From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG0008A" ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:30:44 -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: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (1/7) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 TITLE: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (Learning Curves II) (2/7) AUTHOR: Chris Carr (c.carr@virgin.net) RATING: PG-13, mostly for violence (but please don=92t let that put you off)= . FEEDBACK: Comments welcome privately or via the fanfic mailing list SUMMARY: When Nigel St John receives an unexpected job offer he begins to question his relationship with his employer, Lex Luthor. An alternative look at part of Lois and Clark=92s first season, set in the universe created= in Learning Curves. ********************* Friday 18 November 1993 ********************* St John looked at the table setting with a critical eye. He reached out and= shifted one of the forks just a millimetre across to the left. Then he picked up a wine glass and held it up against the light to check that it was= polished to spotless perfection. As he put the finishing touches to the setting he smiled a slightly knowing smile, recognising Luthor=92s pattern o= f behaviour of old: even if the invitation had its origins in his desire for information, Luthor was nonetheless planning for a perfectly orchestrated seduction. Luthor, when he tired of a woman, had no compunction about dropping her in the most callous ways imaginable. St John had heard, just that day, how Luthor had put down that Miranda woman. "You were an itch," Luthor had said. "You=92ve been scratched." St John was therefore fully cognisant of the fact that, with Miranda no longer on the scene, Luthor had a vacancy in his harem. Lois Lane was, judging from all the signs, going to be his next conquest. Although he was callous and careless of those who no longer held any appeal for him, Luthor=92s objects of desire were treated with extravagant courtesy= for as long as his interest lasted and, as a venue for seduction, the penthouse had proven its worth countless times before. When he set his mind= to it, Luthor, St John knew, could make any woman feel as though she was the= single most precious person in the world. Lois Lane wouldn=92t stand a chance, St John thought. Luthor=92s women neve= r did. ***** Given the certainty of his predictions, St John was taken aback by the way the evening progressed. In his role of butler, waiting on the diners or standing alert in the shadows until he was needed again, St John witnessed the sorry occasion in its entirety; he watched and listened with a kind of appalled fascination as events unfolded. Not only did Luthor completely forget to raise the question of the rock, he also allowed his normally refined lines to give way to a more clumsy monologue. Forced to watch Luthor overplay his hand again and again, St John found himself rolling his eyes in disgust behind his employer=92s back. St John had sometimes wondered if Luthor=92s choice of bed-mates was a resul= t of a deep-seated need to prove something to himself. From what little St John had managed to glean of Luthor=92s background, he knew that the billionaire had worked hard to transcend his modest beginnings. He surrounded himself with the best and most expensive of everything, not because he particularly wanted the objects in question, but simply because he could. His choice of women seemed to be part and parcel of a more general attitude. Luthor had a predilection for beautiful women, but they were also invariably free-thinking individuals, blessed with undeniable intelligence: Gretchen Kelly was a doctor with a reputation for being a talented researcher, Antoinette Baines had been a rocket scientist and Miranda =96 his latest cast-off =96 was a gifted chemist, even if she did ch= oose to fritter away her talents on frivolities such as perfume. St John suspected that the appeal they held for Luthor lay as much in the challenge he faced when he sought to vanquish their ability to think independently of him as it did in the physical pleasure they afforded him. And now here was Lois Lane, star reporter. Always the flatterer, Luthor=92s compliments were usually carefully paced throughout the meal. Moreover they were normally interspersed with cunningly contrived small talk designed to demonstrate an interest in the woman=92s mind as well as her body. But Luthor, tonight, wasn=92t bothering= to comment on her skills as a journalist. For once he was commenting solely on= her physical attributes and thereby was demonstrating the shallowness he usually managed to hid behind a shroud of small talk. Luthor=92s poor behaviour rose in a crescendo of compliments, blatant innuendo and then outright suggestion as the meal proceeded. As the asparagus spears were placed in front of them, Luthor said, leaning in across the table in order to get a closer look, "Your eyes. I=92ve never= noticed your eyes before." St John watched from the shadows as Lois ducked her head and twin spots of flushed embarrassed popped up on her cheeks. She tried to cover her blush by toying with her food. She nibbled daintily at her fork before she protested weakly, "Stop... You=92re embarrassing me." Perhaps she really was embarrassed, St John thought, but he was nonetheless sure that Lois was pleased by the comments. After all, all women liked to be told how desirable they were from time to time. Luthor ignored Lois=92s words. "Your hands... just so graceful. So delicat= e. Like fine porcelain." Lois lifted her gaze once more. The delicate expression of pleasure she=92d= worn moments before segued into the faintest of concerned frowns. She said,= "You=92re acting very strangely tonight, Lex." St John found himself mentally nodding in agreement. Lex Luthor was not one of nature=92s fools, but his current behaviour was decidedly foolish. Again Lois=92s words washed unheeded over Luthor=92s head. More than simply= ignoring her, it was as if she hadn=92t even spoken. "You are the most beautiful creature I=92ve ever seen," Luthor said. Something in Lois=92s expression told St John that Luthor had already gone t= oo far. Lois might have received Luthor=92s initial admiration with pleasure b= ut his words were no longer being met with a smile. Rather Lois was looking slightly uncomfortable, and the confident ease she had displayed upon her arrival was giving way to a more wary stiffness. She was, St John suspected, preparing herself to parry the advances that she obviously expected to follow. Even if Luthor could not see it for himself, St John already knew that Lois wasn=92t interested in Lex in anything other than a business capacity, a view that was confirmed by her next words. "Lex," Lois= said, "you invited me here, offering me an interview. Perhaps we could make= a start? I was wondering=97" Luthor, as oblivious to Lois=92s body language as to her words, continued showering her with compliments, cutting through her words and thereby forcing Lois into silence. St John placed the main course =96 perfectly cooked salmon steaks with an assortment of baby vegetables =96 in front of Luthor and Lois, retreated bac= k into his corner and continued to follow the one-sided conversation. What little taste and judgement Luthor had used in his selection of compliments during the first course gave way to a less restrained litany of comments. Moreover his words were beginning to slur. If St John hadn=92t known how little Luthor had drunk during the evening, he would have sworn that Luthor was suffering from the effects of too much alcohol. "Your breasts," he said. "So perfectly rounded... I imagine them like two scoops of vanilla ice-cream topped with cherries." He propped his head on his chin as he gazed in Lois=92s general direction with something akin to wonder. Lois=92s comment, "That=92s a rather forward thing to say to someone you=92v= e barely met. It could be misinterpreted as... misguided interest?" went unheeded. "Like two mountains of latent pleasure waiting to be explored." "Okay, already! I get the picture. You don=92t have to go on!" It was then that Lois lost interest in her food. From that moment she did little more than push the fish around her plate. She eyed Luthor out of the= corner of her eyes and glanced down at her purse a couple of times. St John= knew that she was weighing up her options and working out whether or not she= could leave. He wondered fleetingly what had kept her here this long. A misplaced notion of politeness? He doubted it; St John knew of her reputation and was aware that she could be caustically outspoken if she so chose. A reluctance to give up on the story she had hoped to get? Possibly. Or a fear that if she left now she would never again be offered the same level of access to the billionaire? That seemed the most likely explanation to St John. After all, she had worked for months to get this close to Luthor; who knew how long it would take her to get to this position= again? As St John cleared away the debris of the main course, he saw Luthor reach out a hand in the general direction of Lois=92s cleavage. Lois batted it aw= ay before it reached his target. "Right," said Lois. "That=92s it! I=92ve had enough! I=92m leaving!" She= pushed her chair back, picked up her purse and moved to stand. "Sit down," Lex cajoled her. "Where are you going? We haven=92t had desser= t. Although, I suppose we could save dessert for later... You haven=92t seen the bedroom yet, have you?" "Lex..." said Lois, a hint of danger tingeing her voice. The desert, coming at that moment, was designed to amaze and St John could see Lois force herself to resist its siren song. "Chocolate!" she breathed.= "I love chocolate!" "I know you do," slurred Luthor. "It=92s jus=92 one of the many things I kn= ow =92bout you. You love choc=92late, Lois. Tha=92s why I had Chef Pierre =96= or was it Chef Antoine, or Felipe, or Boris? I don=92t rem=92ber for sure =96 make= this. Jus=92 for you, my dear." Lois stared at Luthor. "So," she said scathingly, "you can hear what I=92m saying. I suppose you do realise that=92s the first time you=92ve bothered = to reply to anything I=92ve said since I arrived and said, =91Hello, Lex. How = are you?=92" Luthor watched with unfocused eyes as she continued. "Well, since you=92re actually listening to me, hear this! I=92m leaving. = Now. Maybe we can reschedule the interview for a time when you=92re in your righ= t mind." "No, Lois! Please... Don=92t leave me! The bed is made up and=97" "Bed?! I=97" Lois=92s mouth flailed open for a few moments before she mana= ged to frame a coherent sentence. "I=92ve tried my darnedest to be tactful this= evening, but clearly you wouldn=92t recognise tact if you walked into it, so= this time let me be blunt. If you thought all those lousy lines you=92ve us= ed on me this evening would earn you bed rights, you are a bigger fool than I ever gave you credit for. Even if I wasn=92t seeing someone, I wouldn=92t=97= " "You=92re... you=92re seeing someone? Lois, you wound me!" Luthor=92s eyes= grew wide, almost like saucers as he mimed in an unsteady and exaggerated manner plunging a dagger into his heart. "Who is it? Who stands between us and our love?" "Oh!" said Lois in disgust. "There=92s no getting through to you, is there?= Okay, let me spell this out as clearly as I can." She took a deep breath, crossed her arms across her chest and said, enunciating each syllable clearly, "Lex. If I was in the market for an affair =96 and I mean this in the nicest possible way =96 *I wouldn=92t want to have it with you!* Have y= ou got that?" Then, not waiting for an answer to her question, she turned to face St John and said, "Could you call me a cab, please?" Luthor, apparently resigning himself to the inevitable, said, "Nigel will take you home," before he slumped down into his chair and abruptly passed out. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:37:15 -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: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (1/7)(really) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 First, I have to say oops. The other message (1/7) should be (2/7). Sorry about that. All I can say is that I'm too tired to be doing this right now!= TITLE: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (Learning Curves II) (1/7) AUTHOR: Chris Carr (c.carr@virgin.net) RATING: PG-13, mostly for violence (but please don=92t let that put you off)= . FEEDBACK: Comments welcome privately or via the fanfic mailing list SUMMARY: When Nigel St John receives an unexpected job offer he begins to question his relationship with his employer, Lex Luthor. An alternative look at part of Lois and Clark=92s first season, set in the universe created= in Learning Curves. Introduction: This story is set in the same continuity as Learning Curves. It is, however, very different and should probably carry warnings both for its darkness and complete lack of WAFFs. While I realise that a story told entirely from the point of view of the villains won=92t appeal to many people, I hope it will nonetheless be worth taking time to read it; the main purpose of this piece is to provide background material for both what has happened in Learning Curves and for what is going to occur in Learning Curves III: Discoveries. I suppose Love,= Loyalty and Luthor could be considered as being an excessively long teaser for what is to come. (BTW, Discoveries most certainly will contain at least a few WAFFs and, like= the original story, will be written entirely from Lois and Clark=92s points = of view.) ********************* Tuesday 1 February 1994 ********************* Nigel St John put the telephone handset back in its cradle and let his fingers linger against the white plastic for a moment longer than was strictly necessary. The call had been interesting to say the least. And it= had been tempting, he conceded silently. Very tempting indeed. He sighed softly as he drifted over to a sideboard laden with decanters, bottles and cut-glass tumblers. After a moment=92s thought he selected a ma= lt whisky and poured himself a generous measure. Then he moved over to one of the windows. Sipping the whisky and enjoying the fire as it slid down his throat, he took in the view. Although not quite as spectacular as the view from Luthor=92s penthouse balcony, two floors above, the view from St John=92s apartment was nonethele= ss spectacular. On a clear day, St John could see across Metropolis=92s centra= l business district over to Suicide Slum, Hobbs Bay and the Atlantic beyond. The distance often helped him think, enabling him to put weighty issues into= perspective. Today, however, leaden clouds were releasing a steady downpour= over the city, cutting visibility to a minimum. Perhaps that helped to explain why he couldn=92t sort his thoughts into any sensible order, why he couldn=92t make a decision as to what to do for the best. St John took a larger gulp than he intended of liquid flame and barely suppressed the instinctive shudder he felt as it catch in his throat. Betrayal wasn=92t a new concept to St John but it was one that he thought he= =92d put behind him when, seven years ago, he=92d allowed his loyalty to be bough= t by Lex Luthor. For most of that time the two men had rubbed along together,= if not as friends precisely, then certainly as confidantes. Knowing where each other=92s skeletons were buried had helped to engender a level of trust= between them as little else could have done. St John=92s next sip was more circumspect than the last. After all this time, he mused, Luthor was probably closer to him than any other person alive, their relationship transcending that of employer and employee. St John=92s job description was nebulous, his duties varying from= body-guard to assassin to butler to general factotum depending upon Luthor=92= s whim at any given moment in time. Luthor relied upon him as much as he ever= allowed himself to rely on anyone; the only other person with whom Luthor shared such a close relationship was his manservant, Asabi. The closeness St John and Luthor shared had to count for something, St John thought. So, why was he even considering going freelance again? He shook his head fractionally; how could he seriously think about Jeremiah Jopling=92= s offer? How could he even contemplate breaking the exclusivity pact he had with his current employer? But that was precisely what he was doing. St John drained the tumbler and, rejecting the notion of pouring himself another drink, put it to one side. Folding both hands behind his back, he returned to his contemplation of the city. It suddenly occurred to him that a year, six months, or even as little as three months ago, he would have dismissed Jopling=92s idea out of hand. Tha= t thought, coming as it did out of nowhere, was shocking on two counts. First, St John, who had often prided himself on his lack of a conscience, was now finding that non-existent conscience was troubling him. Second, something must have happened to upset the delicate balance of his relationship with Luthor. He had not been consciously aware of the shift happening, but now, realising that it had, nonetheless, occurred, St John closed his eyes and tried to recapture the moment when it had happened. His thoughts drifted to a day just a few months ago. Unmemorable at the time, St John now found the conversation he=92d had with Luthor on that particular occasion to be remarkable because it was one of the last times that he could recall Luthor as being entirely focused upon his empire-building strategies. ********************* Tuesday 16 November 1993 ********************* "Lois Lane has written a rather splendid expose on our friend Mantel," Luthor said as he lowered the paper just enough to allow him to look at St John. Two pairs of eyes reflected wry amusement at each other. St John, who had also read the article, acknowledged that it was a splendid piece of writing, even if its author had got most of the details wrong. The exchange seemed to trigger a desire on Luthor=92s part to share his thoughts. He shook the paper, straightening the pages before he folded it and put it to one side. Reflectively he said, "It=92s a pity Mantel didn=92= t manage to get that blood sample for us. I=92d have liked to know what makes= Big Blue tick. Still, at least Lois Lane didn=92t work out what Mantel was really doing in the hospital. I would have hated for her activity to have been traced back to us. Much better that everyone thinks it was a pointless= tabloid stunt, don=92t you think?" "Oh, indeed," agreed St John. "It says in the Planet," Luthor said in the same tone of voice that he might= have used to discuss the weather, "that Mantel committed suicide. That she hung herself while in police custody." St John didn=92t bother to comment. Luthor nodded fractionally. "One day you will have to tell me how she did that, Nigel." "Sir," St John agreed insincerely, knowing that he would never share his trade secrets with his employer. Luthor stood up and walked over to the balustrade of the penthouse=92s balcony. He placed both hands on its edge and drank in the view of the city= below. Nigel followed him, coming to a stop a respectful distance away, and= waited for Luthor to speak again. "It=92s a pity we don=92t know more about that rock," Luthor finally said, h= is tone thoughtful, referring to an item that had appeared =96 also under Lois Lane=92s by-line =96 in the Daily Planet just a couple of days before. It had been a compelling piece, St John remembered, describing how Lois had been kidnapped by men from a mysterious government agency =96 Bureau 39 =96 = and had been held in a small lead-lined cell in a disused furniture warehouse. When Superman had tried to rescue her, he had been struck down by a mysterious illness, allegedly poisoned by a rock that had subsequently disappeared. Luthor suddenly turned to face St John and said, "Is Lois Lane still pestering my office for that one on one interview she wanted?" "I believe so, yes," said St John, doing his best to keep his expression bland but not quite succeeding in his endeavours to hide his surprise at the= change of topic. "Good. I think I=92ll invite her over to dinner." "Sir?" said St John. Luthor had resisted Lois=92s determined efforts to interview him for months. St John didn=92t understand why his master would choose to change his mind now. Luthor smiled faintly and took pity on St John, whose confusion was now obvious. "I want to know what she didn=92t write about that rock, so maybe = an exchange of information is called for." St John nodded, suddenly understanding and approving of Luthor=92s thought processes. "I=92ll see to it directly, sir." ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:38:34 -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: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (3/7) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 TITLE: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (Learning Curves II) (3/7) AUTHOR: Chris Carr (c.carr@virgin.net) RATING: PG-13, mostly for violence (but please don=92t let that put you off)= . FEEDBACK: Comments welcome privately or via the fanfic mailing list SUMMARY: When Nigel St John receives an unexpected job offer he begins to question his relationship with his employer, Lex Luthor. An alternative look at part of Lois and Clark=92s first season, set in the universe created= in Learning Curves. ********************* Saturday 19 November 1993 ********************* Luthor flicked his wrist to send a hundred dollar bill into the flames of his open fire. St John paused on the threshold of the room and watched with numb fascination. No matter that the amounts his employer was wasting were insignificant in terms of his immense wealth, this was abnormal behaviour for a man who set great importance upon the accumulation of riches. Something, St John deduced, was definitely amiss. "I say," Nigel said, deliberately keeping his tone light, "is everything all= right?" "No, Nigel," Luthor replied sombrely. "Something terrible=92s happened. Something... catastrophic." St John watched as yet another bill was lost to the fire. In an attempt to determine what had prompted this uncharacteristic behaviour St John probed further, "The collapse of the world financial markets?" The question was met with a wry chuckle. "No, Nigel. Something worse. Far= worse." Luthor sighed as he stepped away from the fire place, turning his back to St John as he proceeded to make his confession. "Not like you. Or any normal person perhaps... but in my own perverted way I=92ve... I=92ve succumbed. I=92ve... fallen in love. Hopelessly. Eternally." Luthor turn= ed back to face St John, evidently curious to see what the Englishman=92s reaction would be. "It=92s the perfume. Your mind=92s clouded," said St John, letting only the tiniest fraction of his consternation show. "No, Nigel," said Luthor. "I=92m really in love with her. I=92m doomed." St John had never before done anything to try to discourage Luthor from upsetting established relationships, but his employer=92s unrequited love no= w added a new variable into the equation. St John was loyal enough to Luthor to have no concern over Lois Lane=92s well-being. He was, however, duty bou= nd to do what he could to protect his employer=92s interests so he found himsel= f compelled to ask, trying to inject some reality into Luthor=92s dreams, "You= are aware she=92s seeing someone, aren=92t you?" "Yes. Kent. But I=92m certain it=92s not serious. It won=92t last. You s= aw the way she kissed Superman earlier, at the airfield. He may have been affected= by the pheromone spray, but Lois certainly wasn=92t. Somehow I don=92t thin= k she was thinking about Kent then, do you?" St John, remembering the kiss he= had witnessed from the car, had to admit that Luthor had a point. "So I=92d= say that she can be pretty flexible when she chooses to be. She=92ll come round to my way of thinking, given time. And encouragement." "Do you really think so?" "Yes, Nigel. I do." "So, how do you intend to encourage her, sir?" "I=92ll woo her, of course, Nigel. I=92ll give her time to forget about las= t night=92s debacle, then I will woo her. Shower her with gifts and flowers."= Luthor lapsed into silence as an incongruous dreamy expression settled on his face. St John, feeling strangely out of his depth, hovered for a few moments, waiting to see if Luthor would say anything further. When he did not, St John asked, "Is there anything else you need tonight?" "No," said Luthor. "You can go." St John watched Luthor slightly uneasily for a moment longer then said tentatively, "Good night then, sir." Luthor nodded fractionally. "Good night, Nigel." ***** St John=92s guns were beautiful and he maintained them carefully. After leaving Luthor, St John descended to his own apartment, got them out, and began the task of cleaning them. The guns had been used many times and, because they were evidence of crimes too numerous to count, St John knew that he took risks by keeping them. Sometimes, when he was being logical, St John would consider disposing of them lest they ever be found and traced back to him. But as soon as the thought took form he would dismiss it because he treasured them and cared for them as much =96 if not more =96 as Luthor treasured any of his priceles= s objets d=92art. More than that, though, they carried with them memories of jobs done. The guns were mementoes =96 trophies =96 of St John=92s kills. = They were part of him. St John sat at his kitchen counter and polished the barrel of one of his rifles, caressing it with the kind of light touch that men usually reserved only for beautiful women or fast cars. He then proceeded to oil the gun=92s= mechanism, regarding it with obvious affection before moving on to the next one. With his hands thus occupied in tasks which had become so automatic over time that the activities required only minimal concentration, he allowed his thoughts to wander. Inevitably he found them drifting to the scene in Luthor=92s smoking room. = St John had no problems with the undeniable fact that Luthor was promiscuous by= nature or that Luthor found pleasure in sex. Even though Nigel got his pleasure from more unusual activities, he could nonetheless recognise that Luthor=92s appetites occasionally transcended physical desire and metamorphosed into imperatives that had to be fulfilled no matter what. However, Luthor had never shown any real signs of having genuine affection for his partners; any emotional attachment he had professed had invariably been a sham. But tonight had been different. The thought that Luthor might be in love, that he might seek to inject meaning into a relationship, disturbed St John in a way that he did not understand. St John disassembled a pistol with nimble fingers and began the cleaning process again. Had Luthor shared his confession with Lois herself, St John would have dismissed it as so much play acting. That Luthor had seen fit to share his own unease with St John forced St John take more seriously the notion that Luthor was indeed falling under Lois=92s spell than he would otherwise have done; Luthor had nothing to gain from letting St John know his thoughts. So, St John decided, Luthor, at the very least, was under the impression that he was falling in love. St John found the reality of it harder to accept; love was not an emotion with which Luthor had a great deal of experience. Maybe =96 even probably =96 Luthor had misinterpreted his feeli= ngs. Maybe Luthor had confused some transitory feeling for something more enduring; maybe his current interest in Lois was a temporary aberration that= would quickly pass. St John reassembled the last of the guns, put it back in his gun cabinet, and locked it away. Maybe Luthor=92s current preoccupation was, as St John had suggested, the si= de effect of having been exposed to Miranda=92s blasted pheromone compound. St= John hoped it was as simple as that because the thought that anything might upset the equilibrium of their relationship filled him with unease. ********************* Tuesday 1 February 1994 ********************* St John=92s eyes blinked open as, with a flash of intuition, his mind was filled with the image of dark hair, brown eyes, a slender figure and a full mouth that talked too much. Lois Lane had, indeed, upset the equilibrium of= his relationship with Luthor. Having made the connection to Lois, it was easy to trace more of Luthor=92s odd behaviour. There had been that strange incident with the bunker for example... ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:39:40 -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: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (4/7) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 TITLE: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (Learning Curves II) (4/7) AUTHOR: Chris Carr (c.carr@virgin.net) RATING: PG-13, mostly for violence (but please don=92t let that put you off)= . FEEDBACK: Comments welcome privately or via the fanfic mailing list SUMMARY: When Nigel St John receives an unexpected job offer he begins to question his relationship with his employer, Lex Luthor. An alternative look at part of Lois and Clark=92s first season, set in the universe created= in Learning Curves. ********************* Monday 3 January 1994 ********************* St John=92s brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed with concentration as, crouched down in an uncomfortable position, he wrestled to unscrew a particularly stubborn wall panel. Wearing his Chief of Security hat, he was= busily putting together a sophisticated surveillance system for Luthor=92s underground bunker. Although he had been working on the project for several= months, there had never before been any sense of urgency; now the imminent arrival of the Nightfall asteroid meant that he suddenly was faced with an inflexible deadline. He swore loudly as the screw driver slipped out of the screw groove then, with a sigh, he straightened up, easing the kinks out of his back. Glancing= at his watch, he decided that he could afford to take just a few moment=92s break. St John eyed with disgust the circuit board he wanted to install =96= a job which had to be done before the first of the bunker=92s occupants arrive= d to take up residence lest they were made aware that their every activity was= being monitored =96 as it lay on the floor a few feet away and he flexed his= fingers. The silence, five hundred metres below street level and behind sixteen inches of reinforced concrete walls, broken only by the whirr of air conditioning and the faint hum of the strip lights, was almost eerie after the cacophony of the city above. St John wasn=92t entirely comfortable down= here =96 he=92d sometimes wondered if he wasn=92t slightly claustrophobic =96= and as a result, the unflappable Englishman was finding himself feeling uncharacteristically nervous. His palms were damp and his fingers were stiff from grasping his screwdriver too tightly. However, he would have been the first to admit that the alternative confronting him if the bunker wasn=92t made ready by the deadline was far worse. Although St John had fac= ed death on a number of occasions, and work-related dangers didn=92t, as a general rule, faze him, the thought of death by asteroid wasn=92t one that S= t John found appealing. Thanks to Luthor, however, St John was more confident than most that his safety was assured. He had a place booked on Luthor=92s ark and for that he was grateful. Footsteps coming along the hall and the murmur of hushed voices, one male and one female, alerted him to the imminent arrival of two people. Instinctively he moved to secrete both himself and the circuit board from view. As the newcomers moved closer, St John could make out the owners of the voices. The male was Luthor =96 no real surprise there. The woman, however= , was... Lois Lane? What, St John wondered, was she doing here? Her name had= never appeared on any of the lists of invitees. She did not, after all, have any role to play in Luthor=92s organisation and he had hitherto been strict about ensuring that everyone who was to share the bunker had a function to fulfil. St John strained to hear the conversation. "...room for two hundred people... Supplies to last three years. Tools, implements for farming and manufacture for when we re-emerge." "So, if the world dies, you live." "The survival of the species does not depend upon the supply of all of its members. In fact, had the dinosaurs been possessed of a slightly larger brain, they too might have been spared their fate. Fortunately for us, they= didn=92t. Now... the chance is ours." "Did you want me to... write about this?" Lois, St John noticed, was sounding very uncertain. He could understand her confusion; what purpose did Luthor have in bringing her down here? "No. I seek no publicity. In fact, considering the circumstances, I think advertising the existence of a place like this might be... somewhat cruel." "So, why am I here?" There was a pause, a few footsteps, the clink of a heavy metal door being opened, then Lois=92s stunned voice saying, "This is my apartment." Her apartment? St John frowned. He hadn=92t been in that particular room i= n the last few days, but the last time he had been there it had been little more than an empty shell. How had it been converted so fast into a copy of her home? And more importantly, why? "Well," he heard Lex say, a slightly self-deprecating tone creeping into his= words, "a reasonable facsimile thereof. I hope you like it." "Of course I like it." She sounded shocked but in the way that a person might use when they are also flattered. "I decorated it. But I=92m a littl= e confused." "I=92m offering you a chance, Lois. To become a passenger on this ark. To = be my special guest on mankind=92s next great adventure." St John heard more shuffling around, a feminine sigh, and then the words, "Lex, why me?" "Because I care. And because I must admit that three years would be a long time without... companionship." "Ah. Well, I, uh, don=92t know... I..." "Think about it. I=92ll await your decision." His steps were measured as h= e exited the room. St John examined his nails as he reflected that he knew what Lois=92s answer would be, even if Luthor did not; she had rejected him before and she would most likely do so again. He was only surprised that she had vacillated this long. St John could only surmise that she was overwhelmed by the lengths that Luthor had gone to to make her feel at home.= He wondered what Luthor was reading into her hesitation. Scant seconds after Luthor left, even before the door had time to swing shut, she ran after him. "Lex..." "May I send someone to pack your personal belongings?" he asked smoothly. "I can=92t stay here!" she said, clearly agitated. "Lois... Mob rule is not a pretty sight. You don=92t have to see it." "I do! If what that asteroid does is destroy the world as we know it, I have to be there to see what takes its place! This could be the best comeback in history. And besides..." She trailed off into silence. "Besides?" asked Luthor. "I... You know... I=92m... seeing someone. I have been for a couple of months now..." "Kent." St John, well versed with the finer nuances of Luthor=92s behaviour= , could hear the disappointment and disapproval Luthor tried to mask. "Yes," agreed Lois softly, her voice receding into the distance as they moved away from St John. "And right now he needs me. More, I think, than he=92s ever needed me..." Something in Luthor=92s expression must have prom= pted her to expand on the comment because she said, "He=92s got amnesia. I shouldn=92t have left him to come here, but..." "But you were curious? You wanted to find you what I wanted?" "Yes." They turned a corner and St John could hear no more. After waiting for a few moments to ensure that they were really gone, St John stepped out of his hiding place. Then, driven by curiosity, he made his way to the room that Luthor had shown Lois. Standing on the threshold of the quarters that should have housed several people, St John looked at the accommodations that had been prepared for her.= He shook his head, nonplussed, not just at Luthor=92s uncharacteristic largesse, but also at the amount of effort had gone into making this room ready. Luthor demanded miracles from his staff but, even so, this was impressive. It also spoke of a large degree of familiarity with Lois=92s apartment. St John dismissed his musings as being inappropriate; he had a job to do, and he was allowing himself to fall behind schedule. ********************* Tuesday 1 February 1994 ********************* St John had dismissed his musings then, but now he was beginning to wonder if he shouldn=92t have given the matter more consideration, if not at the ti= me then certainly as soon as the danger had passed. He was certainly thinking about it now and he didn=92t like the conclusions that he was reaching. To have replicated Lois=92s dwelling in that way, as he=92d noted at the time, spoke of intelligence gathering on an impressive scale. Luthor, either in person or second-hand, through the efforts of his minions, had spied on the reporter. In as much as Lexcorp spied on hundreds= =96 perhaps thousands =96 of people, St John didn=92t find that thought particularly shocking. However, Lois Lane was of little strategic importance to the corporation; that made this intelligence unique in St John=92s experience because it was apparently prompted by personal rather th= an professional motives. What else, he wondered, had Luthor done? Had he bugged her apartment? Tapped her phone? Intercepted her mail? The questions rose rapidly in St John=92s mind, chasing one after the other, leaving behind a feeling of exasperated irritation in their wake. Luthor, St John was beginning to suspect, was obsessed with the Lane woman; that obsession was clouding his judgement and costing him the respect that St John had once had for him. That realisation brought with it a decision on St John=92s part. He would meet with Jopling. What harm could it do? ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:40:56 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Chris Carr Subject: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (5/7) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 TITLE: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (Learning Curves II) (5/7) AUTHOR: Chris Carr (c.carr@virgin.net) RATING: PG-13, mostly for violence (but please don=92t let that put you off)= . FEEDBACK: Comments welcome privately or via the fanfic mailing list SUMMARY: When Nigel St John receives an unexpected job offer he begins to question his relationship with his employer, Lex Luthor. An alternative look at part of Lois and Clark=92s first season, set in the universe created= in Learning Curves. ********************* Thursday 3 February 1994 ********************* St John stamped his feet and clapped his hands together, cursing Jopling=92s= tardiness and watching with disgust as his huffed breath plumed out in white= clouds. He pulled the collar of his overcoat more closely around his neck, determined to prevent any more sleet from getting in through the crannies of= his clothing. In an effort to divert his thoughts from his discomfort, St John concentrated on the man he had come to meet. He had checked Jopling out as far as he was able and had determined that he was, or had been until very recently, employed by the US airforce. The most recent intelligence that St= John had been able to access indicated that Jopling held the rank of lieutenant colonel. His tactic of thinking about Jopling didn=92t help; St John=92s cheeks were being assaulted by the bitter wind and his toes were icy within his shoes. He decided to give Jopling five more minutes; if he hadn=92t shown by then, = St John would cut his losses and leave. He didn=92t want the job that much. His years with Luthor had spoiled him, St John reflected morosely, making him forget the discomfort of clandestine meetings such as this. If he had remembered just how uncomfortable they could be, he doubted that he would have ventured forth to meet Jeremiah Jopling. The inclement weather was keeping all right-thinking people indoors and he could see only two other people in Centennial Park; the others were a particularly foolhardy jogger and a sullen-looking man out walking a dog. St John wasn=92t so na=EFve as to think that there were only three people around, however. He was sure that at the very least Jopling was watching from somewhere nearby, making sure that he had, as ordered, come alone. Just as he moved to leave, St John heard the scrunch of gravel from six paces away. He schooled his face into a neutral expression, refusing to let= the newcomer know that he had succeeded in sneaking up on him. He turned, inclined his head slightly, extended his hand and said, "Jeremiah Jopling, I= presume." St John deliberately omitted Jopling=92s rank; he didn=92t want t= o show how much information he already had. He covertly assessed Jopling, taking in the face that, once lean, now was plumped out from too many rich dinners. Any softness in the man ended there, however. Unlike St John, Jopling seemed impervious to the cold; his bald head was bare, his jacket thin, and his neck unprotected from the elements. Moreover, there was a flinty look to his eyes that suggested their owner was both shrewd and ruthless. Jopling=92s appraisal of St John was far less discreet. His eyes raked the Englishman=92s body and, seeing that St John didn=92t flinch under his scrut= iny, he smiled faintly with approval. Then he nodded abruptly, once up and down,= apparently deciding that he was satisfied with what he saw. St John waited for Jopling to speak. When he did he got straight to the point, foregoing any pleasantries. St John found himself approving of such a businesslike attitude. "As I said on the phone, I=92ve got a job for you,= " said Jopling. "Who is the target?" Jopling reached a hand reddened from the cold into his inside breast pocket and fished out a photograph. St John took it in his gloved fingers and considered the picture. The target was an older man, not tall, but with rigid stance that immediately cried military to St John=92s practised eye. That instinctive reaction made= him feel uneasy; he hated cleaning house for others. "His name is Burton Newcomb. He=92s a retired general. Lives alone in Metropolis." St John frowned. Something about the name was familiar though it took him a= while to place it. Finally he remembered an article some weeks before in the Daily Planet. Newcomb had had something to do with uncovering Bureau 39's activities... Jopling interpreted St John=92s thoughtful silence as hesitation. "A millio= n dollars," he said, offering the carrot. "No questions asked. That=92s the deal." "Some questions," said St John, "are inevitable." "Perhaps," conceded Jopling. "But you=92ll be working on a strictly need to= know basis." "I haven=92t said that I will take the job yet," St John pointed out. "You=92re here, aren=92t you?" said Jopling. "I think you will." St John knew Jopling was right but he didn=92t say so. Instead he shifted t= he topic of conversation. "What are the repercussions of his death likely to be? A retired military man might be considered a rather... visible... target." "No repercussions, at least not from us. He=92s too much of a loose cannon = to be left alone. Leaks information, you understand. And, if you are as good as I=92ve heard, no one will be able to trace the killing back to you." St John nodded slowly. "So this is a punishment killing." "It could be," said Jopling. "Why do you need me? Why not deal with him yourself?" "You came highly recommended. I want him taken out, but my organisation is... on probation, shall we say. So I=92m contracting the job out." The probation comment gelled St John=92s hunch about Bureau 39 into a certainty. Perversely reassured by the idea of working for such a disreputable agency, he said, "Can I ask who recommended me?" Jopling gave a smile that failed to reach his eyes. "That is strictly need to know. And you don=92t. Confidentiality, you understand. Now, will you take the job or not?" St John gave the matter precisely three seconds thought then said, "Yes. You=92ll pay me five hundred thousand dollars before and the remainder upon the successful completion of the task. I want the money in used notes. No consecutive numbers." Jopling nodded. "That can be arranged." "So, where do I find this man?" asked St John. "His address is on the back of the photo but he=92s a pretty cagey devil. Y= ou won=92t get him standing in front of any windows. However..." Jopling paused. St John=92s eyebrows rose and his expression prompted Jopling to continue. "However, he will be at the Palais Theatre on Monday evening. He=92ll be sitting in the upper circle. Seat A10. On the aisle." "The Palais," mused Nigel thoughtfully. "That=92s where Les Miserables is playing, isn=92t it?" Jopling nodded. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:42:16 -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: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (6/7) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 TITLE: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (Learning Curves II) (6/7) AUTHOR: Chris Carr (c.carr@virgin.net) RATING: PG-13, mostly for violence (but please don=92t let that put you off)= . FEEDBACK: Comments welcome privately or via the fanfic mailing list SUMMARY: When Nigel St John receives an unexpected job offer he begins to question his relationship with his employer, Lex Luthor. An alternative look at part of Lois and Clark=92s first season, set in the universe created= in Learning Curves. ********************* Monday 7 February 1994 ********************* The theatre was deserted at three o=92clock in the afternoon as St John, dressed in black and carrying a small rucksack and a coil of rope, made his way up the fire escape at the back of the building. As he stepped onto the flat concrete roof he mused that, really, security was a joke. The lock on the roof=92s skylight took mere moments to pick. St John opened= it and peered into the gloom beyond. Then, satisfied, he stepped back and fastened one end of the rope to the metal frame of the fire escape. The other end he dropped through the opening. St John adjusted the bag into a comfortable position on his shoulder. Then,= grabbing hold of the rope with both hands, he proceeded to shimmy down into the theatre. The rope brought him down to one end of a gantry high above the stage. So far, everything was going according to plan. Now all he had to do was set up his equipment, make himself as comfortable as he possibly could under the circumstances and wait. Through the infrared sight on his gun he could make out the seat that, later= on, he knew would be occupied by his target. While, ideally, he liked to carry out his assassinations in private where there was no chance of witnesses catching a glimpse of him, he had to admit that carrying out the deed in such a public place did have certain advantages, not the least of which was the fact that he knew precisely where his target was going to be for three solid hours. His lips curved sadistically as the phrase "sitting duck" flitted through his mind. He had done his homework well. He had spent much of the weekend listening to the Les Miserables soundtrack. He had also sat through Saturday=92s matinee and he had determined that there was a perfect moment for him to carry out the deed. The sound effects of gun fire during the show would mask that of his own. ***** "Do you hear the people sing?" demanded the chorus, prompting St John to silently bemoan the fact that, yes, indeed he did. The house lights had been switched on at five o=92clock and the jabber of voices shortly after that had alerted St John to the fact that the theatre staff had arrived and were making their checks for the readiness of this evening=92s performance. The show had started on the dot of seven, since wh= en he had waited patiently as the performance crawled onwards. Les Miserables wasn=92t his thing. All those raggedy people leading desolat= e lives with precious little reward on Earth, only the promise of eternal bliss and an eventual place in heaven =96 a heaven in which St John did not believe =96 to keep them going just didn=92t engage his interest. It was, t= o his mind, an utterly unsatisfactory tale. The only character with whom he could remotely identify was an inn-keeper-turned-thief called Thenardier because they both held the view that the best way to happiness, or at least material comforts, was to take what they wanted from others less dishonest than themselves. Not for them the ideals that drove the story=92s agitators= to man a barricade and stand against the French authorities. St John flexed his fingers and toes, trying to dispel their stiffness. His position had proven to be even more perfect that he had hoped. The lights immediately behind him blinded the performers on the stage to his presence and, situated so high above the stage, it was most unlikely that anyone in the audience would think to glance up, let along spot his black-clad form. Although he=92d positioned the gun earlier and was satisfied that it was directed at Newcomb=92s seat, he kept checking his aim through the infra-red= sights. St John knew that, if necessary, he=92d be able to fire blind into the audience and still have a reasonable degree of confidence that the bullet would find its mark. However, he would only do so as a last resort. He liked to take as few chances as possible and he liked to see his bullets= doing their job. He took pride in his work. ***** On stage, Valjean sang his prayer seeking the intercession of God, pleading for the life of Marius, a young student who had thrown in his lot with the revolutionaries. Above, St John felt his breath quicken and he knew that his heart rate was also increasing. Mere minutes away from the moment he had chosen for the deed, he felt the familiar rush of adrenaline. Some people got their kicks from riding roller-coaster or bungee jumping. For St John, there was nothing to beat the high he got from committing acts of violence. St John listened as, below him, Gavroche was shot. Then the story=92s final= battle commenced. The sound of St John=92s gun was lost in amongst the blanks being fired by t= he special effects co-ordinator. He took just long enough to check that his bullet had found his mark and smiled with satisfaction as he saw that death had been instantaneous and that none of the target=92s neighbours had notice= d anything amiss. His breath caught in his throat and a small moan of ecstasy= threatened to escape from his throat. He suppressed it ruthlessly; there would be plenty of time to enjoy himself later. As he=92d hoped, he had a narrow window of opportunity to make good his escape; nobody had noticed anything untoward yet, but come the end of the show, discovery of the deed would be inevitable. Now came the riskiest part of this endeavour. St John disassembled his gun in seconds, secreted it in his rucksack, then pushing the bag in front of him, he slivered on his belly, taking care not to knock any of the lights as= he moved past them. When he reached the rope he=92d left dangling earlier, = he grasped hold of it and began to climb with an agility that many younger men would have envied. ***** St John lay in his bed, his black silk pyjamas slick against the black silk sheets. His body was heavy with a languor better than the afterglow of any sexual encounter he=92d ever had. It was the afterglow of a killing which, = as always, had given him a high better than any drugs known to man. He closed his eyes bringing the image of Newcomb=92s body, glimpsed just fleetingly in= the moments after death but memorised, up in his mind and reliving again and= again the moment he=92d pulled the trigger. He licked his lips and sighed, satiated. He never felt so alive as when he was taking someone else=92s life. There were days when St John loved his work. ********************* Tuesday 8 February 1994 ********************* St John tilted his head to one side and squinted as he shaved, tidying up the edges of his beard. Snatches of dialogue drifted through from the bedroom where he had left his radio alarm playing softly. "... the body of Burton Newcomb was discovered as theatre-goers moved towards the aisle at the end of the performance ... police have no leads ...= apparently motiveless killing ..." Although the euphoria of the previous evening had passed, enough of his pleasure lingered to lift his normal melancholy mood towards something approaching contentment. As he listened to the newsreader=92s commentary St= John had to force himself to suppress an automatic smile lest he nick himself with the razor. "... eyewitnesses were at a loss to explain the death. They were all unanimous in saying that they had noticed nothing amiss during the performance..." St John fastidiously cleaned the razor under running water then washed the last traces of cream off his face, patting his skin dry with a freshly laundered towel that was soft to the touch and smelt strongly of fabric conditioner. As he moved into his bedroom and started to dress he heard the newsreader say, "... speculation that the sound effects may have been used to mask the sound of the shot... From the trajectory of the bullet, police have determined that the murderer must have been positioned..." St John began to whistle snatches of Elgar=92s Pomp And Circumstance March number 1 flatly as he tied his shoe laces. "... anyone with information is asked to phone the police on ... All information will be treated in the strictest confid=97" The commentary cut out in mid-word as St John reached across to turn the radio off. He checked his tie in the mirror and, satisfied that it was perfectly straight, he exited his apartment. St John=92s good mood gave way to curiosity as he turned to lock the door because, propped up against its frame, he espied an anonymous brown envelope. Slightly larger than ten by eight inches, it felt stiff when St John cautiously picked it up. He slit the envelope open by inserting his right forefinger under the flap, pulled out its contents, and felt his curiosity metamorphose into something bleaker. The photos were clear, with time and date stamps burned into the images. There were approximately twenty in all, variously showing his meeting with Jopling, his arrival and his departure from the Palais Theatre. St John leaned back against the wall, clutching the pictures to his chest with trembling hands. He should have known that there were spies everywhere, that his life had ceased to be his own the day he had joined Luthor=92s payroll. He suddenly felt distinctly nauseous. Who had left the photos for him? he wondered. Forcing himself to be logical, St John realised that, although there was no indication as to where= the missive had come from, it had to have been delivered by someone with access to the upper reaches of the Lexcorp Tower. That meant that its sender could have been one of only a handful of people. He didn=92t think that it had come from Luthor himself; Luthor would be more= direct in responding to St John=92s clandestine activities. So, someone els= e must have left it for him to find, but that still left the question of why. St John quickly ruled out the possibility of blackmail. No one would dare do such a thing so close to their master. So, if not blackmail, then what? A warning that someone knew what he had done? He had to hope that the photographs were a benign warning that someone else,= perhaps Asabi, knew his loyalty was not all that it could be. So long as they were nothing more significant than that, he could ensure that he took heed of the second chance he=92d been given to behave better in the future. Guilt, along with a healthy appreciation of what loss of favour would mean, made St John resolve to tie himself more closely to his employer. His loyalty would be absolute from now on. St John stared down at the photos again, the look on his face the closest he= could ever come to reflecting despair. In his sudden panic over the existence of evidence of his crime, he found himself ruing the day that he had ever heard the names Jeremiah Jopling and Burton Newcomb. It was, St John feared, his own weakness, his own lust for depraved pleasures, that had= allowed him to give into temptation. All his rationalising about Luthor=92s= erratic behaviour and the influence of Lois Lane upon him had been just that= =96 rationalisations to justify what he had done, and nothing more. He=92d = used them as justifications for a deed for which there could be no justification.= What business was it of his if Luthor chose to pursue Lois Lane anyway? Luthor didn=92t need =96 had never needed =96 St John=92s approval to do any= thing. St John sighed. Well, he thought, what was done couldn=92t be undone. He=92= d made his bed. Now he=92d have to lie in it. At least, he thought with a flash of grim humour, with the million dollars he=92d been paid, he could afford a very good mattress. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:43:18 -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: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (7/7) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 TITLE: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (Learning Curves II) (7/7) AUTHOR: Chris Carr (c.carr@virgin.net) RATING: PG-13, mostly for violence (but please don=92t let that put you off)= . FEEDBACK: Comments welcome privately or via the fanfic mailing list SUMMARY: When Nigel St John receives an unexpected job offer he begins to question his relationship with his employer, Lex Luthor. An alternative look at part of Lois and Clark=92s first season, set in the universe created= in Learning Curves. ********************* EPILOGUE ********************* ********************* Thursday 10 February 1994 ********************* Luthor=92s mobile phone vibrated silently during the second act of Madame Butterfly. He lowered his opera glasses, reluctantly dragging his attention= away from the member of the audience he=92d been scrutinising, then pulled t= he phone from the breast pocket of his jacket, read its illuminated screen and,= in hushed tones, politely made his excuses to his host and fellow guests. If the visiting heads of state were disappointed to be thus denied an opportunity to conduct business with him during the interval, it was too bad. This call took precedence over both the heads of state and his observation of Lois Lane. Luthor exited into the theatre=92s empty corridors. Holding the phone to hi= s ear as he walked, he said, "Yes?" "I have the information for you," said the voice at the other end of the connection. "Where are you?" asked Luthor perfunctorily. "Outside the theatre." "I=92m on my way." Luthor cut the connection abruptly then lengthened his stride, only just resisting the urge to break into a run. On the steps of the building he paused for a moment, scanning the area for his target. Then, spotting a bulky, bare-headed man dressed in an unseasonally light jacket and carrying a briefcase, Luthor began to move again. He schooled his expression into one of polite impassivity, determined not to betray himself by allowing his impatience to show. He strolled down the steps at a leisurely pace. The other man nodded at his approach and walked across to meet him. "Jeremiah," said Luthor, holding out his hand to be shaken. "Good to see you," he said, and for once he actually meant it. "Lex," acknowledged Jopling. Luthor eyed Jopling and fleetingly wondered why he hadn=92t killed the man years ago. Allowing Jopling to live after that unfortunate episode at college had been a risky thing to do. But then Luthor reflected that Jopling was still alive because he was useful. When they=92d first met, Luthor had cultivated Jopling for his contacts. Subsequently, when Luthor had developed his own social networks, he had tolerated the continued relationship because Jopling=92s information was invariably helpful. In the early days of Jopling=92s military career he had= sold that information cheaply; Luthor had profited from it greatly as he picked up various military contracts. As time had passed, Jopling=92s career had developed along with both the quality of the intelligence he offered and the price he charged for it. Jopling should have been looking forward to a very comfortable retirement; he would have been had he not gambled Luthor=92s funds away. Over the years, even before the acquisition of the pictures of Jopling=92s meeting with St John, Luthor=92s hold over Jopling had become virtually unshakeable. The same was no longer true of Jopling=92s hold over Luthor. Perhaps Jopling didn=92t realise it, but the incident at college had lost it= s power to concern Luthor as the years had passed. Luthor perpetuated the myth that the two men continued to prey on each other=92s weaknesses, but he= =96 unlike Jopling =96 had no illusions as to who held real control within their= relationship. Luthor gestured towards a nearby bench. Following his lead, Jopling moved to sit down. Luthor remained standing, not deigning to put himself on the same level of his companion, preferring instead to look down on him. Luthor= suppressed a smile, knowing that Jopling couldn=92t stand up again without losing face. "So," said Luthor, "you=92re now director of Bureau 39. Congratulations." "Thank you," said Jopling. "And thanks for putting me on to St John. He really delivered. Did a very professional job." Luthor smiled fractionally. "I=92m sure he did. Now, I believe you have something for me." Jopling nodded. "It=92s ironic really. We took out Newcomb because he leak= ed information, but I=92m giving all that information to you, and then some. I= guess it=92s a question of who the information goes to." "And how much you=92re being paid," interjected Luthor. "Yes," conceded Jopling with a forthrightness that Luthor found surprising. "I trust you to be... discreet." "Of course." Luthor smiled slightly ferally. Jopling snapped open the fastenings on his briefcase and retrieved from within it a buff folder. "As promised, in return for St John, here=92s all = we have on Superman. I hope it=92s of some use to you." Luthor held out his hand to take the file and was surprised when Jopling didn=92t immediately hand it over. Instead he said, "I don=92t know what yo= u intend to do with the information, but I=92ll tell you this... Whatever you= do, you=92ll most likely have the Bureau=92s blessing, albeit unofficially."= "Jeremiah?" prompted Luthor. "After the Trask fiasco and the business at the warehouse a few months back,= the Bureau has been under pressure to... clean up its act. They were public= relations disasters. Our agenda hasn=92t changed, of course, but we=92ve go= t to be seen to lay off Superman. Politics, you know." Luthor nodded. "So," continued Jopling, "if you can do anything to get rid of Superman without us having to act... Well, we certainly won=92t complain. You understand?" "I understand perfectly, Jeremiah. And again, thank you." ***** Luthor=92s wing chair was positioned in the soft pool of light cast by an adjacent standard lamp. The details of the room=92s contents gave way to blocky outlines as the darkness claimed its corners. The only noise came from the faint rumble of the late night traffic echoing up from the streets far below. He pulled deeply on his cigar then he exhaled, releasing a cloud of dense smoke. He watched it idly as it meandered upwards then dispersed to join the fog collecting in the room more generally. Life, he thought, was good. St John, in betraying the spirit if not the letter of their working arrangement, had unwittingly given Luthor an additional measure of control over him. All Luthor had had to do was to allow St John to know that someone was aware of his recent activities. St John did not need to know, however, that it was Luthor who had directed Jopling in his direction in the= first place or even that Luthor, himself, knew what he had done. In fact it= was more fun this way, watching the normally imperturbable Englishman walk on eggshells, waiting for the other shoe to fall. More than that, though, Luthor had taken a few steps forward in his campaign= against Superman. Knowledge was, after all, power and, thanks to Jopling, his pool of knowledge about the alien had expanded above the infinitesimal. Absentmindedly, Luthor reached across to flick through Jopling=92s file, th= e contents with which he had familiarised himself several hours before. Perhaps, to others, the contents of the file would have been frustratingly thin, but Luthor savoured every tiny scrap of information like a connoisseur. He smiled with satisfaction; how could he not when, among other things, he had finally learned a little about Superman=92s physiology and about the mysterious rock? Now Luthor=92s endeavours had been given direction, perhaps it was time for him to fund some research. And he knew just where to begin. ----- The End ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 21:08:45 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Rich & Dawn Subject: Message Board Index Tables MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi FoLCs! The Message Board index tables were undated this week. Go to http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/7378/lnc.html to see the latest. Stories updated this week were: ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY: PART ONE IRENE DUTCHAK ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY: PART TWO ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY: PART THREE ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY: PART FOUR ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY: PART FIVE ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY: PART SIX BIONICS: PART TEN JOY SOWELL DEAR LOIS: PART ONE SHAYNET DEAR LOIS: PART ONE B SHAYNET DEAR LOIS: PART TWO DEAR LOIS: PART THREE DEAR LOIS: PART FOUR FEAR OF DISCOVERY III: ADDITIONAL SCENE YVONNE CONNELL FEAR OF DISCOVERY III: PART TWENTY TWO GROWING PAINS: PART ONE AERM1 (AKA ANN) GROWING PAINS: PART TWO HELLO, GOODBYE: PART ONE MLECHEESE2 L&C&J&J (LATER REVISED TO JOHN AND LOIS AND CLARK AND JOAN): COMPLETE TOC FILEX (AKA FELIX SUNG) LEARNING CURVES II: LOVE, LOYALTY & LUTHOR: PART ONE KRISSIE (AKA CHRIS CARR) LEARNING CURVES II: LOVE, LOYALTY & LUTHOR: PART TWO LEARNING CURVES II: LOVE, LOYALTY & LUTHOR: PART THREE LETTER , A (1) FROGGIE85 LETTER , A (2) FROGGIE85 LIFEFLIGHT: PART FIFTY TWO RACONTEUR27 LIFEFLIGHT: PART FIFTY THREE LOIS' RETURN: PART ONE Chiara Prato LOIS' RETURN: PART TWO LOIS' RETURN: PART THREE LOIS' RETURN: PART FOUR LOIS' RETURN: PART FIVE LOIS' RETURN: PART SIX LOIS' RETURN: PART SEVEN LOIS' RETURN: PART EIGHT LOIS' RETURN: PART NINE LOVE ME ONCE MORE: PART ONE EMILY LOVE ME ONCE MORE: PART TWO LOVE ME ONCE MORE: PART THREE LOVE ME ONCE MORE: PART FOUR LOVE ME ONCE MORE: PART FIVE LOVE ME ONCE MORE: PART SIX LOVE WELL WORTH THE WAIT , A: PART ONE TRACEYLYNN LOVE WELL WORTH THE WAIT , A: PART TWO LOVE WELL WORTH THE WAIT , A: PART THREE PENFRIEND , THE: THE EARLY YEARS: PART SIXTY SIX JOY SOWELL PENFRIEND , THE: THE EARLY YEARS: PART SIXTY SEVEN PRELUDE/PREQUEL - WHEN TWO HEARTS COLLIDE: PART SIX Raggiemom PROFESSIONAL LOYALTIES: Part One Leuch PROFESSIONAL LOYALTIES: PART TWO RED SKY: PARTS SEVENTEEN - EIGHTEEN Jenni Debbage SILLY NON-REVELATION ELISABETH TULL SILLY REVELATION CHALLENGE VARIOUS SILLY REVELATION CHALLENGE 2 VARIOUS SILLY REVELATION CHALLENGE 3 SILLY REVELATION CHALLENGE 4 SILLY STORY CHALLENGE VARIOUS SILLY STORY CHALLENGE: TO CATCH A MOUSE LANA LANG STORY OF A LIFETIME: COMPLETE TOC ELISABETH TULL TRYST PAM JERNIGAN WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: PART TWENTY NINE WENDY RICHARDS WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: PART THIRTY WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: PART THIRTY ONE WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: PART THIRTY TWO WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: PART THIRTY THREE WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: PART THIRTY FOUR (FINAL) WHO I AM CAROLINE You guys were busy! Keep up the great fic writing! The Index Crew ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 00:07:19 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Lorie Y. Crisp" Subject: Re: Message Board Index Tables MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 08/01/2000 8:26:47 PM Central Daylight Time, rfield@ROANOKE.INFI.NET writes: << Hi FoLCs! The Message Board index tables were undated this week >> I've got a question: is this index table a new thing, or has it always been here? So, it's the fanfics from Zoomway's Message Board, just organized in a different way? And is it just the recent stuff, or what? And I said all that to add this: I just went there to read Irene's "Abdication of Responsibility", and it was excellent. I can't wait to read more! But, how often is this updated? thanks! Lorie :) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 09:21:17 +0100 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Re: Message Board Index Tables MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lorie wrote: > I've got a question: is this index table a new thing, or has it always been > here? So, it's the fanfics from Zoomway's Message Board, just organized in a > different way? And is it just the recent stuff, or what? It's new. It covers all of the fanfic stored on Zoom's gfic mbs, with links to each segment and info on current status (complete/incomplete, no of parts posted to date, etc.) > > And I said all that to add this: I just went there to read Irene's > "Abdication of Responsibility", and it was excellent. I can't wait to read > more! But, how often is this updated? > It'll be updated - roughly depending on our RL schedules - each week. Has to be! Those guys are too prolific to leave it any longer than that! LabRat :) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 03:14:13 -0700 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: Message Board Index Tables MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii --- "Lorie Y. Crisp" wrote: > In a message dated 08/01/2000 8:26:47 PM Central > Daylight Time, > rfield@ROANOKE.INFI.NET writes: > > << Hi FoLCs! > > The Message Board index tables were undated this > week >> > > I've got a question: is this index table a new > thing, or has it always been > here? So, it's the fanfics from Zoomway's Message > Board, just organized in a > different way? And is it just the recent stuff, or > what? > > And I said all that to add this: I just went there > to read Irene's > "Abdication of Responsibility", and it was > excellent. I can't wait to read > more! But, how often is this updated? > > thanks! > Lorie :) Lorie, I'm glad that you enjoyed this. I'll be sending it to the list in its entirety later today. Irene ===== www.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 04:21:21 -0700 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: New fanfic: Taking Responsibility - part 1 of 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Title: Taking Responsibility (posted as Abdication of Responsibility on Zoom's message boards) Author: Irene Dutchak Rating: PG Part: 1 of 6 Feedback: Any or all, public or private, to sirenegold@yahoo.com Part 1 On one level, I always liked the episode ‘Individual Responsibility’ as it has a lot of humour in it. On another level, though, it irritated me. If, as Dr. Friskin hypothesised, Clark’s innermost feelings were being released by his having been exposed to red Kryptonite, then why did he ignore Lois? And why didn’t he express his feelings to her? I wouldn’t be a FoLC if I didn’t try to rewrite the episode to address these issues. Many thanks to my beta-readers, Wendy Richards and Laurie, for their extremely helpful constructive criticism. As always, it was much appreciated. Many thanks, also, to the wonderful readers on Zoom’s message boards for their encouragement and constructive criticism. All standard disclaimers apply. Please send feedback to sirenegold@yahoo.com Taking Responsibility by Irene Dutchak sirenegold@yahoo.com Rating: PG Submitted: August 2000 *********************************************** The street outside the Daily Planet – 7:45 a.m. *********************************************** It was a beautiful, sunny day, but Lois barely noticed. She felt very tense and awkward as she walked by Clark’s side, sipping her coffee and not speaking to him. She sighed. Had it come to this – that they couldn’t even be friendly? It wasn’t like he had made any type of protest when Daniel Scardino had asked her out. What right did Clark have to be upset after the fact? Lois glanced at him surreptitiously to discover that he was pointedly looking away from her. She could see that the little muscle in his cheek was twitching – the muscle that always jumped and danced whenever he felt deeply about something. “So, how was your ice cream date with Agent Scardino?” Clark asked, awkwardly. Not a subject that Lois wanted to tackle with Clark! She pointedly looked off into the distance. “Now, there's my favourite sight in the whole world - the truck that delivers our payroll cheques.” “Okay, if you don't want to talk about it, I understand.” Lois sighed. “It was... okay. I had chocolate; he ordered Rocky Road.” “And you talked about...?” “Things... lots of things. And at least he stuck around long enough to have a conversation, unlike some people I know who are always running off!” “Lois, I do not always run off...” His words were interrupted by the Payroll Guard’s shouts. “Help! Police!” Three armed, masked men attacked the guard as he unloaded a large box of cheques from his van. A car idled next to the van, its windows tinted an ominous black. Clark blurted out, “I'll call the cops!” as he dashed away. “Unbelievable!” Lois shook her head as he disappeared around yet another corner. Why did Clark always have to be the one to call the cops? Why couldn’t he hang around and watch and let her be the one to make the phone call. Lois thought about it for a split-second. Nah! It was more fun being right on top of the action. But watching the action unfold and taking mental notes for her story didn’t mean there was nothing she could do. She raised her voice and yelled for help as loud as she could. To her relief, Superman swooped down beside her to land in a flurry of blue, red and yellow. She sighed in relief as she turned to him with a pleased smile. He glanced at her cup of coffee, smiled and said, “Don't worry, Lois, they'll be in jail before you can say 'cappuccino'.” She grinned in appreciation of his light-hearted comment as he launched himself back into the air and put on a short burst of speed to land in front of the criminals. “I'm afraid you'll have to take a rain check on those cheques, boys,” she heard him say as he folded his arms across his chest in his trademark Superman pose. “Really? What if we don't want to?” one of the burglars asked brazenly. As Lois watched, Superman’s body language changed completely. One second, he was standing tall and proud – authoritative – the next, he looked as if he had relaxed completely – almost like someone had cut invisible strings holding him up. “Oh... maybe nothing. I mean, they'll just have to reissue them, so... what do I care?” Superman sighed lugubriously. Lois couldn’t believe her ears. Superman didn’t even bother looking up when the criminals loaded themselves into their getaway vehicle and took off. He did look up when Lois ran up to him, though. “Superman, you let them get away!” she exclaimed accusingly as she looked at him in disbelief. He had a strange look on his face as he gazed deep into her eyes. He didn’t react but instead just stared at her blankly. “Did you hear what I said? Superman?” “What?” “You let them get away!” “Lois, I...” He paused, shaking his head. “What?” “You’re so beautiful, Lois,” he blurted out to her shock and disbelief. “I am?” Superman smiled at her guilelessly. “Yes. You must know I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you.” “What?” she gasped. “You must have known... I’m not very good at hiding my feelings...” He cupped her cheek gently in his large hand. “I love you.” Lois didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what she felt in the face of this surprising declaration. “But, but,” she sputtered, sounding like an outboard motor. “But the bad guys...” “You think I should stop them?” Lois nodded dumbly, too shocked to say anything. Superman lightly ran his fingers through her hair, tucking an errant strand back behind her ear. A grin spread over his face, and his eyes lit up. “For a fair lady – anything!” He disappeared in a great whoosh of sound only to reappear a moment later supporting the weight of the getaway vehicle. He casually ripped the doors off the car, pulled the three criminals from the front seat and, with one man in one hand, and the two other men hanging limply from his other hand, strolled over to talk to Lois once more. “So, what do you think?” he asked, proudly displaying the dangling men as if they were some strange sort of fish he had caught. “Um, yes, well, very nice, Superman,” Lois said, not knowing what else she could say. “That was a good idea you had.” He beamed at her, happily. It made him look mentally unbalanced. It also made her feel very uncomfortable. “Huh?” Superman smiled at her affectionately. “You know, catching them. That was a good idea. I wouldn’t have bothered if you hadn’t suggested it. It gets a little frustrating catching the same criminals over and over again. I have to tell you that you’re absolutely brilliant. You’ve got the best mind of anyone I know. And the best body, too. And your face – you have the face of an angel!” Lois looked up at him helplessly. “Um, well, thank you, I think. I, uh, I only wanted to help.” “You’re welcome.” He put the three men down, pointed a finger at them and sternly said, “Stay!” Their masks still hid their faces, but Lois had the definite feeling that the men were quite intimidated by this strange, new, almost aggressively casual Superman. They looked at each other, looked back at Superman, and nodded in unison. Superman turned back to Lois and eyed her appreciatively. He took a step towards her and then another. She regarded him nervously. “Lois, I love you so much, and I have something important to tell you... It’s something I’ve been wanting to share with you for a long time...” He paused, shook his head and looked confused. As she watched, a look of panic spread over his face. “I better go,” he blurted, taking to the air before she had a chance to respond. “But, but,” Lois sputtered once more. He didn’t turn back. Lois regarded the scene in front of her. The armoured truck was blocking traffic, and bits and pieces of the getaway car were scattered across the street. People milled around in a panic. Police cars were rapidly approaching, and there were three thieves standing in front of her, eyeing her speculatively. She looked back in the sky to see if she could still see Superman, but he was gone, leaving an unusual amount of chaos in his wake. ********************* Daily Planet – 8 a.m. ********************* The elevator doors opened, and Lois and Clark emerged. It had been an uncharacteristically quiet ride up to the newsroom. Lois wasn’t saying anything – too happy about her knight in shining armour’s declaration, Clark thought bitterly, and Clark certainly didn’t want to say a word. All sorts of bold statements were just waiting to leap carelessly out of his mouth if he were to open it. ‘I love you’ being one; ‘I am Superman’ another. He just couldn’t understand what was going on inside his head. What had he been thinking? How could he have said those things? How could he have told her that he loved her? Oh, it was true. He did love Lois Lane, but he certainly didn’t want to encourage her to reciprocate those feelings when he was in his other persona. No, he wanted her to fall in love with Clark Kent, would-be normal guy. He snuck a sideways peek at the love of his life only to discover that she didn’t look happy at all. She looked very, very worried. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Lois opened her mouth, shook her head and closed it again. She looked puzzled. Who was she thinking about, Clark wondered, Superman or... “You thinking about your date with Sardine-face again?” Clark was shocked by the vitriol dripping from his own words, but he couldn’t seem to restrain himself. His emotions were running away with him, and he didn’t know how to stop. “What?” Lois exclaimed. “I don’t like him, Lois,” Clark blurted out. “There’s something fishy about him. He’s not right for you. You deserve better.” “Like who? Someone who ducks out of conversations when they get a little bit scary? Someone who wouldn’t know what a commitment is if one were to hit them in the face?” “Are you making a crack about me?” Clark asked angrily. Rage mixed with despair filled his whole being. “Hey, if the shoe fits...” “Well, it doesn’t fit, Lois. It doesn’t fit because I’m nuts about you. I think you’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever met, and I’d be thrilled to make an exclusive commitment to you. But you can’t say the same, can you? You’re too busy playing the field with Mr. ‘Call me Daniel’ and Superman, aren’t you? You’re too busy to see the man standing right in front of you!” Lois fell into her chair and stared up into Clark’s face. She’d turned pale at the start of his soliloquy and shook her head as she listened. “That’s not fair, Clark...” “You know what, Lois? I don’t feel like being fair today. I’m tired of always being the one who’s fair. Why don’t you try being fair for a change? It might be an interesting change of pace!” Too late, he noted the sheen of tears in her eyes. “Clark, I...” “Oh, jeez, Lois,” he blurted out interrupting her, his anger melting away to nothing in the face of her distress. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m not being fair. Forget I said anything. Just, um, put it out of your mind,” he said, feeling a rush of blind panic sweep through his system. What was with him, today? First, he blurted out how he felt about her, both as Superman and as himself, and then he castigated her viciously. Now, he found himself blinking away his own tears as he realised how badly he had hurt Lois. “I should, um, go and... uh, I should go to the police station and find out about those guys. I’ll be back in a bit...” He turned on his heel and dashed ignominiously for the exit. He had to run away from this. It was too intense for him. “But Clark, we have to talk...” he heard as he scurried through the door to the stairs. He half-flew up the stairs till he reached the roof. Stifling a sob, he spun into his suit and leapt up into the refuge of the sky. ******************************************************* The same time - Metropolis Police Station, 73rd precinct ******************************************************** “It’d go easier for you if you talked to us now,” Inspector Henderson told Gene Newtrich. Newtrich had an uncharacteristically firm look on his soft, pudgy face. “Not without my lawyer,” he said. Inspector Henderson gave up. He had asked this question a couple of times, and the answer stayed the same. It looked like it would continue to stay the same. He pushed himself up from the table and locked Newtrich in the holding cage in the corner of the interview room. Perhaps he’d have better luck with the other two. *************************************** 2,000 feet above Metropolis – 8:25 a.m. **************************************** High above the streets of Metropolis, Clark flew aimlessly back and forth. Somehow, he always seemed to end up back where he had started, hovering over the Daily Planet building and checking on Lois. She was working doggedly at her desk, not taking any breaks. To the average observer, she’d look completely normal and unaffected by the day’s events, but Clark wasn’t an average observer. He could tell that her muscles were so tight they were on the verge of going into spasm. He could tell that her blood pressure was up, higher than normal. He watched as, from time to time when no one was looking, she wiped the odd tear away from her eyes. Every time that she did, he winced, another pang of guilt stabbing him in the chest. ********************** The same time - Intergang headquarters ********************** “No, Dad, I don't know what's in poi, but it's okay to eat it... What? Yes, I haven't forgotten about Operation Nirvana... Okay... Okay. Don't hula too hard. Aloha.” Bill Church, Junior, hung up the phone and agitatedly puffed on a cigar. The red Kryptonite hadn’t worked. Superman had come through in the end and stopped his men from stealing the Daily Planet’s payroll cheques. It looked like they’d have to come up with another plan to deal with the superhero. His intercom buzzed. “Yes?” “Mr. Kaprinsky’s here to see you, Mr. Church,” his secretary announced. Newtrich’s lawyer? Here? Why, he wondered. “Send him in.” Much later, after the fawning lawyer had left, Bill lit a fresh cigar. He inhaled luxuriously as he contemplated the information that Kaprinsky had brought him. Okay, the red Kryptonite hadn’t been an unqualified success, but it had certainly garnered some interesting information for Intergang. So Superman had a babe. Bill looked at a picture of Lois Lane. Yep, she certainly was attractive. Hmmm, this situation had the potential to kill two birds with one stone. With the right plan, he’d be able to control the Daily Planet, and more importantly, he’d be able to control Superman. He leaned back in his chair and aimed the remote control at his VCR. He wanted to watch the video once more that he had purchased from the oh-so-handy tourist. He found Superman’s body language absolutely fascinating. From what he could see, and from what Kaprinsky had passed on to him from Newtrich, the red Kryptonite made Superman extremely susceptible to suggestion while freeing him from any and all inhibitions. It would have worked just fine if a certain Lois Lane hadn’t been in the vicinity to open her big mouth. Interesting. Very interesting. What would happen if Lois Lane were taken out of the mix? Could he do it without Superman flying to the rescue? Maybe, he thought, assessing all the risks inherent in the plan. His men would have to be armed with a small chunk of the Red Kryptonite in case the Superhero showed up. He’d chisel a piece off the main chunk, himself. And he needed someone expendable to take all the risks. Hmmm, someone expendable – whom did he know who was expendable? “Sandra!” Bill Church, Jr. bellowed. “Yes, boss.” His pretty blonde assistant stuck her head in the door. “Get Scooter Haynes on the phone. Tell him I want Newtrich released on bail as soon as possible. Continued in part 2 ===== www.