us. He's your closest friend and knows the most about you." "That's reassuring." He settled down on top of the bed covers. "Have I ever done anything like this before? Lost my memory, I mean?" "Not to my knowledge," Lois said. "My partner did, once. He got knocked down by a car and hit his head and for a couple of days he didn't remember a thing, but after a while everything came back. Your memory will, too." "Thanks. I admit I'm feeling better now. For a while it was pretty scary...not knowing who I was, or what was happening. Even if I don't remember, at least somebody else does." He grinned slightly at his own feeble joke. "I guess that's something, huh?" After she left the hospital, Lois tried again to call Clark, but she only got his answering machine. Wherever he was, he hadn't come home. Lois was still angry at him but it would have been nice to be able to talk to him about Superman. The superhero could use someone else to talk to besides her, but, as usual, when someone needed him, he was nowhere to be found. To be entirely fair, that really wasn't true but he had hurt her tonight. She wasn't ready to forgive him yet. In any case, she would see him tomorrow and then she intended to give him a piece of her mind. 3 There was only one thing wrong with her plan. When she walked into the Daily Planet the next morning, Superman in tow, Clark was nowhere to be seen. Heads turned as she entered, the tall, impressive young man in his bright red and blue suit beside her, and Perry White emerged from his office to greet the Man of Steel. "Hello, Superman, I'm Perry White, the editor here. You make yourself at home, son." He lowered his voice. "We're all going to try to help you remember things, okay?" He gestured to Jimmy . "This is Jimmy Olsen, one of our photographers. He's a friend of yours, too." Jimmy thrust out a hand. "Hi, Superman. Glad to see you looking better than you were last night. If you have any questions I can answer, I'll be glad to help you." "Uh, thanks...Jimmy." Superman shook his hand and glanced around. "Lois said Clark Kent would be here?" "Kent's late this morning," Perry said, a slight frown on his face. "He hasn't called in, so I expect he'll be here soon." "Lois said he knows more about me than anyone. I could sure stand to talk to him." Perry clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Any of us will be glad to help you if we can, son. You've done more for Metropolis than people even remember. Have a seat over at Clark's desk until he gets here, and if you have any questions, ask." Lois frowned at Clark's desk where Superman was sitting. It wasn't like Clark to not show up without at least calling. After a moment, she picked up the phone and dialed his number, but only the telephone answering machine came on the line. She left a message for him to call her when he got in and hung up. When she looked back, Superman was watching her. "Is there something wrong, Lois?" "I'm just surprised Clark hasn't even called the office. This isn't like him." "Well, maybe he got called out of town? A family emergency?" "That's a thought." Lois waved to Jimmy, who came hurrying over. "Jimmy, dig out all the articles we've done about Superman. All the interviews, everything. If he reads them, it may help jog his memory. And Superman, after you've read them we'll talk about them and fill in as many blanks as possible. All right?" "Sure. Actually, it sounds like a good idea. Thanks." "I'm full of good ideas," Lois said. She flashed him a smile, then turned to her computer. After a moment, she picked up the phone again and dialed another number.. Martha Kent answered. "Hello?" "Hi, Martha, it's Lois." "Oh, hi, Lois! How are you?" "I'm fine." Lois hesitated a moment, then plunged ahead. "Have you heard from Clark today? He's not at work and hasn't called in. I was wondering if there was a problem." "No, dear, we haven't heard from him for several days." "Oh." Lois was at a bit of a loss. "I thought maybe you'd have heard something. Usually he calls if he isn't going to be here." "Well, I'm sure he's all right." There was a pause. "We saw what happened to Superman on TV last night. How is he?" "Oh, uh, he's fine." Lois hesitated. "The explosion kind of stunned him. He was pretty shaken up and they took him to the hospital as a precaution, but he was okay. I talked to him last night and this morning." "Oh, good. I was a little worried, but I didn't think it could be serious. I'm sure Clark is all right, Lois. He'll show up after while. Tell him to call me when he comes in. Jonathan and I are flying to Metropolis tonight and I want to let him know when our plane will be arriving." "Uh, sure, Martha. Um, excuse me, but I have another call coming in. I have to go." Lois hung up. She felt guilty fibbing to Martha, but it had been agreed that the news about Superman's memory loss should not be advertised. If the criminal element found out, the results would not be pretty. She submerged her stab of conscience after a moment and called Clark's apartment again. Again the telephone answering machine came on and she left another message to call back. Superman was engrossed in the articles supplied by Jimmy. Lois fidgeted a few moments more, then resolutely turned on her computer and began to reread the article she had written last night. She was vaguely dissatisfied with it and busied herself with revising it to her exacting standards. Underneath, her slight uneasiness was turning to genuine worry. An hour went by, then another. When the elevator door opened, she looked around, expecting to see Clark, but instead Sergeant Zymack stepped out. He strolled into the newsroom and up to her desk. "Hi, Miss Lane. Kent around?" Lois swallowed. "No, he's not here. Can I help you, Sergeant?" The officer glanced at Superman out of the corner of his eye. "How's the big guy?" "He's doing okay, Zymack. He's catching up on all the information we have about him. What about Clark?" Zymack reached into a pocket and removed a leather wallet. "One of our guys found this early this morning, down by Metropolis River. Thought I'd drop it by on my way past. Can you pass it along to him when you see him?" He flipped it open. "I'm afraid his money and credit cards are gone--he better get those canceled--but his driver's license and other stuff is still there. Thought he'd be relieved to hear that." Lois took the wallet and glanced inside. It was Clark's all right. She set it down on her desk. "Thanks, Zymack, I'll see to it that he gets it." "Thanks, Lane. It'll save me a detour." Zymack grinned, raised a hand and departed at his usual leisurely pace. Lois continued to look at Clark's wallet. They'd found it down by the river? What had Clark been doing down there last night? Superman glanced up from his study of the articles. "What's the matter, Lois?" "Clark's wallet was found down by the river this morning. All his money and credit cards are missing." "Well, if somebody found it they might have taken the valuable stuff and thrown the rest away." "Yes, but what was it doing down there in the first place?" Lois gripped the wallet in one hand. "And how did he lose his wallet? He could have been mugged or something." Superman got out of the chair. "If you're that worried, maybe we'd better try and find him." Lois rose to her feet.. "You're right. At least we can try. It's better than sitting around worrying. He was probably down at that gang war you broke up last night...I know you don't remember, but you did. Maybe somebody picked his pocket. I'll be right back; I'm going to tell Perry where we're going." "Where are we going?" Lois hesitated. "I think we'll try his apartment first. He might be sick or something, and if he's not there maybe he left some kind of message or clue...Anyway, it's a shot." 4 Clark's apartment was locked up tight and all her knocking elicited no response. Superman glanced at her questioningly. "Now what? Should we get the manager?" "Just a minute. Lois fumbled in her purse for the picklock one of her contacts had acquired for her. "Let's see if this will work." "You carry a picklock in your purse?" "Well, some men carry nude photographs in their wallets. I carry a picklock in my purse." Lois inserted the instrument and concentrated on her job. Superman looked somewhat at a loss as to how to reply to her remark, and prudently kept silent as she worked. Ten minutes later she gave up in frustration. "He must have gotten this thing replaced after he was robbed that time. I can't do a thing. We'll have to get the manager." Superman nodded, giving the door an experimental shove. The panel splintered as the bolt tore out of its frame. He stared at his hand in shock. "My God! Did I do that?" Lois nodded, a little shocked, herself. She had forgotten what damage could be done by a man whose super powers were out of control. The time the magician's assistant had hypnotized him and convinced him that wrong was right came vividly to mind. But this wasn't a case like that. He simply had not realized his strength. "We'll have to get that fixed later," she said as matter-of-factly as she could. "You're very strong. Try to remember so you don't do something like that again." "I will." He still looked a little stunned. "I'm sorry." She patted his arm. "It's okay. Clark will understand. You have several special abilities--remember the articles? I'll try to tell you about them, later. Come on." They pushed the broken door wider and entered. The apartment was lit. Clark had not turned out the lights last night, Lois thought. That wasn't like him. He was usually careful about things like that... (continued in Part 4) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:33:34 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger--Part 4 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit "Clark?" she called. "Are you all right?" There was no answer. The living room was deserted. Quickly she checked the bedroom, half expecting her partner to be there sick or...she didn't even want to think about that. The place was empty, but the telephone answering machine light was blinking. She checked the messages. The ones she had left last night were there. He had not been home since then. Then she saw the note. Why she hadn't noticed it before she didn't know. It was lying on the coffee table with Clark's glasses sitting on it and a ball point pen on the floor beside the table. She picked it up, recognizing Clark's distinctive handwriting at once. Maybe this was some sort of clue. She started to read, and as she did she felt the blood drain from her face. She was hardly aware of Superman grabbing her by the shoulders. "Maybe you better sit down, Lois." He pushed her into a chair and was back again almost at once with a glass of water. "Here, drink this." She obeyed, her mind numb with shock. Superman bent over her, his handsome face very concerned. "Lois? Are you all right? What was in that letter?" She held it out to him, hand shaking so hard the paper rattled. He took it, frowning, and read it aloud. "Dear Lois, I ran out on you again this evening, and I know you're angry. You have every right to be. I've been trying to explain why for days now, and every time I do it seems I have to leave. I can't stand it. It's tearing me apart to see the pain I've caused you and I simply can't live with this anymore. I have to end the situation and I'm going to." The note ended there. Lois felt as if the world had just dropped from under her. Clark--her partner--the man she loved, no matter how angry he sometimes made her, was dead? Had he actually been so despondent over what she had said that he... Superman was kneeling beside her chair, frowning at the paper. "Do you think this is really what it looks like?" he asked, slowly. "Did something happen last night that could have caused him to..." He broke off, seeing her face. "I guess so." "Clark and I are..." She paused and took a deep breath to steady her voice. "Clark and I are...dating," she said. "He's my partner and my best friend...and a lot more, besides. But it seems like every time I try to talk seriously with him he panics and runs off. Last night I..." She choked a little. "Last night he did it again and I told him if he ran off not to bother to come back. I was so angry with him that I almost meant it then--but if he believed me..." She couldn't go on. To her horror she began to sob, right there in front of Superman, but the superhero didn't say a word. He simply put his arms around her and let her cry. After a time the sobs began to run down and she became aware of her position, leaning on Superman's shoulder, his arms tightly around her in a comforting embrace. He seemed aware of the change and released her slowly, turning his head to look at her. The compassion in his face almost made her burst into tears again, but she resisted the feeling and swallowed the enormous lump in her throat. "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "Why? Because you're human?" He cupped a hand gently along her jaw. "Better now?" She nodded. "I made a mess of your shirt." He glanced down at it indifferently. "It'll dry. Look, Lois, let's not jump the gun here. We can't be sure that this is what it looks like. Maybe it's some kind of mistake. We shouldn't just assume anything before we know." A trace of hope surfaced. "Do you really think so?" "I don't know, but I don't think we should just give up." He got to his feet with one graceful motion. "I do think we ought to call your boss. Maybe he's heard from Clark by now. In any case, he can set a few inquiries going. And after that, we should probably call the police." "You're right." She knew a moment of wonder. Here was this man whose memory was gone, who was certainly under plenty of stress and probably fear, putting his own problems aside to comfort her. It gave her a deeper insight into Superman's character than she had ever had before in the two years she had known him. He genuinely cared about other people more than he did himself. Like Clark. No wonder the two of them were good friends. "Thank you, Superman. I don't know what I'd have done without you." She reached for the phone. The next few hours went by in a kind of horrible blur. Perry had received no word from Clark, but he at once sent Jimmy to try to find out where he had been seen last the night before. The police came and questioned Lois, examined the note and searched the apartment. Inspector Henderson showed up unexpectedly to talk to her, looking more upset than he might have been willing to acknowledge aloud. He ‘d told her that in most circumstances no action was taken for 48 hours after the person was reported missing, but he knew Kent, and he was sure he wouldn't just vanish without a trace like this--especially without telling even his own partner--unless something serious had happened. He'd assured her that the department would do its best, but Lois could tell he wasn't holding out much hope. Kent didn't seem the type, he'd told her, but he'd seen too many good people go off in a bout of depression and do something permanent before anyone could stop them. He just hoped they were wrong about Clark Kent. Superman sat beside her on the sofa, holding one of her hands in a reassuring grip. He could see in her face the pain she was in and beside it his own situation paled to insignificance. Lois Lane was in trouble and it was killing him inside that he couldn't help her. Last night she had come to him when he'd been in the hospital emergency room, confused and frightened, and his heart had lifted at the sight of her, even though he didn't know why. She'd brought him clothes and stayed with him for several hours reassuring him just by her presence that things weren't as bad as they seemed, and that she would help him through this. Somehow, he'd believed her, and he had slept soundly for several hours, feeling oddly secure in spite of the confusion in his head. This morning she had been there for him, too, with his uniform all cleaned and ironed, and she had taken him with her, given him what information she had at her office, and again reassured him with her presence. Then this had happened, and all he could do was sit beside her and hold her hand while she was in an agony of fear for her partner, who obviously had no idea how fortunate he was to have her. He, Superman, was just her friend, but he had realized almost at once that the feelings he had for her were much more than just those of a friend, and if it turned out that this Clark Kent was alive after all, he, Superman, had every intention of taking him aside and having a man to man talk with him about just how he was treating this fantastic woman, a woman Superman would have given anything to have feel about him the way she obviously felt about Kent. She looked as if she had lost everything that meant anything in her life, and his heart ached for her. The police were gone now, and someone was repairing the door he had accidentally broken. Lois didn't say anything, and he couldn't think of anything to say, either. Both of them jumped when the phone rang. Superman answered it. "Hello?" "Kent?" It was Perry White's voice, sounding almost shocked. "Uh, no, sir, it's Superman. Have you heard anything?" The editor's voice sounded tired. "You gave me a turn, son. You sound just like Kent over the phone. No, we haven't found out anything concrete. I do have some new information. How's Lois doin'?" He glanced at her and replied carefully. "As well as anyone could expect." "That bad, huh? Well, stay with her, son. If anyone can help her now, it's you. I just got a call from Henderson." Superman braced himself, praying silently that he wasn't going to have to pass bad news along to Lois. "Yes?" "What he says pretty much matches what we've been able to find out. The last time anyone saw Kent was last night, right after you broke up that little war on the riverfront. He phoned in the story and no one's heard from him since. Henderson's interviewed some of the police that were there, and some of the paramedics. Kent apparently talked to a few of them for his report. The general consensus is that he seemed a little upset about somethin', but they were really too busy to talk much. They've checked the hospitals for anyone admitted last night without I.D., as well as the morgue--no results there either, thank Elvis. They're talkin' about draggin' the river, but don't tell Lois that. Jimmy's put Kent's picture on that new Missing Persons page on the Internet, and we're puttin' it on the front page of the paper. Maybe it'll bring in a tip or two. It's gonna be on LNN tonight, too. Tell Lois we're not givin' up. Got it?" "Yes, sir. I'll do that. Thanks." "She can hear you, huh?" "Yes, sir." "She's takin' it pretty bad, I guess." He glanced sideways at her woebegone face. "You could say that." "Well, it's not lookin' too good, but that's a far cry from no hope. We'll keep tryin' until we know there's none left. You don't have to put it that way, though." "I understand, Mr. White. I'm not leaving her, believe me." "Good for you, son. Both of you hang in there. We'll work this out." After he hung up, he relayed the gist of Perry's information to her. "Lois, we'll find him, one way or another." He tried to put as much reassurance into the words as he could. "I just keep thinking about what I said last night. The last time he saw me, I was so angry at him. If this is all my fault, I'll hate myself forever." "Lois." He put his arm around her and spoke seriously, looking her straight in the eyes. "It isn't your fault, understand? Everyone has to take some responsibility for him or herself. It isn't your fault that he chose to run off!" "But if he was depressed enough to do--something like this--then I should have seen it. What kind of a friend am I that he could be feeling like that and I had no clue? If I pushed him past the breaking point..." "Maybe he wasn't. This is still only a possibility, remember. He may be somewhere, perfectly all right and have no idea that people think he's ..." He broke off. "Lois, you say he's my best friend. Tell me a little about him. I don't remember him at all, and I need to in order to help. Besides, you say I've been here before. Maybe if you tell me about Clark and the things here it'll help jog my memory. If I could remember these powers you say I have I might be able to help find him." (continued in Part 5) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:35:16 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger--Part 5 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit And so she talked, taking him on a tour of the apartment and pointing out the different things that Clark Kent apparently valued. She showed him the picture of Clark's parents, and his souvenir football from Midwest U where he'd gotten his degree in journalism. She showed him Clark's Kerth Award and the photo of the two of them taken at the awards ceremony. The expression on his face showed Superman exactly how Clark Kent felt about Lois Lane. He couldn't picture any man more besotted with a woman than her partner. She talked about him, telling Superman everything she could think of, from his origins in Smallville, Kansas to his infuriating habit of running off at the most inopportune moments. When she had finished, he stood staring at the photo of the man. He looked vaguely familiar, but Superman simply could not bring any personal knowledge about him to mind, other than what Lois had told him. He must have known Clark Kent well, but the information was buried in his vanished memory. At last he gave an exasperated shrug. Lois put a comforting hand on his. "Don't try to push it, Superman. It will come back in time." He forced a smile. "I hope so. Maybe now you could tell me a little about myself--things that weren't in those articles. I'm sure you didn't print everything you know about me." "Yes, that's true. I'm afraid I don't know as much about you as I'd like. You come from Krypton, which blew up about 29 years ago. Its sun was red, according to you. We think your powers might be the result of Earth's yellow sun." "So I'm solar powered, huh?" She gave the faintest of smiles. "Maybe. You were sent here by your parents somehow-- you said they chose Earth because we look so much like Kryptonians that you could blend in. If they knew about the powers you would have they didn't tell you." "So I arrived here as a child?" "Evidently. You appeared about two years ago. I guess I was the first person who actually met you. You saved the Messenger Rocket and the space program--and incidentally my life--when you swallowed a bomb that had been planted on the ship." "I swallowed a bomb?" She nodded. "I saw you do it. I thought you were crazy." He chuckled softly. "I can understand that." Then he frowned, considering the next question carefully, and decided he needed to know. "Lois, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable...I mean, I know you're in love with Clark, but did you and I ever have any sort of, well, relationship?" Her eyes widened. "Why do you ask that?" He hesitated. "I sort of knew it last night when you came into the emergency room. I mean, were we ever serious about each other?" He watched a flush darken her cheeks and quickly tried to recover. "If it bothers you, you don't need to talk about it." She took a deep breath. "No, it's all right. I had a huge crush on you for a long time, and I think you liked me a lot, too. But, finally I realized that there wasn't really any room in your life for me. I mean, you take care of the whole world. Besides, there was Clark. He's my partner, and I realized I was falling in love with him. It was weird, really. I mean, I felt like I loved two men, and--oh, I don't know how to explain it--it was pretty confusing. I finally decided I had to choose the one I cared for most." "I understand." He brushed the hair away from her face. "Your Clark's a lucky man. I hope he knows what he has." They were silent for a long moment, then he switched the subject abruptly back to something that had struck him at the time. "Lois, you said I swallowed a bomb?" She almost jumped and visibly brought herself back to the present. "Yes. Like I said, I thought you were crazy, but when it exploded all it did to you was make you burp a little." "That must have been gross." "No, not really. I hardly noticed, actually. After all, you'd just saved my life and the lives of a whole lot of other people. Then you just lifted the Messenger into orbit. It was incredible, I can tell you." "But, Lois, something doesn't make sense here. I swallowed a bomb and all it did was make me belch, but that explosion last night caused so much trauma it made me lose my memory. That's not very consistent." They stared at each other for a time. "No, it isn't." He watched her face as she thought about it, and saw the light dawn. "Superman, there is one thing that can hurt you that we know of." "And that is...?" "Well, we call it Kryptonite. It's supposed to be part of your home planet. Only a few pieces of it are known to exist, but if it gets near you it causes you pain and weakens you. Too much exposure can take away your powers or even kill you. There's another form of it, too--red Kryptonite. It made you apathetic; you just sort of stopped caring about anything. You thought you were having a nervous breakdown until you found out what was really causing it. If you were somehow exposed to it during all that last night, it might have helped cause something like this." "Is there any way we can find out?" She was frowning now, obviously thinking hard. "Well, one thing we don't do is get you anywhere near the debris. If there was Kryptonite on that ship, it's somewhere at the bottom of Metropolis Harbor right now. You don't need any more exposure--once did enough damage. Let's call Perry. Maybe we can get some information on the ship--where it was from, who owns it and so forth." She was reaching for the phone as she spoke. Jimmy Olsen answered. He listened to her theory and promised to get the information and call them back as soon as possible. Lois put down the phone and held up crossed fingers. The phone rang ten minutes later. Superman grabbed it first. "Hello?" "Man, Superman, you sound just like CK over the phone. Look, I got the information Lois asked for, but you might want to know the cops just picked up a guy who was trying to use CK's credit cards to buy out Broadhurst's Department Store. So far he isn't talking, but Henderson says he knows him. He's just a petty thief--no violent felonies on his record." "Well, that's one plus. Lois was afraid Clark might have been mugged. How about the rest?" "Well, the cargo ship was registered to some company in the Cayman Islands called Caribbean Imports. Ever hear of it?" "Jimmy, I don't even remember my own boot size right now." There was a chuckle at the other end of the phone. "Sorry. Anyway, they've got a warehouse over on Pier 17. What's this all about, anyhow?" "Lois can tell you all about it later if it pans out, all right? I have the feeling that she and I are going to be heading over there as soon as I give her the information." "Your memory must be starting to come back, Superman. You've got Lois figured out pretty well--as much as any guy ever will, anyway." Superman laughed and signed off. Lois was standing by his elbow. "What did he say?" He relayed the information Jimmy had given him. Lois nodded. "Let's go. I'd rather be doing something besides just sitting here stewing." He surveyed himself. "Uh, I'm not exactly inconspicuous in this outfit, Lois. Do you think Clark would mind if I borrowed something of his?" "Of course not. I think he has some jeans and a sweatshirt somewhere around here. Why don't you go see?" Clark Kent's clothing fitted him perfectly, he thought as he surveyed himself in the mirror a few minutes later. The jeans were comfortable and slightly worn--and a lot less conspicuous than the Suit. He also felt less exposed. Ignore it as he tried, the snugness of the outfit was a little embarrassing to contemplate. He hadn't missed the glances the female staff of the Daily Planet had given him this morning, or where they were looking. The most dignified thing he'd been able to think of had been to act completely unaware of it, but he'd been uncomfortable. This was much better. The expression on Lois's face seemed to indicate that she thought so, too, but all she said was, "Let's go." 5 The trip to Metropolis Harbor took almost an hour in the heavy rush hour traffic. Superman sat in the passenger seat and watched her drive. In spite of her obvious unhappiness, she paid attention to where she was going and drove with care. Once, she glanced at him with a tiny smile. "Clark does that," she said. "Does what?" "Sits like that and watches me. Lots of men don't like to be driven by a woman, but he doesn't care. He says he likes to watch me drive." "Well, I can't disagree with him. What do you expect to find at Pier 17?" "I don't know. But if there was Kryptonite on that ship, it might not have been there by accident. Besides, something about this whole business smells." A sharp memory flashed suddenly into his mind. He frowned and covered his eyes with one hand, trying to hold onto it. Smells! What had Lois said? Something about this whole business smells? "Superman? Are you all right?" her voice asked, sounding a little worried. He lowered the hand. "Smell," he said. "What? Are you okay?" "The smell. When I was in the hold of the ship there was a smell." He rubbed his face with one hand. "Just before the explosion. I've smelled it before, but I can't remember where." "You remember?" The excitement in her voice made him smile. "Only a little, but I guess it's a start, isn't it?" "Yes. I told you it would be okay." Her expression changed as she remembered the part that was not yet okay. He turned farther toward her in the seat. "Lois, as soon as I can, I'll do everything in my power to find him for you. That's a promise." "I know you will." She stepped on the accelerator and they inched on toward the harbor at the reckless speed of fifteen miles an hour. The sun was sitting on the horizon when they pulled up near the docks and got out of the Jeep to see what could be seen. Out in the bay boats were circling. Some kind of salvage operation was being attempted, although, considering the magnitude of the explosion, it seemed unlikely that there would be that much to recover intact. (continued in Part 6) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:38:30 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger--Part 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lois pointed. "See where those boats are cruising around? The ship was in the middle of that area. You picked up people in the water, then you flew down into the ship itself. The only thing I could figure was that you were trying to find the source of the fire. Then it blew and we saw it throw you through the air. It was a huge explosion." Superman squinted at the scene, rubbing his face. He could hear the cries of the people struggling in the water. He'd rescued them, he recalled hazily. Then he'd flown down into the ship itself trying to find the source of the fire as Lois had surmised. He could feel the heat, see the fire licking at him, almost alive, frenzied at its inability to burn him. He'd reached the cargo hold. There had been that smell, and a sudden jolt of pain had stabbed through him. And the world blew up. Lois's hand was on his arm. "Superman, are you all right?" He glanced down at her, surprised as always that this indomitable woman came only to his nose even wearing heels. She was looking up at him, a little worried. "Yeah. I remember a little. I think you must be right about the Kryptonite. I think I felt it while I was in the hold, right before the explosion--just for a split second. It's all pretty foggy." "Well, it's more than you were remembering an hour or two ago. I think that's good progress." "Yeah. It's too bad I can't go down there to look for it, but I still don't remember how." "It's just as well. Are you out of your mind? Go down there, looking for something that can kill you, or wipe out your memory again? Leave it there!" He laughed a little. "Yes, ma'am. I yield to your superior logic. Let's just hope those salvage guys don't find it." "If you'd seen that explosion, I don't think you'd worry. It could be anywhere within a radius of about two miles. That's a lot of very muddy water, weeds and trash to search through." "You're probably right. So what's next on the agenda?" "Next, we go to check out the warehouse." He glanced at the sun. "Don't you think it would be a better idea to wait until it's darker? Breaking and entering seems to me to be an activity you don't want to advertise." "I just want to drive by it right now. Then we'll go get something to eat and come back after sundown. Suddenly I have a feeling that things are starting to go our way." "I hope you're right." He turned his head to survey the bay again before they climbed back into the Jeep.. "Wasn't it almost this time that all this started, yesterday?" "Actually, it was about an hour later." She started the engine, pulled a u-turn under the nose of a no u-turn sign, and drove back the way they had come."I think Pier 17 is off to the left." It was two hours later that Lois pulled the Jeep onto a dark side street and cut the engine. She glanced at him sitting in the seat beside her. "I can't believe it. You eat like Clark. A double chili burger loaded with every kind of disgustingly fattening addition you could find and every garnish in the book. Not to mention a large fries, onion rings and two chocolate malts! If I ate like that I'd look like a blimp in no time." He glanced at her, admiring her petite figure in the jeans and t-shirt. "Somehow, I can't picture it." "That's because you don't have to watch your weight. I'll bet your metabolism burns it all up and more." "I wouldn't know. I'd guess that flying would probably burn up a good many calories." "Do you remember flying?" He shook his head slightly. "Kind of, but it's pretty hazy. Still, things must be starting to come back or I wouldn't even remember that." "I told you, it's just a matter of time," Lois said. "Are you ready?" He opened the door and stepped out. "As I'll ever be." Lois slipped out of her side and locked the door. Both she and Superman were feeling somewhat better. While they'd been eating, Lois had called the office to be met with the news that Henderson had really pushed things through for them. The police had dragged the river in the area where Clark's wallet had been found. Two bodies had been recovered, but neither was Clark--one was female, and the other had been in the water much too long. Both Lois and Superman had begun to entertain hopes that whatever had happened to Clark Kent, he might be alive somewhere, only in need of being found. Superman was aware of the impracticality of that hope, but he clung to it all the same. The thought of Lois being as unhappy as he had seen her earlier was enough to make him want to die. It wasn't an option, if he could do anything about it. The area around the warehouse was dark and quiet, except for the intermittent snarls of fighting cats in the distance. Street-lights were dim and several were out. They kept to the shadows, moving as quietly as they could as they approached their target, a huge, dimly lighted warehouse by Pier 17. There was no sign of a night watchman as they stood in the shadow of a neighboring building. Superman tried to focus his hearing, the famous super hearing Lois had told him about, but all he could hear was the ripple of water lapping against the pier, the faint sound of the breeze and the occasional rustle of a scavenger in the alley trash cans. He let Lois lead the way, as she seemed to be more experienced with this kind of activity. They crept down the side of the warehouse, between it and the neighboring one, careful not to kick stray bits of garbage on the ground, and suddenly there was a door in the wall. It was locked, of course, but this time they were ready. Superman grasped the doorknob and twisted. The thing came out in his hands, and Lois eased the door open. Inside, the air smelled musty. Piles of boxes rose on every side, and debris littered the floor underfoot. They moved forward an inch at a time, not really sure what they were searching for. To Superman, this all had an eerie feel of familiarity. Surely this was not the first time he had done this in the company of this same woman. He crept forward, careful to stay in front of her in case they ran into trouble, moving between mountains of anonymous cargo, ears alert for any sound. He could hear the scurry of tiny feet in the dust--probably rats, he reflected--and somewhere in the building the shuffle of human feet. Several sets of human feet. Certainly more than should be here at this time of night. He stopped. Lois tapped his back from behind. "What is it?" Her voice was a bare whisper, but he heard it clearly. The realization was almost expected. His super-hearing was back. He had been using it without being aware of it for some time. "I hear something. People." "I don't hear...you can hear it?" "Yes." "Yes!" The single whispered word was loud, but only to him. He grinned at her in sheer happiness. "Easy there, or you'll deafen me." She hugged him spontaneously. "It's coming back! I told you it wouldn't be long!" "Shhh! We don't want them to hear us!" She nodded, her grin still wide and brilliant in the dimness. "Too bad your x-ray vision isn't in working order yet. You could look inside this stuff and see what they've got here." The same thought had occurred to him. He paused beside a large crate, peeking around the corner to see if the coast was clear. If there was anything illegal here they didn't want to alert anyone to the fact that someone had discovered it. All at once he smelled it, the same scent he had detected in the hold of the ship, only this time it wasn't masked by the odors of many different substances in the process of incineration. He'd smelled this stuff before many times. Drugs. Someone had lost a great deal of money when that ship had burned. Hidden in the hold, or inside the hull, or somewhere undoubtedly very clever, had been a fortune in drugs, concealed too well for even the noses of the drug-sniffing dogs, but not too faint for Superman's nose to detect. Instinctively now, he squinted at the crate and it was as if the wood had dissolved, revealing padding, perfectly legitimate merchandise, and a cleverly hidden compartment stuffed with packets of white powder. "Got it!" Even the whisper sounded elated. "It's back!" "What do you see?" "About two million dollars worth of cocaine. And this is only one crate." Her lips pursed in sheer astonishment. "I think we've found what we came for. Let's get out of here." "Shhh!" He put a finger to his lips. "Someone's coming." "I tell you, I heard something!" The voice came from only yards away. "Over here!" Without conscious thought he slipped an arm about Lois's waist, and they were floating silently upward into the dimness of the rafters. Below them, men could be seen creeping around, flashing their lights between the boxes, searching for the source of the noise. Someone tripped and fell to the ground, swearing loudly. Superman's eyes met Lois's and they exchanged a silent chuckle. Superman raised his eyebrows. "I think we've seen enough, don't you, Miss Lane? I think we should get out of here." 6 The desk sergeant at the headquarters of the Metropolis Police Department looked up as a man entered the room. He was tall and dark haired, wearing a pair of somewhat battered looking glasses. Most importantly, he was drenched from head to toe. Slowly, with an air of bone deep fatigue, he approached the desk and rested his arms on the counter. The sergeant could detect the distinctive scent of salt water. He leaned forward. "Are you all right?" A nod. "I hear you've been looking for me." The man pushed wavy, black, very wet hair back from his forehead and somewhat ineffectively swiped at the water that was pooling on the surface in front of him. "My name is Clark Kent." The sergeant barely restrained a four letter word. "Henderson's got the whole department looking for you!" (continued in Part 7) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:42:55 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger--Part 7 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "Yeah. Superman told me." He sank suddenly onto a nearby chair as if his legs wouldn't hold him any longer. "He pulled me out." "Out of where?" The sergeant abruptly realized that Kent was patently exhausted and rose from his seat. "Look, lemme get you a blanket, and I'll call Henderson. You're gonna catch your death that way..." Fifteen minutes later, Lois Lane erupted into Inspector Henderson's office, followed by Perry White and Jimmy. Clark was sitting in one of Henderson's office chairs dressed in borrowed sweats with a blanket around his shoulders. Lois flew across the room and had her arms around him almost before the other two were through the door. "Clark! You're alive! Superman found you!" He felt guilty deceiving her along with the others, but he could straighten it out with her later. "Yeah. He did." "Where were you? What happened?" "That's what I'd like to know." Henderson surveyed Clark with a sour expression. "He staggers in here sopping wet, gets my rug soaked, not to mention that chair out front, and tells me Superman saved him, but won't explain anything else until the rest of you get here. Well, they're here, so talk!" Henderson wasn't nearly as upset as he was acting. Clark could see the grin hiding under the scowl, but the officer wasn't about to admit to anything like human feeling. He drew in his breath and embarked on the biggest whopper he could ever remember telling in his life. At least it wasn't spur-of-the-moment, and if he had to, Superman could back him up. "I was in the engine room of the cargo ship." That, at least, wasn't exactly a lie. He had been there for a few minutes a short time ago. "Under the bay?" Lois looked horrified. "Yes. I found out they might be smuggling drugs and was investigating. Then..." He let the sentence hang. "You mean you were there when the thing blew? Great shades of Elvis!" Perry looked almost as stunned as Lois. "Yes. Superman said the engine room was the only part of the ship that survived intact. Whatever blew up, it wasn't the engines. The room was mostly water tight, but ..." "You mean, you've been under there since last night?" Jimmy was staring at him in awe. "Man, what a story!" "Young idiot!" Henderson looked really annoyed. "You could have been killed, and it's a miracle you weren't! Do you have any idea what we've been going through trying to find you?" "Some. Superman told me a little. He brought me here so I could get the search called off. He said something about keeping an eye on some kind of drug raid." "He and I found the drugs in that warehouse on Pier 17," Lois said. "It belongs to the same company that owned the ship." "Yeah. Lane's getting Superman started with the same stuff you two are famous for." Henderson glared at him, but Clark could see the corners of his mouth twitch. The Inspector waved a hand. "Take him home, Lois. Get him out of my office. And Clark, if you ever pull anything this stupid again, I swear I'll put you in protective custody for your own safety! Is that clear? Now get out of here!" Lois dropped him off at his apartment. He was worn out. It had been one of the more stressful days that he could ever recall in his life, but before he opened his door he tried for the third time to apologize to Lois. She cut him off. "Clark, I should be mad at you, but I'm too happy you're here and safe. We can talk about it later. You said in your letter that there was something you've been trying to tell me. Why don't you come by for breakfast tomorrow morning and we can talk about it then?" "All right." Lois put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "When I thought you might be dead I wanted to die, too, you jerk! Don't you ever do anything like this to me again! Is that clear?" He kissed her back. "Very clear." "Good. I'll see you in the morning." She started to turn away, but something made her pause. "Oh, oh." "What?" "Your parents. Martha said they'd be arriving in Metropolis tonight. You were supposed to call them." The door to his apartment opened as she spoke. Martha Kent stood there. "It's a little late for that." She eyed her errant son sternly. "I trust you have a good explanation?" Lois began to laugh. "Does he ever! Good luck, Clark. You're going to need it!" "You have no idea, Lois." He'd need luck all right, but not with his parents. The cause of his amnesia was still unknown, although he was inclined to think Lois had been right in her guess. The same thing had happened with the Nightfall Asteroid. What if this incident had been a direct result of that? The Earth had certainly been peppered with shooting stars for several nights afterwards. It might explain what otherwise looked like an incredible coincidence. But if that was true, or even partially true, that meant that somewhere on the bottom of Metropolis Harbor was a more than ordinarily dangerous piece of Kryptonite. He'd have to alert Henderson about that, to let his men know to look for it during the investigation--not that there was much of a chance of finding it. His mind skipped ahead to tomorrow morning. This had been the final straw. He couldn't count on the Fates or Lady Luck to give him many more chances. Tomorrow morning he would tell her. That was when the luck was really going to be needed. In spades. He leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek and shook his head ruefully. "You have absolutely no idea." Epilogue. On the bottom of Metropolis Harbor a nondescript piece of rock lay anonymously amid the sand, weeds and debris. Inside the rock was a chunk of crystal, ominously green and speckled with tiny flecks of red. It lay there, timelessly, and the denizens of the ocean, plant and animal, lived their lives around it. It might lie there for a very long time. But it was still there. The End P.S. If anyone else out there wants to use my piece of Kryptonite for one of their stories, feel free. Please send any comments or criticisms to me at deimos1@earthlink.net. Nan Smith ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 15:55:24 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger's Edge--Part 1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Okay, here's the second one: Dagger's Edge By Nan Smith Rated PG Submitted June 1999 Dagger's Edge By Nan Smith Rated PG Submitted June 1999 The story takes place a couple of days after Superman's duel with Lord Nor on the streets of Metropolis, and before Lois and Clark's wedding. The city is still in a shambles as a result of the destruction wrought by the New Kryptonians, but is trying to pull itself together and get on with its business--a perfect time for the bad guys to try to take advantage of the situation. As always, the recognizable characters and settings in this story are the property of D.C. Comics, Warner Bros., etc., and I have no claim on them whatsoever, but the story is copyrighted to me. That said, here we go... Dagger's Edge by Nan Smith (deimos1@earthlink.net) On the bottom of Metropolis Harbor, a nondescript piece of rock lay anonymously amid the sand, weeds and debris. Inside the rock was a chunk of crystal, ominously green and speckled with tiny flecks of red. It lay there, timelessly, and the denizens of the ocean, plant and animal, lived their lives around it. It might lie there for a very long time. But it was still there. And then, one day, something changed. ***** Tom shifted nervously for the third time in five minutes and glanced at his watch. Eight minutes to seven. The dew was still on the grass and the mist over the city was beginning to lift. The day promised to be a fine one. The New Kryptonians were gone after Superman had defeated their leader and then been gassed by the army. No one had seen the Man of Steel since, and the rumors floating around were that he was either seriously ill or dead. The city was beginning the long process of healing, although it would be weeks or months before all signs of the alien occupation were erased. But, for now, that was all to the good. ********** Tom glanced down the street, then around at his companions. Will lounged against a telephone pole, at ease, his lean frame showing no sign of the tension Tom was feeling, and Ed sat on the edge of a concrete planter, calmly reading the morning edition of the Daily Planet. As usual, he was the picture of confidence, muscular and athletic, always the pretty boy of the trio. Tom tried to copy his brothers, but only succeeded in increasing his nervousness. He looked at his watch again. Four minutes to seven. Ed rose to his feet abruptly. "Two minute warning. Take your positions." Will and Tom responded at once, as they had practiced. Now that the time for action had come, Tom found himself less uncomfortable. If they pulled this off they would be set for life, and there would never be a better chance. He glanced down the street. Here came their target. ********** "So, am I invited to your wedding?" Jimmy Olsen strode along beside Clark Kent and Lois Lane as they headed for the side entrance to the Daily Planet. Jimmy was obviously feeling fine, and so was Clark. The main revolving doors had been shattered during Superman's battle with Lord Nor, which was creating something of a logjam for arriving employees, but even that couldn't destroy his good mood. It was going to be a beautiful day, Clark thought. The mist was burning off nicely, and, for the first time in his recent past, he had awakened feeling optimistic about the future. He wasn't being shanghaied off to New Krypton, Lord Nor wasn't threatening his world anymore, and he and Lois were going to be married this weekend. Things were definitely looking up. "Sure, Jimmy," Lois said. "But it's nothing fancy this time. Clark and I are tired of all the trouble. It's just our parents, Perry and you. And a date, if you want to bring one." "That is," Clark said, "assuming that the three-headed snake-men from Andromeda don't land tomorrow, with the express purpose of breaking up our wedding." Lois elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't even think it, buster." Jimmy snorted. "It does seem like you've had more than your share of trouble." He pulled open the door for Lois. "But I...CK, what's wrong?" A wave of dizziness swept over Clark. He staggered and fell against the door, his sense of balance completely gone. For an instant he had a blurry image of their faces above him, and a glimpse of blue sky behind them, then it all dissolved into nothing. "Omigosh!" Jimmy Olsen grabbed Clark's arm as he lurched sideways. "CK, are you all right?" There was no reply. Lois had him by the other arm, and together they lowered him to the sidewalk. Clark's head flopped limply backward; Lois put a hand under it to keep him from striking the pavement. "Clark? Clark, answer me!" "I'll call the paramedics!" Jimmy started to get to his feet, but Lois's voice stopped him. "No, Jimmy! Help me with him! Clark?" Clark groaned faintly. Lois lifted his head very gently. "Clark? Sweetheart, answer me! What's wrong?" Very slowly, Clark's brown eyes opened, glazed and unfocussed. He looked blankly up at them for several seconds, then blinked a few times and began to frown. Lois brushed the hair gently back from his forehead. "Clark? Honey? Can you hear me? Say something!" Clark didn't answer. He continued to frown as he slowly raised his head and looked around. After a moment he pushed himself up on one elbow, turning his head back and forth, a puzzled expression on his face. Several other people had gathered around, curious passersby, as well as a few Planet employees. Someone asked, "Do you need the paramedics?" "I don't think so." Jimmy got an arm under Clark's shoulders. "Can you sit up, CK?" Clark obediently sat up. Lois and Jimmy steadied him between them as he got unsteadily to his feet. Jimmy dragged his friend's right arm across his shoulders. "Do you feel dizzy? You're not going to fall over, are you?" He didn't reply, but Jimmy felt Clark lean more heavily against him, and braced himself to take the weight. Lois pulled the door open. "Let's get him inside." "Okay." Jimmy helped guide Clark's wavering steps through the door. Someone behind them caught it to allow Lois to move to his other side, where she put her arm around her fiance. Together they supported him across the room to the elevator, which opened obligingly for them. Once inside, Lois let him lean against the wall. "What do you think happened?" Jimmy glanced anxiously at Clark's white face, then at Lois. "Uh..." Lois was frowning, looking more worried than Jimmy had ever seen her. "I don't know, Jimmy. Let's get him to the newsroom where he can sit down. Then maybe we can figure this out." ********** Lois Lane was scared. It would have been upsetting enough if Clark had been an ordinary man, but this was *Superman*, for Pete's sake! And Superman didn't faint! Only he had, and she had no idea why, but it couldn't be good. She wished she could get him to a doctor, but calling the paramedics was out of the question. Outside of the fact that he wasn't human, which the doctors would figure out in short order, he was wearing the Suit under his clothing, which would be exceedingly difficult to explain. And he *would* have to decide to do this in front of Jimmy and half a dozen other people, at least, so there was no hope of keeping it quiet...and she was babbling to herself, which was *not* a good sign! The elevator doors opened at last. She and Jimmy helped Clark out and Jimmy raised his voice to catch the attention of the other people down on the newsroom floor. "Hey! Could somebody give us a hand, here?" When they had him seated in a chair at last, Jimmy rubbed a shoulder. Lois could understand that. Clark was heavy! Heavier than an ordinary man of his height and build would be; that was that dense Kryptonian molecular structure, she knew. She just hoped Jimmy wouldn't figure it out. Someone was handing Clark a paper cup of water, and Perry White was hurrying across the room from his office. "What in Elvis's name is goin' on here?" "CK passed out cold, out on the sidewalk," Jimmy informed him. "Lois and I got him up here. I still think we ought to call the paramedics. He doesn't look so good, Lois." He *didn't* look good. Lois could see that for herself, but she couldn't let them call anyone. All of her protective instincts had kicked into high gear when Clark had been taken ill. If he couldn't help himself at the moment, she would have to do it for him. "I think I ought to take him to the emergency room, Perry," she said. "I just remembered. One of the Kryptonians knocked him down a couple of days ago. He hit his head against the curb, but he seemed all right afterwards. If this is some sort of delayed reaction or something, it could be serious." "Holy..." Jimmy's face whitened. "He didn't say anything about it!" Perry put a hand on Clark's arm. "Clark? Son, look at me. Do you know where you are?" Clark squinted up at him for several seconds, then around the room. He slowly shook his head. "Do you know who I am?" Again that puzzled stare. Clark frowned at him, obviously struggling to recall, but at last he shook his head again. "This doesn't look good." Perry stated the obvious. "I think you'd better get him to the hospital, Lois." Lois knelt in front of Clark and put her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her. "Clark, try to focus. Do you know who *I* am?" Clark stared at her, his face contorted with the effort. Slowly, his expression changed. "Lois?" he said, very hesitantly. Lois closed her eyes in relief. Whatever had happened, part of his brain was still functioning correctly. She glanced around at Perry. "Could I get some help to take him to the car?" "Yeah. Jimmy, you and Ralph give her a hand. And Lois, call me as soon as you know anything. Got it?" Once the two men had gotten Clark into the Jeep, she dismissed them. "Thanks, guys. I can handle it from here." "Are you sure?" Jimmy glanced at Clark once more, still looking concerned. "If you need me to help you once you get there, Perry wouldn't mind if I went." "No. If I need it, I'm sure the medical personnel there can help me. I'll call when I find out anything, okay?" She started the motor and backed out of the parking space before he could argue any more. She knew Jimmy was Clark's friend, but what needed to be done now she had to do alone. The only person who really knew anything about Superman's physiology, and could possibly help her now, was Dr. Bernard Klein at S.T.A.R. Labs, but she couldn't take Clark there. She would have to bring him in as Superman, and that meat getting him out of his business suit. She glanced at him sitting in the passenger seat. He was looking at her, still frowning, as if he was trying to recall something that he couldn't quite remember. She stopped the Jeep at the exit of the parking lot, waited for a break in the stream of passing cars, and pulled out into traffic. Her apartment was the best spot for a little privacy to get him changed into the Suit. He was acting more than a little bewildered. She hoped he would cooperate with her without too much difficulty. If necessary, she might have to tell Dr. Klein more than she wanted to, but that would be the last, possible resort. "Lois...." His voice startled her. He was still watching her, and the dazed look was beginning to fade a bit. "What happened?" "Don't you remember?" "I..." His voice trailed off and he looked confused. "I don't know. Where are we?" "Clark, we're in my Jeep. I'm taking you to my place so you can change. I've got to get you to Dr. Klein." "Who?" "Dr. Bernard Klein, at S.T.A.R. Labs. He's the only person who knows enough about you that he might be able to help." He shook his head. "What are you talking about?" "Dr. Klein is the only expert on Superman around. We have to find out what happened. You collapsed outside the Daily Planet. Don't you remember?" He rubbed his face. "I'm not sure. Superman?" "Yes. You're Superman." He stared at her for a long moment, then grimaced. "God, my head aches. Superman. I think...Yeah, I sort of remember. Lois..." There was almost a note of panic in his voice. "What's wrong with me?" (continued in Part 2) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 15:59:10 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: kDagger's Edge--Part 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "I don't know," she said, trying to keep her own voice calm and level, "but we're going to find out. The first thing we're going to do is get you into your outfit. Dr. Klein doesn't know that Clark Kent and Superman are the same man. You mustn't tell him. Do you understand?" "Yes." Again he rubbed his face. "It's...everything is mixed up. Who was that, talking to me? I almost knew, but I couldn't..." "That was our boss, Perry White." "Oh, Lord, Perry. Of course. And Jimmy. Jimmy was there." He laid his head back against the headrest. "My head's throbbing so much it's making me sick." That scared her almost as much as his collapse. Superman didn't get headaches, or nausea, either. Something was very wrong with her fiance. She hoped it had nothing to do with the Kryptonite gas the army had hit him with two days ago. He had admitted not feeling quite up to par last night, but had assured her that the effects would fade slowly away within a day or two. She glanced at him, biting her lower lip. His head was tilted back against the headrest, eyes closed, a faint frown line of pain between his brows. She resisted the urge to press harder on the gas pedal. The last thing she needed was to get stopped by one of Metropolis's Finest right now. Once they got to her apartment building, getting him inside wasn't a problem. At least the dizziness seemed to have passed and he could walk steadily. Most of the tenants were at work, and the night workers were sleeping. They passed no one in the hallway. When the door closed behind them, Lois breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't wanted to be seen entering her apartment with Clark Kent and leaving it with Superman. An observer might not make the connection, but, then again they might, and since Clark wasn't in any shape to do much thinking right now, she had to do it for him. She gestured to an armchair. "Sit down and take it easy, Clark. Would you like something to drink? I know no Earth medicines affect you, so I won't offer you any aspirin for the headache." "They don't?" He took the place she indicated with a sigh of relief. "I'm afraid not. You're Kryptonian, remember?" She walked over behind him and began to rub his shoulders. The taut muscles were like steel under her fingers. "Put your head back and rest for a few minutes, then we have to get you out of your street clothes. You're wearing the Suit underneath." "All right." He obeyed her without question. Within a few minutes his breathing told her he had fallen asleep. Lois sat, trying not to bite her fingernails, and thought. Then she stood up, went into the bedroom and picked up the phone. Dr. Klein was in his lab, but when she told the assistant who answered that she was calling about Superman the woman didn't hesitate. "Just a moment, Miss Lane. I'll call him." Lois waited, drumming her fingers. After a moment Dr. Klein answered. "Klein here." "Hello, Dr. Klein. It's Lois Lane. I need your help. Something's happened to Superman." "What do you mean?" Klein asked. "Not the Kryptonite gas? We heard about it, of course, but I assumed his own people would treat him for the effects." "I don't know what it is. He was fine this morning, then he just collapsed without any warning at all. Now he seems confused. May I bring him to see you?" "Certainly." Dr. Klein's voice took on a tinge of worry. "Bring him here right away. I'll need to examine him." "All right. He's sleeping right now. And, Dr. Klein--don't tell anyone about this." "Of course not. Get him here as soon as possible. I'll be waiting." ********** The short nap appeared to have helped. Clark's color was better when Lois went to awaken him, but his memory wasn't. He removed his street clothes to reveal the Superman suit almost automatically. Lois still couldn't have said where the boots came from, but the question didn't seem important now. She was much too anxious to get him to Dr. Klein to find out what was wrong. As they exited the building, one of the other tenants of the apartment house was ascending the steps, arms full of groceries. Her eyes widened at the sight of the superhero accompanying Lois, and she stepped back involuntarily. The heel of her shoe missed the step. Groceries flew; she flailed her arms as she lost her balance, and found her wrist caught tightly in Superman's hand. "Are you all right, ma'am?" he asked. Lois smiled at the question. Memory or no memory, her Clark's instincts were firmly ingrained. "Oh, yes, Superman! Thank you!" Mrs. Delbert looked flustered. "I'd heard that you were...well, are *you* all right? After you fought that horrible Lord Nor, everyone was afraid you were...dead." Her voice dropped on the last word. "Superman's fine," Lois said, intervening before Clark could answer. She bent to help him pick up the scattered food items. Mrs. Delbert helped, too, watching Superman with an awed expression. When he put the bag back into her arms, she smiled a little nervously. "No one will believe me when I tell them Superman helped me pick up my groceries. Thank you. She looked shyly at him. "You saved all of us, Superman. I wanted to let you know how grateful we are...and how glad we are that you came back." He smiled at her; Lois watched it have its inevitable effect. That charming grin had won more female hearts than she wanted to think about, and Mrs. Delbert's was only the latest in a long list. "Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate that." "I hate to interrupt," Lois said firmly, "but you're going to be late, Superman. We need to go." "Yes, of course." He glanced questioningly at her, but smiled again at Mrs. Delbert. "Nice to meet you, ma'am." "Nice to meet *you*, Superman!" The woman watched as he followed Lois down the steps and slid into the passenger seat of the Jeep. Lois hoped it wouldn't occur to her to wonder why the Man of Steel was riding in a car rather than flying under his own power, but the thought faded quickly. She had more important worries at the moment. Clark was frowning again. "What was she talking about, Lois? Who's Lord Nor?" "You don't remember?" He shook his head, the frown deepening. "It seems like I should know, but I can't quite..." "Lord Nor was the leader of the New Kryptonian invaders who tried to take over Earth. You had to challenge him to a Kryptonian duel to defeat him. Then the army hit all of you with poison gas. Nor and several of his followers were killed; you just barely survived." She still felt a pang in the region of her stomach at the memory of that long moment when she thought she'd lost him. "That's what I'm afraid might be causing this problem. Dr. Klein wants to examine you. I just hope he can figure it out." "So do I." He rubbed his face. "I feel a little better. At least the headache's gone." Lois patted his knee lightly. "That has to be an improvement. You don't usually get headaches at all." "You think it's related to this?" "I'm pretty sure it has to be." She kept her eyes determinedly on the morning traffic. Rush hour was mostly over by now, but enough cars were on the streets that she couldn't afford to let her attention stray. "We'll be at S.T.A.R. Labs in a few moments. Dr. Klein is as close to an expert on Superman as we're going to find, but remember, he doesn't know you have a secret identity--that you're Clark Kent. Nobody knows that except you, me, and your parents. It's the only way you have a chance at a private life. Be careful, understand?" "Yeah...I realize that. Don't worry. I sort of remember..." He rubbed his face again. "I sort of remember a lot of things...but they're all jumbled up. Most of it doesn't make any sense." "What do you remember?" "Something about a floating palace. And a...concubine? That can't be right." "Actually, it is. Kind of, anyway." She sighed, thinking that the whole truth would probably confuse him even more. "It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it later if it doesn't come back on its own. Okay?" "Okay." He was silent, watching her. "We...we have a relationship, don't we." It was not a question. That part was reassuring, anyway, Lois thought. Somehow, in all his confusion, he remembered her. She nodded. "Yes. We're engaged to be married." He blew out a long breath. "Thank God. I was afraid I was imagining it." She smiled slightly. "No, you weren't. There's S.T.A.R. Labs, straight ahead. Just remember, you're Superman, not Clark. Got it?" "Got it." ********** Dr. Klein tended to babble even more than she did, Lois thought, which, in its way, was a good thing, because it reminded her not to. The scientist had taken Superman into his examining room when they arrived and had been fussing over him for thirty minutes at least. Lois fidgeted and walked up and down in the hall, wishing she'd brought something to read. Somehow "The Journal of North American Physicists" and a thick volume on "Physicochemical Properties of Reactive Substances" failed to catch her interest; neither did the copy of "Modern Lab Tech: The Swimsuit Issue". Her imagination supplied her with a horrifying mental image of Dr. Klein in a bathing suit, and she finally settled in relief on the little television in one corner of the lab that opened off the end of the hall. She tuned in to LNN in the middle of a fascinating weather report and was about to switch stations when a news bulletin interrupted the antics of the strange little man with the weather map. "We interrupt this program for a news bulletin. This is the latest update on the search for Bus 12, of the Metropolitan Unified School District..." That caught her attention. It was almost enough to take her mind off of Superman--at least partly. School Bus 12 had been scheduled to arrive at Mary P. Zeigler Elementary School at eight this morning, but never got there. It was now 9:45 and there was no sign of the bus. Police were tracing its route, trying to find where it had vanished. Twenty-six children, ranging in age from five to thirteen were on it, as well as the driver. So far there were no leads and the police spokesman had no further comment. If Superman heard this bulletin, he was requested to contact Inspector Henderson at Metropolis Police Headquarters... Great. And Superman wasn't exactly going to be a whole lot of use right now. Lois found herself pacing again. It was another hour before Dr. Klein and Superman emerged from the examining room. The scientist was frowning at the chart he held in his hands and muttering under his breath. Lois restrained herself from grasping his coat by the sleeve. "How is he, Dr. Klein?" "Huh?" Klein looked up in surprise. "Oh, Lois! I'd forgotten you were here, but it's a good thing you stayed. I need to ask you a few questions. Superman hasn't been able to...well..." He glanced apologetically at his patient. "It's as if some of his memories were erased, and the rest were somehow scrambled. He can't give me much to go on. I need you to tell me exactly what happened again, in as much detail as possible." "All right." Lois patiently went over the event for the second time, leaving out only the information that he had been in his Clark Kent persona when it had occurred. Dr. Klein listened without interruption, then scowled unhappily at his chart. "So, one second he was perfectly fine, and the next he'd collapsed. That suggests a sudden onset. And I'm definitely finding indications of physical trauma." Dr. Klein might have a tendency to babble and go off on tangents, but Lois was thanking every Divine power the universe might have watching over Clark at this moment for the scientist and his willingness to help them. "I doubt if this is the result of the Kryptonite gas, although it might have contributed to the problem. Tell me, Lois, has Superman ever had something like this happen to him before, that you know of?" Lois bit her lip. Should she tell him? It couldn't do any harm, she decided, as long as she gave no clues about Clark's secret, and, for all she knew, it might help. "Yes," she said. "Twice. But I don't see how it could be connected." "Let me be the judge of that." Dr. Klein opened the door to his office. "Why don't you both come in here and sit down?" They followed him into the small room and took the chairs he indicated. When he had closed the door and was seated behind the cluttered desk, he spoke again. "Now, tell me everything you know about it." Lois hesitated again. "You aren't going to tell anyone else about this, are you? If the wrong people found out it could be dangerous for Superman." She glanced anxiously at her fiance. "He, Clark and I figured out some things about it." (Continued in Part 3) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:01:05 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger's Edge Part 3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Dr. Klein shook his head. "I'm Superman's doctor, Lois. That means my oath applies to the situation--you know, doctor-patient confidentiality? Whatever you tell me goes no farther than this room." He surveyed her worried face for several seconds. "Trust me. Anything you say is perfectly safe with me." When she still hesitated, he cocked his head to the side and gave her a small grin. " Superman's my friend, for Heaven's sake! I wouldn't do anything to hurt him." She took a deep breath and nodded. Trust had to begin somewhere. "All right. The first time was when he destroyed the Nightfall Asteroid." The scientist leaned forward quickly. "That was why he was missing for two days?" "Yes. He came back to Earth in that fireball that crashed in Suicide Slum. Jimmy Olsen found a fragment of his uniform, badly burned, in the crater. Two days later, his memory came back and he was in time to stop the second piece of asteroid." "I see. And he had no idea where he was during that time?" "Just wandering around, I guess. Anyway, the second time was a little over a year ago; there was a cargo ship that burned in Metropolis Harbor." "I remember seeing it on television," Dr. Klein interjected. "Superman was taken to the hospital, but nothing was reported about amnesia." "We kept it quiet. He was down in the hold, trying to put out the fire. He said he felt Kryptonite for just an instant before the ship blew up. It knocked him out and threw him halfway across the harbor, and when he woke up his memory was gone. It came back the next night, though." "Hmmmph!" Dr. Klein gave his patient a long look. "That could be important. But it wasn't like this? No mixed memories?" "No." "Kryptonite, huh?" He looked at his notes. "And both times his memories came back quickly, within a day or two." "Yes." "Mmmm..." Dr. Klein was silent for a long time, obviously in deep thought. At last he focussed on Superman again. "It might be..." "Might be what?" Lois couldn't stand the suspense any longer. Dr. Klein smiled slightly. "You know, there are two types of Kryptonite that we know of--green and red. The green can kill Superman--any Kryptonians, I guess," he added, apparently thinking of the events only a few days in the past. "The red type is more of a mystery, because different pieces seem to have different effects. Of course, I only had a limited opportunity to study the piece in the laser you brought in a few months ago, but I was told about the first piece. Still, Kryptonite seems to be the only substance that affects Superman." "You think the Kryptonite might have had something to do with the amnesia?" "It's possible." He looked directly at the superhero. "It's even possible that you ran into some sort of Kryptonite when you destroyed Nightfall, although there's no chance that we'll ever know for sure. Still, it seems awfully coincidental that you encountered it on the cargo ship and were immediately stricken with amnesia, and that both times it seems to have worn off within a very short interval." "We thought so, too," Lois said. "But how could Superman have encountered it on the street? The piece that was on the ship is probably at the bottom of Metropolis Harbor." "Not necessarily." Dr. Klein set down the chart. "I ride past that area every day on the way to work. They dredged the Harbor two weeks ago." Lois put down the phone with a sharp click. "I guess that settles it." Bernard Klein and Superman both looked at her questioningly. Lois scowled darkly at the inoffensive device as if it were somehow at fault. "That was the Port Authority." "We heard that much, Lois." Superman shifted in his seat and rubbed his forehead. "What did you find out?" "I talked to a public relations officer. One of the dredging crew apparently has a little brother who's a high school whiz kid. He's interested in geology and has this huge rock collection. And he knows some of the people over at the Museum of Natural History. They've given him the run of the place, kind of like Teacher's Pet." "And?" "Evidently, last week the guy brought his little brother in to see this weird rock they dug out of the harbor." "You're kidding, I hope." "Don't I wish. The kid apparently said he thought it was a meteorite, and called in a couple of his buddies from the museum. He was right." "Why wasn't it in the paper, though?" Dr. Klein threw in the obvious objection. Youd think that it would at least be reported. That kind of thing is good public relations for them." "It probably was," Lois said. "That was about the time Lord Nor put his force field over Smallville. I guess it sort of crowded less important news off the front page. I know I was pretty distracted at the time." "I guess it's possible," the scientist admitted. "Where's the meteorite, now?" Lois regarded the phone now as if it were a personal enemy. "At the museum. They picked it up this morning and transported it over there by truck. In case you don't know it, the best route from the Harbor to the Museum goes right past the Daily Planet...which was where Superman was when it happened. Of course, we don't *know* it was at the same time, but it had to be close. That sounds pretty...well...suspicious to me." "What do you do?" Dr. Klein asked, curiously, "memorize maps?" Lois didn't answer. She was watching Superman now. Superman grimaced and rubbed his temples. "But, if that's what's behind this whole thing, why didn't it cause complete amnesia again? I mean, from what you say, that's what it did last time." "My guess is that it was too far away," Dr. Klein said. "If you were almost at the limit of its range the effect might be partial. This is all supposition, but it makes sense." He sighed. "I'd say it somehow causes damage that repairs itself in a day or two, probably because of Superman's phenomenal rate of healing. That may be the cause of the headaches." He glanced sharply at his patient. "You've got one now, don't you?" "Yeah." Superman grimaced. "Every time I start trying real hard to remember, it starts to hurt." "Then don't," Klein said. "There's almost certainly been some damage done. Give it a chance to get well. If you leave it alone, the indications are that everything will come back in a few days." Lois regarded her fiance with concern. "You mean he shouldn't try to remember anything?" "No, of course not. Just don't work too hard at it. Take it as it comes." Dr. Klein rose to his feet and removed an instrument from his pocket. "Look straight ahead, Superman." Superman obeyed, and Dr. Klein shined the light into one eye, then the other. "Try not to blink." He flicked the light away from his patient's eyes, then back in quick succession. "There's definitely indications of physical trauma, as I said before. Unfortunately, there's no way I can tell exactly what did happen. In some way it--apparently temporarily--suppresses memory. It's even possible that we're dealing with an entirely different type of Kryptonite here." Lois closed her eyes. "A *third* kind?" "Maybe. We need to examine that meteorite." "*Without* letting anyone know why." "That," Dr. Klein said, "goes without saying. In the meantime, Superman, you need to take it easy. Let yourself heal. Unfortunately, there isn't anything I can do to hasten the process, except give you advice. If you take it, you'll probably be over this in a day or so. If you don't, it's possible it could take a lot longer." ********** They were back in the Jeep, headed for Lois's apartment, when she realized that she had forgotten entirely to call her boss as she had promised to do. At a stoplight, she took out the phone and dialed the Planet's number. After a few rings, Jimmy's voice answered. "Daily Planet." "Jimmy, it's Lois." "How's CK?" he asked. That told her all she needed to know about Jimmy's state of mind. It made her feel a little guilty that she hadn't thought of him since she had driven out of the parking lot over three hours ago, but obviously he'd been worrying about his friend. "The doctors think he's going to be all right," she said. The light changed to green and she eased the Jeep forward. There was a huge sigh at the other end of the phone. "What was the matter?" "He has a concussion," she said. (Or at least the Kryptonian equivalent. But she wasn't going to say that aloud.) "From that Kryptonian that knocked him down?" "We don't know, but probably," she said. "They told him to take it easy for the next couple of days, but they didn't want him alone so I'm keeping him with me." "Is he feeling any better?" "Some. He's still a little mixed up and his head hurts, but it isn't as bad as it was." "Whew! That's a relief. Look, Lois, the Chief wants to talk to you. I'm going to put you on hold for a minute." "Tell him I'll call him back. I'm trying to talk and drive at the same time. Ten minutes?" A short silence, then: "Okay, but hurry. Perry wants you to cover a story that broke a couple of hours ago." "That business with the school bus? Is there any news?" "Yeah, all bad. Don't take too long, okay?" "Okay." She called back from her apartment while Clark was changing clothes again. Perry came on the line at once. "Lois? I want you over at the Hobbs River. Did you hear the report about the missing school bus?" "Yes. It was on LNN while they were examining Clark. What's going on?" "The bus didn't show up at the school and seems to have disappeared completely. The police released a statement twenty minutes ago. They've received a ransom note for ten