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 04:21:31 -0700 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: New fanfic: Taking Responsibility - part 2 of 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Title: Taking Responsibility (posted as Abdication of Responsibility on Zoom's message boards) Author: Irene Dutchak Rating: PG Part: 2 of 6 Feedback: Any or all, public or private, to sirenegold@yahoo.com Part 2 ************************* The Daily Planet – 9 a.m. ************************* Clark hovered in the air above the Daily Planet building once more. He felt normal again, he thought. He reviewed the rescues he had done in the hour. Yes, he was back to normal now. Maybe. He had wanted to talk philosophy with the gang members he had caught raiding their rivals’ clubhouse, but had managed to resist. He’d nearly blubbered like a baby when he’d reunited the lost child with her mother, but again, he hadn’t; he’d controlled himself. And on his last rescue, he hadn’t been tempted at all to embrace the inner child of the mugger who had stolen the old lady’s purse. Surely all that meant that he had control of his emotions once more. Maybe. He hoped. It had to. He’d been away from work for a long time, and eventually he was going to have to go back – if he wanted to keep his job, that is. He flew down to the roof, carefully surveyed his surroundings and spun into his street clothes once more. Crossing his fingers, he headed down the stairs to the newsroom. Clark managed to slink, shamefaced, to his desk without attracting any attention. Lois was away from her own desk, he noticed with relief. With any luck, he could bury himself in his work before she came back. But he didn’t manage to lose himself in his work. Instead, he was lost in thought, still striving to figure out exactly what the heck had happened, and how he could have been so foolish. It was true that he was frustrated over Agent Scarface’s interest in Lois, but that was no excuse for Superman telling her that he loved her. Clark blanched as he realised suddenly to his shock and dismay that not only had Superman told Lois that he loved her, but he’d done it in front of three criminals. If she got hurt... If anyone tried to get at Superman through her... He’d be responsible. It would be his fault. Clark surveyed the newsroom, frantically trying to locate Lois. She had to be here... What if she’d gone out? He needed to know where she was so he could protect her. To his relief, he spotted her at the coffee machine, replenishing her cup. He glanced back down as she turned to head back to her desk. “C.K., here are the photos you need for the Quine project.” Clark looked up with a jolt to see Jimmy standing in front of him, holding out a folder. “Huh? Oh. Sorry. I was just wondering why Superman nearly let those crooks get away.” “Was that wild or what? I mean, what was he thinking?” “I don't know. I -- He just didn't seem to... care if they got away or not.” Jimmy grinned and glanced in Lois’s direction. “He might not have cared about them,” he said, “but we know who he does care about.” Clark groaned. “Does everyone know what he said?” Jimmy nodded. “No. Lois told Perry, and I happened to, uh, overhear, but he won’t say anything to anyone, and I won’t either. Too bad Superman said all that in front of those robbers, though. Not very smart.” Clark groaned once more. Even Jimmy knew how dumb he’d been. He glanced away from his friend to see a deliveryman exiting the elevators carrying a huge, overdone arrangement of tulips. The man made a beeline towards Lois who was now back at her desk. Clark got up and strode over, vigilant, worried that this might not be what it seemed. He relaxed a little as he surreptitiously x-rayed the bouquet and the man’s clothing and didn’t discover anything more untoward than the fact that the man wore black satin boxers under his uniform. Clark winced a little upon discovering that piece of information that he’d rather not know, but bravely continued on, arriving at Lois’s desk as she signed for the flowers. “Don't tell me, Agent Scarecrow’s on a stakeout in a florist's shop.” “Jealousy is so unbecoming, don't you think?” Lois didn’t look up at him. Instead she focused on the colourful bouquet. Clark couldn’t help but notice colour flooding into her cheeks. “I wouldn't exactly call it jealousy.” Lois looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Okay, I guess I would call it jealousy, but... maybe we could discuss it Saturday night? Say... over dinner and after a show?” Lois looked back down at her flowers. “Clark... I have plans Saturday night,” she said, softly. Clark glanced at the flowers, then back to Lois. He felt tears prick his eyes. “Lois, I know I sometimes seem to dart away just when things start to get serious, but now I feel like you're the one who's backing off.” Lois half turned away from him. “Oh, look, a note... 'Dear Lois. Sorry, but I need to reschedule lunch; I have to go out of town. Should be back by Saturday. Can't wait. Yours in tulips, Dan.'” “Maybe subconsciously Dan the dud has finally realized he's no good for you and is avoiding you.” “Was that a joke?” “Kind of. But seriously, maybe you and I are both a little afraid of the same thing... of being completely intimate.” “Thank you, Dr. Freud. You didn’t seem too scared a few hours ago. No, your words completely contradicted your actions, and now I don’t know what to think, Clark. I mean, if you’re not scared to commit to me, why the heck do you always run away from me?” “I don’t always run away from you,” Clark protested. “Ha! You run faster than a cheetah when things get too hot for you. And then you have the nerve to lecture me when every move you’ve made has only been designed to confuse me.” Lois looked down at the flowers once again. “You hurt me, Clark,” she said, quietly. “You’ve never deliberately hurt me before.” “I know,” Clark answered, softly. “I’m sorry. I... I am jealous!” he blurted out. “I do have strong feelings for you, and when I see you with someone who looks like he’s a refugee from Hawaii 5-O, it drives me crazy.” Lois’s eyes looked suspiciously moist. “So, why didn’t you say anything before? Why didn’t you kick up a fuss when he asked me out? Why have you been shutting me out?” “I... I don’t know,” Clark stuttered. He opened his mouth to continue when he caught sight of Perry talking a mile a minute on his phone and gesturing at the two of them with his free hand. Clark jerked his head towards his boss and said hesitantly, “Maybe we should talk about this later. It looks like Perry needs us.” Lois put her very large bouquet of flowers down. “Yeah, we can postpone this, Clark, but don’t think it’s over. I want some answers out of you.” As they entered Perry’s office, he hung up the phone and turned to face them. “What’s up, Chief?” Clark asked, trying to focus all his attention on Perry, yet still very aware of Lois standing beside him. “This is right out of the blue. No warning. Mr. Stern's got an offer and he's thinking about selling The Planet to Multiworld Communications.” “NO! He can't sell it to Intergang!” Lois exclaimed. “Now, Lois, we've never had any proof that Intergang runs Multiworld Communications.” “Everybody on the street knows it! Bill Church ran Intergang, and now that he's retired, his son does!” “Whoa whoa whoa. Put a brake on that wagon. I know you've been working on that story since November, but you're talking about Bill, Jr. I've known him since he was old enough to throw up on me!” “Oh, that means he's innocent,” Lois retorted, sarcastically. “Billy used to caddy for me and his Dad, and the only thing he took over from Bill, Sr. is Costmart Stores. And he's doubled the stock. Now he's one of the biggest philanthropists in the country. “And certainly the biggest fake.” “Chief!” Clark interrupted. “What did Mr. Stern say he was going to do about the offer?” “Well, between the printers' strike and the delivery drivers' sick-out,” Perry drawled, “he was this close to selling, but I talked him out of it...” “Great!” Lois exclaimed. “... at least for seventy-two hours. Then we're goners. Unless... we can prove to Mr. Stern, and me, that Bill Church, Jr. is behind Intergang.” Lois looked at Clark helplessly before turning to her boss once more. “Seventy-two hours?” “It'll take us that long just to contact all our sources,” Clark pointed out, quickly. “Hey you want to swim with the billionaires, you gotta swim fast. Now, get cracking. Meet me at McGinty’s at noon, and you can bring me up to speed on what you got so far.” “Chief, it's nine fifteen in the morning” Clark said. “How much do you expect us to dig up in just a couple of hours?” “Am I still in charge here?” Perry asked, bluntly. “When I say noon, I mean, noon! Now move!” Clark and Lois headed out the door without any further ado, leaving their boss tearing his hair out behind them. Lois and Clark emerged from the elevator into the underground parking lot. “We’re really going to have to hustle to try and find everybody by noon,” Lois said. “I already phoned Bobby, but we still have quite a few sources to track down.” “If it helps keep us from being sold to Multiworld Communications, I'm all for it.” “What, you don't want to be writing stories about 'My Stepmother Was An Alien Go-Go Dancer'?” Lois asked with a smile. Clark grinned back. As he looked into her eyes, however, his grin faded. “Lois, I’m sorry about earlier. I don’t know what got into me.” “I don’t know what got into you either, Clark,” Lois replied. “We have to talk, but we don’t have time now. I guess we’ll catch the bad guys, blah, blah, blah, and then we can talk.” A black van screeched around a support beam and squealed to a halt in front of them. The sliding door opened to reveal three men in black hoods, all pointing guns at the two reporters. As their hands slowly went up into the air, Clark murmured to Lois, “Or the other way around.” “Huh?” she whispered. “You said ‘catch the bad guys.’ Unfortunately, it’s happening the other way around.” One of the three men stepped forward away from the van. He made a surreptitious gesture at one of the other men who, unnoticed by Lois and Clark, opened a box to reveal a red, glowing crystal. “Ms. Lane, you’re invited to be our guest.” He half-turned to Clark. “And you, whoever you are, it looks like you’ll be sharing some quality time with Ms. Lane.” “Sounds good to me,” Clark drawled. “Huh?” Lois turned to Clark in time to see a goofy grin spread over his face. How did Clark make his current stance with hands in the air look so casual and relaxed? “Hey, Lois, you know we were just saying that we needed to find time to talk. This looks like a golden opportunity to me.” “What?” The leader motioned them over to the van. “Lucky I was with you,” Clark said as he followed Lois to the vehicle. The three men moved out of their way, keeping them covered with their guns. “I’d sure hate to miss out on us getting to spend time alone. You know how I feel about you.” “Clark,” Lois muttered from between tightly clenched teeth as her hands were cuffed behind her back. “Do you really think this is the time or place for this discussion?” “No time like the present,” Clark replied, beaming at her, not even seeming to notice that his own hands were being cuffed. “Think of it as an opportunity to spend quality time together.” “Clark, what are you on? We’re being kidnapped. We’re not talking Club Med here.” “I don’t know, Lois. When I’m with you, I feel as though...” “Would the two of you please shut up?” the leader of the three men exclaimed. “You’re really beginning to irritate me.” He moved in front of Lois and gently placed a cloth bag over her head. “Don’t worry. There are lots of air holes in this. It’s not comfortable, but you won’t suffocate.” The last thing Lois saw as the bag covered her eyes was her partner winking rakishly at her, goofy grin still in place. ************************************************* Sidewalk in front of the Daily Planet – 9:45 a.m. ************************************************* Perry emerged from the front door of the Planet. He’d decided to head out a little early, look for some of his sources. One thing that Lois and Clark sometimes forgot, he still had sources. After all, he’d been a newshound in this city for a long time. It wasn’t time to put Perry White out to pasture! He waited for the stoplight to change when he heard a voice shout his name. Turning on his heel, he spied a shiny black limousine idling by the curb. The rear window was half-open, and there was a familiar face peering out at him. The rear door opened, and Church gestured to him to get in. “Nice of you to save me the trouble of coming up to see you, Perry.” “Billy! How the heck are you, son?” “Just fine, Perry,” Church drawled. “How about you? How’s Alice?” He slid over on the seat leaving lots of room for Perry to enter. “We’re just fine, thanks, Billy,” Perry said as he clambered into the limo. “What can I do for you?” Church’s large chauffeur slid onto the seat opposite Perry. “Well... since you asked, you can tell Mr. Stern that he should sell The Daily Planet to Multiworld Communications. “Why would I do that, son?” “Oh, I don’t know, Perry. Perhaps because you’re missing a couple of reporters, and I’m the one who has them.” “What?” “Intergang. I run it. Now do the pieces fit?” “Like horns on a June bug. You’re behind Multiworld Communication’s offer to buy the Planet?” “Of course,” Church drawled, sounding very amused. “Not only did I take over Dad’s legit business, but I took over Intergang, too - kind of a two for one deal. Unfortunately, you made Mr. Stern hesitate on our bid, so... I thought this might help to tip the scales. Now, don’t be upset, Perry. If he sells, you still have a job. I want you to stay on.” “The only paper you're about to become publisher of is the Maximum Security Monthly.” “Perry, look, I’m making you an offer. I want you to be part of the Intergang family. You and Alice will be taken care of for life. We’ve got a great medical program and a terrific retirement plan.” “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Perry asked, indignantly. “Absolutely.” “And just what would give you the fool idea that I’d go along with this little plot of yours?” “So indignant! Bravissimo. I’d expect nothing less from the crusading Perry White. How soon we forget, however? Do the names ‘Lois Lane’ and ‘Clark Kent’ ring any bells?” “What have you done to them?” The beefy chauffeur shifted, uncomfortably, but Church put up his hand, calming him down. “You better calm down. Watch that blood pressure. You don’t have access to our medical program just yet.” Church chuckled deep in his throat. “Don’t you fret about your crack team of reporters. They’re just fine. They’re enjoying some quality time together. Now then, Perry, I know this is a lot to absorb. Think it over. We'll talk some more. Then we'll see.” Church’s very large chauffeur opened the rear door and pointedly waited for Perry to step out. As he did, he admonished Church, fervently, “I’d be phoning my attorney if I were you! You’ll be in jail longer than a cat with nine lives!” Church just waved dismissively as his limo pulled away from the curb. Perry stood and watched it go. What was he going to do? “Superman, where are you when I need you?” he muttered. Perry thought for a minute. How were they going to find him? Normally Clark or Lois contacted Superman. He ran for the elevator and rode it back up to the newsroom. The doors sprang open, Perry jumped out, opened his mouth and bellowed one word. “JIMMY!” Continued in part 3 ===== www.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 04:21:41 -0700 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: New fanfic: Taking Responsibility - part 3 of 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Title: Taking Responsibility (posted as Abdication of Responsibility on Zoom's message boards) Author: Irene Dutchak Rating: PG Part: 3 of 6 Feedback: Any or all, public or private, to sirenegold@yahoo.com Part 3 *********************************** Intergang Headquarters – 10:15 a.m. *********************************** Lois stumbled as she was shoved through the doorway of the underground chamber. Clark entered more gracefully. While one man stood guard with his gun, another man uncuffed their hands. Before they could take their hoods off, the two men left, locking the door behind them. They pulled the black cloth off their faces and looked around the room. Eyes wide, Lois looked anywhere but at her partner. Clark woozily watched her as she surveyed the room. Seeing heavy drapes lining one wall, she stalked over and pulled them open only to discover that there was no window, and that the opening only led to a solid rock wall. With the exception of the lack of a view, the room was actually very tastefully decorated. The furniture looked comfortable as well as quite expensive. “This looks nice,” Clark said, a tone of surprise in his voice. Lois sniffed audibly, walked over to the door and started examining the lock. Clark threw himself down on the couch, spreading himself out on it into a lounging position. He leaned forward to take the lid off a serving dish on the coffee table in front of him. “Hey, appetizers!” he exclaimed, happily. He popped one into his mouth and chewed it with gusto. “Oh, man, that was good. You should try one.” Lois glared at him as she continued to explore the room. “I’m so glad that you’re making the best of this, Clark,” she snapped. The sarcasm went right over Clark’s head. He ate another appetizer and then beamed at her. “I could get used to this. This is the life!” Lois marched over to look down in disgust at her partner. “Clark! In case you haven’t noticed, we’re being held prisoner. We can’t just stroll outside whenever we want.” Clark chuckled, not intimidated in the slightest. “It’s nothing new to me. I’ve been a prisoner for a couple of years now.” “What?” “You captured my heart the first day I met you.” He quickly pulled Lois onto his lap. “Wanna neck?” “What?” Lois jumped to her feet. “I most certainly do not want to neck! Clark! We’ve been kidnapped, and you’re acting like this is a good thing. What’s going on?” Clark looked surprised at her words. His forehead wrinkled a bit as he thought hard. A puzzled look came over his face. “I, uh, honestly don't know.” “Don't know? Well, who do I call who does know?” “Lois, it's difficult to explain. It's like I suddenly got my priorities straight. You know, I took stock of my life.” “You took stock of your life? You got your priorities straight? How straight can they be, Clark? We’ve been kidnapped, The Planet is about to be sold, and you’re coming on to me!” Clark helplessly looked up at Lois. “I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is that I have these feelings... these moods... It’s as if all this stuff that I’ve been cramming deep inside of me has just decided that it has to come out.” “Get over it. Your timing stinks!” Lois snarled only to flinch when she saw Clark’s eyes become suspiciously moist at her words. “I’m sorry,” he said, hunching over and wrapping his arms around himself. “I don’t know what’s got into me.” “No, Clark,” Lois said with a sigh, her anger dissipating in the face of Clark’s obvious distress. “I’m sorry. There’s obviously something going on with you, and I’m not being very sympathetic. Tell me. Have you ever had these mood swings before?” “Never.” Lois sat down beside her friend and gently placed a hand on his arm. “And now, for no particular reason, you feel kind of down? Kind of like, what's the point of everything?” “I don’t know why I’m overreacting, Lois, but there is a reason that I’m down,” Clark confessed, sadly. “What?” Her arm encircled his shoulders as he stared at the ground. Clark looked up at her, his eyes glistening, more solemn than she had ever seen him. “I’ve been feeling horrible ever since...” “Ever since what?” she prompted, softly. Anger spread over Clark’s face, the sudden change in expression making her recoil from him. “Ever since Stupid Agent Man turned up! What do you see in him anyway, Lois? He’s a jerk. He’s an idiot! He’s...” Unheard by either reporter, the door opened and two men came into the room. One immediately stood in position beside the door, his gun drawn and at the ready. “He’s attentive!” Lois retorted, her own temper flaring. “He’s with me when he says he’s going to be, unlike someone else that I could name. “Oh, that is so not fair! I’m attentive...” “Shut up!” Both Lois and Clark looked up in shock at this intrusion into their argument. “YOU!” Lois exclaimed. “Oh, so dramatic, Ms. Lane,” Bill Church, Jr. drawled as he strolled towards them. “So boring. I had the same overblown reaction from your boss.” “You talked to Perry? What did he say?” Clark jumped to his feet. Church’s bodyguard tensed, his eyes never leaving Clark. “Sit, sit, sit. You don’t want to make Tony nervous, do you?” Clark looked from the gun in Tony’s hand to Lois and back again. He slowly sank back onto the couch beside her. “That’s better,” Church said, smoothly. “In answer to your question, Perry’s currently considering the job offer I made him – the same one that I’m going to make to both of you.” He pulled out a cigar, carefully trimmed it and lit it before putting his cigar trimmer back into his pocket. “And that is?” Lois prompted, her nostrils twitching at the acrid odour of the cigar. “I want you to continue to work for me after Stern sells me The Planet.” “Work for Intergang? And all we’d have to do is what? Give up our pride, our integrity? Just throw away the public trust we’ve earned over the past few years of hard work? To 'back off' on our responsibility to give the American people the truth?” Lois glared at the other man. “Basically.” “No deal,” she said, bluntly. “No?” Church smiled patronisingly. “How about you?” he asked, looking at Clark. “I stand with my partner. No deal.” “Oh, now, let’s not be hasty. Give it some thought over dinner. I’ll be back later. We’ll talk.” Church strolled to the door. He turned and addressed them once more. “Oh, by the way, Mr. Kent, where did you buy that tie? I wouldn’t mind carrying something like that in Costmart. Dad always went for low costs, but I want to attract a more upscale consumer. Thrown off balance, Clark looked down at the colourful paisley pattern on his chest and said, “Uh, it was a gift from Lois.” Church turned to Lois and regarded her patiently. She glared back. “As if I’d tell.” “Hmmm, too bad.” The door closed behind Church and his guard. Lois and Clark could hear the sound of a key turning in the lock, closing them in once more. ********************* Daily Planet – 4 p.m. ********************* “JIMMY!” Perry White bellowed for the tenth time that day. The young photographer dashed into his boss’s office and skidded to a halt in front of the desk. “Chief, no sign of Superman anywhere. I’ve checked all the news stations, the wire service and the radio. I even tried going out on the roof and yelling for help as loud as I could. Nada. Zippo. Nothing.” “Where in tarnation is he?” Perry asked. “I don’t know, Chief. One thing, though – Bobby Big Mouth called...” “What in Sam Hill is a Bobby Big Mouth?” “He’s one of Lois’s sources, a totally connected dude.” “Humph, in my day, sources had different, more dignified names. I would never have talked to someone with a name like that. They had names like...” “Sore Throat?” Jimmy interrupted, grinning. Perry shifted in his chair. “Oh, never mind all that. What did this Bobby Big Mouth have to say?” “He left a message that he got more info on the leader of the trio that tried to steal our cheques. Gene Newtrich. He’s a soil engineer.” “Soil Engineer and part time thief. What the heck would make a soil engineer decide to steal payroll cheques?” “We got a work address,” Jimmy said, holding the message for Lois in the air. “Jimmy?” “Yes, Chief?” “Let’s jump on this now.” “I’m right with you, Chief.” ******************************* Intergang Headquarters – 6 p.m. ******************************* “One thing you have to admit,” Clark tentatively broke the awkward silence, “is that Church has a fantastic chef.” Lois nodded, but didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry,” he said, softly. She glanced at him, nodded once more, but still didn’t say anything. “Lois, please, you have to talk to me. You’re really worrying me.” “I don’t know what to say, Clark.” “Tell me what you’re thinking. Tell me how you feel.” Lois pushed her plate away and stood up from the table. She began to pace from one end of the small room to the other. Clark’s eyes followed her, never straying from her face. “I’m thinking that all the men in my life are crazy. I’m thinking that I have three men chasing me, and it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. I’m feeling confused. Very, very confused. I’m feeling totally conflicted. I’m thinking that I’m trapped in a prison with a man who’s been acting very weird lately, but it doesn’t matter because we’re only going to die anyway...” “Lois, we’re not going to die,” Clark interrupted. “How do you know, Clark? You can’t guarantee that. You don’t have a magic wand that you can wave to make everything all better. You don’t have all the answers. No one does.” “Lois, trust me. We’re not going to die.” “Fine. We’re not going to die. Great. Now what do I do? Three men. Three men after me all wanting me to make a choice. There’s Dan who’s very interesting, not bad-looking, fun, attentive,” she glared at Clark on the last word as if daring him to say something. He didn’t. She sighed and continued, “but somehow, lacking... something. And then there’s Superman – only the strongest man in the world. Only the man that millions of women dream of...” Clark blushed. Lois didn’t notice. “... only the man that I dreamed of for over a year, only the man that I’m coming to realise that I don’t really know, and then there’s you.” “How do you see me?” he asked softly. “You totally confuse me. You’re my best friend and my partner. You’re kind and gentle and sensitive, and I don’t scare you off. I can’t say that about too many people. It’s definitely an asset,” she said with a half smile. “I love being with you, Clark. You’re a wonderful man.” “So what’s the problem?” He leaned forward onto his elbows and regarded her solemnly. “You confuse me. You push to get close to me, and then when I let you, you push me away. We take two steps forward, things are great, and then you jump back one and a half steps or more.” She shrugged. “Like I said, you confuse me.” “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You’re always sorry,” she replied, sadly. “But, Clark, sometimes ‘sorry’ just isn’t good enough.” Clark stood up and moved to stand in front of her. He was about to respond when they heard the sound of a key turning in the lock. The door opened and Church came in, accompanied by his statuesque blonde assistant and his bodyguard. The assistant didn’t say anything, but, with an appreciative look at Clark, moved to the table and cleared the dishes onto a cart before wheeling them out. Clark was oblivious to the woman’s flirtatious glances, but Lois saw them. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say anything. “Good evening. Did you enjoy your dinner?” “You do run a first class prison here,” Lois said, sarcastically. Church pulled a cigar from his pocket, trimmed it and lit it. “Don't think of it as a prison. I'd like you to think of it as your future corporate headquarters.” “We’ll never join up with Intergang,” Lois replied, firmly. Church looked at Clark to get his reaction. Standing behind Lois, Clark put his hands on her shoulders. “I stand with my partner,” he said, simply. “Perhaps you don't fully grasp the situation. If you work for me, you get rich beyond your wildest dreams. If, on the other hand, you continue to cling to your misguided morality, you die. At Harvard Business School, we'd call that a no-brainer.” There was a knock on the door interrupting them. Gene Newtrich entered the room. “Can I speak to you in private, Mr. Church?” “Anything you have to say you can say in front of these two,” Church drawled. “They’re either going to be part of our team, or they’ll soon be playing for the angels.” Newtrich shrugged. “There’s no sign of Superman. I’ve been watching the news and listening to the radio. No one’s seen him anywhere.” “Good,” Church said as he puffed on his cigar. “I’m not too worried, though. If he shows up, we’ve still got the red Kryptonite.” Lois was quick to jump on that statement. “Red Kryptonite? What are you talking about?” “We discovered it by accident, but we're very pleased with its effect on Superman. Evidently, it makes him very susceptible to suggestion. You should know, Ms. Lane. You were there. Why, you even made the suggestion that he catch my men. I’d guess that he wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t put the thought into his head. It also seems to make his inhibitions disappear. Why, you’d know that, too. It seems his feelings for you are one of the things he’s been inhibited about.” “Is that why you kidnapped Lois?” Clark asked, his brow furrowed into worry lines. “You figure that he’s crazy about her, and he’d do anything to keep her safe?” “Exactly, Mr. Kent,” Church replied, smugly. “Ms. Lane here is our ace in the hole. If, by some wild coincidence, Superman were to show up here, we have two weapons – the red Kryptonite, and his fears for Ms. Lane’s safety. Pretty nifty, wouldn’t you say?” Church beamed happily at the two reporters. “And, if we manage to continue to expose Superman to the red Kryptonite, my scientists tell me that eventually his condition could become permanent.” “Permanent?” Lois’s eyes met Clark’s. He looked as upset as she felt. Continued in part 4 ===== www.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 04:21:50 -0700 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: New fanfic: Taking Responsibility - part 4 of 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Title: Taking Responsibility (posted as Abdication of Responsibility on Zoom's message boards) Author: Irene Dutchak Rating: PG Part: 4 of 6 Feedback: Any or all, public or private, to sirenegold@yahoo.com Part 4 ******************************* Gene Newtrich’s Office – 9 p.m. ******************************* Perry and Jimmy moved down the empty hallway till they found a door, which read ‘Gene Newtrich Engineering, State Licensed Land Surveyor.’ “This is the place,” Jimmy said. Perry rattled the doorknob with no luck. “Jimmy, look at this!” Perry exclaimed pointing at a five-digit keypad beside the door. He shook his head. “There must be over a zillion possible combinations to that lock.” Jimmy grinned. “Watch and learn.” He pulled a little electronic gizmo out of his pocket and attached it to the side of the keypad. As Perry watched in amazement, one by one the numbers on the keypad lit up until the lock clicked open. It had only taken about thirty seconds. He looked at Jimmy in awe and asked, “Where the heck did you get that?” “Spies ‘R Us, of course.” The two men silently pushed open the door and entered, carefully closing the door behind them. Newtrich’s office was small and well organized. File cabinets lined the walls, and a large drafting table stood in the centre of the office. Perry started opening drawers, digging around in the files. After a moment’s hesitation, Jimmy joined in. “What exactly are we looking for, Chief?” “I have no idea, but hopefully we'll know when we find it.” They searched in silence for a moment before Jimmy spoke up. “Chief, I can’t help worrying about Lois and CK – you know, wondering what they’re going through.” “I know, Jimmy, but let’s try to stay focused on the problem at hand. That’s the best way to help them.” “Okay, but I still don't see why a soil engineer would be involved in a plot to steal cheques?” Perry sighed in frustration. “That's the $64,000 question.” As he spoke, he started spreading out some rolled up blueprints on the drafting table. “Newtrich has to be tied into some larger organization,” he muttered. Over at Newtrich’s desk, Jimmy slid open a drawer to discover a glowing red stone inside. “Whoa! Chief, look at this!” he exclaimed as he held it up. “What do you think it is? A ruby? I’ve never seen one this size before!” “Never mind that! Look at this. These are the plans for the substructure of Costmart.” “And that means?” Jimmy prompted as he replaced the stone in the drawer. Perry grinned triumphantly. “That means that Newtrich worked for Costmart, and Costmart is run by Bill Church, Jr., which means Newtrich is probably part of Intergang.” Jimmy opened his mouth to ask a question, only to shut it once more when he heard someone approaching the office. “What are we going to do?” he whispered to Perry. “Get caught in the act, I guess.” Jimmy shot Perry a look of absolute panic at his words. Perry laughed, quietly. “Just joshing you, son,” he murmured. Blueprint in hand, he grabbed Jimmy and pulled him into a dark corner behind the door. The office door opened, and a janitor entered. As the janitor moved further into the office, Jimmy and Perry slipped out from behind the door and made their escape. ******************************** Intergang Headquarters – 10 p.m. ******************************** Watching Lois pace in confined quarters was like watching a panther pad back and forth in a cage, Clark reflected. She’d checked into everything that wasn’t bolted down, opening drawers and dumping their contents out to be examined. She hadn’t bothered putting anything away with the result that the room looked like it had been stirred with a giant mixing spoon. That was Lois. She hadn’t found anything even remotely useful. Clark hadn’t either when he had judiciously searched the room with his x-ray vision. He didn’t see any possible way out of this situation that wasn’t completely dependant on his superpowers. She wasn’t talking to him, once again. Dealing with Church seemed to have pushed her off balance, and when Lois was off balance and unsure of herself, look out! Initially, he had followed her around, putting things away after she’d finished examining them, but had quickly desisted after receiving a poisonous glare from her. Now he sat slumped on the comfortable sofa, his feet propped up on the coffee table, and watched her prowl. He was too tired to do anything more. Physically, Clark felt fine. His powers, as far as he could tell, were all intact. He had x-rayed the room, zoomed in on the sound of Lois’s heartbeat for a moment and had surreptitiously reheated her coffee. And when he had excused himself to use the washroom, he had lingered a second to float himself up to touch the ceiling. Also, as a matter of course, he had zapped all the bugs and miniature video cameras that had the two of them under surveillance. So, no problem with his powers. No, he was exhausted emotionally. This was totally unlike any other kind of Kryptonite exposure he had previously suffered. He shuddered as he remembered the waves of pain and nausea that normally accompanied Kryptonite. If he had to be exposed to any kind of Kryptonite, he had to admit, he vastly preferred this red variety. But the red Kryptonite came with its own set of problems. When they got out of here, Superman was still going to have to deal with the underworld knowing that Lois Lane was very, very important to him. He’d set her up to be a target, and he didn’t have any clue as to how to salvage the situation. Even worse, Lois must now think that Clark Kent was completely and totally emotionally unstable. He’d be lucky if she’d still want to work with him after all this. And he might as well forget about ever dating her again. If, and it was a huge ‘if’, but if she ever decided to forgive Clark and date him, how would he ever be able to tell her the truth? ‘Hey, Lois! You know how you keep having all these close calls ‘cause all of Metropolis’s assorted thugs think you’re dating Superman? Guess what? You are’. Oh, yeah, that would go over really well! Clark got gloomier and gloomier as he brooded upon their current predicament. He stopped watching Lois as his thoughts turned inwards. For this reason, it was an incredible shock to his system when she turned to him and wailed, “Clark, this is all my fault!” “What?’ She threw herself down on the couch beside him. “This is all my fault! I drive men crazy. I don’t know how I do it, because it’s purely unconscious on my part, but I do it anyway. That’s the only explanation for this whole stupid situation. I’m just... There’s something about me... I don’t even know what to call it, but I attract men like magnets! If I could stop, I would. Then Superman wouldn’t feel the way that he does, and when he got exposed to the red Kryptonite and it affected him the way that it did, he wouldn’t have had any feelings about me to blurt out. It’s all my fault!” “Lois, it’s not your fault,” Clark assured her as he gently brushed the hair back from her face. “How do you know, Clark?” Lois retorted. “You’re a man. You’re susceptible. You probably wouldn’t feel about me the way that you do if I didn’t have some weird pheromone thing going on! The crazy way that you’ve been acting recently – it’s my fault, too!” “Lois, that’s silly,” Clark said, smiling tenderly at her. “Is it, Clark? It has to be magnetism or pheromones or something. There’s no other reason for you to like me the way that you do.” “Oh, really?” “Let’s face it, Clark. I’m opinionated and stubborn. I’m overly focused on work and persistent to the point of being really annoying. What is there to like?” “How about the fact that you’re passionate about your work, and you have a great sense of humour, and you’re brilliant, and you’ve got a streak of compassion and sensitivity inside that you try to hide, but can’t? What about all that, Lois? How about the way you bring out the best in me when you’re around? What about the fact that I find you to be the most exciting woman in the world, and I can’t imagine ever feeling this way about any other woman? Ever!” Clark grinned at her. “Oh, yeah, and it doesn’t hurt that you’re absolutely gorgeous. I’d still have the same feelings for you if you weren’t, but you are. You’re beautiful, Lois – inside and out.” “Oh, Clark,” Lois said, softly as tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m no good at relationships. You were right before. I am afraid of intimacy. I mean, look at how I’ve acted. I’ve been so mean to you. We had a great date, and then I slammed the door in your face.” “We got past that, Lois.” “I know. And then we kissed. Oh, boy, did we kiss! I was so happy.” “I was happy, too, Lois,” Clark murmured. “But I was scared to be happy,” Lois continued. “Then you started backing away from me, which scared me worse. And because I was scared, I was susceptible. I had my head turned by flattery, and I ended up going out with a man that I don’t care for. Oh, I like Dan. He’s lots of fun, but he’s not half the man that you are.” Clark stared at her, his heart in his mouth. “Do you mean that, Lois? You still have feelings for me?” “Well, most of the time,” she replied, eyeing him wryly. “I can’t say I’m too thrilled with how you’ve been acting today.” Clark sighed. “Me either. I’m sorry. But your going out with Dan upset me.” “Well, your running away upsets me!” “I know. I’m sorry.” “Like I said to you earlier, Clark, sometimes ‘sorry’ just doesn’t cut it.” “I know. But I’m scared, too.” Lois turned to Clark. She tucked her legs up to sit cross-legged facing him. “What are you scared of, Clark?” “I... I want to tell you, but I... Oh, Lois, I just can’t.” “Why? Is it that bad?” “I don’t know.” Clark looked down at his clasped hands. “Are you married, gay, a criminal on the run, in the Witness Protection Program, ill with a hereditary illness that will turn you into a raving lunatic – not that you needed the help today – or dying?” A laugh burst out of Clark’s throat. “No. Nothing like that.” “Then don’t tell me.” “What?” Clark looked at her in amazement. “You’re kidding, right? The Great Lois Lane does not put up with things being kept from her.” “You’re right. I was kidding. Now you’re out of options, Clark Kent. You have no choice but to tell me what you’ve been hiding. I’ve just cut you off at the knees.” Lois grinned at him. “So spill it, Kent!” Clark stared at her. She was right. She had sat there and logically taken every other choice away from him. And, by forcing him to tell her, she’d solved the nagging problem as to how he was going to get her out of this prison while trying to hide his alter ego from her. He shook his head. “You’re right,” he told her. “I know,” she replied, happily. “All right, Clark... give it up.” “Okay,” he said, slowly, glancing at her shyly and then looking away again. “I will. Before I do, I want you to know that I’ve always wanted to tell you this, but I’ve been so paranoid about hiding this for so long that it’s been hard to even think about letting you in on my secret. So I’m going to tell you for a couple of reasons. One, I love you, and I want you to know about this because it wouldn’t be fair for us to get even more involved and not let you know. And two, there’s a big problem that this secret has caused for both of us, and if anyone can figure out how to solve this problem, it’s you. I’ve been wracking my brain, and I can’t figure out a solution.” He glanced at her to see how she was reacting. She was focused on him, obviously listening to and thinking about every word that he said. “I need you to know that I do trust you, and that’s not why I didn’t tell you right away. It’s just that the timing wasn’t right to tell you before.” “And it is now?” she asked, quietly. “Yes. I’ve been close to telling you for a long time now. But, like any man, there are things that I’m insecure about, and that’s held me back. I’m not happy telling you here in this place,” he gestured around the room, “but I’m happy to tell you. Sort of.” He grimaced. “Actually, when I think about it, happy’s the wrong word. Terrified – that’s the word. But I do want you to know,” he sighed, “even though you’ll probably kill me.” “Clark, I’ve never seen you so nervous,” Lois said as she took his hand. She gently squeezed it. “You’ve said a lot about your secret. I think you’ll feel better when you tell me what it is.” Clark nodded and took a deep breath. “I’m Superman.” “What?” “Actually, Superman’s me. I’ve always been Clark. I only started being Superman after I moved here to Metropolis. I wanted to help people, but I wanted to have a normal life, and...” “Hold on just a second, buster! You’re him... He’s you...” Clark gazed at her, guiltily. “Uh huh.” “Really?” Lois asked, plaintively. “Yeah.” Clark floated up off the couch to prove it. “Oh.” She didn’t say anything more, just looked blankly off into space. Clark landed on the couch beside her once more. “Uh, Lois, you’re not quite reacting the way I figured you would. Could you say something here? You’re making me really nervous.” “I’m just thinking...” “What about?” “I was just wondering...” “Yes,” he prompted her. She looked at him with the strangest expression on her face, but didn’t say anything. “Lois?” “I was just wondering how you come up with your excuses. ‘Cheese of the Month’ Club? Clark? That is so dumb. You need me. You need my help.” “Yes, I do, but aren’t you mad?” “I’m not sure,” Lois said with a frown. “Right now, for some reason, all these silly excuses are running through my head making me wonder how the heck I ever believed you for a minute. ‘I’ll be right back from the place I have to go to that I’ll be right back from,” she said in a singsong voice. “Clark, that is so lame!” Clark was taken aback. “I can’t believe that the only thing you want to tell me off about is the quality of my excuses.” “Oh, I’m just getting started,” Lois replied. “I’m sure I’ll work myself up about all sorts of things later, but we have other things on our plates right now.” “We do? I mean, yes, we do.” “Oh!” Lois exclaimed, a shocked look on her face. “What?” “Someone’s probably watching us – taping our conversation... Clark...” “Don’t worry, Lois.” Clark tapped his glasses and gave her a look fraught with significance. “Oh, you...” She made a quick gesture with her hands. “Yeah.” “Good thinking. So I guess the big problem is that we need to get out of here, but we don’t want Church or his thugs to know who you are in your spare time.” “Lois, you’re amazing! I never expected you to react like this. I’ve thrown you a major curve ball, and you just keep going, concentrating on your game, focusing on the next pitch.” Lois grinned at him, cheekily. “I’ve warned you about those sports metaphors before, Kent.” “Sorry!” He grinned back, feeling very giddy in his relief. “I guess we better start brainstorming and figure out exactly how we’re going to get out of here.” “Yeah, and then we have to figure out how to keep all the criminals in Metropolis off my back.” Clark sighed. “I’m sorry about that.” “It’s all right. It wasn’t your fault; you’d been exposed to that red Kryptonite stuff. We’ll figure it out, but before we do, I just have one question first.” “What’s that?” “When Superman, I mean, when you told me that you’d loved me from the first moment that you saw me, did you mean from the first time as Clark or from the first time as Superman? Because I certainly didn’t look my best when you saw me as Superman for the first time, and...” “Lois,” Clark interrupted. “I loved you from the first time that I saw you in Perry’s office. I’ve always loved you. I love you more and more each day. Why the heck do you think Superman has such a hard time staying away from you?” He cupped her cheek with his large hand. “Oh, Clark, you say the sweetest things. I might be a little shell-shocked at the moment, but I do know one thing. I love you, too.” Clark nearly felt faint from the surge of emotion that flooded through him at her words. He closed his eyes briefly to hide his tears of relief. “Thank you, Lois,” he said simply, touching his forehead to hers. He pulled back after a moment and said, “You’ve had your one question. Now, it’s my turn.” Lois looked a little worried, but bravely said, “Go ahead.” His eyes locked on her face. “Would it be all right... if I kissed you?” “Oh, Clark!” She was in his arms faster than he would have thought possible. Their lips met tenderly as he tugged her closer. One long moment later, she pulled back. “Hey! It was Superman who sent me to the Sewage Reclamation Plant!” Clark took one look at the shocked expression on her face. “Oh, oh!” he exclaimed. Continued in part 5 ===== www.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 04:22:00 -0700 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: New fanfic: Taking Responsibility - part 5 of 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Title: Taking Responsibility (posted as Abdication of Responsibility on Zoom's message boards) Author: Irene Dutchak Rating: PG Part: 5 of 6 Feedback: Any or all, public or private, to sirenegold@yahoo.com Part 5 ********************** Daily Planet – 11 p.m. ********************** “Look at this, Jimmy. This might be something. There are two full basements in these plans.” Perry gestured at the spread-out blueprint he’d scooped from Newtrich’s office. “So? They need a lot of room for excess merchandise.” “But look here, son. The loading docks back up to huge doors on the first level basement. But the second level is only reached by one small passenger elevator.” Perry’s finger traced the path of the elevator. “Which means they don't use the sub-basement for storage. What do you think is down there?” Perry smiled, tightly. “I’d guess it’s not an Elvis museum. “So, Chief, you want to take a look at what's in that sub-basement?” “It looks like it’s our only shot.” Perry looked at his watch. “But we can’t get into the store now. What time do they open?” “8.” “Okay, I’ll meet you in Costmart’s parking lot tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. sharp. Okay?” Jimmy nodded. “All right, son. Head home. Get some sleep.” “Will do, Chief. You, too.” ***************************************************** The next morning – Intergang Headquarters – 7:30 a.m. ***************************************************** “Wakey, wakey!” Lois and Clark sat up straight and untangled themselves from each other. “What?” Lois asked, peering blearily at Church. She felt Clark push himself up beside her. “I barely had the heart to wake you. You looked so peaceful sleeping in each other’s arms. Does Superman know that you’re sweet on your partner, Ms. Lane?” Church smirked at the two of them. He pulled a cigar out, trimmed it, replaced his cutter in his pocket and lit the cigar. “It’s none of Superman’s business who I’m involved with!” Lois retorted, wishing she didn’t feel so unbalanced. Why did he have to smoke a filthy, stinky cigar in here? And so early, too. It was really irritating. It was really insensitive. Her eyes narrowed. It was really... interesting, she thought as wheels started to turn in her brain. “I don’t imagine you’re here to check into our personal life, Church, so why don’t you cut to the chase?” Clark stated firmly. “Well, Mr. Kent, I’m here to ... whoa! What happened here?” Church asked as he turned around to survey the chaos that had formerly been an attractive room. “We decided to redecorate,” Lois said, sarcastically. While Church surveyed the mess, she leaned over to whisper in Clark’s ear. “I have a plan. Play along.” Clark looked alarmed, but there wasn’t time to explain more. Church turned back to them. “I came to get your answer to my proposal, Mr. Kent, Ms. Lane.” “If you expect us to ever join Intergang...” Clark started to say. “Wait, Clark. We don’t have to be so hasty, do we?” Lois purred. “What?” “Well, we don’t. I mean we don’t owe anybody anything. There’s no reason why we can’t look out for ourselves, is there?” “I guess we could think about it,” Clark said, slowly. Lois hid a smirk. Clark really wasn’t a very good actor. She pushed herself up off the couch and moved towards Church. Lightly touching him on the chest, she leaned into him a bit, put the most seductive look possible on her face and cooed, “Could we please have just a couple more hours to think about it? We could talk about it over breakfast. I nearly have him convinced, but,” she batted her eyelashes a bit, “I just need a bit more time.” “All right, Ms. Lane. But please don’t touch me anymore.” Lois patted his chest once more. “Why not?” Taking her hands in his, he pushed her away. “To be frank, Ms. Lane, I prefer blondes.” “Oh.” In spite of herself, Lois could feel the colour rising in her face. It didn’t help that she heard Clark smother a chuckle from his position behind her. “I’ll give you two hours. 9:30 sharp, no later. Trust me when I say that you really want to say ‘yes’ to my offer.” Church turned on his heel and left the room. Lois turned back to Clark and grinned triumphantly. He sat with his arms folded across his chest, and sternly regarded her. “Okay. What was that all about?” he asked. Lois didn’t say anything. Instead she unfolded her hand to reveal Church’s cigar trimmer tucked inside. “Lois! You’re brilliant!” She curtsied. “Why, thank you very much, Mr. Kent.” “Yeah, it’s just too bad that you’re not blonde! Then you’d be perfect.” “I’m going to get you for that!” Lois shrieked as she threw herself at him. He surprised her by catching her in mid-air and twirling her around. “You’re just lucky that I happen to like brunettes.” “Brunettes?” “Okay, one brunette.” “Oh, Clark!” She tugged his face to meet hers. They kissed, arms wrapped around each other. Lois pulled away suddenly. “I know what we can do about the ‘Superman’s in love with Lois Lane’ problem!” “What?” Clark asked, eagerly. Lois started talking fast, outlining her idea. Clark looked less and less happy as she spoke. “Lois! I can’t do that!” She grinned at him. “Sure you can, Clark. You’re Superman. You can do anything!” ***************************** Costmart Basement – 8:05 a.m. ***************************** Perry and Jimmy stood at the elevator, trying to figure out a way to activate it. There was a black control panel with a key card slot, but no buttons. Perry looked at Jimmy, his expression sombre. “So, did you happen to bring along your ‘Mission Impossible’ toolbox?” Jimmy grinned. “Actually...” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tube. “What’s that?” “It’s really cool. I just squirt this in the lock, being sure to fill the whole thing,” Jimmy said, demonstrating. “Then I put this piece of metal in so I have something to hold on to.” He looked down at his watch. “We wait fifteen seconds for it to solidify...” He paused, counting the seconds. “And then, ta-da! Instant key.” Jimmy twisted the metal handle in the lock, and the elevator doors opened. “Spies ‘R Us?” Perry asked. “Yep,” Jimmy confirmed. “I’m paying you too much,” Perry muttered as he followed Jimmy into the elevator. ***************************************** At the same time – Intergang Headquarters ***************************************** “I hate waiting,” Lois complained. “Me, too.” Clark pushed his glasses down his nose and focused on the door. “Okay, the guard’s coming with breakfast. Wow! Smoked salmon, fresh croissants, strawberries. Too bad we can’t take it with us.” Lois patted his arm. “You can fly me to Paris later. Croissants sound great!” He grinned at her but quickly turned back as the guard’s key rattled in the lock. Lois leaned nonchalantly against the wall beside the floor lamp and glanced down quickly at the stripped electric cord. It looked okay. Everything was ready. The guard entered, carrying a covered tray. “Breakfast time.” “Great!” Clark said, enthusiastically as he rested his hand casually on the light switch on the wall. The guard placed the tray on the table and turned back to them. “Bon appetit.” Clark hit the switch, plunging the room into total darkness. “Hey!” the guard exclaimed. There was a huge flash of light revealing Lois holding the lamp, pointing it at the guard. Clark couldn’t be seen; he was moving too fast. It only took a second for him to quickly tie the guard up before Lois flipped the light switch back on. “Oh, we are a good team!” Lois said, enthusiastically. “You’re not telling me anything that I don’t already know,” Clark replied, grinning as he efficiently gagged the guard. He stood, grabbed Lois’s hand and tugged her to the door. She snagged a croissant on the way. As they reached the exit, Lois glanced over her shoulder at the trussed-up guard. “Buenos noches, amigo.” Clark pulled her out into the corridor. “Are you going to be all right? I don’t like leaving you alone.” “Clark! It’s not like you’re going to be far away. You just can’t be with me when I get caught. Church has to believe that you’ve gone to find Superman. It wouldn’t be a good idea for him to already be here.” “I know. It’s just...” “It’s all right, Clark. Go. I’ll be fine.” Clark nodded. Then he pulled Lois into his arms and kissed her fiercely before disappearing in a whoosh. “Wow!” Lois exclaimed as she stood stunned and frozen in his wake. Finally she shook herself and collected her wits. ‘Okay, Lane. Time to go and get caught in the act.’ She set off down the corridor, not even trying to be quiet. A couple of minutes later, Lois had managed to locate Church’s office by opening every door in the place. Unfortunately, it was empty. Frowning, she closed the door once more and opened the one beside it to see Church in a romantic clinch with his pretty blonde secretary. “Oooh, Billy,” she heard. “Sandra,” he moaned. Lois flinched. She was the one who was supposed to get caught in the act, not him. “Oops!” she exclaimed, loudly. The two of them looked up in shock. Church’s mouth fell open as he disentangled himself from Sandra. Thankfully, things hadn’t progressed too far, and they were both still dressed. “What...” Church managed to say. Lois smiled brightly at him. “My mistake... Oh, well, I guess I’m going to have to tell you that Clark’s gone to find Superman and to call the police so you better not try anything.” Church closed his mouth with an audible snap, and marched over to seize Lois’s arm in a tight grip. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got control of you, Ms. Lane. Tell you what. Let’s go into my office and wait for everyone. You can watch me wipe my computer files.” He glanced over his shoulder at Sandra. “Call Newtrich. Tell him to bring the red Kryptonite to my office. Then you can come join us. I’ll need your help destroying all my data.” “Yes, Billy...” He glared at her. “I mean, yes, Mr. Church,” she said, meekly. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Perry were prowling around the sub-basement. They had managed to locate the room where Lois and Clark had been kept captive. Perry took one look inside at the chaos. The contents of all the drawers were still tossed haphazardly around the room, and the guard lay trussed in the middle of the floor. He was struggling to free himself without success. Perry turned back to Jimmy and said, “Well, we know that they were here.” “We do?” “Uh huh. Take one look in that room, and you tell me the name of the only person in the world who could have created that mess!” Jimmy glanced in, turned to Perry and grinned. “Yep. That’s Lois’s handiwork all right. So, where are they?” “If you’ll follow me, Mr. White, Jimmy, I’ll take you right to them.” Perry and Jimmy turned around to see a very familiar red, blue and yellow outfit. “Superman!” “Clark managed to get out to find me. Unfortunately, he and Lois got separated. I’m just about to set her free. Care to join me?” “Absolutely!” Jimmy exclaimed. With his two friends in tow, Clark strode through the maze of underground corridors to Church’s office. Concluded in part 6 ===== www.