million dollars from someone who claimed they hijacked the bus." "What does the Hobbs River have to do with it?" "The hijackers picked up the money and used a van reported stolen two days ago to escape in. No one was supposed to try to follow them or trace them any other way, or else, but the van went off the Silverman Memorial Bridge while they were makin' their escape. There was a hidden transmitter in the bag, but it quit when it hit the water, apparently. They've got a salvage team tryin' to bring it up. I want you on the story right now. Oh, and by the way, Henderson called. He wants Clark to get hold of Superman for him. Do you have any ideas how we're supposed to do that with Clark out of action?" Great. They were clamoring for Superman, and Superman was going to be about as useful to them as Jimmy Olsen. She glanced in the direction of her bedroom and lowered her voice. "I know where he is, Chief, but I don't think he's going to be much help. He's still sick from the Kryptonite gas Colonel Cash used on him the other day." "Great Shades of Elvis! I hope they skin that Cash character alive! Get on over there, and at least let Superman know what's going on." "He already knows, Chief. He wants to help, and he will as soon as he can." Lois hung up, biting her lip. Clark emerged from the bedroom, dressed in his street clothes and wearing a worried expression. "What's going on, Lois?" She told him. When she had finished, he grimaced in frustration. "I need to get over there. I've got to help those kids." "How can you help right now, Clark? You barely remember your own name! And you can't let them know you're having memory problems, at least not as Superman." "But..." Lois's mind was working fast. This business of being in on Superman's big secret was sure sharpening her thinking skills, she reflected. She was already much better at manufacturing excuses than he was. She knew Clark needed to help; it was just part of what he was. So, how could they manage this without having him show up as an obviously partially incapacitated superhero? Both Clark and Superman with memory problems would be just a little too much to swallow. Dr. Klein could be trusted to keep quiet, and he wasn't likely to find out about Clark. Jimmy was the only other person at the Planet who saw Dr. Klein at all, and Lois intended to ask Jimmy not to violate Clark's privacy by discussing the incident with anyone. Jimmy might not think it was all that important, but he'd do as she asked. But let the word get out about Superman, and at least he and Perry--neither of whom were stupid--would make the connection. "Look, Clark, Superman's got a ready-made excuse not to show up. This is what we'll do..." (Continued in Part 4) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:05:01 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger's Edge Part 4 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The scene at the Silverman Bridge was one of mass confusion. There were police, heavy equipment and the men handling it, a crowd of rubberneckers, and a mob of press. It looked to Lois as if half the reporters in the city were there. The van was being dragged ashore as she approached, a battered, light green vehicle with water pouring from the broken windshield and every window. The crowd of reporters surged forward and the shouts of the police and spectators were almost drowned out by the voices of the eager news hawks. Clark looked a little worried. "How are we going to talk to this guy Henderson with all that going on?" Lois glanced at him. "Give me a little credit. There's no way I'm getting anywhere near that. I've got a better idea." She grasped his hand and led the way around the mob of gawking humanity until she spotted one of Henderson's men on the edge of the crowd. "Officer!" The man turned his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, you can't get any closer." Lois ignored his words. "I'm Lois Lane from the Daily Planet. Inspector Henderson needed us to get hold of Superman for him. I've got a message for Henderson. I need to talk to him when he has a minute." The officer eyed her skeptically for a moment. "From Superman? Why didn't he just come, himself?" "Because he can't!" she snapped. "Don't you read the papers? The army gassed him with Kryptonite, remember? I was there." His face changed. "Sorry, Miss Lane. I'll get a message to the Inspector for you. Stay here." He moved a few steps away, and Lois saw him pull out a cellular phone. Her own phone shrilled a few moments later. It was Henderson, sounding exasperated and harassed. "Lois? You have a message from Superman?" "Yes, I do, Inspector. He still hasn't gotten over Cash's poison gas. His powers aren't working, and he's pretty much out of action right now. He'd like it if you could let Clark and me look over the van...after your people are finished with it, of course...and report back to him. He promised to be here just as soon as he can." A long pause. "You're sure this isn't just a way to get an exclusive for the Planet, Lane?" With her reputation as "Mad Dog, get-the-scoop-at-any-cost-Lane" she supposed Henderson's doubts were justified. "Inspector, I might be a reporter, but I'm not about to risk the lives of a busload of children for a scoop. Clark and I are just going to be Superman's eyes until he can be here himself. He knows we're good observers. Trust us." Another long pause. At last the Inspector spoke. "I'll meet you at Police Headquarters in an hour. And you better be telling the truth." "I am." She released her breath after he hung up. "Okay, we're in." "Are you sure about this, Lois?" Clark sounded very doubtful. She took his arm and pulled him away from the crowd. "Clark, it's the only way to get you in to look at the van without having you appear as Superman. We can't take the risk of that yet. With luck, we'll spot something the police missed. Are any of your powers working at all?" "I'm not sure they're really gone. I think it's just because I don't quite remember how to use them. Every time I try, my head starts to pound." "Okay, don't try for now. It will be awhile before they let us look the thing over, anyhow." She squeezed his hand. "Clark, we're going to do this, but to do it we've got to get you well. Promise me you're not going to try to use your powers, or even *think* too hard about anything until we're ready to look that van over. Maybe you can even try to take a nap. It seemed to help this morning." She looked him straight in the eyes. "Promise?" He hesitated. "Okay. I promise." "Good. I'm guessing, but the last time you ran into this you had a full night's sleep before we started trying to help you to remember, and you didn't have any headaches then. At least, you didn't act like it. It's only been a few hours, so far. Let's try it. It can't hurt, and it might help. Okay?" He smiled ruefully. "You're the boss." "I'm glad you remembered that. Let's get back to the Jeep." ********** Inspector Henderson was a slender, dark-haired man of middle height with a gloomy expression and, at the moment, an air of harassed frustration. As they entered his office he waved generally at seats and dropped into his own desk chair with a grimace. "Okay, let's hear it." "Basically," Lois said, "Superman's still feeling pretty bad, and his powers aren't working right." She crossed one knee over the other and clasped her hands in her lap. Knowing Clark's passion for the truth, she knew she'd better stick as close to it as she could. It would be easier to lie, but her partner wouldn't like it. "He wants us to look at everything, and give him everything we and your people find, information-wise. He thinks he'll be recovered within a day or two, but he doesn't want to wait that long if he doesn't have to, and he said to tell you he'd be here just as soon as he possibly can." A shadow of concern crossed Henderson's face. "Have you seen him?" "Yes," Lois said. "He's going to be fine; all he needs is a little time." "Well..." The man appeared to be thinking it over. "All right. You've always played it straight with me, and you give my boys a fair shake. I'll trust you. Don't let me down. As soon as my people have finished I'll let you have a look." "Fair enough," Lois said. "What's the history on the van?" Henderson flipped open a folder lying on his desk. "Just by an amazing coincidence I happen to have that report right here." Lois was careful not to smile. Henderson must have decided before they'd walked into his office that he was going to give them what they wanted, but there was no way on Earth he'd ever admit it. "Perry said it was stolen?" "Reported stolen two days ago. It belongs to a guy named Morrison. He's a basketball coach over at Metropolis High School. Apparently, it was taken right out of the school parking lot." "Somebody had pretty cool nerves," Clark ventured. "We figured it was teenagers until this morning," Henderson said. "The van isn't a common model, and it's eleven years old. Even the parts aren't popular with car thieves." The phone on his desk interrupted him. "Excuse me." He picked up the receiver. "Henderson." He listened for a moment. "Okay, go ahead." He replaced the receiver. "The van's in the garage. Do you want to watch the search, or just read the report?" "We'll watch," Clark said before Lois could speak. "All right. Follow me." ********** It was a little after three by the time they were allowed into the van. Lois had to give them credit; the police investigators were thorough. They went over every inch of the vehicle, dusted for prints, and searched every corner for any piece of information that might give them a clue. They also found a jacket on the floor under one seat with a name printed on the inside in indelible ink: Edward Morrison, the van's owner. There had been various wrappers from several fast food places, all soaked through, wet paper napkins that had been shredded with the cleaning of hands and faces, two straws, a soda can, several smashed cups, and a broken, plastic spoon. There were also six maps, all very wet, and a flashlight. One of the men glanced at them as they gathered their equipment and prepared to depart. "Go ahead, it's all yours; but if you can find anything else, you're Superman." Lois was careful not to let them see her expression. How right they were--of course, Superman wasn't firing on all cylinders right now, either. Still, you never knew. She looked at Clark. "Shall we?" Her partner was squinting at the van. "They seemed to do a pretty complete job, Lois." "Maybe. But maybe you'll be able to see something they didn't. Maybe I will. Let's just get to it." He shrugged. "You're the boss." The van was, as Henderson had said, an older model, painted a pale green. Scratches marred the paint job, some new and some not, judging by the rust marks on the underlying metal. The suspects had left no trace of their occupancy that Lois could see, unless the fast food remains had been theirs. Of course, that could have just as easily belonged to the owner. "Lois," Clark said. "What?" She stifled a discouraged sigh. "Did you notice that this van is designed for a handicapped driver?" She had. The controls were such that a person could control it using only his hands. There were no foot controls at all. "What of it?" "The guy that owns it is a basketball coach. How likely is it that he'd be handicapped?" Lois thought about that and shrugged. "I don't know. Lots of handicapped people do all kinds of jobs you might not expect." "Maybe. But I'd like to check it out." "Sure." It didn't really seem important--just one of those little details that needed resolution. "Do you see anything else?" "Not yet." He was frowning, rubbing his forehead in the way that Lois had learned meant he had a headache. She started to speak. Clark pulled down his glasses and, with a pained grimace, squinted at the handicapped controls. "There it is. I thought it was worth checking out." "What?" He pushed the glasses back up and closed his eyes, knuckling his temples. Theres some sort of electronic device inside the steering column. It could be a remote control." "A remote con--" She broke off. "For driving this thing from a distance?" "Yes." "You mean they weren't in the van? That they rigged this whole thing to--" "Convince the authorities that they were dead, so law enforcement would stop hunting for them. Exactly." The partners looked at each other for several seconds. This changed everything. "I think," Lois said finally, "that we found what we came for. It's time that Superman talked to Inspector Henderson--but make it short." ********** "I got the information you asked for," Jimmy said. He handed Lois a sheaf of papers. "All the stuff I could dig up on Morrison." He glanced past her into the apartment where her belongings lay stacked about, and cardboard boxes littered the floor. She and Clark had been packing her things yesterday in anticipation of their wedding this weekend. "Where's CK?" "Asleep in the bedroom. I insisted he take a nap. Why don't you come in, Jimmy? You can help me figure this stuff out." "Sure." He followed Lois into her small kitchen where she set the papers down on the table, the only surface not covered with unsorted possessions. "Wow, I never realized you had so much stuff." "Neither did I." Lois pulled out a chair. "I called Metropolis High. Morrison didn't come to work today. According to the woman I talked to, he has the flu." Jimmy sat down and reached for the papers. After shuffling through them for several seconds, he extracted one. "Here's the information on the van. Morrison bought it at a police auction six months ago." "Interesting." "Yeah. And he's not handicapped, either. He climbs mountains and body surfs in his spare time." "Is it possible he has a handicapped wife or relative?" "Nope." Jimmy shook his head emphatically. "He lives alone in an apartment--only has two relatives that I could track down. Here's the printout." Lois took the paper he held out. "A brother, William, and a half-brother, Thomas Barnes. Anything on them?" Jimmy grinned. "You didn't ask, but I figured you'd want it. William is an engineer. He works for an electronics firm in Gotham City. Lives there, too. Barnes works for a small construction company here in the city. He lives on a piece of land he inherited from his father north of Metropolis. Way out in the boondocks." "Jimmy, you're fantastic. That's just what I was looking for. You didn't happen to get the address, did you?" "As a matter of fact, I did. Right there." He pointed to the sheet of paper Lois held. "When I do research, I'm thorough. Comes from working for Perry." He looked at her questioningly. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me why I was looking for all this, are you?" Lois hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I'm working on a theory about the bus hijacking. I don't think the van was stolen at all. I think this Morrison guy was behind the whole thing." Jimmy's eyes widened. "What makes you think that?" "Superman spotted a remote control device in it. Henderson's people are looking it over now. But Clark and I think the hijackers used this whole stunt to make everyone think they're dead. And if they did plan it, they must have arranged for a place to hide the bus and passengers for awhile. Someplace where it wasn't likely to be spotted, like a barn, or a cave, or a mine--" "I see what you're thinking. Someplace remote, where they couldn't get out. Maybe on someone's property, well out of town..." "Exactly. Can you get me a map of the area?" "Let me get onto your computer for a few minutes, and I think I can." Ten minutes later, he had the map. Lois took it. "Thanks, Jimmy, you're a prince. Look, I'm sure Perry's got things he wants you to do, so I won't keep you any more." (Continued in Part 5) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:08:41 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger's Edge--Part 5 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The scene at the Silverman Bridge was one of mass confusion. There were police, heavy equipment and the men handling it, a crowd of rubberneckers, and a mob of press. It looked to Lois as if half the reporters in the city were there. The van was being dragged ashore as she approached, a battered, light green vehicle with water pouring from the broken windshield and every window. The crowd of reporters surged forward and the shouts of the police and spectators were almost drowned out by the voices of the eager news hawks. Clark looked a little worried. "How are we going to talk to this guy Henderson with all that going on?" Lois glanced at him. "Give me a little credit. There's no way I'm getting anywhere near that. I've got a better idea." She grasped his hand and led the way around the mob of gawking humanity until she spotted one of Henderson's men on the edge of the crowd. "Officer!" The man turned his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, you can't get any closer." Lois ignored his words. "I'm Lois Lane from the Daily Planet. Inspector Henderson needed us to get hold of Superman for him. I've got a message for Henderson. I need to talk to him when he has a minute." The officer eyed her skeptically for a moment. "From Superman? Why didn't he just come, himself?" "Because he can't!" she snapped. "Don't you read the papers? The army gassed him with Kryptonite, remember? I was there." His face changed. "Sorry, Miss Lane. I'll get a message to the Inspector for you. Stay here." He moved a few steps away, and Lois saw him pull out a cellular phone. Her own phone shrilled a few moments later. It was Henderson, sounding exasperated and harassed. "Lois? You have a message from Superman?" "Yes, I do, Inspector. He still hasn't gotten over Cash's poison gas. His powers aren't working, and he's pretty much out of action right now. He'd like it if you could let Clark and me look over the van...after your people are finished with it, of course...and report back to him. He promised to be here just as soon as he can." A long pause. "You're sure this isn't just a way to get an exclusive for the Planet, Lane?" With her reputation as "Mad Dog, get-the-scoop-at-any-cost-Lane" she supposed Henderson's doubts were justified. "Inspector, I might be a reporter, but I'm not about to risk the lives of a busload of children for a scoop. Clark and I are just going to be Superman's eyes until he can be here himself. He knows we're good observers. Trust us." Another long pause. At last the Inspector spoke. "I'll meet you at Police Headquarters in an hour. And you better be telling the truth." "I am." She released her breath after he hung up. "Okay, we're in." "Are you sure about this, Lois?" Clark sounded very doubtful. She took his arm and pulled him away from the crowd. "Clark, it's the only way to get you in to look at the van without having you appear as Superman. We can't take the risk of that yet. With luck, we'll spot something the police missed. Are any of your powers working at all?" "I'm not sure they're really gone. I think it's just because I don't quite remember how to use them. Every time I try, my head starts to pound." "Okay, don't try for now. It will be awhile before they let us look the thing over, anyhow." She squeezed his hand. "Clark, we're going to do this, but to do it we've got to get you well. Promise me you're not going to try to use your powers, or even *think* too hard about anything until we're ready to look that van over. Maybe you can even try to take a nap. It seemed to help this morning." She looked him straight in the eyes. "Promise?" He hesitated. "Okay. I promise." "Good. I'm guessing, but the last time you ran into this you had a full night's sleep before we started trying to help you to remember, and you didn't have any headaches then. At least, you didn't act like it. It's only been a few hours, so far. Let's try it. It can't hurt, and it might help. Okay?" He smiled ruefully. "You're the boss." "I'm glad you remembered that. Let's get back to the Jeep." ********** Inspector Henderson was a slender, dark-haired man of middle height with a gloomy expression and, at the moment, an air of harassed frustration. As they entered his office he waved generally at seats and dropped into his own desk chair with a grimace. "Okay, let's hear it." "Basically," Lois said, "Superman's still feeling pretty bad, and his powers aren't working right." She crossed one knee over the other and clasped her hands in her lap. Knowing Clark's passion for the truth, she knew she'd better stick as close to it as she could. It would be easier to lie, but her partner wouldn't like it. "He wants us to look at everything, and give him everything we and your people find, information-wise. He thinks he'll be recovered within a day or two, but he doesn't want to wait that long if he doesn't have to, and he said to tell you he'd be here just as soon as he possibly can." A shadow of concern crossed Henderson's face. "Have you seen him?" "Yes," Lois said. "He's going to be fine; all he needs is a little time." "Well..." The man appeared to be thinking it over. "All right. You've always played it straight with me, and you give my boys a fair shake. I'll trust you. Don't let me down. As soon as my people have finished I'll let you have a look." "Fair enough," Lois said. "What's the history on the van?" Henderson flipped open a folder lying on his desk. "Just by an amazing coincidence I happen to have that report right here." Lois was careful not to smile. Henderson must have decided before they'd walked into his office that he was going to give them what they wanted, but there was no way on Earth he'd ever admit it. "Perry said it was stolen?" "Reported stolen two days ago. It belongs to a guy named Morrison. He's a basketball coach over at Metropolis High School. Apparently, it was taken right out of the school parking lot." "Somebody had pretty cool nerves," Clark ventured. "We figured it was teenagers until this morning," Henderson said. "The van isn't a common model, and it's eleven years old. Even the parts aren't popular with car thieves." The phone on his desk interrupted him. "Excuse me." He picked up the receiver. "Henderson." He listened for a moment. "Okay, go ahead." He replaced the receiver. "The van's in the garage. Do you want to watch the search, or just read the report?" "We'll watch," Clark said before Lois could speak. "All right. Follow me." ********** It was a little after three by the time they were allowed into the van. Lois had to give them credit; the police investigators were thorough. They went over every inch of the vehicle, dusted for prints, and searched every corner for any piece of information that might give them a clue. They also found a jacket on the floor under one seat with a name printed on the inside in indelible ink: Edward Morrison, the van's owner. There had been various wrappers from several fast food places, all soaked through, wet paper napkins that had been shredded with the cleaning of hands and faces, two straws, a soda can, several smashed cups, and a broken, plastic spoon. There were also six maps, all very wet, and a flashlight. One of the men glanced at them as they gathered their equipment and prepared to depart. "Go ahead, it's all yours; but if you can find anything else, you're Superman." Lois was careful not to let them see her expression. How right they were--of course, Superman wasn't firing on all cylinders right now, either. Still, you never knew. She looked at Clark. "Shall we?" Her partner was squinting at the van. "They seemed to do a pretty complete job, Lois." "Maybe. But maybe you'll be able to see something they didn't. Maybe I will. Let's just get to it." He shrugged. "You're the boss." The van was, as Henderson had said, an older model, painted a pale green. Scratches marred the paint job, some new and some not, judging by the rust marks on the underlying metal. The suspects had left no trace of their occupancy that Lois could see, unless the fast food remains had been theirs. Of course, that could have just as easily belonged to the owner. "Lois," Clark said. "What?" She stifled a discouraged sigh. "Did you notice that this van is designed for a handicapped driver?" She had. The controls were such that a person could control it using only his hands. There were no foot controls at all. "What of it?" "The guy that owns it is a basketball coach. How likely is it that he'd be handicapped?" Lois thought about that and shrugged. "I don't know. Lots of handicapped people do all kinds of jobs you might not expect." "Maybe. But I'd like to check it out." "Sure." It didn't really seem important--just one of those little details that needed resolution. "Do you see anything else?" "Not yet." He was frowning, rubbing his forehead in the way that Lois had learned meant he had a headache. She started to speak. Clark pulled down his glasses and, with a pained grimace, squinted at the handicapped controls. "There it is. I thought it was worth checking out." "What?" He pushed the glasses back up and closed his eyes, knuckling his temples. Theres some sort of electronic device inside the steering column. It could be a remote control." "A remote con--" She broke off. "For driving this thing from a distance?" "Yes." "You mean they weren't in the van? That they rigged this whole thing to--" "Convince the authorities that they were dead, so law enforcement would stop hunting for them. Exactly." The partners looked at each other for several seconds. This changed everything. "I think," Lois said finally, "that we found what we came for. It's time that Superman talked to Inspector Henderson--but make it short." ********** "I got the information you asked for," Jimmy said. He handed Lois a sheaf of papers. "All the stuff I could dig up on Morrison." He glanced past her into the apartment where her belongings lay stacked about, and cardboard boxes littered the floor. She and Clark had been packing her things yesterday in anticipation of their wedding this weekend. "Where's CK?" "Asleep in the bedroom. I insisted he take a nap. Why don't you come in, Jimmy? You can help me figure this stuff out." "Sure." He followed Lois into her small kitchen where she set the papers down on the table, the only surface not covered with unsorted possessions. "Wow, I never realized you had so much stuff." "Neither did I." Lois pulled out a chair. "I called Metropolis High. Morrison didn't come to work today. According to the woman I talked to, he has the flu." Jimmy sat down and reached for the papers. After shuffling through them for several seconds, he extracted one. "Here's the information on the van. Morrison bought it at a police auction six months ago." "Interesting." "Yeah. And he's not handicapped, either. He climbs mountains and body surfs in his spare time." "Is it possible he has a handicapped wife or relative?" "Nope." Jimmy shook his head emphatically. "He lives alone in an apartment--only has two relatives that I could track down. Here's the printout." Lois took the paper he held out. "A brother, William, and a half-brother, Thomas Barnes. Anything on them?" Jimmy grinned. "You didn't ask, but I figured you'd want it. William is an engineer. He works for an electronics firm in Gotham City. Lives there, too. Barnes works for a small construction company here in the city. He lives on a piece of land he inherited from his father north of Metropolis. Way out in the boondocks." "Jimmy, you're fantastic. That's just what I was looking for. You didn't happen to get the address, did you?" "As a matter of fact, I did. Right there." He pointed to the sheet of paper Lois held. "When I do research, I'm thorough. Comes from working for Perry." He looked at her questioningly. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me why I was looking for all this, are you?" Lois hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I'm working on a theory about the bus hijacking. I don't think the van was stolen at all. I think this Morrison guy was behind the whole thing." Jimmy's eyes widened. "What makes you think that?" "Superman spotted a remote control device in it. Henderson's people are looking it over now. But Clark and I think the hijackers used this whole stunt to make everyone think they're dead. And if they did plan it, they must have arranged for a place to hide the bus and passengers for awhile. Someplace where it wasn't likely to be spotted, like a barn, or a cave, or a mine--" "I see what you're thinking. Someplace remote, where they couldn't get out. Maybe on someone's property, well out of town..." "Exactly. Can you get me a map of the area?" "Let me get onto your computer for a few minutes, and I think I can." Ten minutes later, he had the map. Lois took it. "Thanks, Jimmy, you're a prince. Look, I'm sure Perry's got things he wants you to do, so I won't keep you any more." (Continued in Part 6) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:10:46 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger's Edge--Part 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lois bit her lip. Clark would tell Inspector Henderson that they had come up here if he hadn't already, but it was going to be too late for Jimmy, the kids, and her. This was it. She would never marry the man who loved her and whom she loved. After all they had gone through, it was going to end here. She felt the sting of tears in the eyes for all that might have been and all that she had thrown away. She watched the three men as they walked from the mine, back to the truck. ********** Clark ran toward the voices. He was almost sure that he had heard Lois's voice, now mixed in with those of the children. Time was short and getting shorter. The men who had planned this crime were ruthless. They certainly wouldn't allow regard for life to stop them now. They would dispose of any witnesses without compunction. He had to get there before it was too late. He pushed himself to run faster, faster. It was a strange sensation. It was as if he was moving at normal speed and everything around him was slowing down. The wind was a gale against his face. There was a lick of painless heat, and he realized in shock that his clothing was burning. Somewhere behind him he heard the sound of a sonic boom. He crossed the open space to the wooded land in half a second flat and then he was among the trees. He was forced to slow down somewhat by the trees and underbrush, and took advantage of the lesser speed to divest himself of the remainder of this street clothing; thus it was Superman, not Clark, who burst from the forest a few seconds later and saw the rock wall and the mineshaft before him. A yellow truck was just pulling away, and for a second he was in two minds as whether to pursue. Lois's voice stopped him. "Superman! There's a bomb!" He forgot about the truck. In a flash he was in the mineshaft. Lois and Jimmy were tied to a support, and he could see the explosive packed tightly against another, just beyond them. He moved forward like lightning, seized the thing and half flew from the mine, hugging the explosives tightly against his chest. As he reached open space once more, he hurled it straight up. The concussion rocked the ground. Little pieces of gravel pattered around Lois and Jimmy, and for a moment he was afraid the shaft would cave in anyway, but somehow it didn't. More slowly now, he approached and effortlessly snapped the straps that held the two of them prisoner. Lois glared at him, rubbing her chafed wrists. "It took you long enough!" "Sorry," he said. "The next time you decide to get into a life-threatening situation, do you think you could give me a little warning?" Without waiting for an answer, he strode up to the barrier of dirt, stone and collapsed timbers that concealed the school bus. "Can anyone hear me? This is Superman! Everyone move as far back as you can. I'm going to get you out of there." ********** "Yes, the meteorite." Dr. Wesley Abbott, Director of the Metropolis Museum of Natural History, steepled his fingers and rested his chin on them. "I reported it to the police, of course, but I'm a little surprised to see the press here so quickly." "I beg your pardon?" Lois Lane felt slightly confused. Her question about the meteorite wasn't eliciting the kind of information she had asked for. It was the following day; the police, acting on Lois, Jimmy and Superman's information, had picked up the three kidnapers, who were now in jail on charges too numerous to mention. Finally, they had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Natural History. Clark was waiting outside for her. Most of his memory was back to normal, and neither of them wanted to chance his getting within range of the meteorite again. "About the robbery, of course." Abbott seemed a little irritated. "It's a tragedy. You naturally know the story of how it was found by the dredging crew, just before the arrival of that dreadful Lord Nor. We brought it here yesterday, and, during the night someone removed it from the storage room. It's been stolen before we even had time to examine it." Lois tried to gather her thoughts. It was more than a tragedy. Just when it looked as if she and Clark were about to find out something about this mysterious substance that could wipe out his memory, it was stolen. Maybe Clark was right and the Fates *did* have it in for them. "Do you have any records or information about it at all?" she asked. "If you were to have a photograph, for instance, we could publish it in the paper and make it that much harder for anyone to sell it to a collector." Dr. Abbott looked surprised. "An excellent idea, Miss Lane. I hadn't thought of that. Yes, we did take several for the records. If you'll wait, I'll get you one." Fifteen minutes later, Lois met Clark on the steps of the museum and imparted the news to him. He looked at the photograph. "It doesn't look like Kryptonite." "No, it doesn't," Lois admitted. "But it does seem like an awful coincidence." "I know." He regarded it for several seconds. "Well, Dr. Klein said it might be a new kind. How can we know what it would look like? Besides, it might be something completely different that we've never heard of before. We don't *know* that Kryptonite is the only thing that affects Superman--we've only assumed it. We could be wrong." "That's a frightening thought," she said. "Yes, it is." They both looked at the photograph again. "Of course," Lois said, "there's no way anyone could know what it does. The only other person who knows is Dr. Klein, and he'd never tell. If someone puts it in his private collection we may never see it again." Clark nodded. "Let's hope so. We'll put the photo in the paper so people will know what it looks like, and hopefully whoever has it will never dare let it see the light of day. I don't want to go through something like that ever again." "Neither do I," she said. "I prefer you with your memories. And speaking of memories, I hope you remember we still have a wedding coming up." He grinned. "That's something I'd never forget, three-headed snake-men from Andromeda, notwithstanding." He put an arm around her waist, and together they walked slowly back to the Jeep. ********** The meteorite which had caused so much trouble for the Man of Steel sat quietly in a wooden crate in the back of a truck. The man driving it whistled tunelessly to himself as he drove the vehicle along the streets of Metropolis. The logo on the side read "Sam's Delicatessen". He approached a red light and pulled to a stop. As the light changed to green, he waved cheerfully to the cop standing on the corner and pressed the accelerator. The truck rolled through the intersection and disappeared up the street. The End ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:20:16 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger--Part 1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit As always, the characters and recognizable settings in this story are the property of D.C. Comics, Warner Bros. et al. The story is copyrighted to me. Nan Smith ___________ Assassin's Dagger by Nan Smith Rated PG Submitted September 1999 _____________ Introduction It was snowing. The figure of a man lying face down on the filthy pavement was almost hidden by the trash cans and garbage that festooned the walls of the narrow alley, but it had not gone unremarked. Two dark shapes crouched over it, methodically searching the pockets of his clothing. "Nothin'!" one of them snarled, following the single word with a string of obscenities. He kicked the prone figure viciously in the side. "Not a thing!" "Hey!" The larger man gave his companion a cuff. "Lay off!" "Why? He ain't gonna care. Be dead in an hour, anyway." "I said, 'lay off'." The other voice had become menacing. "Okay, okay." The words were more of a grunt. The figure beneath their hands stirred and groaned. The men pulled back and the larger of the two got to his feet. "C'mon." "But--" "I said, 'C'mon'!" The second man was clearly used to giving orders. "He's got nothing we want." The two figures vanished into the darkness. The man on the ground stirred and groaned again, trying to brace himself on his forearms. His head was throbbing sickeningly and his stomach lurched. He dropped his head onto his arms and took deep breaths, trying to control the waves of nausea. It seemed to go on for hours before the pain began to abate. Slowly, he dragged himself to a sitting position and leaned against the rough bricks of the building behind him. Snowflakes drifted lazily through the night air, whispering downward and brushing against his face like the lightest of moths' wings. Most of his clothing was already thinly coated with a dusting of frost. After an unmeasured time of floating in a half-conscious haze, he began to notice more detail. How he had gotten here was a blank. His coat was gone, and the front of his shirt torn and stained with streaks of blood, although he seemed to have sustained little if any visible damage. He must have been assaulted; that was the only explanation. He was the victim of a mugging. But, where was he? And, for that matter, *who* was he? The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. He had no idea who he was, or where he lived. He had no memory. For a time he simply sat there, staring into the darkness of the alley. It was hard to think with his head pounding this way, the blood surging in his ears with every beat of his heart. He tried to push himself to his feet, but the world swam crazily and the effort caused the pain to worsen; he began to retch helplessly. Sometime later he awoke again. It was still dark; the faint glow of the streetlights was blurred by the dancing snow, which had thickened considerably. At least an inch of the stuff coated his body, but he wasn't cold. Wasn't that supposed to be a warning sign of some sort? He couldn't remember. At least the pain had faded to a dull ache in his temples and the back of his skull. His eyeballs no longer felt as if they were on fire. Reflexively, he felt in his pockets. Nothing. No article by which he could identify himself. Only a pair of battered glasses, a long crack across one lens, lay on the pavement beside him. He picked them up with shaking fingers, and almost automatically put them on. Somehow they felt right, familiar. Slowly and cautiously he boosted himself to his feet, bracing himself against the rough surface of the wall behind him. The throbbing in his head increased slightly, but it was nothing like it had been before. It didn't matter, anyway. He couldn't stay here. Somehow, he needed to find help, needed to warn... To warn who? There was danger; somehow he knew that much, but what it might be, or from whence it came, or for whom, he didn't know. Only that there was danger. How could he know who to trust? The answer was simple. He couldn't. He must find a place to conceal himself until he could recover and decide what to do. That decision made, he tottered toward the street, one hand against the wall, a single thought in his mind. He had to find somewhere to hide. Forty hours ago: "Clark, It just isn't reasonable. Museums do *not* get robbed that often! They have security guards, and alarms, and..." Lois Lane was in full sail as she charged out of the elevator and headed down the ramp into the busy newsroom of the Daily Planet, followed more slowly by her husband of two months. Clark Kent watched her with affectionate admiration. Mad Dog Lane had a bone between her teeth and wasn't about to let go until she was satisfied that she'd gotten everything there was to get from it. "There *is* such a thing as coincidence," Clark said mildly. "It has been known to happen." "I don't believe it," Lois said. "And I don't think you really do, either. Do you?" "No." Clark reached the foot of the ramp, well behind his energetic wife. It often amazed him that she packed so much energy into her petite body. It wasn't for nothing that he called her his little tornado; a hundred and ten pounds of sheer determination, with dark hair, brown eyes and more drive than any three other women put together. He was immensely proud of her. "All right, then." Lois dropped her purse on the floor beside her chair. "So where do we go from here?" "I'd say we need some background on Dr. Abbott, for starters. I wonder how *many* items have disappeared from the museum while he's been the director?" "Jimmy!" Lois snagged the newsroom's young resident computer expert by the sleeve as he went past, a box of donuts in one hand and a computer printout in the other. "Oops! Look out!" Jimmy almost lost his grip on the donuts. Clark grabbed them. "Got 'em. Are these for Perry?" "Some of them are. Gosh, that was fast, CK" "No problem. Why don't you get rid of this stuff, then come back. Lois and I need you to do a little research." . . . . . "Man," Jimmy was saying, a few hours later. "I don't know how you come up with these things." "I take it you have some results?" Clark looked up from his computer screen where he was putting the finishing touches on the latest Superman rescue. "Do I ever!" Jimmy looked awed. "You and Lois were really onto something. In the first place, I checked Dr. Abbott's background. It looked pretty good at first. He's 56 years old, clean background, not even a parking ticket. He's been married twenty-four years, has three kids. I started to think you were on the wrong track until I checked his financial records." "What about them?" Lois asked. "He's heavily in debt. Gambling. About four years ago he started running up a pretty big bill, and the people holding his I.O.U.s aren't very nice. Rumored ties to Intergang, but nobody's been able to prove anything, so far." "I don't think I envy this guy," Clark said. "Anything else?" "That's just the beginning, CK! I hacked into the museum's records and matched them up against their shipping company's records. There are tracks all over the place! I guess nobody's ever noticed before, but if they ever start checking, well..." Jimmy drew a finger across his throat. "Like what?" Lois asked, a little impatiently, but Jimmy didn't notice. "Well, there's stuff Dr. Abbott signed for in the shipping company records that doesn't show up on the museum's inventory at all--they just disappeared! So I checked the museum's outgoing stuff. There are things marked as having been shipped that aren't on the shipping company's records, and some stuff they supposedly sent to other museums that have different destinations in the records. A lot of them went to this one company..." Jimmy checked his printout. "Uh...Smith and Brown Ltd. I did some digging and it turns out that it's a subsidiary of Caribbean Imports, which is based in the Cayman Islands...what's the matter?" "Caribbean Imports!" Clark's voice was louder than he'd intended. "Wasn't that the company that owned that cargo ship...?" "The one that blew up in Metropolis Harbor just about a year and a half ago," Lois filled in for him. "Superman and I found out they'd been smuggling drugs..." "That some employees were smuggling drugs," Clark corrected. "So they said," Lois retorted, an edge of skepticism to her voice. "I wasn't convinced. I'm still not. The company gets off with a fine and a few lower level employees get axed. They go on with business as usual." "Maybe we'll get a better handle on them this time. Go on, Jimmy." "Well, then I looked up the latest shipment from the museum. It was a display of Native American jewelry that was supposed to be headed for the Gotham Museum of Natural History. But in the shipping company's records it's listed as going to Smith and Brown. I don't know how he's going to cover up this one..." "Never mind that. Most likely Gotham Museum isn't expecting any such shipment. Besides," Clark said, "if we can prove this, it will stop here." "And," Lois added, "it'll make a terrific story. 'Museum Director Smuggling Artifacts.' I think it's time that we did a little hands-on investigation. Tonight." "Lois..." "Well, Clark, if we can find that shipment and prove that it came from the museum and has been illegally sent somewhere else--" "All right," Clark said, throwing up his hands. "If I don't go with you, I know you well enough to know you'll go on your own. One of these days we're going to get arrested for breaking and entering. Then think of the headline!" Lois gave that comment all the attention it deserved and held out her hand for Jimmy's sheaf of computer printout. "Mind if I have a look at that?" "It's all yours. I've got to go get my photo equipment into top shape, anyway. Perry's sending me with Maurice to cover the game this Saturday." "Game?" Lois asked. "You know, Lois," Clark told her. "New Troy State versus Gotham U. Football," he added helpfully. "Oh." Lois's voice was less than enthusiastic. "Yeah," Jimmy said, missing entirely the tone of voice. "This one's kind of different." Lois raised her eyebrows. Jimmy nodded. "New Troy's starting quarterback is a genuine prince, believe it or not. He's the heir to the throne of Lower Tanzanika, and his 22nd birthday's the same day as the game. That's the day he comes of age," Jimmy added, as Lois still looked blank. "And," Clark said, "I've got tickets." Lois threw him a look of resignation. "I hope you're not expecting me to go, are you?" Clark grinned, feeling like the cat that swallowed the canary. "Only if you want an exclusive interview with Prince Bobbo himself." "*What*?" Lois's voice was a squeak of surprise. "Crown Prince Khalim Umbobolo Lusoto III, of Lower Tanzanika has personally sent us passes to the game, with seating in the section reserved for his guests, and graciously promised us an exclusive interview afterwards," Clark told her smugly, enjoying the look on her face. It wasn't often he got a reaction like that out of Lois. "Wow! Cool, CK!" Jimmy said, awed. "How'd Perry swing that?" "He didn't actually," Clark said. "The Prince is an old friend of mine. We met twelve years ago when I was traveling. He was just ten years old and about to be sent to the States for school. We were at an Embassy function, and I told him a lot about America, and helped him with his English, since I was the only person around anywhere near his age who spoke his language well. We've corresponded pretty regularly since then. Bobbo's grown into a fine man. He'll be a good king. He's got a lot of ideas about democracy, and modernizing his country." Jimmy stared at him. "Man, CK! You've done some really cool stuff. How come you never talk about it?" "People that talk about themselves all the time are boring, Jimmy," Clark said dismissively. "Anyhow, Bobbo wrote me and told me about the game, and his coming of age, and the coronation next month, and invited me to attend with my wife." He grinned at Lois's face. "He knows about you and wants to meet the famous Lois Lane. Shall I call him and decline?" Lois had begun to recover her equilibrium. "Only if you want to die young." (continued in Part 2) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:21:51 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger--Part 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "Just a second..." Lois twisted her little picklock a final time. "Got it!" The lock clicked back. "Good work." Clark lowered his glasses and took another look around. "I don't see anyone." "Okay." Lois eased the door open and they slipped inside. The offices of Smith and Brown Ltd. were located in an ancient building in one of the poorer sections of town. Not the most promising location, Clark thought as he scanned the structure with his x-ray vision. The rugs were worn, the furnishings second hand, at least. More like third or fourth, he amended after a second look. The main office on the second floor looked just as seedy as the rest of the building when Lois unlocked the door and pushed it open. A shabby desk and chair met their gaze, with a stack of magazines that had nothing to do with whatever business Smith and Brown actually conducted. They continued on through the tiny room and into another, also locked. This one was a little larger, with a slightly less shabby desk and chair, a dingy carpet and a large, metal file cabinet in the corner. Lois zeroed in on that. The locked cabinet yielded files, kept surprisingly well, especially considering the rest of the place. Lois ruffled through them while Clark kept his ears tuned to the sounds in the surrounding area. He could hear the footsteps of the lone security guard as he made his rounds through the empty rooms. A scurry of tiny feet told him that a mouse or two had taken up its residence within the walls, and somewhere outside a couple of tomcats dueled. "Clark! Look at this!" Lois whispered. "What?" "It's a bill of lading. The museum crate is at a warehouse over on Bessolo Boulevard. Let's go!" "Okay. But if you don't want to get caught, you better close that cabinet up quick and hide. The security guard is on his way up here." "Oops." Lois eased the file drawer shut and tiptoed over to stand behind the door. Sure enough, a minute later the doorknob turned, the door opened and a light shone around the room. After a few seconds it closed again and Clark heard the lock click. He floated down from his resting place on the ceiling. "I think we'd be safer going out the window," he said very softly. "There's no one around to see us." . . . . . "I think I've found it," Clark said. Lois turned from her sentry post to see her husband carefully lifting a stack of crates with one hand, while he removed a medium sized one from the pile with the other. "Is that it?" "Yeah." He set the crates back as delicately as he had raised them. "This is it, all right." "The label doesn't match." Lois illuminated the rough, wooden side of the crate with her penlight. "This says it's a pair of Tiffany lamps." "Trust me, that's it. They've put another label on over the old one. Take a look at the address." "Aaron Van Doren. Who's he?" "He's the owner of a very exclusive antiques import and export business in downtown Metropolis. We've been there a couple of times. 'Antiques International'." "How do you know?" "I did a story on his business when he first opened in Metropolis about three years ago. It was when I was pretty new at the Planet." "And of course you remember all the details," Lois said. "Naturally." He put the crate back on the pile. "We found what we came for. Now I guess we better do some research. We need something to take to the police." "How about the crate?" "Lois, we're breaking and entering, remember? How are we going to explain how we got hold of it? We're going to have to do this the hard way." "Where do we start then?" Clark regarded the contents of the crate once more with his x-ray vision. "I'd say with Mr. Van Doren. Somehow I doubt this is the first time he's received stolen goods. I wonder if he's an art collector?" The next morning at the Planet, they began their search. . . . . . "Jimmy," Lois said. "I need you to dig up everything you can on a Mr. Aaron Van Doren." "What kind of a name is that?" Jimmy asked. He held the usual morning box of doughnuts under one arm and munched on a sugared one as he spoke. "I think it's Dutch." Clark said. He snagged a cake doughnut from the box, bit into it and spoke around the mouthful. "This guy's an antiques dealer. He owns 'Antiques International' in Metropolis. But last night we found out he's the one that Native American jewelry collection is being sent to. We want to know his background, and anything that might not be quite right. You know the drill." "Okay," Jimmy said. "Sounds like you could be onto something. I'll get right on it." "Thanks, Jimmy." Clark clapped him on the shoulder. "If we have some way of proving Van Doren's gotten other illegal shipments, maybe we can trace them back to Dr. Abbott, and expose his rather inept thefts. I'm sorry he has debt problems, but robbing the museum isn't the answer." Lois, on the way back to her desk, paused for a moment. "Clark, that meteorite. Dr. Abbott may have gotten rid of it, too--it's probably in the collection of some rich guy who collects things like it. Rare items or something. Maybe even Van Doren." "Maybe," Clark said. "But it's not an art object." "Who says he only collects art objects? Or even just antiques? But since it was 'stolen' we probably wouldn't be able to trace it the same way." "I'm afraid not," Clark said, a note of regret in his voice. "I'm afraid it's just plain gone." "Meteorite?" Jimmy asked. "That one that was dredged out of the harbor a couple of months ago," Lois explained. "Oh, that one. I remember you wrote an article about it. You think Abbott sold it, too?" "Probably," Lois said. "He reported it stolen, but considering what you found out about him yesterday it seems likely. Anyway, the thing now is to stop him before he does it again. Who knows how many items he's stolen? It's plain old theft from the people of Metropolis. It'll make a great story." She continued on toward her desk. "I'm going to finish that article about Superman foiling the jewelry store holdup this morning, Clark. Perry can probably get it into the afternoon edition." "Right. I'll try calling our usual sources. Maybe Bobby Bigmouth can find out something." Clark headed for his own desk, dropped into the chair and grabbed his phone. "I wonder if he'd like an all-you-can-eat gift certificate for that new seafood place..." "If you're talking about Ahab's Seafood Galley, he's been drooling over it for two weeks," Lois said. "He hadn't been there yet, as of yesterday." "Okay, Ahab's it is." Clark began to punch in Bobby's number. . . . . . They had been working steadily for several hours when Lois's phone rang. "Lois Lane." Clark heard his wife answer, then turned at her next words. "Hold on, Mother. Slow down. What's wrong?" Clark resisted the urge to eavesdrop and waited. "What? Well, is she all right? When? I'll be there as soon as I can." She set down the receiver, biting her lip. "Lois, is everything all right?" Clark spoke in quick concern. "That was my mother," Lois said unnecessarily. "It's Lucy. You knew she's going to New Troy State, now, didn't you? She was sick last night, and her roommates thought it was the flu, but this morning it was much worse. She was just rushed to Metropolis General; they think it's a burst appendix. She's being taken into surgery right now, and Mother wants me to come. I don't see how I can refuse. I mean--" Clark was on his feet. "Of course you've got to go. Do you want me to take you over?" "No, I can drive. You stay here and keep working on the story, all right? Make my excuses to Perry for me. I'll call you later and let you know how she is." "All right. If you're sure..." "I'm sure." She picked up her coat, gave him a quick kiss and hurried toward the elevator. Clark watched her leave, then headed for Perry's office to let their boss know where she had gone. . . . . . Bobby Bigmouth called back that afternoon. Clark answered and almost didn't recognize the man's voice at first. "Bobby? Slow down. Do you have the info I asked about?" "I sure do. Look, Clark, I'm taking a big risk telling you this. I don't want to say anything over the phone. Can you meet me someplace where we won't be seen?" "Where and when?" "I'll meet you at the old chocolate factory over on Palmetto in half an hour. You know, the one that closed down about five years ago. It's deserted." "I'll be there." . . . . . Bobby was definitely nervous, Clark thought half an hour later as he scanned the area. There was no one around but the two of them, but the man kept looking over his shoulder, and started violently at the scurry of a rat somewhere behind them in the darkness of the deserted building. His eyes kept shifting about, and his voice held an edge that Clark wasn't used to hearing in the normally casual informant. "I gotta make this quick," he told Clark. "I talked to a guy I know who knows about this Van Doren guy. He collects rare stuff--kind of fanatic about it, and he's not too fussy about how he gets it. The last thing he got, though, it's not for him." "What do you mean 'not for him'?" "It's a trade. Some guy at New Troy State who's a collector like him, he's trading it for a favor. Cooperation. Something big's going down at the game this Saturday. Benny wouldn't say exactly. Somebody important's going to die." . . . . . Bobby's words were still repeating themselves in Clark's mind two hours later as he sat behind his desk, staring at a blank computer screen. "Somebody important's going to die." Who? Who was the one person at that game that everyone knew would be there? Bobbo. The football game was being covered by every major newspaper on the Eastern Seaboard because of the significance of the day. Lots of publicity, lots of people; it would be a security nightmare. And the prince's uncle was not, in Clark's opinion, the kind of person who would hand over the reins of power willingly; Bobbo had even admitted to Clark that he and his uncle didn't see eye to eye much of the time when it came to governing the country. Was it possible that he might take more drastic measures to keep his hold on power? But what could an antiques dealer have to do with something like that? Clark sat turning a pencil over and over in his hands, thinking furiously and, after much internal debate and three broken pencils, finally came to a decision. This investigation had already led him places he hadn't expected. Well, the museum thefts were going to have to be put on hold for awhile. Dr. Abbott's sorry little racket was unlikely to come to light in the next few days, and even if it did the scoop wasn't important in comparison to a man's life. He was going to have to concentrate on Van Doren's "trade", and try to find out the whole story. He had until Saturday. If he and Lois couldn't unearth an assassination plot with a trail like this to follow in three days--assuming that there really was one!--they weren't the team everyone said they were. The first step was background. Clark began to call up information on his friend's country, and the current Prince Regent. A short time later, when Perry came by to peer over his shoulder, Clark was reading the print that filled his computer screen. "Clark? What's this? 'The Recent History of Lower Tanzanika'?" "Yeah, Chief. I'm researching it for a story." "Clark, I don't think you need to go into that kind of depth for an interview with the Prince." "It's not that, sir. I think someone may be planning to kill him." Clark glanced up at his boss. "That's why I was checking up on some background material. Nothing I've read so far gives me any reason to think differently." He frowned at the screen. "Actually, it matches up with what I already pretty much knew, or guessed from Bobbo's letters." "His letters? Don't tell me you and he are pen pals?" "Not exactly, sir. We met not long before he came to the States for school. We've sort of stayed friends ever since, and generally write about once a month. He uses me for a sounding board, and sometimes I've given him advice when he asked for it." Perry's eyebrows had crawled upward, but he merely said, "I see. Go on." "Well, Bobbo's position is kind of delicate. His father, Khalim Umbobolo Lusoto II, died in a hunting accident a month before he was born. Who actually fired the shot that killed the King was never solidly established. What's interesting is that the brother between the King and the current Regent also died under mysterious circumstances about two months before the King's death, which put Prince Kharim, the next brother, in line for the position of either the new King, or as Regent, in case the baby turned out to be a male, which he did." Perry shoved his hands into his pockets. "I didn't think that kind of thing happened in modern times." "Well, that was twenty-two years ago, remember. Lower Tanzanika may be small, but it's still an absolute monarchy. Believe it or not, the ruler is the ultimate power." Clark swiveled around to face his editor. "Bobbo sort of has plans to change that, but he's going to have a lot of opposition, and he knows it. He's an intelligent man, and he understands a lot more than anyone back home gives him credit for. His people barely know him, though, because he's been kept here except for very short trips back to his native country. There's some controversy about a young, Americanized prince taking over for his uncle after twenty-two years of his rule." "I can see that the circumstances might cause him some difficulties," Perry said. "But somebody trying to kill him?" Clark nodded. "A lot of the Regent's supporters are pushing for the Prince to step down for the good of the country. When he turns twenty-two on Saturday, he's of age to be crowned King and that means the Regent's power is pretty much over. Kharim likes power. I can't quite see him handing it over so easily. And one of my informants gave me some really disturbing information today." He went on to relay the gist of Bobby's tip. Perry was frowning when he finished. (continued in Part 3) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:26:22 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger--Part 3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "I can see why you're worried," he said finally. "And that really isn't enough proof to take to the police. But what do you think you can do about it?" "I'm going to try to come up with the proof. Anyway, even if Bobbo isn't the target, if there's a murder planned it still needs to be investigated." Perry grinned suddenly. "Who am I to argue with one half of Lane and Kent? Your instincts are usually right on target, so go ahead. Just be sure you get some sort of story out of it. And be sure you get your latest in by deadline." "Oh, right, Chief. The bomb at City Hall. Superman found it and threw it into the stratosphere. I got a quote from him. They think it was a disgruntled employee. I'm waiting for one more call back from a source, and it'll be ready." . . . . . "I'll be here awhile longer," Lois said. Clark's enhanced hearing picked up the sounds of the hospital in the background. Somewhere a speaker was calling a Code Blue, and in the far distance, the wail of a siren could be heard. Lois's voice sounded tired; not surprising, he reflected. She'd been at the hospital for four hours now in the company of her mother. Ellen, never the easiest person to get along with, was undoubtedly driving her crazy right now, he surmised. He and Ellen usually got along all right together, with a moderate amount of effort on his part. Lois had just enough of Ellen's personality that they constantly grated on each others' nerves, no matter how hard Lois tried to be tolerant. He was glad he didn't have to be in the waiting room with them. "How's Lucy doing?" he asked. "She's out of surgery and in recovery," Lois said. "They were right; it was a burst appendix. She's going to be on antibiotics awhile for the infection, but they think she'll be all right." "Well, when she wakes up, give her my love," Clark said. "Okay. When she's awake enough to remember. Anything on the investigation?" "Actually, yes." He gave her a quick summary of what he had found out so far. "Jimmy's still working on Van Doren's background, but he hasn't dug up much yet. There doesn't seem to be any record of him anywhere before he came to Metropolis three years ago." "That's a little suspicious by itself." "I'd say so. I'll keep an ongoing summary of what's happening so you can read it over when you get back, in case I have to..." He let the sentence trail off, knowing she would interpret it correctly: in case he had to run off and be Superman somewhere. "Anyway, Jimmy hasn't quit trying. He may come up with something yet." "All right. I'm probably going to be late. Mother doesn't want me to leave yet. Do you think you can get along without me for a little while longer?" He chuckled at the teasing tone in her voice. "Well, it won't be easy, but I guess I'll manage. When you do drive home, be careful. It's snowing." "I'm perfectly capable of driving in the snow, Clark. I've lived in Metropolis all my life." "I know. But be careful, anyway." A sigh at the other end of the phone. "I will. Concentrate on the story. And if you have to go out, *you* be careful!" He gave a sheepish laugh. "Yes, ma'am." "I've got to go. Love you." "I love you, too." He heard the receiver click down on the last word and slowly hung up the phone. A glance at the windows showed the flakes drifting steadily downwards, with no signs of letting up, and then his super-hearing cut in with a suddenness that made him start. Somewhere in the building a radio was announcing a multi-car accident on the parkway; a van had spun out and cars behind it were piling into each other, the drivers unable to see far enough ahead because of the snow, and going too fast to stop on the wet, icy road. The disaster was still in progress as the report was being broadcast. Clark was out of the newsroom within seconds and streaking through the air toward the parkway. Superman was certainly going to be needed today. It inevitably happened with the first snow of the season. He always expected it, and so far had never been disappointed, although he would like to be, if only once. What was it, he wondered bitterly, as he swooped down over the scene of smashed and twisted vehicles, that made people drive in conditions like this as if they were on an open road on a dry, sunny day? It defied logic, and inevitably led to tragedy. And they never learned. He braked to a stop, inches from the ground, and headed for the first candidate, a blue subcompact with a young woman trapped behind the wheel. The screams and cries of victims echoed around him in the snowy air. Superman bit his lip, and ripped the car door from its hinges. . . . . . When he returned to the newsroom four hours later, he felt tired and discouraged. In spite of all the herculean efforts of the rescue teams and the help he had been able to give them, there had been several fatalities. He'd expected it, but it didn't make it any easier. Christmas was only a few weeks away, and now some families would have reason to mourn rather than reason to celebrate. He wished Lois was here; it would have helped just to see her, but she hadn't returned. A note on his desk attracted his attention. Lois had called while he'd been out. Lucy had had complications, and Lois and Ellen were back in the waiting room again. He called the hospital, and Lois came to the phone to assure him that the situation was under control, however her mother was quite upset and begging her to stay. She could hardly refuse at this point, so it would still be some time before she got home. After she hung up, the newsroom seemed somehow empty in spite of the other people around him. Clark sighed and began to clean off his desk. He had already phoned in the story on the accident and was ready to call it a day, assuming that nothing else happened requiring Superman's attention. Considering the light but steady snowstorm, it seemed likely that he would be busy several times tonight. Dinner consisted of Ho-Hos, Ding Dongs and an entire box of Twinkies, washed down with a soda. Lois wasn't here, so he didn't feel like going to the trouble of cooking. While he ate he listened to the news on television, alert for any disaster requiring Superman's presence, but it seemed as if people had taken a warning from the parkway disaster earlier and were being more careful--at least he hoped so. When the sports report came on he perked up, but the only major football game had been canceled due to heavy snow. Local news had a segment on the upcoming contest between the Gotham Bulldogs and the NTSU Spartans being played this Saturday, and a short piece on the starting quarterback. A recent photo of Crown Prince Khalim of Lower Tanzanika showed a handsome young man with skin the color of polished ebony, and a build that would rival Clark's, smiling into the camera. Bobbo looked every inch a prince in Clark's opinion, and he swore to himself that he wouldn't let anything happen to his young friend if it was within his power to prevent it. The Eleven O'clock World News followed, and Clark was about to turn off the set when a report caught his attention. "In other news, the escalating tension between Upper and Lower Tanzanika heightened today when the Prince Regent of Lower Tanzanika accused the government of its neighbor of border incursions, and of attempting to destabilize the uneasy truce that has existed between the two countries for the past five years, during this delicate time of transition of power between the current Prince Regent and the soon-to be new King..." That was basically the extent of the information, but after he turned off the set, Clark sat staring at the blank screen for several minutes. It sounded to him as if the Regent was trying to do a little destabilization of his own. That couldn't be a coincidence. He added it to all the other facts and suspicions he had gathered during the day and made a reluctant decision. If there was a plot to kill Bobbo, he needed to find out as much as he could. Two seconds later, Superman rocketed out of the brownstone's bedroom window and made a beeline for the offices of Antiques International, and of Aaron Van Doren. . . . . . The offices were closed up tight, but locks and alarms were no barrier to a determined Superman. He entered on the third floor and closed the window carefully behind him, then spun back into Clark. In black jeans, black shirt and black cap, he moved quietly though the darkened rooms and located Van Doren's office. A moment later he was inside, and scanning the room with his x-ray vision. The big desk in the center of the room had a concealed drawer. That much was obvious to him. He scanned the documents thus revealed, and removed the tiny camera he had brought with him. It had been a gift from Jimmy for his birthday last year, a miniature spy camera, with his initials on the case, from "Spys 'R' Us" and given to him almost as a joke, but now it came in handy. He found the drawer's catch and opened it. What he was looking for lay on top in a plain manila folder. Diagrams of the university campus, security schedules, a receipt, and a current photo of Bobbo. Carefully, Clark photographed everything, then put it back exactly as he had found it and closed the drawer. Carefully he scanned the surrounding area, looking for anything that might give him further evidence. This wasn't enough to bring in the police, although it told him more plainly than words that his young friend was in danger. The small, comfortably furnished conference room adjoining the office drew his attention, and he went into it, still scanning. There were comfortable chairs, a large, central table, and a sofa against one wall next to a bookcase that took up one entire wall. A bookcase which his x-ray vision could not penetrate. Carefully, he scanned it. It had to be lined with lead, and he had seen its duplicate before--once in the office of Dr. Sam Lane, and in various other places--one of which was his own living room. Only those hadn't been lead lined. The catch gave under his hand and the bookcase opened outward. As it did, he felt a flash of familiar pain shoot through his body, contracting every muscle of his body. He staggered back, the camera dropping from his hand, and he fell to the plush carpet, knocking over a tall lamp in the process. That was the last thing he remembered before he passed out. A security guard, responding to the noise, found him there five minutes later. . . . . . Lois Lane entered the front door of 348 Hyperion Ave. at nine o'clock the next morning. If she ever went through another day like the last one, she thought, she'd rather be *in* the hospital bed. Then, at least, she could pretend to be asleep. She hadn't seen or talked to her husband in person since the evening before, although she had caught a glimpse of him on television, freeing victims of that horrific car accident yesterday afternoon, and she had had enough of her mother's company to last her the rest of the year...although that wasn't all that far away, come to think of it. She had called once, late the night before, but got only the answering machine, so she figured Clark was out doing Superman things. He was probably at the office by now. She had decided to take a short nap and then go in to work when the phone rang. If this was her mother again, she thought she'd scream. Lois picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Hi, Lois. Is Clark there?" It was Jimmy. "Perry told me to call and find out if he was planning on coming in today." "I just walked in, Jimmy. I thought he'd be at work. Just a minute, I'll see if he's upstairs." Lois hurried up the steps, receiver in hand. The bed was made, with no sign of having been slept in. Either Clark had tidied up before he left, or he hadn't slept in their bed last night, which was possible if Superman had been extremely busy. "He's not here, Jimmy. Maybe he's out on a story." "Well, he hasn't called in." "If I see him before you do, I'll remind him," Lois said. "He probably got really involved in something and forgot." "Maybe. Okay, I'll tell Perry he's already out. See you later." Jimmy hung up. Superman must be really busy for Clark not to even call the office, she thought. Lois went slowly back downstairs to replace the receiver on the charger. She'd gotten very particular about that ever since the phone had given out in the middle of a call from one of her informers. As she did so, she noticed the blinking light on the answering machine. Ah, that was it. Clark must have called and left a message. The message was the one she had left last night. He hadn't been home since then. Slowly she went to the television and switched it on. The morning nine o'clock news was being broadcast on Channel 7, and she listened while she opened the refrigerator and rummaged for something to eat. The leftover chow mein from two nights ago met her eyes. At this point she would have eaten anything, and she stuck the carton into the microwave, punched in the time and hit start, only half her attention on what she was doing as she listened to the news report. There was a fire in Suicide Slum, a big one. The fire department was on the scene; the speculation was that the fire had started because of someone's attempt to keep warm, and the firefighters were having difficulty bringing out all the victims, but there was no sign of her husband. Where was Superman? Surely he would be at the scene of such a disaster! The smoke pouring from the microwave alerted her to the fact that she had set the time for 20 minutes instead of two. She shut off the device and stared in distress at the blackened Chinese food. Well, she sure wouldn't be eating that! She dumped the burned mess in the garbage and fished around in the cupboard for the Pop Tarts. The Twinkies were gone; she'd noticed the box sitting on the coffee table when she had come in. Clark must have been in need of a sugar fix. But where had he gone? And more importantly, why hadn't he come back, or even left her a message? A twinge of worry began to nibble at the edges of her mind. True, it was hard to hurt Superman, but it could be done. Come on, Lois! she told herself. Let's not turn into a worry-wart just yet! Maybe he's doing some investigating and just hasn't been able to call. Where were his notes? He'd said he was going to keep a running record of everything he found out or suspected so she could be up to date on his investigation in case he couldn't be there. The notes were sitting next to the coffee table in a neat folder. Clark was always neat and methodical about his work; she'd learned that not long after they had first met. He organized things, backed up his computer files and kept records carefully and completely. Her own disorganization must have driven him crazy at times, but other than an occasional remark ("Don't you back up your files on a floppy disk?") he had never let on. Now she sat down, munching a cold Pop Tart, and read them completely, grimacing slightly at the dry, starchy taste of her breakfast choice. When she had finished, she sat, frowning at nothing. Clark was worried about his friend, that was certain. What if he had gone to do some investigations on his own and run into trouble? Even Superman could get in over his head on occasion. She had seen it happen. Suddenly she was no longer sleepy. Dropping the half-eaten Pop Tart into the trash can, she hurried upstairs to shower and change for the office. Maybe she could figure out where Clark had gone from information on his computer, or maybe Jimmy or Perry would have some sort of clue. In any case, there wasn't any time to waste. Instinct told her that Clark might be in some sort of difficulty, and it was up to her to find out what it was and get him out of it, if possible. If he was still alive. She stifled the negative thought at once. Of course he was still alive. If he wasn't, she would know. . . . . . "Here's everything on Van Doren that I've got so far," Jimmy told her. "It isn't much, but I've got a few more places to try. I told CK that I'd make it a top priority." Lois took the single sheet of paper. "Clark said you couldn't find anything on him at all prior to three years ago?" "Nothing." Jimmy grimaced in frustration. "It's as if he didn't exist before then. Do you suppose he's in the Witness Protection program, or something?" Continued in Part 4) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:28:55 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger--Part 4 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "If he is, he doesn't deserve to be, from what Bobby Bigmouth said about him," Lois said. She bit the end of her pencil, considering. "If he's involved in some sort of scheme to kill somebody, and we know he received at least one stolen item, then I don't think we need to worry about exposing him, do you?" "Well, I don't think so, but the Feds might have a different viewpoint," Jimmy said. "I doubt he is, anyway," Lois said. "If you do dig up anything, I'll bet he's some kind of plain old criminal who's just found a good place to hide. Van Doren probably isn't even his real name." "For an ordinary crook, he's sure got a lot of money," Jimmy told her. "He's definitely in the millionaire bracket. I'll keep digging, though." "Good. Jimmy, did Clark say anything before he left about investigating Van Doren, last night maybe?" Jimmy shook his head. "Nope. He'd been down at that pileup on the parkway and was pretty upset about it, from what I could tell. He said several people were killed. You know Clark. That kind of thing bothers him a lot." "Don't tell me it doesn't bother you, too, Jimmy," Lois said with a smile. "I wouldn't believe you." "Well, sure it does. But it just seems to hit him harder than the rest of us. You know what I mean?" "Yeah, I do." Lois sighed, her mind returning to Clark's whereabouts. So far the only lead seemed to be Van Doren. Clark usually didn't do much of the breaking and entering thing by himself. Most often it was because she was engaged in it, and he didn't want her to go alone. Still, if he was worried enough, he might have done something of the sort. And from what he'd told her, he was very worried. Anyway, it seemed like her only lead. "Lois!" Perry's bellow cut through the general noise of the newsroom. "Can I see you in my office a minute?" She turned to obey. "Keep at it, Jimmy." Perry was sitting behind his desk when she opened the door to his office. "You wanted to see me?" "Yeah, honey, I did." He waved her to a chair. "You can't be in this business as long as I have without bein' able to sense it when somethin' isn't right. Lois, where's Clark?" "I don't know." Lois answered honestly. "I called last night, and he wasn't home, and he wasn't there this morning. The bed hadn't been slept in." She got to her feet and began to pace. " I called his parents before I left home. They haven't heard from him. I'm afraid he's in trouble." "You got any idea what it might be?" "Maybe." She paced a little more, willing to let Perry see the fear she had hidden from the other members of the newsroom. "He's really worried that this Van Doren character is somehow behind a plot to kill his friend--you know, the Prince?" "Yeah, I heard. It figures. That kid has friends everywhere, people you'd never expect." "I know." She smiled a little. "He told me once that he'd learned ballroom dancing from a Nigerian princess." Perry lifted an eyebrow. "If it was anybody but Clark, I wouldn't believe it. So, what do you think we should do? Report him missing to the police?" "I don't know. We aren't *sure* there's anything to be worried about, yet." Perry just looked at her. "I know, I know," she continued. "I'm worried, and so are you, but I'm not sure the police will be. I'd like to talk to Van Doren, maybe get a look at his offices. If Clark went over there to do some snooping last night, I might find out something. What do you think?" "I think it's a long shot, but it's the only possible lead we have at this point," Perry said. "Tell you what; I'll arrange an interview with him for you, if I can. That will give you an excuse to see him. But if you don't turn up anything by tomorrow, I think we should call the police. Okay?" Lois hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I think that's a good idea. They won't do anything much until he's been missing for 48 hours, anyway. In the meantime, I'm going to call my contacts. Maybe they've heard something, or will hear something. " "Good idea. I'll get hold of this Van Doren character while you're doin' that. 