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 04:22:11 -0700 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: New fanfic: Taking Responsibility - part 6 of 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Title: Taking Responsibility (posted as Abdication of Responsibility on Zoom's message boards) Author: Irene Dutchak Rating: PG Part: 6 of 6 Feedback: Any or all, public or private, to sirenegold@yahoo.com Part 6 Inside the office, Lois sat demurely on one of the luxurious leather chairs and watched as Church and his secretary scrambled to erase all the data. Newtrich stood to one side, red Kryptonite in hand, his eyes trained on Lois. Lois was a little worried about the Kryptonite, but Clark had assured her earlier that, now that he knew what was going on, he’d be able to handle it okay. “There. The computers are wiped clean as a newborn. Now when we have the inevitable 'unpleasant' visits from the authorities, there'll be nothing for them to find about Intergang.” Church took a big puff on his cigar. Pursing his lips a bit, he blew a long stream of smoke into the air. “The police will still arrest you on kidnapping charges,” Lois pointed out, helpfully. “Oh, I don’t know, Ms. Lane. I really think that you decided to accept my kind invitation to hide out here in order to be safe from all the riff-raff on the street who want to hurt Superman’s girlfriend.” Sandra moved to stand behind Church and rested her hands on his shoulders. “That’s what she told me, Mr. Church. I’ll testify to that.” “First of all, I’m not his girlfriend,” Lois replied, exasperated. “And second, no one will believe a word of that bilge you’re spewing.” “I don’t really care if they believe me or not. All I want to do is cloud the issue. Oh, I have no doubts that I’ll go to jail, but I’m sure that with the right lawyer, I’ll be out in no time.” “You’re being very philosophical about the whole thing,” Lois said. “I’m a pragmatic man, Ms. Lane. I don’t see any point in getting upset,” Church replied. “Besides, if that doesn’t work, I have an official scapegoat in my employ, don’t I, Gene?” Newtrich jumped. His face fell. “That’s right, Mr. Church,” he said, stolidly. “I was over-zealous with the instructions you gave me. I was only supposed to warn Ms. Lane about the danger she was in...” “The danger she continues to be in,” Church corrected him. “Sorry, yes, the danger that she is in, I wasn’t supposed to kidnap her for her own protection,” Newtrich finished. “And if Superman gets here before the police, well, who knows?” Church added. “We have the red Kryptonite. We might be able to salvage something out of this mess.” “Did someone mention my name?” Lois swivelled around to face the doorway. “Superman! Jimmy! And Perry! What are you two doing here?” “We came to break you out only to find out you’d done it for yourself,” Perry told her. “Superman. So nice to see you. This little situation is really no concern of yours,” Church said, gamely, his eyes flicking to the red Kryptonite in Newtrich’s hands. Clark’s stance changed as Lois watched. She swallowed nervously. He looked different. He looked too casual, too relaxed. Was it possible that he wouldn’t be able to control himself around that stuff? “Fight it, Superman. Don’t give in,” she pleaded, earnestly. “Give in to what?” Jimmy asked. “What’s going on, honey?” Perry moved to her side and gently squeezed her shoulder. “All right now, Superman. Time to be on your way,” Church said, hopefully. “Maybe it is... but then again... maybe it's not, Billy.” Lois sighed in relief as he scooped the Kryptonite from Newtrich’s hand. She watched as Clark, looking like nothing more than a professional ball player, wound up and made a perfect pitch, drilling the Kryptonite through the solid rock of the wall. Church’s mouth fell open. He shook his head in disbelief. “Well, that was unexpected.” A smile spread over his face. “But we still have your girlfriend, Superman.” “My what?” “Your girlfriend, Lois Lane.” “I wouldn’t call her my girlfriend.” “You said that you loved her,” Church replied, indignantly. “Well, sure,” Clark drawled. “Wouldn’t you? The woman’s gorgeous.” Lois watched Perry and Jimmy as they watched Clark. She smothered a smirk at the shocked expressions on their faces. “You mean you don’t love her?” “Hooboy! I’d like to love her, that’s a given. I mean, who wouldn’t. She’s the most beautiful brunette I’ve ever seen. But, hey, she wasn’t interested. Oh, well, plenty of other fish in the sea. Like you,” he addressed a very startled Sandra. “You must be some kind of angelfish, baby. I could learn to love you, doll face.” Sandra’s face lit up. She took a step away from Church. “Really?” “Absolutely, sweetheart.” “Sandra!” Church protested, futilely. “All right, Superman!” Jimmy exclaimed. “Jimmy,” Lois snapped, annoyed. “Sorry, Lois,” Jimmy muttered. “Wow!” Sandra ignored her boss to move forward and tentatively lay her hand on Clark’s Spandex-clad arm. “Can I ask you something?” He nodded. “I’ve always wanted to know. Do you have to work out, or are all these muscles natural?” “All natural. Wanna feel?” Clark flexed his arm for her. “Oooh,” she squealed excitedly as she gingerly squeezed. “Yeah, we could have a future, baby, if only you weren’t going to jail. Maybe I’ll come visit you.” Sandra’s face fell, and she stepped away from Clark to Lois’s relief. Knowing that Clark was pretending was one thing. Actually watching him flirt with another woman was another. “But before you’re locked up,” Clark said, with a sloppy grin, “wouldn’t it be fun if we could find a pretty redhead? We’d have a blast.” He leaned forward to whisper loudly in her ear, “Give me a couple of minutes. I think I can talk Lois into going along. Just think of it. Me with a blonde, a brunette and a redhead.” Church held his head forlornly in his hands. “You mean the red Kryptonite only makes him... horny?” he asked, plaintively. Lois grinned. “Seems like it!” “Lois, honey, what the heck is going on?” Perry asked. She motioned him closer. “I’ll tell you later,” she whispered. “Don’t worry, Perry.” Newtrich inched to the door. Lois moved to stand in front of him. Perry and Jimmy flanked her. “Uh, uh,” she said, wagging her index finger in his face. “Nice try, but no cigar.” “You know, Billy...” Clark drawled, eyeing Church speculatively. “What?” Church asked. “What could you possibly find to say to me at this point in time?” He slumped in his chair, a defeated man. Clark snagged a chair and sat down beside Church. He patted the other man on the knee. “I just noticed something...” “What?” “You have really gorgeous eyes and nice hair. Not a bad build.” Church’s eyes widened. “Do you wanna feel my muscles, too?” A burst of hysterical laughter threatened to break free of Lois’s throat, but she managed to restrain herself. “Um, Perry,” she stammered. “Could you watch Newtrich for me? I’m going to, uh, I’m going to go and, um, find Clark and the police. They should be here pretty soon.” She ran out in the hallway, turned a couple of corners to get far enough away, and then collapsed, laughing harder than she’d ever laughed in her life. The look of panic on Church’s face... And the shocked disapproval on Perry’s and Jimmy’s... She’d never forget this moment as long as she lived. ************************** The Daily Planet – 10 a.m. ************************** “... I think it was only Church’s men who heard me tell Lois that I love her. I had to cover that up somehow. Now, after the way I behaved in that basement, I can pretty well guarantee that Church will do everything in his power to keep me away from red Kryptonite!” “You mean it was all a ruse?” Perry leaned back in his chair and eyed Superman suspiciously. “Yes, it was, Mr. White. Clark and Lois figured out what I should do to, uh, defuse the awkward situation that I had inadvertently put Lois in. I can’t pretend that I was thrilled with the plan when Clark told me about it, but there wasn’t time to come up with anything else.” He glanced sideways at Jimmy. “I was a little disconcerted when I saw the two of you there. I knew that I was going to be embarrassed enough by the whole thing; I didn’t relish having an even larger audience. At the same time I did know that I could trust the two of you. You would never do anything to hurt Lois.” “Or you, Superman,” Perry assured him. “Thank you, Mr. White.” “So, what you’re saying, Superman,” Jimmy said, slowly, quickly glancing through the glass to see Lois at her desk, “is that you really do love Lois, but it’s dangerous for people to know.” Superman dipped his head in acknowledgement of Jimmy’s words. “You’re not going to ask her out, are you?” Jimmy asked, worried. “She and CK seem to be really getting along, and...” “Jimmy!” Perry interrupted. “I know Superman won’t do that. It wouldn’t be fair to Lois. She’d be in danger all the time. She’d have criminals chasing her all over the city.” “That’s right, Mr. White. I just have to face the fact that there are certain things that I’ll never have in my life. I would rather be alone than ever do anything that would hurt her. No, I have to step back and watch from afar. It helps that I like Clark.” A smile crept over his face. “I’d be happy if they ended up together.” Perry stood up and extended his hand over his desk to Superman. “Son, I’ve never respected you more than I do right now.” Superman got up and solemnly shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. White. And now, if you excuse me, I’m going to go and say goodbye to Lois. It’s time for me to leave.” He turned and strode from the room, shutting the door carefully behind him. Perry and Jimmy silently watched him go. He moved to Lois’s side, smiled down at her, said a few words, and then was gone. “Jimmy, that’s one great man.” Perry’s eyes were suspiciously moist. “I know,” Jimmy replied simply. ******************************************* Sidewalk outside Newtrich’s Office – 5 p.m. ******************************************* “It’s too bad that the Kryptonite’s gone,” Clark said. “It’s unbelievable how fast Newtrich’s sisters cleaned out his office! At least they won’t know what it is.” Lois grinned. “It is too bad. Who knows? It might have come in handy! You know, if my boyfriend started hiding things on me again.” “Oh, it would, would it? I’m not eager to see it again. It caused us enough problems.” “You are feeling better, aren’t you?” Lois asked Clark briskly. He grinned at her. “I never felt that bad.” She laughed. “I guess you didn’t. Clark, I can’t believe how convincing you were.” He chuckled. “Well, mark that down to the red Kryptonite. I honestly didn’t think I could pull it off, but wow! That must be what being drunk feels like. It made it really easy to make a fool out of myself.” “I’m sorry we didn’t come up with a plan that, um, respected Superman’s dignity.” “That’s okay, Lois. First of all, when it comes to your safety, I couldn’t care less about my dignity. Second, I figure, in some small way, you got even for me sending you crawling around the Sewage Reclamation Plant.” Lois burst into giggles. “There is that!” Clark waited patiently until Lois calmed down. “So, Lois... are we okay?” “Yeah, I think so,” she replied, thoughtfully. “I feel a lot better now that I know you weren’t running away from me.” “It was all so frustrating. Every time I tried to talk with you, it seemed like I’d have to dash off and rescue someone. I’m the strongest man in the world, and everything seemed to be spiralling out of my control.” Lois took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. “And then when you were going out with Dan...” “Shhh.” She placed a finger over his lips, hushing him. “I’m not going out with Dan any more. There’s only one man in my life now.” Clark pulled her to a stop and turned to face her. “Thank you, Lois. I’m glad. I’ve given this a lot of thought and I realize that instead of dancing around my feelings for you, I have to deal with them head on and verbalize my emotions. I get tongue-tied sometimes. I’m just going to have to try harder so that you always know how much I love you.” Lois smiled blindly at Clark through a mist of tears. She lifted a shaking hand and pressed her palm against his cheek. “I love you, too, Clark.” Clark pulled Lois into his arms and gently met her lips with his own. He’d never been happier in his life. The most wonderful woman in the world, the woman he loved with his whole heart, loved him, too. The Planet, his second home, wasn’t going to be sold, and there was no more red Kryptonite on his horizon. ===== www.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 07:51:01 -0700 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: Question for fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Can anyone tell me what card and board games are popular now with 8 year olds? I think 'Go Fish' and 'Chutes and Ladders' are probably outdated now. Thanks! Jude ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 11:31:50 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Charlotte Fisler Subject: Re: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (7/7) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Chris, Just received this and. before I even read it, and supply feedback, I wanted to thank you for posting to the listserv as well as the message boards. For me this is the better source of stories. I'm sorry you were so tired. I know posting, especially a whole story at once, is complicated, so I did want to acknowledge my appreciation of your efforts. Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 11:33:37 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Charlotte Fisler Subject: Re: New fanfic: Taking Responsibility - part 1 of 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ditto to my message re Love, loyalty and Luthor. Thank you, Irene for taking the time to post to the listserv. Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 11:58:22 EDT 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: Question for fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/2/00 10:52:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time, judithwilliams@PRODIGY.NET writes: << Can anyone tell me what card and board games are popular now with 8 year olds? I think 'Go Fish' and 'Chutes and Ladders' are probably outdated now. Thanks! Jude >> Pokemon, of course! Also probably Uno, hearts and crazy 8's and War for boys in card games. Monopoly Jr, the Game of Life, maybe in board games. Hope this helps. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 14:56:42 -0400 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: Question for fanfic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ><< Can anyone tell me what card and board games are popular now with 8 year > olds? I think 'Go Fish' and 'Chutes and Ladders' are probably outdated now. > Thanks! Jude >> > >Pokemon, of course! Also probably Uno, hearts and crazy 8's and War for boys >in card games. Monopoly Jr, the Game of Life, maybe in board games. I think War is an equal opportunity card game ;) My brother and I used to play it all the time. The makers of Uno also make other games. Skip-Bo and Phase 10 are two I can think of off the top of my head. Some other good kid games are Scattergories, Balderdash, and Taboo. Christy kubitc@kenyon.edu "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." -Michaelangelo ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 15:41:17 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Rich & Dawn Subject: Re: Message Board Index Tables MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Lorie (and other folcs who may be wondering), > I've got a question: is this index table a new thing, or has it always been > here? So, it's the fanfics from Zoomway's Message Board, just organized in a > different way? And is it just the recent stuff, or what? The Message Board Index is fairly new - this was our first update. Basically what we've done is take the stories from Zoom's boards and listed them in tables so folcs looking for a particular story can quickly see how many parts it has, if it's complete, if it's on the archive, and with links, hopefully making it easier to locate stories. > But, how often is this updated? We're shooting for weekly. Thanks! The Index Crew ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 15:55:39 EDT 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 fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 08/02/2000 10:52:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time, judithwilliams@PRODIGY.NET writes: << Can anyone tell me what card and board games are popular now with 8 year olds? I think 'Go Fish' and 'Chutes and Ladders' are probably outdated now. Thanks! >> Ha! I just saw a bit in today's paper -- the part written by kids -- about games they liked when younger. Candyland was on the list. I expected Chutes and Ladders but didn't see it. Let's see if I remember what else... Monopoly, oh, shoot, let me get the paper.... Pictionary Sorry Trouble Monopoly Scrabble Trivial Pursuit Clue Candyland card games THis was written by a couple 12 year olds and is a list of games they enjoyed when younger. I'm not sure all of these would be played by 8 year olds, though. --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 16:37:12 EDT 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: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (7/7) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 08/02/2000 11:32:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Cdfisler@AOL.COM writes: << I wanted to thank you for posting to the listserv as well as the message boards. For me this is the better source of stories. I'm sorry you were so tired. I know posting, especially a whole story at once, is complicated, so I did want to acknowledge my appreciation of your efforts. >> Yes, me too. I read stories here and not on the mb's. Plus lately I've been waiting till I get the WHOLE story before starting it. There are just too many in progress on the list right now to keep straight. And, Chris, I have to say, I think this story was indeed unique in being from a villain's viewpoint. Good job! --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 16:48:38 -0400 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: Question for fanfic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I bought Monopoly, (NOT Monopoly Jr), with my first allowance at age 7. To this day at age 26, it remains one of my all time favorites. Also try: Life, Checkers, Battleship (The original board game, although I'm sure there are computer versions), and even Poker. (I played for candy when I won and I did the older kids homework for them when I lost). Kids also seem to like computer games as well. ______________________________________________ FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 19:26:50 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Eugene Ellison Subject: Recommendation MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_003F_01BFFCB7.9B457B60" This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_003F_01BFFCB7.9B457B60 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi FoLCs!=20 I don't know if I was the only one that hadn't read 'The History of = Lois and Clark' on www. zoomway.com, but I highly recommend it. Thank = you Zoomway, for writing such a comprehensive report (?)=20 Love, Misty Dawn =20 ------=_NextPart_000_003F_01BFFCB7.9B457B60 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Hi FoLCs!
 
    I don't know if I was the only = one that=20 hadn't read 'The History of Lois and Clark'  on=20 www. zoomway.com, but I highly recommend it. Thank you = Zoomway, for=20 writing such a comprehensive report (?)
 
          &nbs= p;            = ;            =             &= nbsp;   Love,=20 Misty Dawn  
------=_NextPart_000_003F_01BFFCB7.9B457B60-- ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 19:45:57 -0400 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: challenge Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I thought I would post a quick and easy fanfic challenge for those of us who aren't at LAFF right now. I've used quotes instead of objects this time; hopefully that will cut down on he number of fics that apply for each part. I'm a sucker for extra credit, so if you can describe the plot, you'll probably get a point or two. "So...you gonna make me feel wonderful again, Sunflower Boy?" "Two nights ago, I heard your dad yell for Martha to come out to the barn. I followed her." She found she was staring at her shoes, unable to look him in the eyes. "I saw the green meteorite and I saw what had happened to you. And I overheard what you said in the kitchen. I know that you're Superman." "What makes you so sure?" she asked, her voice still unsteady. "Clark - all of my relationships have been federal disasters. I hoped that with you... but how do I know we wouldn't end up exactly the same way? I know I'd get jealous and angry, and I'd take it out on you, and I'd make your life miserable. It just wouldn't work." "Oh." Vicky was in shock. She couldn't believe that he remembered her so vividly from both her incarnations that night. For the first time that morning, Clark smiled. He took a sip of the streaming brew and nodded. "Extra cream and sugar, hold the strychnine, just the way I like it." Okay, folcs. Let's see who gets all of these first. JOY :) ______________________________________________ FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 19:52:50 EDT 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: challenge MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 08/02/2000 7:46:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jsowell@MAIL.COM writes: << "Oh." Vicky was in shock. She couldn't believe that he remembered her so vividly from both her incarnations that night. >> S P o I L E R I know this one!!! Gale Force Winds by Irene Dutchak!! --Laurie (Irene's #1 fan) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 20:09:32 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kristin Olsen-Molnar Subject: Question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all! Thought I would come out of lurkdom for a while to ask a fanfic question. I once read a LandC story in which Clark and Lois had seperated for wome reason, when Clark returned to Metropolis for some convention he ran into Lois and they had an encounter in a conference room. They had some difficulties and eventually got back together in the end. Oh and the daily planet was very different it was a new office and some new communications thingy was going on. Does anyone know what fanfic this was? And where it is? Thanks all! Maybe one day I'll work up the courage to post one of my own fanfics. -Teri44isme ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 17:14:29 -0700 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: challenge MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Okay, I'm not at LAFF right now--I'm going on Friday and Saturday, so I'll take a stab at it. S P O I L E R space 1: Burnout by Labrat 2. I should know this one; It's mine. A Matter of Ethics 3. Not a clue 4. Gale Force Winds by Irene 5. I've read it. I even recognize the phrase, but I have no idea where it comes from. How's 3 out of 5? Nan Joy Sowell wrote: > I thought I would post a quick and easy fanfic challenge for those of us who > aren't at LAFF right now. I've used quotes instead of objects this time; > hopefully that will cut down on he number of fics that apply for each part. > I'm a sucker for extra credit, so if you can describe the plot, you'll > probably get a point or two. > > "So...you gonna make me feel wonderful again, > Sunflower Boy?" > > "Two nights ago, I heard your dad yell for Martha to come out to the barn. > I followed her." She found she was staring at her shoes, unable to look him > in the eyes. "I saw the green meteorite and I saw what had happened to you. > And I overheard what you said in the kitchen. I know that you're Superman." > > "What makes you so sure?" she asked, her voice still unsteady. > "Clark - all of my relationships have been federal disasters. I > hoped that with you... but how do I know we wouldn't end up exactly the same > way? I know I'd get jealous and angry, and I'd take it out on you, and I'd > make your life miserable. It just wouldn't work." > > "Oh." Vicky was in shock. She couldn't believe that he remembered her so > vividly from both her incarnations that night. > > For the first time that morning, Clark smiled. He took a sip of the > streaming brew and nodded. "Extra cream and sugar, hold the > strychnine, just the way I like it." > > Okay, folcs. Let's see who gets all of these first. > > JOY :) > > ______________________________________________ > FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com > Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 20:14:02 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kass Johnson Subject: Re: Question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I've read that as well. I know its on the Archive. But I'm lost as to the title.. *sigh* its been that kind of a day :) Kara I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 20:14:52 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Annette Ciotola Subject: Re: Question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/2/00 8:10:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Teri44isme@AOL.COM writes: << I once read a LandC story in which Clark and Lois had seperated for wome reason, when Clark returned to Metropolis for some convention he ran into Lois and they had an encounter in a conference room. They had some difficulties and eventually got back together in the end. Oh and the daily planet was very different it was a new office and some new communications thingy was going on. Does anyone know what fanfic this was? And where it is? Thanks all! Maybe one day I'll work up the courage to post one of my own fanfics. >> Now that *has* to be Hevean's Prisoners by Demi. Most excellent read, if you ask me. Anne ;) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 17:16:31 -0700 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 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I think it's Heaven's Prisoners by Demi. Nan Kristin Olsen-Molnar wrote: > Hi all! Thought I would come out of lurkdom for a while to ask a fanfic > question. I once read a LandC story in which Clark and Lois had seperated for > wome reason, when Clark returned to Metropolis for some convention he ran > into Lois and they had an encounter in a conference room. They had some > difficulties and eventually got back together in the end. Oh and the daily > planet was very different it was a new office and some new communications > thingy was going on. Does anyone know what fanfic this was? And where it is? > Thanks all! Maybe one day I'll work up the courage to post one of my own > fanfics. > -Teri44isme ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 20:20:19 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kass Johnson Subject: Re: Question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks :) This reminded me of a really great fic that I'd lost track of. Kass I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated. ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 20:24:44 -0400 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: challenge Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Nan's in the lead with 3 out of 5, with no brownie points or partial credit. Here's a hint, everyone, the missing fics are pretty recent. Nan, if no one else gets these, you do know that as winner the next challenge is on you. JOY:) {Who knows that since Yvonne won the last one it's really her turn, but I *really* want part 33b of FOD 3 as soon as possible.} ______________________________________________ FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 18:16:40 -0700 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: Question for fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi Jude, Seeing as I have an 8 year old, I thought I'd tackle this question. My son loves Monopoly - the Star Wars version. He also plays various Pokemon games. Checkers is very popular as is Chess, believe it or not. He equally enjoys a game of 'Go Fish' and 'Gin Rummy.' Hope that helps. Irene --- Judith Williams wrote: > Can anyone tell me what card and board games are > popular now with 8 year > olds? I think 'Go Fish' and 'Chutes and Ladders' > are probably outdated now. > Thanks! Jude ===== www.