'Antiques International', right?" . . . . . The interview with Aaron Van Doren was scheduled for three o'clock, and by that time Lois was ready to climb the newsroom walls. She hadn't told Perry, but she was getting downright scared as the possibility that Clark had merely gone undercover dwindled. If he had, he would still have found a way to get a message to her and no such message had arrived. Even more important, Superman had yet to make an appearance. Snow still fell intermittently, increasing the hazards on the parkways; there had been several accidents on snow-covered streets today, and one fatality. The snow plows were working overtime, but conditions were bad. Worse, a plane had made an emergency landing at the airport; there had been some doubt, until it had actually been on the ground, that the pilot could land safely, and still there had been no sign of Superman. All her instincts were screaming at her that something was badly wrong, that Clark was in real trouble. Just before it was time for her to leave, she turned to Jimmy. The young man had been working all day in an effort to produce some results in his fruitless search. "Jimmy, get your camera. I'd like you to come along with me." Jimmy leaned back from the computer and stretched. "Sure. I'm not getting anywhere here, anyway." He got to his feet. "What's the scoop?" "We're going to visit Aaron Van Doren. It's possible he's had something to do with Clark's disappearance and, in any case, I'll need some help. If I need a distraction, I'm counting on you to give me one. Okay?" "Sure, no problem." Jimmy reached for his camera bag. "I'm going to interview him for a little puff piece and look around his offices if I can. Got it?" "Right." He followed her up the ramp to the elevator. "I tried a new angle, by the way. We may be able to get some information on Van Doren through my dad." "Did you call him?" "Yeah. He wasn't in, but the guy I talked to at the N.I.A. said he'd give him my message. I sent Van Doren's picture, and all the information I had to them." "That was smart. If anybody can find out about a man who sprang out of nowhere, it's a spy agency." "That's what I figured." The elevator doors opened, and Jimmy stood back to let Lois enter first. "If my dad can't find out something, then there's really nothing to find out." "Which none of us believe for a minute." Lois punched the button for the underground parking lot. "I just hope it's not too late by the time he gets back to you." "Me, too." . . . . . Aaron Van Doren was a tall, good-looking man somewhere in his mid-fifties at a guess, with thick, wavy, blond hair and just the beginnings of a paunch. His fair complexion was reddened somewhat from the effects of sun and wind, which somehow overshadowed his pale blue, almost colorless eyes. He greeted Lois and Jimmy with great politeness when his secretary showed them into his office. "Ms. Lane, is it? And...?" He glanced inquiringly at Jimmy. "James Olsen," Lois told him. "My photographer." "Of course," the man said. "Mr. White didn't mention that there would be a photographer." Lois didn't answer, but smiled brilliantly at him. What was that accent? Aaron Van Doren spoke English flawlessly, but, by his accent, English was not his first language. He gestured at a door to one side of the large office. "Why don't we sit in the conference room? We might as well be comfortable." "All right." Lois preceded him through the door. Jimmy hung back. "Sir, do you mind if I take a few pictures of your office? Just for background." "Be my guest." The man shrugged. "When you're done, join us in here." "Thanks." Jimmy began flashing pictures, covering every angle of the office. Lois and Van Doren took seats in the small room, Lois in an armchair, and the owner of Antiques International on the sofa. "Now, Ms. Lane, what can I do for you?" Lois smiled disarmingly. "Our paper is doing a series on some of the more prestigious businesses in Metropolis," she explained. "Sort of a 'Who's Who' among the business community. How long have you been in Metropolis, sir?" Jimmy came in while Van Doren was answering, and moved around the room, apparently looking for the best angle for a shot. Lois asked several questions regarding the kind of merchandise imported by the company, pausing for an occasional photo by Jimmy, and moved on to the history of the business. And it became rapidly obvious that, in spite of the annoying distraction provided by Jimmy, she wasn't going to be given the chance to snoop. Van Doren never left her side for a moment, whether for the sake of courtesy, or another, more sinister motive. The best she could do for the moment was to gain a general impression of the place and make mental notes for later use, if possible. When the interview was concluding, Jimmy, who had seated himself in another armchair, rose to his feet. "I'd like one or two photos of you, sir. Would that be all right?" "Of course. Where would you like me to stand?" "Stay right there for the first one, sir. Just lean back and look casual." Lois glanced at him as he fiddled with his equipment. What was Jimmy doing? The interview had been almost sickeningly bland, and they had found out essentially nothing of importance, but Jimmy was treating the photos as if they were critical. He asked Van Doren to sit up straight and look professional, then to smile pleasantly for another shot. It seemed, in fact, that he was taking an unnecessarily large number of pictures, and she was about to put an end to the session, when Jimmy lowered the camera. "I think I have enough," he said. "Thank you, sir. I'm sure some of those will be exactly what my editor wants." He smiled, beginning to fit the cap back onto the camera lens. "I'm sorry about all the flashes, but I wanted to be sure I got the best possible sho...oops!" As he spoke, he fumbled the lens cap and dropped it. It fell to the floor and rolled under the sofa. If Lois hadn't been watching him closely, she wouldn't have seen his fingers flick the thing in the direction of the couch, and she was sure Van Doren, with the blue afterimages caused by the multiple flashes floating before his eyes, hadn't seen it at all. Jimmy got down onto his hands and knees and reached far under the sofa. After a moment he rose to his feet, lens cap in hand. "Sorry about that." He looked a little flustered. "Thanks again, sir." It wasn't until they had left the building that Lois turned to her companion and asked the question that had been foremost in her mind since Jimmy's little performance in the conference room. "What was that all about?" "This." Jimmy reached into his pocket. "I saw it lying under the sofa. Here. He must have dropped it." He withdrew his hand and put Clark's miniature camera into her outstretched palm. Lois stared at the camera, the initials C.K. clearly stamped on the case, with the feeling that the ground had just dropped from under her. Clark had been there, and lost his camera. The fact that he hadn't retrieved it scared her more than she would ever admit, even to herself. It meant that he hadn't been able to do so. . . . . . The night air was damply cold, and the streets, if not entirely deserted, were certainly less populated than they would be on an ordinary night in Metropolis. The heavy snow had finally eased up, although the occasional flake still fell; whether they came from the thick layer of grey clouds overhead or were blown from the roofs of snow-coated buildings, Lois didn't know. She only hoped that the conditions were such that few would be interested in a lone figure moving about the offices of Antiques International. If this had been the actual antiques store, she knew she wouldn't have stood a chance, but the office building was located at some distance from the retail outlet. She had cased the place carefully that afternoon, then caught a grand total of three hours of sleep, and now was ready for her venture, her secret weapon, a can of foam sealant, in her pocket. The side door, mostly out of sight of persons in the street, was her target. With the can of sealant, she immobilized the alarm and a few moments later the lock clicked back. She eased the door open just far enough to slide through, and then closed it quietly behind her. (continued in Part 5) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 19:32:26 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eugene Ellison Subject: How much would they tell their kids? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi everyone! I'm writing a fic, and it made me think of a few questions. It would help me write the fic, now that I think about it. Okay, sorry for being so weird. My questions are: 1. Would Lois and Clark tell their kids about Lex Luthor? 2. If they did, how much would they tell them? Would they tell the stuff that was personal to them, like the cloning, and the almost-wedding? Love,Misty ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:33:32 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger Part 5 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lois knew what kind of risk she was taking this time. It had been a while since she had attempted breaking into places equipped with alarms and other security devices without Clark along to play sentry, but now her husband might be in serious trouble and nothing was going to stop her from trying to help him. On cat feet, she hurried up the stairs to the third floor and the offices of Aaron Van Doren. Once she ducked around a corner to avoid a security guard and froze, holding her breath until the man's footsteps faded into the distance, then she was at the door of the office. Moments later she slipped inside and closed it behind her. Quickly, she made her way to the little conference room where Jimmy had found the camera, and began to explore. Clark must have been standing fairly close to the sofa when he had dropped the camera, she reasoned. Otherwise it wouldn't have rolled underneath the piece of furniture, but would have lain out in the open and been found. What would he have been looking at here, next to the bookcase? A book? Lois stood, shining her flashlight around the area for several minutes before the answer occurred to her. He *had* been looking at the bookcase; she had seen this design before. Barring minor differences, it was exactly like the one in her own living room--the one which concealed the hiding place for Clark's Suits. It took her only a few minutes to retrace the movements her husband had made the night before and find the catch. The bookcase swung slowly outward, and she flashed her light inside. The space behind the bookcase was dimly lit with a night light. Lois stepped into the hidden room and, after ascertaining that she would be able to open the door from inside, let it close softly behind her. Again she stood still, shining her light around more boldly now. The room was windowless. Now why wasn't she surprised about that? But if she turned on the light, no one would be able to see it from the outside. With another careful glance around, she flipped the light switch. The first impression she had was of a high class junkyard. About her on shelves, tables, on the walls and even dangling from the ceiling were...items. On one wall was a painting that she recognized; the excitement when it was stolen from the Louvre two years ago had been memorable. On a corner shelf stood a statue that she also remembered; four months ago it had been presented by the Mayor of Metropolis to a visiting head of state, and the resulting flap when someone stole it the same night had occupied the front page for three days. There was a stuffed Tasmanian wolf, a species extinct for most of the 20th Century. The items were rarities. That was what Bobby Bigmouth had told Clark about Van Doren. He collected rare items, was kind of a fanatic about it, Bobby had said, and he wasn't too fussy about how he acquired them. Well, that much was obvious. Lois stood looking around at the incredible chaos of rare items, almost dazed. Was this what Clark had found? But, if so, why had he disappeared? And then she saw it. She had the impression that she had been staring at it for several seconds before it registered, but when it did she felt a shock of recognition. It sat in a glass case, in the corner opposite the statue, an irregular piece of rock about the size of a football. Its exterior showed signs of exposure to extreme heat, slagged and blackened in a terribly familiar way. She had seen it in a photograph often enough to have memorized every facet of its appearance.. It was the meteorite Dr. Abbott had reported stolen from his museum only a couple of months ago, the meteorite that had been dredged out of Metropolis Harbor, which had had such a devastating effect on Superman. All at once everything made horrible sense. Clark had been exposed to the meteorite's radiation when he opened the bookcase. If he was still alive, and she had to believe he was, he was somewhere without his memory, either as a prisoner--and if he was they could have him *anywhere* by now--or just possibly wandering around the streets of Metropolis, scared and alone. For a long moment she stood frozen, her mind spinning in circles, but among all her jumbled thoughts, one fact stood out clearly. She could not leave this monstrous thing here. In spite of the risks, she somehow had to get it away and put it somewhere that it could never harm Clark again. Clark might be in this building or he might not be. The chances were that if he was a prisoner, he had been moved long since. But the meteorite was here, within her grasp. If she waited and they figured out that she had been here, everything could vanish, the meteorite included. A ticking time bomb, just waiting to ambush Superman again. There really wasn't much of a choice to make, and she knew it. In spite of the fact that in doing so she would give away her presence here, and they just might make the connection between Clark's break-in, her interview with Van Doren earlier this afternoon, and the theft, she didn't see any other option. Moving deliberately, Lois crossed the room to the glass case. The rock inside looked harmless enough to the naked eye. Only three people on Earth knew what it could do, so why had Van Doren gone to the trouble he had to steal a meteorite? A small, metal plaque on the inside of the case caught her eye, and she leaned forward to read the printing on it. REMNANT OF NIGHTFALL ASTEROID Destroyed by Superman November 29, 1993 Lois stood still for another long moment, taking in the information. If it was true, it explained a great deal. How they could tell that this was a piece of the giant asteroid she had no idea, but she was sure there were ways. Dr. Klein could probably tell her... Of course! That was exactly where she should take it! Dr. Klein could examine it and lock it in the S.T.A.R. Labs Kryptonite vault. He was the one person she could trust with the knowledge of what this thing was and the damage it could do, because he already knew about it. Lois carefully lifted the lid of the glass case and removed the meteorite. It was heavy, but not too heavy for her to carry. She tucked it under one arm, grimacing at the weight. Time to get out of here, now, before she was caught. The snow had begun to fall once more, she saw, when she emerged from the side door of the office building at last. She made her way to the Jeep, parked half a block away, and let out her breath when she slid into the driver's seat and closed and locked the door behind her. She set the meteorite on the floor in front of the right passenger seat and threw a piece of newspaper over it. That should conceal it well enough until she could get it to safer quarters. She started up the engine and drove quickly away, careful to observe all the traffic laws. The last thing she needed was to get stopped by a cop right now. A glance at her watch showed her that it was past two a.m. She checked a second time to be certain she had not read it wrong. No, it was two in the morning, all right. The time she had spent in the office building certainly hadn't seemed that long, but she hadn't been paying attention to the time, after all. With one hand she pulled off Clark's black, knit cap and shook her hair free, then reached for the cell phone. Dr. Klein might not like being awakened at this time of night, but she wasn't about to wait to get this dangerous piece of mineral someplace where it could do no more harm. . . . . . "Hello?" Dr. Klein's sleepy voice answered on the tenth ring. "Dr. Klein?" Lois didn't realize until she spoke that she was trembling all over. Reaction, she tried to tell herself firmly. Her body wasn't listening to the sensible message her mind was trying to convey. Her voice was shaking so hard that she stuttered over his name. "It's Lois Lane." "Lois?" Dr. Klein's voice sounded suddenly more alert. "What's the matter? Are you in trouble?" "Yes, kind of. I've got something...I don't want to talk about it over the air. Can you meet me somewhere?" "I'll meet you in front of...the lab." Dr. Klein seemed to grasp the idea that she didn't want to mention details over the phone. "In about half an hour?" "Thank you." Lois had to clear her throat. "Thank you." "I'll be there as soon as I can." The phone on the other end went dead. Dr. Klein pulled up behind her barely five minutes after she had arrived. He jumped off of his motorcycle and hurried up to the driver's side of the Jeep. Lois opened the door and scrambled out. "Lois, are you all right?" "I...Yes, I'm all right...I think. Dr. Klein, I've found the meteorite!" "The what?" "The meteorite! The one that...affects Superman!" She took a deep breath, and realized suddenly that her knees felt weak. She sat down hard on the car seat. Dr. Klein bent over her. "Are you okay?" She nodded shakily. "I think so. Look, I've found the meteorite...and I'm in trouble. Can we get this thing locked up, please?" She turned and reached down to drag the object lying on the floor onto the front seat. "Holy moly!" Dr. Klein's exclamation caught her by surprise and she stifled a giggle. Then she saw that he was staring at what she held. She looked down. The upper face of the rock was glowing with a thousand tiny shifting points of green and red, glittering and sparkling in the darkness. She felt the breath catch in her throat. "Kryptonite!" Dr. Klein reached out to touch the blackened, incongruously beautiful surface of the meteorite with one finger. "Yes, I'd say you're right. So this was the cause of Superman's problems all along. A unique combination of red and green Kryptonite..." "Dr. Klein!" "Oh, uh, yes. This way, Lois." He stood back to let her out of the car. "We better get this into the vault." He seemed to consider something briefly. "Uh, do I want to know how you happened to find this?" "No." "Oh. Okay. What kind of trouble are you in?" Lois handed him the meteorite and stood up. "I'm not sure." She drew in a deep breath and blew it out. "Let's get inside and I'll explain. I...don't like standing out here in the open right now." . . . . . "It looks like an ordinary meteorite in normal lighting." Dr. Klein was examining the thing under the bright lights of his lab. "I'll give it a closer examination tomorrow, but there appears to be something buried just under the surface on this side." He scraped at the rock with a fingernail. "I've never seen anything quite like it before." "Me, neither." Lois rubbed her face. The adrenalin rush of her earlier activities had long since worn off and the fatigue of having had barely three hours of sleep in the past tension-filled twenty-four was beginning to tell. "Dr. Klein, could this be a piece of Nightfall? The person who...had it thought it was." "It could be. It might explain Superman's first bout with amnesia. It would certainly be consistent." Bernard Klein looked keenly at her. "You look tired, Lois. If you're in some kind of trouble, maybe I can help." She shook her head. "I doubt it." "Well, why don't you tell me about it? You know you can trust me." She nodded, and rubbed her face again. "I found this in the possession of the man who stole it--or had it stolen--from the museum. He's a collector. Anyway, I found it by accident--I was trying to find out..." She broke off. "Dr. Klein, Superman and Clark were investigating this man and they've disappeared. Superman may have been exposed to the meteorite, and..." Again she broke off. "I found some evidence that they'd been there. I'm afraid something has happened to them. But when I found this, I couldn't just leave it there! And if they figure out I had something to do with it's disappearance, they may come after me, too. That's why I had to get it to a safe place. I'm pretty sure they can't trace it here because they probably haven't noticed it's gone yet, but they will by tomorrow. I'm a little afraid to go home." Somehow Dr. Klein seemed to be following the thread of her rather incoherent explanation. He nodded gravely. "Hmmph! I don't blame you." He rested a hand on the blackened stone. "I'll lock this up in the vault in a lead box. Nobody will see it, I promise you, Lois. And I hate to say it, but I don't think we should give it back to the museum, either." She couldn't suppress a small laugh. "I think you're right." "Good." He hesitated, seeming a little embarrassed. "If you're afraid to go home, I guess I could offer you the spare bedroom at my place." Lois looked up in surprise. Dr. Klein's face was distinctly pink, but he didn't look away. "I mean, I'm not much protection, but at least no one would know where you were." She smiled at him, touched by the gesture. Dr. Klein didn't say much, but he'd proven himself to be a good friend to Clark and her over the last year. "Thanks, Dr. Klein, but I think I'll get a motel room. Just please keep this thing safe!" He looked relieved. "You don't have to worry about that. If Superman's all right--and I sure hope he is!--he's never going to have to deal with it again." He rubbed a finger over the burned rock once more. "I'm going to run an analysis of this tomorrow. I think I can determine if it *is* a piece of Nightfall, at least to my satisfaction, by comparing it to the analyses of the other pieces that have been found. There are five that have been authenticated, you know, in different museums around the world. They should give us enough information for a comparison." . . . . . In the Jeep once more, Lois rested her head against the back of the seat for a moment. God, but she was tired! And she still didn't know what had happened to Clark. He wasn't dead; she was almost positive of that, but if he was wandering around out there on the streets of Metropolis without his memory, how was she going to find him? If he was a prisoner--less likely, but still possible--finding him was going to be even harder, unless his memory came back and he got away on his own. And how long *would* it take for his memory to resurface? The other times he had been exposed to it, his contact with the radiation of the meteorite had been limited to a few seconds at most. Who knew how long it had been this time? And if it *had* been a longer time than the previous ones, would it take longer for his memory to come back? Would it *ever* return? "Oh, Clark!" she whispered to herself. "Please come back to me!" After a few moments of succumbing to self pity, she sat up and resolutely wiped her eyes. This was getting her nowhere. She had to find some place to stay for the night, then figure out her next move. Her cell phone lay on the seat. She had kept it turned off most of the time for the last few hours, but now she picked it up and dialed her home phone number. When the answering machine came on, she punched in the code that would replay her messages. If Clark had started to recover his memory, she thought, he might try to call her. There were seven calls from her mother, one from Jimmy to tell her that he had developed the film in Clark's camera, and one from Perry. "Lois, if you get this message call me right away, even if it's two in the morning! This is urgent!" Lois glanced perfunctorily at her watch. It was four o'clock in the morning. With a devout prayer that Perry really meant what he said, she punched in his number. "H'lo?" Lois cringed mentally at her editor's sleepy voice. "Chief? It's Lois. I'm sorry I woke you up, but..." "Lois, honey, are you all right?" Perry's voice was suddenly wide awake. "Yes. What's the matter, Perry?" "Thank Elvis! I've been worried sick! Your snitch, Bobby Whats-his-name, called me at home because he couldn't get hold of you! He wouldn't leave a message on your machine, and he wouldn't tell me what he wanted to pass along to you, but he wants you to call him right away. Said it was life or death. He was scared out of his wits, or I don't know snitches! Are you *sure* you're okay?" "Yes, I'm fine." "Where are you? I tried callin' you a couple of times, but all I got was your machine, so I hung up. Last time was about midnight." (continued in Part 6) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:36:35 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger Part 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "I'm in my car. I've...been busy. Trying to find Clark." "I'm callin' the police in the mornin'," Perry told her. "Clark found somethin'--I saw the pictures he took when Jimmy finished developin' 'em." "What?" "Not enough evidence, but it's beginnin' to look more and more as if he was right. Go on and call your Bobby Whosits. If it's an emergency, you don't want to wait too long. And Lois..." "Yes?" "For Elvis's sake, call me if you need help. Or if Clark...Well, if you find him." "I will, Perry." Lois hung up, biting her lip. It was obvious Perry didn't hold out much hope for Clark, but then he didn't know about Clark's alter ego. Clark was alive. He had to be. After debating for a few moments, Lois called Bobby Bigmouth. This was certainly her night for waking people up at ungodly hours, she reflected as she listened to the phone ring. Bobby Bigmouth didn't sound at all sleepy when he answered the phone. "Hello?" "Bobby, it's Lois. What's the emergency?" "You sure took your time to call," Bobby said, sounding testy. "I haven't dared to close my eyes all night!" "I'm sorry," Lois said. "I didn't get your message until a few minutes ago. What's wrong?" "What, you never sleep? Look we gotta meet as soon as possible. There's an old chocolate factory over on Palmetto--" "The one that went out of business five years ago?" "That's the one. I'll meet you there in half an hour. And be sure you're not followed. If I see anybody but you I'm gonna disappear and you can deal with this yourself. Understand?" "Deal with what, Bobby?" Lois frowned into the dark. Bobby didn't sound like the Bobby Bigmouth she knew. "Never mind. You're gonna owe me big for this one." The line went dead. . . . . . The old chocolate factory was on the edge of Suicide Slum. Along with other businesses in the vicinity, it had become a victim of the general deterioration that permeated the whole area. The doors were closed, the windows boarded over. Graffiti smeared every flat surface of its outer walls that could be reached by a tagger with a can of spray paint, and debris littered the ground. The snow had gathered in little pockets here and there, pristine and white in the light of the single working street lamp, but in other places it had been beaten into a muddy, brown mess by the shuffle of many passing feet. It was snowing again, though, and the dirt and grime were slowly being covered with a veneer of white. Lois pulled her Jeep as close to the building as she could and sat still for a long moment, surveying her surroundings. Except for the lazily drifting flakes, nothing moved within her range of eyesight. At this hour, and this temperature, almost everyone was under some kind of cover. The dirty tenements with their broken windows and "condemned" signs were probably shelter to more transients and homeless than she could count. Something moved at the edge of her vision. She turned and saw a shadowy form in the shape of a man gesture cautiously to her, beckoning her toward the cover of an alcove with a threadbare, overhanging awning. For a long moment she hesitated, and the gestures became more insistent. Then she caught a glimpse of the profile as the man turned, and she recognized Bobby Bigmouth. She opened the door and got quickly out. The arm gestured her back into the alcove, and as soon as she approached within an arm's length, he seized her wrist and pulled her into the shadows. "Were you followed?" he demanded. "For Heaven's sake, Bobby," she snapped, the vehemence not reduced in the least by the fact that she was whispering. "It's four-thirty in the morning! What person in his right mind is going to be out following somebody at this hour? What is this emergency?" Bobby didn't answer directly. He pulled her after him, and through a broken door. "This way." Once inside, they stopped. Bobby let go of her wrist and turned to face a particularly deep, black shadow. "It's okay," he said gently, and Lois was stunned at the difference in his tone. "You can come out. This is Lois." Slowly a shadow moved within the other shadow, and took on the form of a man. The faint glow of the streetlight that filtered through the boarded up window reflected off of glasses, and Lois knew all at once who it was. "Clark?" The word was a half-sob. Clark moved cautiously out of the darkness to within a few feet of her. Lois didn't move for a long moment as she took in her husband's appearance. His clothes were torn, and the front of his dark shirt was streaked with rusty stains that could only be blood. He was wearing a coat that was obviously second-hand and a little too tight, but his glasses were still in place, although one lens was cracked completely across. He had a heavy five o'clock shadow, and he looked lost and scared, exactly as she had imagined he might, wandering around the huge city without his memory. He stared intently at her, and slowly his expression changed to one of half-recognition. "This is Lois," Bobby repeated, still in that gentle tone. "She's your wife. She'll help you now, Clark. It's gonna be all right." "Clark?" Lois stretched out a hand to him, and he took it without hesitation. She gripped it tightly. "Thank God you're all right!" She turned to Bobby. "Where did you find him?" The informant shrugged. "He was hiding in the subways. Didn't have a coat, either--I don't know why he didn't freeze to death. Does he always wear a Superman undershirt? Nah, don't answer that. Somebody I knew recognized him and called me--the word was out that you were looking for him. I had the devil's own time convincing him I was on his side, though. He was scared half to death. I took a big risk, I'll tell you! I've been hiding him at my place since about eleven last night. I think somebody tried to kill him." Lois squeezed Clark's hand more tightly. She had very little doubt that Bobby was correct. Probably only the fact that he was Superman had saved his life. Whether his memory would return was another question altogether. "Thanks, Bobby," she said. Her voice came out sounding choked. "You're right, I do owe you big. More than I've ever owed you before, and I'll see that it's paid." She had to clear her throat sharply. "How about a gift certificate to that new steakhouse--the Metropolis Sagebrush Barbecue Pit? I hear it's pretty good." "You know, Lois, you've got class!" Bobby said, with sudden enthusiasm. "I've been wanting to try that place." "Consider it done," Lois said. "I'll get it for you tomorrow. Is that okay?" "Sure!" Bobby grinned widely, the first grin Lois had seen on him that morning. He turned to Clark and patted him on the shoulder. "You go with Lois, Clark. She'll take good care of you. You'll be your old self in no time." He glanced at Lois. "You let me know how he is later, Lois. He's a good guy. All the snitches know Kent's as good as his word." "I will." A thought occurred to her, a possible solution to the problem of Van Doren's collection of illegal "rarities". "Bobby, I need to tell you something. I can't go to the police, but you can. I can't be connected with this in any way. I found something tonight..." Succinctly she described what she had discovered. Bobby's eyes widened as she talked. When she finished, he pursed his lips in a low whistle. "You know, they aren't gonna go in there just on my word, don'tcha?" "I know. But they can watch him. He won't be able to make it disappear easily until Clark and I find a way to pin something on him. Can you relay the information--without letting on that I told you?" He seemed to consider that for a long moment, then nodded. "Sure. But just be sure you add a tip onto that certificate." With that, he turned and vanished out the door, leaving Lois and Clark alone. . . . . . "I've found him, Perry," Lois said quietly. Snow brushed softly against the windshield, collecting against the wipers in little drifts, and the hood of the Jeep was blanketed in white, gleaming luminously in the dimness. "He's kind of shaken up, but he's going to be all right, I think. Bobby thinks somebody tried to kill him." "Do you need any help, honey? A doctor or anything?" "No, not right away. I'm going to take him to see his own doctor in the morning. He'll be all right until then. He's mostly just very tired. I'm pretty tired, too, so we're just going to get some sleep." "That's a real good idea," Perry said. "You get some rest. I'll expect you at work when I see you. Tell Clark I hope he feels better soon." Lois turned off her phone and glanced at Clark sitting in the seat next to her. He was looking at her, obviously waiting for her to decide what to do next. She smiled and reached out to take his hand again. She couldn't seem to stop doing that. It was just so good to have him here, safe, even with the problems of his memory loss still to cope with. "I think we should check into a motel for the day, Clark. I'm dead on my feet, and you don't look much better. After we've had a few hours sleep we'll both be able to think more clearly." "Okay." He glanced out at the lightening sky. "Don't we have an apartment or a house of our own, or something? Bobby said you're my wife." "I am. We've been married about two months. But after what happened to you...well, I think somebody might be after me, too. I don't want them to find us until we're both more...ourselves." "You mean...until I've started remembering things." His voice was low and hesitant. "How do you know that I will?" "Clark, you will!" Resolutely, she pushed any doubts to the back of her mind and spoke with all the conviction she could muster. "This has happened before, and your memory always came back. It will this time, too." "I've done this before?" He sounded incredulous. "And you were still willing to marry a man who apparently loses his memory without any warning and can't remember you? Only..." He paused uncertainly. "Only what?" "Only--I sort of do. I knew when Bobby brought you in there that I could trust you." She started the engine and pulled out onto the icy street. Snowflakes drifted down endlessly, almost like powder, to be swished away by the wipers. She squinted, trying to see through the soft, glittering cloud that sparkled a muted pink in the subdued light of pre-dawn. "It's a long story, Clark. You don't really make a habit of this. It isn't your fault, and it's never going to happen again because Dr. Klein and I will see to it that it doesn't." He frowned at the windshield. "How do you know? Am I some sort of mental patient or something?" "No, of course not!" She spoke sharply. "You're a very successful investigative reporter, and the man I love!" She took a breath to get her voice under control. "Look, when we've both had some sleep, I'll explain the whole thing. There's a reason all of this happened, and why it won't again. You have to believe me, Clark. I know what I'm talking about, but it's just too complicated for me to go into now, as tired as I am. I haven't had more than three hours sleep in over a day and I'm exhausted." "Because of me." "No! Well," she amended, "only partly. After I knew you were missing. But you would have done the same for me. Look, just trust me on this. It *will* be all right, and I'll clear it all up for you after I've had a nap." The last word was almost smothered in a jaw-cracking yawn. "Are you sure you can drive all right?" "Yeah. At least long enough to get us to a motel." Another yawn. Clark grabbed the wheel as they almost swerved into the curb. With the stress of Clark being missing removed, she realized drowsily that fatigue was catching up with her. She shook herself awake and concentrated on her driving. She woke with Clark shaking her gently. They were in the parking lot of the EconoTel, and she was in the passenger seat. She yawned hugely and forced her eyes open. "Did I fall asleep?" "Yeah. I had to take over," he said, sounding apologetic. "I figured it was better than crashing. Is this place all right?" "It's no Lexor, but it'll do." Lois pushed the door open and got out, bracing one hand on the Jeep. She couldn't remember when she had ever been this tired before. Later, she barely remembered crawling into bed. She did recall snuggling up to Clark and his arm around her as she fell asleep, but everything else was a blur. Her dreams were full of pointless action and made little sense, and when she woke, it was with the guilty feeling that she had overslept and missed an important appointment. Her head felt thick, as if it were stuffed with cotton, the usual effect of having stayed awake too long and not slept long enough. She was cuddled tightly against another warm body, and the sound of quiet breathing reached her ears. Carefully, she turned her head. Clark was there, sound asleep. He no longer wore his cracked glasses, and now, in the light that had crept into the room around the edge of the drawn shade, she could see the faint crusting of blood on his nose and upper lip. A nosebleed? Superman had had a nosebleed? It had to have been the Kryptonite, she decided. How long had he been exposed to that stuff? And how had he wound up hiding in the subway? At least she had him back now, and he was safe. The rest they could cope with. It was funny, she reflected drowsily, that she should be worrying about the most powerful of all men, the man who boosted rockets into orbit and burst through brick walls without a scratch. But even Superman occasionally needed someone to look out for him while he watched out for the whole world, and that was her job. A job that very much needed to be done. Lois pulled her arm free of the blankets and squinted at her watch. She sat up abruptly. It was one-fifteen in the afternoon! Clark opened his eyes and looked up at her for a long moment, then he blushed. "The room only had one bed," he began. "And you wanted me to get in with you..." "Clark, we're *married*! It's all right, really!" "Yeah, I know. I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea. You were pretty tired, and I...didn't want you to think I was trying to take advantage of you. I mean..." (continued in Part 7) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:38:50 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger Part 7 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Honestly, this nobility stuff could get wearing really fast. "I may *want* you to take advantage of me later tonight. It depends on how tired I am. But, Clark, you're my husband. Just because your memories have gone temporarily AWOL doesn't change that. Yesterday I was afraid I'd never have you lying next to me in bed again. You have no idea how that felt." He reached up to stroke her face with one finger. "Maybe I do. When I saw you there this morning, it was like I was hit by lightning or something. I still couldn't remember anything, but somehow I knew it was going to be okay. Does that make any sense?" "Oh, Clark, of course it does." She put her own hand over his and held it to her cheek. "And it *is* going to be all right, I promise. But now we need to get up. I want to take you to see Dr. Klein so he can examine you and try to find out how much damage was done. And before I do that, I need to explain a few things." . . . . . While Clark was showering, Lois fetched the sweatsuit she kept in the back of the Jeep for just such unforseen emergencies. Her own clothes would do until she could retrieve the spare outfit she kept at the office. They weren't exactly professional, but they would pass. Clark, on the other hand, couldn't possibly escape notice in what he was wearing--*either* of the outfits he had been wearing!--especially considering the dark growth of stubble on his face, and until he remembered how to use his heat vision, there wasn't much they could do about it. Besides, when she took him to S.T.A.R. Labs, he was going to have to go as Superman. That had taken some real convincing, even with the evidence of the Suit, since he didn't remember Superman, either. But the motel supplied a complementary toiletries kit left with the soap, washrags, towels and so forth, and at last he had to admit there was no other explanation for what had happened to the razor when Lois had demonstrated on his beard. While she waited, she called Dr. Klein and let him know she was coming in with Superman, and then, bracing herself, she called her mother. Ellen was as upset as Lois had expected. Why hadn't Lois answered her calls yesterday? Her own sister was in the hospital, and Lois hadn't seen fit to call her, or even find out how her mother was holding up under the strain! Lois gritted her teeth, waiting for her to run down, then, at the realization that it would take too long, she seized the opportunity when Ellen paused to take a breath to break in. "Mother! I didn't even get your messages until four in the morning! I couldn't call you then!" "Well, why didn't you say so? Honestly, Lois..." "Mother! Clark was mugged yesterday! I did call the hospital about Lucy, and I sent her flowers, but I..." "Well, never mind that. I'm going to see her this afternoon. Are you coming with me or not?" Lois took a deep breath. "I won't be able to make it until evening visiting hours. I'm taking Clark to the doctor, and Perry expects me in to work sometime this afternoon." "Oh." Ellen was silent for a moment. "In that case, I'll wait for you. Can we meet there?" "Of course. We can go together." The bathroom door opened, and the sight of Clark in nothing but a towel momentarily distracted her. "Um, where was I? Oh, yes. Why don't we meet in the hospital lobby about six-thirty?" It took a little more verbal dancing, but she managed at last to get away from Ellen with the excuse that they were going to be late for Clark's appointment. Lois thankfully set down the phone and turned to her husband. "Here, Clark, I got the sweatsuit out of the Jeep. It will be less conspicuous than what you were wearing, and you can't wear the Superman suit until it's washed. What *is* this stuff on the shirt, anyway? Oil? Be sure to comb your hair back so you look like Superman, and stand up straight like I showed you." He nodded, taking the sweatsuit from her. "Are you sure this is going to work?" "Trust me. At least half of Superman's disguise is his attitude, and the fact that nobody considers the possibility that he might be someone else." "How about this Dr. Klein?" "He's your friend, but he doesn't know, either. Just *be* Superman. He won't expect you to remember your powers. You didn't the last time, and he knows what happened to you, at least in general." "Okay, if you say so." Clark still didn't look convinced, but he retreated to the bathroom to dress. . . . . . "The signs and symptoms I see are similar to the ones you had last time, Superman," Dr. Klein was saying two hours later. "Only more severe. I can't tell how long you were exposed to the Kryptonite radiation this time, but there's definitely more physical trauma. I'd say you had a pretty close call." "But he will be all right, won't he?" Lois asked. "I hope so. Probably." Dr. Klein didn't sound completely sure. "Given his usual enhanced healing ability, he should repair the damage in a few days to a week, assuming no other complications appear." "What about the nosebleed?" Lois asked. "There was blood on his shirt and on his nose and upper lip." "Well..." Dr. Klein shrugged. "We know the effect of the radiation somehow renders him unconscious, if what happened last time is typical." "It did the time before that, too," Lois said. "Then I think we can assume the same this time, as well. It's possible that there was an attempt to injure or kill him. If he was exposed to the Kryptonite for any length of time, it would have rendered him vulnerable for a short interval. If someone struck him several times, a nosebleed would be one logical result." He flashed the small penlight in Clark's eyes again. "Are you having any headaches? Any dizziness?" "I did at first," Clark said. "When I woke up I had a really bad headache and a lot of dizziness, but there hasn't been any for about a day now." "He had about six hours of sleep this morning," Lois volunteered. "That may have helped." "Probably," Dr. Klein said. "The only advice I can give you is the same as last time. Take it easy, rest and recuperate. Things will probably come back in time, although it may take longer than before. At least Lois and Clark can help you with your memories to some extent. By the way, how is Clark?" he asked, turning to Lois. "You said you found them both?" "Clark's resting," Lois said, glancing at Superman. "He was pretty shaken up and caught a bad cold, but I think he's going to be all right." "Well, tell him to drink lots of fluids and stay in bed," Dr. Klein said. "He wouldn't want to pass it to anyone else." "I will," Lois said. "Have you found anything out about the meteorite?" Dr. Klein nodded. "I've been doing tests on it all morning. It's an ordinary nickel-iron meteorite so far as I can tell. I'm comparing its exact chemical composition against the other known pieces of Nightfall, and so far the results are very indicative..." "Dr. Klein, in English, please." "Sorry." The scientist grinned sheepishly. "From what I can tell, it's probably a piece of Nightfall. The thing that makes it different from other meteorites is what showed up on an x-ray, and a plot of its magnetic field." "What was it?" "There's a mass inside that isn't nickel-iron. It's quite dense and, judging from the evidence, I suspect it's a piece of Kryptonite, possibly from a collision in space. The flecks on the surface are both red and green Kryptonite, and my guess is that the combination of the two together is what caused the problem. At least we can make sure that it doesn't happen again." "That's something I'd be happy about," Clark said. "I completely understand, Superman." Dr. Klein rested a hand on his shoulder for an instant. "It must be frightening not to be able to remember. But the chances are it will pass. Just be patient." . . . . . "Where are we going now?" Clark asked as they pulled out onto the street once more. The snow had ended at last, sometime while they were sleeping, and the sun shone down brightly from a cloudless sky. "The Daily Planet. We've both got spare clothes there, and we can change. We've still got a job to do. Besides, it may help you with your memory--being around the office. Just remember, don't *tell* them you can't remember. If anyone asks, the beard is for our investigation of the possible assassination plot you were working on before you disappeared. I'll handle most of the talking. Just act as if you don't feel one hundred percent, okay?" "That won't be too hard," Clark said a little dryly. "I know. We'll just tell the truth. You woke up in an alley with a headache, blood all over your shirt and no identification, and wandered around in a daze for awhile until Bobby Bigmouth found you. You have no idea what happened, but we think someone tried to kill you." She fished in her purse for a comb. "Here. Better fix your hair again. You have to be 'Clark' now." "This identity thing could get confusing," Clark remarked, accepting the comb Lois held out to him. "Sometimes." She glanced at him as he leaned forward to look in the mirror and began to adjust his hairstyle. "Clark, what *did* happen to you after you woke up in that alley?" He handed the comb back, frowning a little in concentration. "I'm not completely sure. I was feeling sick and dizzy, and I knew something pretty bad had happened, but not what. I recall thinking I'd better hide out until I remembered who I was and what the danger was, and I eventually made it down into the subways. After that, I just spent most of the time trying to keep out of sight, until Bobby found me." "Oh, Clark." She reached out to squeeze his hand briefly.. "I wish you hadn't had to go through that." He smiled at her. "It wasn't so bad--especially after Bobby showed up. He really had to work to convince me that he was trying to help. But when he finally did, he took me to his place, got me something to eat, loaned me that coat and then did his best to get hold of you...he went to a lot of trouble for me." "I can see that." Lois considered what he had said. " I've never given him the credit he deserves, I suppose. He was a real friend yesterday. I guess you don't find out who your friends are until you really need their help. I'll get him that gift certificate this afternoon...and his 'tip' for the extra favor. We'll have to be careful, though. We don't want him to get a swelled head." . . . . . When they walked into the Daily Planet newsroom, the first person to see them was Jimmy, who hurried up the ramp to them. "CK! Are you all right?" "Mostly, Jimmy," Lois said. "Do you have those photos for us?" "I sure do! Wait until you see them. They came out nice and clear." "Good." As they reached the newsroom floor, she turned to Clark. "Why don't you go and sit down, Clark? The doctor told you to take it easy. Jimmy, let's see those photos." Perry's door opened and the editor came out. Lois grasped Jimmy by the sleeve and half-dragged him across the room to intercept their boss. "Perry, could I ask a favor?" "Sure, honey. How's Clark? He doesn't look like he feels too well." "Well, his doctor diagnosed head trauma, and a possible concussion. They want him to take it easy, but we've got this investigation going, too." "You want me to keep the pressure to a minimum. You got it. What happened, anyway?" Lois told them. Perry shook his head when she finished. "Great shades of Elvis! He's lucky to be alive! Okay, I'll be sure everybody goes easy on him. You know, he better start watching his back better or he's going to wind up with brain damage one of these days from too many knocks on the head." "Tell me about it," Lois murmured. "Now, " Perry continued, "about that story you were working on when all this started..." "We're on it, Chief," Lois told him. "Jimmy, can I see those photos now? I want to know what it was that nearly got Clark killed." "Right." Jimmy almost ran from the office, and met her on the way back to her own desk with the promised photographs. "Here they are. It looks to me like CK got too close for comfort." "Thanks. Oh, any word back from your father on Van Doren yet?" "Not yet. If I don't hear soon, I'm going to give him another call, just to be sure they gave him my message." "Don't take too long. The game is tomorrow." Lois turned and carried the photos to Clark's desk. He looked up from his computer screen. "What do you have?" "The photos you took in Van Doren's office." She opened the big envelope and spread them out on his desk. "Jimmy blew them up for us. Look at this." She indicated the first one. "This looks like a security schedule for tomorrow's game. And here's a detailed map of the campus...a schedule of events...and a receipt." "What's the receipt for?" "I can't quite tell. It's smudged. It's from Ollie's Uniform Shoppe--that's in downtown Metropolis. They sell all kinds of professional uniforms, like for nurses, security guards...They supply hotel staffs, professional catering services, um...just about any job that requires a special outfit." "Well, maybe they can tell us what this one was for. There's a receipt number here at the bottom." "I'll call them." Lois reached for his phone and began to punch in the phone number on the receipt. It rang several times and then a voice answered. A computer generated voice. "Now that's interesting," she said as she set down the receiver. "What?" "I'm getting a message that the number is no longer in service." "The receipt is dated less than a week ago. They can't have gone out of business that fast," Clark said. "I shouldn't think so. They've been around forever. Jimmy!" Jimmy hurried over to them. "Yeah?" "Find out about Ollie's Uniform Shoppe. Their number's out of service." "I don't need to," Jimmy told her. "Somebody torched it last night. I took the photos. They're closed down for repairs until further notice." "They're sure it was arson?" Lois asked. "Positive. It was firebombed." "Oh." Lois looked at Clark. "I suppose it could be a coincidence." "I take it you don't think so?" Clark asked. "No, I don't. Not really. Any word from your dad yet, Jimmy?" (continued in part 8) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:40:42 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger Part 8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "Not yet, but I'll give him a call now and make sure he got the stuff I sent." Jimmy hurried away. Lois lifted the photo of the receipt and held it to the light. "I take it you can't read it, Clark?" "I suppose I could if I was able to remember, huh?" "Maybe." "Let me see." He took it and squinted at it. Lois touched his glasses. "It helps if you don't look through these. Just lower them a little. Don't take them off." "Right." He bit his lip uncertainly, lowered the glasses and squinted at the photo. "The ink is smudged. It might be 'welder'." "I don't think welders wear uniforms," Perry said. Lois turned quickly as Clark shoved his glasses hastily back into place. Their editor was standing behind them. "Oh, hi, Perry. Did you want something?" Lois asked. "I was just thinkin', maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk to Henderson. He might not be able to do anything officially, but he could be sure his people are tipped off that somethin' might be in the wind." "I'll do it," Lois said. "I'll tell him everything we've found out so far." "That's probably a good idea." He surveyed Clark thoughtfully. "Are you sure you're all right, son? I heard what you said about not bein' able to remember." "The doctor said it was a temporary thing, Perry," Lois assured him. "His memory is just a little hazy. It's already better than it was. Don't tell anyone, would you not?" "Don't worry," Perry told her. "It's nobody else's business, anyway." He gave Clark a concerned look. "Don't push it too hard, Clark. I don't want you havin' a relapse or somethin', okay?" "I'll be fine, uh--Chief." The hesitation was more of a giveaway than he realized, Lois knew. Perry was no fool. She waited for him to comment, but he merely smiled and nodded. "If you say so. Just do me a favor; try not to let this happen again. My blood pressure won't stand it. Why don't you make that call, Lois." "Uh, right, Perry. Right away." She picked up the phone, one eye on her boss's retreating back. Perry could certainly be hard to figure out at times. . . . . . Henderson was his usual acerbic self when Lois got him on the phone, but he listened attentively to what she had to tell him. When she had finished he was silent for a long moment. "Well," he said finally, "you two have been busy little bees, haven't you? I'll keep the warning in mind, Lois. The last thing Metropolis needs is to have a royal Prince assassinated under our collective noses. I'd like copies of those photos, and I won't even ask how the Daily Planet got them, since I'm sure you won't tell me. It wouldn't, by any chance, have anything to do with that assault on Kent you reported earlier, would it? Never mind, don't bother to answer that. If any of his things turn up, we'll let you know. Thanks for the tip." At five-thirty the elevator chimed its arrival, and Lois looked up in time to see her mother step out. Oh, great. This was exactly what she needed. Clark glanced questioningly at her, and she realized she had muttered the words aloud. She inclined her head toward Ellen, who was descending the ramp toward them in a businesslike fashion. "My mother. You call her Ellen." He nodded, and turned to greet Lois's mother with a smile. "Hi, Ellen. What brings you here?" "My God, Clark, you look terrible!" were the first words out of Ellen's mouth. "What on earth happened to you?" Diplomacy was definitely not her mother's strong point, Lois reflected. She mentally counted to ten and spoke up. "Mother, I told you, Clark was mugged yesterday." "Well, that's no reason he couldn't shave," Ellen pointed out. "He looks like some transient straight out of Skid Row." "That's for our investigation," Lois said. "Never mind Clark's beard. Is something wrong?" "No. I was in the area, and I wanted to make sure you didn't forget we were going to meet over at the hospital at six-thirty." "We haven't forgotten," Clark assured her. "How is Lucy doing?" "Much better, thank you, Clark. Now, my nerves are another story. What with not being able to get hold of Lois at all yesterday, I've never had a worse two days in my life. I had to double my tranquilizers, and you know medications are expensive. If--" "Lois!" Perry strode up to the desk. "I need that article on the Wilson case. Are they going to appeal, or ...Oh, hello, Mrs. Lane." Ellen smiled at the editor. "Hello, Mr. White. I just dropped by to see Lois. Her sister is in the hospital, you know, with--" "I heard," Perry said. "I hope she's feeling better. You'll pardon me, Mrs. Lane, but we're on a deadline. I need Lois to finish her article and get it to me so I can edit it before we go to press." "I'm on it, Perry," Lois said. "We'll talk later, Mother. Six-thirty in the hospital lobby, sharp. All right?" When Ellen had left, Lois said," I already sent you that piece, Perry." "I know you did, sweetie," Perry said. "I figured you needed help, by your expression." "I did. Thanks for the rescue." "Only a temporary reprieve, I'm afraid," Perry said. "But you're welcome. Any more on that other thing?" "Some. Jimmy got hold of Jack Olsen at the N.I.A. He's checking on Van Doren's background. He says he has a feeling he's seen him before, but he doesn't know where." "Hmm. That's interesting." "Yes, it is. Wouldn't it be something if he turned out to be an enemy agent? And we'd have the story." "Don't count your stories before they're hatched," Perry advised her. "I take it you're going to the game tomorrow. You still have to get that interview with the Prince." "Wouldn't miss it," Lois said. "See to it that you don't. But try not to get in the way of any stray bullets, okay? I nearly lost one of my best reporters yesterday. I don't want to go through it again. Next time I might not be so lucky." . . . . . Punctually at 6:30, they met Ellen Lane in the lobby of Metropolis General Hospital. The busy hospital had an impersonal air, Lois thought. Staff members hurried past as she, Clark and her mother waited before the bank of elevators. The sound of an approaching siren cut off abruptly when an ambulance entered the hospital zone. A loudspeaker paged Dr. Everard to come to Emergency at once, and a pair of young women in pink uniforms emerged from the elevator that opened in front of Lois, giggling and chattering about a Dr. Jernigan, who apparently, at least in the opinion of the young women, resembled Superman and was the object of the adoration of the whole class. Belatedly Lois noticed their nametags and realized they were nursing students from NTSU, here for their clinical experience. They rode the elevator to the fourth floor and found Lucy's room. Ellen entered first, and stopped at the sight of her youngest daughter navigating her shaky way across the floor from the small lavatory toward her bed, rolling an IV pole along beside her. "Well," she said, "I see they've got you up walking. How are you feeling?" Lucy sank onto the edge of her bed, breathing heavily and clutching her abdomen. "Like my insides have all been beaten with a hammer," she said after she caught her breath. "But better than a couple of days ago." Very slowly and painfully, she slid under the blanket. "I'm starving, though. They haven't given me anything but juice and jello--oh, yes, I graduated to custard today. I'd kill for a hamburger and fries." "Now, Lucy," her mother said, "you know the reason for that. Your system needs time to recuperate. I remember after my gallbladder surgery I wasn't allowed solids for nearly five days! I'd had complications, you see, and..." "Here, Ellen, why don't you take the armchair," Clark interposed diplomatically. "It's the most comfortable." Ellen, neatly intercepted, could only accept gracefully. "Why, thank you, Clark." Clark smiled at her and turned to Lucy. "Lois and I will have to take you out to the Metropolis Burger Castle when you're out of here, I guess." "Mmm, don't tempt me," Lucy said. "I've been imagining a Dragonburger Special with all the trimmings and extra cheese." "You *must* be feeling better," Lois said. "Well, I didn't want to eat anything for about two days before I got in here. I've got a lot to make up for. Thanks for the flowers, by the way." "No problem." Lois glanced at the window sill, where several bouquets of flowers were lined up neatly. "You've got quite a few here. Who sent the others?" "Oh." Lucy pointed to a bunch of carnations. "Those are from my roommates. And those are from Mother, and right next to yours is the one from the Daily Planet. That was really nice of them, since they hardly know me..." Perry's work, Lois surmised. She'd have to remember to thank her boss. They chatted for a short time until a nurse poked her head into the room. "Dr. Jernigan specified only half hour visits for the first couple of days. Miss Lane needs her rest." Lois rose to her feet. "Dr. Jernigan? Where have I heard that name before?" "He's my doctor," Lucy said. "Gorgeous, too. He looks a lot like Superman, but he's married, unfortunately." "Oh, well, better luck next time," Lois said, grinning at her sister. "We'll try to drop by tomorrow, all right?" "Okay. Bring me some food next time, will you?" Clark chuckled. "Let us know when you're allowed solid food and we'll bring you that Dragonburger Special and fries." "With extra cheese and all the trimmings?" . . . . . A brisk wind was blowing when they emerged from the building and started across the parking lot toward their respective vehicles. Ellen's car was parked not far from the Jeep, so they walked together, skirting large patches of ice and muddy, trampled slush. The sun had set, but the lot was illuminated by floodlights set at regular intervals around the perimeter. As they approached the vehicles, two figures rose out of the shadow of a large van. Lois saw at once, and with resignation, that they were both armed. Van Doren, she thought. They had let down their guard, but he hadn't given up. His goons must have been following them and waiting for their chance. "We got her, Boss." It took Lois a second to realize one of the men was speaking into a cell phone. "Right where you said." "Oh, my God!" Ellen's voice rose above the sound of an approaching siren. "Quiet, lady." The other man's voice was deep and menacing. "All of you, get in your car. Don't do anything stupid and you'll get out of this alive." Slowly, they moved in the direction of the Jeep, and Lois inserted the key to unlock the door. The two men behind them were silent until the door swung open. Then the same voice directed, "In. And keep your hands in sight. You, blondie, in the back with me." "What? Not on your life!" The last word ended in a grunt as Ellen was pushed sharply toward the car. "I said *in*!" "Mother, don't argue!" Lois said. "Just do what they say." "Quiet." The man's voice was a low rumble. Lois slid into the driver's seat, glancing at Clark, who had gotten into the passenger side. He was watching her intently, and Lois could imagine the thoughts running through his mind. He was Superman, she had told him, invulnerable to bullets. On the other hand, he had a secret life to protect. On the *other* other hand, he couldn't let Lois or Ellen get hurt. "Clark," she said quietly. "Don't do anything." "Drive," said that deep voice in the rear seat. "And don't try anything, Pretty-boy, or the old broad gets it." "How *dare* you!" "Drive, lady. Not too fast. Turn right out of the lot." Lois followed the directions of their unwelcome passenger, and a short time later the Jeep turned into an alley where a large truck waited, the back open and a ramp leading up into the interior. Lois drove up the ramp and turned off the motor. Behind them the doors closed, and there was a clanking sound as they were locked from the outside. The surface beneath them lurched; the truck moved forward, and Lois felt Clark's hand clasp hers in the darkness. The truck jolted and rumbled on. Now and then it turned right or left. After a time it came to a stop and they heard the engine die. Silence enveloped them. The clatter and scrape of metal against metal made Lois turn sharply around. Someone was unbolting the doors. Subdued light flooded over them. The man in the back seat spoke again. "Get out." They were herded down the ramp into the dim interior of what must be a warehouse. Lois smelled sawdust, damp and mildew. Shadowy mountains of wooden crates rose to the right and left. What was it with them and warehouses? she wondered in an irrelevant part of her mind. They seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time in them. Two men were waiting for them as they reached the bottom of the ramp. One was the second man from the parking lot. The other was... Aaron Van Doren. The antiques dealer was as perfectly groomed as he had been the last time she had seen him. He waited patiently, looking wildly out of place in his surroundings, his tailored three-piece suit elegant and immaculate in contrast to the dirty warehouse in which he stood. Unlike his henchmen, he carried no weapon in his hands, but he was clearly the man in charge. He stood still, watching them approach, a faint smile on his lips. They were brought to a halt a few feet in front of them. The two groups stood looking at each other in silence. "Ms. Lane." His voice was completely courteous. He glanced at Ellen. "Ma'am." His gaze shifted to Clark. His eyes squinted and then widened slightly. "Mr. Kent. I must admit I didn't expect to see you again. Apparently my men were careless. That is unfortunate for them." The last sentence was delivered in a completely unthreatening tone of voice, but Lois suspected the men to whom he referred would not survive the evening. He turned to his prisoners. "Ms. Lane, I wish I hadn't been forced to this unpleasant expedient, but you left me no choice." Lois pushed down the shivering that was going on deep inside her and lifted her chin. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about. What the *hell* do you think you're doing? How *dare* you kidnap us! How..." "The meteorite, Ms. Lane." The words cut her off in mid-tirade. "What?" "The meteorite. You took it. I want it back. It's that simple. You give it to me, and I'll let you go free." There was a lie, if she'd ever heard one. Van Doren had no intention of letting any of them go, or they wouldn't be here facing him. He had tried to kill Clark once already. "I haven't a clue what you're talking about, Van Doren." "Yes, you do. You were photographed by a security camera, carrying the meteorite under your arm. Although others might not have been able to recognize you, I am something of a student of people. I recognized you by your distinctive walk. The meteorite, Ms. Lane." "You're crazy! I haven't any idea what you're talking about!" "Let's not play verbal games, shall we not? You're an intelligent woman. You and your husband, Mr. Kent, came separately to my office. I want to know why, and, equally importantly, how you knew about my unique...collection. I intend to have my meteorite back, and I want to know why you took it." "How many times do I have to tell you I don't know what you're talking about? What's so special about this meteorite, anyway?" The man smiled thinly. "Then let me explain," he said with exaggerated politeness. "The meteorite has something of a history, you see. It was found in Northern Africa almost two years ago and brought to the United States by...persons with whom I have had a lucrative relationship in the past. Before it left Africa, experts determined that it is an actual piece of the Nightfall asteroid, a true rarity, you must admit. I collect rarities, Ms. Lane. "When it arrived in Metropolis, the ship on which it was being carried had an unfortunate accident, and the meteorite was lost on the bottom of Metropolis Harbor. I searched for it without result. Then, by chance, it was dredged up, identified, and sent to the Metropolis Museum of Natural History. I recovered my property in my own way." "You mean you stole it." "Of course not. The director notified his...contacts that it had been found, and helped his people retrieve it for me. It was my property, bought and paid for. I simply took what was mine. Now you have taken it; I want to know why you took it when there were so many more obviously valuable choices, and I want it back." "I haven't taken anything. You have me confused with someone else." Van Doren didn't change expression. He shrugged and spoke to his confederates. "The old woman. Kill her." "What?" Ellen began. One of Van Doren's henchmen turned and aimed his handgun at her. Clark charged. The weapon fired. Lois saw Clark take the bullet square in the chest and keep going. He bowled over both men, and then Lois's attention was taken up as she snap-kicked Aaron Van Doren in the crotch. As he doubled forward, she kicked him again, this time in the face. He went down and did not get up. Abruptly there was silence. Lois took a deep breath to steady her racing heart and surveyed the situation. One of the men Clark had tackled was unconscious on the ground. The second was staring up at him in shock. Ellen stood staring at him, too, mouth half-open. She seemed to shake herself all at once. "Clark, are you all right?" she managed. "I saw him shoot you..." Lois stood still for a second, trying to think of what to say, and then she saw something lying on the ground right where Clark was standing. The flattened bullet. She walked casually over to it and picked it up. "He missed," she said, displaying the object in her palm. "Mother, would you get my cell phone out of the Jeep and call 911?" . . . . . "What a day!" Lois and Clark walked up the steps to their townhouse. Lois opened the door into the foyer, and they paused in surprise. The inner doors stood open and beyond the opening she could see that the house had been thoroughly ransacked. Clark pulled her back. "I take it you didn't leave it like this, yesterday," he said. "No, I certainly didn't." "My guess is that it was Van Doren's people, looking for that meteorite," he said. "Or for you. Stay here while I take a look." "How about I just come along with you?" she said as he entered the brownstone. Clark glanced back at her. "Are you always like this?" "Usually," she said. "Do you see anything?" "Only what you do. Do me a favor and at least stay behind me until we're sure no one's here." The look he gave her was a cross between exasperation and pleading. Lois took pity on him and hung back as he methodically checked the house. No one was there. Lois looked around at the mess and scowled. "If Henderson didn't already have Van Doren on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and grand theft, I'd have a few words to say to him." She glanced at Clark. "Does anything look familiar to you?" He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Dr. Klein wasn't sure I'd ever remember." Lois heard the distress in his voice and put her arms around him. "Give it time, Clark. It hasn't been all that long yet. When you slammed into the Nightfall asteroid it took over two days for your memory to return. And you were probably exposed to the radiation longer this time." "What if I never remember, Lois?" "Then I'll tell you everything I know about you, and your Mom and Dad will tell you everything they know. Together we know a lot. We'll deal with it, if we have to. The most important thing is that I still have you and you have me, and we love each other." She paused and looked sharply up at him. "Don't we?" He put his arms around her, as well. "Yes. I don't know anything else about you, or myself, but I know that." "Then it will be all right," she said, putting all the conviction she could into the words. "And we're not giving up yet. Come here, I'm going to show you your Suits. Maybe that will help." The next hour had an eerie sense of deja vu for Lois. A year and a half ago she had guided Superman around Clark's apartment, showing him everything that should have some meaning for him, telling him about Clark Kent and about himself, neither of them knowing that he was one and the same man, both afraid that Clark Kent was dead. Now Lois told him everything she could think of about him and his dual identity, about his life as an investigative reporter for the Daily Planet and as Metropolis's resident superhero. She told him of his extra-terrestrial origins and about his foster parents, about their sometimes rocky romance and about their two months of marriage. And she told him as much as she knew about his extraordinary powers, drawing on the knowledge she had gained during her short stint as Ultra Woman over a year ago. When she had finished, he stood looking doubtfully at himself in the mirror, clad in the Suit. "I actually *wear* this out in public? I hope you're kidding me." "No, I'm not. And you usually wear it under your civilian clothes the rest of the time." "How about the boots and cape?" She shrugged. "You never were able to explain how you do that. I'm afraid I don't know. I think that's something you're going to have to figure out on your own." Clark regarded himself in the mirror again with an expression of distaste. "It's hardly decent." "Well, your Mom did say that while you were wearing it no one would be looking at your face." She giggled suddenly at his expression. "We'll work it all out later, Clark. We still have a big day tomorrow. The game, and the interview with Prince Bobbo. And I still haven't caught up on my sleep." She eyed him thoughtfully. "And, to tell the truth, as good as you look in that costume, you look even better *out* of it." He turned bright red. "Um...you go on upstairs. I'll be up in a little while." "Clark, you don't have to be embarrassed. We're *married*!" He ducked his head. "I know. I *will* come up in a few minutes. Really." "Promise?" He nodded. "I promise." When she came out of the bathroom clad in her nightgown, he had still not made an appearance. With a slight frown, she opened the bedroom door. "Clark?" "Uh, don't come down!" His voice held a note of alarm. "I'll be there in a minute!" Lois eyed the grey haze of smoke rising through the air and, with a sinking feeling, hurried down the steps. The smoke pouring out from under the downstairs bathroom door told her the whole story. She knocked on the panel. "Clark?" "Don't open it!" his voice said urgently. There was the unmistakable sound of Superman's super-breath, and the volume of smoke abruptly diminished. After a minute, the door opened cautiously. Clark, still in the Superman outfit, stood there looking slightly dazed. Behind him, Lois could see numerous burned streaks on floor, walls and ceiling, some of them still smouldering slightly. The shower stall was going to need a complete replacement, she noted clinically. One of the walls had an enormous burned patch and the sliding glass panel was half melted. But Clark no longer needed a shave. She began to laugh. She couldn't help it. The giggles kept coming, and every time she looked at his guilty expression they started anew. "Well," she managed at last, her voice shaking, "at least you'll be decent for the interview tomorrow. But I think after that, we need to go someplace less...*flammable*...for you to practice!" (Continued in Part 9) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:43:15 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger Part 9 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The next day dawned bright and sunny. There had been a partial thaw the night before, and then the temperature had dropped sharply again, freezing the partially melted snow hard once more. The world was covered in a layer of ice, from which the sun glinted blindingly. They went to the Planet early to finish up a few small tasks before leaving for the game. Jimmy hailed them as they came out of the elevator. "My dad called!" "Oh?" Lois perked up at once. "Any news?" "Yeah! They identified Van Doren last night!" "Well, better late than never," Lois said. "Who is he?" "His name's Peter Van Groote. He's an arms dealer and a mercenary. He disappeared about three years ago. They thought he was dead, but when I sent my dad that photo, they ran it through their identification system. He doesn't have a mustache and beard any more, but it was him, all right! Interpol's been after him for years!" "Huh!" Lois glanced at Clark. "Look what we started. An arms dealer?" "Yeah. He was still in business, too. He's been supplying arms in a lot of those little brush wars between all the newly created African states." "Why doesn't that surprise me?" Lois asked of no one in particular. Clark found himself grinning at her tone. "How about his 'collection'?" "They're still cataloguing it. It's accounting for a lot of thefts over the past twenty years." "I'll bet." "And, thanks to you two, we got the inside scoop on it," Perry said, a smug note in his voice. "Davis is coverin' this latest development for the Planet, but I'll expect a sidebar from you later about the gentleman in question. After my blood pressure goes back down. If I'd known you were dealin' with a character like that, I'd have had heart failure, Lois." "He wasn't that tough, Chief," Jimmy pointed out. "After all, Lois kicked him in the..." "Never mind that," Perry said. "Don't you two have a football game to attend? It's a sellout, so you'll want to get there early. The Prince is givin' a press conference right before the game, too, about the unrest between his country and their neighbor. I want you to cover it. Some of his uncle's supporters are apparently suggestin' that the situation makes this a bad time for a new King to take over. Try'n get a quote from him about that." "We're leaving in a few minutes, Chief," Clark said. "We just had a few things to take care of first." He looked around the room as Lois rummaged through her desk for the recorder she had left there the night before. Did any of the faces of his co-workers look familiar? He thought so, although it could simply be that he had seen them yesterday. It seemed more than that, but he supposed he might be reading more than there really was into it, simply because he wanted so desperately to remember. Patience, Dr. Klein had said. Patience was the key, but it was hard to be patient about a part of his life that was this important. . . . . . They pulled out of the underground lot right behind Jimmy and Maurice on their way to cover the actual game. The road leading to the University itself was jammed with cars; the game had been well publicized in the last few days, after all, and it took nearly two hours for them to make their way into the parking lot at Echo Stadium. Lois beat out another car for a parking space and ignored the gesture the other driver sent her way. Clark had to grin in sheer pride at her. And she was *his* wife. It was becoming increasingly clear to him that his judgement had been flawless when he had chosen to fall in love with this human tornado, even if the circumstances eluded him. How could *any* man be this fortunate? After they locked up the Jeep, Lois took Clark's hand She had been doing that a lot ever since Bobby had brought him to her, and Clark had no objection. Quite the opposite. "The press conference is at Connell Hall," she said. "That's over to the left and down the street. I checked the map before we left. It's the music conservatory. They're holding some sort of little buffet there for the journalists afterwards." Jimmy jogged up to them, camera in hand. "Perry told me to go with you to the press conference," he informed them. "Maurice is going on into the stadium." "Sure." Clark smiled at Jimmy. He seemed a personable, bright young man and Lois had told him how he had found Clark's dropped camera in Van Doren's conference room. Clark liked him, and was trying hard to recall details of their acquaintance. Wasn't Jimmy the one with a new girlfriend every week? That seemed to match, somehow. He would ask Lois later. Now somehow didn't seem the time to bring up that kind of question. Jimmy had on a pair of sunglasses against the glare on the ice which liberally coated everything except the surface of the parking lot They passed trees whose branches glistened like a million diamonds in the morning sun. Even the snow was brilliant. Clark squinted his eyes against the light. The whole world seemed far too bright, and he noted Lois was shading her eyes as well. Connell Hall was a small, brick building with ivy vines climbing over it. Members of the press were entering as they approached, and Clark could hear the hum of many voices inside. Quite evidently they were not the first to arrive. They followed the signs and made their way to a room where chairs had been set out and a small stage graced one end. It was rapidly filling up with members of the press and various other individuals, one of whom carefully checked their press credentials before allowing them to proceed. Security, Clark assumed. Somehow this whole scene was familiar. A memory? He thought so. He had definitely done this kind of thing before. Sudden hope flooded him. He was beginning to remember, exactly as Lois had said he would. Inside, people were milling around in no sort of order, all vying for the best seats. A buffet table was being set up to one side of the room, and waiters were laying out trays of hors d'oeuvres for the mob of ravenous press. Clark closed his eyes. There was something important about this whole scene, something he should remember. "Clark, are you all right?" Lois's voice cut through his thoughts. He opened his eyes to see her looking worriedly at him. He nodded. "I'm fine. Something..." "You're remembering something?" "Not exactly. Sort of. Something isn't right, Lois." A tall, dark-skinned man, with hair and a mustache the color of old silver, had mounted the stage and now took one of the microphones. He tapped on the device for attention, producing a sound which made Clark cover his ears. "If the members of the press would please take their seats..." The noise did not abate. If anything, it became louder. Again that excruciating sound as the speaker rapped on the microphone. "Please, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats!" Slowly the babble began to die down. Men and women found places to sit, and Lois, Clark and Jimmy somehow found themselves in chairs near the front row, on the left hand side, not far from the tables slowly being loaded with food. Clark looked around, trying to pin down that feeling of uneasiness. There was no obvious reason for it, but something was definitely sounding his inner alarms. There was a stir on the stage, and the last of the noise died as several persons emerged from the wings. One face among them was suddenly familiar to Clark. He knew this tall, proud young man with the innate air of dignity about him. He drew in his breath sharply. Prince Bobbo. His friend. The scared, ten-year-old he had known, about to be sent to school in a foreign country, was now a grown man. Abruptly that memory was clear in his mind, and with it an overpowering sense of danger. A waiter brushed past Clark, rolling a cart. A few stragglers were gravitating slowly toward the last remaining seats, but to Clark the air was suddenly charged as Prince Khalim Umbobolo Lusoto III moved toward the bank of microphones in the center of the stage, four men in plain, civilian clothing keeping pace with him. Clark closed his eyes again, grasping for that wisp of thought. This was all wrong. Bobbo wasn't out of danger. The danger was right here, in this room. The receipt. Superman had read it that night in Van Doren's office. The uniform wasn't for a welder. It was for a waiter. He turned his head, looking surreptitiously over the tops of his glasses. One of the waiters had moved forward and was reaching inside his jacket. His x-ray vision came on with a suddenness that almost took his breath away, and he saw the shoulder holster neatly concealed under the smooth, white coat. No time to run out and change, even if he could think of an explanation for it. His memories, still hazy and indistinct, couldn't supply him with what he needed fast enough. With a shout of warning he leaped to his feet, shoving two of his colleagues roughly out of the way, and hit the would-be assassin in a genuine football tackle, just as the gun emerged. The weapon discharged into the ceiling, and the two men went down with a crash into one of the buffet tables. Food flew. "Clark! Look out!" It was Lois's voice. Instinctively, he pinned his prisoner to the floor, body covering that of the other man, as a second shot rang out. Everything kicked into slow motion for Clark. The bullet went through his sleeve, ricocheted off of his arm, exited the jacket and buried itself in the wall. Belatedly, he realized there must have been a second gunman, planted in the crowd to eliminate the first one. If it had not been for his sudden flash of memory, Bobbo would be dead. Massive confusion reigned. Two reporters had grabbed the second man and wrenched his weapon away from him, and the bodyguards were hustling the Prince out of danger. And then, miraculously, officers of the Metropolis Police Department were rushing into the room. Someone helped him to his feet, and a couple of uniformed officers took custody of the gunman. William Henderson had somehow appeared out of nowhere, his voice cutting easily through the hubbub as he directed the removal of the two men. The person who had helped Clark to his feet was the silver-haired man whom he had first seen on the stage. He brushed crumbs solicitously from Clark's jacket. "Are you injured, Mr. Kent?" He shook his head as Lois arrived beside him. "No, I'm fine." "Your arm! The bullet..." "It didn't touch me," Clark said, rather breathlessly. "Just the sleeve." "You're luckier than you deserve," Henderson's voice said, dryly. Clark turned his head to meet the officer's eyes, but the man merely smiled incredulously and went on past. "Prince Khalim wishes to see you, Mr. Kent. And your lovely bride, of course. This way." Clark found himself and Lois being ushered out of the confusion and through a side door. He glanced down at Lois and put his arm around her. She looked up at him, a question written clearly on her face. "It's all right," he said, softly. "I remember." . . . . . "Anyway," Lois was saying, "the guy Clark stopped from killing Prince Bobbo was one of Van Doren's hired guns. There was an escape plan all worked out for him, but the Regent's people had other plans. It seems the second shooter was one of the Regent's elite bodyguard, and it was his job to take out Van Doren's man and eliminate any connection between him and the Regent. According to Henderson, they found evidence that was supposed to be planted that would set the shooter up as an agent of Upper Tanzanika, and give the Regent the excuse he needed to declare war." "Sneaky son-of-a-gun," Perry said. "And Van Doren?" "Business as usual," Jimmy said. "My Dad says he was helping the Regent to kill the Prince and start a war so he could clean up, selling arms to both sides. It's his modus operandi. Nice setup, if it had worked." "It's all here, Perry." Lois gestured at her computer screen. "Apparently when the N.I.A. showed up to collect Van Doren, Henderson went to them with the information we gave them yesterday. About the time Clark was tackling the gunman, some of Jack Olsen's men were arresting NTSU's Assistant Chief of Security. He was the one who gave Van Doren the security information in exchange for that collection of Native American jewelry from the museum--which is going to be the next thing we concentrate on, by the way. They were only a few steps behind the assassin, but if it hadn't been for Clark they'd have been too late. Actually, Van Doren is a lot luckier than he deserves to be, though. There was a plan in the works to take him out, too. The Regent believes in covering his tracks." Perry whistled softly, shaking his head. "Talk about wheels within wheels! So how's the Prince taking it?" "He's fine," Lois said. "He wasn't even very surprised. So now his Chief Advisor is the new Regent for the next three weeks until the end of the semester, when Bobbo graduates and goes home to be crowned. Clark and I are invited to the coronation as his personal guests, and the grateful government of Lower Tanzanika is going to give Clark some sort of medal for saving the Prince's life, whether he wants it or not." "Speaking of which," Perry said, looking around as if he had just noticed, "where *is* Clark?" That question was answered as the elevator opened. Clark Kent and Prince Khalim Umbobolo Lusoto III of Lower Tanzanika exited, arm in arm, followed at some distance by the silent bodyguards. The Prince was laughing heartily at something Clark had apparently just said. When they saw the little group gathered around Lois's desk, Clark waved, and the two men came down the ramp to join the others. Bobbo shook hands with Perry and greeted Lois and Jimmy casually; after all, he had met them some hours ago. "Clark and I are here to pick up Lois and Jim," he said. "I hope you've got that story done, Lois. You said it wouldn't take long." "I'm finished," Lois assured him. "I'm just about to LAN it to Perry, now." "Good," Clark said. "Bobbo's driver is waiting out front. We're celebrating NTSU's victory over Gotham, Perry. We've got dinner reservations at the Metropolis Sagebrush Barbecue Pit. A certain friend of ours recommended it highly to me." "Yes," the Prince said. "This Bobby Bigmouth is certainly unique, but Clark claims he knows his food. I want to hear more about him. He sounds like quite a character." "Oh, he is," Clark assured him. "He definitely is..." (Concluded in Part 10) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:44:43 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Assassin's Dagger Part 10 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Epilogue Lois put down the phone as Clark emerged from the bathroom, clad in his sleeping shorts. She gave a low wolf whistle. He bowed slightly. "Thank you. The feeling is mutual. So what did Ellen have to say?" "What else?" Lois said. "I have no family loyalty, or I wouldn't have left her and Lucy alone for so long. My job is going to drive her into an early grave, et cetera, et cetera. The usual." "Being kidnapped and shot at bothered her, huh?" Clark asked, deadpan. Lois rolled her eyes and continued as she crawled into bed. "But after yesterday, she thinks I did one thing right, after all." His eyebrows went up in quick surprise. "Oh? Well, that's an improvement. What was it?" "I married you." "Ah!" He grinned. "Your Mom's smarter than I gave her credit for." Lois stuck her tongue out at him. "Seriously, though," Clark said. "That was probably the strangest three days of my life. I'm just glad everything turned out all right for Bobbo. And for your sister--and your mother." He slid into bed and pulled the covers up. "And us." Lois scooted over next to him and he put his arm around her. "Well," she said, "it wasn't your average three days, that's for certain. And part of it was the most horrible twenty-four hours of my life." He pressed a kiss on top of her head. "I know," he said, very softly. "I kept telling myself that you were still alive," she said. "But I was scared, all the same. And after I found the meteorite and figured out what it had to be, and what must have happened..." His arm tightened around her. "I know. You showed incredible courage, Lois, and you did what needed to be done. That thing had to be brought under control. It's stolen my memories three times..." "Four." "Yeah, probably. At least that's over, thanks to you." "Are they back? All of them, I mean?" Clark hugged her. "Mostly. I'm sure the rest of the details are just a matter of time. But you know, in spite of everything I didn't lose the most important memory. All four times, when I didn't remember anything else, I remembered I loved you." He stroked her face gently. "Even when I didn't remember you, I did, if that makes any sense. You saved me again, Lois. When Bobby brought you in there and I saw you--all of a sudden I stopped being afraid. It was as if what I was missing was suddenly back and everything else was going to be okay." "Oh, Clark..." He bent his head to kiss her. "You're the center of my world, Lois. Without you I'm nothing. If anything at all came out of this, it made me more sure of that than ever. Superman came about because of you, and it's because of you that he's still here. He couldn't do without you...and neither could I." The kiss was longer this time, and more passionate. He could feel her press herself more tightly to him. With one hand, he reached out and fumbled with the light switch. The lamp went off. Lois's mouth smiled against his. "Welcome home, Superman" she whispered. The End ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:47:49 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Final Note MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Okay, there it is. Whew! Those of you who asked for it, you know who you are. Enjoy! Nan Smith ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 19:55:31 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Subject: Re: Final Note In-Reply-To: <3828C0B5.1532D278@earthlink.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 04:47 PM 11/09/1999 -0800, you wrote: >Okay, there it is. Whew! Those of you who asked for it, you know who >you are. > >Enjoy! > >Nan Smith But in what order should they be read? ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 22:09:30 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: Teri's career MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/9/99 1:03:54 PM EST, cschnall@MAIL.MED.CORNELL.EDU writes: << Oh, that's Extremist! I've seen that one, Is it the same? Carolyn >> Like I said I haven't seen the show, but the name sounds right to me. I read a whole bunch about it on the TCC boards. ;) Alexis ;-.) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 22:09:29 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: Kerths 2000, was Re: Important Message from the Fanfic Archive MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I know this is probably really premature, since the award already happened but can someone please tell me when the n-fic stories are due? I'm writing one right now and i need to know who to send it to when the time is right! =) But don't worry folks after it is written I'm going to go through it again and make is suitable for the fanfic people to read.. hehehe ;) Alexis ;-.) {who is getting excited by all of the Kerth Award talk...which is nice because she had a semi-bad day.. :(} ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 02:34:14 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Tara Smith Subject: Re: Final Note Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----------------------------------------------- FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 06:32:01 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Dagger's Edge Part 5 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Jimmy eyed her suspiciously. "You're going up there, aren't you?" She laughed unconvincingly. "Of course not. I'm going to call Henderson, and..." "You're not fooling me a bit, Lois." Jimmy wasn't budging. "I'm not going anywhere unless I know what you're going to do." Lois tried to glare him down, but the young photographer stood his ground. Suddenly she laughed. "You've been around me too long. Okay, I'm going to go out there and look around. With luck, I'll find something that'll bring Henderson's guys out in a hurry." "What about CK? Aren't you taking him?" Lois shook her head. "He's sleeping and I don't want to wake him up. He needs the rest. I'll leave him a note." Jimmy looked doubtful as she scribbled the short note to her partner, then appeared to come to a decision. "I'm coming with you." For a moment she was inclined to argue, but, after all, it would be just as well to have a companion. "Okay, then, let's go." ********** The drive to Thomas Barnes's property took the better part of an hour. It was, as Jimmy had said, north of the city, situated well off the main road, just barely within the city limits. After several dead ends they finally followed a rutted track that came to a chain link fence and a gate with a sign that warned: PRIVATE PROPERTY NO TRESPASSING "I think this is it," Jimmy said. "How do we get in?" "How are you at climbing fences?" Lois asked. "Not bad." "Okay. Let's park your car somewhere out of sight and we're on our way." They settled on a parking place behind a growth of scraggly bushes a short distance off the road. Lois surveyed the hiding place with the eye of an artist. "Well, nobody can see it from the road. No one should notice it unless they're really observant, or looking for it." Jimmy nodded and approached the fence. "Shall I give you a boost?" "Thanks." He held his cupped hands for her to step into and braced himself for her weight. Fortunately, Lois was both small and light. She placed one foot in his palms, swung a leg over the top of the fence and scrambled across. Jimmy followed a moment later. "Now where?" "Well, according to the aerial map, this road branches ahead. The left fork takes you to some kind of house. The other goes off into the hills, that way, and ends." "Yeah, but what does it end at?" Lois shrugged. "I vote we go to the house." "You're the boss lady. Lead on." ********** "Okay." Ed Morrison was seated comfortably on his brother's sofa, a beer in one hand. "Phase two is completed without a hitch. On to phase three. You have the stuff ready, Tom?" Tom Barnes nodded jerkily. "All here. But I don't see why we have to do it this way, Ed. I mean, it's a bunch of kids!" "Kids who are witnesses." Will set down his own beer with a thunk. "If we want to get away with this clean, we don't leave any witnesses alive." "They didn't see our faces," Tom protested. "How are they going to tell the police what we look like?" "Police identify people by a lot of things besides their faces." Ed's handsome features were remote, detached, as if he had no feelings at all for the scared kids they had herded into the old mine several hours ago. He probably didn't, Tom reflected bitterly. Ed had always been the one who planned things, and the consequences to others never appeared to bother him. As a matter of fact, it never seemed to bother him when his own brothers got hurt, either. "If we don't eliminate the witnesses there's a good chance someone will remember something they shouldn't. We don't risk it. Is that clear?" Tom hesitated. Ed's expression hardened. "Is that *clear*?" Tom nodded, albeit reluctantly. "All right," Ed continued, as if the small argument had never happened, "I want that mine entrance collapsed as soon as you can transport the explosives there. That should finish it. Then we go back to our own homes and do nothing out of the ordinary. No trips to Las Vegas, no unusual purchases. Everybody got it?" Both of the other men nodded. "All right, let's get to it. Take the pickup." It was at that instant that all three men heard the clear crack of a twig outside the window. Will was there in an instant, pistol in hand. "Hold it!" Ed strolled to the window and looked out as well. "Well, well. We seem to have a pair of eavesdroppers. Stand up, both of you." After a second, Tom saw two heads come into view; a dark-haired woman and a young man. Ed eyed them for a long moment. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" ********** Clark Kent woke slowly from his nap. The bedroom was dim, and he heard no sounds from the living room. He sat up cautiously, but the throbbing headache with which he had gone to sleep seemed to have departed. He ran a hand through his hair and carefully put his feet on the floor. "Lois?" he called. There was no answer. A glance at the alarm clock told him it was a few minutes before six. He had slept for over two hours. He stood up and padded to the door. There was no sign of Lois. He made a quick tour through the apartment but the place was empty. He stood for a moment, thinking. She had probably simply gone out for something, he told himself, a little uneasily. Surely she wouldn't have gone anywhere important without telling him. Who do you think you're kidding? a small voice inside his head shouted. This was *Lois* he was talking about here. Somehow amid all the scrambled memories, that fact stood out clearly. Well, where would she go? He didn't have the slightest idea. After a moment, he went to the phone. One of the speed dial functions was labeled clearly: "Planet". He punched that one. "Daily Planet," a voice answered after a few rings. "Editor's desk." Clark didn't recognize the voice, although it seemed familiar. "This is Clark Kent," he said. "Is Lois there?" "Just a minute." The voice became muffled. "It's Kent. He's asking for Lois." Another voice. "Let me have it." Then: "Clark! How are you feeling, son?" "Perry?" "At least you remember my name." The editor sounded pleased. "How's the head? Lois said you had a concussion." "Uh, yeah. I'm better. Listen, sir, I just woke up and there's no sign of Lois. Is she there?" "No, she's not. She called here awhile ago and had Jimmy doin' some research for her. He left about forty-five minutes ago. Said he was takin' it to her." "Neither of them are here." "Well, they'll probably be back soon," Perry told him. "You take it easy. Concussions are nothin' to fool around with." Well, that was no help. "Okay, sir. I'm sure you're right." *Sure*, he was. After Clark hung up, he considered. Jimmy had been bringing some research over for her. It was probably the stuff on that van and its owner. She'd promised to call him when she found out anything but, obviously, Lois was being protective again, and had decided that it was better for him to sleep. So, then, if she'd found out anything, she'd undoubtedly head right out and investigate on her own, no matter how dangerous it might be. But, she might leave whatever Jimmy had brought here in the apartment. He looked around again, and this time found it almost at once, right on the kitchen table. He sat down and read through it quickly. What Jimmy had found out did seem to back up the theory they'd talked about on the way back to Lois's. Which meant Lois was probably headed out to this Thomas Barnes's place right now, and might have Jimmy with her. Now what should he do? Lois's computer was on. It was possible she'd had Jimmy get her a map of the way. If his memories were right, Jimmy was into computers. It seemed logical. He tapped a key on the computer and after a second the screen saver disappeared, and a map was displayed. Thank God they'd been in too much of a hurry to close the thing down! He studied it for a moment until he was sure he could find the place, then grabbed his shoes and headed down the stairs. It wasn't until he'd gotten out on the sidewalk that he began to wonder how he was going to follow. Flying seemed a little problematical at the moment, but the difficulty was resolved a moment later. Lois's Jeep was parked across the street where they had left it a couple of hours ago. For a moment he hesitated. Could his reasoning have been wrong? Surely Lois would have taken the Jeep if she were going to drive out of Metropolis. Then he backtracked. If this place was as rural as they suspected, he couldn't see Lois risking her precious Jeep on possibly unpaved roads. Most likely they had taken Jimmy's car. He reached into his pocket and removed the spare key. A moment later he had pulled out onto the street and was headed north. ********** Jimmy's car was parked behind a screen of bushes, virtually invisible from the road. If he hadn't been alert, he would have missed it. Clark pulled Lois's Jeep up behind the little vehicle and cut the engine. He was obviously on the right track. Lois and Jimmy had been here, and not too long ago, because the hood of the car was still warm. They had probably gone over the fence, he reasoned, and proceeded to climb the barrier. The activity seemed quite familiar to him, and a stray memory supplied the picture of a farm house, and his mother and father. That was right. He'd been a farm kid before he'd become Superman. On the ground once more, he began to trot along the dirt road. If the aerial map he'd studied was correct, this road branched up ahead, one branch leading to a house, and the other off to the right through a forested area and into the hills where it ended. The inability to use his super powers was frustrating, especially now that he was in a hurry. Lois and Jimmy might very well be in trouble and here he was, grounded. The worst part was that he was sure he still had the powers--he just didn't remember how to use them, and every time he tried, it hurt. Well, he'd used his x-ray vision on the van, and that had definitely hurt. But how about hearing? It wasn't really an active power--it just involved input of sound. Maybe, if he just listened hard, focussed in, he could pick something up. Enough, anyway, to give him a clue about which way to go. He stopped and listened, trying to breathe as quietly as he could. His breathing sounded loud in his ears, and at last he held his breath, trying to hear anything, Lois or Jimmy's voice, perhaps. At first there was only the sound of the wind, the voices of the birds and the movement of small, unidentified creatures in the brush. But as he stood, trying to focus his hearing, other sounds began to make themselves heard. Voices. Many voices. The voices of children, some crying, some talking, all strangely muffled. Then there was a deeper voice, trying to calm the others. That must be the bus driver. They were coming from his right, and were some distance away. He began to run. ********** Lois was once more regretting her impulsive nature. Why hadn't she wakened Clark before she and Jimmy had come tearing up here to save the day? Of course, if she hadn't stepped on that dry twig they might still be undetected, but that was water over the dam. She tested the straps that held her to the wooden brace. She could feel Jimmy struggling with them as well, but the things weren't going to give. They were plastic ties, designed to take a lot of stress without breaking. The only thing that was going to get them off were cutters. The three men were out of sight right now, but she knew what they were doing. Just beyond the spot where she and Jimmy were tied, several of the supports had been knocked down, resulting in the collapse of that part of the mine shaft, and beyond that was the school bus and its passengers. Lois was facing outwards and she could barely see the nose of the battered, yellow pickup truck that had brought them here, parked just beyond the entrance. Beyond that the sky was brilliant with the pink and gold of sunset--probably the last one she would ever see, she reflected, ironically. Out there, the three men were preparing the explosives with which they intended to bring down the roof and bury the inconvenient witnesses, bus passengers and nosy reporters alike. Why, oh why hadn't she brought Clark? He was certainly strong enough to break the bonds, and would have been able to smother the explosives as well. Here they came, now, arms full of the implements for their dirty work. They didn't speak, merely busied themselves with the setting up of the explosive device. "You know," Lois said, "we're not the only ones who know about you. Superman found that remote control device in your van. Inspector Henderson is probably already on his way out here." One man stopped, looking at her uncertainly. One of the other two gave him a push. "Hurry up, Tom. She's just blowing smoke." "But she knew about the remote," the first man protested. "If the police know, they're going to get us for murder one." "If the police knew, they'd be here in place of these two," said the one called Ed. "They have no proof we put it there. Don't go all soft on me, now." The third man, Will, plodded past him. "Ed's right. Get a move on and don't listen to her." "She's telling the truth," Jimmy said. "The police might take a little longer, but they'll be here. If you kill us..." "Don't bother with it, kid," Will said. "I'm not listening." (Continued in Part 6) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 06:54:46 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: Final Note MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Start from the top and work down. The first is "Dagger of the Mind" The second "Dagger's Edge" and the third "Assassin's Dagger" I re-sent Dagger's Edge Part 5. It's farther down the list Nan Debby wrote: > At 04:47 PM 11/09/1999 -0800, you wrote: > >Okay, there it is. Whew! Those of you who asked for it, you know who > >you are. > > > >Enjoy! > > > >Nan Smith > > But in what order should they be read? ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 11:32:04 -0500 Reply-To: hess2@mindspring.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Claire Hess Subject: Re: How much would they tell their kids? In-Reply-To: <000501bf2b2c$36d8da80$89124d0c@computer> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT My gut feeling is that they would tell them only as they needed to know. Sharing your life experiences as family stories is a valuable part of giving kids a context for their identity, so the extent of the need to know would vary by the age of the child, and also by the particular experiences that the child went to the parent to discuss. Yes! I know about teens. Even they come fishing sometimes, particularly if they have some stories from when they were too young for details. Any other opinions? klair el Date sent: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 19:32:26 -0800 From: Eugene Ellison Subject: How much would they tell their kids? > Hi everyone! > > > I'm writing a fic, and it made me think of a few questions. It would > help me write the fic, now that I think about it. Okay, sorry for being so > weird. My questions are: > > 1. Would Lois and Clark tell their kids about Lex Luthor? > > 2. If they did, how much would they tell them? Would they tell the stuff > that was personal to them, like the cloning, and the almost-wedding? > > > Love,Misty hess2@mindspring.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 14:06:43 -0000 Reply-To: Yvonne Connell Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Yvonne Connell Subject: Re: Question for fic: Calling all newspaper workers! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Just a quick thank you to everyone who replied to my request for information. Is there anything you can't get an answer to on this list?! Yvonne (yconnell@ukf.net) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 13:38:58 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Terry S. Horowit" Subject: sunspot activity Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I was driving in my car listening to the news, and heard something about the next three years being a period of increased sunspot activity. And as often happens these days, I found myself applying this idea to Superman. After all, he is solar powered! How do you FoLCs think this increase in solar activity might affect Clark's powers - or would there be any noticeable affect? Would anyone be interested tackling this idea in a story? Just a kind of a thought... Terry ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 14:06:42 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Laurie Dunn Subject: I've Got a Crush on You MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit As I watched the rerun this morning, a question came to mind that I've had before. After the "Toasters" burned the Metro Club, the next scene has some men roller painting the wall on which was burned "Toasters". The first man with a roller looks like Jon Tenney to me. Does anyone know if it is? Just curious, LaurieD ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 14:34:00 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: sunspot activity MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/10/1999 1:38:40 PM Eastern Standard Time, horowit@UMIACS.UMD.EDU writes: << I was driving in my car listening to the news, and heard something about the next three years being a period of increased sunspot activity. And as often happens these days, I found myself applying this idea to Superman. After all, he is solar powered! How do you FoLCs think this increase in solar activity might affect Clark's powers - or would there be any noticeable affect? Would anyone be interested tackling this idea in a story? >> I think sunspots are actually cooler spots on the sun (hence darker). I'm not sure that the difference is enough to really impact on Clark's powers--at least not noticably. It might take a nanosecond longer for him to recharge, but I'm not even sure he'd notice it. --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 15:14:56 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Marnie Rowe Subject: Questions and Answers..? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey I am trying to write a fic and the intro is a game of twenty questions between Lois and Clark, this is before Lois knows and they are dating...but I have run into a snag..it has been so long that I have played twenty questions that I am having a hard time coming up with questions and answers for the characters...(PG-rated anyway) So I am asking that ppl try to think up one or two questions that with very little altering I can put in, so I guess the intro might be longer than the story for all the credits but my brain is just not working for this particular situation or if it was set later and a nfic I would be having no probs but since the rest of the story is done..well I am asking most respectfully for some help. :) Marnie Rowe Bumpkin@cgocable.net ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 15:26:50 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Yael Kfir Subject: Re: Question for fic: Calling all newspaper workers! Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Yvonne asked: << Is there anything you can't get an answer to on this list?! >> And it reminded me the question the Warner brothers (from Animaniacs) (hey, I've never said I'm a mature person ) asked the smart goat (or at least I think he was a goat): Why do buns come in pack of 10 and hot-dogs in pack of 12? Think about it next time you go shopping... Yael. ----------------------- - Oh, god... - Zod. (Superman II) ----------------------- __________________________________________________ FREE Email for ALL! Sign up at http://www.mail.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 15:32:48 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Yael Kfir Subject: It's a Small World Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I was bored to death when I found a re-run of this horrible episode (sorry, but some of the scenes are soooo ridiculous!) in the Jordanian channel (thank god for cable TV!). Anyway, I was just wondering, has anyone else noticed the resemblance of Annette's shrinking to the "I'm melting!" scene from "The Wizard of Oz"? Yael. ----------------------- - Oh, god... - Zod. (Superman II) ----------------------- __________________________________________________ FREE Email for ALL! Sign up at http://www.mail.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 15:47:14 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Yael Kfir Subject: Re: Untitled 1: 2-3 of ? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Joy, >From Part 2: Superman decides that while he needs to be honest, he should also help his case as Clark. "I will be spending it where I am needed most." "Oh, where are you needed most at Christmas?" End of part 2, and then part 3 begins: "I'm glad you are going to be with Clark over Christmas. He's so excited about your visit. The last time I saw Mrs. Kent, she was making another batch of brownies because Clark said that you love them so much." "I'm looking forward to it myself. I really like Smallville more than I let Clark know. It's a small town, but I understand that the indoor plumbing is reliable, and they've paved some of the streets within the past year. So, I guess it's livable. It has a big heart, too. Everyone is friendly. Not the fake kind of friendly like most people in Metropolis, but those people really do care about each other." End of quote. Now, unless I'm missing something here (which is highly possible, and don't be afraid to tell me ), it seems to me that Superman is ignoring Lois' question. If this is the case, then I really miss Lois' reaction (she doesn't have to push him, but a description of her face or her thoughts could be nice). The second option, which seems more likely, is that you missed some line while copying the story to the 'message' window. If *this* is the case, please re-send the missing lines. Thanks, Yael. ----------------------- - Oh, god... - Zod. (Superman II) ----------------------- __________________________________________________ FREE Email for ALL! Sign up at http://www.mail.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 18:37:50 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Eileen F. Ray" Subject: L&C Fanfic Brainstorming Session: Wednesday, November 10,1999 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi everyone, FYI, the IRC Round Robin group plans to restart it's biweekly writing sessions very soon. In anticipation of that fact we will hold one of our L&C fanfic brainstorming sessions Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 9:00 PM EST. Cheers, Eileen Eraygun@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 18:42:16 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: L&C Fanfic Brainstorming Session: Wednesday, November 10,1999 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I'm trying to get in, but nobody's listening! May I please join the chat? Eileen F. Ray wrote: > Hi everyone, > > FYI, the IRC Round Robin group plans to restart it's biweekly writing > sessions very soon. In anticipation of that fact we will hold one of our L&C > fanfic brainstorming sessions Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 9:00 PM EST. > > Cheers, > Eileen > Eraygun@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 21:45:43 EST 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: L&C Fanfic Brainstorming Session: Wednesday, November 10,1999 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/10/99 8:41:54 PM Central Standard Time, deimos1@EARTHLINK.NET writes: << I'm trying to get in, but nobody's listening! May I please join the chat? >> Ficorg is open to everyone. I'm there now You just have to type /join #l&cficorg. Remember #l&cficorg is an Undernet channel, not EFnet. There's also been a good deal of lag so far tonight. You can try the washington or Dallas servers. Zoom ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 21:46:20 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Chris P Subject: Re: L&C Fanfic Brainstorming Session: Wednesday, November 10,1999 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/11/99 2:41:54 AM !!!First Boot!!!, deimos1@EARTHLINK.NET writes: > I'm trying to get in, but nobody's listening! May I please join the chat? > Nan. it sounds like you are lagged. Try a different server on IRC. Chris ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 22:30:47 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Ann E. McBride" Subject: Re: It's a Small World MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/10/99 3:33:14 PM Eastern Standard Time, zaglembia@MAIL.COM writes: << Anyway, I was just wondering, has anyone else noticed the resemblance of Annette's shrinking to the "I'm melting!" scene from "The Wizard of Oz"? >> Yes, I did. I have always had two questions: did Annette shrink away to nothing, or did they put the antidote on her too? And why was Clark affected? Nothing else affects him physically. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 21:41:59 -0600 Reply-To: truitt22@flash.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: timothy truitt Organization: tnt technical services Subject: Re: L&C Fanfic Brainstorming Session: Wednesday, November 10,1999 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit where? merry truitt22@flash.net Eileen F. Ray wrote: > Hi everyone, > > FYI, the IRC Round Robin group plans to restart it's biweekly writing > sessions very soon. In anticipation of that fact we will hold one of our L&C > fanfic brainstorming sessions Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 9:00 PM EST. > > Cheers, > Eileen > Eraygun@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 23:27:12 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: kubitc Subject: Re: It's a Small World Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >And why was Clark >affected? Nothing else affects him physically. After seeing this episode I was glad that Clark was physically affected by Annette's shrinking potion. After all, for a non-human, he is VERY similar to humans. If you think about his similarities, it would make more sense for him to be affected by anything that affects humans rather than him not being affected. He so often isn't affected that it was about time. Think of how much of his genetic make-up most be human-like for him to just look like and (apparently) think like humans. This is especially true if you accept the belief that Lois and Clark can have children together; for 2 organisms to sexually reproduce, they've gotta be very genetically similar. I also feel I have to defend IASWAA I know lots of people don't like it and I would never name it as a favorite of mine, but there are many aspects to it that I like. For instance, L&C's conversation about Lois keeping her last name. When I first saw the episode I was overjoyed that this issue was finally being dealt with. I like the way she brings up the subject, and especially the way Clark answers her. I also like the peek at Lois's yearbook, L&C cooking together, Steve Young (except for his acting ;), Clark's "I was wearing a towel" line, the Lois-Clark-Supeman-Mrs. Kent "double date" ;) -Christy kubitc@kenyon.edu * * * * * * * * * * "An idea ran back and forward in his head like a blind man, knocking over the solid furniture." -Fitzgerald ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 00:08:07 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: It's a Small World MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/10/99 3:33:14 PM EST, zaglembia@MAIL.COM writes: << Anyway, I was just wondering, has anyone else noticed the resemblance of Annette's shrinking to the "I'm melting!" scene from "The Wizard of Oz"? Yael. >> As much as I hate to admit this, yes I have! I hate the Wizard of Oz.. I know i know i am probably one of the only ones out there that hates this movie but after what i saw happening the background in one of the scenes.. it has ruined that movie for me for life! Anyway back to LnC.. that ep is not one of my favorites either.. i only taped it because of the Clark shower scene and for the fact that Dean just looks *so darn cute!* in the oversized clothing! Dean is a pretty big guy to begin with.. at least in muscle tone.. that one can only imagine what size he was wearing in those scenes! Sheesh! I would probably be drowning in them.. no I would probably disappear if i put those clothes on..:sigh:: Alexis ;-.) {who just gave herself a really nice mental picture to focus on for the rest of the day!} ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 09:35:14 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: L&C Fanfic Brainstorming Session: Wednesday, November 10,1999 In-Reply-To: <0.88045bea.255b5bce@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII > > FYI, the IRC Round Robin group plans to restart it's > biweekly writing sessions very soon. In anticipation of > that fact we will hold one of our L&C fanfic brainstorming > sessions Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 9:00 PM EST. Having participated in a couple of RR writing sessions last time round (and enjoyed it ), I'd love to take part in these brainstorming sessions. But since 9pm EST is actually 2am over here, and I have work the following morning :( I'm just going to have to offer my apologies. Wendy ---------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 04:51:28 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Tara Smith Subject: VERY OT: RE: Re: It's a Small World Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ok, share! What did you see happening in the backgrounds in The Wizard of OZ? I haven't watched it in awhile . . . ------Original Message------ From: "Alexis W." To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Sent: November 11, 1999 5:08:07 AM GMT Subject: Re: It's a Small World In a message dated 11/10/99 3:33:14 PM EST, zaglembia@MAIL.COM writes: << Anyway, I was just wondering, has anyone else noticed the resemblance of Annette's shrinking to the "I'm melting!" scene from "The Wizard of Oz"? Yael. >> As much as I hate to admit this, yes I have! I hate the Wizard of Oz.. I know i know i am probably one of the only ones out there that hates this movie but after what i saw happening the background in one of the scenes.. it has ruined that movie for me for life! Anyway back to LnC.. that ep is not one of my favorites either.. i only taped it because of the Clark shower scene and for the fact that Dean just looks *so darn cute!* in the oversized clothing! Dean is a pretty big guy to begin with.. at least in muscle tone.. that one can only imagine what size he was wearing in those scenes! Sheesh! I would probably be drowning in them.. no I would probably disappear if i put those clothes on..:sigh:: Alexis ;-.) {who just gave herself a really nice mental picture to focus on for the rest of the day!} ----------------------------------------------- FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 10:04:39 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: Question for fic: Calling all newspaper workers! In-Reply-To: <387075866.942265610230.JavaMail.root@web02.pub01> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Wed, 10 Nov 1999 15:26:50 -0500 Yael Kfir wrote: > Why do buns come in pack of 10 and hot-dogs in pack of 12? Hmmm... over here, buns (or rolls, or baps, depending on which part of the country you come from ) come in packs of six or twelve... Wendy ---------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 05:29:16 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Chris Carr Subject: Re: It's a Small World On Wed, 10 Nov 1999 22:30:47 EST, Ann E. McBride wrote: >And why was Clark >affected? Nothing else affects him physically. > Actually, I can think of a couple of other times when Clark was affected by something. The first in Christmas Greedings, when he breathed in the chemicals from the space rats. The second was in the clone arch and one of the fourth season episodes when he encounters that disruptor weapon thing. It doesn't completely disintegrate Superman as it would a human, but it certainly doesn't seem to do him much good, either! Chris ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 06:40:56 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Subject: Re: sunspot activity MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit -----Original Message----- From: No Name Available To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Date: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 2:34 PM Subject: Re: sunspot activity >In a message dated 11/10/1999 1:38:40 PM EST, Terry writes: > >>>... How do you FoLCs think this increase in > solar activity might affect Clark's powers - or would there be any > noticeable affect? Would anyone be interested tackling this idea in a > story? >> > >and Laurie replied >I think sunspots are actually cooler spots on the sun (hence darker). I'm not >sure that the difference is enough to really impact on Clark's powers--at >least not noticably.... But, Terry, this would be *your* story and since as far as I know, there's nothing in the canon about it -- you get to decide! Maybe the sunspots make him go haywire; maybe they make Lois go haywire worrying about their effect on Clark ;) Play around with this idea -- it's a good one! -- and I bet you'll come up with all sorts of interesting effects the sunspots might have or not have on Clark's powers. :) Peace wedding photos at: http://www.servtech.com/~kkingsto/wedding/ and at http://welcome.to/kingston.hope.wedding/ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 12:11:11 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: sunspot activity In-Reply-To: <002a01bf2c39$9eaa9280$2601a8c0@stargazer.voyager.syr.servtech.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Thu, 11 Nov 1999 06:40:56 -0500 Peace wrote: > But, Terry, this would be *your* story and since as far as > I know, there's nothing in the canon about it -- you get to > decide! Maybe the sunspots make him go haywire; maybe they > make Lois go haywire worrying about their effect on Clark > ;) Play around with this idea -- it's a good one! -- and I > bet you'll come up with all sorts of interesting effects > the sunspots might have or not have on Clark's powers. :) This reminds me a little of Yvonne Connell's intriguing story 'Heliophobia'. It wasn't sunspots causing the problem there, but she did come up with a very interesting and plausible story concerning the effect on Clark of prolonged exposure to the sun. Wendy ---------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 07:14:15 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: Question for fic: Calling all newspaper workers! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/11/1999 5:06:08 AM Eastern Standard Time, w.m.richards@HRM.KEELE.AC.UK writes: << > Why do buns come in pack of 10 and hot-dogs in pack of 12? Hmmm... over here, buns (or rolls, or baps, depending on which part of the country you come from ) come in packs of six or twelve... >> That's it. They must think Americans (I don't know how to say U.S.-ians) are stupid and won't notice. :P --Laurie (who doesn't eat hot dogs anyway) ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 14:46:47 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Phillip Atcliffe Subject: Re: Question for fic: Calling all newspaper workers! In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Thu, 11 Nov 1999 10:04:39 +0000 Wendy Richards wrote: > On Wed, 10 Nov 1999 15:26:50 -0500 Yael Kfir wrote: >> Why do buns come in pack of 10 and hot-dogs in pack of 12? > Hmmm... over here, buns (or rolls, or baps, depending on which part of the country you come from ) come in packs of six or twelve... And frankfurters (about as close as you can get here to a hot dog) come in packs of 4 or 10 -- or, occasionally, 20.... Does anyone _really_ need an answer to Yael's question? I'd have thought it obvious, myself (hint: think mustard). Phil, wishing he could get some Aussie frankfurts. The local ones just don't have it.... ------------------------------------------------------------ "Sic Transit Gloria Barramundi" (Or, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!) -- not Douglas Adams, but me: Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 06:53:28 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: L&C Fanfic Brainstorming Session: Wednesday, November 10,1999 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I tried for almost two hours to get in on this, but my darn link was out of sync, somehow, and I couldn't. Darn! Sorry I couldn't be there. I really wanted to. Nan Eileen F. Ray wrote: > Hi everyone, > > FYI, the IRC Round Robin group plans to restart it's biweekly writing > sessions very soon. In anticipation of that fact we will hold one of our L&C > fanfic brainstorming sessions Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 9:00 PM EST. > > Cheers, > Eileen > Eraygun@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 15:05:20 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: Question for fic: Calling all newspaper workers! In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Thu, 11 Nov 1999 14:46:47 -0500 Phillip Atcliffe wrote: > > Hmmm... over here, buns (or rolls, or baps, depending on > which part of the country you come from ) come in packs > of six or twelve... > > And frankfurters (about as close as you can get here to a > hot dog) come in packs of 4 or 10 -- or, occasionally, > 20.... LOL Phil! Mind you, I never buy either, so I wouldn't know... By the way - what's happened to the FEST fic, now that all this talk about hot dogs has reminded me of the pizza and magic mushrooms? Wendy ---------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 06:57:41 +1100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jenny or Joe Stosser Subject: Re: Question for fic: Calling all newspaper workers! In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 02:46 PM 11/11/99 -0500, you wrote: >On Thu, 11 Nov 1999 10:04:39 +0000 Wendy Richards > wrote: > >> On Wed, 10 Nov 1999 15:26:50 -0500 Yael Kfir >wrote: > >>> Why do buns come in pack of 10 and hot-dogs in pack of 12? > > >Does anyone _really_ need an answer to Yael's question? I'd have >thought it obvious, myself (hint: think mustard). Maybe it's just too early in the morning for me, but I just DON'T get it. Someone wanna explain for the sleep-deprived among us? >Phil, wishing he could get some Aussie frankfurts. The local ones >just don't have it.... Want me to send you some? PS I love barramundi too. Jen jenerator@ozemail.com.au -*-This message is umop ap!sdn (Jenerator or Some1Else on IRC) -*- JenerEight on AIM -*- ICQ: 11477318 Photos of David (7) and Megan (4) on the Stosser Family HomePage: http://geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/4583 Please sign our guestbook! ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 17:15:47 -0600 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: Kerths 2000 In-Reply-To: <3.0.6.32.19991109195927.009153c0@actcom.co.il> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Thanks for the discussion about the Kerths. I knew this question was going to be raised when I posted the announcement, and I was hoping to get the ball rolling and get everyone thinking about these issues. Now for some answers ... No, your story does not have to be on the Archive to be eligible for the Kerths, however, practically speaking, it's difficult (though not impossible) for an author to reach a large enough audience to win if the story is not on the Archive. Since February 1998, we have had -- get ready -- 166,000 hits on the Archive. That's around 1500-2000 hits/week. Do the boards get that much activity? I honestly don't know, but it doesn't seem likely. I know this listserv has a little over 300 subscribers, plus a number of people who read it as a newsgroup on the listserv archive site. Still, I doubt you reach over 500 people when you post a story here. As Erin said, it's difficult for the organizers (currently Erin, with help from myself and Pam) to establish a list of eligible stories if we don't set some guidelines. The submission date stamp on the Archived stories -- something I instituted when I took over the editing side of things -- is one very clear way to label stories. I create the list of eligible stories (stories uploaded in 1999) from my (infamous ) spreadsheet after the end of each calendar year. We then go through the list and try to weed out any stories that shouldn't be there -- old stories that were uploaded this year, stories the author has requested not be eligible, etc. If anyone has a story they think is eligible, that author needed to write us and alert us. If we agree it's eligible (i.e. made available to the readers in 1999), then we will add it to the list. *However* the responsibility is with the author -- we are not going to comb the listserv and message boards to see which stories were posted where in what month. (Trust me, we tried to do this last year and it was a disaster. ) The question was raised "what about writers who post their stories in bits and pieces to the MBs and don't get them to the Archive until later?" If a story is incomplete, it should not be eligible until it is finished. But what about the case of an author who writes a stand-alone story and posts it? Let's use the example of someone who posts a story draft on the MB or fanfic list, then uses feedback to make changes before sending it to the Archive. Which version of the story should be read and voted on? Most authors, I think, would want it to be their final version, the version they label as complete by the act of posting it to the Archive (or another website). This is why the responsibility must lie with the author for correcting mis-information; we can't know what the author intended unless it is specifically stated on their story. As Erin stated, we want this to be a fun activity -- and it absolutely has been so far. Our goal is not to mess anyone up by a list of eligibility rules. We certainly try to be flexible. *However*, the Kerths have established themselves as a popular and regularly scheduled event. To keep it that way, we need to have rules. No list of guidelines will please everyone (another 'trust me' moment, and I have complaining emails to prove it ) but establishing them ahead of time (allowing time for adjustments based on feedback) keeps the process both fair and running smoothly. If you re-read Erin's messages, you can see we have a good cop/bad cop thing going here ... I write about rules, she writes about exceptions. But our goal is the same -- to make this year's Kerths as much fun as the last two, while not killing ourselves in the process. ;) One last note about categories -- definitely feel free to make suggestions about additions/subtractions to the list. I've already received some great ideas about combining certain categories and broadening others. I can't promise we will decide to take each suggestion, but we will definitely consider them all! Any other questions? Comments? Suggestions? Cyber-tomatoes? Kathy _________________________________ Kathy Brown Editor-In-Chief Lois & Clark Fanfic Archive: www.lcfanfic.com kathyb@springnet1.com OR kathyb@lcfanfic.com KathyB on IRC _________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 18:28:50 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Re: Kerths 2000 In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I know, I know. I couldn't help responding. Call it a weakness. Kathy wrote: > Since February 1998, we have had -- get ready -- 166,000 hits on the > Archive. That's around 1500-2000 hits/week. WOW!! I had no idea there were that many hits on the Archive! It's *wonderful* to see that folcdome and fanfic is still going strong. ;) > If you re-read Erin's messages, you can see we have a good cop/bad cop > thing going here ... I write about rules, she writes about exceptions. LOL! I've never thought of it that way, Kathy. I was just glad you didn't smack me and send me to my room for being too lenient. ;) But I think that's also what makes these Kerths work: many different people with many different ideas, all having to find a middle ground so everyone will be happy and not throw cyber tomatoes at us. > One last note about categories -- definitely feel free to make suggestions > about additions/subtractions to the list. I've already received > some great > ideas about combining certain categories and broadening others. I can't > promise we will decide to take each suggestion, but we will definitely > consider them all! I agree! Each year we seem to have a different cross-section of stories, and this year I think we're going to be most heavily represented in the Drama, Elseworld and Alt stories. Anyone question that after reading so many great ones this year? ;) So we'll most likely take the one Alt category we had last year and split it, maybe into a Best Elseworld and Best Alt. And I remember that last year we didn't have a big ton of revelation stories, but this year it should be a strong category. So anyone have any suggestions about new categories? Or a category that should be dropped? I'd welcome any and all suggestions. ;) > Any other questions? Comments? Suggestions? Cyber-tomatoes? If you have cyber-tomatoes to throw, I'll warn you...don't throw them at Kathy. She's had a very aggravating day, and she'll likely throw them right back at you. Erin :) __________________ erink@ida.net Visit my LNC/Kerth Website: www.ida.net/users/davek ***** "It's not the years that count, it's the moments...right now, as they happen." __________________ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 22:02:47 CST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jessi Mounts Subject: Re: It's a Small World Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Alexis said: >As much as I hate to admit this, yes I have! I hate the Wizard of Oz.. I >know i know i am probably one of the only ones out there that hates this >movie but after what i saw happening the background in one of the scenes.. >it >has ruined that movie for me for life! Well, this has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but I've got to come to Wizard of Oz's defense. Are you talking about that famous shadow in the background of a guy hanging himself/guy being murdered/guy being electrocuted/peacock (really heard that!)/several other ridiculous stories? Well, it's not any of the above. According Roger Ebert (actually according to David J. Bondelevitch, Wizard of Oz expert, but Roger Ebert quotes him in his 1994 movie book) "The man in the background is a sound man. A boom operator, to be precise. He was not electrocuted, he was simply stupid and got in the shot when he shouldn't have." Well, sorry for the journey into OT, but I had to defend one of my favorite movies. Jessi jessi914@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 22:57:36 -0600 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: Kerths 2000 In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 6:28 PM -0700 11/11/99, Erin Klingler wrote: > So we'll most likely take the one Alt >category we had last year and split it, maybe into a Best Elseworld and Best >Alt. Another suggestion I received was to split off "New/Old Krypton" stories off from Elseworlds, so that will be taken under consideration, too. Keep the ideas coming, though ... we're keeping a list. Kathy (checking it twice, gonna find out who's ... er, wrong list; never mind!) ______________________ Kathy Brown kathyb@springnet1.com kathyb@lcfanfic.com KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 23:07:11 -0600 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: Self Publishing In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I came across this article about self-publishing. I know most fanfic authors aren't interested in "going pro", but I found it an interesting (and fairly quick) read. For example, I now know that freelance editors go for around $35/hour. Hmm, anyone want to hire me? http://www.cnnfn.com/1999/11/03/life/q_publishing/ Enjoy, Kathy ______________________ Kathy Brown kathyb@springnet1.com kathyb@lcfanfic.com KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 01:12:59 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: It's a Small World MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/11/99 8:08:04 PM Pacific Standard Time, jessi914@HOTMAIL.COM writes: << Well, this has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but I've got to come to Wizard of Oz's defense. Are you talking about that famous shadow in the background of a guy hanging himself/guy being murdered/guy being electrocuted/peacock (really heard that!)/several other ridiculous stories? Well, it's not any of the above. According Roger Ebert (actually according to David J. Bondelevitch, Wizard of Oz expert, but Roger Ebert quotes him in his 1994 movie book) "The man in the background is a sound man. A boom operator, to be precise. He was not electrocuted, he was simply stupid and got in the shot when he shouldn't have." >> Well I have to defend what I saw! What i saw was a man hanging and that's what I believe. I mean Roger Ebert doesn't always have all the answers so until I hear what exactly happened I'm going to stay away from that movie because i am uncomfortable with it. You can love the movie as much as you want.. that's fine with me. But I will stay away from it and that's all i have to say about that subject. Alexis ;-.) {figures this thread should probably be retired! } ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 08:52:53 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Phillip Atcliffe Subject: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard In-Reply-To: <3.0.6.32.19991112065741.007d7440@pop.ozemail.com.au> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Jenny asked me to explain myself, to wit: >>Does anyone _really_ need an answer to Yael's question? [Why do hot-dogs and buns/rolls/baps come in different-sized packs?] I'd have thought it obvious, myself (hint: think mustard). << > Maybe it's just too early in the morning for me, but I just DON'T get it. Someone wanna explain for the sleep-deprived among us? < Alimentary, milady. It's a well-known "fact" that condiment makers (specifically, those who make mustard) get their profits from the stuff that the consumer _doesn't_ actually use, but leaves lying on the side of the plate. In other words, the money comes from the need to buy the stuff more often than one would do if a large proportion of the contents of each pot of mustard hadn't been wasted. And so it is with hot dogs and buns: if the franks come in packs of 12 and the buns in packs of ten, then you're either going to have to eat two hot dogs without buns or buy another pack of buns -- and have lots of them left over. Either way, unless you buy a multiple of 60 (which is a _lot_ of hot dogs!), there's going to be a mis-match, with the possibility of waste. Now, I'm not saying that there's a Great Conspiracy to defraud us all, but I suspect that the food companies might see it as being in their interests to keep the mis-match.... Cynical? Me?? >>Phil, wishing he could get some Aussie frankfurts. The local ones just don't have it.... << > Want me to send you some? Oh, geez, don't tempt me.... Actually, it's been so long that I can't remember the name of the company whose frankfurts I used to really like -- Dandy? Phil, suddenly feeling hungry. ------------------------------------------------------------ Gravity is a Downer... So let's go flying! -- so sayeth Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 05:26:04 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Tara Smith Subject: Re: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit We've got an easy solution to that for us: we just feed the leftover buns to the cats :) some of them will do almost anything for bread of any kind! I've actually see one pass up ground beef for bread. Tara ------Original Message------ From: Phillip Atcliffe To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Sent: November 12, 1999 1:52:53 PM GMT Subject: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard Jenny asked me to explain myself, to wit: >>Does anyone _really_ need an answer to Yael's question? [Why do hot-dogs and buns/rolls/baps come in different-sized packs?] I'd have thought it obvious, myself (hint: think mustard). << > Maybe it's just too early in the morning for me, but I just DON'T get it. Someone wanna explain for the sleep-deprived among us? < Alimentary, milady. It's a well-known "fact" that condiment makers (specifically, those who make mustard) get their profits from the stuff that the consumer _doesn't_ actually use, but leaves lying on the side of the plate. In other words, the money comes from the need to buy the stuff more often than one would do if a large proportion of the contents of each pot of mustard hadn't been wasted. And so it is with hot dogs and buns: if the franks come in packs of 12 and the buns in packs of ten, then you're either going to have to eat two hot dogs without buns or buy another pack of buns -- and have lots of them left over. Either way, unless you buy a multiple of 60 (which is a _lot_ of hot dogs!), there's going to be a mis-match, with the possibility of waste. Now, I'm not saying that there's a Great Conspiracy to defraud us all, but I suspect that the food companies might see it as being in their interests to keep the mis-match.... Cynical? Me?? >>Phil, wishing he could get some Aussie frankfurts. The local ones just don't have it.... << > Want me to send you some? Oh, geez, don't tempt me.... Actually, it's been so long that I can't remember the name of the company whose frankfurts I used to really like -- Dandy? Phil, suddenly feeling hungry. ------------------------------------------------------------ Gravity is a Downer... So let's go flying! -- so sayeth Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) ----------------------------------------------- FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 23:24:19 +1100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jenny or Joe Stosser Subject: Re: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Thanks, Phil! For some reason, I thought the discussion was about the number of buns of different shapes - round ones come in bags of 10 and long ones in bags of 12? That made NO sense to me at all. However, I can tell you that I have NO idea about franks or sausages available on the general market - I keep kosher, so I buy my sausages at the local Kosher Butcher. Were you in Oz when they had the ads on tv for the yellow pages with the guy ringing up for a part for his Gogomobil? "Gee, oh, gee, oh... not the Dart!" He also is in a series of ads for Don Smallgoods... "Is Don. Is Good." Does that help at all? Jen At 08:52 AM 12/11/99 -0500, Phillip Atcliffe wrote: >Jenny asked me to explain myself, to wit: >>>Does anyone _really_ need an answer to Yael's question? [Why do >hot-dogs and buns/rolls/baps come in different-sized packs?] I'd have >thought it obvious, myself (hint: think mustard). << > >> Maybe it's just too early in the morning for me, but I just DON'T get >it. Someone wanna explain for the sleep-deprived among us? < > >Alimentary, milady. It's a well-known "fact" that condiment makers >(specifically, those who make mustard) get their profits from the stuff >that the consumer _doesn't_ actually use, but leaves lying on the side >of the plate. In other words, the money comes from the need to buy the >stuff more often than one would do if a large proportion of the >contents of each pot of mustard hadn't been wasted. > >And so it is with hot dogs and buns: if the franks come in packs of 12 >and the buns in packs of ten, then you're either going to have to eat >two hot dogs without buns or buy another pack of buns -- and have lots >of them left over. Either way, unless you buy a multiple of 60 (which >is a _lot_ of hot dogs!), there's going to be a mis-match, with the >possibility of waste. > >Now, I'm not saying that there's a Great Conspiracy to defraud us all, >but I suspect that the food companies might see it as being in their >interests to keep the mis-match.... > >Cynical? Me?? > >>>Phil, wishing he could get some Aussie frankfurts. The local ones >just don't have it.... << > >> Want me to send you some? > >Oh, geez, don't tempt me.... Actually, it's been so long that I can't >remember the name of the company whose frankfurts I used to really like >-- Dandy? > >Phil, suddenly feeling hungry. >------------------------------------------------------------ > Gravity is a Downer... So let's go flying! > -- so sayeth Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) > > jenerator@ozemail.com.au -*-This message is umop ap!sdn (Jenerator or Some1Else on IRC) -*- JenerEight on AIM -*- ICQ: 11477318 Photos of David (7) and Megan (4) on the Stosser Family HomePage: http://geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/4583 Please sign our guestbook! ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 08:19:29 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: Self Publishing MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/12/1999 12:08:58 AM Eastern Standard Time, kathyb@SPRINGNET1.COM writes: << For example, I now know that freelance editors go for around $35/hour. >> Hmm, I went and answered an ad in our local weekly paper for on-call (occasional, when someone else calls in sick) proofreaders. Figured after all I've been doing for some of you and all I've learned from grammar discussions here, I could qualify. Went and took a test. You were supposed to compare what they'd typed with the original press release they'd received, but I just grabbed the thing and went through it. Haven't heard from them yet, but they only pay $7/hour. --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 10:13:14 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Christina B." Subject: Verry OT: Wiz of Oz Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed When the topic of the hanging first came up, I had no clue as to what everyone was talking about. But, being as a am a curious person, (and was incredulous as to how I could have watched the movie for the umpteenth time and never seen it) I did some investigation. There is an official response at http://snopes.simplenet.com/movies/films/ozsuicid.htm and after watching the video clip on that page about five times http://snopes.simplenet.com/common/video.gif (It took me three just to find the spot in question) There is no doubt in my mind that it is some sort of bird (they say it's a crane) and not a murder, suicide, or even a production accident that has befallen some unfortunate crew member. Christina ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 10:40:32 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Christina B." Subject: Re: Verry OT: Wiz of Oz Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed >and after watching the video clip on that page about five times > >http://snopes.simplenet.com/common/video.gif > >(It took me three just to find the spot in question) There is no doubt in >my mind that it is some sort of bird (they say it's a crane) and not a >murder, suicide, or even a production accident that has befallen some >unfortunate crew member. > > >Christina Sorry, the url of the video is http://snopes.simplenet.com/movies/video/oz.rm Christina > >______________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 12:44:51 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: Oz and Dogs MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Alexis wrote {figures this thread should probably be retired! Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Melisma Subject: Re: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard In-Reply-To: <382777990.942402364841.JavaMail.root@web13.mail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Or pigeons. Or ducks... Some of my favourite memories as a kid revolve around going to Mill Lake, near my German Opa (grandfather)'s home in BC's Fraser Valley, and throwing day-old bread to the ducks while he fished. And one of my most vivid memories of one of my trips to Paris, France, is of me and one of my best friends buying a huge pastry in the Metro and splitting it - and then discovering that neither of us could finish our halves. When we got to the Eiffel Tower, which happened to be our destination, we sat down on a bench to try and figure out what to do with the remnants. Along came a flock of pigeons, and we started tossing bits of danish to them. One fat bird was bolder than most, and gradually came nearer and nearer, until he was sitting first on my shoe, then my hand, and pecking away at the danish in my hand. My girlfriend was able to sneak away and snap a picture of us, which I'm very glad of, for my parents and sister refused to believe it until I showed it to them! Melisma (crawling back under her rock, apologizing profusely for boring everyone with her babble) At 05:26 AM 11/12/1999 -0500, you wrote: >We've got an easy solution to that for us: we just feed the leftover buns >to the cats :) some of them will do almost anything for bread of any kind! >I've actually see one pass up ground beef for bread. > >Tara > >------Original Message------ >From: Phillip Atcliffe >To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU >Sent: November 12, 1999 1:52:53 PM GMT >Subject: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard > > >Jenny asked me to explain myself, to wit: >>>Does anyone _really_ need an answer to Yael's question? [Why do >hot-dogs and buns/rolls/baps come in different-sized packs?] I'd have >thought it obvious, myself (hint: think mustard). << > >> Maybe it's just too early in the morning for me, but I just DON'T get >it. Someone wanna explain for the sleep-deprived among us? < > >Alimentary, milady. It's a well-known "fact" that condiment makers >(specifically, those who make mustard) get their profits from the stuff >that the consumer _doesn't_ actually use, but leaves lying on the side >of the plate. In other words, the money comes from the need to buy the >stuff more often than one would do if a large proportion of the >contents of each pot of mustard hadn't been wasted. > >And so it is with hot dogs and buns: if the franks come in packs of 12 >and the buns in packs of ten, then you're either going to have to eat >two hot dogs without buns or buy another pack of buns -- and have lots >of them left over. Either way, unless you buy a multiple of 60 (which >is a _lot_ of hot dogs!), there's going to be a mis-match, with the >possibility of waste. > >Now, I'm not saying that there's a Great Conspiracy to defraud us all, >but I suspect that the food companies might see it as being in their >interests to keep the mis-match.... > >Cynical? Me?? > >>>Phil, wishing he could get some Aussie frankfurts. The local ones >just don't have it.... << > >> Want me to send you some? > >Oh, geez, don't tempt me.... Actually, it's been so long that I can't >remember the name of the company whose frankfurts I used to really like >-- Dandy? > >Phil, suddenly feeling hungry. >------------------------------------------------------------ >Gravity is a Downer... So let's go flying! >-- so sayeth Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) > >----------------------------------------------- >FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com >Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com > > ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 22:14:30 CST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jessi Mounts Subject: Re: It's a Small World Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Alexis said: >Well I have to defend what I saw! What i saw was a man hanging and that's >what I believe. I mean Roger Ebert doesn't always have all the answers so >until I hear what exactly happened I'm going to stay away from that movie >because i am uncomfortable with it. You can love the movie as much as you >want.. that's fine with me. But I will stay away from it and that's all i >have to say about that subject. Okay. ;) I said I had to defend Wizard of Oz, not that anyone had to agree with me. And, Alexis, if I offended you with my little speech, I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention at all. I sort of half memorized the thing a while ago for this sort of occasion. Jessi (Save Wizard of Oz! ;-) jessi914@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 23:16:29 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: It's a Small World MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/12/99 8:14:46 PM Pacific Standard Time, jessi914@HOTMAIL.COM writes: << Okay. ;) I said I had to defend Wizard of Oz, not that anyone had to agree with me. And, Alexis, if I offended you with my little speech, I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention at all. I sort of half memorized the thing a while ago for this sort of occasion. Jessi (Save Wizard of Oz! ;-) jessi914@hotmail.com >> That's okay! :) But like I said before this is probably a good thread to retire since it really has nothing to do with fanfic. Well at least to me it doesn't. Alexis ;-.) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 23:47:40 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Tara Smith Subject: Re: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit That wasn't boring, that was cute and funny! :) ------Original Message------ From: Melisma To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Sent: November 13, 1999 3:37:20 AM GMT Subject: Re: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard Or pigeons. Or ducks... Some of my favourite memories as a kid revolve around going to Mill Lake, near my German Opa (grandfather)'s home in BC's Fraser Valley, and throwing day-old bread to the ducks while he fished. And one of my most vivid memories of one of my trips to Paris, France, is of me and one of my best friends buying a huge pastry in the Metro and splitting it - and then discovering that neither of us could finish our halves. When we got to the Eiffel Tower, which happened to be our destination, we sat down on a bench to try and figure out what to do with the remnants. Along came a flock of pigeons, and we started tossing bits of danish to them. One fat bird was bolder than most, and gradually came nearer and nearer, until he was sitting first on my shoe, then my hand, and pecking away at the danish in my hand. My girlfriend was able to sneak away and snap a picture of us, which I'm very glad of, for my parents and sister refused to believe it until I showed it to them! Melisma (crawling back under her rock, apologizing profusely for boring everyone with her babble) At 05:26 AM 11/12/1999 -0500, you wrote: >We've got an easy solution to that for us: we just feed the leftover buns >to the cats :) some of them will do almost anything for bread of any kind! >I've actually see one pass up ground beef for bread. > >Tara > >------Original Message------ >From: Phillip Atcliffe >To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU >Sent: November 12, 1999 1:52:53 PM GMT >Subject: OT: Buns, hot dogs and mustard > > >Jenny asked me to explain myself, to wit: >>>Does anyone _really_ need an answer to Yael's question? [Why do >hot-dogs and buns/rolls/baps come in different-sized packs?] I'd have >thought it obvious, myself (hint: think mustard). << > >> Maybe it's just too early in the morning for me, but I just DON'T get >it. Someone wanna explain for the sleep-deprived among us? < > >Alimentary, milady. It's a well-known "fact" that condiment makers >(specifically, those who make mustard) get their profits from the stuff >that the consumer _doesn't_ actually use, but leaves lying on the side >of the plate. In other words, the money comes from the need to buy the >stuff more often than one would do if a large proportion of the >contents of each pot of mustard hadn't been wasted. > >And so it is with hot dogs and buns: if the franks come in packs of 12 >and the buns in packs of ten, then you're either going to have to eat >two hot dogs without buns or buy another pack of buns -- and have lots >of them left over. Either way, unless you buy a multiple of 60 (which >is a _lot_ of hot dogs!), there's going to be a mis-match, with the >possibility of waste. > >Now, I'm not saying that there's a Great Conspiracy to defraud us all, >but I suspect that the food companies might see it as being in their >interests to keep the mis-match.... > >Cynical? Me?? > >>>Phil, wishing he could get some Aussie frankfurts. The local ones >just don't have it.... << > >> Want me to send you some? > >Oh, geez, don't tempt me.... Actually, it's been so long that I can't >remember the name of the company whose frankfurts I used to really like >-- Dandy? > >Phil, suddenly feeling hungry. >------------------------------------------------------------ >Gravity is a Downer... So let's go flying! >-- so sayeth Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) > >----------------------------------------------- >FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com >Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com > > ----------------------------------------------- FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 03:45:11 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" RPG Second Installment MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit New Fanfic (ongoing) "A Day in the Life of Metropolis" All characters are property of DC Comics, WB, Lois and Clark etc.. unless otherwise noted. =========== Feedback is welcomed whether public or private. But no grammar please! =) NO ONE responded to my last post except for one person.. (thank you!) Please let me know if you loved it or hated it.. etc.. My cast and i would really appreciate it! Thanks. ======== Summary: This is the second installment of a rpg club I created on yahoo. We came up with a story line, and we can correspond through email, dialogue, etc.. Anything goes. If you want more information on this club or if you would like to join in the fun yourself please go to: Yahoo! Clubs adayinthelifeofmetropolis Thanks. Alexis ;-.) {"ADITLOM, arbitrator} ============ Cast List Clark Kent/Superman : Alexis W. (that's me!) Martha and Jonathan Kent : Tina T. Lois Lane : Alexis W. Lucy Lane : Liz Ellen Lane: Tina T. Dr. Sam Lane: Rachel M. Jimmy Olsen: Abie Marie Cat Grant: Renda Lex Luthor: Dave Mayson Drake: Renda Dick Grayson/Nightwing: Dave ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 03:50:44 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" Week #3 Part 1 of 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable WEEK #3 (10/25 - 10/31/99) Mayson Drake gets call from Gown des. Ring...Ring..."Hello, Mayson Drake speaking!" "Hi Ms Drake, this is=20 Cherie calling from Mr. Lagerfields Fashion house, your gown is ready=20 along with the shoes you ordered and matching handbag." "Cherie, thank you so very much for calling!" "Could you have them=20 messengered to my office today?" "Certainly, Monsellie." "Thanks Cherie, bye now!" Mayson hung up the phone smiled thinking about=20 her gown and hoping that Clark would like the gown. "Oh, Clark, if only=20 you weren't hung-up on Lois!" Oh well, we can't have everything!"=20 Mayson ran slender fingers through her honey blonde hair. The blush on=20 her cheeks wasn't make-up, it was the rush of memories and hopes and=20 dreams for the future and of course the ball... "Life is not perfect, but=20 it is good!" Mayson turned back to her computer and began work on=20 another case.=20 =20 * * * * Cat leaves Lois a message at Planet "Lois hi, Cat here, just wanted to remind you to RSVP your date=20 for the ball to me at your earliest convience." caio, Cat=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat leaves Lois a message at Planet Cat, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I just got done typing up my=20 notes from the Wayne interview. I think I have quite a bit to work with.=20 Bruce is a charming guy and definately a looker, OY! About this date thing, I am not much for dates, so I think I will be=20 going alone. Plus I want to stay close to Bruce. There's just something=20 fascinating about that man. Thanks. Lois PS. Don't ask Clark to be my escort! If we did go together it would be=20 strickly business, but you and I BOTH know Clark! He'd have other things=20 on his mind!=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat leaves Lois a message at Planet Hi Lois, oh no problem, I totally understand what you are saying=20 and my lips are sealed! Thanks for answering my message, I know you are=20 swamped with work and it was no rushie really! I can't wait to get into my gown and the jet and get to Gotham, so I can=20 do my own investigating and have a really great report for my column=20 :O)! You are right about Bruce he is a looker, and a very smart and wise=20 businessman. I am just honored to help in a small way with the Planet's=20 part in this Wayne Foundation Enviromental Ball, you know me anything=20 for planet Earth!! Well, have a great day, see you at work perhaps :O) Later, Cat=20 =20 * * * * Back at the Planet Superman's job was over. He had just gotten done delivering a baby in=20 the middle of the intersection near the Daily Planet. When no one was=20 looking Superman went down into the alleyway and changed back into Clark=20 Kent. He walked into the Planet. Lois' desk was empty and his eyes seemed to=20 wander there. Clark walked up to his desk and got ready to answer the mounds and=20 mounds of messages he received over the weekend. >tbc<=20 =20 * * * *=20 Jimmy makes another phone=20 call Hey, CK! It's Jimmy. Guess what? I got a date for the ball! And it's=20 Lucy!=85 I guess that means I need a tux, huh. Know where I can get one?=20 And, ah, cheap? Thanks!=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Jimmy makes another phone call Hey, Jim, that's great! Lucy, huh? Well if she's anything like her=20 sister, then watch out! LOL! Hmm.. well I'm picking up my tux at a place called Max's. You might want=20 to try there. See ya later. CK =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Jimmy is glad he has AT&T One Rate... Lucy, it's Jimmy Olsen again=85 I"ll pick you up about eightish on the=20 23rd? =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Jimmy is glad he has AT&T One Rate... Ok, that will be fine I am really glad you invited me, and I am looking forward to this. ~Lucy=20 =20 * * * * Cat calls Jimmy @ DP "Hi Jimmy, this is Cat Grant. Call me at my home when you get a=20 chance. I need to talk to you about the Enviromental Ball and "Black=20 Tie!" So call me when you can! Caio, Cat * * * * Mayson Drake calls Clark Kent: Hello Clark, this is Mayson, just called to let you know that my=20 gown and accessories arrived for the ball. I am really looking forward=20 to meeting alot of interesting people at this ball. Oh, and Clark, you=20 said remind you to get a tux. Well have a good evening. Talk to you soon. bye bye... Mayson=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Mayson Drake calls Clark Kent: Thanks Mayson for the reminder. (Clark smiles on the other end of the=20 phone) With all of the things that have been going on, I almost forgot! Take care and I will see you in Gotham this Saturday! Clark=20 * * * * Cat checks her email scary stuff!!! Catherine Grant sat down at her computer to check her e-mail messages:=20 Cat Grant this is for Superman... Tell the big guy if he dares show up=20 at that nerdy ball that his cape will be clipped.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Cat calls Clark leaves message re:Email Clark, hey it's Cat. Listen, I have the strangest e-mail messages,=20 someone wrote me threatening Superman's life. Clark, it was by e-mail=20 supposedly from the typing pool at Wayne Foundations that told me that=20 Superman was going to speak at the ball. Now, I am beginning to wonder=20 if someone isn't baiting Superman, taunting him to be at the ball. At=20 first, I thought that Bruce Wayne had talked to Superman. Clark, I am=20 scared because I received a dozen dead, black roses today Don't tell=20 anyone, I can take care of myself, but I thought if you talked to=20 Superman you could ask him if Bruce actually asked him to speak at the=20 ball or if one of the other board members asked him to speak. I know this=20 is probably silly and Superman will probably tell you exactly who asked=20 him to speak at the ball... But Clark the dead roses really threw me=20 and then these weird e-mails. Well, if you talk to Superman let me know.=20 I won't ask Bruce Wayne if he invited Superman until I hear from you. Caio, Catherine Grant=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat calls Clark leaves message re: E-mail Cat, it's Clark. Thanks for telling me about this. I downloaded your=20 email and yes it does sound pretty scary. I am just glad that you are=20 okay. I found it weird to see Superman's name on the guest speaker list=20 in the first place. Superman and I are pretty close, and I don't=20 remember him ever telling me anything like that. If I had known, I would=20 of asked him for a ride to Gotham instead of blowing my money on=20 airfare! LOL! I will still look into it though. And Cat, please, PLEASE feel free to call me if you ever feel scared or=20 lonely. My door is always open. Take care, Clark=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat calls Clark leaves message re: E-mail Clark by the way. I am using my father's private jet to fly to=20 Gotham City, all my friends and co-workers at the Planet are more than=20 welcome to fly with me. Clark, you can let me know if you and Mayson=20 would like to fly to Gotham with me. My father's, pilots and crew are=20 wonderful and there is plenty of room. Caio, Cat =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat calls Clark leaves message re: E-mail Hmm.. how big is the jet? If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to=20 invite Lois along too. I assume she's going to the ball even though she=20 hasn't RSVPed you yet. I keep hearing her grumbling about something.=20 Maybe it has to do with the fact that she has to dress up! LoL! Clark=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat calls Clark leaves message re: E-mail Clark, no problem ask Lois, matter of fact I posted a note on the=20 bullitan board at work letting everyone know if they are going to the=20 ball they can RSVP me and go on the jet too :O)! So if Lois wants to ride in the jet everyone is welcome :O)! Clark you know my moto: The more the merrier! Have a great day. Later, Cat=20 =20 * * * * Mayson has finally found time to open package Mayson finished her work and decided to take a break and open the=20 package that contained her ball gown and accessories. She got a box=20 cutter out of her desk drawer and slit the plastic ropes that held the=20 box securely together. Then she slit the tape carefully. She pulled the=20 lid off the top of the box and gently pushed back the tissue paper.=20 "Ohhhh, God it is so lovely!" Mayson exclaimed as she lifted the=20 "Carribean blue" gown out of the box. Holding the gown up against=20 herself, she looked into the floor length free standing mirror in her=20 office. The blue fragile fabrice complimented her lovely complextion and=20 eyes, as well as accentuating the blonde highlights of her hair. Mayson=20 locked her door and paged her secretary to let her know she was out of=20 pocket for 45 minutes. Then she took off her business suit, and stepped=20 into the gown. "Wow! What a gown." Mayson said to herself. The strapless=20 gown fit her perfectly, it lay perfectly on her figure as if she had=20 been born with it on. Mayson smiled took off the gown and put her suit=20 back on. Then packed her gown up and took it to her car to leave at the=20 cleaners so they could press it and have it ready for the ball on=20 Saturday evening.=20 =20 * * * * MPD Calls Cat Ring...Ring..."Hello, Cat speaking.." "Hi, Ms Grant. This is Metropolis=20 PD Officer O'Malley speaking. I just wanted to let you know that we may=20 have a lead on your attacker." Cat: "Officer, that is wonderful. Maybe I can sleep better when that=20 mean person is apprehended." MPD: "Well, you just leave it to us, we'll find him and then see that he=20 pays for what he did. You have a good day Ms Grant." Cat: "Thanks Officer, bye now."=20 =20 * * * * Cat=92s phone rings: Ring....Ring..."Hello, Cat here!"=20 Muffled voice: "Hello KitCat, stay out of my plans for Supermen, or next=20 time, you will die. No fancy defense classes will save your pretty neck=20 next time. Is your cracked rib sore? I have a piece of your blouse, it=20 smells like your perfume."=20 Cat: "Who is this? Who ever you are, you better not mess with Superman=20 or any of my friends and colleagues because you really don't know with=20 whom you are messing! I know your type, you think you are so mighty=20 hiding behind e-mails and phone lines... Well listen up buster, I am not=20 some coward who is going to just sit by and let you mess with my friends=20 and co-workers and aquaintances." Muffled voice: "Listen Witch! If you want to stay alive, don't mess with=20 the program...If Superman knows what is good for him he won=92t show up for=20 that ball or his friends will die, and I know he really cares for a=20 certain brunette reporter." Cat: "Listen jerk! Lois Lane is ten times smarter than you and so am I,=20 don't mess with us or you may just feel the wrath of women scorned. We=20 don't need Superman to take you down." With that Cat slammed down the=20 phone. The phone rang again and again, finally Cat took the phone off the hook.=20 =20 * * * *=20 Clark this is URGENT!!!!! "Hi Clark, Cat again... I am calling on my cellphone, so that is=20 why the connection sounds fuzzy. Clark the e-mail guy is calling me now=20 at home and he talked to me the first time, now he just hangs up after=20 saying some really gross thing. Call me on my cellphone 555-1616 when=20 you can and I'll tell you more. I saved the e-mail messages that the=20 weirdo sent me. Hope you talk to Superman soon, cause this guy wants to=20 kill him." Caio, Cat =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Clark this is URGENT!!!!! Cat, you really need to get out of your house NOW! I would feel much=20 better if you were here at the Planet, around people who can look after=20 you, while this psycho is still on the loose! Clark =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Clark this is URGENT!!!!! : "Hi Clark,Cat here, I shall be at the Planet soon. Thanks for=20 your help, I think I should leave Bruce Wayne a message and let him know=20 that the e-mails especially the one regarding Superman being a speaker=20 at the ball originated from Gotham City, supposedly from the Wayne=20 Foundation. However, they used a scrambled signal from there so my=20 sources still do not have a pinpoint location." Thanks for all your help! Caio, Cat=20 =20 * * * * Cat to Bruce Wayne URGENT!!!!! Hello Bruce, Catherine Grant here... I thought that you should=20 know that the e-mail I received, supposedly from the Wayne Foundation=20 that stated that Superman would be a guest speaker at the Enviromental=20 Ball had a scrambled signal from somewhere in Gotham City. However, my=20 sources tell me that the latest information they have is that in all=20 probability the e-mail did not come from the Wayne Foundation. Which=20 means that someone is trying to set Superman and God only knows who else=20 up!!! Just thought I'd keep you posted. Caio, Catheirne Grant=20 * * * *=20 A call to Wayne Manor "Wayne Manor..." "Hey Al, it's me..." "Master Dick! I must say, young sir, you gave me quite a scare..." "I know... sorry about that. Thank God you picked me up instead of Sam.=20 Listen, it's very important that I find Bruce. Do you know where I can=20 find him?" "Unfortunately, young sir, Master Bruce has been quite neglegent in=20 informing me of his schedule and whereabouts." "Is Sam there?" "Miss Falcon has arrived, yes. Master Dick?" "Yes?"=20 "I understand your resentment... and I do believe your treatment has=20 been inappropriate recently. However, I must say that perhaps Miss=20 Falcon has been a positive for Master Bruce..." "No way Al... this whole thing is nuts! Bruce would never act this way=20 normally!" "Ah... but perhaps that is the point. Perhaps, young sir, things are not=20 normal. Perhaps, for the first time, Master Bruce is happy... I shall=20 endevour to pass on your message. good evening young sir..." Alfred might be right, and I'm glad he's there to look after things. But=20 I think there's something more here. I have to find Clark.=20 =20 * * * *=20 Cat Grant Narrative: Catherine Grant finished combing her hair and pinning it up. She had on=20 a pale green pants suit for her days work at the Planet. She donned her=20 jump suit picked up her gloves and made her way to the parking garage.=20 She got onto her motorcycle, opened the compartment in the back and took=20 out her helmet.=20 Catherine sped along the streets of Metropolis enjoying the feel of the=20 road, and the hum of the tires on the pavement. She stopped in at a=20 local gas station to top off her tank. Then went on her way. She rolled into the Daily Planet's parking lot and pulled her expensive=20 British made wheels into a secured area. "Morning, Ms Grant!" The=20 security guard said and smiled at her. "Ah, Morning Hank!" Cat said with=20 a wave. She took off her jump suit and helmet, gloves and stowed them in=20 a locker. As the elevator doors opened to the Planet=92s newsroom, she saw Clark=20 answering his messages, Jimmy on the phone, Perry hadn't arrived yet,=20 near as Cat could tell. Lois, was getting coffee or tea at the break=20 table. "It is good to be back!" Cat said to herself as she made her way to her=20 desk. Cat sat down and begin listening to her messages, and looking at=20 her e-mail at the same time.=20 * * * *=20 Code CS2DC Grant Urgent!! Grant, respond code CS2DC...urgent... "L" =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Code CS2DC Grant Urgent!! "CS2DC here respond proper code..." Cat: "Grant, SACS2DCDPR, respond..." "Good morning Ms. Grant! Happy to know=20 that you are well." Cat: "Sir, could you give me further information as to what in the sam=20 hill is going on?" Cat asked the man on the scrambled line. "Ms. Grant, let=92s just say that what you require is being delivered to=20 you for "Your Eyes Only"... Cat: "Understood, message for my eyes only today." "Affirmative, out!" Cat: "Affirmative, out!" Cat hung up the special phone and put it back in its case. She wondered=20 what this day would bring. Crime in this nation is really out of=20 control. "Well Cat, lets see just how much you can help your country. Afterall,=20 you are way more than just your reporter cover." Cat told herself and=20 smiled as she looked around her at the hustle and bustle of the=20 newsroom.=20 =20 * * * *=20 Cat leaves Jimmy a message on=20 desk Jimmy hi, I have a friend who owns a Tux shop it is called For Every=20 Occasion. He said that if you needed a tux he needs you. His name is=20 Chris and he has a new designer line in that he needs gentlemen to wear=20 out to special occasions. Jimmy he is offering you a free Tux for the=20 evening because you are a colleage of mine and it is great business to=20 help out Daily Planet Employees. Chris's number is 555-2222. Later, Cat=20 =20 * * * * Messages to all Daily Planet staff!!!! To the staff that shall be attending the Enviromental Ball in Gotham=20 City: I have my father's jet at my disposal, so RSVP me Catherine Grant,=20 if you and your date, party would like to fly down to the ball. This jet=20 seats 123 passengers. Thanks, Catherine Grant=20 =20 * * * *=20 Mayson to Cat Grant: Hi Cat, I got you message regarding your father's jet for=20 transportation to the Wayne Foundation Ball. If it is okay with Clark=20 Kent it is just fine with me. I used three months salary to buy my gown=20 and accessories for this ball, so saving on air fair would certainly=20 help. Thanks again! Regards, Mayson Drake=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Mayson to Cat Grant: Ring....Ring...."Hello, Mayson Drake speaking?" "Mayson, hi it's Cat, I got your message, I haven't spoken to Clark yet=20 or gotten a message from him, he has been in and out all day but just as=20 soon as you or I hear from him I'll let the crew know to add you both to=20 the passenger list. Mayson: "Cat thanks, I really am looking forward to this ball, it sounds=20 like fun and a great way to help our enviroment." Cat: "Yes Mayson...this is just what the Enviromental doctor ordered." Mayson: "Don't you know it!" Mayson smiles as she thinks about meeting=20 the DA and staff at this ball and not to mention Bruce Wayne and his=20 family. "Yes Cat, it sounds like such fun. See you later, call if you=20 need my office or me for anything!" Cat: "You know I will Mayson, and you do the same!" "Talk to you soon Mayson." Mayson: "Yes Cat, lets do lunch this week!" Cat: "Sounds great Mayson how about tomorrow?" Mayson: "Tomorrow it is at the Americana?" Cat: "See you there say 12:30?" Mayson: "12:30 is fine and penciled in on my date book. bye bye."=20 Mayson hangs up! Cat: "bye!" Cat hangs up.=20 * * * * Lois to Clark Clark! WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING???? You almost ruined my lunch date with Mr. Wayne when you showed up! I=20 can't believe you waltzed your way to our table and then leaned over and=20 gave me a kiss! And a kiss on the lips to boot!! Bruce gave me a look like we were an item or something!!! Thank goodness=20 I set him straight once you left. I'm not sure how you found out about=20 me and Bruce, but I am going to make sure that the next time I go out on=20 an interview like that, YOU'RE NOT COMING!!! And please, please, PLEASE=20 never kiss me like that again! I don't know if that's how they greet=20 others in Smallville, but this is Metropolis and in the big city, we=20 don't do that, farmboy! Lois=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Clark to Lois Lois... Since when did you start calling Mr. Wayne, Bruce? And I don't think you would be complaining if it was Superman who had=20 waltzed up to your table and gave you that kiss! Am I right? Clark =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Lois to Clark Whatever Superman and I do or don't do behind closed doors is nobody's=20 business but MINE! I'm not one to kiss and tell. I leave that job to=20 Cat! And on the subject of Mr. Wayne, I started calling him Bruce after we=20 met. Just between you and me, I think he's kinda attracted to me. ;) Lois=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Clark to Lois Whatever you say Lois, whatever you say... Speaking of Mr. Wayne, I really need to talk to you about the ball.=20 Please meet me in the Conference Room in about an hour. Thanks. Clark * * * * The Conference Room Lois hangs up the phone and shakes her head. She just listened to Cat's=20 voicemail and she can't believe how nice she's being. She then looks=20 down at her watch and sighs. It is 1:30, time to meet Clark. She picks=20 up her coffee cup and heads towards the Conference Room. Meanwhile Clark is watching her from the window. He's put in a trance by=20 her long and shapely legs. Lois is wearing a brown skirt with a tan=20 blouse and light brown blazer. She looks great! Heck she looks great in=20 anything...or out of anything. Clark hits himself for thinking that last=20 thought. It is not very gentlemanly of him to be thinking things like=20 that... Lois opens up the door and steps inside. Clark: "Lois, I'm glad you came. Please sit down." Lois sat down at the table and Clark sat down next to her. Clark: "Lois, I wanted to talk to you about the ball. I know you're not=20 one for dates, but I think it would be safer if we went together." Lois: "What?" Clark: "Well what I mean is that I go as your escort ...I mean it would=20 look kinda weird if we went by ourselves and I don't think you want=20 people staring at you or me for that matter. All we would have to do is go into the ballroom together and then we can go our seperate ways." Lois: "Well..." Clark: "Lois, it will be strickly business, I promise!" Lois: "Well when you put it that way, I guess we really don't have a=20 choice. I really don't want to hear Perry complaining about the fact=20 that I'm going to the ball without my partner. So yes, you can be my=20 escort. I guess... Clark: "Great! I will email Cat and let her know that we will be going=20 together on her plane." Clark starts to walk out the door when Lois stops him. Lois: "And Kent, I will pick YOU up at 7am on Friday!" Clark walks out the door and smiles.=20 * * * * Email message to Cat Hey Cat, There's been a little change in plans. Lois is coming as my date to the=20 ball, so please reserve seats in your jet for the both of us. Thanks. Clark =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Email message to Cat Hello Clark, reservations for you and Lois confirmed. Also, our=20 mutual friend Mayson is also riding in the jet with us. She confirmed=20 her reservation yesterday or the day before... Can't remember, oh well,=20 you have a great day... caio, Cat * * * * Cat finished column for day to Perry Cat finished her column for the day, and printed out the copy. Went to=20 the Chief's office and placed it in his editor box.=20 Perry was on the phone, he smiled and waved as Cat's copy floated into=20 his box file.=20 Cat smiled, waved and mouthed "Nite Chief!" Cat made her way to the elevator doors and punched the button. =20 the doors opened, Cat stepped into the elevator and listened to the=20 annoying elevator music. The doors opened and Cat made her way to the lobby.=20 =20 * * * * Mayson Drake leaves message for Cat Hi Cat it's me Mayson, I would be happy to take you up on that=20 offer to fly to Gotham in the jet! Sounds like a wonderful, peaceful way=20 to get to the ball. I am looking forward to meeting the other guests and maybe doing a=20 dancing, if I am asked of course! Mayson laughs. I'll probably be a=20 wallflower though you know me and men! Don't forget lunch today!!=20 Talk to you soon. Bye Mayson=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Cat calls Mayson: Ring...Ring..."Hello Mayson Drake here!" Cat: Mayson hi Cat here, lunch is still a go with me! I'll see you at=20 the Americana as we planned at 12:30. Mayson: "Good Cat, we can drown our sorrows in a big dessert!" Mayson=20 smiles as she thinks about the dessert. Cat: "Sounds like just what the doctor ordered, although my trainer may=20 shoot me, have to watch my diet!" Mayson: "You have to watch you diet, you have a wonderful body." Cat: "Thanks for the compliment, but you know I train for bike races and=20 such so I limit sugars and such in order to stay in shape." Mayson: "Yes, someone told me, maybe it was you that you compete in=20 Martial Arts competitions?" Cat: "Yes I do, and I've had my share of bruises." Mayson: "Well duty calls, see you at 12:30!" Cat: "Yes 12:30 bye for now." Cat hangs up the phone finished typing the page of her column.=20 Stretches her arms to relax them. Then she goes over to the drink table=20 and pours herself a cup of coffee. Sipping the coffee, she thinks about=20 all the things she has to do to finish up=20 the ball plans.=20 * * * * {continued in part 2} ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 04:00:52 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" Week #3 Part 2 of 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Lunch at the Americana Mayson and Cat arrived at the resturant on time. Smiling at each other=20 they went to the hostess who told them to pick a table. Cat: "Well Mayson so tell me about your gown!" Cat pleaded to the pretty=20 lawyer. Mayson: Blushing before she answered. "Well it is really a wonderful=20 gown and I plunked about three months salary to get it. But Cat, I am=20 wondering if I should even go at all." Cat: "Mayson what in the world would make you say such a thing? Of course=20 you should go!" Mayson: "Well, I just...I really am shy and when I try to express my=20 feelings....I..uh look stupid!" Mayson tried to hide her embarrassment=20 but she could tell that nothing escapes Catherine Grant's diserning=20 eyes. Cat: "Mayson, you are one of the nicest people that I have ever known,=20 and let me tell you that if other people can't see that, well then it is=20 their loss, yes indeed it is their loss." Cat told Mayson and smiled=20 trying to reassure her. Mayson: "I think all that people see is the lawyer, not the woman!" Cat: "Well the way the guys turned to look at you as we walked into this=20 resturant tells me differently." Cat told her. Mayson: "Cat they probably were looking at you!" Cat: "Naw, I can tell when a guy is looking at me and when a guy is=20 looking at my pretty lunch companion. I have had lots of training in=20 these things you know." Mayson: "What things?" Cat: "Oh you know being aware of people around me, and what they look=20 like who they are looking at!" Mayson: "Well if you say so Catherine!" Cat: "You know it girlfriend!" The two ate lunch laughed and had a pleasant time.=20 Confident in the fact that they were their own persons and didn't need a=20 guy to define who they are. They left the resturant and returned to their work secure in the=20 knowledge that if the Earth opened up and swallowed them, they would=20 survive. =20 * * * * Lois to Lucy Hey Luce! I heard Jimmy invited you to the ball. It's fine with me, but be=20 careful! Most guys have one thing in mind and I don't want to see you=20 get hurt! Listen to my warning sis.. I mean I of all people should=20 know.. See you in Gotham! Love,=20 Lois BTW, Cat is taking her private jet and she invited us all along. Would=20 you like me to sign you and Jimmy up for this plane ride too?=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Lucy to Lois Hey Lois! Yeah, Jimmy invited me to the Ball. I think it should be fun. And don't=20 worry about me, I can take care of myself. You always do this...you are=20 too over protective! The jet thing sounds fun... I've never been in a private jet. Sure sign=20 us up, that is, if Jimmy wants to... Love, Lucy=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Email message to Jimmy: Transportation Hi Jimmy, it's Lois. I talked to my sister Lucy and yes I give you two my blessing! LOL! I don't know if you have read the bulletin board yet but Cat is offering=20 her private jet for all of us to travel in when we go to Gotham. Would=20 you like to join Clark and I and the others. I already mentioned it to=20 Luce who said she will go if you go. Thanks. Lois=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Jimmy to Lois -- e-mail Heyyyyy, I now have the official sister blessing. Thank you, Lois! Yeah, private jet sounds great. What time do we take off? Hey, BTW, do you need me as photographer for that assignment you've got=20 this afternoon, or do you already have one? --Jimmy =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Lois to Jimmy-- e-mail Ha, ha! Just remember Jimmy, I'll be watching you two! No funny business=20 you hear me! I don't have a photographer so you can tag along if you like. ;) Lois * * * * Letter to Clark from his mom Clark, That is so great that Lois agreed to go to the ball with you. But you=20 have to realize that she is only going for her protection, she hasn't=20 realized she loves you yet and you have to respect that. I hope you have fun at the ball honey and I expect a full report on how=20 the ball went.=20 Do you need anything, anything at all? Jonathan and I would be willing=20 to come up to Metropoilis. So if you need anything, anything at all,=20 don't hesitate calling on me.=20 Well we have to be getting to bed now so I will talk to you later. Mom=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Letter to Clark from his mom WOW, Mom are you psychic or something? I just got done talking to Lois=20 about that and she agreed to go but only if I am her escort and nothing=20 else. I actually suggested that she would be my escort and nothing else.=20 Fortunately she agreed. I just want to make sure is she is okay. I have a breaking news story to work on Mom, so i will get back to you=20 on maybe having you guys visit me next weekemd, a bit later!=20 Love, Clark=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Letter to Clark from his mom Clark, Oh that would be great. We would love to visit you. Only if it isn't too=20 much trouble for you.=20 Well I am glad that you are going to keep an eye on Lois, I feel better=20 knowing she is in good hands.=20 Well gotta go=20 Love, Mom=20 =20 * * * *=20 Mayson to Cat Hi Cat, it's Mayson, I think I may not go to the ball afterall...=20 I don't want to appear to be a desperate third wheel or anything. I do=20 have self respect and self esteem. Call me and we'll talk. Regards, Mayson=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat to Mayson Ring...Ring..."Hello Mayson Drake here."=20 Cat: "Mayson, hi how are you doing?" Mayson: "Fine, got a large case to go to court today." Cat: "Mayson, please go to the ball. I know you would have a really good=20 time. I will be pretty busy making sure that all the guests know where=20 to go and all, you know being an escort/hostess type at a ball keeps one=20 busy, but you could have alot of fun. And Mayson, you are no ones third=20 wheel." Mayson: "Well, keep my reservation, and if I can muster up enough=20 courage to come along with you all I shall." Cat: "Mayson, you sell yourself short, you have plenty of courage, you=20 just have to have more faith!" Mayson: "Okay, Cat, thanks for the pep talk, I shall try." Cat: "Talk with you soon okay?" Mayson: "Soon I promise!" Cat: "Bye for now!" Mayson: "Bye now." Cat hung up the phone and wondered if her friendly DA friend was really=20 alright. "It seems like more than a ball is bothering Mayson. I can't=20 put my finger on it but it seems like she was trying to tell me=20 something but was too afraid to." Cat said to herself, as she sat at her=20 desk at the Planet. "Oh well, Mayson is smart and saavy, she knows to=20 get help if she needs it." Still Cat couldn't shake the feeling that=20 something was wrong. "Perhaps, I am just being silly..." Cat told=20 herself as she finished up the page of her column.=20 =20 * * * * Voicemail to Cat Hi Cat! Lois and I are trying to work out a time to meet tommorow for our trip=20 to Gotham. What time should we meet you at the airport. You can call me at home. My # is 555-6611. Thanks. Clark P.S. I hope you are feeling better then you did the other day! =3D)=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Voicemail to Cat "Hi Clark, say 6:30 so we can all board the jet and this gives=20 everyone time to get to the airport without out our jet being delayed. I=20 also have limosenes that will take us from Gotham airport to the ball. Oh yes feeling much better than I did the other day thanks for asking! Well have a great day, probably see you at work later today, or if you=20 are out of the Planet doing leg work for your column then I'll see ya=20 whenever! Thanks for calling! Later, Cat=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Voicemail to Cat WOW! 6:30 that's early! Lois is going to have a fit that she is going to=20 have to pick me up at 6:15! Oh well maybe a flash of that special *Kent=20 charm* will make the transition smoother! Yeah right! LOL! I'm glad to hear that you're better Cat. Call me anytime. Clark=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Voicemail to Cat Clark, I think Lois will be perfectly okay with that time,=20 because she is looking forward to possibly getting more for her=20 interview on Bruce Wayne. Yes, I feel fine thanks for being a good friend Clark... PS Don't worry too much about Lois pitching a fit, she'll forgive you=20 when she gets to the ball :O) Caio,=20 Cat =20 * * * * Mayson to Cat Ring....Ring..."Hi this is Cat!" Mayson: "Cat, hi is this a good time to talk?" Cat: "Sure, what's up?" Mayson: "I just wanted to let you know why I was so bummed when I talked=20 to you earlier! Our legal team had just lost a big case and our boss was=20 in a foul mood. Needless to say, I have a ton of work to do trying to=20 dig us out of this mess." Cat: "Mayson, I am sorry, I knew something was wrong, but I didn't want=20 to pry I knew you'd tell me if you wanted me to know." Cat told her=20 friend. Mayson: "Thanks Cat, I really needed someone to talk to!" Cat: "Hey, I have an Idea, it's night, why don't we go to O'Brians and=20 have a drink or two? We can take a cab so we don't have to drive!" Mayson: "Sounds great, Cat, I'll meet you at the pub say in 30=20 miinutes?" Cat: "Cool, sounds like just what we need!" Mayson: "Okay, I'll see you in a few!" Cat: "Yea, in a few!" They both hung up the phone then picked up and=20 called a cab. Cat checked her make-up and remembered to get her friend out of the=20 safe! "A girl can never be tooo careful!" O'Brians was a hub of Irish music, fun and dance. Cat and Mayson arrived=20 about the same time paid their cabbies and went into O'Brians. They sat down at a table a waiter came and took their order. Mayson: "I didn't know you liked O'Brians!" Cat: "Yes I love this place, especially the music and the dance." Mayson: "This is one of the hottest night spots in Metropolis, and I=20 love their Irish Stew!" Cat: "Hummmm me to, and their brewery!" The two sipped coffee and ate creamed strawberries. Laughing and talking=20 about dates they had in high school and college. Just having a *girl's*=20 night out. Cat: "Mayson, I am really glad that you decided to join me tonight, it=20 is fun coming here alone but to have a friend to laugh and enjoy the=20 food and drinks with well it is just loads of fun !" Mayson: "Cat you are so totally right!" Cat: "I have an Idea, we need to take this party to one of our homes,=20 let's flip your's or mine!" Cat told Mayson and giggled. Mayson: "Oh your apartment cause you have all those vintage movies and=20 lots of great music and of course those cloths!" So the two decided to go to Cat's apartment and dress up in Cat's=20 antique gowns and just laugh and talk and cry over the old romantic=20 movies and veg out on popcorn. Just have a good, party like in the days=20 of college when all the soroity sisters would get together and have a=20 party and just have plenty of girl talk and romantic movies and fun. Cat: "Hey Mayson, I have some "Bailey's here you want some ?" Mayson: "Sure just a wee bit!" Cat poured a couple of glasses of the wondrous stuff from Ireland and=20 they sat in front of the large screen tv sipping and watching Robinhood. After a while the two got really sleepy and decided to sack out. Cat=20 generously let Mayson have her bedroom and she made out her sofa bed. "Wow, what fun, just a girls night out!" Cat drifted off into sleep=20 dreaming of knights and sword fights and daring jousting matches and the=20 knight who would rescue her from the evil knight. Mayson drifted off to sleep dreaming of the perfect lawyer who would=20 rescue her from a lost case and make everything alright, then she went=20 on to dream of prince charming on a white steed riding up to carry her=20 away.=20 As morning dawned in Metropolis the two were still sleeping=20 peacefully...=20 * * * * The good news and bad news. Email to LL Hi Lois... There has been a slight change of plans. I talked to Cat today and she=20 told me that we need to get to the airport by 6:30am tommorow! I know=20 you're not a morning person, but think of it this way, my face will be=20 the first face you see in the morning! =3D) And Lois could you please call Jimmy and let him know about the details?=20 I just remembered I have to return an overdue library book! Thanks. Clark=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D Re: The good news and bad news. Email to LL Clark, your face would be the last... No you know what, I'm not even=20 going to go there. It's just too easy! ;p~ I really don't like the idea of waking up early, but I will just have to=20 think of it this way, the earlier I get to Gotham the closer I get to=20 Bruce Wayne!=20 An overdue library book? I mean.. you are so weird! It works for you=20 though.. well some of the time. Lois * * * * Re: Mayson to Cat: After Partying Cat woke up and made coffee and scones. Mayson woke got up showered and=20 borrowed a nice terry robe and slippers from Cat. The two ate scones=20 with real butter and drank their coffee. Mayson looked at her outfit=20 from the last night. "Ohh this is a mess!" Cat: "Here borrow my shirtdress until you get home it will match your=20 shoes so you won't feel weird wearing the outfit you had on last night." "Thanks Cat, I will and I'll launder it before I get it back to you." "Ah no biggie really Mayson." Cat told her friend. So Mayson changed and left so she could get ready for work and not be=20 late. Cat showered and got ready for her day at the Planet. "It was a nice evening and I really enjoyed it."=20 =20 * * * * Phone Message to Lois from Mom (Ellen Lane-folcnewbie) LOIS I AM SO FRANTIC HERE! WHY DON'T YOU RETURN MY PHONE CALLS! I WANT TO=20 KNOW IF YOU ARE ALRIGHT! LUCY WON'T TELL ME ANYTHING AND IT IS DRIVING ME U= P=20 A WALL! ok I will calm down here, I don't know why you don't want your mother to=20 know if you alright! Its like you don't care about the person that=20 brought you into this world. PLEASE CALL ME! or I will have to come and visit you to be certain that=20 you are alright Love, Mom=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Phone Message to Lois=20 from Mom Mother, mother, mother! You DO NOT NEED TO BE WITH ME EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!= =20 I am just about to go home for the night, when I get your phone=20 message. Now I think I'm getting a headache. That's what I like so much=20 about Daddy.. he lets me be my own person. I'm not going to give you=20 the details because it will only worry you more. All I can say is that=20 I'm okay. Love,=20 Lois PS. Take a couple of aspirins or something Mother. If you don't calm=20 down you're going to be in the hospital!=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Phone Message to Lois from Mom I am sorry, but excuse me for loving you.=20 =20 * * * * And in D.C., there is a small meeting.. (Dan Scardino-folc_ite) "Well, you've got yourself another assignment." "Thanks a lot!" The brown haired man smirked as he took the offered=20 manila folder. As he flicked through it, his smirk faded. "You're=20 sending me *back* to Metropolis?" "You're the best we've got." The boss held up his hand, as if to block=20 any protests. "I know you've got history there, I know that's where=20 Jenna was killed, but we need you there. The project requires your...=20 unique touch." He turned away. "Now, go pack. Your plane leaves in two=20 hours." His subordinate opened his mouth to protest, but, realizing the=20 futility, closed it again. A grin broke across his face as he said, "Can=20 I have fun with it?" "You always do." "Can I be corrupt FDA agent Tom Paris?" "You can be Agent Bo Jangles for all I care! Just get out of here!" He held out his hand. "I'll see you when I get back, then." His boss shook it. "Hopefully you can bring that joker down. Good luck,=20 Scardino. You're gonna need it."=20 * * * * Jimmy to Cat--voicemail Cat, this is Jimmy... what time does the jet leave tomorrow? You have one *weird* machine message, here. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re:Jimmy to Cat--voicemail Hi Jimmy, Cat here... Thanks for the compliment on my Star Trek=20 answering machine message :O)!!! We are boarding at 6:30 with a planned=20 take off at 7ish!!! If you and Lucy would like to join our band of merry=20 people then please be at gate 12 between 6:30 and five minutes before=20 7:00... Looking forward to the ball, even though I'll be working most of the=20 night. Don't forget your camera!!! Caio, Cat=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Cat=92s Voice Message is!!!!!!! Greetings, you have=20 reached the communicator of Catherine Grant. The Terran is on duty at=20 this moment, so I am answering for her. At the tone leave your logical=20 communication and I shall forward it onto the proper personnel. Live=20 long and prosper. =20 * * * * Dad to Lois Hi, honey -=20 I got back from the Congo yesterday...just wanted to see how you were=20 doing. Is your mother driving you nuts yet? :) Anything new happening? Let me know what's going on and I'll leave you=20 alone for another month. ;) I'll bet your mother is enough=20 companionship...at least for us Lanes, huh, sweetheart? Talk to you later, hopefully... -Dad=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Lois to Dad Hi Daddy... I'm just about to head off to bed. I have an important trip to Gotham to=20 take tommorow. I'm attending the Enviromental Ball at the Gotham=20 Observatory. Mother driving me nuts, is an understatement! The woman left me a=20 message where she is totally freaking out. If I don't let her know where=20 I am at all times, she thinks I have been abducted or something! This=20 might be too much to ask, but Daddy could you keep her busy while I'm=20 gone. Maybe *rekindle* well, do the thing that you do with Mother.... I=20 don't want to have her jump on a plane to Gotham or whatever. I will=20 deal with her when I get back, or better yet maybe you can make her=20 forget. We have to have lunch sometime too! I miss you so much Daddy. i should=20 be back on Monday so please call my office. Remember my # is 555-9397.=20 =3D) Love your daughter, Lois PS. Luce is coming along with me. Her date is Jimmy Olsen. I don't know=20 if you remember meeting him, but he is our junior photographer here at=20 the Planet.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Dad to Lois Lois - Don't worry about a thing... -Dad=20 =20 * * * * Luthor=92s personal journal These next moves are critical. One must place their set pieces in such a=20 fasion as to insure victory.=20 Soon, I will have to make my move toward the queen.=20 =20 * * * * Sam to Ellen Hi, Ellen -=20 How are you doing these days? I've been away on a trip...don't worry,=20 it's nothing *too* far-fetched. Okay, so maybe I'm looking for a few=20 exotic plants, but it's no big deal or anything. I was wondering if=20 you'd like to go have dinner tomorrow night...eight-ish at the Silver=20 Spoon? Let me know...I would love to see you again! -Sam =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Ellen to Sam Sam, Sure I would love to see you again too what time are you picking me up?=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Sam to Ellen Ellen - I'll pick you up at 7:45. See you tonight! -Sam=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Sam to Ellen Ellen gets ready a little early and waits for Sam on the couch to pick=20 her up for dinner=20 =20 * * * * Mayson court case Mayson looked over the case before her, wondering if there was anything=20 handled incorrectly before it goes before the judge. "We don't want a=20 repeat of last weeks fiasco!" Mayson told herself. She had searched and=20 searched and had her team interview all the people involved, but still=20 you never know when a search warrant wasn't issued or an illegal search=20 took place, or the defense claims that evidence was tampered with. The beautiful blonde DA looked pensive as she remembered how a mob boss=20 was set free on a technicality! "Never again on my watch!" Mayson proclaimed and marched out to get the=20 files she needed from the courthouse.=20 =20 * * * * Cat to Mayson: Ring....Ring...."Mayson Drake here!" Cat: "Mayson, how would you like to meet me at the gym for a good=20 workout?" Mayson: "Cat, I'd love to but I have a ton of work to review before a=20 case next week!" Cat: "Mayson you know that a lawyer is better if their mind and body are=20 in great shape!" Mayson: "Okay, I'll meet you for a little while, but none of that=20 *Martial Arts, Kick boxing* stuff for me, I'll settle for the treadmill=20 and then the sauna for awhile today!" Cat: "Anything you say, Mayson!" Cat smiled as she spoke. Mayson: "Cat how do you do all that stuff, you know my office staff=20 calls you lady Bruce Lee!!" Cat: "Well you know what they say.....Boards don't hit back!" It's the=20 nuts on the streets a girl has to watch out for." Mayson: "I know what you mean, Cat, I really do!" Cat: "See you at the gym about 6:00." Mayson: "6:00 it is bye for now!" Cat: "Bye Mayson, see ya!" Cat hung up the phone and smiled to herself. "Have to keep Mayson=92s=20 spirits up, after her office lost that case on a trumped up charge it=20 really threw her." Cat settled back to her column for the Planet, thinking about the=20 Enviromental Ball and all the wonderful scoops she would have for her=20 column after that night.=20 * * * * The Gym Mayson and Catherine meet at the gym, they did light stretching before=20 starting their exercise programs. Cat opted to do the stairsteps next to=20 Mayson's treadmill. They chatted and laughed and talked about their=20 gown's and the fashions that would probably be at the ball. Then they went to the sauna to relax and drift off into a light sleep for=20 a few minutes. After the Sauna they showered and changed into their=20 street cloths. Cat: "Well, I'll see you at the jet tomorrow morning :O)!" Mayson: "Sure, can't wait to see the ball and all the people and the=20 fashions!" Cat left the gym on her cycle and sped for home with the wind flying=20 through her hair. "No helmet, if Superman saw me he'd probably give me a=20 lecture on the safty of proper cycling!" Cat laughed as she said that to=20 herself. She stopped at the curb and decided to put her helmet on. "I=20 don't want anything to keep me from the ball."=20 =20 * * * * Phone Message: Ellen to Sam SAM! Where were you I was waiting for you to pick me up for dinner! I mean=20 you said you were going to be there! I even shaved my legs and you know=20 I don't do that very often!=20 How could you stand me up! I mean its like when we were married all over=20 again! You always stood me up and you were never around for the girls! I mean when you invite a woman to dinner at least you could give them=20 the courtesy of showing up! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU! Ellen=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Phone Message: Ellen to Sam Uh...um, sorry, Ellen. I, um...kinda got caught up at work. I was in the=20 middle of, uh, this huge project that I just couldn't leave. I'm really=20 sorry, I was ready and everything! Ready and rarin' to go...I just got a=20 little, um...stalled! Listen, how can I make it up to ya? Name any time=20 and any place and I'll be there...promise. Nothing will keep me from=20 coming, all right? All right...um, well, I'll talk to you later, then.=20 Call me at my office or my apartment. Bye!=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Sam, Well, I will forgive you this time, THIS TIME! I will give you a second=20 chance, I mean I am not going to put up with it as long as I did when we=20 were married. I mean you were the one that asked me out. Ok lets not get=20 started again Ellen Will Saturday at 7pm work for you? =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Phone Message: Ellen to Sam Hi Ellen -=20 Sure, Saturday night at 7 will be perfect. Absolutely perfect. And I=20 *promise* I'll be there... Bye! -Sam * * * * Look for installment #3 coming to a monitor near you sometime next week! Enjoy! Thanks. Alexis ;-.) {ADITLOM, abitrator} ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:20:56 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW STORY- Final Forgiveness [INTRO] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable This is not my first attempt at writing fanfic, although I haven't really=20 been pleased with the other stuff I've sent to the archive. This is the=20 first fic I've ever been really proud of. WARNING: This is a deathfic=85 I advise anyone that does not like deathfic=20= not=20 to read this, although it does not involve the death of any of the main=20 characters. I usually HATE deathfic with a passion, but for some reason I=20 was driven to write this. =20 And for everyone that read this on Zoom's boards, this is a bit different=20 from the draft I posted on the MB's although it still isn't a final draft ye= t=20 :) And thanks for your wonderful encouragement... without you guys, I would= =20 never have finished :) Alicia ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:28:36 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW- Final Forgiveness- [1/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [1/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) Darkness fell upon Metropolis, New Troy, but one man did not notice or even=20 care. This man drove aimlessly along the city's streets just talking to=20 himself. He had just received some heartbreaking news. Today, he was=20 diagnosed with a rare, extremely aggressive, form of lymphoma, which had=20 already spread beyond the point where doctors could hope to control it. He=20 had as little as a month left to live. This man was desperate. "I'm not=20 ready to die yet." His life was full of countless mistakes that he wanted t= o=20 atone for before he died. Unfortunately, now he wasn't even sure if he had=20 enough time to make up for just one of his many sins. As he wallowed, he=20 concluded, "My life is life completely worthless; Maybe the world would be a= =20 better place without me." His family didn't even care about him; not that h= e=20 even deserved their sympathy after all of the times he had hurt them. "Elle= n=20 hung up on me as soon as she heard my voice. Lucy and Lois didn't even=20 bother to pick up. They must have caller id. What's the use, they'd just=20 react the same was as Ellen." =20 The man soon found himself driving down Hyperion Avenue. "Hmm, Hyperion= ,=20 Lois lives on Hyperion." He drove down the street until he came to her=20 driveway. "That's her Jeep parked over there, so she must be home. Ha, I=20 was right. She was ignoring my call. Oh well, I hope she doesn't mind me=20 stopping." He parked on the street and walked into the vestibule of his=20 daughter's brownstone. When he approached the door, he heard a woman=20 giggling and a man talking in a muffled voice. "Shoot, I hope I'm not here=20 at a bad time. They are newlyweds after all." =20 The couple inside the house was playing a game of strip poker. The woma= n=20 was winning and visibly gloating. Her husband was sitting on the chair=20 across from her clad only in his boxer shorts. The woman, however, was full= y=20 clothed. Even from outside the door, Sam could hear her celebrating her=20 latest victory and saying something about lead lined cards. Then he rang th= e=20 doorbell. =20 The woman answered the door as her husband replaced his clothing rapidly. =20 She was surprised, to say the least, when she saw her father at the door. H= e=20 looked haggard, so much older than his fifty-nine years. She gasped, "Daddy= ,=20 oh my god. What's wrong?" The man, Dr. Samuel Lane, walked into the house belonging to his daughte= r=20 Lois Lane and her husband Clark Kent, and said bluntly, "Lois, I've been=20 diagnosed with a terminal form of lymphoma. I'm dying, Princess." =20 Lois looked at her father incredulously. Had she really heard what she=20 thought she had? Could she be imagining it? She glanced at Clark and saw=20 him staring at Sam in shock. "Oh my god," Lois gasped again. Sam blinked his eyes, trying not to let his emotions show, and said in a= =20 dry tone, "I just found out today. They told me that I only have about four= =20 weeks left." Lois reached out to her father, trying to make sure he was really there,= =20 and that she wasn't imagining this whole exchange. "What? How did this=20 happen?" Clark could not believe the way Sam seemed so blas=E9 about his own=20 illness. This must be a defense mechanism that Sam's using to shield himsel= f=20 from the harsh reality of his own imminent death. Even so, Clark couldn't=20 help but raise his eyebrows when Sam told them that he only had four weeks=20 left. He asked, "Four weeks? Are you sure?" Dr. Lane said, with a crack in his voice, "I've suspected that I might b= e=20 sick for a few months now. I didn't think it was anything serious. I was s= o=20 sure it would pass, but it never did." =20 Now it was Lois' turn to become incredulous. "Aren't you a doctor? Didn't=20 you know something wasn't right?" Sam did have the decency to look down at=20 the floor in shame as his daughter spoke. Lois continued, "Didn't you think= =20 it was just a little unusual when you weren't getting any better?" Sam looked at the floor sheepishly. He played with an edge of the doormat=20 with his shoe. "I never wanted to believe I was this sick. When it's your=20 own life, sometimes you just don't notice the major symptoms, or else you=20 write them off as trivial coincidences. You try to ignore them and pretend=20 you're fine." Sam looked up and saw tears forming in his daughter's eyes. =20 Clark seemed to sense Lois' emotional distress even before the tears formed.= =20 Before Lois even showed the first outward sign of being upset, Clark had=20 already put his arm around her to comfort her. Sam continued, "I was pretty= =20 sure it was just some kind of chronic fatigue. It could have been that the=20 long hours I was putting in at the lab were finally getting to me..." He le= t=20 his voice trail off as it became difficult for him to speak because of the=20 huge lump that had formed in his throat. Lois noticed that her father was having a hard time talking. His=20 emotions must have finally gotten to him. So she grabbed his hand and said,= =20 "Come on, let's sit down." She guided her father towards the big armchair,=20 and then she and Clark sat down on the couch. When they were all settled in= =20 their new positions, Lois continued, "Did you tell Mother or Lucy yet?" Sam rubbed his temples trying to relieve some of the pressure that had=20 built up as soon as his daughter mentioned his ex-wife and his other=20 daughter. He sighed, "No, Princess, not yet. I tried, but your mother hung= =20 up the phone as soon as she heard my voice, and your sister didn't even=20 answer her phone. You didn't answer your phone either, but I was just=20 driving around the city and somehow I ended up on your street and saw your=20 car in the drive. I wouldn't have interrupted you, but I really needed=20 someone to talk to about this." Clark smiled at Lois when he envisioned just what Sam would have=20 interrupted if he had arrived about ten minutes later. "Don't worry about i= t=20 Sam. You weren't really interrupting anything. I'm just sorry we didn't=20 answer the phone when you called." =20 Lois grinned at Clark and added, "We haven't had too much time together, wel= l=20 since our honeymoon. Work's been so hectic lately, so we unplugged the=20 phone. We didn't want anyone from the office to know we were here." Sam nodded and said wistfully, "I know exactly how you're feeling. When= =20 Ellen and I were newlyweds, we never even left the house except to go to=20 work." When Sam talked about Ellen his eyes took a far off look. He rubbed= =20 his temples and continued, "Ellen, now that's something I really messed up.=20= =20 One of the uncountable mistakes I have made in my life. The only good thing= =20 about dying is that it makes you look back at your life and realize what you= =20 have done wrong and what you could have done to prevent your mistakes back=20 before they happened." He looked up at his daughter and son-in-law. Lois,=20 again, was near tears, and this time, she had grabbed Clark's hand. She=20 needed the support and security of his larger one to assure her that whateve= r=20 happened between Sam and Ellen would never happen to them. Clark brought he= r=20 hand up to his mouth and gently kissed it. Sam closed his eyes, remembering= =20 the days in which he and Ellen would have reacted in the same way. He=20 continued, "I guess it's true what people say, hindsight is definitely 20/20= .=20 I regret everything I've ever done to hurt you, Lucy, and your mother. It'= s=20 almost killing me more than the cancer is. I just wish I could do something= =20 to rectify everything I've done, but now it's too late." Lois, now with tears openly flowing, was sent back to her childhood and=20 all the pain that her father had caused for her. She fought the urge to say= =20 something nasty about the way her father had left their family for that Mrs.= =20 Belconto woman, but she knew that she wouldn't really gain anything by=20 hurting her father now. She said, "Daddy, you did hurt mother, Lucy, and=20 myself so badly when we were younger, but at least you weren't one of those=20 deadbeat dads. Even after you left us for that other woman, what was her=20 name, Mrs. Goodbottom?" After the Mrs. Goodbottom came out of her mouth, sh= e=20 immediately regretted it. Her father's face fell, and she could see just ho= w=20 hurt he was by her comment. She tried to make him feel better by saying, "I= =20 can't remember any time when you neglected your responsibilities to us. I=20 know you always paid your child support and alimony on time." Yeah because=20 whenever we got those checks mother would get plastered out of her mind. =20 Sam visibly cringed when Lois described his mistress. "Great, I'm not a=20 criminal. Is that all you can say about me Lois?" =20 Lois looked up at his expectant face and answered, as honestly as she could=20 without hurting him, "I don't think anything can completely nullify the=20 effects of the seventeen years that you almost completely ignored our family= ,=20 or the years before that when everyone knew something was going on, but no=20 one wanted to admit it." Lois looked at Clark, and he squeezed her hand in=20= a=20 comforting gesture. She continued, "But in the last year, you have been=20 trying to make up for it, and doing a good job." =20 Sam's face brightened at her comment. "I've been trying so hard to put my=20 life back together, but I wasn't sure how well I was doing." Lois gently smiled at him, "Recently, I've begun to see you in a new light.=20= =20 You are a good man, deep inside. I know you can't change the past, but you=20 can try to make the most of the time you have left." Sam Lane was now trying to hold back tears. He had never cried in publi= c=20 before, not being the kind of man to show his emotions. However, his=20 daughter's words brought back all of the feelings of inadequacy that he had=20 suffered through earlier in his life. "I know that I hurt the three of you=20 so badly back then. I was just so stupid and self-centered. I didn't=20 realize what I had, so I succumbed to the temptations of success and lust. =20 Once I realized that I was going to go places with my medical career, I=20 didn't want to be saddled with a wife and two young children. I left you=20 because I was selfish." He paused and looked up at Lois and Clark. They=20 were both nodding as if they possibly understood. He continued, "You may no= t=20 believe this, but I've spent so many hours lamenting all the bad choices I'v= e=20 made. I've practically made myself sick thinking about the way things could= =20 have and should have been. I always wonder what would have happened to the=20 four of us if I hadn't practically ignored the three of you for all those=20 years. Would Lucy actually acknowledge that I exist? Would your mother hav= e=20 stared drinking? Could you and I possibly have had a good relationship?" Lois eyes sparkled with more unshed tears. "You can't dwell on the past= .=20 Whatever happened in the past is just that, the past. You just have to=20 remember that not everything you have done for us has been bad." She looked= =20 up to see her father's incredulous look. "Remember the good times we had=20 together before you left. I know that Lucy and I both have memories of you=20 and mother being happy together, and those are the ones we try to remember,"= =20 Lois lied. Sam looked into his daughter's sparkling eyes, "I know you're lying to m= e=20 Lois. I know as well as anyone that both you and especially your sister=20 resent me. And I'm not saying I blame you." Now Lois was crying freely. She looked at her father, the man who had=20 done so much to hurt her, and came to a resolution. Maybe it was Clark's=20 influence, but she truly had forgiven Sam for everything he had done to her.= =20 When she looked over at him she realized, maybe for the first time, that he=20 was a broken man. Because of the way he had lead his life, he now had no on= e=20 to turn to in the wake of his death. Lois knew she had to tell her father=20 exactly how she felt about him. She swallowed the lump that had formed in=20 her throat, wiped the tears from her cheeks, looked her father in the eyes,=20 and said, "I can't speak for Lucy, but I know that I did resent you for the=20 way you treated us. But now I think I've come to terms with everything=20 that's happened, and I think I've even forgiven you." Sam took a sharp intake of breath, hardly able to believe his ears. Had= =20 Lois just said she'd forgiven him? It was more than he had ever dared hope=20 for. His voice was shaky, "What made you change your mind?" When Sam asked the question, Lois was transported back to the previous=20 Christmas. All of the emotions she had felt when she saw both of her parent= s=20 in the same room, when Clark had gotten sick, and when she had known that he= r=20 father had cured him floated through her. Lois smiled and answered, "It=20 happened last Christmas." Then her eyes took on a more haunted look. "That= =20 Christmas started off so badly. Both you and mother showed up at my=20 apartment so unexpectedly, and, to make it worse, you brought that Baby=20 Gunderson robot woman." Clark also remembered that Christmas quite well. That Christmas was the onl= y=20 time he had ever been in his life. He had almost died then, and he owed his= =20 life to the man sitting in the chair across from him. If Sam had not used=20 Kryptonite to starve away the virus that had infected him, he would not be=20 alive today sitting here with his wife. When Lois mentioned Baby Gunderson,= =20 Clark raised his eyebrows and added, "I remember that Christmas all too well= ." Then the couple shared a special look that communicated their gratitude to=20 Sam for allowing Clark to be here now. Clark took this opportunity to put=20 his arm around Lois' shoulders. He pulled her closer to him and kissed the=20 top of her head. =20 Lois leaned into Clark's embrace as the bad memories of that Christmas=20 continued to wash over her. Then she continued, "To make it worse, Clark wa= s=20 called away on an assignment, on Christmas Eve no less. Then, to complete=20 the nightmare, Superman showed up at Clark's apartment deathly ill. When I=20 asked you to help him, you miraculously transformed into the father I used t= o=20 know and love right before my eyes. As you worked on Superman, I saw the=20 selfless doctor who would give anything to save a patient's life instead of=20 the selfish father that had left his family and given up his promising=20 career. It was at that moment that I decided to give you another chance,=20 and, eventually, I came to terms with and forgave you for everything you had= =20 done to hurt me." A few hours later, Sam, emotionally drained, decided to go back to his=20 apartment, to give his daughter and her husband some privacy. He left only=20 after Lois promised to call Lucy and Ellen and tell them about his illness.=20= =20 As he drove towards his apartment, his mind flashed back to a time earlier i= n=20 his life when he had first met the woman who was to become his wife. =20 ******* Sam Lane, a young resident surgeon at Metropolis General Hospital, just=20 out of medical school, was well admired by all of the nurses there. Whereve= r=20 he went, he always felt at least one nurse either following him or staring a= t=20 him as he walked past. The young doctor was pleased with all of the=20 attention he received, but he didn't feel worthy of it, so he ignored all of= =20 the nurses' flirtations, at least until this fateful day. =20 When Dr. Lane walked into a patient's room for a surgical consult, the most=20 amazing looking young woman greeted him. Her long blond hair, mesmerizing=20 eyes, and stunning figure left Sam speechless. Little did he know that the=20 nurse, whose nametag read merely Ellen, would someday become his wife. ******* As Sam drove, he smiled blissfully at the memory of the days when both=20 he and Ellen were young, happy, and in love. Then his mind drifted off to=20 the next day and their first date. ******* Sam ran around his bedroom, in a frenzied state. In thirty minutes, he was=20 supposed to pick up Ellen, the beautiful nurse he had met the day before, an= d=20 he still couldn't decide which suit to wear. He wanted to make a good=20 impression, so he finally decided to wear his most stylish black suit with a= =20 black striped tie. As he looked in the mirror, he thought he looked=20 relatively nice, and he knew that this was going to be a big night. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:30:54 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [2/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [2/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) Sam arrived at Ellen's apartment a few minutes early and swallowed the huge=20 lump in his throat. As he knocked on her door, he ran his hand through his=20 thick dark hair, a nervous gesture that seemed to comfort him somewhat. Whe= n=20 Ellen opened the door, his heart skipped a beat. If he had thought she=20 looked beautiful before in her nurse's uniform, then now he thought she=20 looked like a Greek goddess who had just stepped off Mt. Olympus to mingle=20 with mere mortals. She was wearing a beautiful, floor-length red dress with= =20 a long slit up the side. It was elegant, with a hint of sexiness, and Sam=20 thought it was the most beautiful dress on the most beautiful woman he had=20 ever seen. They smiled at each other, and when they looked into each other's eyes they=20 instantly knew that their relationship was meant to be. ******* =20 As Sam drove on, his mind drifted to yet another memory. Images of their=20 wedding day and echoes of the vows they shared bombarded his mind. He had=20 promised to love, honor, and cherish her until death do they part, but, in=20 the end, he had broken each and every vow he had ever made to her. Before h= e=20 could wallow in more self-pity, his mind drifted to another, happier memory.= =20 The corners of his mouth turned up into a wide smile when he remembered the=20 day that Ellen had told him they were expecting Lois. ******* Sam Lane walked into his house after a long day at the hospital and=20 called to his wife. She answered, "I'm in the kitchen dear." When Sam walked into the kitchen, he was treated to quite a surprise. I= t=20 looked like Ellen had pulled out all the stops with the dinner she had made.= =20 Every one of his favorite foods was on the table waiting for him to devour.=20= =20 He walked up behind her, pulled her into an embrace, and gave her a sweet=20 kiss on the lips. When the kiss broke, he asked, "What in the world have I=20 done to deserve all this?" Ellen smiled and answered, "Oh Sam, you've made me so happy. I just=20 thought I'd reward you with a nice dinner." Sam wondered what he had done that was so wonderful, so he raised his=20 eyebrows and asked, "Well thank you, but what did I do sweetheart?" Ellen grinned at her husband and said, "Why don't we sit down?" She led= =20 him to the dining room table, and pushed him back into his chair. She=20 commanded, "Now look at your plate." =20 Sam humored his wife and looked at the food on his plate. The big, juic= y=20 steak in the middle of the plate was covered in peas. When he looked at the= =20 peas, he saw that they were in some kind of design. He looked up at his wif= e=20 and asked, "Ellen, dear, what am I trying to see here?" Ellen, now exasperated, sighed, "Sam look at the peas. What do they loo= k=20 like?" Sam raised his eyebrows and said, "Okay let me look again." He took a=20 closer look, and then realized what his wife was trying to tell him. The=20 peas were in the shape of a little baby, or as close to the shape of a baby=20 as Ellen could make with a bunch of peas. Sam's jaw dropped when he realize= d=20 what she was telling him. He gasped, "Ellen, are you having a baby?" When=20 he looked at her, she merely nodded. Sam jumped up and pulled her into a=20 huge bear hug. Then he spun her around. He exclaimed, "We're going to have= =20 a baby! Let's go out and buy little Sam his first baseball mitt." ******* As Sam pulled into his parking space, he realized that this was the poin= t=20 where he had first noticed his life and his marriage going wrong. He made=20 his first major mistake when he wanted Lois to be a boy at all costs. When=20 Lois turned out to be a girl, he was so disappointed he even refused to hold= =20 her for the first few weeks of her life. He now knew that if he had accepte= d=20 Lois for who she was from the time she was born, his entire family=20 relationship could have possibly been saved. This is when he had first=20 noticed Ellen and himself drifting apart. =20 As he walked up to his building, images of all of the fights he and Ellen ha= d=20 over the years assaulted him. As he entered his apartment, the barrage of=20 bad memories took hold of him and he clutched his head and screamed. Then h= e=20 fell onto his couch and closed his eyes. Closing his eyes brought no relief= ,=20 for when he closed his eyes, the images of his life became painfully clearer= .=20 He saw himself ignoring his family, spending too much time at work,=20 forgetting birthdays and anniversaries, having affair after affair, and=20 finally leaving his family for a woman he barely knew. That night, Sam crie= d=20 himself to sleep and slept fitfully the entire night, assaulted with a=20 barrage of nightmares that just would not stop. =20 After Sam had left, Lois collapsed into Clark's arms crying. As he held her= ,=20 Clark stroked her hair and occasionally kissed the top of her head. After=20 Lois had cried for a solid half-hour, she looked into Clark's eyes and asked= ,=20 "How can this be happening? I was just getting to know him again and now=20 he's leaving me forever." Clark saw the pain and fear in her eyes and said, "I don't know honey. =20 It isn't fair. I wish I could say more, but this is something even Superman= =20 can't fix." Lois' pain tugged at Clark's heart. He wanted to help her so badly it=20 hurt, but there was nothing he could do except support her and lend a=20 shoulder for her to cry on. He blinked his eyes, trying to keep his own=20 tears from falling. He could picture himself in Lois' situation. If he eve= r=20 lost either of his parents, he would be devastated. At least he'd had a goo= d=20 relationship with his parents, unlike Lois, and they had been an important=20 part of his entire life, so he wouldn't feel like he had missed out on=20 anything while they were alive. Lois, however, barely knew her father and=20 was only recently beginning to know him for the man he was inside. Clark=20 knew what tore at her heart the most was that as soon as she had finally=20 forgiven her father for everything he had done to her family, he was dying,=20 and she only had a short time left to spend with him, that as soon as she go= t=20 to know him again, she'd have to say goodbye, and this time the goodbye was=20 forever.