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 22:13:35 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Dennis Arendt Subject: Re: Question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This sounds a lot like "Heaven's Prisoners" by Demi -----Original Message----- From: Kristin Olsen-Molnar To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Date: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 5:09 PM Subject: Question >Hi all! Thought I would come out of lurkdom for a while to ask a fanfic >question. I once read a LandC story in which Clark and Lois had seperated for >wome reason, when Clark returned to Metropolis for some convention he ran >into Lois and they had an encounter in a conference room. They had some >difficulties and eventually got back together in the end. Oh and the daily >planet was very different it was a new office and some new communications >thingy was going on. Does anyone know what fanfic this was? And where it is? >Thanks all! Maybe one day I'll work up the courage to post one of my own >fanfics. > -Teri44isme ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 11:27:28 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kaethel Subject: Re: challenge MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Let's try this... s p o i l e r s p a c e > "So...you gonna make me feel wonderful again, > Sunflower Boy?" I'd recognise this quote anywhere!!! That's one of the last lines of 'Burnout' by LabRat > "Two nights ago, I heard your dad yell for Martha to come out to the barn. > I followed her." She found she was staring at her shoes, unable to look him > in the eyes. "I saw the green meteorite and I saw what had happened to you. > And I overheard what you said in the kitchen. I know that you're Superman." Uh... sounds like a rewrite of GGGOH... > "What makes you so sure?" she asked, her voice still unsteady. > "Clark - all of my relationships have been federal disasters. I > hoped that with you... but how do I know we wouldn't end up exactly the same > way? I know I'd get jealous and angry, and I'd take it out on you, and I'd > make your life miserable. It just wouldn't work." Aaarrrgh, I *know* this one!! I know I *should* know this one!... > "Oh." Vicky was in shock. She couldn't believe that he remembered her so > vividly from both her incarnations that night. No idea. > For the first time that morning, Clark smiled. He took a sip of the > streaming brew and nodded. "Extra cream and sugar, hold the > strychnine, just the way I like it." Hmm... doesn't ring any bell... Okay, I did worse than I thought I would Helene :) ------------------------------------------------------ Kaethel on irc / Kaethel79 on AIM kaethel@club-internet.fr "And I always thought that it would make me smarter But it's only made me harder My heart thrown open wide In this near wild heaven" R.E.M. -- "Near Wild Heaven" ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 11:02:22 -0700 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: Re: Question for Fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks Ann, Christy, Laurie, Joy and Irene! Your suggestions were very helpful. I was surprised to find Monopoly on everyone's list and to see that Candyland, and Crazy Eights still live. The more children change, the more some things stay the same. I guess classic games never die. As I recall, when we played them on rainy days in our camper or at our island vacation shack, they did sometimes seem interminable. I decided to go with Pokemon and Monopoly for a humorous (I hope) short story which should turn up in a week or two. Thanks again! Jude ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 14:17:47 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct Part 1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I got bored watching all the Republican Convention mess and heard Dean was=20 going to be on POlitically Incorrect. This sotry is a fusion of several=20 ideas that I have running around in my head for awhile. The story didn't go= =20 exactly the way I had planned but wne ideas spill out, it the way the story=20 goes. All comments welcome, public or private. =20 Five years have passed since Lois and Clark married in the magical ceremony.= =20 They had been almost inseparable over the years. The night they received=20 their child was the happiest night of their lives. It had been incredibly=20 difficult to explain the whole Superman and Clark Kent thing to Lois' parent= s=20 and more than that keeping Ellen from blabbing to anyone else. Lois had been= =20 proud of how her parents had reacted so quietly to the news. It seemed that=20 the entire Lane family had become closer. Lois had even become civil to her=20 sister after the years of not worrying about her relationships but was=20 apprehensive about going out with her tonight. Things were strange feeling. "Clark, we're running late. I know you haven't exactly been Superman lately,= =20 but hurry up." Lois threw his coat at him and ran down the stairs. Clark=20 could over hear from the bedroom Lois giving the babysitter instructions. He= =20 laughed every time Lois started going through the same speech with the same=20 sitter for the last four years. Lilly was a sweet young woman from down the=20 street, who was always there when they needed her. "Ok, let's go." Clark held the door open and grabbed for Lois' waist as she=20 kissed their daughter goodbye. "See you about midnight Lilly." Lois and Clar= k=20 walked out of the house and closed the door. They could hear the door lock=20 behind them and headed to the car. Clark noticed that Lois was still shaking= .=20 She had talked to Lucy that morning and thought Lucy sounded strange about=20 the date, like she wanted out of having them meet her new man. Lucy had=20 always been one for bouncing around from man to man, something that Lois=20 never understood. Going into the restaurant, Lucy waved to them as they followed her to the=20 table where Greg already was seated. "My name is Greg. You must be Lois and=20 Clark. I have heard so many good things about you." Greg stood and shook=20 their hands and invited them to sit across the table. "Can we order some=20 drinks?" "Greg honey, I think we've been drinking plenty waiting for them but Lois yo= u=20 and Clark are welcome to order something." Greg whispered something to Lucy=20 and smiled over at Lois and Clark. Smiling back, Clark gave Lois a look of=20 concern. The evening continued smoothly with the two couples sharing old family=20 stories into the night.=20 "So, Clark," Greg started hesitantly and looked at Lois, "I read an=20 interesting rumor that the Independent Party is looking for a candidate for=20 the Senate for the state and your name is at the top of the list."=20 Clark turned white and looked over at Lois. "You're kidding. I had no idea.=20= I=20 guess that's why they call it tabloid trash." Clark continued to shake his=20 head and look at Lois blankly. "Well, honey, you might want to talk to whomever decided that decision and=20 tell them how you feel." "Lois, I think he would be a great politician. He's so sincere and honest,=20 nothing like a real politician." Lucy smiled at Clark who was still in=20 disbelief. "Where did you hear this exactly Greg?" Clark leaned into the table in=20 curiosity to know why he was being picked for a candidate and not even told. "Oh, the Independent. Their newspaper puts out in separate issues in each=20 state. I actually brought a copy of the page for you since I knew you were=20 Lucy's brother-in-law." Pulling out the article, he handed it over to Lois=20 and then to Clark, both in shock still from the hearing about it before. For= =20 years there had been speculation that one or both of them were interested in= =20 getting involved in more than journalism. Lois had tried the editor's job an= d=20 the competition had been too much. But politics. This could be an interestin= g=20 new position for them. Lois was actually more surprised that they had picked= =20 Clark though. ********** A couple days later a strong looking man walked through the doors of the=20 Independent newsroom and sat down at the visitor area. A few minutes later,=20 he was greeted by an older man that looked he had been hardened through the=20 years of being thwarted on the opinions that did not really match either=20 Republicans or Democrats. =E2=80=9CYou must be Clark Kent. We were hoping to= pull you=20 out of the woodwork with that little plug in the paper.=E2=80=9D Clark stood= up and=20 shook the man=E2=80=99s hand and followed him into a office. Looking around,= he could=20 see that Lois was walking through the elevator and signaled her to follow.=20 =E2=80=9CHave a seat. I see your wife is on the way, so I=E2=80=99ll leave t= he door open. My=20 name is Robert Long. I am the editor of this edition of the Independent and=20 happen to run the local chapter of the Independent Party. I was at a meeting= =20 a few weeks ago. Hello, Lois Lane, come in and sit down.=E2=80=9D Closing th= e door=20 behind her, he resumed his discussion.=20 =E2=80=9CAnyway, I was at a meeting a few weeks ago with the other local hea= ds and=20 were trying to consider people that would give us a good shot at getting a=20 Senate seat in the Congress this year and immediately thought of you. You=20 have a great character that everyone in the state responds to, and a wife=20 that has a good relationship with at least the decent citizens in the state.= =20 She makes you look even better. I realize the way we went about getting your= =20 attention was strange, but we have already got that box full of small privat= e=20 donations.=E2=80=9D The man walked over to a large paper box and lifted out=20= several=20 dozen envelopes and pulled checks out of them. Lois went over to the box and= =20 started looking at some of the amounts. =E2=80=9CClark, there=E2=80=99s a check in here for $10,000!=E2=80=9D Lois h= eld it up and then=20 handed it to Clark, who was dumbfounded.=20 =E2=80=9CIn fact, you have such good friends at the NIA, they have already s= aid they=20 would back you if you were to run. Looks like you got a real good chance.= =E2=80=9D=20 The man sat down behind his desk and looked up at Lois and Clark. =E2=80=9CD= on=E2=80=99t=20 make a decision right now, but the closing date for running is this Friday.= =E2=80=9D=20 Lois and Clark looked at each other, still going through the immense amount=20 of donations. Both were amazed about the amount people they didn=E2=80=99t e= ven know=20 were willing to shovel in for an honest man to be in the Congress. Clark and= =20 Lois had seen Superman=E2=80=99s mail before and thought that was just hero=20= stuff.=20 But this almost compared and it was just the beginning. That is, if Clark=20 decided to run. =E2=80=9CMr. Long, I will get back to you by Thursday,=E2=80=9D Clark shook=20= his hand and led=20 his wife out of the office and up to the elevator. Mr. Long sat back in his=20 chair, pulling some of the checks out of the box. Picking up the phone, he=20 called another woman, =E2=80=9CDiane, I need you to get me the best accounta= nt and=20 publicist you can find. I have a good feeling and we need to get them rollin= g=20 on this before he decides.=E2=80=9D The man hung up the phone and started ty= ping up=20 his follow up story for the paper the next day. ********** ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 14:18:44 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct Part 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The next morning Lois and Clark walked through the doors of the Daily Planet= =20 building and everyone started to grin from ear to ear. =E2=80=9CHoney, you t= hink=20 something is up.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CClark, you know how rumors get around. They probably just heard som= ething=20 about you running and are trying to egg you on.=E2=80=9D Lois wrapped her ar= ms around=20 her husband and leaned into him as they watched the elevator doors close.=20 When arriving at the newsroom floor and getting out, the applause started. =E2=80=9CWay to go CK,=E2=80=9D Jimmy called from across the newsroom. He ra= n up to Lois and=20 Clark as Perry followed behind them.=20 =E2=80=9CClark, I had no idea. Jimmy brought me this article this morning an= d I=E2=80=99m=20 just in shock. My first question is if we get the exclusive candidate dirt=20 through your media hounding wife.=E2=80=9D Perry patted Lois on the back as=20= she=20 smiled up at Clark.=20 =E2=80=9CWhat are you all talking about?=E2=80=9D Lois looked at Clark wonde= ring now if=20 there was more than just the one article that was printed a couple of days=20 ago. Perry was usually up on all the news on the day it came out. Lois=20 dropped her things and walked over to Clark=E2=80=99s desk and looked over t= he front=20 page of the paper with Jimmy, Perry, and Clark. She could see Clark=E2=80= =99s face=20 turn some shades of white and pink and wondered why the big fuss. Reading th= e=20 headline of the week=E2=80=99s Independent =E2=80=93=20 CLARK KENT TO MAKE DECISION ON SENATE BID FRIDAY Lois and Clark stared at each other. Perry and Jimmy realized that neither o= f=20 them had seen that paper yet and were not prepared for the headline. Perry=20 for once was not yelling about getting scooped, even if it was about one of=20 his favorite reporters. This time he knew that whatever announcement was to=20 be made, it was premature in Clark=E2=80=99s eyes. =E2=80=9CMaybe I should l= et you two talk=20 about this a little. Jimmy, don=E2=80=99t you have donuts to buy or somethin= g.=E2=80=9D=20 Jimmy looked up at Perry, =E2=80=9Cyeah probably,=E2=80=9D and disappeared a= round the corner=20 into the back hallway.=20 =E2=80=9CI said I would make a decision on Thursday. Did he not hear that. I= thought=20 that would be kind of a private thing until I signed the dotted line.=E2=80= =9D Clark=20 slumped down in his chair with his wife hanging around his neck.=20 =E2=80=9CClark, do you actually think that since you are in the media that t= hey would=20 give you an more of a break than anyone else. Come on honey, you know every=20 time we hear about anyone running for anything, it makes the front page the=20 next day whether it=E2=80=99s true or not. And this could be true.=E2=80=9D=20= He could see how=20 Lois=E2=80=99 face wrinkled up like it did when she tried to say yes without= saying=20 yes. He knew that look, he knew that the talk that night with the parents an= d=20 her was going to get interesting. The rest of the day went about as always except for a few minor=20 interruptions. Perry had been nice enough to thwart the television cameras=20 off in the lobby downstairs where Clark could actually get work done for the= =20 Daily Planet. Perry in his own way felt that he was about to lose a damn goo= d=20 reporter to a grizzly politic war and hoped that Clark would stay grounded.=20 Sitting in his office, he could see Lois continue to sooth her husband ever=20 so often and knew that he was already getting stressed about the decision.=20 Walking out of his office, he saw Clark get up and hand him something. =E2=80=9CI thought this would be a good lead off on the jewelry store robber= y.=E2=80=9D=20 Clark=E2=80=99s face was drawn and serious. He was trying desperately to sta= y=20 focused.=20 =E2=80=9CThis is really good Clark. I=E2=80=99m impressed with the work cons= idering.=E2=80=9D He saw=20 Clark nodding and sighing quietly to himself. =E2=80=9CSon, why don=E2=80= =99t you take the=20 rest of the night off. I have a feeling you and Lois have a lot to talk=20 about.=E2=80=9D Clark looked up at Lois and thanked Perry. Lois walked over=20= to his=20 desk and handed in her article to Perry at the same time Clark was throwing=20 his coat on.=20 =E2=80=9CCome on. I have a feeling we got some parents waiting at the house.= =E2=80=9D Clark=20 laughed and headed out to the elevator with Lois.=20 Sitting in the car, he couldn=E2=80=99t help but look up at some of the bill= boards=20 around town and seeing the other candidates that were already running for=20 other positions. He rubbed his head and wondered what stupid facial shot the= y=20 would put up of him when he ran, if he ran. He kept trying to mentally hit=20 himself every time his mind would say when instead of if. Was his mind made=20 up already? =E2=80=9CYou ok?=E2=80=9D Lois rubbed his shoulder. =E2=80=9CYeah, I=E2=80=99m fine. Just doing some thinking.=E2=80=9D Clark sc= ratched his head a mimic=20 to deep thinking and smiled. Lois knew he was trying to keep her from=20 worrying about his state. Lois had since being married for five years very=20 rarely let Clark go off in one of his thinking binges without interrupting t= o=20 check on him. But that was part of her charm.=20 =E2=80=9CWell, why don=E2=80=99t you go in and say hello to the parentals wh= ile I check on=20 Lara.=E2=80=9D Lois pointed to the already open door to the house and saw hi= s parents=20 followed by Lois=E2=80=99 parents coming down the steps with Lara. =E2=80=9CClark, I never in a million thought,=E2=80=9D Martha hugged her son= as Jonathon=20 handed Lara to Lois. =E2=80=9CI mean we were in the store in Smallville this= morning=20 and Maggie, the store clerk, was reading the article. I saw your name in it=20 albeit upside down. She turned it over and I was just stunned. I had to buy=20 one.=E2=80=9D=20 =E2=80=9CThen I called your mom when I saw the article being discussed on LN= N. My=20 daughter married to a famous Senator, what a hoot.=E2=80=9D Ellen was just g= iddy with=20 excitement, trying to be calmed by Sam. Clark turned and looked at Ellen, not for how she looked but she had said.=20 Glancing over his glasses, he looked around the corner. =E2=80=9CGuys, let= =E2=80=99s get in=20 if you get my meaning. I have a strange feeling that were about to all get=20 hounded.=E2=80=9D Looking over at Ellen he asked, =E2=80=9CIt was on LNN?= =E2=80=9D Clark closed the=20 door behind them all and pulled all the shades shut while Lois disappeared=20 upstairs with Lara. Walking into the living room, he could smell that the=20 parents had taken care of all the cooking for the evening where they could=20 all talk. Clark plopped on the couch while his parents pulled up the=20 different lounge chairs.=20 =E2=80=9CClark, you are on every TV talk show imaginable. Everyone has an op= inion on=20 you and what you stand for. =E2=80=9C He looked over at his father and knew=20= what he=20 was really thinking. =E2=80=9CBut the point is that I am running or would be running as Clark Ken= t, not=20 Superman. I don=E2=80=99t know how I would ever get any of that to stay stra= ight in=20 my head. I thought getting Clark and Superman on normal hours was hard=20 enough, but traveling away from Metropolis and getting caught in meeting tha= t=20 I can=E2=80=99t get out of if there is an emergency. I don=E2=80=99t know ho= w that would=20 work.=E2=80=9D Clark looked over and could see Ellen=E2=80=99s face getting=20= more and more=20 red at the thought of her son-in-law turning down the best chance at fame.=20 =E2=80=9CEllen, come on, think about it. People hanging out here at the hous= e with=20 your granddaughter here all the time. She would grow up in a cage. I mean we= =20 didn=E2=80=99t know whether she was Super or not and weren=E2=80=99t going t= o lock her up=20 then. Now you=E2=80=99re going to have to because otherwise the press will b= e=20 following her to Kindergarten, even the Daily Planet I dare say. It=E2=80= =99s just an=20 awkward position.=E2=80=9D Clark ran his hands through his hair as he saw El= len=20 breathe hard and disappear into the kitchen. =E2=80=9CSorry Clark, she was hoping for a more excited response.=E2=80=9D S= am followed his=20 wife into the kitchen and Clark could see her getting the third degree from=20 him when the door swung back open for the last time. Looking over at his=20 parents, his eyes begged for the answer. =E2=80=9CHoney, you sound like you made up your mind.=E2=80=9D His mother he= ld his hands in=20 hers as Lois walked in.=20 =E2=80=9CI take it from the fact that my parents have already retreated the=20 conversation that my mother didn=E2=80=99t get her way and that you have dec= ided.=E2=80=9D=20 Lois knew her parents. Sitting down beside Clark, she put her arms around hi= m=20 and squeezed, =E2=80=9CWhat=E2=80=99s your decision?=E2=80=9D Clark looked up at his parents and then at Lois. He sat in silence listening= =20 to the continued bickering in the kitchen. =E2=80=9CI think, I think I want=20= to eat=20 dinner and leave this for later.=E2=80=9D He got up and walked into the kitc= hen and=20 pulled the roast out of the oven and continued to get the dining room ready=20 for dinner. Ellen, Sam, Martha, and Jonathon followed his cue. He could see=20 that Lois had headed upstairs to get Lara when he started looking through th= e=20 window. =E2=80=9CI have to go,=E2=80=9D he answered to the family as they sa= t down at the=20 table. He spun into the suit and disappeared. Sam and Ellen still had not=20 quite gotten used to that motion but now understood all those weird antics=20 from before Lois was married. Lois came down the stairs and put Lara up at the table. =E2=80=9CI take it h= e ran off=20 again.=E2=80=9D She kind of giggled and sat down as her father started cutti= ng up the=20 roast for the rest of the family. It was nice that all the families had now=20 become civilized because she didn=E2=80=99t have to eat alone anymore. Lara=20= started=20 chattering with her grandparents, and Lois started to daydream. <<<>>> =E2=80=9CLois, you ok?=E2=80=9D She shook her head and looked up at Clark wh= o was already=20 back in some more comfortable clothes and sitting on the other side of Lara.= =20 She saw the rest of the family looking up at her strangely.=20 =E2=80=9CYeah, I was just daydreaming. Hope everything was ok.=E2=80=9D She=20= knew everything=20 had to have been fine for him to get back so quickly and to be eating withou= t=20 a thought. The rest of the dinner was left without mentioning politics of an= y=20 kind, to the relief of Clark.=20 ********** Tucking in Lara, he could hear her cooing in his arms. He had sat and watche= d=20 a movie with her after the parents all left until she had fell asleep. He=20 watched her and smiled as she wrinkled up her nose when the sheet hit her.=20 She was the image of peace in his mind. He always felt the most calm when he= =20 watched her. Lois came in and wrapped her arms around him and kissed Lara.=20 Standing by the bed for a few more minutes, they just watched their daughter= =20 sleep. They never knew exactly where she had come from and had even a harder= =20 time of explaining it to the rest of the world but never once took it for=20 granted.=20 <> After a few minutes, Lois took Clark by the hand and led him to the bedroom.= =20 =E2=80=9CClark,=E2=80=9D she quietly spoke from around the corner in the bat= hroom, =E2=80=9Cdid you=20 really make a decision?=E2=80=9D She sat down on the bed next to him, where=20= he was=20 reading another spy novel.=20 Putting the book down, he pulled her over into him. =E2=80=9CWhat do you thi= nk I=20 should do?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CPersonally, I think you are incredible speaker because of Superman.= You are=20 impeccably honest because of Superman. But you are notably trusted and=20 followed by millions of readers because of Clark Kent. I think the=20 combination of all these things could make you a very good candidate. You=20 could make a difference. On the other hand, you have the family to think=20 about. Lara is already part of the social media scene because she=E2=80=99s=20= our=20 daughter. We went through that =E2=80=93 we could do it again. The only prob= lem is,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CSuperman,=E2=80=9D Clark interrupted. =E2=80=9CI know. The whole id= ea of not having a=20 chance to do some things kind of gets to me. I=E2=80=99ve taken a back seat=20= in some=20 rescues lately but this would cut out a lot since there would be more=20 meetings, more press, etc.=E2=80=9D He leaned over and kissed his wife on th= e cheek=20 and felt her shiver. Lying in bed silently, he felt her adjust as he let his= =20 mind wander. After a few minutes, he could see that she had almost fallen=20 asleep. He sighed and said to himself, =E2=80=9CSenator Kent.=E2=80=9D Quiet= ly he whispered=20 in her ear, =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m going to run.=E2=80=9D He looked down at he= r as she smiled. She had=20 heard him. Pulling herself further into his chest, she snuggled to sleep as=20 Clark=E2=80=99s mind drifted off to ideas about campaigns.=20 ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 14:19:26 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct 3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable ********** Friday morning had come quickly. It had seemed that all other news stories=20 had been completely overlooked at the Planet since the news about Clark=20 running got to Perry. He knew it was a media morality to keep the secret but= =20 had even the Friday evening edition ready to go complete with headlines by=20 Thursday morning. Perry had been a great help though by getting all the name= s=20 of people he knew that were trustworthy in politics to get together with=20 Clark on Friday afternoon after his press conference. Waiting in his office,= =20 he saw Lois and Clark walk into work very early and try to get settled for=20 some work before his announcement. Perry noticed that Clark was already=20 speaking to someone on his cell phone as he was walking down the stairs.=20 =E2=80=9CLois, who is Clark talking to?=E2=80=9D Perry had seen Clark start=20= work early but=20 it was strange to see him diving into something right before the campaign=20 began. Lois followed Perry into his office and looked at the list of names=20 that Perry had coming to the meeting in the afternoon.=20 =E2=80=9CRobert Long, the Independent. He was the one that ran the first art= icle and=20 the one that ran the other article that started all the speculation. He has=20 been getting all kind of donations from people and Clark is trying to get hi= m=20 to let the Daily Planet make the big announcement instead of the little pape= r=20 stealing our thunder. I think he=E2=80=99s got him convinced. By the way, he= is=20 coming to the meeting this afternoon.=E2=80=9D Lois sat down and started rif= ling=20 though her satchel, looking for Robert=E2=80=99s name and number to add to t= he list. =E2=80=9CLois honey, are you ok?=E2=80=9D Perry went and sat down beside her= . Lois looked up strangely at the question. Perry had been concerned in the=20 past about the goings on of Lois and Clark. He still after all this time did= =20 not know the double life that Clark led and frankly Lois was running out of=20 excuses for Clark. He had started in recent months to get worried when Clark= =20 would disappear and Lois would just sit and pretend she had no idea where he= =20 went. Up until recently, Perry had even been worried that Clark was having a= n=20 affair since he seemed to spend time away mostly at night, but Lois had=20 reassured him that Clark really did have something to do. =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m fine. We just have a lot of things to get straight befo= re the press=20 conference and for the campaign. It=E2=80=99s all kind of nerve racking and=20 unexpected.=E2=80=9D Lois stopped and stared out the window a minute. =E2= =80=9CJust to think=20 that my husband, our Clark, could be a Senator by November. It just boggles=20 the mind. More so than that, this all started this week. I guess that is why= =20 I look a little frazzled, but he=E2=80=99s taking it like a champ. I=E2=80= =99ve never seen=20 him so dedicated.=E2=80=9D Lois and Perry both looked up and saw Clark come=20= in the=20 office as she finished her last statement. He leaned over kissed Lois on the= =20 forehead. =E2=80=9CThank you for the confidence. Now I just need some.=E2=80=9D He sta= rted out the=20 door and Lois signaled to Perry that she better follow him. Following him ou= t=20 the door, Perry could see some of the other workers in the newsroom were=20 showing up and giving praises and confidence to Clark and Lois. Looking at=20 his watch, he noticed that there were only a couple of hours left. He saw=20 another man come into the newsroom and saw Clark shaking his hand. "How are you holding up Ms. Lane? I hope you're proud of your husband." Perr= y=20 realized that this was the Robert Long from the newspaper that Lois was=20 talking about. Clark waved over his boss and introduced the two media hounds= =20 to each other. Perry immediately got a feeling that this younger man was jus= t=20 as dedicated to his job as Perry was to his editor position but his job had=20 more political undertones. "Well, Clark, are you ready to face the music so=20 to speak?" Clark smiled over about Robert and Perry and took Lois' hand. "Let's go."