=20 =20 Lois looked up at Clark, and his eyes too were slightly glazed over with=20 tears as he thought about human mortality. Lois said, "I promised him I'd=20 call mother and Lucy tonight. I'd better do it before it gets too late." Clark merely nodded, and Lois disentangled herself from his embrace. Sh= e=20 walked, zombie-like, towards the phone and picked up the receiver. Then she= =20 flopped down onto the chair next to the phone. Clark too got up from his=20 seat on the couch. He walked behind his wife and put his arms around her=20 neck from behind and pulled her into a big bear hug. He kissed the top of=20 her head, then he asked, "Are you hungry or thirsty sweetheart? I could get= =20 you something before you call them so you can be at full strength." As he=20 said that, he pictured Lois' conversation with her mother. Lois always like= d=20 to be energized for a good battle whenever she had to talk to her mother, an= d=20 that meant she needed either chocolate or ice cream, and preferably both. Lois rubbed her already red eyes and nodded. She said, "I sure could us= e=20 some ice cream right about now Clark. Do we have any chocolate left? And=20 while you're at it, get me a couple of Double Fudge Crunch Bars." =20 Clark went into the kitchen and opened the freezer. He grabbed the gallon o= f=20 chocolate ice cream and a couple of spoons. Then he x-rayed the kitchen=20 trying to find Lois' stash of chocolate. He laughed out loud when he saw=20 just where she had tried to hide the candy bars this time. Clark opened the= =20 refrigerator and took out what appeared to be carton of eggs to anyone=20 without the advantage of x-ray vision. When he opened the carton, ten=20 chocolate bars fell out. He grabbed two of them, and put the rest back wher= e=20 he had found them. Then Clark walked back out to Lois. He pulled a chair up next to her and pu= t=20 the ice cream between them. He handed her a spoon and also the two candy=20 bars, which she accepted gratefully. Lois' eyes were still red and puffy,=20 and she had obviously been crying again while Clark was in the kitchen. Loi= s=20 looked intently into the tub of ice cream without a sound as she ate. Clark= =20 was also silent, only he was looking intently at his wife, feeling her pain.= =20 He had never seen Lois quite so depressed. He reached out to her and she=20 grabbed his hand. They stayed like that, eating, staring, and holding hands= =20 for what seemed like an eternity, but was only a few minutes until Clark=20 heard a fire alarm. Lois felt Clark's hand tense, and she looked up. He had that familiar=20 far-off look in his eyes. Someone needed Superman. She let go of his hand=20 and asked, "What is it?" Clark got out of his seat and said, "Fire at Third and Troy. It's a six=20 alarm blaze and they don't know if they can get everyone out." Lois, eyes shining, ran her hand through her shoulder-length hair and said,=20 "You have to go. Save those people because I'm sure they have families to=20 come home to." Clark nodded and spun into his Superman suit. In a flash, he gave her a=20 quick kiss, and then he was gone, and Lois was left alone with the phone, ic= e=20 cream, and her feelings. She got up, put the ice cream back into the freezer, and looked at the=20 cordless phone in her hand. She rubbed her eyes again and said to the phone= ,=20 "Well it's now or never." Then she dialed her mother's number. The phone rang three times before her mother finally picked up. Ellen's= =20 annoying voice greeted Lois, "Hello?" Lois swallowed and said, "Hi it's me, Lois." Ellen answered, "Well, if it isn't the prodigal daughter. Why Lois, is=20 it time for your monthly phone call already?" Lois rolled her eyes. She honestly did want to talk to her mother more=20 than once a month, and maybe even visit her once in a while, but Ellen Lane=20 was just such a pain to be around. She always commented on Lois' clothes,=20 hair, job, and husband, and Lois didn't think she could take the constant=20 criticism. She had put up with enough of her mother's criticism as a child=20 to last a lifetime. She laughed nervously, "No mother. Um, I called becaus= e=20 I have some bad news." Lois could only imagine what was going through her mother's mind after=20 she'd said that. She didn't have to wait very long for her mother's=20 response, though. Ellen immediately said, "It's you and Clark, isn't it. I= =20 knew it wouldn't last. Three weeks of marriage and you're already splitting= =20 up. I knew you could never keep a man=85" Lois, exasperated, and more than a little mad, screamed at her mother,=20 "No, Mother Clark and I are just fine. We are not splitting up. We're more= =20 in love than ever." And then, a little more quietly, "It's Daddy. He has=20 terminal cancer. He's dying, Mother." Lois' tears started to well over, yet again.=20 When Ellen heard this, her jaw dropped. She found herself speechless an= d=20 looking incredulously at the phone in her hand. Lois, too, was speechless.=20= =20 She just had no idea what to say to her mother. Lois knew how much pain her= =20 father had caused her mother, and now, just as they were thinking about=20 reconciling, she finds out that he is dying. =20 Lois heard her mother crying over the phone line. She wasn't sure what=20 to say. Lois couldn't really comfort her mother because she was feeling the= =20 same way. The two women cried to each other for a few minutes until Lois=20 said, "I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you. He came to me, and said=20 that he called you first, but you hung up the phone as soon as you heard his= =20 voice. He looked so pitiful, so I told him that I'd call you. I think he=20 wants to make things better between our family." Ellen answered, "Of course I hung up on him when he called. We had=20 another fight last week and I didn't think he would ever dare call me again.= =20 This is just the trick he would use. He wants to get me back by telling me=20 he's dying." Lois groaned. She said, "Mother, stop it. Daddy is DYING. He has a=20 terminal form of lymphoma. Stop being so selfish. The man only has a few=20 weeks to live, and here you're telling me he's just doing this to make you=20 crazy?" Her mother asked, in a quiet voice, "You actually believe that lying son= =20 of a=85" Just then, Clark flew in through the window covered in soot. Lois looke= d=20 up when she heard the curtains move. Clark smiled at her and motioned to th= e=20 bathroom, indicating that he needed to take a shower. Lois, in turn,=20 returned his smile and nodded to him. Lois then told her mother, "Yes, I am telling you the truth. He was jus= t=20 over here, and he definitely looked like he was deathly ill. Do you honestl= y=20 believe he would do this just to hurt you? I think the three of us should=20 probably get together to talk about this. I'll talk to Lucy first, but mayb= e=20 tomorrow night?" Ellen, now bawling, said, "Yes dear, that would probably be a good idea.= =20 But how is Lucy going to get here? She's all the way in California." "I'll ask Superman to bring her here tomorrow, if she wants to come." Just then, Clark walked into the room wearing a tee shirt and a pair of=20 jeans, drying his hair with a towel. Lois said, "Mother, I still have to call Lucy, so I'm going to let you=20 go. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Lois could still hear Ellen crying, "Okay dear. Just let me know what=20 you girls decide to do." The two women hung up, and Lois stood up and hugged her husband. Clark=20 squeezed her tightly then turned up her chin. Lois looked up at him, her=20 eyes shining, "Arrrggghhh, a fifteen minute conversation with my mother and=20 now I'm even more distraught than before. That woman just knows how to hit=20 me right where it hurts. She is the most selfish=85" Clark silenced her by putting his mouth over hers. They shared a long,=20 passionate kiss, and when it broke, Lois looked up into her husband's eyes=20 and said, "I love you Clark. You always make me feel so much better. But=20 next time, can you talk to her?" Clark laughed, "You'd have to pay me richly." Lois laughed with sparkling eyes, "That could be arranged." Clark paused to think about her proposal, and gave her a mock look of=20 fright, "If I take you up on this offer, I'd actually have to talk to your=20 mother. I don't think so honey. I don't think I'd ever talk to Ellen=20 voluntarily, without someone holding a piece of Kryptonite to my head, no=20 matter how well you pay me." Lois giggled and sighed dramatically, "I know. Even Superman can't put=20 up with Hurricane Ellen." ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:32:36 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [3/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [3/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) They sat down on their couch, and Lois snuggled into Clark's comforting=20 embrace. She loved the feeling of warmth and security that she felt when sh= e=20 was in his arms. Nothing could hurt her when she was in his arms. Clark=20 stroked his wife's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. He felt the=20 tension in her body and understood how she was feeling. Clark asked, "Honey= ,=20 you're so tense. Why don't you let me rub your shoulders for you." Lois loved Clark's backrubs. His fingers were so deliberate and soothing. =20 She turned slightly so that he would have full access to her back and=20 shoulders. As Clark worked his fingers around the tightness in her=20 shoulders, he again started to wonder what he would do if he found out that=20 either of his parents was dying. He knew that he would not take the news=20 nearly as well as Lois did. Honestly, he would probably fly to the Arctic=20 Circle and cry for days. Both of his parents had been his sole support=20 system for so long; he would not know what to do without them. =20 Lois, while enjoying the feeling of Clark's skilled hands easing the=20 stress in her back, was thinking about the fire that Clark had helped put=20 out. "Clark, what happened with that fire? You seemed pretty happy when yo= u=20 flew in here." Clark smiled, "I got there in time to save everyone in the building. =20 Everyone escaped without a scratch. Then I put out the fire with only=20 minimal damage to the building." Lois smiled and covered his hand with her smaller one, "I'm so proud of=20 you sweetheart. Hopefully, their families won't have to deal with everythin= g=20 we're going through now." =20 Clark smoothed her hair back and kissed her forehead. He said, "I know=20 I've said this before, Lois, but I can't even put myself in your shoes. Jus= t=20 when you are starting to get to know your father you're going to lose him=20 again. I don't even know what to say to make you feel better." Lois turned in his arms to face him. She was struck by the pained look=20 in his eyes as he thought about the pain of losing one of his parents, and=20 she put her hand behind his head and pulled him close. Their lips met and=20 they kissed. It was a soul-searching kiss that reassured both of them that=20 they were there for each other no matter what happened to the outside world. When they broke the kiss, Lois sighed and said, "I wish we could continu= e=20 this, but I have to call Lucy before it gets too late." She looked up at=20 their clock and exclaimed, "Oh no, it's almost two am! I hope Lucy's still=20 up." =20 Clark nodded, "I'm sure she is. It's only eleven there." He reached behind= =20 his shoulder and grabbed the phone. He continued, "I'm sure this won't be a= s=20 difficult as talking to Ellen, but do you want me to stay in here with you=20 while you call her for moral support?" Lois nodded silently and grabbed the phone again. Clark put one of his arms= =20 around her shoulders in a comforting gesture and held her hand with the=20 other. Lois snuggled into his strong embrace and quickly dialed Lucy's=20 number.=20 The phone rang four times before Lucy Lane picked up the phone. She groaned= ,=20 "What?" It sounded like she was fast asleep." Lois said, "Hi Luce. You're sleeping at eleven o'clock?" Lucy, still groggy, responded, "Lois, is that you?" Lois could picture her sister sitting in bed, half-asleep. She was probably= =20 not even listening to anything Lois said. Lois continued, "Yeah it's me,=20 sis." Lucy rolled over in bed and asked, in the same half-asleep voice, words=20 meshing together, "Wha'd'ya want? Isn't it really late there? Shouldn't yo= u=20 be asleep?" Lois said, "I'm usually not up this late, but I have some bad news to tell=20 you." When Lucy heard "bad news," she woke up a little. She asked, "What kind= =20 of bad news? How bad?" Lois cringed, she didn't want to start crying again, but she knew it was= =20 inevitable. She felt a tear run down her cheek, which Clark gently brushed=20 away. Lucy asked, "Are you crying Lois? Oh boy, this must be pretty bad=20 news if you're crying about it." Lois said, "Yeah Luce, it is really bad news. It's Dad. He's dying." Lucy answered, "That's bad news? After all he's done to our family, I'm= =20 happy. I hope it's a painful way to die, too. That's what he deserves." =20 Lucy then started to cry, too. She, however, was crying tears of self-pity.= =20 Sam Lane, that bastard that left their family when she was just 8 years old,= =20 didn't deserve any of her sympathy. She hardly even knew the man, let alone= =20 felt any desire to call him father. Lucy was crying for herself and for the= =20 family that Sam had left so many years ago. There was no remorse in her=20 voice when she said, "Good. I hope he dies, and then I hope he rots in hell= !" Lois, too, was now crying because she felt her sister's pain, and Clark,= =20 who had heard the whole conversation, sympathized with his sister-in-law. H= e=20 wondered if Sam had ever done anything to show his love for Lucy, or if she=20 was just the little girl that he never really wanted. =20 Lois exclaimed, "You don't mean that!" Lucy insisted, in a harsh whisper, "Yes I do. I have no sympathy for th= e=20 man that walked out on our family eighteen years ago. He lost my sympathy a= s=20 soon as he shut that door. I spent so many hours in my room when I was a=20 teenager trying to figure out what I had done wrong that made him leave us.=20= =20 Then one day, I realized that he was not worth the agony I was putting mysel= f=20 through. I hadn't done anything. He is just a selfish bastard of a man tha= t=20 deserted his family for his own selfish pleasures." "Lucy, I used to think that too, but I think he might have changed," Loi= s=20 pleaded. "Couldn't you just give me a chance to explain?" =20 "No, he doesn't deserve anything from me, not even a second thought,"=20 screamed Lucy. "Could you please do this for me? Or for mother? We need to stick=20 together. He has hurt us all. Believe me, I know as well as anyone. But=20 now he needs us, and you want to stoop to his level? We have to be bigger=20 than he was. We're all adults here, and whatever he did, he will have to=20 atone for, wherever he's going. I don't think we can judge him. He's just=20= a=20 man in need of his family during the last few weeks of his life." Lucy was silent for a few seconds as she pondered Lois' plea. Clark, wh= o=20 felt Lois shaking in his arms, kissed her temple and squeezed her shoulders=20 and hand in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Lois added, "Just pleas= e=20 let Superman bring you to Metropolis tomorrow. We need to talk about this." Lucy, too, was shaking violently, overcome with feelings of rage and=20 sorrow over her childhood filled with self-doubt and isolation all because o= f=20 her father's selfishness. As she listened to her sister's plea, she decided= =20 that she needed to be there for her sister, just as Lois had been there for=20 her throughout her childhood when their mother was passed out drunk and thei= r=20 father was nowhere to be found. "Okay Lois, if it means that much to you to= =20 have me there, I'll come. Tell Superman to be here at about 8:15 your time= .=20 But if that man is there, I'll tell Superman to take me right back home." Lois answered, "Thank you so much Luce. You know you're my favorite=20 sister. Don't worry he won't be within ten miles of my house. It'll only b= e=20 mother, Clark, and myself, and I might even make Clark leave." Lucy giggled a little and said, "Too bad I'm your only sister Lois. Tel= l=20 Clark I said 'Hi.' I'll see you tomorrow." "Bye, goodnight Lucy." "'Night Lois," said Lucy, and they hung up the phone. Lois turned to Clark and said, "That went better than I thought it would= .=20 She actually agreed to come here. I thought I'd have to send you there to=20 drag her here by brute force." Clark nodded, imagining himself carrying a kicking and screaming Lucy=20 Lane through the air at Superspeed without dropping her. Lois kissed Clark and muttered, "What'cha thinkin' 'bout?" Clark kissed her back and he said, "Nothin' honey. I was just picturing= =20 your sister in the middle of a fit." Lois pulled away and smiled, "Don't worry, she's nowhere near as good as= =20 I am at throwing fits, although she is pretty darned good." They smiled at each other, and then Lois yawned. Clark, too, was feelin= g=20 a little tired, so he said, "Come on honey, let's go to sleep. It's been a=20 long day." Lois, not one to argue at two-thirty in the morning, simply nodded and=20 allowed Clark to lead her upstairs.=20 The next morning, Ellen Lane woke up to someone insistently ringing her=20 doorbell. She got out of bed and stepped into her slippers muttering,=20 "Whoever that is better have a good reason interrupting me at this hour." =20 She walked to her door and looked out the peephole. Sam was outside her doo= r=20 pacing around the hallway with a large bouquet of roses in one hand. He=20 looked thin and his eyes were sunken into his head. When she saw him=20 standing there, she remembered what Lois had told her. "Maybe his is really= =20 dying, but then again he's tried to many more harebrained schemes that are=20 even more outrageous than this to get me to forgive him." Her mind drifted=20 back to one particular night=85 ****** =20 Ellen stood in the doorway of her six-year-old daughter's room late one=20 Friday night. It was after two o'clock, and young Lucy had only just fallen= =20 asleep. The precious little girl wanted to wait up for her daddy to come=20 home because she had drawn a pretty picture for him during her art class tha= t=20 day. When her father still hadn't gotten home by her bedtime, little Lucy=20 cried and cried begging Ellen to let her stay up a little later to wait for=20 Daddy. Ellen relented, and let Lucy stay up. Unfortunately, the young girl= =20 drifted in and out of sleep for hours until one-thirty, and Sam still had no= t=20 come home. Ellen had finally convinced her little girl to get into bed and=20 try to go to sleep. She sat on the corner of her daughter's bed, stroked he= r=20 long, dark hair, and finally convinced her daughter that her daddy would be=20 home in the morning and would be so very happy that his little angel drew hi= m=20 a picture. The prospect of seeing her father in the morning pacified Lucy=20 for the moment, and she fell asleep quickly. Ellen, however, knew where Sam= =20 really was. She knew his shift at the hospital had ended at three o'clock i= n=20 the afternoon, and that he should have been home by the time the girls came=20 home from school. She was almost positive he was having an affair, but she=20 didn't want to confront him about it for the sake of their two young=20 daughters. Then Ellen heard the front door open. She walked downstairs to find her= =20 husband scrounging around the kitchen cupboards and the refrigerator looking= =20 for something to eat. She glared at him until he turned around. When he=20 realized she was standing there, he looked up at her and grinned. "Hi Honey= ,=20 I'm home." Ellen looked at this man incredulously. Had he just called her Honey? =20 She squinted her eyes and glared at him. For an instant, Sam looked=20 sheepishly at the floor, but instantly recovered. He grinned at Ellen and=20 asked, "What's for dinner?" Ellen could not believe this man's nerve. She walked up to him, grabbed= =20 him by the shoulders and said, "Sam Lane, you'd better have a doozy of an=20 excuse to explain this one. You said you'd be home by the time the girls go= t=20 home from school. Lucy came home with an art project that she had made=20 especially for you, and she was so proud of it. She wanted to show it to yo= u=20 so badly that I let her stay up until 1:30 waiting up for you. As each hour= =20 passed, her smile kept getting smaller and smaller until she started crying.= "=20 She paused for emphasis. "And do you know what she asked me?" Sam shook=20 his head no, looking directly into his wife's eyes. "With her little eyes=20 welling up with tears, she asked me, 'Mommy, does Daddy love me?' What was=20= I=20 supposed to tell her? You've missed practically every important moment in=20 her life. I tried to reassure her, but I'm not sure it worked this time. =20 What kind of excuse do you have this time, Sam? What should I tell our=20 daughters the next time this happens?" Sam blinked his eyes; he had to come up with something fast. He had bee= n=20 out with a woman from work, a young surgical intern. This woman made him=20 feel important and sexy, and not just because of what he had achieved in his= =20 medical career. She was incredibly drawn to him physically, of which she ha= d=20 made no secret. Finally, an idea struck him. He looked into his wife's=20 tearful eyes and said, "Ellen, we had a terrible emergency at the hospital=20 today." Ellen raised her eyebrows slightly urging him to continue, even=20 though she did not believe him. "Just as I was getting ready to leave for=20 the day, they paged me to the emergency room. What was I supposed to do,=20 ignore them and get fired? So I went down to see what they wanted me for."=20= =20 He paused and looked at Ellen. She still didn't seem to believe him, so he=20 revised his original story to make it seem gorier. He ran a hand through hi= s=20 thinning hair, and started to pace around the kitchen. Ellen watched him=20 warily. He was either trying to come up with a good story to tell her or=20 actually had been truly upset by whatever had happened at the hospital. She= =20 nodded and said, "Go on." She folded her arms across her chest in a=20 defensive stance, just in case Sam reached out to touch her. Plus, she=20 didn't want to make him feel more comfortable around her until she had heard= =20 the whole story. Sam stopped his pacing and continued, "When I got down to the ER, they took=20 me into a room with this kid who had just been in a terrible car accident an= d=20 was going to lose both of his legs. They needed me to perform emergency=20 surgery on him. They told me I was the only person at the hospital that=20 could possible save his legs. He was such a young kid, only 17. I think hi= s=20 mother said he was the quarterback of his high school football team. We=20 rushed him into surgery almost immediately. It was a terribly delicate=20 procedure that took nearly ten hours. I didn't have time to call you becaus= e=20 we needed to operate immediately to save him." Ellen's eyes were beginning=20 to lose their cold stare and starting to show some compassion for the=20 imaginary boy. =20 Ellen ran her hand down her husband's arm and said, "I'm so sorry Sam. =20= I=20 didn't know. Is he okay?" Sam inwardly sighed with relief. He realized he was off scott free now=20 that she had bought his story. He said wearily, "Yeah, we think we were abl= e=20 to save his legs. We're even pretty sure he'll even be able to walk again=20 some day with a lot of patience and hard work." Ellen smiled and pulled Sam into a warm, comforting embrace, "You must b= e=20 hungry. Go sit down and I'll fix you something to eat." ****** =85Now Ellen looked back at that night with a heavy heart. How could he= =20 have deceived her like that? How had she believed his story? Why hadn't sh= e=20 checked out his story? She knew all of the answers immediately. She was an= =20 idiot, a fool in love as they say. She walked back to her bedroom and=20 climbed back into her nice soft bed. As she sunk her body into her pillows,= =20 she wondered if this whole cancer story was really just that, a story. Sinc= e=20 he had deceived her so many times while they were married with his=20 far-fetched stories, why wouldn't he try it again? Now he had nothing to=20 lose. She rolled over in her bed and easily fell back to sleep without a=20 second thought. Sam paced outside Ellen's door holding a bouquet of red roses. He heard= =20 footsteps in the apartment, but no one ever opened the door. Ellen had=20 probably seen him out there and subsequently decided she didn't want to talk= =20 to him. He wondered if Lois had even called her last night. Even if she=20 had, there was no guarantee that Ellen would even believe her. He had lied=20 to Ellen so many times before, so why would this time be any different? She= =20 probably thought this was some elaborate trick he was using to make her=20 sympathize with him again making her ripe for him to win her back. =20 Unfortunately, Sam knew his reputation preceded him, and nearly all of=20 Ellen's memories of him were bad ones. What did he do to deserve her trust?= =20 Absolutely nothing. He paced outside her doorway for a few more minutes. =20 When he was sure that she was not going to let him in, he dropped the roses=20 in front of her door, pulled a pen and a piece of tissue out of his pocket=20 and wrote, simply, "love Sam," and walked away. =20 When he got to his car, he had no idea where he would go or what he would do= .=20 He sat in the driver's seat and banged his head against the steering wheel.= =20 He collapsed onto the steering wheel and cried, "God, why did I mess up my=20 life so badly? So this is my punishment, isn't it? I am going to die a=20 lonely death, and no one will even care, is that right?" =20 Lucy Lane had fallen asleep as soon as she had hung up the phone with he= r=20 sister. As she slept, images of her youth floated through her mind. She=20 tossed and turned as she remembered all of the horrible things her father ha= d=20 done to her personally and to her family as a whole. ****** Late one night, eight year old Lucy had gotten up to get herself a glass= =20 of milk to help her fall asleep. Since it was so late, she didn't think=20 anyone would still be awake, so she padded silently into the kitchen. As sh= e=20 poured her milk, she heard voices coming from the family room. She wondered= =20 who would be up at this hour, so she silently walked towards the voices. As= =20 she got closer, she heard one familiar masculine voice, and one that was ver= y=20 unfamiliar and very feminine. She knew the man was her father, but she had=20 never heard this woman's voice before. Lucy placed her small body at the=20 edge of the doorway where she could see into the room but the room's=20 occupants could not see her. Her jaw dropped when she realized what they=20 were doing=85 ****** Lucy bolted up in bed. The images of that night were still invading her= =20 brain. She ran one shaking hand through her hair and said, "No eight year=20 old should have to see her father with his pants around his ankles with some= =20 strange woman in her own living room." She sank back into her bed, and crie= d=20 into her pillow. Soon, she had fallen back to sleep, but her dreams were in= =20 no way peaceful=85 ****** Lucy, now fifteen, was somewhat a recluse. She locked herself in her=20 room all day long, and only left to go to school. Her mother had become a=20 terrible alcoholic in the nearly seven years that had passed since their=20 father had left them, and her sister had gone off to college, and almost=20 never came home. She did not see any reason to leave the comfort of her=20 room, for there she was in the company of the one person she could ever rely= =20 on not to break her heart, herself. Originally, she had really missed her sister. The two had formed a very=20 close bond ever since their father had left their family. After their fathe= r=20 left and their mother began drinking heavily, the girls realized that they=20 both would have to grow up much sooner than they should be expected too, and= =20 both blamed their father for their lost childhood. Lois had, in fact, becom= e=20 more of a mother to her little sister than her mother had ever been. Lucy=20 was crushed when Lois told her that she would be living at Metropolis U. =20 Everyone in her life was leaving her. No one wanted her. She was a loser.=20= =20 Everyone she cared about had let her down. But then she realized that she=20 was not the loser, everyone else was. She could never trust anyone again. =20 The world would always let her down just as her family had. ****** ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:34:05 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [4/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [1/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) Now Lucy's alarm was ringing. She reached over to shut it off, and then she= =20 sat up in bed again. She remembered her dream and knew that she would never= =20 be able to forgive her father, no matter what. He was the first in a long=20 line of betrayals that Lucy had experienced in her life, and his had been th= e=20 most painful. Nearly everyone she had ever trusted had followed the same=20 pattern of loving and leaving in the way her father did. =20 When she was a little girl, she thought she and her father were close. At=20 one point, she might have even said that he loved her. Her life came=20 crashing down around her when he left, and all he said was "I'm so sorry Luc= y=20 Lou." How could he have said he was sorry? He didn't mean it. They did no= t=20 even heard from him for the next ten years, except for his regular alimony=20 and child support payments and an occasional birthday or Christmas card. He= =20 was sorry, yeah right. That morning, when Lois and Clark arrived at the Daily Planet, an overly= =20 exuberant Jimmy Olsen met them as they walked out of the elevator. He was=20 practically jumping up and down like a little kid with something he was just= =20 bursting to tell them. "CK, Lois, my father decided to take that desk job=20 the NIA offered him last year. He said he wanted to spend more time with th= e=20 son he almost forgot he had. I guess he finally realized what he was missin= g=20 all those years=85" His voice trailed off as he remembered all of those=20 unhappy years. He face brightened again as he continued, "Anyway, he starts= =20 work at the Metropolis office some time early next month. Isn't that great?= " Clark, genuinely happy for his young friend, patted him on the back and=20 said, "Well good for him Jimmy. I'm glad the two of you are finally going t= o=20 get to spend some time together when he doesn't have to run off and catch a=20 plane or isn't on some secret government mission." Lois, however, didn't seem as happy for Jimmy. She turned away from=20 Jimmy and Clark and started to walk towards her desk as Jimmy was about to=20 ask her opinion. Clark, however, knew that the last thing Lois wanted to=20 talk about today was fathers, so he guided his over-enthusiastic young frien= d=20 over to the coffee machine. While they walked, Jimmy kept talking about=20 everything he and his father would do when they got together. He was so=20 excited, he was practically bouncing off the walls. Clark wondered if Jimmy= =20 should really be drinking coffee now. He was already bouncing off the walls= ;=20 the caffeine might give him the energy to jump straight through the ceiling.= =20 Clark looked over towards Lois' desk and saw her typing furiously away at he= r=20 computer. Using his super vision, he noticed that she was looking at a stor= y=20 that he'd thought was long since finished, a mood piece about the efforts of= =20 some of Metropolis' finest medical researchers and their accomplishments in=20 their respective fields. He realized why she had this particular file open=20 when he noticed just who's profile she was reading, Dr. Micheal Gratly, one=20 of the east coast's leading researchers of multi-drug resistant lymphoma=20 cancers. Jimmy's voice startled Clark, so he looked up. Jimmy was screaming=20 something about coffee, and then Clark looked down at his hand. What he=20 hadn't noticed was that he had not stopped pouring his coffee while he was=20 staring at Lois, and now the cup was overflowing. Clark knew that he should= =20 probably make it look like the coffee was burning his hand, so he put the po= t=20 down and grabbed his hand, shook it a little, "Man that hurt." Once Jimmy realized Clark was unhurt, he laughed. "CK, what were you doing?= =20 You didn't notice your hand isn't a cup?" Clark looked at his young friend who was laughing hysterically then turned=20 away sheepishly, still wringing his hand. "Huh, oh, ah, I=85?" Jimmy followed Clark's gaze over to Lois' desk. He nodded knowingly, "Just=20 like I thought." Then he turned to Clark and said, more seriously, "Is=20 something wrong with Lois? I thought she'd be a little happier for me. =20 After all with her dad=85" When Jimmy mentioned Lois' father, Clark ran his hand through his hair=20 nervously and then adjusted his tie as he interjected, "Um, Jimmy, now=20 probably isn't the best time to talk to Lois about fathers." Jimmy grabbed a glazed donut and took a bite of it. While he was still=20 chewing, he asked, "Why not? I thought everything was going pretty well wit= h=20 them." Clark looked over at Lois again, now she was on the phone, he was=20 assuming with a source. It was so cute how she chewed on her pen cap as she= =20 listened to whomever she was talking to, and then scribbled down notes=20 haphazardly. He wondered how she could even read them sometimes. He had=20 trouble even with his enhanced eyesight =20 Clark decided to tell Jimmy about Sam's illness. "Jimmy, you have to promis= e=20 not to tell anyone else about this until Lois decides to tell people=20 herself." Jimmy nodded solemnly. "Her dad came over to our place yesterday= =20 and told us that he has a rare, terminal form of cancer, and that he only ha= s=20 about four weeks to live." Jimmy gasped, "Oh my God." Clark nodded sadly, "She's pretty broken up over this. I think she=20 thinks it is partly her own fault that she and her father never really got t= o=20 know each other, that they never had any kind of relationship." Jimmy nodded and said, "I think I'd feel the same way if anything like=20 that happened to my dad. I've never really gotten to know him either. If h= e=20 died before I had the chance to get to know him better, I'd be pretty crushe= d=20 too." Clark picked up a plain cake donut for himself and grabbed a chocolate=20 one for Lois and said, "I'd better get to work before Perry has my hide." Jimmy picked up his coffee mug and said, "Yeah, if I don't get my butt=20 down to photo the chief's going to have more than my hide. He'd probably=20 want my firstborn too." Clark smiled at Jimmy's attempt at humor. Then he walked towards Lois'=20 desk with her donut and coffee. Lois, however, was already getting out of=20 her seat as Clark approached her desk. She said, "Hi honey, I was just goin= g=20 over to talk to Jimmy. I think I snubbed him pretty badly before." Clark hugged her and gently kissed the top of her head. He said, "Okay=20 honey, but I think you'll have a pretty hard time catching him. He said=20 something about getting some prints Perry wanted from photo." He pulled the= =20 chocolate donut out from behind his back, and saw Lois' eyes light up at the= =20 prospect of chocolate. "I brought you a donut, chocolate, your favorite. =20 You're lucky. It was the last one left and I had to fight Jimmy off for it.= =20 I thought you might want some energy for today." =20 He handed her the donut and the steaming hot coffee mug. She smiled and= =20 took a bite out of the rich, chocolate donut and said, "You are just so=20 wonderful sweetheart. What did I do to deserve you? I'm sure you didn't=20 hurt Jimmy too badly for this." Clark smiled at her comment; then he noticed she had a little piece of=20 donut stuck right underneath her lower lip. When he thought she wasn't=20 looking, he gave her a kiss right on the lips. She broke away and asked,=20 "What was that for?" Clark grinned, "I wanted to taste your donut. I mean you looked like yo= u=20 were enjoying it so much, I wanted to enjoy some of the fruits of my labor." Lois giggled coyly and said, "Do you really want to taste it?" Clark nodded with a look in his eyes like that of a little child getting= =20 ready to open his Christmas presents. She took the last piece of the donut=20 and said, "Open your mouth like a good little boy." Clark obliged, and soon he felt the whole remaining half of the donut=20 being shoved into his mouth. Clark took this unexpected development in=20 stride and swallowed the whole thing. Lois pouted, "Hey I wanted some of=20 that." Clark was about to say something else when Perry White walked out of his= =20 office. He shouted, "Great shades of Elvis lovebirds, this is a newsroom,=20 not a high school cafeteria. Don't you have stories to work on? Because if= =20 you don't, I'd be happy to assign you more." Perry waked towards the couple= ,=20 trying to hide the smile on his face. He secretly loved the fact that his=20 two star reporters, the two people he had always thought were meant for each= =20 other, were finally together and happily married. It sure had taken them=20 long enough. But he had an image to protect. He couldn't have the whole=20 newsroom thinking he had gone soft on them. No, no, Perry White was still=20 the old newshound that ran the greatest newspaper in the world, and the man=20 who would not put up with any such tomfoolery in his newsroom. When Perry reached his two star reporters, he saw that Lois looked a=20 little more stressed out than usual. He asked, "Lois, honey, what's wrong." Lois looked up at her editor, the man she had looked up to as a father=20 figure for many years. And for so many of those years, she did not even hea= r=20 from her real father. She said, "Perry, I don't know what to say." Clark=20 perched himself on the edge of Lois' desk as she sat in her chair. He=20 reached down to stroke Lois' hair as she talked to Perry. "I just found out= =20 that my father has cancer. He's really dying Cheif." Perry said, "Judas priest, I'm so sorry honey." Lois continued, "All I keep thinking is I wish I could have known him=20 better. That if I would have tried a little harder, maybe we could have=20 gotten to know each other=85" Perry had to interrupt her. This was hitting too close to home. Her=20 words brought back visions of his own children, Jerry and Larry. What a fin= e=20 job he had done with them. Jerry was still in prison for that whole bad=20 check thing a couple of years ago, and Larry lived in Iowa, trying to isolat= e=20 himself from his family as much as possible. Perry said, "Lois, you can't=20 blame yourself here. I know, from personal experience, that it is not your=20 fault. It's you father's. The least he could have done was tried to get to= =20 know you before it was too late." Lois and Clark could see the light mist forming in their editor's eyes a= s=20 he thought of his own family although he turned around to try to hide it. =20 They both knew of Perry's fatherly ineptitude and they did not want to push=20 the subject any more. Perry finally turned around to face them again and=20 said, "I'm so sorry Lois. I wish I could help you more, or knew something=20 else to say. If you'll excuse me, I have a couple of phone calls I need to=20 make." When Perry got into his office, he looked at all of the pictures of Elvi= s=20 staring at him. He said, "I'm sure you always made time for little=20 Lisa-Marie, didn't you. Well, I'm going to start my life over too." He=20 grabbed his phone and dialed Larry's number. When Perry left, Lois turned to face her computer. She typed something=20 into her search engine and said, "I need to talk to Jimmy now Clark. Could=20 you keep this search going for me? I think it's time to do another spotligh= t=20 on America's number one killer, cancer. Did you know one in every five=20 Americans will die of cancer?" =20 She got up from her chair and Clark sat down. He said, "No, I didn't=20 know that honey. I think an article on cancer would be a wonderful idea,=20 once we finish our regular stories. We could do a profile of several cancer= =20 survivors, and then profile some of the leading cancer researchers." Lois continued, "Then we could put something in there about the current=20 treatments, and maybe even something to help families that have lost a loved= =20 one to cancer=85" Lois' voice trailed off when she realized what she had just said. Clark= =20 put his hand over hers and said, "It's okay honey. I'm sure doing this will= =20 make you feel better." He put her hand up to his mouth and gently kissed it. She said, "I know= .=20 I hope writing something about it will help ease my mind." Lois saw Jimmy=20 stepping out of the elevator and said, "Let's continue this in a few minutes= ,=20 I see Jimmy." Lois met Jimmy as he walked down the steps into the bullpen. She said,=20 "I'm sorry I wasn't very sympathetic before. I really am happy about your=20 dad/ Can we talk?" "Sure Lois, what's up." Lois led Jimmy into a conference room and sat down at one of the tables.= =20 She fiddled with the buttons on her blazer until Jimmy said, "Lois?" She looked up, startled, and said, "Oh, yeah, I want to talk to you abou= t=20 this because you are one of the only people I know that would understand. I= =20 know Clark tries, and I think he feels really sorry for me, but he just can'= t=20 relate. He's always had a good relationship with his parents, and I know yo= u=20 haven't, and=85" Jimmy knew now that she was in full babble mode, and she would be very=20 hard to stop. "Lois," and when she kept talking he said, again, "Lois, slow= =20 down. Let me catch up!" Lois stopped and said, "Oh, I was babbling again wasn't I. Clark says I= =20 do that a lot when I get nervous." She, again, found the buttons on her=20 blazer very interesting. "I was trying to say that I just found out that my= =20 father is dying, and when I heard that your father was coming back here so=20 that he could spend time with you, I got jealous." Jimmy nodded. He definitely understood where she was coming from. If i= t=20 were the other way around, he would have acted the same way. He rolled the=20 end of his sweater around his index finger in a nervous gesture as he=20 listened to Lois' story. She continued, "I wished I could be in your shoes. I mean, now I would=20 give almost anything just to have a few years to get to know my father." Jimmy nodded, "I know exactly what you mean Lois. Our family lives were= =20 so similar, but now I have a chance to do what you've wanted to do. Now my=20 father is doing what your father should have done years ago." Lois nodded and Jimmy reached out to touch her shoulder in a friendly=20 gesture. He said, "I wouldn't switch places with you for the world, but I d= o=20 know that you should try to make the most of these last few weeks you have=20 together. I know I would." Lois stood up and said, "Thanks Jimmy, this helped. I knew you'd=20 understand." Jimmy, too stood up and he reached out to her. They hugged,=20 drawing comfort from the friendly embrace of the two people who had suffered= =20 far too long at the hands of their respective fathers. Later that day, Lois and Clark were finishing up their respective=20 stories, when Sam Lane walked into the newsroom. He walked towards Lois'=20 desk, virtually unnoticed by everyone in the newsroom. She was busy typing=20 the last few corrections to her latest story. Sam walked behind her silentl= y=20 and put his hand on her shoulder. Lois felt a hand on her shoulder and=20 instinctively jumped. She turned around looked into her father's face. "He= y=20 Princess, do you want to go get some dinner with me tonight?" Lois looked over towards Clark's desk. He met her gaze, and it was=20 obvious that he had heard Sam's request. He met her eyes with a look that=20 said, "Go ahead, I don't mind at all." So she said, "Sure, just give me a=20 couple minutes to send this story to Perry, and then tell Clark that we're=20 leaving" She LANed the story to Perry, and then walked over to Clark's desk. He=20 was working on his story about Metropolis' top structural engineers that did= =20 not have the credentials to be holding the positions they were, and their=20 errors had lead to at least seven major bridge collapses in the past year. =20 Clark wasn't quite done writing yet because Superman had interrupted his wor= k=20 several times today. Lois perched on the edge of Clark's desk and said,=20 "Would you mind if I had dinner with my father alone tonight? I think we=20 should be alone to talk." Clark nodded, "Sure honey. I'm sure I can find something for Superman t= o=20 do until you get home." Lois grinned and kissed him, "Don't be too long. I'm sure we'll be able= =20 to have a few hours alone before mother and Lucy are supposed to come over." "Oh, and what do you have planned for those hours, my Lady?" Lois leaned over and breathed into his ear, "You'll just have to wait an= d=20 see, Mr. Superman. Let me tell you, Kryptonite has nothing on me." Clark shuddered in anticipation, "You are making me weak." Then he=20 kissed her cheek lightly, "You'd better get going if you want me to finish=20 this story by the time you finish dinner." ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:37:19 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [5/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [5/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) Lois started to walk back to her father when Perry stuck his head out of his= =20 office. "Lois, could you come in here for a second?" =20 Lois gestured to her father that she would just be a minute, and walked=20 into Perry's office. When she entered his office, she found him sitting at=20 his desk staring at one of his Elvis pictures. Lois asked, "Did you get the= =20 story I sent you Chief? It was pretty good, if I do say so myself. I got a= n=20 exclusive interview with Superman about that bridge collapse, and Clark's=20 writing a sidebar about the civil engineers in Metropolis." Perry looked up and said, "Oh, yeah honey, it was good. But that isn't=20 why I called you in here." Lois raised her eyebrows and let him continue. "Lois, when my boys were= =20 growing up, I never really got to know them, kind of like you and your=20 father. I never had an affair, but my job was just as tempting as a woman=20 could have ever been. I had a love affair with being a reporter. I know=20 that sounds funny, but I did." Lois nodded. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and now this=20 made her wonder if she and Clark would ever be good parents, or if they woul= d=20 turn out just like Perry, her father, and Jimmy's father had. =20 Perry continued, "I spent every waking moment of the day here in this=20 newsroom, and where did it get me? I admit, I do love the challenge and the= =20 power of being editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, but what do I come home=20 to at night?" Lois frowned with sympathy at Perry, reralizing that she too could end u= p=20 this way if she was not careful. "Nothing, Lois. I have an empty apartment= =20 and the company of a couple of goldfish." "I'm so sorry, Chief. I don't know what else to say." Perry wiped his brow and rubbed his eyes trying to relieve some of the=20 stress he felt, "You don't have to say anything, Lois. I just needed someon= e=20 to listen to an old man rant and rave." Lois smiled and said, "Well, Perry, it's never too late to repent. Why=20 don't you call Alice or Larry, or even Jerry, and tell them the same thing=20 you told me?" Perry nodded, "Thanks honey, this really helped. I think I'll just try=20 that." After Lois left, Perry looked at Elvis again, "Look how many pictures of= =20 you I have in this office, and I've never even met you. But how many=20 pictures do I have of people I care about in this office? Not a one. What=20 kind of person am I?" Lois met her father at her desk and said, "Okay, let's go. Where do you= =20 want to eat?" Sam got up and picked up her briefcase for her. Lois tried to grab it=20 out of his hand, but Sam refused, saying, "No, no let me do it. It's the=20 least I can do for you." Lois let go of the briefcase. He nodded in thanks= =20 and continued, "I don't care. I'll eat wherever you want to. I just want=20 some food in my system. I haven't been eating well for a while now. Just=20 the sight of food has had me all queasy." When Lois looked more closely at her father, it was obvious that he had=20 lost a lot of weight. His face was drawn, and his eyes almost bulged out of= =20 his head. This was not a well man by any shape of the imagination. "I know= =20 a nice little Italian place over on Third called DeAgnes'. They shouldn't b= e=20 too busy at this time of day." Sam said, "Pasta sounds great right now, dear. Let's go; for once I'm=20 actually starving." =20 At the restaurant, Lois ordered linguini with a light marinarra sauce,=20 and Sam ordered eggplant parmesan. While they waited for their food, Lois=20 watched Sam squirm around in his seat. He was obviously uncomfortable=20 sitting there face to face with his daughter. Lois opened her mouth to say=20 something, but Sam beat her to it. "Lois, does your mother think I'm some=20 kind of monster?" Lois raised her eyebrows, "Um, a monster? I don't think those exact=20 words ever came out of her mouth." She knew her mother had used many other=20 choice words to describe Sam, but Lois didn't recall her ever exactly callin= g=20 him a monster exactly. =20 Sam took a sip of his water and said, "Oh, you know what I mean. Does=20 she hate me? I thought we were getting along so much better, but now she=20 won't even talk to me when I call her." Lois looked into his sunken eyes and felt so sorry for this man. He=20 looked so lost. Here he was dying, and only one person in his life even=20 sympathized with him. She wasn't sure if she should tell him the truth abou= t=20 Lucy and Ellen's feelings. Finally she decided to be blunt with him, "Daddy= ,=20 um, about Mother." He looked at her expectantly with a hopeful glint in his= =20 eyes. "She seems to think that you're just making your illness up. She tol= d=20 me that you pulled some incredible stunts while you were married, and she=20 just doesn't know what to believe any more." Sam, who had been at the edge of his seat anticipating a good response,=20 flopped back into his seat. He looked like a broken man; his eyes had lost=20 the tiniest glint of hope, and now the dark circles seemed even more=20 pronounced. Lois couldn't believe that this was the same man who just a few= =20 months ago had been jumping around making infomercials for 'Dr. Lane's=20 Breasts in a Bottle.' Sam sighed, "I should have known. She's right,=20 though. What have I ever done that would make her believe me. Nothing." "Daddy, don't say that=85" "Don't try to comfort me, Princess. I know I've never done anything tha= t=20 could even warrant you caring for me at all. Your mother has the right idea= ,=20 I should be condemned to suffer a lonely death and then to burn in Hell for=20 all eternity." Lois opened her mouth in shock. This was not the man she'd known most o= f=20 her life. "Don't say that Daddy, you can't mean it!" Sam just shook his head. "No Princess, I don't deserve your sympathy. =20 After everything I've done, it's only fair that you turn around and=20 reciprocate when I need you most." Lois shook her head woefully, "I can't believe you feel that way. Sure,= =20 you did horrible things in your life, but I can't condemn you. No one, no=20 matter what they may have done, deserves to die alone. Plus, you don't even= =20 realize all of the good things you've done for us. I wouldn't be the person= =20 I am today if it wasn't for everything that happened between you and mother=20 when I was a child." Just then, the waitress brought their dinners out, and they both started= =20 eating in silence, focusing on the food in front of them, considering Lois'=20 last remark. When they had both finished about half of their dinners, Sam=20 spoke again, "Lois, I don't know what to think. I know I don't deserve=20 anyone's sympathy, but I want it so much. I need it to keep going, fighting= =20 this illness. I don't even really want it for myself. I think you, Lucy,=20 and your mother all deserve better than my just dying alone in a little=20 hospital room without even having the chance to try to apologize to you. I=20 want to prove that I'm not the horrible man you think I am." Lois reached out for her father's hand, and with her eyes shining, said,= =20 "Daddy, if it's worth anything to you, I don't think you're horrible at all.= =20 Maybe I did at one time, but now I think I realize why you did what you did=20 to us." Sam looked up, his sunken eyes forlorn, "Thank you Lois, you have no ide= a=20 how much that means to me." When Lois and Sam finished dinner, they promised to meet again the next=20 afternoon for lunch. As they were each about to go their separate ways, Loi= s=20 reached out to do something she had not remembered doing since she was a=20 young child. She extended her arms, almost in slow motion, and hugged her=20 father tightly. He seemed to be as shocked as she was, and slowly hugged he= r=20 back. He was just so grateful that at least one of his daughters had turned= =20 out so well, no thanks to him. When Lois got home, she found Clark already waiting for her. He met her= =20 at the door, and pulled her into his arms. As he pulled her close, he asked= ,=20 "So, how did dinner go?" Lois kissed him on the lips and then pulled back a little. "I don't kno= w=20 sweetheart. He's so depressed. I don't know what to do for him. Part of m= e=20 is saying don't do anything. Look at everything he's done to me. But then=20 the other part of me is saying he needs me, I need to help him. And that=20 part is just so much louder right now." Clark pulled her back into his embrace, "I don't know honey. You have t= o=20 do what your heart is telling you to do, and I think you already know what=20 that is." Lois kissed him again, "Thank you, I just wanted someone else to tell me= =20 I'm not crazy." Lois pushed Clark back onto their couch where she planted kisses all ove= r=20 his face and neck. In the midst of her kisses he murmured, "Don't worry=20 Baby, you're not crazy at all. You're the most intelligent, wonderful,=20 compassionate, loving, and absolutely beautiful woman in the entire world." Lois giggled when she heard Clark refer to her as 'Baby.' He only used=20 that term of endearment when they were completely in private. The first tim= e=20 he used that endearment she was taken aback. It must have slipped out in th= e=20 throws of passion, and she wasn't sure how to react. She yelled at him then= ,=20 but she still secretly loved it when he did. It meant that he was completel= y=20 relaxed and, often, that Superman was about to take a few hours off. As the= y=20 made love, they silently reaffirmed their love for each other and their=20 promise that their relationship would never end up the way Sam and Ellen's=20 had so many years ago. As Lois laid across Clark's chest, reveling in the luxury of actually=20 spending time with her husband, not being interrupted by Superman, work, or=20 unexpected visitors, her mind drifted back to what she had been thinking=20 about in Perry's office. She ran her fingers across Clark's chest to wake=20 him up. "Clark, I was thinking, Perry, my dad and Jimmy's dad all had jobs=20 that ruined their families. The more I think about it, the more I see us=20 taking the same paths they have." Clark, still a little out of it, said, "Lois, I don't know what you're=20 talking about." Lois rolled over to face him and said, "I was just comparing us with=20 Perry, my dad, and Jack Olsen. We are so committed to our jobs; you even=20 have two demanding jobs. I can easily see us falling into that same fatal=20 pattern. We spend so much time at work, we hardly have enough time for=20 ourselves, let alone time for whatever family we may eventually have." Clark raised his eyebrows , "Lois, slow down. You're already comparing=20 us to the worst. True we have demanding jobs, but I'm sure that if we ever=20 have a family we won't turn out like everyone else. We aren't everyone else= :=20 not Perry and Alice, or Sam and Ellen, or even Martha and Jonathan. We're=20 Lois and Clark, and that's why we're different. Look how much we've gone=20 through already just to get here." He gently took her hand and spun her=20 wedding ring around her finger. "Plus, we don't even know if we can even=20 have kids. No one knows if a man from Krypton and a woman from Earth can=20 even mate successfully." Lois kissed him on the nose and said, "Oh you know we can definitely mat= e=20 successfully, and oh so wonderfully."=20 "You know what I mean." Lois pushed a stray lock of hair back off of Clark's forehead and said,=20 "Yeah I know what you mean, I was just kidding. Anyway, I'm not even sure i= f=20 I want to have kids or not, but I do want to make sure we make the right=20 choices if we do. I don't ever want to bring a child into this world that=20 will have to suffer through any of the same things I had to when my parents=20 were splitting up." Clark reached up and touched Lois' face in a familiar gesture, "Don't=20 worry Lois, they never will. I know we're not even sure if we can, or even=20 want to, have babies, but wouldn't we have such cute kids." Lois said, "Oh Clark, we would. They'd have your eyes=85" "Your lips," Clark kissed the aforementioned objects. "Your sense of humor=85" "And your drive for success." Clark pulled Lois close and continued, "I= =20 can't wait to meet them." Lois kissed him lightly and agreed, "Oh Clark, I want to have your baby=20 right now." "Lois, you're kidding, right!" Clark broke away with an alarmed look on= =20 his face. "You don't mean that. We've only been married for three weeks and= =20 just five minutes ago you weren't even sure if you ever wanted to have kids.= " Lois looked into her husband's alarmed eyes and realized that when they=20 were together, anything was possible. "I know, but the more I think about=20 it, the more I want to have your baby. But you're right, now probably isn't= =20 the best time." Clark smiled up at her relieved. He had some unresolved issues about=20 parenthood that he hadn't even told Lois about. However, the love that=20 projected from his eyes was so evident, Lois almost cried. She wanted to do= =20 anything in her power so that they would never end up like her parents.=20 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:39:08 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [6/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Title: Final Forgiveness Part: [6/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their own way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly, privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they think about it) In California, Lucy Lane went about her business like she would any other day. However, today she had a bit of a drag in her step. She kept trying to push thoughts of her father as far from her mind as possible. Unfortunately, images of her father and all of the horrible things he did pounded though her mind all morning at work while she waited on people she didn't care about, and all afternoon during her creative writing class as her professor's monotonous voice droned on. The last thing she wanted when she to do when she got home was face her roommates. Her roommates were nice people who she usually got along well with. First there was Chen, a twenty-four year old graduate student in Chemistry who had recently come over to the United States from Canton, China. Lucy's other roommate's name was Jenny. Jenny was a bubbly, twenty-five year old physical therapist. Lucy usually genuinely liked her roommates, but today she was not in the mood for company. She just wanted to go into her room and sulk. Lucy walked in the door too her apartment around four-thirty. As luck would have it, she heard both Chen's and Jenny's voices coming from the kitchen. She muttered, "Shoot, I knew they'd be home. They don't have lives, so why would they be anywhere else? Superman is going to be here in a half-hour. I have to think of a way to get at least Jenny out of the house." Lucy knew that Jenny had a huge crush of Superman, and she didn't want Jenny to know that she had any association with the Man of Steel or Lucy would never hear the end of it. Lucy dumped her purse and bookbag onto the couch and made her way into the kitchen, formulating a plan to get rid of Jenny for the next hour. Jenny was reading a copy of the Daily Planet, if you could call it reading. She was really looking through the newspaper for any Superman pictures that she could cut out. Chen was cooking some kind of Chinese food. Lucy had no idea what she was cooking, but then again, she never had any idea what Chen cooked. She just knew that, more often than not, it tasted incredible. Jenny looked up from her paper and said, "Hey Luce, how was your class today?" Lucy rolled her eyes, "What do you think?" Jenny looked at Chen, rolled her eyes and said, "Okay Little Miss Sunshine, so-orr-ryyy." Lucy didn't think Jenny's attempt at humor was funny at all. Just then, the young women heard a knock at their window. Jenny and Chen looked at each other in disbelief. Who could be knocking at their fourth story window? Lucy, for her part, didn't get excited. She said quietly, "Shoot, shoot, shoot, he's early. How am I going to explain this one?" Lucy went to the living room window and was face to face with the Man of Steel himself while Jenny and Chen followed close behind. Jenny was beside herself. Here she was within an arm's length of her dreams. Lucy opened the window and Superman stepped onto the sill. "Sorry I'm a little early, but your sister wanted me to pick you up as soon as possible." Chen regained her ability to speak first, "Lucy you know Superman? How long were you going to hold out on us?" Jenny, still unable to speak, stood opening and closing her mouth, trying to think of something to say to her hero. Lucy swallowed a lump in her throat, "Um, Superman, I don't want to keep you waiting. Let's get going. I know you must have more important places to go." Superman swooped Lucy into his arms as she waved to the other two shocked women. In a flash, they were gone. Jenny and Chen stood with their mouths gaping open as they watched they roommate fly of with Superman. Jenny finally found her voice, "Superman, will you marry me?" Chen just shook her head, "What I wouldn't give to be in her shoes right now." Jenny, now finally able to form coherent sentences, was now more than a little mad at Lucy. "Wait a second, Chen. Why didn't Lucy tell us that she knows Superman? She knows the way I feel about him. She's watched me make a fool out of myself over Superman hundreds of times, and here she is with personal connections. She's sure got some explaining to do when she gets back." Chen led Jenny back to the kitchen. "Shut up already Jenny. You know you'd never have a chance with him anyway. I've heard he likes brunettes." Then Chen shook her long dark hair suggestively and fell into an uncontrollable giggling fit. Jenny just shook her head, unable to come up with a retort. Lois paced around her living room anticipating the upcoming confrontation with her family. She had send Clark to pick up Lucy about five minutes ago, so she anticipated him to arrive with her very soon, and she expected her mother to knock on her door any minute now. Lois stopped pacing because she was making herself dizzy. But then she was restless. She had so do something, so she rearranged the couch cushions. As she put the last cushion back, the doorbell rang. Lois opened the door, and was surprised to find both her mother and sister standing there. Lois ushered the other two women into the house, and hugged both Lucy and Ellen. They all sat down in the living room silently. Lois tried to break the ice, "So Lucy, why didn't Superman stop in for a visit?" Lucy crossed her legs and flipped her hair over his shoulder, "Oh, he said 'Hi,' but he heard a cry for help. Something about a bank alarm. He told me you'd understand. And he told me to just call for him when I'm ready to go back." Lois nodded, and Ellen looked around for Clark. "Lois, where is that husband of yours?" "Oh, he had an interview, and I told him to stay away for a while because I wanted to talk to you guys alone." Ellen moved to take Lois' hand, "You'd better be careful, dear. That's where it stared to go wrong for me." Lois squeezed Ellen's hand, and instead of saying the sharp remark that came to her about her father, she said, "I know Mom. But I trust Clark." Ellen bit her tongue. She was about to say something nasty about men in general, but she realized Lois did not need to hear that right now. Lucy, however, was not as subtle. "Lois, how can you be sure? Do you really know what he's doing right now? Just make sure you and your kids don't find him in your own living room with some floozy from the street." Lois and Ellen looked at Lucy in shock. Ellen gasped, "Whatever made you say something like that?" Lois, with her mouth hanging open, exclaimed, "What? Clark would never do anything like that." Lucy whispered, "It was just a warning." She got out of her seat and paced. Lois got up and stopped her sister. Lois put an arm around her little sister and rubbed her shoulders. "Lucy, where did you get that kind of idea from?" Lucy shrugged Lois' arm off. She sat on the end of the couch with her head in her hands. Ellen moved closer to her younger daughter, she had a good idea what Lucy was thinking. "Lucy, sweetheart, does this have anything to do with something that happened with your father?" Lucy silently nodded. Ellen hugged Lucy tightly, "Oh Lucy, I'm so sorry. I never realized. Oh no, I don't believe it." Lucy couldn't believe her mother knew anything about Sam bringing other women into their house. Lucy was now crying freely as she said, "Mom, you knew too?" Ellen nodded and wiped some of Lucy's tears away. "It happened late one night when I was eight years old." Lucy looked up at her captive audience. "I was thirsty, so I wanted to get a glass of milk to help me fall asleep. I thought you guys were asleep so I tried to be really quiet and I tiptoed to the kitchen." Lois nodded and Ellen tried to comfort Lucy as she continued, "I heard these voices coming from the living room. I walked over there really quietly because I wanted to see who it was. It was Daddy and some strange woman, and Daddy was standing there with his pants off, and the woman was kneeling in front of him. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew something was so wrong." Ellen nodded in recognition. "I'm so sorry. I thought I was the only person who ever walked in on him. That was when I knew for sure that we needed a divorce." Those old emotions of that little eight year old overwhelmed Lucy as she cried, "Mom, I knew he was doing something bad. I should have told someone, but I didn't want to be a tattle-tale." Ellen wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter, "Shhh, Shhh, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong at all. It was all his fault making you see something like that." Lois, who had been sitting quietly got out of her chair sat on Lucy's other side. She put a hand on Ellen's arm, "I can't believe he actually had the gall to do something like that." She was absolutely disgusted. "He brought another woman into our own house where his wife and children were sleeping. I can't believe it!" Lucy was now sobbing, "Sam Lane has never thought of anything besides himself." Lois pulled back, "Luce, you can't say never." Lucy stared at her sister incredulously, "Oh really? Just tell my one thing he has ever done that hasn't had some kind of selfish motivation." Ellen took this as her initiative to tell her side of the story, "Girls, I know you father has hurt you so badly. He might have hurt me even worse. But Lois does have a point. There was a point in his life where you father would have moved heaven and earth for his girls." Lucy's eyes widened in shock, "His girls meaning who?" Ellen rubbed Lucy's shoulders, "Of course I mean us. When you two were little, your father and I were in love and he loved you girls so much. We wanted to do anything we could for you. Lois, I don't want you to feel bad, but Lucy was his little angel. He thought she could do no wrong. Sweetheart, you just blinked your little eyes, and you had him wrapped around your little finger. He would have given you anything you asked for." Lucy astonished. She never realized her father ever loved her, "You've got to be kidding me mom. I know better than anyone that he never loved me. I he did, he would never have left me." Lois interjected, "Luce, he does love you. He's a weak man who can't admit his feelings well. I know he doesn't show it in the right ways, but he does love us. I know he does." Ellen shook her head, "Lois, dear, I have to agree with Lucy here. Your father has not done anything to make any of us forgive him. He's a lying pig. He may have loved us before, but it's obvious he doesn't now, and hasn't for a long time." Lucy nodded. She agreed with her mother completely. There was no reason for her to forgive her father. After all, he had hurt her so badly, shouldn't she have the same opportunity to hurt him. "I shouldn't have to forgive that man for anything. He's hurt me so badly. I think I have every right to hurt him in the same way." Lois could not believe her sister. She was acting so childish. This was not the little sister she had known for most of her life. "Luce, you're acting like a little kid. It is so childish to want an eye for an eye. Aren't you a little more mature than that?" Lucy couldn't take it any more. She didn't want to talk about her father any more, and she didn't need to sit around here and be belittled by her sister. She got up, hugged Ellen and ran to the door. Before she walked out, she said, "I don't need to take this any more. I'm going to have Superman take me home. You just don't get it, do you Lois? I hate that man that calls himself our father so much that I never want to see his face again. I'm actually happy that he's dying. That way he will never bother me again." As Lucy left, Lois and Ellen stared at the door in shock. Ellen took Lois' hand, "You didn't do anything wrong. She's just not willing to accept him. I mean, I can't blame her. I'm still trying to debate it in my own mind. Think of it from Lucy's perspective. She was only eight years old when your father basically left our family for another woman. He didn't call us. He didn't visit. The only time you girls heard from him was at Christmas and on your birthdays. And even then he only sent you a small gift and a card. I don't know Lois. Maybe Lucy has the right idea." Lois silently remembered those long years without her father. They had certainly been painful. She could remember sitting in Lucy's room night after night trying to explain why their daddy was never coming home again. "Mom, Dad hurt me so much back then. But now when I look back at those years, I realized that I would never have become the person I am today if it had happened any differently." "Oh Lois, you always were the rational one in the family." Ellen grinned and hugged her daughter, "You would be the one to think through this calmly and rationally." Lois, too, grinned, "I think it was Clark. Some of his good humor must be rubbing of on me. But I just can't see condemning a man to die alone, no matter what he did during his life." Ellen nodded, "That's true. I know I would not want to die alone." She shook he head, trying to rid her mind of the thoughts of her own eminent death. "You're right, he will get his ultimate judgement, wherever he's going." Lois continued her mother's thought, "We're only human. Who are we to judge someone?" Ellen agreed completely, "I know. I can't force myself to forget everything he's done to us, but I think I might be willing to forgive him." Lois smiled at her mother and hugged her, "Thank you so much. This means so much to me, and to him. I know he'll be glad to see you." Lois paused and considered her next question. She knew her mother wanted to make amends with her father, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be thrust into it. Finally, she decided to just do it, " Are you doing anything for lunch tomorrow?" "I don't think so. Why?" Ellen wondered what Lois had cooked up her sleeve this time. Lois noticed her mother's wariness and laughed, "Mother, it's nothing really. I just wanted to know if you wanted to have lunch with Daddy and me tomorrow. We're meeting at the Planet at one, if you want to come." Ellen thought of seeing her ex-husband with trepidation. After all, she had been so mean to him this morning, but she was sure he'd understand. "Okay Lois, I think that would be nice." ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:40:27 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [7/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [7/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) Lucy walked out of Lois' house and immediately called for Superman. A few=20 seconds later, the Man of Steel landed next to Lucy, "Ready to go Lucy?" Clark thought that Lucy looked surprisingly depressed. He wasn't sure=20 what happened between the family during their meeting, but he assumed that=20 they must have had some kind of catfight. He wanted to say something=20 reassuring to his sister-in-law, but since he was in the Suit he was unable=20 to show any emotion, or even show that he knew any background of the Lane=20 women's dilemma. They flew back to California, neither really spoke. Lucy was wrapped up= =20 with her thoughts about her father and her pitiful life. Superman did not=20 say and thing, even though he felt for his sister-in-law, because he had to=20 maintain his Superman persona while he was in the Suit. When Superman=20 stopped outside Lucy's window, she finally spoke up, "Wait Superman. Could=20 you drop me off at the front of the building? I don't want you to have to=20 face Jenny again." Superman complied, and he dropped her off right outside the front door.=20= =20 He flew away and was gone in a heartbeat. Lucy walked in to the building an= d=20 up the stairs to her apartment. She was not in the mood to dodge the barrag= e=20 of questions she was sure to face as soon as she walked in the door. The=20 poor woman knew that both Jenny and Chen would be eagerly waiting to ambush=20 her when she walked in the door. =20 =20 Just as she had thought, both Jenny and Chen were both sitting on the=20 sofa pretending to watch television in perfect position to corner her. But=20 she was smarter than they were. They must have thought they were so good,=20 but they underestimated the Lane determination. And people called her siste= r=20 'Mad Dog.' They didn't know anything. Lucy surveyed the room and decided that the best course of action was to= =20 run right through the room without looking back. She walked right past Che= n=20 and Jenny pretending they were not even in the room. They followed her, and= =20 Jenny even grabbed her arm, "Lucy, you can't just walk past us! You have to= =20 tell us about Superman. Is he as wonderful in person? What does it feel=20 like when he's flying?" =20 Lucy shrugged Jenny away. Chen asked, "Where did he take you? I heard=20 him say something about your sister. I didn't even know you had a sister." Lucy had finally reached her room. She walked in and quickly slammed th= e=20 door behind her, nearly hitting Jenny in the head. Jenny continued, "Lucy,=20 how could you do this to me? You didn't even introduce us! And you didn't=20 even tell me he was coming over. Ugh, I looked like such a scrub. I would=20 have put some better clothes on and done my hair and make-up." By then Lucy= =20 had turned her music way up, trying to block out Jenny's whining. Chen had=20 the decency to drag Jenny back into her room, realizing that Lucy wanted to=20 be alone right now. =20 In Jenny's room, Jenny and Chen could still hear Lucy's loud music. The= y=20 were lucky she didn't like music with a lot of bass or else the entire=20 apartment would have been shaking. Now Jenny was beyond mad, she was=20 absolutely livid. "Chen, how could Lucy do this to us? She won't even tell= =20 us how she knows Superman. I wonder if she even asked what he thought of me= =85" Chen cut her off, "Jenny, please shut up! Don't you see that there's=20 something really wrong with her? This is not our friend in the next room. =20 Something's really wrong with her. I bet it has something to do with=20 Superman and her sister. I mean, has she ever even mentioned that she has a= =20 sister?" Jenny, who had been adequately put in her place, shook her head, "No, I=20 don't believe she ever has." "Okay then, we have to figure out just what's wrong with her. Then mayb= e=20 she'll give us the scoop about Superman." Chen giggled, "She better have=20 something juicy to tell us!" Jenny's eyes danced, "Yeah and maybe then I'll even get to fly with him!= " By this time, Lucy had turned her music down. Jenny and Chen could hear= =20 her sobbing in her room. Chen said, "I'm going to see if I can talk to her.= =20 It sounds like something really bad happened today. I just hope she's ready= =20 to talk to someone." Jenny nodded, "I want to talk to her too." Chen shook her head, "No way Jen. I can't trust you not to bring up=20 Superman. You're too obsessed!" Jenny shook her head in remorsefully, "I guess you're right. She won't=20 talk with me around." Chen left Jenny and gently knocked on Lucy's door. She could hear the=20 loud sobs coming from inside, "Hey Luce, what's wrong? Can I help?" Lucy didn't say anything at first. Chen added, "This isn't any kind of=20 trick or anything. Jenny's in her room, she's not going to ambush you. Jus= t=20 let me help you." Lucy finally answered through her sobs, "Come on in if you want. The=20 door's open." =20 =20 Chen opened the door slowly, unsure of how to approach the situation. =20 When she walked into the room, she found Lucy lying face down on her bed=20 sobbing almost uncontrollably looking at a photo album. She didn't even loo= k=20 up when she heard Chen come into the room. Chen sat on the edge of Lucy's=20 bed and quietly put her hand on Lucy's shoulder. She tried to glance at the= =20 picture album, but Lucy's head was obscuring all of the pictures. "Lucy,=20 I've never seen this before. What are these pictures of?" Lucy finally looked up. She looked surprised that Chen was sitting=20 there. She blinked some of her tears away and said, "Oh, these are pictures= =20 of my sister and me when we were little. I'm feeling nostalgic all of a=20 sudden." Chen helped Lucy sit up and pulled the photo album out with her. Lucy=20 sat with her back supported by the headboard hugging a pillow for comfort. =20 Chen began her peace offering, "So Luce, you never told us anything about=20 your family. I've told you everything about my sisters and I know Jen's=20 bugged you as much as she's bugged me about her parents, but I can't seem to= =20 recall you ever talking about any of your relatives." Lucy remained silent, so Chen continued. "Superman said something about= =20 your sister. Does your sister know Superman?" Lucy slightly nodded. "Wow,= =20 that is so cool. The only person my sister knows is Hongwen, the boy down=20 the street, who just happens to be the cutest boy in our village. But he=20 sure isn't Superman. How does she know Superman? I am assuming that she=20 must be an older sister. Was that who you went to see tonight? I am=20 assuming she lives in Metropolis since that's where Superman spends most of=20 his time." Lucy nodded again, and Chen was getting fed up, "I can't help you if you= =20 won't talk to me!" The two young women sat in silence until Lucy relented, "Yes, my sister=20 lives in Metropolis. Remember when we first moved in together Jenny saw my=20 last name and knew I came from Metropolis and immediately asked if I was=20 related to Lois Lane, the reporter from the Daily Planet who gets all of=20 those Superman exclusives?" Chen's eyes got wide and her mouth dropped open, "No way! Lois Lane is=20 your sister?" Lucy nodded again, "You can see why I don't talk about her much around=20 here. Jenny would never let me hear the end of it. She'd assume I knew=20 Superman just because my sister knows Superman, and the truth is, today is=20 only the second time I've ever met him." "I could see why. That's right, Jen would never let you hear the end of= =20 it! She idolized Lois Lane and Clark Kent almost like gods because of their= =20 affiliation with Superman. You know she subscribes to the Daily Planet just= =20 because of their Superman exclusives." Lucy rubbed her red eyes and nodded. Chen opened the photo album and=20 flipped through the pictures. Lucy and Lois had been such cute kids, but=20 Chen thought it was strange that none of these pictures had either of her=20 parents anywhere in them. Lucy continued, "My sister and Superman are reall= y=20 close. I even suspect that they may have even been an item at one time, but= =20 who am I to say anything? I hardly even talk to her. I mean, sure, we talk= =20 once a week on the phone and I went to her wedding, but we never really=20 talk." He eyes glistened with more unshed tears. "Oh her husband Clark is=20 so wonderful. I wish I could find someone like that, incredibly handsome,=20 completely in love with her, steady job, completely in love with her." "You said that already." Lucy wrung her hands in a gesture Chen knew she only did when she was=20 extremely upset, and said, "I know, and I mean it twice. You should see the= m=20 Chen; they're so in love! They only have eyes for each other, you can see i= t=20 so clearly. Tonight Lois sent Clark away for a couple of hours so we could=20 have our family meeting, and I could tell she was longing for him so badly.=20= =20 I know Clark feels exactly the same way." =20 Chen ran her hand through her hair frustrated. Was this what Lucy was=20 mad about? Was she jealous of her sister's marriage? Chen knew all about=20 Lucy's luck in the men area. Lucy sure had picked some real winners to date= !=20 =20 Chen took a hard look at her friend. Her instincts told her that Lucy's= =20 problem was not jealousy of her sister's romantic life. It ran much deeper=20 than that. Sure jealousy may play a small part, but whatever was bothering=20 Lucy was so much deeper. Chen decided to take it upon herself to get to the= =20 root of Lucy's problem. =20 "So Lucy, some of these pictures are just so cute. You and your sister=20 were the cutest kids I've ever seen. You look so much alike. I've never=20 seen your sister now, but as children, you two were almost identical, except= =20 for the fact that she was bigger than you were." "There's some more recent pictures of us in the back. I just got some o= f=20 her wedding pictures back this afternoon." "Did you say you went to her wedding tonight?" Chen wondered out loud. Lucy shook her head and said, "No that was a couple of weeks ago. I jus= t=20 didn't make a big deal out of it." Chen raised her eyebrows. Obviously there was something strange going o= n=20 here with Lucy's family, but she had no clue as to what it was. "How come=20 you never told us about your sister, and even denied that you even have a=20 sister more than a couple of times?" Lucy closed her eyes, "I don't know Chen, I really don't know. You saw=20 how Jenny reacted about Superman, I'm sure she would have acted the same way= =20 if she knew my sister was Superman's close friend." Chen shook her head, "That's not it, is it. There's something more goin= g=20 on here. Are you really that jealous of your sister?" Lucy closed her eyes, and a lone tear drop ran down her cheek, "No Chen,= =20 I'm really not jealous of her at all. She deserves Clark. After all, she's= =20 had almost more bad luck with men than I've had. It kinda gives me a little= =20 glimmer of hope that maybe someday I'll find someone like Clark. The weddin= g=20 was so nice, her dress was beautiful, they looked so happy like all they=20 could see were each other." Chen could tell that Lucy was telling the truth here. She wasn't jealou= s=20 of her sister. Maybe a tiny part of her subconsciously was, but that was no= t=20 enough to keep her this isolated from her friends. Chen had to dig deeper t= o=20 find the root of Lucy's problems. Chen flipped the album to the last few pages and found Lois' wedding=20 photos. "What a cute couple!" she exclaimed. Lucy nodded, "I know. They're even cuter in person. They just look lik= e=20 they were made for each other." Her voice had no emotion as she spoke of=20 what should have been such a wonderfully happy time. The only hint of=20 emotion Chen heard was a crack in Lucy's voice, like she was about to cry=20 again. Chen flipped through more of the pictures and noticed on striking=20 similarity between these pictures and the pictures from Lucy's early=20 childhood. Neither of her parents was in any of these pictures. Bingo,=20 there's the key. It's something with her parents! That's why she doesn't=20 want to talk about her family. Something really bad must have happened to=20 her. Chen approached the matter cautiously, "Um Luce, I don't want to say=20 this wrong, it might come out funny, but I was just wondering why you don't=20 have any pictures of your parents." Lucy looked up incredulously, "Why should I have to have pictures of my=20 parents in there? I want to have keepsakes from the happy times, not the=20 times I'd like to forget!" =20 Chen noticed Lucy visibly close in on herself again. This was the key, and=20 Chen had stumbled in the right direction. Now she had to find out just what= =20 was going on with Lucy's parents and it sure wouldn't easy. Chen put a friendly arm around Lucy's shoulders. Something really horrible=20 must have happened to this girl when she was a child. Chen was almost scare= d=20 to find out. Did her father molest her? Did her mother abuse her? Did her= =20 father hit her mother? "It's okay, you know I'm here for you if you need me= ." Lucy looked up into her best friend's eyes. Chen's eyes were filled with=20 compassion and fear. "Oh Chen, it's awful!" she cried. "I'll tell you the=20 whole story, I guess. Maybe I'll feel better if I can get this off my chest= .=20 I've really never told anyone the whole story before, not even my sister,=20 and it's been killing me inside. And I really never could tell Lois because= =20 she'd just think I was crazy. Maybe she would have understood a few years=20 ago, but now she wouldn't even want to hear it. She's reconciled all of her= =20 differences now, just because he's dying=85" Chen's eyes widened when Lucy said he's dying. Her father must be the=20 root of her problem. Under her breath, she muttered, "Wow, that girl sure=20 does have a tendency to babble. She sounds just like that xiao he behind my= =20 house in China." And loud enough for Lucy to hear her, "Lucy, slow down and= =20 let me catch up. I speak English pretty well, but not when you're going tha= t=20 fast. Did you just say that your father did something to you and you've=20 never told anyone. I think I also heard you say something about your father= =20 dying." Lucy's eyes fell, "Yeah, he has cancer. That's why I went to Metropolis= =20 tonight. My sister wanted to get the family together to decide what we are=20 going to do about it. She wants my mother and me to forgive him and stay=20 with him for his last few weeks." Then she looked up into Chen's eyes, "I=20 don't think I have to have any sympathy for him, do I? After what he did to= =20 me, or even what he did to our family!" Chen, now more confused than ever, wondered what on Earth Lucy's father=20 had done to her. "Lucy, I don't want to offend you, and you don't have to=20 tell me if you don't want to, but what did your father do to you? Was it=20 really that bad?" Lucy hugged her pillow close, almost ripping the edges of the pillowcase= .=20 "Oh Chen, it was so awful. I was going to tell you. I need someone to=20 listen to me. It all started when I was eight years old. My parents were=20 always fighting. I was so worried. I wondered if they were fighting about=20 me. I wasn't doing to well in school, and my sister was. I wasn't doing my= =20 homework and I was having trouble reading. It turned out that all I needed=20 was glasses, but I my parents fought so much about it back then." Well that wasn't that bad. Chen had expected something much worse. =20 "Lucy are you sure they were really fighting about you. They might have bee= n=20 having personal problems that you didn't know about." Lucy continued, "Yeah, they were. He was very unfaithful to our family.= =20 One time, that same year, I was walking around the kitchen late at night=20 getting myself a glass of milk when I heard voices coming from the living=20 room. Basically to make a long story short, I saw my father there with a=20 strange woman and she was giving him a bl=85" Chen interjected, "No way. Not in your living room. Ay ya that is=20 crazy. I can't believe it." "Well believe it. And that wasn't the only time either. My mom said sh= e=20 caught him too." "I can't believe it. That is so crazy. But is that a reason to condemn= =20 him?" Lucy's eyes were shining, "That's not the whole reason I hate him so=20 much." The tears started to flow down her cheeks. "After he left us, my=20 mother turned into a terrible alcoholic. I didn't want to live with her any= =20 more, so I called my dad. I thought he'd be happy to have me come and stay=20 with him. I thought I was his little angel." She gulped as it became harde= r=20 for her to talk. "But when I asked him, he didn't want me to stay with him.= =20 He didn't care about anything I told him, and he practically told me off. H= e=20 hurt me so badly that day, and I haven't spoken to him since." Chen raised her eyebrows. How could this have made Lucy so bitter? =20 Maybe she was an overly sensitive child and blew things way out of=20 proportion. "Luce, I'm so sorry. But you are acting very childish right=20 now. You've held a grudge for that long. I do understand what you mean. H= e=20 must have hurt you so much, but do you really want him to die without seeing= =20 him or talking to him one last time." Lucy was sobbing uncontrollably now. She didn't want to hear anything=20 but sympathy right now. She didn't want to face the fact that she might be=20 wrong. But Chen wouldn't take the obvious hint that she was trying to throw= =20 out to her that she wanted to be alone. Lucy turned around and buried her=20 head into her pillow. Chen finally got the hint, "Okay Luce, I get it. You= =20 want me to leave. I just have an old Chinese saying for you, Yao sum yen mm= =20 woy tee. You don't get the full effect when you translate it, but it=20 basically means it's never too late." Chen turned around and watched Lucy=20 cry into her pillow. She knew it wasn't a good idea for her to talk to Lucy= =20 right now. Lucy needed some time to be alone to think about what she wanted= =20 to do.=20 Superman flew away from Lucy's apartment at a leisurely pace. He didn't= =20 know how much longer Ellen would be there, and Lois had asked him to stay=20 away until she left. He flew back to Metropolis and x-rayed the house,=20 seeing that Ellen was still there. So he decided to make his patrol. The=20 city was unusually quiet for this time of night, and he couldn't find=20 anything that demanded his attention. =20 When he circled around his house again, he saw that Ellen was, indeed,=20 still there, so he decided to fly to a little dolceria he knew of in Italy=20 and get Lois some of her favorite Italian pastries. When he got back to=20 Metropolis, he stopped at the Florist's shop near the Daily Planet and bough= t=20 one long-stemmed red rose. When he came out of the florist's, he was sure=20 Ellen must had left. He flew home and this time when he x-rayed, he found=20 Lois upstairs lying in bed hugging a pillow with a blank expression on her=20 face. The TV was tuned in to LNN, but she didn't even seem to notice it was= =20 even there. She looked so depressed. Clark felt helpless when he saw Lois=20 like this. He didn't know what to do to help her. What could he do besides= =20 provide an arm to lean on and a shoulder to cry on? He couldn't cure the=20 cancer that ravaged her father's body. He couldn't force Lucy to forget=20 everything Sam had done to her. =20 He flew into the bedroom and spun into a pair of boxer shorts. Lois felt th= e=20 breeze and looked up without saying anything. Clark frowned. She looked=20 like she had been crying again. Her eyes were red and puffy surrounded by=20 the dark circles of exhaustion. He put his bag of pastries and the rose dow= n=20 on the dresser and climbed into bed next to Lois, "Do I need to ask how it=20 went?" =20 Lois sniffled as Clark pulled her into his strong embrace, "It wasn't as bad= =20 as you think. I was surprised. Mother actually decided to meet us for lunc= h=20 tomorrow." Clark raised his eyebrows, "Really? I didn't think she even believed he was= =20 sick." Lois snuggled into the warmth of Clark's arms, "She didn't. I guess he came= =20 to her apartment this morning and she decided he wasn't faking the weight=20 loss and the drawn eyes. I don't know, maybe she's starting to think like a= n=20 adult. She said she couldn't forget the things he did, but she's a big=20 enough person to forgive." =20 Clark squeezed her shoulders, "Just like you. I don't think Sam expects the= =20 three of you to forget anything he did. I don't think he can forget it=20 either." Lois flipped the TV off, "I know he can't forget it. It tortures him ever=20 minute of the day. He told me that today. But I just don't see how Lucy=20 doesn't see that. I mean he hurt me just as much as he hurt her, and I can=20 forgive him." ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:42:20 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [8/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [8/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) Clark shook his head. So this is what's wrong. Lois and Lucy must have had= =20 a fight about who Sam had hurt more. Lois must have taken it upon herself t= o=20 tell Lucy just what she should do without even trying to consider Lucy's=20 feelings. "Honey, I don't want to seem like I'm taking Lucy's side here, bu= t=20 aren't you being a bit presumptuous. You don't know everything that went on= =20 between them." Lois opened her mouth to protest, but Clark gently covered i= t=20 with his hand, "Let me finish. All I'm saying is that Lucy was eight years=20 old when your father left. You were older and you could understand what was= =20 going on better. Lucy saw her father leaving her, and basically telling her= =20 that he didn't want her any more. Then your mother started drinking. Who=20 was there to tell her they loved her? I think Lucy's problems lie deep in=20 her childhood. A child who's not loved often develops into a child who can'= t=20 love." Lois turned around in Clark's arms to face him. A stray tear trickled down=20 her cheek. Clark reached up to brush it away. Lois blinked away the other=20 tears that threatened to follow, and said in an almost inaudible voice, "I=20 think I'm to blame too." Clark tried to shush her, and she shook her head=20 violently. "I am. Lucy and I were so close after our dad left. When my mo= m=20 started drinking, I started to become like the mother our mother should have= =20 been. I took care of her. We talked about everything, no matter how stupid= =20 our conversations would have sounded to someone listening in on the outside.= "=20 Clark wondered how Lois could blame herself for the way her sister turned=20 out. She wasn't responsible for her sister. "And we played the most=20 incredible make believe games. Maybe it was our escape mechanism from the=20 outside world." It became harder for her to talk as she started to cry=20 again. Clark held her tightly as her tears flowed. She couldn't believe sh= e=20 was crying again. Her family's problems from all 29 years of her life had=20 finally been brought to a head, "Oh Clark, it's all my fault. If I hadn't=20 left he to go off to college, she would have never turned out like this. I=20 left such a strong, vibrant girl. True, she was already 14, but she wasn't=20 even in high school yet. Her mind was so impressionable and I was the one=20 who started the pattern. How can she trust anyone? Dad loved her. She was= =20 his little angel, at least until he left her. Then I loved her. I was like= =20 the mother she didn't have. Then I went on with my life without the=20 slightest regard to what would happen to her when I left." =20 Clark shook his head. Lois shouldn't be beating herself up like this it=20 wasn't her fault at all. He cupped her face in his hands and looked directly= =20 into her shining eyes, "Lois, it's not your fault." Lois bit her lip and=20 shook her head. He repeated, "It's not your fault. You didn't do anything=20 wrong. You did what you had to do." =20 Lois gulped down some of her tears and said, "It is my fault. I didn't have= =20 to live at school. I could have come home to see her on the weekends. I=20 went to Metro U, it's twenty minutes from our old house. I shouldn't have=20 done that to Luce." Clark couldn't believe all of the self-depreciating feelings that Lois had=20 held deep within her covered by her 'Mad Dog' fa=E7ade. He couldn't believe= =20 she could blame herself for Lucy's problems. The fault lied with the=20 parents. "Honey, you can't beat yourself up over this. Lucy wasn't your=20 responsibility. You aren't her mother. It is your parents' fault, and now=20= I=20 hope you can see why Lucy feels the way she does." =20 Lois nodded, still not entirely sure what to make of this, and not entirely=20 ready to believe Clark. He had this annoying habit of being right, and she=20 wasn't in to mood to hear it. But she decided that he did indeed have a=20 point and that maybe it wasn't her fault after all. She had just done what=20 was right for her at the time. She was 18 then, she didn't need to be=20 saddled with the responsibilities of raising a little sister. "You're right= .=20 I do kind of understand how Lucy could be feeling. If I was in her shoes,=20= I=20 might feel the same way. I have to remember that she was so young when he=20 left us, and she wasn't really old enough to understand what was going on. =20 It's not my fault. Like you said, I'm not her mother. I just feel so bad=20 that she might miss out on knowing our father in his last few weeks, and she= =20 might end up regretting it later in life." Clark stroked Lois' cheek softly wiping away all of the tears. He tried to=20 think of something comforting to say to her. He had tried nearly everything= =20 he knew of. "You've done everything you can honey. You can't go to Lucy an= d=20 physically force her to do what you want, as much as you may want to right=20 now." The corners of Lois' lips turned up slightly into a small smile. =20 Clark continued, "Lucy just needs some time to think about this. She'll com= e=20 around eventually. I think I know enough about the Lane women. You have a=20 hard exterior, and a big stubborn streak, but you are wonderful people=20 inside. You have such big hearts. I don't think Lucy will be able to let=20 him die without at least saying goodbye to him." Lois smiled. Clark always had a way of saying things to make her feel so=20 much better. Now, nestled in the warmth of Clark's warm arms, she=20 temporarily forgot all of her problems and closed her eyes. When Clark held= =20 her, it seemed like everything was right with the world, even if the world=20 was crumbling around them. They fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms an= d=20 neither cared what else was going on in the world. They were content just t= o=20 feel the other's soft breath and gentle heartbeat. Early the next morning, Lois awoke to find Clark's side of the bed empty. =20 She cursed whoever needed Superman this morning, and rolled out of bed. As=20 she walked over to the dresser and saw a rose on top of a piece of paper=20 lying near the mirror. The paper had a note on it, scrawled in Clark's bold= =20 handwriting saying, "Lois honey, I'm sorry I had to go this morning. Anothe= r=20 bridge collapsed outside the city, and I needed to see if anyone was hurt an= d=20 to help fix it so no one else gets hurt. I'll be home soon, hopefully befor= e=20 you even wake up." Lois smiled. She wished he had gotten back before she=20 had woken up, but that 's what you get when you're married to Superman. The= =20 note continued, "I hope you like the rose I got you. I hope it cheers you u= p=20 at least a little bit. Remember I love you so much. There's something=20 special waiting for you downstairs on the kitchen table. I love you, Clark.= " Lois wondered what Clark could have downstairs for her. She ran down the=20 stairs and into the kitchen. There she was greeted with the sights of her=20 favorite breakfast foods. She grinned broadly. Clark had to be the=20 sweetest, most considerate man ever born. =20 She grabbed a vase out of the cabinet, filled it with water and put the=20 beautiful rose in it. Then she put it in the center of the table. As she=20 was preparing the rose, Clark flew into the bedroom. He was upset at himsel= f=20 and at the collapsed bridge. He really wanted to get back before Lois woke=20 up. She had enough to worry about without having to watch the news to see=20 where her husband had been. He quickly spun into his work clothes and went=20 downstairs to have breakfast with Lois. She obviously had not heard him come in, because she was busy putting the=20 rose into a vase and hadn't turned around. Clark thought he was being so=20 sneaky. He crept behind Lois and as soon as she put the vase on the table,=20 he pounced. When Lois felt someone grab her from behind, her first impulse= =20 was to shout "Help Superman," only as she opened her mouth, she realized tha= t=20 these arms did not want to hurt her. In fact, these arms belonged to=20 Superman. She would know his strong arms anywhere. =20 Clark turned her to face him. She immediately pulled his head to hers and=20 kissed him hard. It was a kiss of pure passion, and it seemed like she neve= r=20 wanted it to end, for that matter, neither did he. When she finally had to=20 come up for air, Clark was stunned. He was so turned on he couldn't speak i= n=20 coherent sentences. And she certainly wasn't making it any easier with how=20 close she was standing and how her hand was traveling down his stomach=20 towards the most sensitive area of his body. He grabbed her roaming hand an= d=20 smiled, "Honey, don't you want to eat the nice breakfast I got for us?" Lois shook her head and broke her hand free of Clark's grasp, not that he wa= s=20 even making an effort to stop her, and continued what she had started before= =20 he had grabbed her hand. =20 A while later, Lois and Clark lounged on their kitchen floor basking in the=20 after glow of their loved making. His hand rested on top of her stomach and= =20 she was absently drawing little circles on it with her fingers. All of a=20 sudden Lois bolted upright. Her eyes widened in terror as she realized what= =20 they had just done. Clark, who was half-asleep, felt Lois tense wondered=20 why. He looked into her terrified eyes and wondered what could be wrong. =20 Lois looked down at Clark, who was still lying on the floor and said, "Oh my= =20 God Clark. We forgot=85" Now more awake, it dawned on him exactly what they had forgotten. His brow=20 furrowed in worry as he said, "Forgot? Forgot protection, didn't we?" He=20 pushed himself up on his elbows and thought. Great, that's just what we nee= d=20 right now. =20 Lois nodded sheepishly, a look of pure terror in her eyes. "I mean it was=20 such a blur." Clark sat all the way up and put his hand on her back. "Hey it wasn't your=20 fault. It was mine. I could have easily gotten it." "Yeah but I was the one to initiate it." She paused to take a breath. She=20 gestured wildly as she said, "Okay, it wasn't either of our faults, but we=20 have to face the fact that it happened. I mean I pretty sure I want to have= =20 kids, I mean someday, but not right now. I'm not ready to have a baby. I=20 know yesterday I said I was, but I was just being facetious." She stood up=20 and started pacing around the room. Clark sat there, stunned that she was=20 making such a big deal of this. They didn't even know if they could ever=20 have children together, and plus he had read somewhere that a woman is only=20 fertile for a period of 72 hours each month. He hoped they had nothing to=20 worry about. But, knowing their luck, Clark prayed to whatever God was out=20 there that today was not that day where Lois could become pregnant. Lois continued, "My life just keeps getting better and better." She sat dow= n=20 at the table and buried her head in her hands. "Oh Clark, why is my world=20 crumbling around me? What have I done wrong?" Clark got off the floor and sat in the chair next to her. Her faced betraye= d=20 what she was feeling even more than her words. She looked like a broken=20 woman, as if everything she had accepted in life seemed to be crumbling=20 around her. =20 Clark wasn't ready for a baby either; the thought of parenthood possibly=20 terrified him even more than it did Lois. She looked up at him and saw the=20 same fear that she was sure her eyes betrayed as well. "Clark, you haven't=20 said anything. What are we going to do?" Clark looked into her expectant face. She hoped he could say something to=20 ease her mind about everything that was happening. Unfortunately, he didn't= =20 have the answers this time. He was just as lost as she was, and possibly=20 even more. "I don't know honey, I really don't know. The only good thing i= s=20 that we really don't know if we can even have children together. I might=20 have a completely different genetic code than you, preventing us from ever=20 having children. I don't know for sure, though. I thing the chances that w= e=20 actually got pregnant are really small." Lois raised an eyebrow as if to as= k=20 how do you know? "I mean, there's only a small window of opportunity each=20 month for a woman to actually get pregnant, isn't there. We could have=20 completely missed that window, right?" Lois looked into his expectant face and said, "I don't know. I don't think=20= I=20 could know for sure with out measuring that for at least a couple of months.= " Clark's face dropped. Half of him had expected Lois to agree with him and=20 tell him there was no way it could happen right now. Oh this was the worst=20 possible time for this to have happened. Clark slouched down in his chair=20 dejected. Lois reached her hand out to him and he gripped it tightly. She=20 said, "Clark, here, why don't we eat this wonderful breakfast you brought us= .=20 We have plenty of time to talk about this. We don't have to be at work for= =20 another two hours." Clark nodded silently. They each grabbed some of the=20 luscious looking pastries and started their breakfast in silence. It was Lois who broke the silence first, "I don't think it would be so bad t= o=20 have a baby actually. Now definitely isn't the right time, but someday." Clark raised his eyebrows. Where did this change of heart come from? Just=20 yesterday, she didn't ever want to have kids. All this stuff with her dad=20 must have softened her, but in one day? She must have always had a spot in=20 her heart for children. Maybe she wanted a child of her own to love so she=20 could make up for what her parents had done to her when they robbed her of=20 her precious childhood. "Okay, Clark. Spill it. What's bothering you? Yo= u=20 were like this the other night too when we started talking about having kids= .=20 I thought you loved kids. You're always telling me what a great mother I'l= l=20 be." Clark ran an agitated hand through his hair and squeezed her hand. He did=20 love kids and wanted to have some of his own so badly, but when he thought o= f=20 all of the negative consequences that could happen, he no longer thought it=20 was such a good idea. He took a deep breath and said, "I don't know were to= =20 start. I mean there are just so many things. Okay, first, if we can even=20 have children, I'm worried that our bodies won't be compatible. That our=20 baby will hurt you because your body will try to reject it or something." =20 Lois looked up at him incredulously. Her body would never reject anything=20 that was a product of such a wonderful thing as their love. =20 "Clark, don't be silly=85" "I'm not being silly or overprotective. I'm an alien Lois. That means that= =20 I am not human. As much as I try to pretend that I was, we have to face the= =20 fact that I'm not. We don't really know anything about my physiology." Lois shook her head. She couldn't believe he was getting himself so worked=20 up over something like this. She knew his doubts had merit, but she had a=20 feeling deep in her gut that said they would not have any problem having=20 children. "Well, if you're worried, maybe you should have Dr. Klein run som= e=20 tests on you to see if we can have children safely." Clark nodded at that suggestion. At least that would ease his mind. As soo= n=20 as he had the chance, he would go to Doctor Klein and have him run some=20 fertility tests on Superman. =20 Lois got out of her chair and pulled him out of his. "Let's continue this=20 upstairs. I have to finish getting ready for work." As Lois brushed her hair, Clark sat on the bed still brooding. She turned t= o=20 face him, "Clark, please tell me what else is bothering you. I hate it when= =20 you brood like this. I know you're still hung up on this baby thing. I'm=20 looking at it like if it happens, then it happens. What's wrong?" Clark sighed, she had caught him again, and this time she had called him on=20 it. "I just keep thinking about Superman. I know Lois and Clark would make= =20 great parents. But when you work Superman into the equation, I am not so=20 sure what kind of father I will be. Look at how often I have to leave you t= o=20 go out in the Suit. I don't know how I could do that if we had a baby. I=20 don't want to leave you alone to do everything by yourself. I don't want to= =20 end up like your father. I don't want my other job to end up more important= =20 than my family. And I don't want you to resent me because of Superman." Ah, so that's what he's really worried about. He doesn't think I'll be able= =20 to accept his Superman duties. He's wrong there. I may need Superman, but=20 the world needs him too. "Clark, don't say that. You will never end up lik= e=20 my father, or even like Perry for that matter. I know better than anyone=20 that you'll love our children more than anything in the world, and they'll=20 know it too. You're not the kind of man to leave your children out in the=20 cold. I know our kids will know and love their daddy, just like I wish I=20 would have had the chance to." She laid her brush onto the dresser and walked to the bed. She kissed Clark= =20 gently on the lips, and hoped that as she did she might have erased some of=20 Clark's doubts of himself and his job as Superman. Lois was sure that if=20 they had a child, he would try to cut down on his public appearances and=20 routine patrols to help her with the baby. They wouldn't end up like the=20 Lanes, the Whites, or the Olsens because they had something the three other=20 couples didn't, an equal partnership. Clark knew that if he and Lois ever had a child together, that child would b= e=20 a miracle, and he or she would be treated just as that. He or she would be=20 treasured and loved, and no matter how Superman interfered, that child would= =20 know how much its mother and father loved it. Clark kissed back, reaffirmin= g=20 his love for her and his pledge with himself to put his wife and whatever=20 future family he may have far ahead of any other temptation. When Lois felt him kiss back, she knew that he had accepted her challenge. =20 They were partners and would work together, no matter what obstacles stood i= n=20 their way. Although they both hoped Lois was not pregnant now, they did=20 agree that they wanted to have children together someday, and that their=20 children would definitely know they were loved. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:44:19 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [9/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Title: Final Forgiveness Part: [9/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their own way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly, privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they think about it) As soon as they got to work, Lois and Clark tried to get their minds off their mistake by throwing themselves in to their stories. Lois, unable to get her mind off of her father, decided to start their series on cancer. She looked for Jimmy to see if he could do some research for her, but he was conspicuously absent from the newsroom. This wasn't like Jimmy; he had the same mentality as she did when it came to work. He would come in even if he was dragging on the floor. She opened the Planet's search engine and found some interesting statistics about cancer. She also got leads for several of Metropolis' finest medical researchers and physicians who were taking the most initiative in the fight against cancer. These physicians could surely provide some cancer patients and their families for her to interview. First on her list was Dr. Rachel Rosenblum, who was one of the world's leading oncologists. She was famous for using many controversial treatments that were not widely accepted in the medical community. However, she had an incredible success rate, especially dealing patients with what other doctors thought were terminal cancers. Others in her field both admired and hated her for her because she was so successful where others failed. Next was Professor Michael Gratly of New Troy State University, a man she and Clark had interviewed not long ago for their story about Metropolis' most famous medical researchers. His unorthodox research on single cancer cells in stead of on entire tissues revolutionized the study of MDR cancers. Although Lois had no idea what a MDR cancer was, she knew his research had revolutionized treatments of some of the most deadly cancers, and she was sure that by the end of the interview she would know just what a MDR was. Dr. Mandy Seuffert was the final person she wanted to interview personally. Mandy was a personal friend of hers from college who had made a name for herself as a pediatric oncologist. Children of all ages with many inoperable cancers came to her for her world-renowned gentle and effective treatments and for her incredibly caring personality. She treated each child like he or she was her own son or daughter. These personal relationships seemed to help the children recover more rapidly. Lois also wanted to talk to some other, less notable doctors to get their perspectives about cancer treatments that they use in their daily practices and just how patients and their families react to the disease. She briefly looked up from the work she was engrossed in when she felt a sharp breeze across her back. Sure enough, Clark's desk was empty and his notes were scattered all over his desk and his word processor program was still running. There must have been a horrible emergency for him to risk flying out of the newsroom at Superspeed. Lois didn't have to wait long before she knew exactly where Clark was. Someone in the newsroom had turned up one of the TV's and a large group had gathered around it. Lois got out of her chair and joined the group already assembled by the television. LNN was showing the aftermath of an earthquake, which reached 7.9 on the Richter Scale with its epicenter 20 miles south east of San Francisco. Lois' mouth dropped. Lucy, was she okay? Lois sure hoped so. She didn't live near the epicenter, but an earthquake that powerful still could have affected her rather badly. The LNN reporters on the scene told of the mass destruction of buildings, roads, and bridges and that Superman was helping the local fire and rescue crews put out the numerous fires and rescue any trapped survivors. Even with Superman's help, the death toll still stood at five. Lois knew Clark would come home blaming himself for every one of those lost lives, even though there was nothing he could have possibly done to prevent it. The earthquake was a force of Mother Nature, and she was more powerful than even Superman was. The TV cameras panned the Bay area and Lois' almost cried when she saw the mass destruction. Clark sure had his hands full there as Superman. Just then, Jimmy ran into the room, hoping no one would notice how late he was. He had just had the most incredible time with his father, and it was worth any punishment Perry could dish out at him. He was delirious with happiness before he looked around the newsroom. Everyone, including Perry, was gathered around the TV's on the far side of the room. He immediately sobered when he saw the destruction of the earthquake. All of a sudden, his wonderful morning of male bonding with his father seemed insignificant. A whole city had fallen to its knees in seconds. Of course it was wonderful that he and his father had finally found some time to spend together, but as he looked over at Lois he realized that her sister Lucy, a girl he still had some feelings for, lived near the Bay Area. As LNN switched its focus to its 'Dollars and Sense' report, the crowd dissipated back to their own desks each solemnly contemplating the poor victims of the quake. Perry did not even have to holler at his staff to get back to work. Most of the Planet staffers were happy just to be able to work and not have to think about the inevitable 'Big One,' or the quake to end all quakes. When Lois got back to her desk, she picked up the phone and called Lucy. Unfortunately, the phone company could not handle all of the calls that had flooded California, and she could not get through right away. By the third try, Lois finally got through. The phone rang twice before Jenny picked up the phone, "Hello?" "Um hi. Is Lucy there?" "Yes she is, but she's kind of busy right now, is this important?" Lucy and Chen were busy cleaning up some of the damage from the quake and Jenny was making herself very busy supervising. Besides, she still wasn't talking to Lucy. Lois was upset. Didn't this girl know there was a major earthquake near them? Wouldn't people be calling to see is their loved one was unharmed? "Yes, this is important. This is her sister. I was just calling to see if she was okay. I heard about that monster earthquake." Jenny was shocked. Lucy had a sister. She had always denied having any relatives whenever Jenny questioned her about her family. Jenny's eyes grew wide as she realized just why Lucy had been trying to keep her sister's identity a secret. Jenny looked like a cartoon character that had a light bulb appearing over her head and bells and whistles going off to signal she had an idea. "So Lucy's sister, does your name just happen to be Lois?" Lois wondered what this was all about. Hadn't Lucy told her roommates about her? Obviously not. "Yes, it is. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Jenny jumped up and down in glee. She was talking to THE Lois Lane, the one reporter with more Superman exclusives than any other, the woman many people considered to be Superman's girlfriend. So that's why Lucy never talked about her. "My name's Jen. You're Superman's girlfriend?" Jenny asked excitedly, "Tell me what he's like in bed!" Lois was appalled. What kind of roommates did Lucy have? This girl seemed like a real winner. She must have a subscription to the National Whisper to believe such obvious fabrications. "Excuse me? I'm a happily married woman, and I don't appreciate you insinuating that I'm having an affair with Superman! So if you don't mind, I'd really appreciate it if I could just talk to my sister." By then, Lucy had come into the room and had heard the last little bit of Jenny's conversation. She couldn't believe Jenny had asked Lois if she slept with Superman. Lucy knew that couldn't be true because if Lois had slept with him Lucy would be the first to know. After all, Lois could never keep her mouth shut about the men she dated, and Lucy was always the first, and often the only, person she would tell about anything in her romantic life. It was Lucy who had comforted her after her first serious boyfriend in college, Eric, had dumped her when she wouldn't sleep with him, and then after that jerk Claude had used her and stolen her story. And to Lucy's knowledge, that was the first and only time Lois had slept with anyone before Clark. Lucy grabbed the phone out of Jenny's hand, she ran into her room and shut the door, leaving a stunned Jenny still waiting for Lois' response, only this time without a phone in her hand. Lucy flopped on her bed and apologized for Jenny's behavior. "I'm sorry about Jenny, Lois. I should have grabbed the phone sooner, but I was in the other room. She's really obsessed with Superman, and as soon as she made the connection, you were doomed." Lois smiled and said, "Yeah, I realized that. I can see why you never told her you had a sister that knew Superman. I called to see if you were okay. Obviously you must be since I'm talking to you." Lucy surveyed the damage in her apartment. The quake hadn't been too bad there, but she knew that in San Francisco it had been devastating. Lucy knew that they'd have a lot of cleaning ahead of them, but at least they were all still living and there was no structural damage to the building. "Yeah, it wasn't too bad here. I'm just lucky I don't live farther north. It's really horrible up there. I saw a news report a while ago that said Superman is there. All these earthquakes make me miss Metropolis more and more. I'm just glad I only have one more semester to go after this." Lois breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy was really okay. Now that she was sure of that, Lois needed to get something off her chest, "I'm so sorry about the way I acted last night Luce. I don't know what came over me. I should have been able to see your point of view. Whatever you decided to do is okay with me. You don't have to forgive him if you don't want to. I just wanted to give you the chance." Lucy couldn't believe it. Her sister was actually admitting she was wrong! Wow, marriage had certainly mellowed her out. "Thank you Lois. That means a lot to me. I know I haven't been the most rational person on earth about this, but you have to look at it from my perspective. I don't know what I'll do about him in the long run, but I know that I can't even stand to look at him right now. Maybe that will change after I work it out in my own mind, but as of right now, I still want him to die and rot in hell." Lois nodded, she didn't realistically expect her sister to change her mind so abruptly after seventeen years of hatred, but Lucy's rational tone did tell Lois that Lucy was, indeed thinking about what her father had done in a better state of mind. "Well, I'm glad you're okay Lucy. I'm at work now, and Perry's looking like he's about to come over here and yell at me, so I'm going to let you go. I'll call you later this week or if anything comes up with Dad." "Okay, bye Lois," Lucy said with a small smile on her face. She was glad they were back on speaking terms. She missed her sister more than ever. Here in California, she was so isolated from everyone she loved. Her home was in Metropolis, and she was sure that after graduation she would move back. Besides, Lois had been telling her how that Jimmy Olsen she had dated before, and really liked, had been asking about her. Wow, Jimmy was a decent guy. Why hadn't she dated him more than once? Oh yeah, that was when she was in her dating street punks phase. Jimmy was too much of a goody two shoes for her tastes at the time. Now, the prospect of a date with that Jimmy Olsen seemed entirely wonderful. After Lois had hung up the phone, Jimmy passed her desk and circled back around looking nervous. Lois noticed her friend's odd behavior and when he turned to face her, she asked, "What's up Jimmy? You're making me dizzy just from watching you!" Jimmy stopped, and grinned sheepishly. "I was just thinking about your sister. She lives in California, and I was just wondering if you talked to her to see if she's okay." That was so sweet of Jimmy. I knew he probably had some feeling left for Lucy, even though he hadn't seen her in two years. Lois smiled warmly and nodded, "Yeah, I was just on the phone with her. She's fine. Actually, she was talking about moving back to Metropolis after this semester's finished and she finally graduates." Jimmy's eyes brightened. Lucy was moving back to Metropolis! Did he have a chance with her now that she had matured some from that 22-year-old who only wanted rebels without causes? He sure hoped so. "She's really moving back? Oh wow, that's great." Lois secretly giggled. She knew Lucy and Jimmy would make a perfect couple. He obviously liked her, and she knew Lucy liked him. Plus, they shared so many things in common. Now Lois just had to think of a way to get them together, but that would have to wait at least until Lucy finished school. Lois suddenly remembered something, "Jimmy, where were you earlier? It's not like you not to be here at the crack of dawn." Jimmy's face broke into a grin that extended all the way to his eyes when he remembered this morning. "My dad came over for a surprise visit late last night. He took an earlier plane just so he could spend a couple of uninterrupted days with me. Last night, we went out to dinner, went to the Metro's game, and then we spent the rest of the night at that new sports bar down by the river, you know, The Pro Club. It was wonderful. We talked; we laughed; we had a good time, and I think we finally bonded." A tear ran down Lois' cheek. She casually brushed it away, hoping Jimmy would not notice. She didn't want to upset him with her own problems. Lois was so happy that Jimmy and his father had the time to develop a new relationship where as she and her father only had a matter of weeks to say goodbye. Superman had his hands full with the clean up in San Francisco. It seemed like every building was either on fire or in danger of collapsing or both. It took him three hours just until he considered the city safe enough for the emergency crews to handle the rest of the damage on their own. He did one last scan of the fallen buildings and concluded that there was nothing more he could do at the moment. He flew away with a heavy heart, mourning the eight lives that had been lost. An earthquake of this magnitude could have killed many more people. Clark had saved literally hundreds of lives, but he still couldn't put those eight people's deaths out of his mind. He flew away from the Bay Area and surveyed the rest of California. There he was pleasantly surprised to find that the damage was not very wide spread. Even though the rest of the state was mostly undamaged, he still worried about Lucy and whether she was okay. He also worried about aftershocks and vowed to keep an ear open to the area. Superman flew above Lucy's apartment building and checked to see if it had been damaged in the quake. Seeing no major damage, he was satisfied that she was in no immediate danger and he flew away to ease Lois' mind. Knowing Lois, she had probably already talked to her sister and knew she was fine, but Lois would appreciate Clark double-checking just to make sure. As Superman flew away, Jenny just happened to be looking out the window, "Guys come over here right now! Look up in the sky, if that isn't Superman, I don't know what it is. I knew he'd be worried about me. He checked to see if I was all right! I knew he cared!" Lucy raised her eyebrows. Why on Earth did she live with such a lunatic? The longer this Jenny kept up her Superman delusion, the harder it would be for Lucy to live under the same roof as she did. Lucy shook her head in disbelief. Even when Lois was obsessed with Superman, she was never this bad. "Jenny, will you get off of it. Superman doesn't even know you're alive. He doesn't care about you specifically any more than he cares about me, Chen, Max downstairs, or even Lois my sister. He thinks of us as precious human lives that need to be protected at all costs. He's a role model of a perfect person, always working without a break to make our world a better place." Chen chimed in, "Yeah Jenny, I heard what you did on the phone when you were talking to Lucy's sister. You had no right to ask her how Superman was in bed. My Lord girl, don't you have any class? I am not saying that she did sleep with Superman, but even if she did, it's none of your business. You should know better than to believe those supermarket tabloids that make her out to be Superman's girlfriend. You claim to read the Daily Planet, so you should know that she and her partner Clark Kent got married a few weeks ago." Jenny did not need to take this harassment from her two best friends. Her face turned bright red as she turned and ran out of the room and into her bedroom. She slammed the door and turned on her music very loud to a station that she had never listened to before, KGAR 99.5, the local country music station. Lucy and Chen looked at each other with wide eyes. She must be really upset right now if she's listening to country. Jenny never listened to country unless she wanted to annoy people, and she knew that country music definitely bothered Chen and Lucy. They both hated country music with a passion. The two other girls rolled their eyes and decided not to give Jenny the satisfaction of knowing that her music bothered them. They set about the task of cleaning the rest of the apartment from the earthquake's damage. There were still books scattered all over the living room, dishes broken all over the kitchen floor and counters, and many other minor messes that demanded their attention. As they set about their tasks, they could hear the strains of music coming from Jenny's room. Lucy was arranging the books on the bookshelf and she froze. The song that was playing hit very close to home. She didn't immediately make the connection, but she felt herself drifting closer to Jenny's door so she could hear the song better. **When all our tears have reached the sea, a part of you will live in me way down deep inside my heart. Days keep coming without fail.** Lucy shook her head. No, this song wasn't about her father. Forget it, no way. This song is not going to make me think about him. But her traitorous legs carried her closer to Jenny's door. This song was just too overpowering. She remembered the song now. She had heard it before at Lois' house. Clark enjoyed country music, and he had converted Lois. They had this CD. It was, oh yeah, Jim, no, Tim McGraw. Yeah, she knew Tim McGraw. He was the guy with the black hat and the really high voice. Lucy shook her head as she heard her father's voice more clearly. No, no, no, I don't feel bad for you. You don't deserve my sympathy. She leaned her head against Jenny's door as the feelings of pity for her father washed over her. **Please remember me** It was like her father was standing next to her whispering in her ear. He wanted her to forgive him and to remember him as he died. But she didn't want to forgive him. He didn't deserve it! But then, the feelings that she wasn't being a good person washed over her. Lois' words washed over her again, "You can't stoop to his level. We have to be adults here." But Lucy wasn't ready to forgive him. She just couldn't bring herself to even think of him as a person. He had hurt her so badly, and she couldn't change those memories in just a few days. **Remember me when you're out walking. When snow falls high outside your door. Late at night when you're not sleeping And moonlight falls across your floor And I can't hurt you anymore.** Lucy ran into her room crying. She couldn't bare to her the rest of the song. It wasn't helping her resolve hearing this song. If she had to hear any more, she might break down right there. In fact, she was seriously considering calling her father and making amends. Then she realized how stupid that would be. What would she say? She would probably end up yelling at him. No, she didn't want to talk to him right now. Lucy hadn't forgiven him; she just pitied his situation. As much as she tried to remember the good times before he left, the pain and hurt over shadowed any good memory she may have had. Lucy put her headphones on and turned up the volume up so she could drown out Jenny's song. Jenny had calmed down and finally turned her music down. When she came out into their living room, she found Chen picking up the rest of the books where Lucy had left off. Jenny asked, "Where's Lucy. I wanted to apologize to both of you for acting like a chicken with my head cut off. I especially wanted to tell Luce that I'm sorry I acted that way towards her sister. I totally disrespected her. I don't know what came over me." Chen raised her eyes to the sky. She thanked whatever higher being there was that Jenny had finally seen light. The girl had no chance with Superman. It was time for her to stop her extreme obsession. Chen answered, with a slight smile, "She was pretty hurt by everything, but that's the reason she's in her room. Her father's dying Jen. Did you know that she and her father haven't spoken for almost ten years?" Jenny opened her mouth in shock. Wow, ten years. Jenny couldn't even go ten days without calling her parents. Chen saw Jenny's look of disbelief and continued, "I guess her dad did some pretty mean stuff to her family. He pretty much left them high and dry, and Lucy was hurt very badly. And now she doesn't even want to say goodbye to him." "That's awful!" Chen nodded, "I know it is, but I can't really blame her. She was eight. How many eight-year-olds can deal with a parent abandoning them? I mean in her mind, she's probably still that little girl that was hurt so badly." Jenny let out a sigh. "I haven't been too understanding, have I? I've only been concerned with myself. I mean, ever since I saw Superman, I just haven't been myself. I should have seen that something was wrong and tried to help her, not tried to get a date with Superman." Chen put her hand on Jenny's shoulder. "I think your little tantrum before helped her even more than your words could have. That song you were playing, it seemed to strike something in her. She started crying, but she kept creeping closer to your door so she could hear the words more clearly. She looked like she wanted to run away, but something kept drawing her closer. Then she snapped and ran into her own room. I think she's a lot closer to forgiving him than even she realizes." Jenny nodded, "I think that song was about a lost lover, but some of it is really powerful. If she wanted to remember him at all, that is the song to trigger her memories." Chen grinned hopefully, "Yeah, I just hope that's what she's doing in there. I hope she's trying to remember some of the good times she had with her father, not trying to block out everything that reminds her of him." Jenny grinned and joked, "Yeah, I hope she gets over this really soon. 'Cuz then she'll be in a better mood when I ask her to introduce me to Superman again." Chen's eyebrows shot up to the top of her head. She hadn't realized Jenny was just kidding. Oh no, not again. I thought we had Jenny back, but now we're back to Jen, Queen of the Planet Spaceball. "Jen-ny, come on. You know you don't have a chance with him, and you shouldn't take advantage of your friend like that. She told me she's only met him once before yesterday, and you think she has all these connections. That's the last thing she needs right now." Jenny started giggling uncontrollably. "I was just kidding. Geez Chen, take a chill pill." Chen glared at her friend, "Puh-lease, 'Take a chill pill,' that was totally out five years ago. I know that and I wasn't even in your country. Besides, I bet Superman's really a happily married man with a wife and a couple of kids. Couldn't you just see that?" Jenny's face took on a look of mock terror, "You can't mean that Chen! That would break every woman's heart. You know as well as I do that that just isn't true. What kinds of fallacies are you telling?" Chen broke out laughing. She really had Jenny going this time. She didn't honestly believe Superman was married, but it could happen. Plus this was the best way she knew to get under Jenny's skin. "Hey, it could happen." The two girls looked at each other's mock serious expressions and they both broke down. They fell onto the couch in a fit of giggles and looked at each other and said, "Nah." ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:46:09 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [10/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Title: Final Forgiveness Part: [10/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their own way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly, privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they think about it) Clark finally got back to the newsroom around noon. He scanned the room for Lois and saw her at her desk on the phone. He was still upset about those people who had died in the quake. However, as soon as he made eye contact with Lois, some of his bad mood was lifted. She hung up the phone and started towards him. She had heard about the deaths from the quake, and she knew that he was probably making himself sick brooding about those deaths. It wasn't his fault, he saved so many more people that would have surely died. LNN had reported that at least three of the eight people that died were heart attack victims. They walked towards each other and Lois wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear, "I'm so proud of you. You were wonderful!" When Clark didn't respond to her, she pulled him into the conference room. Clark didn't offer any resistance to her, so she pulled him by the hand and then pushed him into a chair. She perched on the side of the table over his chair and pulled his head into her lap. As she stroked his hair, bent down and gently kissed the top of his head. "Clark, you can't blame yourself. It isn't your fault." Clark shook his head and straightened in his chair, "Eight people died Honey. I didn't get there in time. They didn't have to die." Lois reached down and pulled him into a hug, "Clark, sweetheart, you can't say that. You got there as fast as you could. Look at how many people you did save. Only eight people died in one of the worst earthquakes I can remember. Plus, you wouldn't have been able to save them in the first place. At least three of them had heart attacks. And don't tell me that you can stop heart attacks." Clark blinked his eyes and shook his head. "I know I can't be everywhere at once. But it just hurts so badly when there's someone I can't help." Lois pulled him close, "I know honey. I know how much it hurts. When I was Ultra Woman, I found out just how hard it was, but try to look at the bright side. Only eight people died. It could have been so many more. You put out all the fires and you prevented a lot of buildings from collapsing. You saved so many more lives than you could ever count." Ellen Lane walked off the elevator into the Planet's newsroom. She looked for Lois or Clark, but she didn't see either of them anywhere. She scanned the room and didn't see them near their desks, the coffee machine, or even by the vending machines. Finally, something moving in the conference room caught her eyes. She walked towards the room, but stopped when she saw what was going on inside. From her point of view, it looked like Lois and Clark were all over each other. Didn't they have any decency at all? Were they crazy being so close right in front of their colleagues? As Ellen stared, Jimmy walked up behind her. He tapped her on the shoulder and she flinched. "I'm sorry ma'am." Then she turned around, "Oh Mrs. Lane I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you from the back. I was just going to see if I could help you." They both turned towards the conference room and Ellen hoped she remembered his name correctly, "Jimmy are they always like that? They're all over each other!" Jimmy shook his head. Obviously Lois' mother didn't spend much time with the couple, but this time he knew they had a reason. CK had looked so depressed when he walked in. Whatever was wrong with him, Lois sure knew the way to fix it. His expression had lightened considerably. Jimmy said, "I think it's nice that they're so in love. Besides, they're still newlyweds." Jimmy winked. Ellen rolled her eyes and said, "Well, this is just unprofessional. I'm going to go in there and tell my daughter exactly what I think of her behavior." Jimmy raised his eyebrows. Lois wasn't kidding when she talked about her mother in a bad light. This woman really was a human hurricane. She started walking into the conference room, and Jimmy's reflexes weren't quick enough to stop her. Clark jerked away from Lois when he heard the doorknob turn. Lois looked up into her mother's disapproving gaze. Ellen stood there shaking her head at her daughter and son-in-law. Lois and Clark looked up at her sheepishly like teenagers that had been caught making out in their parents' house. "Lois Joanne Lane, I thought I raised you better than this! Look at you, you're all over each other here in public, at your workplace of all places." Ellen paced around the room, glaring at them. "Mother! Please, we weren't groping each other. Something horrible happened to Clark, so I was just giving him a hug. I'm sorry it offends you!" Clark ran his hand through his hair nervously. This was somehow worse than the day his mother had caught him with Lana up in the hayloft when they were 16. And now he didn't have to apologize. They were married adults who were just hugging. "Ellen, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to offend you. I did have a really bad day, and Lois and I were just talking. I'm sorry if it looked like anything more." Lois secretly rolled her eyes she whispered under her breath so only Clark could hear, "I can't believe this. She's crazy. I feel like a teenager again." Clark nodded slightly and Ellen flopped into a chair. What was she thinking? They were married, weren't they? At least they were with each other and not like they were with someone else. From the look she saw in Clark's eyes, Ellen realized, not for the first time, that Clark was, indeed, a decent man with an air of innocence. "I'm sorry Lois, Clark, I was wrong. You are married, and you weren't doing anything lude or distasteful. I'm just upset right now, with your father and everything. If I wasn't an alcoholic, I'd take a bottle of vodka right now and down it in one gulp." Lois rolled her eyes. Her mother was so quick to run into things like a chicken with her head cut off. She never looked before she leapt into a situation, and often ended up being embarrassed. But then again, Clark always told her that she did that too, even though she never believed it. Lois' eyes widened in realization. "Oh no, Clark, I scheduled an interview with Dr. Gratly for that cancer series for today at 1:30, but I promised my parents I'd go to lunch with them this afternoon. I completely forgot about it." Clark draped his arm across Lois' shoulders and squeezed her into a gentle hug, "Don't worry about it honey. I'll go to the interview. I've got it covered. You just go out and have dinner with your parents. You don't want to miss something that important. You don't know how much time he has left." Ellen had turned her head politely and pretended to be very interested in the hustle and bustle of the newsroom as Clark and Lois talked. Lois gave him a gentle kiss, thanking him for being such a wonderful support. She was glad that he understood her need to be with her father. Then Sam stepped off the elevator and ran into Jimmy. Jimmy took a double take when he realized who he had just run into. He had only met Dr. Lane a few times before, but it was amazing how much he had changed. Lois was not kidding when she said he was deathly ill. He sure looked like he was ready for the undertaker. The things that shocked Jimmy were Sam's eyes. They eyes were surrounded by dark circles, almost like a raccoon's eyes. They were sunken into his head, and they had lost the shine that they had once had. He looked so depressed, that it almost depressed Jimmy to even look at him. "Dr. Lane, how are you?" Jimmy asked. Before Sam had the chance to answer, Jimmy continued, "If you're looking for Lois, she's over in the conference room." Sam nodded, without even looking at Jimmy and started towards the conference room. Jimmy just stared at Sam's back almost in disbelief as he walked away. This was not the man Jimmy had seen three weeks ago at Lois and Clark's wedding. A man who knows he's going to die loses his every desire to live, especially a man who didn't have anything to live for. Ellen spotted Sam walking off the elevator. She still couldn't believe how terrible he looked. This definitely wasn't some scheme to get her back. Every doubt she had about his sincerity was erased when she got close enough to see his eyes. When he opened the door, he was shocked to see Ellen there. He fought the urge to run right back out the door when he saw her sitting there. She couldn't take her eyes off his eyes. They were so inexpressive. The old merry glow that she knew so well was nowhere to be found. He looked like a man who had lost all of his desire to live, but what did she expect. As much as she may have resented Sam, and even hated him, she hated herself for not believing him sooner. She couldn't condemn him to die alone. Lois and Clark left the conference room so that Sam and Ellen could have their reunion without their prying eyes. They perched at Lois desk, talking about the interview that afternoon, but they each had to fight the urge to look into the conference room to spy on Sam and Ellen. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:47:29 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [11/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [11/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) Neither Sam nor Ellen noticed Lois and Clark leave. Ellen got up from her=20 chair, and some unexplainable force pushed her towards Sam. She knew she=20 wasn't telling her feet to move, but somehow they were carrying her right=20 towards him. Sam opened his mouth to tell her how grateful he was, but his=20 lips would not from the words. Ellen reached up and covered his mouth with=20 her hand. "Let me go first. I have so much I want to say." Sam nodded and= =20 let himself be dragged towards the table. =20 They sat facing each other, and Sam waited patiently for his ex-wife to=20 start. She felt slightly disconcerted when she felt his unfaltering,=20 unfeeling gaze. "Okay Sam. I'm sorry I didn't believe you before, but coul= d=20 you really blame me?" Sam shook his head and she continued, "After all you've done to me, the lies= ,=20 the stories, the affairs, I don't know why I'm even giving you this chance." Sam opened his mouth to speak again, but Ellen would not yet give him a=20 chance to get a word in edgewise. "Sam, the only reason I'm doing this is=20 because I don't want you to die alone. That's my biggest fear in my own=20 life, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone else, not even you." Finally, Sam found the voice to speak. He said, simply, "Thank you. =20 Thank you so much." =20 They sat quietly, just looking at each other until Sam found the words t= o=20 express his feelings, "Oh Ellen, I'm so sorry. If I could do it over=85" A= =20 lone tear slipped down his cheek as he remembered all of the mistakes he had= =20 made in his life. "I'm so sorry, that's all I can really say Ellen." Ellen blinked back her own tears. She didn't want to upset either of=20 them any more. She was willing to give him a chance to make everything up t= o=20 her. And, most importantly, she vowed not to let him die alone. =20 Ellen tentatively stood up and reached out her arms to Sam in a gesture=20 of peace. Sam didn't know what to do. He was still in disbelief that she=20 was even here. Had she meant what she said? Was she really willing to be=20 with him when his time came? He needed some encouragement to respond to her= =20 peace gesture, so Ellen leaned down to him and pulled him into her comfortin= g=20 embrace. Sam clung on to her for dear life, so glad he finally had a life=20 preserver, something to live for. Ellen and Lois had decided that he was=20 worth their sympathy, even though he had doubts that he actually deserved it= .=20 He just wished he could do something to ease Lucy's pain. Lois glanced into the conference room and almost jumped for joy when she= =20 saw her mother hug her father. She squeezed Clark's hand, "Look at them. I= =20 think she must have forgiven him." Her eyes shined with tears of happiness=20 as she saw her mother and father finally reconcile after all the years of=20 pain and suffering. Clark wrapped an arm around her shoulder and he gently=20 squeezed. =20 Perry watched this whole scene from his office. He had a pretty good=20 view of the conference room from his office, and he saw both Sam and Ellen g= o=20 in there. Then, when they hugged, Perry knew that soon this could be him an= d=20 Alice. He had called her and his sons, and Larry and Alice were coming to=20 Metropolis next week, to try to give Perry another chance. Neither of them=20 had promised anything, but he was hopeful. After all, if Ellen had forgiven= =20 Sam after everything he had done to her, Alice could forgive him. His sins=20 were nowhere nearly as bad as Sam's had been. Sam and Ellen emerged from the conference room both looking much happier= .=20 Sam looked to be in much brighter spirits now. A spark had returned to his= =20 eyes, and he looked like a man who had regained the desire to live. Lois smiled gratefully. Finally the gods seemed to be smiling on her=20 family. True, maybe they had come together again only because of Sam's=20 illness. And maybe Lucy would never come around, but Lois decided to take=20 one day at a time with her new family, and to cherish every day that they ha= d=20 left together. An hour later, the Lanes had finished their lunch. Lois couldn't wipe=20 the smile off her face. She couldn't believe how well her parents had gotte= n=20 along during the meal, not the single hint of a fight. And during the meal,= =20 no one made any mention at all about Sam's illness. It seemed like he might= =20 have even forgotten about it, if even for an hour. When they were finished,= =20 Sam finally said what had been on his mind ever since he had found out about= =20 the disease, "Ellen, Lois, thank you so much." His eyes shined like he was=20 almost ready to cry, "I wish Lucy was here too. I know, I know. I should=20 just be happy that the two of you are here. Believe me, I never really=20 expected the two of you to forgive me, and I know that it's selfish of me to= =20 expect you to be here for me." He reached across the table and covered one=20 of both Lois' and Ellen's hands as he continued, "The real reason I want you= =20 to be here is not for me, believe it or not." =20 Ellen raised her eyebrows. "Really, somehow I have a hard time believing=20 that." Sam shook his head, "I deserved that. Really, I don't want to die alone, bu= t=20 after what I did to all of you, I would have accepted my fate. I wanted to=20 get the chance to apologize to my family. I didn't want to die without=20 telling you how sorry I am for everything." Ellen and Lois looked at each other. They both wished Lucy could be here to= =20 see this. Sam was obviously sincere about everything he was saying. He=20 looked Lois and then Ellen straight in the eyes with his own teary eyes and=20 said, "I don't want you to have to live with the terrible memories of=20 everything I've done. I know I can't erase the bad memories you already=20 have, but I can try to create some good memories before I die." When they left the restaurant, Lois suggested that they take a walk in the=20 park. As they walked through Centennial Park, Sam saw a major point of=20 interest. "Princess, do you remember when your mom and I used to take you=20 and Lucy over to that playground over there once a week so you guys could=20 play on those swings?" Ellen smiled with the memory, "Yeah Lois, you and Lucy would swing for hours= .=20 And when we'd get tired of pushing you, you girls would try to swing by=20 yourselves." Lois' eyes twinkled, "Oh yeah. I remember all the games Lucy and I used to=20 play here. After you two got tired of pushing us, we'd pretend we were=20 circus girls on the flying trapeze. We wanted to fly all the way up to the=20 tallest trees, but we never could." Lois ran over to the swings just like she had so many years ago and began=20 swinging like a little girl. She looked rather silly, a grown woman in a=20 business suit and high heeled shoes swinging high and giggling. Sam and Ellen followed close behind laughing at the memory of their two=20 little girls at the playground. Lois was sure a sight now on those swings.=20= =20 They wondered how long it had been since they had last taken her here. It=20 was well before they started having marital problems. She might have been=20 eight or nine the last time they had come here. Sam got into the mood Lois=20 had created and started pushing Lois on the swing. She squealed as Sam=20 pushed the swing higher and higher towards those ever-elusive trees. Ellen=20 giggled at the sight they made, a grown woman acting like a child again and=20= a=20 sickly man reliving the days when he had his health. =20 Suddenly, Sam stopped pushing. His face had turned bone white and his eyes=20 had almost rolled to the back of his head. Ellen rushed over to help him. =20 She guided him to a swing and helped him sit down. Lois stopped the swing=20 and got up to help them. "Oh my god, are you all right?" "What happened Sam? You're as white as a ghost." Sam had to catch his breath. Something had come over him just when he was=20 pushing the swing. He must have been pushing too hard. He couldn't breathe= .=20 He panted, trying to get as much oxygen into his lungs as possible. When h= e=20 finally regained the ability to talk, he said, "I don't know. Something jus= t=20 came over me. I couldn't breathe, and I felt like I wanted to fall over. =20 Then I got really dizzy. I must have been pushing too hard." Lois' eyes got wide, "Oh I'm so sorry. It's my fault=85" Sam shook his head violently and cut her off, "No, don't say that! It's not= =20 your fault. I was the one that didn't know my body's limitations. We were=20 having fun." Sam stood on shaky legs and opened his arms to Lois. Lois allowed herself t= o=20 be enveloped in his embrace. She buried her head into his shoulder and=20 wondered how many more times they would have like this together. When Sam felt strong enough to walk, Lois and Ellen helped him over to a=20 nearby bench where he could sit somewhere with a back. Sam leaned back into= =20 the bench and closed his eyes. That walk had really worn him out. It was=20 only about thirty feet, but to him it felt like thirty miles. =20 Lois thought that this was the chance to bring up her article. "Daddy, have= =20 you considered trying some experimental treatments for your disease? Clark=20 and I are working on a series of stories about cancer, and I found this=20 doctor that has an unbelievable success rate in prolonging the lives of=20 people with what others doctors thought were terminal cancers. Her name is=20 Rachel=85" "Rosenblum, right Princess," Sam continued. "I know her. She's a real=20 miracle worker. I hate to burst your bubble, but she was the first person I= =20 went to for a second opinion. I figured that if anyone could help me, it wa= s=20 Rachel. But, unfortunately, she couldn't do anything for me. All of the=20 treatments she uses are for cancers that haven't progressed as far as mine=20 has." Lois' face fell. She really wished Dr. Rosenblum had been able to help him,= =20 if only to extend his life by a few months, or even a few weeks.=20 Ellen wiped a tear from her eye and squeezed Sam's hand. "I'm sorry Sam. =20 Let's just make the most of the time we have together. When Lois got back to the Planet, she found Clark at his desk on the phone.=20= =20 When he saw her walk in, he cut off his phone conversation, and waved her=20 over towards him. =20 "So how did your lunch go?" "Lunch was wonderful!" She perched on the edge of his desk. "Mother and=20 Daddy got along so well. We had a civil conversation and a nice meal=20 together without someone getting mad and storming out of the restaurant." Clark smiled in response. He knew how much it meant to Lois to have her=20 family together. It had been nearly eighteen years since her family had bee= n=20 together, and she had always longed for them to be a family again. "Then we walked in Centennial Park, and we remembered how Lucy and I used to= =20 swing on these swings every time Mom and Dad took us to the park. So for ol= d=20 times sake, I started swinging. Then my dad got into the spirit and he=20 stared pushing me. It was so much fun. I felt like a kid again. But then=20 he stopped pushing suddenly. He looked really bad. His face turned bone=20 white and he was gasping for air. I think he's so much sicker than we think= .=20 I don't think he was kidding when he said he has four weeks left at most." Clark put his hand on Lois' knee, "Well, I learned something today about=20 cancer, if that makes you feel any better. He could go see Dr. Gratly and=20 have him test to see if the cancer is a multi-drug resistant cancer. I have= =20 all of my notes here, but if your dad's cancer is MDR, Dr. Gratly can help=20 him=85" Lois interrupted, "That's just it. He has seen people for a second opinion.= =20 Everyone told him his disease was too far advanced for them to do anything=20 for him accept to ease his pain. I don't know what to do. I don't want him= =20 to die!" Tears streamed down Lois' face and as she thought about what she would do=20 without her father. Even though he had not been a big part of her life, he=20 was still her father, and she loved him. Clark stood up and took her in his arms. He stroked her soft hair and=20 whispered soothing words into her ear. =20 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:49:14 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [12/13] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Title: Final Forgiveness=20 Part: [1/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if= =20 you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their ow= n=20 way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly,=20 privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they=20 think about it) A few weeks later, Lucy was up late studying for her finals. This was her=20 last semester in school and she wanted to go out with a bang. She wanted A'= s=20 in all three of her classes, so she was studying night and day. Lucy was=20 looking forward to the end of her scholarly days so she could finally get a=20 real job. She was sick of waitressing and she was also sick of California.=20= =20 California was a nice place to stay for a while, but it wasn't where Lucy=20 wanted to spend the rest of her life. She missed Metropolis, her home. =20 After graduation, she already had a job lined up back home. She would be=20 teaching at an elementary school on the outskirts of the city teaching the=20 first grade. As Lucy studied, Jenny talked on the phone. It annoyed Lucy that Jenny was=20 two years younger than she was, but Jenny already had a degree and a job. =20 Jenny was being more annoying than ever these days. Chen had spilled the=20 beans to Jenny about Lucy's father, and now Jenny, along with prodding Lucy=20 to talk to her sister about Superman, prodded her to call her father at ever= y=20 opportunity. This infuriated Lucy. She had told Chen about her father in=20 confidence. What right did Chen have to go and tell Jenny? =20 Jenny, wearing her Superman shirt and glow-in-the-dark boxer shorts, came up= =20 to Lucy quietly. Lucy felt her presence and turned around. "What do you=20 want Jenny? Can't you see I'm studying?" Jenny nodded, she said, "I'm sorry Lucy. I didn't realize you were busy. I= =20 just wanted to talk to you." Lucy turned away from Jenny and buried her head in her book once again. =20 Jenny sat down anyway and said, "I know we haven't gotten along very well=20 ever since Superman, sigh, came here and flew you away, and I wanted to=20 apologize. I'm so sorry. I know I acted like a fool, but do you really=20 blame me?" Lucy still didn't even move her head, so Jenny continued, "Obviously you've=20 never had an obsession, something that overtakes your whole life that totall= y=20 consumes your thoughts at all hours of the day. That's how I am with=20 Superman. Picture this from my perspective Luce. Here I find out that my=20 roommate, one of my very good friends, knows the man I am obsessed with, and= =20 she doesn't even introduce me. How do you think that made me feel?" Lucy finally looked up with an incredulous look in her eyes. She raised her= =20 eyebrows and spit out, "How did it make you feel? Whatever." Jenny continued, unfazed, "Now I know I was wrong. You really don't know=20 Superman that well. Jenny told me that you've only met him a couple of=20 times. I'm sorry." Lucy shook her head. This girl was just so annoying. "Can't you just leave= =20 me alone?" "No, I can't. I think you're making a mistake. You have to talk to your=20 father, if even to tell him off. I mean you have to get your feelings off=20 your chest. I know this is killing you inside. You've changed Luce. I can= =20 see it when you walk, your shoulders are all slumped over and you keep=20 staring at the ground. And when you talk, your voice always has an edge to=20 it." Lucy rolled her eyes, "Jenny, you're on crack. Could you please just leave m= e=20 alone?" "Fine, I'll leave you alone. Just think about what I said. I have better=20 things to do. I'm going to read your sister's article about cancer. She an= d=20 her husband really have talent. I feel so sorry for every person they right= =20 about." Lucy slammed a hand into her book. Why did she have to bring up Lois'=20 articles? That Jenny was a conniving one it was probably all part of an=20 elaborate plan for Lucy to get Superman to come to California again. Lucy=20 wasn't sure how this all tied in to Superman, but she was sure that Jenny ha= d=20 it all figured out in her little mind. Back in Metropolis, Sam had been progressively worsening. He had lost almos= t=20 60 pounds, and now only weighed about 105. He looked horrible, his eyes=20 bugged out of his head, and wherever he went everyone stared at him. Ellen, Lois, and Clark took turns keeping him company and trying to keep his= =20 mind of his impending death. With each day, Sam got weaker and weaker. He=20 could barely stand under his own power, and he had trouble doing anything=20 that required physical exertion of any kind.=20 Today, while Lois and Clark were at work, Ellen came to Sam's apartment. Sh= e=20 brought a basket of food so they could have a mock picnic on his bed. But=20 when she let herself inside, she couldn't see Sam anywhere. She called to=20 him, but he didn't say anything. Panic overtook her, and she wondered if=20 something terrible had happened to him. She rushed into his bedroom and saw= =20 him lying listless on the floor. =20 A muffled cry came from the nearly lifeless body, "Help! Ellen!" Ellen rushed to him, "Oh Sam, what happened? Are you okay?" "Ellen, I can't get up. Help me up!" Ellen gently reached down to help him, but he wouldn't budge. "Sam, I think= =20 I'm going to have to call 911. I can't help you right now. "No, no don't call 911, if I go into the hospital, we both know that I'll=20 never come out. The only way I'm leaving the hospital is in a body bag." Tears formed in both Sam's and Ellen's eyes as they realized the truth in=20 Sam's statement. It was true, if he went in, he'd never come out. But Elle= n=20 couldn't move him. "Don't you want to be comfortable for your last days? I= =20 don't want to have to be picking you up off the floor every day, plus if you= =20 don't get off the floor soon, you may die right here. That isn't what you=20 want, is it?" Sam shook his head no. "Go ahead. I know I can't move under my own power=20 any more. It's probably the best thing to do." Ellen called 911, then as she waited for the ambulance, she called Lois at=20 work, but she was not there, so she left a message with Jimmy Olsen. He=20 promised to page her ever few minutes until she answered. Then Ellen called= =20 Lucy. She would probably hang up, but Lucy did need to know. =20 "Hello?" Lucy answered the phone. "Lucy, hi, it's your mother." Ellen said, her voice tight with emotion. Oh no. Something must have happened with that man who calls himself my=20 father. "Hi mom. What's wrong? You sound horrible." "It's you father. He collapsed. I don't think he has much time left at all= .=20 A couple of days, a week at most." "So, what does that have to do with me?" "Lucy, please. Do you really want him to die without saying goodbye to him?= " "Yes," Lucy said as she hung up the phone. Lucy fell back into her chair, sobbing. So it had finally happened. Her=20 father was really on his deathbed. But what was she going to do? Was she=20 really going to let him die with out even saying goodbye? Was her mom=20 telling the truth when she said that he had changed? Did he really feel bad= =20 for what he had done? Did she love him deep down despite what he did to her= ?=20 She didn't know the answers off hand, but she didn't have a long time left=20 to think about them. She had to make the decision about her father in the=20 next day, or else it would be too late. Late that afternoon, Lois, followed closely by Clark, ran into Sam Lane's=20 private room at Metro General Hospital. He looked so small and pale in his=20 hospital gown, wrapped up in the white bed sheets. He was shivering in the=20 cold, so Ellen brought out the comforter and covered him with it. Sam looked up at Lois, "Hey Princess, Clark, I'm sorry you have to see me=20 like this. But I guess when it's the end, you can't control how you look." Lois started crying. Her father really was dying. Reality had finally set=20 in. She was getting good at denying the fact that he was eventually going t= o=20 die. The more she denied it, the less real his imminent death became. Now=20 that he was so close to death, she broke down. =20 Clark pulled her close, trying to provide strength and stability in a world=20 that was crumbling around her. Her father was dying, her sister didn't care= ,=20 and she had tried to deny it for so long, it hit her like a ton of bricks. Ellen, too, started crying when she saw Lois start. Clark extended an arm t= o=20 his mother-in-law, and the three of them hugged each other, drawing strength= =20 from Clark's powerful arms. The next day, early in the morning, Sam Lane got a surprise visitor. Perry=20 White, editor of the Daily Planet gently knocked on Sam's door. Sam nodded=20 for him to come in. What was Perry doing here? They hardly knew each other= . "Uh, hi Dr. Lane. I hope you're up to a visitor right now." Sam nodded, "Yeah, the more visitors the better. It makes me feel loved,=20 even though I know I'm really not. Oh and please call me Sam." "Well Sam, I know we don't know each other too well, but I had to tell you=20 something. Thank you so much for the opportunity to get to know my family=20 again before it was too late for me. When Lois told me about you, it made m= e=20 look at my own life. I mean our lives aren't too different. But because of= =20 you, I'm starting my reconciliation before it's too late." Perry ran an=20 anxious hand through his thin hair and adjusted his tie worried about how Sa= m=20 would react to what he had said. "I'm glad I could help you Perry. I mean, it was too late for me, but I'm=20 glad someone's getting his life back together like I should have so many=20 years ago." Perry nodded solemnly, and Sam tried to lighten the mood a bit. "Lois tells= =20 me you're a big fan of the King. It just so happens that I am a huge Elvis=20 fan too." They spent a few hours talking about the King, until Sam started to tire. A= s=20 Perry left, Sam called out, "Why don't you come by again. It's been fun=20 swapping stories about the King." Later that night, Clark was alone with Sam. Ellen and Lois had gone out to=20 get something to eat, leaving Clark with Sam. Sam asked Clark to pour him a= =20 glass of water, and Clark obliged. Clark was such a considerate young man.=20= =20 Lois was very lucky to find someone like him. "Now Clark, my boy, when I'm=20 gone I want you to remember to look after my little Princess. I know I=20 shouldn't have the right to say that. After all I left her when she was=20 twelve, but I've always loved her." Clark nodded silently, "Don't worry Sam. I love her and I'd never do=20 anything to hurt her." Sam reached out to Clark and covered Clark's hand with his own. "And when=20 you have children, please don't ever abandon them. You saw what happened to= =20 me." Clark blinked. Had Sam read his mind? "Sam, I am so afraid that I won't be= =20 a good father. Both Lois and I have such demanding jobs, and we hardly have= =20 time for each other, let alone time for a baby." Sam shook his head, "Clark, the fact that you're even admitting that makes=20 you a better father than I ever was. I know you and Lois are going to be=20 wonderful parents, and my grandchildren will know they are loved. And that'= s=20 all I ask of you." Then Sam collapsed back in bed. Clark ran out to the nurses' station, and=20 they rushed in to see how Sam was doing. A doctor looked at him and gave hi= m=20 less than 8 hours to live. =20 Clark decided to fly to California to get Lucy. She had to say goodbye to=20 her father, no matter what she may think. When Lois and Ellen returned,=20 Clark told them that Sam only had a few hours left and that he was going to=20 try to find Superman so that he could go get Lucy. When Superman knocked on Lucy's window this time he wasn't greeted by Jenny'= s=20 loud squeals. Lucy must have been the only one home because she alone came=20 out to see who or what was knocking at the window. "What on Earth do you=20 want, Superman?" she asked, even though she guessed that something had=20 happened to her father. Darn, and she had just bought a plane ticket to=20 Metropolis so she could say goodbye to him. She continued before he had the chance to respond. "You're here because=20 something's happening with my father, right? Well, it just so happens that=20= I=20 just bought a plane ticket to Metropolis so I could say goodbye to him. I=20 guess I'll get there a lot sooner now, then." Clark finally got the opportunity to speak, "Lucy, you father's taken a turn= =20 for the worst. They say he only has a few hours left, so we have to hurry." He swept Lucy into his arms and flew as quickly as possible without hurting=20 her to get here there in time to say goodbye. Clark dropped her off at the hospital entrance and found a nearby alley wher= e=20 he changed back into street clothes. He took a different entrance, so he=20 made it up to Sam's room before Lucy did. Lois looked over to Clark asking silently if Lucy had come with him. He=20 smiled slightly and nodded as Lucy walked into the room. Lois and Ellen both gathered her in a hug, both overjoyed that she had=20 finally decided to at least say goodbye to her father. "Mom, Lois, I'm so=20 sorry. I don't know what else to say. Ellen squeezed her younger daughter's shoulder and wiped a tear from the=20 young woman's face, "Oh Lucy, you have nothing to be sorry for. You're here= =20 now, and that's all that matters." Lucy looked over to the bed where her father lay. "Can I have a couple of=20 minutes alone with him? I need to tell him something." Lois, Clark, and Ellen all left the room and Clark shut the door behind him.= =20 Lucy perched on the edge of Sam's bed and his eyes fluttered open. Was this= =20 a dream or a fantasy? Sam could swear that this was Lucy, his little angel,= =20 sitting here on his bed. No, it couldn't be. But then he heard her tearful= =20 voice. "Daddy, I'm so sorry I wasn't here before now. I should have=20 forgiven you sooner, just like Mother and Lois did. But, you have to=20 understand, I was eight. The memories I have of all the good things you did= =20 for me are all overshadowed by the hopelessness of an eight-year-old. I=20 guess I just tend to magnify the bad things, although you can't blame me=85" Sam finally found the words to speak. They came out very softly so Lucy had= =20 to tilt her head to listen. "Oh Lucy Lou, you came. You have no idea how=20 much this means to me. I wanted to get the chance to apologize to you befor= e=20 I die. I'm so sorry, Lucy Lou, I was so bad to you. I was a horrible=20 father, and I don't blame you for hating me." "Daddy, I don't hate you. I may have before, but now I think I sort of=20 understand what you did. I didn't want you to die without knowing that I do= =20 love you, deep down inside I always knew I was your Little Angel." She bent down to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. There she felt the= =20 dampness from the tears of joy he had been crying ever since he had first=20 laid eyes on her. He clung to her, as if for dear life, but soon she felt=20 the grip loosen. She slid out of his clutches and saw his lifeless body. =20 Immediately she started crying and then she pressed the button to call the=20 nurse. She didn't need conformation, she knew he had died. =20 The door opened and Lucy was greeted by the anxious stares of her family. =20 "He's gone," was all she could say before she completely broke down. They=20 all cried as the nurses and a doctor went into his room and confirmed what=20 they all already knew. Sam Lane had passed away at 7:03 PM EST on December=20 4, 1996. The next day, the Daily Planet ran the last in Lois and Clark's series about= =20 cancer, only this article held personal significance for the Planet's top=20 investigative team. It was an obituary for Dr. Samuel David Lane MD, a=20 pioneer in the field of reconstructive surgery. This was special because he= =20 was also the father of Lois Lane. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:50:22 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alicia Utowski Subject: NEW: Final Forgiveness [13/13] EPILOGUE MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Title: Final Forgiveness Part: [13/13] Author: Alicia U email: lxu2@po.cwru.edu... NOTE this is a diferent email than the list... if you want to send private email, please direct it to this adress Rating: PG Summary: Sam Lane is dying and the Lane women each deal with it in their own way. Comments / Criticism / Editing: All EXTREMELY appreciated (publicly, privately, doesn't matter to me as long as people tell me what they think about it) EPILOGUE (four years later) The pitter-patter of little feet greeted Clark Kent when he walked into his house after a long day at work. His three-and-a-half year old daughter Elaine Samantha, or Lanie as everyone called her, came running into the room and jumped into her Daddy's arms. "Guess what I did today Daddy!" Little Lanie's face shined as she waited for her father to answer, "Hmm, let me think. I bet you helped Mommy make cookies." Lanie pouted, "How'd you guess Daddy?" Clark lifted her up to his face and kissed her, "Well, my little cookie monster, it's because you have cookies all over your mouth." Lanie squealed with joy when Clark started to tickle her. She squirmed in his arms when he gave her butterfly kisses all over her face. It didn't take Lois long to follow the little girl down the steps carrying their other daughter, three week old Kallie Martha. Lois was on maternity leave from the Planet, and she loved spending time with her little angels. They made her life complete in a way she never would have guessed was possible. From the first time she felt Lanie kick inside of her, Lois felt a void inside her suddenly fill. Lanie and now Kallie were the light of both Lois' and Clark's lives and they both would do anything in their power to protect their girls at all costs. Lois and Kallie came into the living room as Clark was tickling Lanie. Lois paused for a second thinking of her father, and how she wished he could be there to see this. He would have been so proud. A tear ran down her cheek, and she gently brushed it away. She giggled when she saw Clark whispering something to Lanie. Clark said, "Look there's Mommy and Kallie. Let's go into the kitchen and see how many cookies we can eat before they stop us! Lanie giggled and Clark carried her into the kitchen. As Lois was about to follow them, the doorbell rang. Lois changed her path and went to answer the door. There stood Jimmy and Lucy, who had been married for two years. Lucy was very pregnant, almost nine months. Lois ushered them in and asked, "What are you guys doing here? Not that I'm complaining." "Oh, we were in the neighborhood and we decided to drop by and tell you that Lucy's in labor!" Jimmy exclaimed. Lois squealed in delight. Clark, carrying Lanie, came out of the kitchen. "Did I just hear what I thought I just heard? Lucy's in labor?" Lucy just nodded. Later that night, Lois and Clark and their two children, Jack Olsen, Ellen, and Perry and Alice White sat in Metro General Hospital's waiting room waiting for some kind of word about Lucy. Clark sat with Lanie on his lap, holding Kallie in one arm and the other arm around Lois' shoulder. All three of his girls were fast asleep. Life was good for Clark. He had two beautiful daughters and a brilliant, tenacious wife, who was also the best mother any child could ask for. Why had he ever had any doubts? Just then, Jimmy burst into the room. "It's a boy. I'm a father." Soon everyone in the room was on their feet congratulating the new father. Perry's voice boomed over everyone else's "So kid, what are you two naming him?" Jimmy sobered, remembering the conversation he and Lucy had just had. "We're naming him after the one man who couldn't be here tonight. Samuel Jack Olsen. Lucy wishes her father could be with us today, and this is the best way she can think of to remember him." Clark, with Kallie in one arm and Lanie in the other, bent to kiss Lois. He whispered, "He's proud of us all. I know he is." Lois whispered back, "I think this is all he ever wanted, for us to be happy. I hope he's resting in peace now that he know's Lucy has truly finally forgiven him." El Fin LAU 11-12-99 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 16:22:40 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Joy Sowell Subject: Re: NEW- Final Forgiveness Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Very touching story. __________________________________________________ FREE Email for ALL! Sign up at http://www.mail.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 10:28:27 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Joy Sowell Subject: Fanfic Recommendation: Kal-El's Return Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit If you haven't read Dawn's third part of her trilogy, run, don't walk to the archive now!! __________________________________________________ FREE Email for ALL! Sign up at http://www.mail.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 07:57:14 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Fanfic Recommendation MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit There's a story on the Archive by a new author, Gerry Anklewicz, titled Deja Vu, which I just had the pleasure of reading. It presents a new angle on what might have happened following Tempus Fugitive, if certain events had been slightly different. I won't say anything more, or it would spoil the story, but I recommend that you read it. It's an excellent story, *especially* for a first fanfic, but it would be good even if it wasn't the author's first. Nan Smith ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 09:01:07 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: Fanfic Recommendation MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Nan, you took the words out of my mouth. This has been the first chance I've had to spend a couple of minutes in front of the computer since early this morning and the first item on my agenda was going to be making a fanfic recommendation. This is an excellent story especially for a first fanfic. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and am looking for more from this author. Irene --- Nancy Smith wrote: > There's a story on the Archive by a new author, > Gerry Anklewicz, titled > Deja Vu, which I just had the pleasure of reading. > It presents a new > angle on what might have happened following Tempus > Fugitive, if certain > events had been slightly different. I won't say > anything more, or it > would spoil the story, but I recommend that you read > it. It's an > excellent story, *especially* for a first fanfic, > but it would be good > even if it wasn't the author's first. > > Nan Smith > ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 12:17:54 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Chris Carr Subject: Question about Strange Visitor Does anyone know the name of the general who helped Lois and Clark in Strange Visitor? (I'm talking about the guy with the nutcracker, who gives L&C the swipe card they need to get into the warehouse.) When Lois mentions him as she comes down the DP stairs, it sounds something like General Burton New****, but I can't make it out. Thanks guys! Chris ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 10:19:45 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: Question about Strange Visitor MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit It's General Burton Newcomb, Chris. Hope that helps. Nan Chris Carr wrote: > Does anyone know the name of the general who helped Lois and Clark in > Strange Visitor? (I'm talking about the guy with the nutcracker, who gives > L&C the swipe card they need to get into the warehouse.) When Lois mentions > him as she comes down the DP stairs, it sounds something like General Burton > New****, but I can't make it out. > > Thanks guys! > > Chris ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 15:16:12 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Chris Carr Subject: Re: Question about Strange Visitor On Sun, 14 Nov 1999 10:19:45 -0800, Nancy Smith wrote: >It's General Burton Newcomb, Chris. Hope that helps. > >Nan Yes, that helps a lot! Thank you, Nan! Chris ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 21:42:47 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Third Installment Week #4 Part 1 of 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable New Fanfic (ongoing) "A Day in the Life of Metropolis" All characters are property of DC Comics, WB, Lois and Clark etc.. unless otherwise noted. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Feedback is welcomed whether public or private. But no grammar please! =3D)= NO=20 ONE responded to my last post except for one person.. (thank you!) Please=20 let me know if you loved it or hated it.. etc.. My cast and i would really=20 appreciate it! Thanks. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Summary: This is the third installment of a rpg club I created on yahoo. We came up with a story line, and we can correspond through email, dialogue, etc.. Anything goes. If you want more information on this club or if you would like to join in the fun yourself please go to: Yahoo! Clubs= =20 adayinthelifeofmetropolis=20 Thanks. Alexis ;-.) {"ADITLOM, arbitrator} =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Cast List Clark Kent/Superman : Alexis W. (that's me!) Jonathan Kent : Tina T. Lois Lane : Alexis W. Lucy Lane : Liz Ellen Lane: Tina T. Dr. Sam Lane: Rachel M. Jimmy Olsen: Abie Marie Cat Grant: Renda Lex Luthor: Dave Mayson Drake: Renda Dick Grayson/Nightwing: Dave ``````````````````````````````````````````` WEEK #4 (11/1 to 11/7/99) Email from Clark Kent to=20 Richard Grayson Hi Richard, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but I have been very busy=20 here in Metropolis! I'm about to leave for Gotham to attend the=20 Environmental Ball. I hope to see you there, because I will be more than=20 happy to talk to you when I get there. Thanks. Clark Kent=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Email from Clark Kent to=20 Richard Grayson Clark, I'm glad I got through to you. I'm really looking forward to seeing you.=20 I'll be making my way back to the manor pretty soon as well. Would it be=20 all right if we meet there sometime, when Bruce is not around? I really=20 should talk to you as soon as possible. Dick=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Email from Clark Kent to Richard Grayson Yes. That will be fine. I have always wanted a tour of the manor myself!=20 =3D) Clark=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Email from Clark Kent to Richard Grayson Clark, Great. I'm sure Alfred will be more than happy to give you his guided=20 tour of the Wayne estate. Of course, you'll have to also put up with his=20 dry humor. We'll have to keep this quiet, though. I've never really been too=20 certain about how Bruce feels about you, but I do know he doesn't trust=20 you. But it is important that we figure out what's going on here,=20 especially with all of these Metropolis VIPs coming into town soon. Have you met Sam? What do you think about her? Am I just over reacting? Let me know if I can help you in any way. Hope to see you soon. Dick=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Email from Clark Kent to Richard Grayson P.S. Sorry to bother you again... uhh... do you know where I can find a=20 date for the ball? I guess a guy doesn't get out much when he's been=20 training with the Dark Knight for a few years. Any ideas?=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Email from Clark Kent to Richard Grayson This is Mr. Kent's automatic email response system. Mr. Kent is=20 currently en route to Gotham City and he will be back on Monday. Thanks. Daily Planet automatic=20 email response system=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Email from Clark Kent to Richard Grayson Dick gazed at the small screen on his laptop in frustration as the words=20 crossed silently across the illuminated field. "Great... I'm beginning to think the whole 'Light in the sky' idea isn't=20 all that bad after all. I'll just have to catch Clark before Bruce does.=20 Time to head back home..." * * * * Cat gets ready to leave for airport Cat made sure that all the essentials for the day and then the ball=20 later were packed. She put the finishing touches to her hair. Called Mayson and Mayson told her she was just leaving for the airport. "Good, so I guess Clark, Lois, Jimmy, Lucy and all the rest will be at=20 the gate for boarding. Cat picked up her cases and closed the apartment door, locked it and=20 headed for the elevators and the cab waiting for her downstairs.=20 =20 * * * * Mayson/airport Mayson, picked up her bags and went to the cab waiting to take her to=20 the airport. She was looking forward to seeing Gotham and meeting=20 new people. Things weren't always easy for the lady who finished high school when=20 she was barely 14, and then went on to Radcliffe for college and law=20 school. Sometimes being a smart person has it's down side. Mayson decided to take Cat's advice and look forward to the adventure of=20 today and tonight. "I really hope that things turn out grand!" Mayson said and smiled to=20 herself.=20 =20 * * * * Re: Cat to Bruce Wayne Urgent!!!!! Cat - Sorry it took so long to get back. I was just checking my messages=20 before I got on a plane back to Gotham. Let's hope Superman doesn't show=20 his red cape in Gotham. I know someone who may be able to keep an eye on=20 things. I am also friends with Commissioner Gordon and I'll ask=20 him to have the new Computer Crimes unit investigate it. Bruce=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat to Bruce Wayne Urgent!!!!! Hi Bruce calling you from my cab, on the way to the airport to=20 board my jet for Gotham. Thanks for alerting the local police in Gotham=20 about the Superman thing... I have a theory that it may have been a kid=20 e-mailing me just to play a trick since this is the month for tricks as=20 well as treats. But I just thought you should know about the e-mails=20 since the last place they were traced was Gotham before a scrambled=20 signal lost them. Caio, Cat=20 =20 * * * * More from D.C.... "Dear Mr. Luthor, My name is Tom Paris, and the word is out you need a "friend" in the FDA=20 right about now. I am coming into Metropolis today and I am sure that I=20 can get you what you want. My number is 555-7447. Give me a call so we=20 can meet and discuss details. Tom Paris, FDA" Scardino leaned back in his chair and sighed. He had no desire to return=20 to Metropolis=85 but from what the file said, Luthor's operation was no=20 small potatoes. It needed to be stopped, and nobody could stop this kind=20 of thing like Dan Scardino. *** On his way out of the office, he stopped by Merla, the receptionist. "Am=20 I planted in the FDA records?" he asked. "Like a tulip, Dan," she smiled. "Or, should I call you Agent Paris?" "Give it up, Merla." "Well, you have to admit, it *is* kind of a crazy choice for a name=85=20 what if you should run into a Parisite in Metropolis?" Scardino gave her a funny look. "A *Parisite*?" "Yeah, you know, a Tom Paris fan?" "Well, then I'll just have to ask them not to mention Caldik Prime."=20 Scardino rolled his eyes. He threw "See ya, Merla," over his shoulder=20 and left the DEA building. Merla chuckled as he left. "What a nut," she thought to herself, and=20 turned back to her paperwork.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: More in D.C..., Mr. Paris, You take an awful risk by making the presumption that I am in need of=20 anything. I doubt very highly that you have anything to offer to me.=20 Until you have proven useful, I suggest you stay out of my way, if you=20 value your health. Sincerely, Lex =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: More in D.C... Scardino read the message on his laptop and laughed. ***Oh, so you don't=20 *need* me, do you?*** he thought. ***Well, I'm just going to have to do=20 this the hard way, then, aren't I? That's the thing about=20 multi-billionaires... they just don't know when they're getting a good=20 deal.*** He laughed and said out loud, "Time to get creative."=20 =20 * * * * The Trip to Gotham Clark picked up his bag and got ready to leave. He took a quick shower=20 and got dressed after his early morning patrol of Metropolis. He was=20 going to be gone for three days so he wanted to make sure that everything=20 was okay before he left for Gotham. It was 6:20 am and Lois hadn't stopped by yet. Clark decided to *speed*=20 walk to her apartment and check on her. He got to her door in less then two minutes. Lois opened the door. She was=20 in the process of buttoning up her blouse and her eyes looked droopey. Lois : "You know Kent, I was going to leave in 5 minutes to your=20 apartment anyway.=94 Clark: "Well Lois I said 6:15 and it's 6:25 and you're not ready yet! I=20 don't want to miss our flight." Lois: "So I'm running late, sue me! And heck if we were late, Superman=20 could probably fly us over there." Clark: "Don't be too sure of that! Now since you look so tired, I think=20 I'll drive this morning." Lois: "Whatever, Kent." >tbc<=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: The Trip to Gotham Clark pulls into the Metropolis airport parking lot. Lois steps out of=20 the Jeep and storms towards the plane, leaving Clark to park the Jeep. He climbs out of the car as a smile spreads across his lips. He's=20 looking at Lois' legs. Even when Lois is tired and crabby she still=20 looks sexy (well at least to him, she does) Clark steps back away from=20 the car and bumps it with his butt. He grins as the car moves perfectly=20 into place. *If only she knew who I really was...* Clark laughed. >tbc<=20 =20 * * * * Cat on board the Grant Industries Jet Cat walked to the gate door of the jet to welcome the people as they=20 arrived. Mayson Drake was the first to arrive, she looked beautiful and=20 confident. "Hi Mayson so glad your work didn't keep you away from the ball!" Mayson: "Cat, I delegated some of the research to my assistants and=20 decided to take some time off!" Mayson told the lovely reporter and=20 smiled. Cat: "Well find a seat that you like and make yourself comfy!" Cat looked to see Lois and Clark arriving too so she went to greet them. ****It is going to be a wonderful three days*** Cat thought as she=20 approached Lois and Clark to welcome them aboard.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat on the board the Grant Industries Jet Lois and Clark board the plane. Lois smiles politely at Cat and Clark=20 kisses her on the cheek. Lois takes a seat and Clark sits down right=20 next to her. Lois rolls her eyes. Clark: "What?" Lois: "Do you have to sit so close to me?" Clark: "Well we did have an agreement. Since I'm your escort, I've to=20 escort you as I'm escorting." Lois: "Clark, where on earth did that come from?" Clark: "I don't know, I just made it up!" he laughed. "Besides, you=20 should count yourself lucky! There are a couple of ladies over there who=20 would love to be in your place!" Lois: "Oh, get off your high horse, Clark! I don't care what Mayson and=20 Cat do with you! Join them for all I care!" Clark: "No, I think I'll stay here, but I might just save them a dance=20 at the ball." Lois: "Fine." Clark: "Fine." Lois pulls out a notebook and starts writing. Clark: "What's that?" Lois: "None of your business, Kent!" Lois shifts in her seat so that her legs are hugging her body and=20 continues writing. >tbc<=20 =20 * * * * Cat checks in with the pilots and crew Cat walked gingerly up the aisle of the jet to the front and opened the=20 door to the pilot's cabin. "Hi fellows, just making sure that=20 everything is okay!" Pilot: "Yes Miss. Grant, everything checking out=20 okay here!" Cat: "Would you guys like some refreshments?" Pilots: "Yes=20 we could use some coffee in those spillproof cups!" Cat: "Okay, I'll get it from the steward and be right back!" Cat walked=20 to the galley and got the cups of coffee then returned to the pilot's=20 cabin and gave them to the pilot and co-pilot. Then she walked out to check and see if anymore of the passengers had=20 arrived so she could greet them.=20 =20 * * * * Re: Cat on board the Grant Industries Jet Clark: "Uh, Lois your skirt is sorta high!" Clark tugs on her skirt and Lois bats his hand away. Lois: "Quit it!" She looks out the window. "You know how much I hate these things. I mean=20 flying in an airplane is just so.. well I don't know but it doesn't seem=20 natural." Clark: "Well I don't think you would be saying that if you were going by=20 'Superman Express!'" Lois: "Well Clark, Superman's different. In Superman's arms I feel safe.=20 It just feels natural, like I was born to fly or something. I know you=20 can't comprehend that since you're just a hick from Smallville but that=20 is the essence of Superman!" Clark rolls his eyes. Lois: "I wish I could get off this plane and move away from you!" she=20 snapped. Clark: "Hey, I know when I'm not wanted! I'll just go talk to Mayson. I=20 haven't talked to her in a while. I bet she'll appreciate me. I guess=20 I'll just see you later..." Clark gets up and walks over towards Mayson. >tbc<=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat on board/Mayson Reading... Mayson Drake looked up from her brief to see Clark Kent standing there. "Hi Clark, early morning! Hope Lois is okay with your protection, and=20 don't worry, I won't say a word to her about it!" "I am looking forward=20 to the ball and seeing Wayne Manor before the ball!" Mayson realized she=20 was babbling so she smiled and shut-up. * * * * Cat makes sure everything is well! Catherine Grant made another trip around the jet. She wanted to make=20 sure that the passengers were comfy and that everything was checked and=20 a-okay. She checked the galley and noticed the dissapproving looks from the=20 steward and stewardess. "Who cares what they think, this is my father's=20 plane, and I'll check and double check things to make sure this jet=20 arrives safely at Gotham airport!" Cat said to herself as she made her=20 way to check the stow compartments above the seats to make sure they=20 were locked in place. Cat noticed that Clark was talking to Mayson. "I guess Lois ran him=20 off." Cat said to herself as she passed Clark and Mayson. "I wonder when=20 Lois is going to admit she likes Clark? Probably when she realizes that=20 he is a super guy!!!!!" Cat smiled and continued her duties.=20 =20 * * * * Re: Cat on board /Mayson Reading... Clark :'Hi Mayson!" Clark leans over and gives her a kiss on the cheek.=20 Meanwhile Lois looks over and scrunches her nose. When Clark looks over=20 at her she turns away. "Lois, doesn't want me sitting next to her right now, so I guess I will=20 just hang out here for a while. If I didn't care for her so much I=20 wouldn't be watching her every step of the way! Oh well, how was your=20 week?" Mayson blushed as Clark's warm lips kissed her cheek, then she answered=20 his question about her week! Mayson: "Clark it was going well until my team lost a big case and a=20 mobster was set free on a technicality! But I am looking forward to this=20 ball and the rest of the weekend. Cat and I had a wonderful girl=92s night=20 out, we got smashed, lol. Other than that it was just your typical DA=20 works and lives in Metropolis!" Mayson told him and smiled! "Clark have you ever thought about wearing contact lenses?" Mayson asked=20 Clark and looked deep into his eyes waiting for his reply..... Clark: "I uh, I.. um no. I have a really strong prescription and they=20 can't make contacts that thick! LOL!" Clark leans back in his chair and starts playing with one of Mayson's=20 beautiful blonde curls. He can't believe he=92s doing this, but in the back=20 of his mind he is actually trying to make Lois jealous. Lois looks over at him and rolls her eyes. Clark responds with a sexy=20 smile. Lois: "ARRGH!" she yells. "That's it I need some air!" She throws down her notebook and steps outside of the plane. Mayson listened to Clark's strong perscription excuse. Personally she=20 feels that Clark just wants to hide behind those glasses.=20 Mayson thinking to herself..."Clark is playing with my hair just to make=20 Lois jealous...if he wasn't so cute and nice I think I'd slap him!" Mayson moved her head so that her blonde curl slipped away from Clark's=20 fingers. Thinking to herself..."Sail away sail away sail away..... But to Clark she just said..."Do you have a hair fetish?"=20 Clark blushes.. "Uh, no.. um no.. I just.." He looks over to see that=20 Lois is gone. "I um, I need some air, excuse me!" * * * * Cat observes Clark/Mayson/Lois Smiles Cat saw what Clark was up to and Lois little exit..."Well, well, I was=20 right, she is gone on our cute farmer's son!" "Poor Mayson, though this=20 has to be embarrasing to be in a *Catch22* situation between Clark's=20 testoserone and Lois' estrogen this could be a really interesting flight!"=20 "Humm, just wait until we get to the ball." Cat flipped the magazine back into the rack and smiled a very knowing=20 smile!!!=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat on board / Mayson Reading... Mayson watches the reporter retreat! She looks at Cat and replies: "What=20 am I going to do?" Cat: "What ever do you mean?" Mayson: "You know very well what I mean, Clark has a thing for Lois,=20 Lois ignores her thing for him, and I am a third wheel!" Cat: "Mayson, you'll never be a third wheel for one thing you are one of=20 the prettiest ladies I have ever had the pleasure to call friend!" Mayson: "Thanks Cat, remind me of this when I relapse into my dreams of=20 Clark, how I have to Sail away, sail away let the Orinoco=20 flow...lalalalalal.. That Enya song helps me through tough times!"=20 Mayson hummed some of the song and smiled at Cat.=20 =20 * * * * Cat informs Pilots that some are late Cat looked at her watch...."Still no Jimmy and Lucy! I better let the=20 pilots know so they can inform the tower that we will probably be a=20 little late for take-off. Cat headed towards the pilot=92s cabin to inform=20 them. After letting them know, she went back to the door still attached=20 to the airport gate and looked to see if Jimmy and Lucy had arrived.=20 =20 * * * * 6:23am; do you know where your date is? Jimmy pulled up to Lucy's apartment building at 6:23 am. He had never=20 been more angry at his car, whose engine seemed to have turned into one=20 solid block of steel overnight for no apparent reason. Juggling a=20 suitcase and three camera bags on a motorcycle was *not* the easiest job=20 in the world. ***Twenty-three minutes late. Great way to start out a date, Olsen,***=20 he thought to himself as he climbed the stairs to Lucy's apartment.=20 ***What's gonna go wrong next? Have a flat or something?*** He knocked on Lucy's door=85 Lucy was still doing her make up when she heard the knock on ther door. ***Geez..... he is 20 minutes late! I just hope that we make it to the=20 plane in time*** She thought to herself as she finished her hair, and=20 came out of her bedroom to open the door. She opened the door, where she saw Jimmy's face. He didn't look like the=20 kind of person who was used to getting up at 5:30, he was still half=20 asleep. She picked up her suitcase and looked at Jimmy. "Ready to go?!"=20 She asked.=20 As they left on his motorcycle, her arms tight around his waist, she=20 thought to herself.=20 ***This is nice. I think this date thing was a good idea.*** She smiled=20 as they speed off...=20 =20 * * * * Cat checks in with the Pilots/Weather Cat decided to ask the pilots about the weather between Metropolis and=20 Gotham... She opened the cabin door and stepped inside. "Hi it's me=20 again! I just wanted to ask about the weather for our flight, you know=20 how I hate to fly in thunderstorms!" Pilot: "Miss Grant the weather is sunny and clear from here to Gotham,=20 so no need to worry! Besides, our boss your father would have our heads=20 on a platter if we let anything happen to you!" Cat smiled and left the pilots cabin. She decided to get some drinks for=20 the passengers already onboard, while they were waiting on the other's=20 to arrive.=20 =20 * * * * Pilot calls Cat on the com: "Miss Grant, your pilot here! Have all the passengers arrived?" I need=20 to let the tower know how much longer our delay is going to be!" Cat: "Not yet we are waiting on Mr. Olsen and Miss Lane, as soon as they=20 clear the gate and board I'll let you know." Cat told the pilot and then=20 brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.=20 Cat to herself: "If they ever get here! I wonder what has happened?" Cat=20 asked herself. "It isn't like Jimmy to be late!" Cat walked over to the gate to check if Jimmy and Lucy had arrived!!!=20 =20 * * * * Revelation Clark steps out of the plane only to find Lois sulking outside. Clark: "Lois, please come inside. The plane is about to leave. We're=20 just waiting for your sister and Jimmy." Lois: "No, Clark, I think I'll stay here. Or better yet, I don't think=20 I'm going anymore. Gotham doesn't need me and I don't need Gotham!" Clark: "What?" Lois: "You heard me Clark, I'm not going!" Clark: "But Lois, you have to go! I can't go there alone, not without my=20 partner!" Lois: "Clark, you'll be fine. You have Mayson to keep you company." Clark: "Mayson and I are just friends. You're my partner.=94 Lois : "Yeah right Clark. I saw you over there a few minutes ago. You=20 were acting like a complete playboy!" Clark: "A playboy?" Lois: "Yeah. First you tug on my skirt then you're over there playing=20 with Mayson's hair!" Clark: "Well, I um.. I...." Lois: "Clark, you're my best friend and I don't want to lose you but if=20 you keep this up, something else is bound to happen." *Lois thinks of me as a best friend!* Clark thought to himself. It took Clark a moment to register that last comment. "Excuse me???" Lois : "You'll kiss me. Just like Superman and Lex did this past=20 weekend!" Clark: "What? Could you please backtrack there, say after Superman." Lois: "Lex kissed me! Lex kissed me Clark! That's why I have been acting=20 so weird. I mean the guy came out of no where and kissed me full on the=20 lips!" Clark: "Did you like it?" Lois: "CLARK!" Clark: "Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin. Lois: "I mean he's no Superman but I couldn't help but it enjoy it=20 somewhat. Still I think it was highly inappropiate for a man in his=20 position to do!" Clark: "Lois, I just have one thing to say to you, please be careful!"=20 He leaned over and brushed his lips gently across Lois' cheek. He felt a=20 wave of warmth rush down his body. He wanted to stay like that forever. Lois: "Oh, I will Clark. I will. I just found his demeanor to be really odd.= =20 He kept looking at mewith these eyes," she shudders at the=20 thought. Clark: "Well, enough about that. Let=92s get back on the plane!=94=20 =20 * * * * Cat steps onto gate walkway Cat steps onto the gate walkway to see if Jimmy and Lucy are in sight. She notices that Lois looks very frustrated. "Poor Lois, if she could=20 just realize that Clark isn't like the other men in her life, that he is=20 more like a Greek God, a Medevial Nobel Lord, you just don't find men=20 like Clark Kent everyday!" Cat told herself... "Besides, I know=20 something about Clark that even he doesn't know that I know!" Cat smiled=20 and waved at the two reporters. She walked back onto the jet and went to=20 get a glass of juice. Her lovely manicured fingers curled around the=20 glass with a fragile elegance. On her mind was the fact that Superman=20 and Clark were never in the same place at the same time! Cat smiled and=20 felt like the Cheshire cat!!! "Yeah, Lois, wake up girlfriend,=20 everything you want is just an arms length away!" Cat said to herself=20 and sipped her juice.....=20 =20 * * * * Mayson checks in with the office "Hi this is Mayson, any news on the cases for next weeks docket?" Legal aid: "Yes Ms. Drake, all are still as scheduled for Thursday but=20 you know that it may be delayed another week." Mayson: "Thanks, I just wanted to check in and make sure no changes were=20 made. Bye now, have a good weekend!" Mayson hung up the phone, and smiled.. "Well, now I can look forward to=20 the weekend, who knows I may meet a guy who likes to dance, ride=20 motorcycles, and just have fun!" "Poor Clark, he is so gone on Lois, and=20 she is so gone on Superman, maybe if I see Superman, I'll just tell him=20 to leave Lois alone that Clark deserves a break!" Mayson said to=20 herself, of course, Superman probably could crush me with one finger."=20 Mayson laughed and decided to get up and ask Cat for some juice.=20 =20 * * * * Jimmy and Lucy arrive... Jimmy and Lucy sped up the steps to the plane, bag and baggage in hand.=20 "You would not *believe* the car trouble I had, Cat... and the=20 *motorcycle* trouble," Jimmy added, thinking of the flat he'd accurately=20 predicted they'd get. He started to say more, but the sight of Lois and=20 Clark, lost in their own world, stopped him. "What's up with Lois and=20 CK?" he asked. ***Geez,*** he thought. **Show up half an hour late and=20 miss something important.***=20 =20 Cat smiled and replied to Jimmy's question about Lois and CK..."Hormones=20 Jimmy my lad, hormones!!!!" Cat whispered in Jimmy's ear, he blushed but=20 nodded in agreement. Cat helped Jimmy and Lucy stow their bags.. Then=20 she went to the gate and called to the entranced couple. "Hey Daily Planet's finest Reporter's! This jet is leaving, now better=20 board!!!!!" Cat smiled and waved at Clark and Lois as she stepped back=20 inside the jet, waiting on the reporters so the gate attendant could=20 remove the gate and the steward could lock the jet door. "Wow, this trip is already full of intrigue and we haven't even left the=20 tarmac yet!"=20 Just as Cat started to step away from the door something at another gate=20 caught her eye, it was the LexCorp jet and it was fueling and taking on=20 passengers, Luthor and that man-servant of his. "Uh-oh! That looks like=20 trouble for Gotham!" Cat went immediatly to the pilot's cabin to see if=20 they had heard from the tower the destination of the LexCorp jet. "Ms. Grant, yes, the tower just gave LexCorp jet clearance to taxi to=20 runway 01 for takeoff to Gotham airport as destination." pilot told Cat.=20 "Oh, should I tell Clark or just let him know later?" Cat asked herself.=20 She pondered this question and decided to think about it before alerting=20 Clark.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Jimmy and Lucy arrive... Lois and then Clark walked past Cat and took their seats on the plane.=20 Lois decided to take out a book and start reading it. Clark chuckled=20 when he read the title. Lois: "What?" Clark: "Well, you won't be believe this but..." Clark took a book out of his bag, it was the same book. Lois and Clark=20 were both reading, "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus." Lois: "This would only happen to us, Kent! Only to us..." She shook her head as she resumed reading her book.=20 =20 * * * *=20 Luthor=92s personal Journal: Gotham Trip The game continues, as I stare across the board at the opposition's=20 pieces. As I arrived this morning to the airport, and with Nigel faithfully at=20 my side, we boarded the LexCorp Jet. I sat down, poured myself a glass=20 of complementary champagne (a very fine vintage from just outside of=20 Paris), and prepared to make a call to the White House. As I dialed, I=20 glanced out the window to see a scene that infuriated me more than I=20 care to relate. Lois, standing with that dullard, Kent. They were=20 conversing over something, unfortunately, we were too far away for me to=20 lip read (A very valuable skill to aquire), but Lois seemed visably=20 flustered. I believe this Mr. Kent will have to be dealt with, in one form or=20 another. Still, I'm curious as to why Miss Lane would choose not to spend the=20 flight in the lavish comfort of my private jet. No matter... If Lois=20 wants to socialize with her... coworkers... if it makes her happy, then=20 it is all for the best. But in Gotham, Miss Lane will be unable to resist my charm. Of course, I=20 have secretly delivered a bottle of the very same champagne to Miss=20 Grant's jet, as well as a dozen roses... all to be discovered at the=20 appropriate time. After bypassing the king, and placing him in check, I can thereby make=20 the queen my own. Gotham should present an interesting playground for me. All this talk of=20 a mysterious "Batman", and such. Talk such as this allows me to see the=20 general stupidity of the public, and the reasons men such as myself were=20 born to lead. If this Batman does present himself, I have something special planned=20 for him. No Dark Knight will inpeed my path to the queen. Bruce Wayne will also have to be... passified in some form or another.=20 His type, in many ways, make me sick to my stomach... always giving and=20 smiling, trying so hard to look like they give a damn about such=20 unimportant people. Unfortunately for Mr. Wayne, he has a great weakness=20 I can easily exploit. My call to Washington is brief, and the pilot asks if I am=20 ready to go.=20 Yes... this journey should prove most interesting... most intersting=20 indeed. Side note : I will have to make some inquiries regarding a certain DEA=20 agent... a matter that certainly calls for some investigation=20 =20 {continued in part 2} ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 21:47:44 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Third Installment Part 2 of 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable {continued from part 1} * * * *=20 Announcement for takeoff Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking! Please fasten your=20 seatbelts and if you have any beverages or food products please give=20 them to the flight attendants as they pass down the asile because we=20 cannot take off with our passengers having food or drink in their hands.=20 Once we reach our crusing height of 39,000 feet we will turn off the=20 seat belt signs and you'll be free to walk about the aisle and be served=20 beverages and food. Thank you for your compliance. Your Captain. Steward: Please note that your seats are floatation devices and that the=20 exits are in the front, middle and rear of the jet. In case of cabin=20 pressure loss, oxygen masks will automatically fall from the roof you=20 are to done them like this and breath normally. Thank you for flying the=20 Grant Industries Private Jet, we are happy to serve you! Cat took the com and said: Welcome friends and co-workers, the weather=20 is wonderful for our flight today, and we don't expect to have alot of=20 tuberlance, however, if any of you get air sick there are special bags=20 in front of you in the magazine slip of the seat and you can use those=20 bags for the air sickness. Also, the stewards have motion sickness=20 medicines for anyone who feels they may need it.=20 Once we reach our intented altitude we can pop open the champagn and the=20 hor 'deors. The chef for Grant Industries is well known for his=20 wonderful gormet dishes. So everyone enjoy the flight and then we'll enjoy the ball. Cat smiled and gave the com back to the steward.=20 =20 * * * * Bruce goes back to Gotham He walks through the airport and checks in, giving the woman at the=20 counter his luggage as she flirts with him upon seeing his name. He=20 ignores it and walks to the gate. He knows he's going to have to find something to do on the plane. He's=20 been anzy throughout his whole stay in Metropolis, mostly because he=20 hasn't been able to "go out". A good deal of it also has to do with how=20 much he misses Sam. When they first met, he'd never thought he'd ever=20 see her again, but thank god she is the persistant type. He boards the plane and takes his first class window seat. He leans back=20 and closes his eyes, but as usual he doesn't sleep, just thinks about=20 all he might have to do upon his return to Gotham.=20 =20 * * * * To the airport Sam - Thank you for letting me come. I just hope he'll be surprised. Alfred - I'm sure he will be, Ma'am. Pleasantly surprised. Sam - Good, when's his flight due. Alfred - We still have plenty of time. Sam - I hope he didn't get me anything, not that I don't appreciate it,=20 but most of his friends think I'm here for the money. When I met him=20 back at school I didn't even know he had any, until some of my friends=20 told me he did. I always wondered why he only hung around for a quarter=20 and a half, but now I know. Alfred - He moved around quite a bit in those days. Sam - Hm, hm. I'm so glad we kept in touch. God only knows what I'd be=20 doing if we hadn't have met up when we did. I could have killed my=20 parents for what they said to him. Alfred - I don't believe he paid much attention to that. Sam - I'm sure you're right, but still it was uncalled for. Alfred - Do you talk to them? Sam - . . .I talk to my brothers . . .should I get him something. Alfred - Your being there should be enough. She smiles. The rest of the drive is fairly silent.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D At the Airport Sam looks at one of the monitors listing all incoming flights. When she=20 and Alfred spot his flight they head to the gate listed. Several minutes later the plane pulls up. Slowly passengers begin to=20 unload. Alfred - Ma'am, I shall wait for the two of you at the luggage carosel. Sam - You don't have to. Alfred - (He smiles) I don't mind Ma'am. Sam - We won't daudle then. (she smiles) Sam moves to the back of the crowd and watches for him. After a few=20 minutes she spots him. He doesn't see her right away. Finally he looks=20 up and their eyes meet, he smiles. They start walking towards each other and meet halfway. He sets his=20 carry-on down. They wrap their arms around each other and hug. They move=20 apart slightly and kiss. They kiss for several minutes. Bruce - What are you doing here? Sam - I wanted to surprise you. Bruce - You certainly did that. Do you know how much I missed you? Sam - I think I can guess. Before someone else tells you, I wasn't at=20 the house. Bruce - (he smiles) I know, Alfred told me. Sam - I just couldn't stay at the house. Bruce - I know. Sam - Where is this big thing? Bruce - At the observatory. Sam - So we won't have guests at the house, good. Bruce - Where's Alfred? Sam - At the luggage carosel. Why don't we go meet him, then get=20 home before the others get here. Bruce - (he smiles) That's the best idea I've heard all day. They kiss again. He picks up his carry-on and they go to meet Alfred.=20 =20 * * * * prodigal son=92s return... Dick Grayson stuffed the remains of his scattered equipment into the=20 suitcase on the bed. He had finished his checkout at the hotel desk=20 downstairs, and was completing the task of packing his Nightwing costume=20 for the journey back to Gotham.=20 The evening before had been eventful. It seemed strange to be over an=20 unfamiliar city, but Nightwing felt unusually comfortable. Could it be=20 that without Batman's watchful eye, Nightwing was more confident in his=20 own abilities? After all, Dick wanted nothing more than to make Bruce proud. He wanted=20 to live up to every expectation his mentor had for him. And someday,=20 maybe even take up the mantle of the... Quickly, Dick chased the thought from his cluttered mind, unbelievingly=20 realizing the implications of such a thought. He could never replace=20 Bruce... Bruce was the best. That's why he needed to strike out on his=20 own. That was why he came to Clark months ago, deperate for direction=20 from the only other man he looked up to. That was why Nightwing was both=20 a testiment to Clark's Kryptonian folk hero legend, and to the Dark=20 Knight he had trained with for so long. Nightwing had faired well in Metropolis these past few days. After=20 tracking down a large shipment of illegal arms, he was finally able to=20 corner the head of a local Mafia family last evening, and giftwrapped=20 him for the MPD. Of course, this was Clark's city, so he didn't feel too=20 guilty this morning emailing Kent with a scoop from an "undisclosed=20 source." Dick closed the suitcase, and peared sullenly out of the hotel window.=20 The skyline was tinted a dark blue, with splashes of orange in the east,=20 as the birds signaled the coming of a new day. Before long, he'd be back=20 in Gotham.. facing Bruce... and Sam. He still was unsure as to how to deal with Sam. She had always been=20 sweet to him, always there when he needed her. But that did not change=20 that fact that deep down, Dick resented her. And he didn't know why. His thoughts went back to his time under the bigtop, with dad performing=20 on the highwire, as he watched in brighteyed awe. He could hear the=20 taunting of the other children in the background, shouting "Gypsy boy!",=20 teasing him for his dedication to his performance... just like his=20 father. But mom was always there... her soft blue eyes so like his own=20 probing him as she whispered "don't let them bother you, little robin...=20 you'll always be the best you can, and that's all we can ever ask of=20 you".=20 He did miss her... Again, he tried to push the thoughts aside, and concentrate on what=20 needed to be done. He would have to get back to the manor before Bruce,=20 in time to meet Clark. Lives depended on it, and he could not let them=20 down. All of them...=20 =20 * * * * 39,000 Feet The seat belt sign went off and the steward and stewardess started=20 passing out champange and food. Cat still pondered the nagging thing on=20 her mind about the Lexcorp jet headed for Gotham also. "God, what should=20 I do?" Cat said to thin air..."If I tell Clark and then Luthor just has=20 business in Gotham then I'll just be worrying Clark for nothing!" Cat=20 went to the galley to find a surprise package! "Steward!! Where did this=20 come from?" "Ms. Grant, it was delivered by messenger just before we took off, while=20 you were assisting passengers." Cat: "Did you inspect it for anything that should not be on an=20 aircraft?" Cat asked, trying not to get upset or upset the crew and the=20 passengers. Steward: "Yes, it did not have the signature of a bomb or anything like=20 that Ms. Grant." Cat: "Well, this is a relief!" Cat looked at the package, then Mayson=20 called her and she forgot about it...=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: 39,000 Feet / Mayson calls to Cat Mayson: "Cat, hey you need a glass of this fine vintage champagne!"=20 Mayson told her friend and took another sip of the fine, delicate=20 vintage! Cat: "Thanks Mayson, I'll have a small flute of champagne, I really need=20 all my wits about me when we land in Gotham!" Cat told the pretty DA!=20 Something in the back of Cat's mind was bothering her. She tried to=20 shake that feeling, but when she got so deep a preminission she was=20 never wrong. Cat to her self..."I just hope that Superman and Batman are close to the=20 ball, because something is going to happen, I can feel it in my very=20 soul." Cat went to her luggage to make sure that all of her necessary=20 emergency stuff was present and accounted for. "One never knows when a=20 little extra protection will be needed!" Cat said in a whisper to=20 herself... Maybe she would get a chance to ask Bruce Wayne or perhaps Dick Grayson=20 if Batman could be alerted about the weird things that had happened and=20 were still happening. Cat got a half a flute glass of champagne and decided to settle into her=20 first class seat and read her book titled: Martial arts greatest moves.=20 "Oh well at least my rib is healing and I've taped it up nice and tight,=20 just in case I need to kick some bad guy a......" Cat looked over at her fellow passengers and smiled, they were either=20 reading or chatting with each other, all having a nice time. Cat got out her recorder:"Memo to self, remind me to send father a huge=20 thank you present for allowing us to use the Grant jet." Cat clicked off=20 the recorder and decided to get some food.=20 =20 * * * * Back at the House Alfred pulls the car up in front of the house. Bruce helps Sam out of=20 the car. Alfred moves to the back of the car and starts pulling Bruce's=20 luggage from the trunk, it doesn't take long. Bruce and Sam each take one. Since that's all the luggage, Alfred goes=20 and puts the car away. Bruce and Sam walk into the house. Bruce sets what he's carrying down. Bruce - You can leave that. Sam - I'm fine, it's not that heavy. The one you were carrying must have=20 had the bat suit in it. Bruce smiles and moves over to her. He takes the suitcase from her hand=20 and sets it down. He wraps his arms around her neck and pulls her=20 closer. She wraps her arms around his neck. Bruce - When you're in Superman's hometown, you don't need the bat suit. Sam - So you didn't go out at night?" Bruce - Not once. Sam - If it was going to be that way, you should have let me come. Bruce - If you'd been there, I wouldn't have gotten any work done. After he finishes he pulls her to him and they start kissing. After a=20 couple of minutes, Barbara walks into the room. Barb - Nice to see you Bruce, welcome home. He slowly starts to pull away, as he does he he says, "Hmmmm?" The=20 kissing stops and he looks at Barbara. Barb - So how was the trip? Bruce - Productive. I think I was able to accomplish some of the=20 maneuvering I wanted to. Barb - In terms of what. Bruce - In terms of a certain man in that city, one Clark is always=20 warning me about. Barb - Oh, him. So how long will it take for him to find out? Bruce - (He smiles) Quite some time I hope, since I did it somewhat=20 anonymously. I had to go to great lengths to cover my tracks. Barb - Hadn't you better be careful? Bruce - I know some of what he's capable of. He knows very little of me=20 and if he under estimates me or Batman, that will be his, hopefully=20 fatal, mistake. Barb - I'm going out. Bruce - Clean up the bike when you're done. Barbara and Bruce both smile. She then walks out of the room. He looks=20 at Sam again. Bruce - Where were we? She moves closer to him Sam - Right about here. They start kissing again. Alfred then walks into the room. Alfred - Do you want me to bring those upstairs? They stop kissing. Bruce - No, we'll do it. He and Sam pick up the luggage and carry it upstairs, together. =20 * * * * The flight The book falls to the ground. Her arms go limp. Her head slumps forward=20 and falls on Clark's shoulders. It is Lois. She has fallen asleep while=20 reading her book. Clark knows that Lois hasn't been getting enough sleep=20 this week so he leaves her leaning on his shoulder. >tbc< * * * * Cat Checks on Pilots Cat entered the cabin and saw a horrible sight. The pilots were knocked=20 out, burned hands and face. She went out of the cabin to the galley to=20 get protective gear in case of an electrical short. Then went back to=20 check if they were alive. In the laps of both men were some sort of=20 games, hand held games charred, burned but still arching. Cat got the=20 rest of the crew in protective gear and then they removed the charred=20 games and put them in rubber containers and away from the bulkhead. Cat=20 asked the crew..."Did any of you see the pilots playing with these=20 games?" Crew: "They got them from that package you asked us about earlier!" Cat: "I told you not to let anyone around that until I gave the word." They got the injured men to first class and put them in reclining seats.=20 Then Cat went to the Cabin and hailed Gotham Airport: Mayday...Mayday...=20 this is Grant Industries Jet USG1863, Catherine Grant speaking we have a=20 situation!" "Gotham Tower, how may we assist you?" Cat: "Both pilots are injured, and we are flying by auto right now, I am=20 a licensed pilot and have logged in some hours on this jet but not=20 alone." Airport: "Do you need a pilot to talk to you from here?" Cat: "That would be greatly appreciated, also, I need to talk to a=20 doctor, but the pilot's have sustained burns and are knocked out we have=20 medical emergency packs onboard, but I need to know what to administer=20 to the patients!" Tower: "The doctor will be here shortly, Catherine, just keep them calm=20 and keep a watch on their blood pressure, breathing and pulse and heart=20 rate. Cat: "Will do, USG1863 out!" Tower: "Out" Cat went back to her crew and the injured. She picked up the wall=20 intercom and alerted her friends and co-worker's of the situation.=20 "Please everyone remain calm, I can fly this jet. We will be all right!" Cat walked back to the injured, Gotham Tower had the doctor on the line,=20 he told Cat and the crew which IV's to administer and how fast to start=20 the drip once the heperin lock was in the vein and taped down. Cat took=20 care of that , then went back to do a systems check on the flight panel=20 and other instruments, it looked like only the pilots were damaged in=20 that games fiasco. "I knew something was amiss, I just didn't realize how bad it was going=20 to be!" Cat told herself as she sat in the pilot's chair, hardly breathing,= =20 and those heavy gloves made it hard to touch the instruments like she=20 needed to, but she didn't dare take them off in case the panel had an=20 electrical=20 short. =20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat Checks on Pilots/Reassures All Cat finished her check and went to let Mayson, Clark, Lois, Jimmy, Lucy=20 and the others that all would be fine, the jet didn't seem to have any=20 shorts in it. "It looks like those hand-held games that the pilot's both=20 had in their laps were the culprits." Cat told her friends. "Any questions?" Cat asked and waited for someone to ask her a=20 question... =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat Checks on Pilots / Mayson ask... Mayson looked at Cat and asked..."Did you say that you are going to fly=20 the jet?" Cat: "Yes, I am a licensed pilot and I will fly this jet, right now we=20 are on auto pilot and I need to get back to the cockpit and be ready for=20 when we land in Gotham." Cat told Mayson and the others and then turned=20 and walked down the aisle back to the pilot's seat. She looked at her=20 fuel gauges, the altimeter and the horizon everything still checking=20 out. Engines running smoothly. Everything checking out o-kay. Cat: "Just a normal day in the life of Cat Grant!" Cat told herself.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Cat Checks on Pilots Clark is stirred from reading his book when he hears some frantic voices=20 coming from the cockpit. He uses his x-ray vision to check on the=20 pilots. Clark sees the horrible sight but he also notices Cat=20 administering IVs and flying the plane on auto. He doesn't want to alarm=20 Lois who is peacefully sleeping on his arm, so he decides to stay put.=20 If Cat needs his help then he will help her, but not until she asks. >tbc< * * * * Up Stairs After they walk into his bedroom, they set the luggage down and look at=20 each other. Sam - Are we going to put this stuff away? Bruce - No, Alfred can do it later. Sam - He does so much around her, it won't take us too long. He moves closer to her. Bruce - No, it will take too long right now. If we do it we can take=20 care of it later. Sam - Bruce? He moves right to her. They wrap their arms around each other and start=20 kissing. Together they start walking over to the bed. Bruce - (Between kisses, he says) God, I missed you. Sam - Hm, hm. Together they lay down on the bed, running their hands all over each=20 other. They roll around on the bed. He rolls on top of her and stops=20 kissing her for a minute. He puts his hand on her cheek. Bruce - Next time I go on one of those trips, I'm taking you with me. Sam - Sounds like fun. They start kissing again. =20 =20 * * * * Cat flying Grant Ind. Jet USG1863 Catherine Grant sat in the pilot's chair, feeling more confident after=20 the check list and equipment checked out.=20 Cat: "Gotham Tower, this is Grant Industries Flight USG1863, Cat Grant=20 here how is the weather holding on your end?" Tower: "Weather sunny and clear with a slight wind. How are you holding=20 up there?" Cat: "Fine, equipment checks out okay, and the injured pilots are=20 stable, but their burns look to be second to third degree in some areas.=20 I have administered the IV's and pain meds the doctor RXed and we just=20 have to get them on the ground and to the hospital!" Tower: "We have ambulances waiting to take the two injured to the=20 hospital and also the bomb unit to take those *weird* games for=20 examination!" Cat: "Thanks Gotham for your assistance... Catherine Grant out..." Tower: "Welcome Miss Grant...Tower out..." Cat sat back in her seat and watched the clouds go by, she noticed=20 another jet a few thousand feet to her right, it was a large carrier she=20 couldn't make out the tail sign but she knew it wasn't military it=20 definitely was commercial. Cat called the head steward for some juice and to ask the status of the=20 patients and the passengers. Steward: "Patients are still stable, and=20 the passengers are doing much better, after I told them that you have=20 flown many a sortie over the Desert..." Cat: "You did what?????" Cat interrupted the steward, who told you I was=20 in the desert?" Steward: "I am so sorry Ms. Grant, but your father mentioned it one time=20 when he was on board how proud he was of his pilot daughter doing her=20 bit in the desert for Uncle Sam..." Cat: "Oh, well... I don't talk about that much and anyway, it wasn't=20 much, I just did my duty." Steward: "Yes maam..." Gave Cat her juice and left the cockpit. Catherine sat in the pilot's seat...flashbacks of heavy=20 aic...aic...Remembering the smell of heavy arterial fire and the sound=20 of bombs exploding...smart bombs, the smell of oil burning... "Ohh Cat=20 better to forget the bad and remember the flying experience." "But how can one forget losing dear friends and troops in a senseless=20 attack on their barracks?" "Cat get a grip, this isn't the time!" Cat sipped the juice and thought to herself..."I wonder how Superman=20 handles not being able to get there in time?" Tears flowed down her face=20 she was really really quit, faces flashing before her; the hero's and=20 heroine's of a conflict won but at what price?" Cat wiped away the tears=20 and checked through her flight checklist and landing checklist again and=20 again.=20 =20 * * * * Email to Parents (from plane) Hi Mom and Dad! I'm sorta bored so I'm sending you this email from the plane. Superman=20 has to take a vacation. I'm going to Gotham (which is Batman territory)=20 and I feel a little weird about *flashing red cape* there, if you know=20 what I mean. But I still have the suit in my travel bag, just in case. Lois yet again is using my shoulder as her pillow. She seems to like it!=20 LOL! This just proves my point that Lois is so wrapped up in her work=20 that she doesn't get enough sleep. Then when she does get sleep she=20 misses the exciting things, like Cat Grant flying the plane! There's no=20 need to be alarmed, Cat believe it or not is a trained pilot! Who would=20 of thought! =3D) I just hope that Lois can have fun on this trip and not=20 focus on work too much. Hopefully she will let me show her how to have a=20 little fun... I love you guys I will talk to you when I get back home, to=20 Metropolis of course! ;) Love, Clark=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Email to Parents (from plane) Clark, Your mom is sleeping so I am replying to your email. Its been a long day=20 on the farm so she was too tired to reply Why is Cat flying the plane? Is everything all right?=20 Well things are good here so no need to worry about us. We are looking=20 forward to visiting with you next weekend, if it is still ok with you. I=20 mean only if you are not too busy. Well I hope this weekend goes well so you don't have to "flash the cape"=20 in Gotham. Tell Lois that we say hi. We love you Your Dad Jonathan=20 * * * * Lois wakes up! "Hmmm.." Lois moaned as she ran her fingers across a very fleshy=20 surface. She touched what felt like shirt buttons and she shot straight=20 out of her chair. "Oh my god!" Clark: "Hi, Lois. Did you have a nice nap?" Lois: "Why oh why, do I find myself falling asleep in your arms?" Clark: "Hmmm.. I dunno.. Maybe it's because you like it? " Lois: "Oh god... I think I need a drink!" She gets up out of her chair and walks toward the airplane bar. Clark=20 chuckles to himself as he watches her walk off.=20 =20 * * * * Clark checks on Cat While Lois is hanging out at the bar, Clark walks into the cockpit.=20 Clark: "I couldn't help but overhear the chaos that was going on in here=20 about a half an hour ago. I just wanted to make sure everything was=20 okay. Oh my god!" He looks at the charred remains of the games and the burns on the=20 pilots. Clark: "I know you probably have this completely under control, but=20 would it be okay if i send some of these samples to Dr. Klein? Dr. Klein=20 is pretty bored back at home, so this will really make his day. And who=20 knows maybe this is connected to the attacks made on both you and Lois!" Cat turns to see Clark and answers him: "Yes Clark everything is under=20 control for the moment. But we may have a problem with the landing gear,=20 it may need to be deployed manually. Do you think you could help my head=20 steward to do this if it is necessary?" Cat looks up at her fellow=20 reporter and friend and asks... She can see concern written all over his=20 face. Cat: "Oh and Clark, that is a good idea to get some of the game remains=20 to Dr. Klein since he has dealt with *weird science* before!! Thanks for=20 suggesting him!" Cat tells Clark and winks at him! Cat: "Uh how is Lois taking the news that I am now the pilot?" Cat=20 couldn't help but chuckle at the look Clark gave her... Clark : "Well, she doesn't exactly know yet!" he laughed uncomfortably=20 as he gathered some of the evidence in a plastic bag. "I'm hoping she=20 will NEVER find out because she would completely freak if she knew that=20 you were flying the plane. No offense to you though Cat. Forunately, I=20 learned how to fly a plane from a pilot in London. So yes I can help you=20 when it is time to land," he smiles. Clark picks up the bag and ties it off. "Okay I'm going to give this sample to Superman and then he can drop it=20 off at Star Labs." =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Clark checks on Cat / Thanks : CK Cat: "Well Clark I think as long as you can keep the situation secret=20 from Lois the better...No offense but she can get pretty wound-up when=20 she is frightened!" Cat replied to Clark. Clark had gathered evidence=20 and placed in into an evidence bag to give to Superman. "Clark, thanks=20 again for taking that sample of the games to get Superman to fly to Dr.=20 Klein." Cat looked down at her horizon and altimeter, still cruising at=20 39,000 feet.... "Life is goood!" Cat said to herself and smiled as Clark=20 left the Cockpit!=20 =20 * * * * Re: Lois wakes up! / Mayson at bar!!! Mayson Drake was at the bar when the perky reporter Lois Lane stepped up=20 to get a drink. Mayson was talking to herself as usual when she drinks. Mayson: "I am never taking a jet or plane again as long as I live! Every=20 time I take an airplane something happens!" The pretty blonde DA told=20 herself, she turned saw Lois, raised her glass. "Salute!" Mayson drank=20 the shot of tequila down really, really, fast... then took a lime wedge=20 and bit down on it..."God!, how does Cat have the strength to handle=20 this crisis? She is tough as nails, tough as nails!" Mayson ordered=20 another drink..=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Lois wakes up! / Mayson at bar!!! Lois drank her first shot and then she ordered another shot of tequila. Lois: "You know Mayson.. (hiccup) I never really understood why the heck=20 you.. what you ever.. um ever saw in Clark! (hiccup) I mean the guy's a=20 leech! He never wants to leave you alone...Now Superman..=20 Super(hiccip)man he.. he's a different story. That man could follow me=20 to the edge of the earth.." Lois puts her glass down and stumbles back. Lois: "I don't feel so good.. (hiccup, hiccup)" She comments as she=20 stumbles away from the bar and starts walking down the aisle. Mayson: "Well Lois it's like this, he is very goodlooking, he has a nice=20 smile and he is considerate, and a loyal friend. Besides, I see him in a=20 different way than you do...You see him as your partner, I see him as a=20 man, and a friend and I respect him." Mayson told Lois as she downed her=20 last shot and stumbled back down the aisle. Mayson to self: "They broke the mold on Olympus when Clark Kent was=20 born. Not even Superman can hold a candle to the kind strength that is=20 Clark Kent!" Mayson looked sad as she said this to herself because she=20 knew that the wonderful and loyal friend she had just described would=20 remain her friend. "Oh well we can't have everything!" Jerry: "Excuse me bartender I need a whiskey next please!" Jerry looked=20 at Mayson realizing she was the DA!!! Sweat breaking out on his forehead=20 as he remembered his felony days, but good behavior had landed him out=20 of jail early. "But she is a pretty DA!" Jerry said to himself as he=20 looked at Mayson's beautiful hair and long slender legs...=20 Would he get up the courage to speak to Mayson, only time will tell.....=20 =20 * * * * Perry checks on Cat Perry White unglued his wife's hand from his and patted it..."Alice hon,=20 I'll be right back, I need to talk to Cat and I'll have Jerry bring you=20 a drink to calm your nerves!" Alice looked at Perry and nodded. Perry=20 turned to Jerry and asked him to get his mother a shot of Irish Whiskey,=20 neat! Then he went to where Cat was in the Cockpit. "Cat, Hon can I do anything to help?" "Perry, yes you can be the glue that keeps all these people from=20 panicing, you know one of the Generals that I was under during that=20 conflict in the desert so I know that you are well aware that I can fly=20 this toy after flying those big boys!" Cat smiled and reassured her boss. Perry: "Great shades of Elvis, of course you can, you are a Grant and you=20 are Daily Planet family and we are a tough breed!" Cat: "Thanks Perry, now go and encourage the others!" Cat smiled and=20 gave him the thumbs up sign!!!!=20 =20 * * * * Observation Jimmy watched the scene unfold in front of him in disbelief, and in=20 horror as Lois stumbled down the aisle, tripping over everything in her=20 path. "Luce," he hissed, gently shaking his sleeping date's shoulder.=20 When Lucy had woken up enough to understand him, he whispered, "Lois is=20 drunk! And it's not even ten o' clock!" and gestured to the normally=20 classy reporter with his head. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Observation As Lucy sat up she looked at Lois.... "Well, thats not something you see everyday! Although, I must say it is=20 about time Lois had a little fun in her life!" She says to Jimmy while=20 looking at the obviously drunk Lois. Lucy looks back at Jimmy, and smiles at him. As she yawns, she closes=20 her eyes once again, to fall back into sleep on Jimmy's shoulder.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Observation ***Heh,*** Jimmy thought as Lucy nestled herself on his shoulder -- not=20 a bad thing in any way, shape or form -- and fell asleep again. ***Lois=20 had better be careful, or she'll have all of her fun before we even get=20 to Gotham and won't have any left over for the ball. I wonder what CK=20 thinks of his drunk date?*** He looked at Lucy again. ***I'm glad Luce=20 is here, and totally sober...*** Jimmy gently put his arm around his=20 date and flicked through a photography magazine as Lucy slept on, and=20 her sister proceeded to embarrass herself on the other end of the=20 plane...=20 =20 * * * * Cat tired!!! Cat yawned and stretched in the pilot's chair, it had been a long=20 morning and it wasn't over yet. "Maybe I need a bottle of spring water!"=20 Cat called the Steward and ordered a bottle of water.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Look for the fourth installment coming soon to a computer near you! Enjoy! =3D) Alexis ;-.) {ADITLOM, arbitrator} =20