=20 Perry, Jimmy, and Lois followed Clark and Robert out the door of the Planet=20 building. A car picked up the group and carried them down to the state=20 Independent office where they were greeted by both sets of parents among=20 several hundred media cameras. Sitting, in the car, Lois' face turned drawn=20 and concerned. "Clark, are you sure about this?" Her voice was wavering and Robert looked a= t=20 her with concern. "Lois, we decided. We can do this." Clark saw the door of the car open and=20 jumped out and held his hand out for his wife. She felt immediately dizzy=20 with the amount of flash bulbs that went of as she and Clark emerged. She=20 threw on a smile as did Clark and headed up the stairs where their parents=20 and Lara were. Holding the press back, Robert and Perry pushed Jimmy up to=20 the front of the stairs as they had talked about in the car. The Planet woul= d=20 get the exclusive and Jimmy was lucky enough now to get the writer's job.=20 Perry had decided that all Senate race articles would not be written with=20 Clark's name any longer on the byline.=20 Walking through the doors, Clark was directed to the back of the office past= =20 all the press that was lining the hallways. Lois continued to smile until th= e=20 door was shut behind them. A few minutes later he saw Perry and Robert come=20 through a side door of the office. "Clark, this is Jeanette. She's the=20 Independent Party secretary. She was the one that pushed for your name to be= =20 thrown in. She is the one that registers all the Congressional and local=20 Independents that run for offices in this state." Clark continued to listen=20 to Robert explain the jobs of the other people in the room, all which he=20 would be working close to. "Are you ready Mr. Kent? If you would follow me, I'll get all the paperwork=20 started." Clark squeezed Lois' hand and let Clark go. Sitting back in one of= =20 the chairs, she let out a deep breath as she heard several people pushing=20 through the door and saw her parents. "It's a madhouse out there. I never thought this many people would turn out=20 for Clark's declaration." All the parents leaned up against the wall in=20 exhaustion. They all realized that this was just the beginning of a very lon= g=20 road uphill. Lois looked up and noticed that they had brought Lucy and Matti= e=20 with them also. "Lucy, I'm so glad to see you. How's my little niece?" Lois gave Lucy and=20 Mattie a hug while picking up Lara. Lucy had fallen in love and had a baby=20 two years ago. Lara and Mattie were three years apart. Unfortunately, Lucy=20 was left a year ago without any word from the father. Then a month later, sh= e=20 met Greg and moved in with him almost immediately. In the past Lois' parents= =20 had problems with Lucy's jumping from man to man. The family had since becom= e=20 closer and Lucy was now more understood and more grown up.=20 "Hi. I never thought when Greg mentioned to Clark about that article that it= =20 would lead us here." Lucy smiled and hugged Lois again and winced in slight=20 pain.=20 "What's wrong?" Lois looked concerned at Lucy and let her go. The other=20 parents were talking to a couple of people in the office and didn't hear. "Nothing. Greg and I had a little spat and we both got out of hand. I would=20 appreciate if you didn't tell mother. You know how she gets." Lois was almos= t=20 in tears. Looking at Mattie again playing on the floor with Lois noticed a=20 small blue spot on her leg.=20 "Did he do that?" Lois whispered to Lucy and watched as Lucy nodded slightly= . "He just squeezed her a little hard as he left the house. It's ok though. He= =20 noticed that he was hurting her and left really upset." Lois couldn't believ= e=20 that she was listening to this. All their lives, they had never taken=20 anything from men, least of all being abused. "Lucy, bring Mattie and stay at the house with me and Clark." "Lois, I don't need to. Greg came home yesterday and was fine. Like I said,=20 we just had a little tiff. That's it. We're fine." Lucy patted Lois on the=20 back and then went to check on the kids. Lois leaned up against the wall and= =20 wondered exactly how much of what she heard from her sister was the truth an= d=20 how much more damage Greg had done. Greg had come across decently nice every= =20 time they met for lunch or dinner, but Lois was not so sure what to think=20 now.=20 Not realizing the amount of time that had passed while she had been talking=20 to Lucy, Clark came and wrapped his arms around his wife and surprised her.=20 "You ok?" Lara came and grabbed her father's hand and he picked her up while= =20 still holding onto Lois. "Yeah, I'll tell you later. Don't you have a press conference to go to hon?"= =20 He smiled at her and guided her back out into the hallway of the office and=20 past the reporters again. He knew Robert had been taking care of getting his= =20 parents to their seats, so he concentrated on getting Lois to smile.=20 "You know this will go over so much better with the press if you look a=20 little happy honey." Clark stopped her midway down the hallway and pulled he= r=20 into another little office, closing the door before Robert could get there.=20 "Out with it. What's wrong? I can go back and in there and rip all those=20 papers up and forget about all of this." "It has nothing to do with this Clark. Just save it for later." Lois pulled=20 out a mirror and a Kleenex and cleaned up her face and smiled up at Clark=20 until he nodded at her in approval. Coming back out of the office, he nodded= =20 at Robert who opened the main door to a crowded street full of media. Clark=20 felt a sense of strange calm come over him as he held his daughter in his ar= m=20 and held Lois' hand. His extended family all stood below him and beamed.=20 Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the podium and began to speak. ********** Six weeks had passed since Clark signed his life into the throws of renegade= =20 politics. So far, both the Republican and Democratic runners had stayed quie= t=20 and not bothered with slinging Clark around the media, but the morning=20 changed everything.=20 "Clark, have you seen this?" Lois turned on the TV in the bedroom as he sat=20 up. It had been his first weekend off and Lois had planned to have a nice=20 quiet time at home but had a feeling that the phone would be ringing again=20 and Clark would leave again. It was getting worse than Superman ever had bee= n. Clark turned over and looked at the commentator on the TV. "Have you heard=20 this speech before. 'I'm a good guy and I refuse to run a dirty campaign.' I= =20 think Margo Williams and Ben Henson are both getting tired of losing points=20 to a person that is from the exact group of people that politicians claim to= =20 hate the most. The problem is for both Williams and Henson is that neither=20 one of their campaigns have really come up with anything to throw in Mr.=20 Kent's face. Take this commercial that recently ran and then lowered Ms.=20 Williams' points."=20 "The public repeatedly has asked to leave politics out of the media since th= e=20 latest years of scandal. But now the public wants to put one of their own=20 hated media personalities in the Senator's seat. My name is Margo Williams.=20= I=20 have been a member of the EPA and have worked years on improving air travel=20 for consumers. I ask you - do you want a proven government agent or media=20 hound that will still be searching for just the story."=20 Lois curled up on the bed and waited with Clark for the phone to ring. She=20 could see Clark breathing hard and rubbing his hands through his hair like h= e=20 was stressed. In the last few weeks, she had seen him more and more stressed= =20 and wondered if six years in a Senate seat would make him just as stressed.=20 Suddenly she was having a change of heart. She leaned over and started=20 kissing her husband. He loosened up and pulled her body into him and slid hi= s=20 hand over the remote and then in her robe. RING Letting her go, he picked up the phone. "Yes. I know." Clark got out of bed=20 and headed downstairs. Lois lied in bed and waited for Clark to return but=20 instead saw him spin around in the bedroom a few minutes later and heard the= =20 door close downstairs. Lying back in the bed, she pulled the sheets over her= =20 head and fell asleep for another few hours.=20 On the other side of town, Clark talked to another director for another=20 commercial and struck down every idea that he offered. Robert continued to=20 shake his head trying to convince Clark that he needed to give some kind of=20 raw emotional appeal whether all true or not. Clark retreated from the=20 meeting, told Robert off, and saw his way home within a couple of hours. On the way home, he decided to drop in as Superman on Lucy. She was aware of= =20 Clark's secret but not aware of the fact that Lois had told him about the=20 abuse. The night Lois told him he exploded, shattering the glass he had been= =20 holding at the time. Lois had never seen Clark get so vent full of hatred fo= r=20 a person and had to calm him down enough to keep him going over there and=20 telling Greg off. This afternoon, looking in, he saw that the three were=20 sitting at lunch quietly and not out of sorts. He had understood from Lois=20 that things were getting better for Lucy and the trips were not necessary bu= t=20 he felt otherwise. He had read about battery cases and knew that the chain=20 didn't ever really stop. Seeing that time was fine, he went home to Lois. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 14:30:51 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: alauters Subject: Time Elapsed 15/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit OK, we're heading into the home stretch, people. Thanks for your patience! *** *** Clark x-rayed the Planet newsroom before entering it, scanning for Mrs. Cox or any "surprises" she might have left for him. He paid particular attention to his desk and chair, but found nothing unusual, and as he walked in, Perry caught his attention. "Clark!" Perry called. "I need to see you in my office." "Coming, Chief," Clark replied. He grabbed a notebook and pen off his desk on the way by and strode into the editor's office. "What's up?" "Sit down, Clark." Perry gestured to the seats in front of the desk. Clark raised an eyebrow, but complied. "Something I should worry about, Chief?" "It's come to my attention that you've been using Jimmy for the work about Ellen's accident," Perry said. "I thought we discussed that?" "We did, Chief," Clark hesitated, then continued, "but we've uncovered a lot of stuff that points to a big conspiracy -- and we definitely know Ellen wasn't in control of that car. We're not even sure she was drinking. And we've got pictures of a group of people, all of whom were plotting to divide Lois from her family." "And kill you." Shocked, Clark stuttered. "How did you -- ?" "While you were out, we had to have the bomb squad come in and disarm a device Jimmy conveniently found under your chair -- just big enough to kill you," Perry said. "I gathered something was going on, and I shook it out of Jimmy. I thought I told you two to keep me informed of what was going on? Why have you kept me out of the loop? And where's Lois?" Perry glared at Clark. "When my reporters are risking their lives, I at least want to know about it, son." Clark's mind reeled. He hadn't even heard about the bomb at the Planet. And why hadn't they told Perry anything? "Was anybody hurt, Chief? Is everyone all right?" "Thanks to Jimmy's sharp eyes, we managed to get everyone out and the bomb squad in before it could go off. It was on a pressure trigger, which means it's a good thing no one sat in your chair before you did, Clark," Perry said. "It's practically par for the course around here, so we had no large scale hysterics. But I still want to know what's going on." "I'm sorry, Chief," Clark said. "I guess we've just been so caught up in our own worries, we forgot to discuss things with you. Lois is with her father. They're planning to get Sam in touch with an old college friend we think is the key player behind a conspiracy to isolate Lois from her family and kidnap her, make her turn to someone this group calls Morpheus." Perry's eyes sharpened. "The dream god." "Yeah," Clark leaned forward. "Apparently, this has been going on for years -- the person who's supposed to kill me is Mrs. Cox, Luthor's old assistant." "Luthor, again?" Perry slapped his hand down on his desk. "Won't that manever die?" "Chief, we don't know that anyone affiliated with Luthor is actually responsible for this plot. We hope Sam can find out who's responsible. In fact, Lois should be contacting me any minute now to let me know the plan; I left them at the hospital," Clark said. "It's fishy, Clark," Perry mused. "From all accounts, Mrs. Cox was a loyal Luthor henchman, er, henchwoman. If she's part of that group, it could mean any number of things. What if she was influencing Luthor when he pursued Lois? What if he's the person behind the Morpheus character?" "I admit I thought about the Luthor possibility, but I never thought Mrs. Cox might be the influential person there," Clark narrowed his eyes. "Luthor was a scumbag who didn't need any excuses to go after Lois." "No, but let me show you something, Clark," Perry rose, then walked over to his bookshelf and pulled out an old scrapbook. Flipping through the pages, he found what he was looking for and handed the book to Clark. "Read this." A 60-point headline shouted, "Cult members meet doom." The date: July 15,1966. Scanning it quickly, Clark felt sick to his stomach: "METROPOLIS -- Police Saturday discovered the four remaining members of the Dream Death Cult hanging in their jail cells, dead of apparent suicides. "'We find this situation bizarre, but this whole case has been,' Inspector Tom Franklin said. 'At least now, the citizens of Metropolis can believe no more of their children will fall victim to this cult.' "More than 50 young people had joined the cult over the past two years, according to police records. Each had been brought in by other cult members who had been considered friends, and the group swelled to include many college-aged sons and daughters of prominent Metropolis citizens. "One former cult member, who declined to be identified, said the group preyed on a fear of failure, and worshipped the Greek god, Morpheus, god of dreams. "'The police are doing some dreaming of their own if they think these so-called suicides will end it,' the source said. "Franklin said the police suspected the now-dead cult members of more than30 murders and other violent crimes." Clark looked up. "How much of this is there?" Perry took the book back. "Well, you could look it up in the morgue, but what you're describing really rang that bell for me. I was covering stories in 'Nam at that point, but this cult made headlines for weeks that summer." "So, suppose some of the cult members just went underground," Clark said slowly. "Suppose the head of this cult still bosses them around. Suppose Mrs. Cox is part of it . . . Would Luthor have been likely to be part of this cult? Or know of it?" "I doubt we'll ever know, Clark," Perry sat down behind his desk. "But maybe this is a piece of the puzzle." "Thanks, Chief," Clark said, standing up. "I'd better find Lois." "Clark, you make very sure you take care of yourself and Lois," Perry told him sternly. "I want you both in one piece when you write this one up. And if you decide to go out investigating at night, take Jimmy with you. He takes better pictures." Clark grinned quickly. "On it, Chief," he said, as he left the office and headed for a certain, well-used bathroom window. *** ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 16:13:05 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct Part 4 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I am also posting this on Zoom's message boards. Please let me know if I should keep posting it here too or just one place. Part 4 A few nights later Clark walked through the door with Lara in tow and saw Lois on the phone, tears. Immediately he dropped Lara off in the playroom they had constructed out of the first floor secret ompartment. "What is it?" Lois looked up and was shaking. He could feel what was coming. "Greg, he," Lois answered but stopped because she could see Clark holding on to the door frame, trying to keep his composure. Gaining himself again he took the phone from Lois. "Lucy, it's Clark. Do you want me to come over?" Lois sat on the couch and watched Clark listen to Lucy on the other line, not knowing what they were talking about. She had seen Clark pace the floor like that before and wondered what was going on. "Lucy. Please pack up Mattie and come on over here. I will come over and get you if you need help getting out of the house. I want you to get out of that situation. Lucy, please." Clark stopped talking and started shaking his head. "Ok, but one time tonight and you call me." Clark handed Lois the phone back and disappeared into the kitchen. She could see through the swinging door that he was pacing still up and down through the kitchen. She followed him into the kitchen. "She can handle herself. She's a Lane. As dysfunctional as we all are, she has spunk." Clark took Lois and hugged her into his chest tightly. He could tell that Lois was trying to convince herself as much as him about Lucy's position. The phone rang off the hook about the campaign the rest of the evening, but Clark turned down every request made of him that night. They went to bed early but just waited and prayed. ********** Clark shot straight out of bed and flew out the window before Lois could even sit up. She hadn't heard anything but had fallen asleep for a few hours. She recalled that Clark had not slept any and was fully awake. She looked over at the phone and waited for it to ring. She hated not knowing. Turning on the TV, there were no disasters anywhere that needed mentioning, just more on the election. ********** "Superman," Lucy collapsed on the floor. Clark smashed through the window and immediately checked on her. She was bruised and bloody all over her body. "Mattie." Lucy was shaking and in shock. "I'm sorry Clark," she whispered as he picked up the little girl. She was covered in blood from a cut to her head. Trying desperately to keep his composure and not start crying, he picked Mattie up and sat down where Lucy was. <> "What happened?" He tried to clean and mend Mattie as much as possible while rubbing Lucy's back. "He was really hurting her. He was drinking and smoking and I told him to leave and he threw a plate at her and I had no choice when he came after me. God, help me. Please don't judge me Clark. I didn't mean to. I just meant to hurt him, slow him down a little where I could get out of the house." She slid a gun out from behind the curtains and saw Clark's mouth drop open. "I'm sorry." <> Looking in the same direction, he walked into the little bedroom and saw Greg shot squarely in the neck, dead. Clark breathed hard and saw the liquor and pot shoved under the bed. Listening close he could hear the police cars rolling around the corner. He had to think. This was family. Lois had been there once before and never really shot the gun. But Lucy had admitted it; the chance of her getting off scott free was little. Mattie would be taken into protective custody. Clark's head swam with problems that this could cause. <> "What are you doing?" Lucy looked at him funny as he froze the gun and warmed it up again and ran back in the bedroom. Saying a little prayer to himself, he heard the police breaking through the door and placed the gun in Greg's hand. Running back in the living room, he could see that the cops already had removed Mattie from Lucy's arms and had Lucy in handcuffs. Lucy looked right in the eyes of her brother in law not knowing what to say. <> "Officer, what are you doing?" Superman questioned the officer as he walked Lucy out to the car. "What's the reason for arresting her? I checked it out. This woman and her child were repeatedly beaten and then he killed himself." The man just stood looking at Superman with a curious look. "Rick, come look at this." The officer pointed to Superman to hold Lucy in custody while they checked out the death. Superman overheard the two talking about the pot under the bed and the gun in his hand. Lucy overheard this too and looked at Clark. "Don't say it," he whispered to her as she gave him a look of surprise. She almost fainted at the thought that Clark had set it up as a suicide to get her off. Just at that moment, Lois ran through the door past two other cops that were warding off the area. Lois wrapped her arms around Lucy and looked at Clark. He shook his head as if to say everything would work out. "Sorry Ma'am. We called for an ambulance and would like for you to go to the hospital to get checked out at least. Your daughter is already on the way." The officer took the hand cuffs off and started out to his car to start an evidence kit. Lucy wrapped both of her arms around Lois and Clark and headed out the door to the hospital. Superman left to supposedly help someone else as Lois left with Lucy for hospital but met them as Clark at the hospital. Mattie was sitting in the waiting room with a nurse when Lucy walked in. "Mommy." Mattie went hobbling across the room as Clark walked up behind Lois. "What happened?" Lois sat Clark down in the waiting room as Lucy disappeared into the exam room. Clark sat silently in the chair rubbing his hands together. "Nothing. He hurt her and Mattie and when I got there, he had shot himself already. I guess she was calling me thinking I would beat it." Clark was still shaking more than he ever did. Lois knew that this time it had been too close to home for him to handle. On top of that, he knew that only Lucy and he ever needed to know the truth. He hated keeping it from Lois but couldn't risk anyone knowing. That had been the second time he really had broken the law himself and couldn't bear even for Lois to know. But unlike the first time, there was no scandal to fall back on. Lucy would have gone to prison for some time. Clenching his fists, he realized how much he hated the system sometimes. He could feel Lois comforting him and sooth the pain away. So much pain that she didn't even know about. "Hi," came quietly from Lucy's mouth as she held Mattie in her arms. She had been patched up while Lois held Clark for the longest time. Over the last hour, she could feel his breathing slow and knew he was calming himself down at least externally. All the parents had since arrived. Ellen had left and checked on Lucy and then returned with good news that both were going to be fine. Clark looked up and smiled seeing that Lucy was looking better and had some of her color back. Standing up, he gave Mattie and Lucy a protective gentle hug as the rest of the family discretely thanked Clark for being there. Lucy and Clark caught each other's glances knowing that this would be their secret. Walking out to car, Clark stopped with Lois to answer questions for reporters. He had finally decided what his running strategy and platform would be. He was tired of saving women from assaults, batteries, and rapes to see the men again a few weeks later. He already had the women vote for his looks, now he wanted it for a real reason. <> ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 03:37:46 -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: challenge On Wed, 2 Aug 2000 19:45:57 -0400, Joy Sowell wrote: >I thought I would post a quick and easy fanfic challenge for those of us who Okay, let's have a go.... s p o i l e r s p a c e > >"So...you gonna make me feel wonderful again, >Sunflower Boy?" > Don't know. > >"Two nights ago, I heard your dad yell for Martha to come out to the barn. >I followed her." She found she was staring at her shoes, unable to look him >in the eyes. "I saw the green meteorite and I saw what had happened to you. >And I overheard what you said in the kitchen. I know that you're Superman." Um, I think that was by Nan Smith. The title is more difficult, though. Is it The Green Green Glow of Revelation, or have I got completely confused and mixed it up with something else? > > >"What makes you so sure?" she asked, her voice still unsteady. >"Clark - all of my relationships have been federal disasters. I >hoped that with you... but how do I know we wouldn't end up exactly the same >way? I know I'd get jealous and angry, and I'd take it out on you, and I'd >make your life miserable. It just wouldn't work." > Don't know, but since there is obviously angst here, I would suggest it's something by Wendy Richards. ;) > >"Oh." Vicky was in shock. She couldn't believe that he remembered her so >vividly from both her incarnations that night. > Ah hah! An easy one. Gale Force Winds, Irene Dutchak. > >For the first time that morning, Clark smiled. He took a sip of the >streaming brew and nodded. "Extra cream and sugar, hold the >strychnine, just the way I like it." > Don't know, but it's a wonderful line! > > >Okay, folcs. Let's see who gets all of these first. > Not me. Obviously. :) Chris ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 03:41:04 -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: New: Love, Loyalty and Luthor (7/7) On Wed, 2 Aug 2000 16:37:12 EDT, No Name Available wrote: > >And, Chris, I have to say, I think this story was indeed unique in being from >a villain's viewpoint. Good job! > Laurie, thank you! Glad the story worked for you. Of course, now you and Charlotte are making me feel guilty for not posting the original Learning Curves to the list. ;) (It was just so long that I couldn't face doing it at the time.) However, I will bear in mind the fact that some people *do* like to read stories here next time I have something to post! Chris ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:11:28 +0100 Reply-To: Phillip Atcliffe Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Phillip Atcliffe Subject: Phasing out for a fortnight... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII It's that time of year again here, or so it seems... The "mass" exodus of UK FoLCs continues with me descending into nomail for the next 2 weeks ('cause I won't be at work!). I'll still be reachable at home, and I trust (hope?) that no-one is going to post any stories here that won't also turn up on Zoom's MBs -- please? See you all when I unwillingly return to the grindstone, just in time for resit exams and the associated boards... Phil, wishing Clark was available to help me deal with reworking the kitchen. _This_ is a holiday? ------------------------------------------------------------ "I think... I think I am! | I think _I_ am: Therefore I am... I think?" | Phil Atcliffe -- The Moody Blues | (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 07:45:04 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Charlotte Fisler Subject: Re: Politically Correct Part 4 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/3/00 8:13:49 PM !!!First Boot!!!, Meg4076@AOL.COM writes: << I am also posting this on Zoom's message boards. Please let me know if I should keep posting it here too or just one place. >> Here as well please, she asked politely (sp?) if not politically correct (BG) Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 09:56:29 -0400 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: challenge Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I see it's time for another hint. Nan was correct in her 3 guesses. One of the remaining fics was a recently posted joint effort. Joy :) ______________________________________________ FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 10:04:37 -0400 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: challenge Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Oops. I meant to say that the remaining two fics are joint efforts. One was an especially long time in coming. Joy :) ______________________________________________ FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:28:45 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct 5 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The next few weeks remained quiet on the home front. There were more meals a= s=20 family and yet less of Clark around. Lois started to miss her husband more=20 and more as the trips out of town to impress voters became longer and longer= .=20 Her job at the Planet was just as busy now with training Jimmy to take=20 Clark's place while he ran and in the event that he did win. The polls showe= d=20 him with a strong 20-point sympathetic lead over the other candidates. The=20 commercials he had finally decided on were not exactly to his liking but wer= e=20 better than mud slinging. He opted to let Robert run a commercial about an=20 abusive family with the "Eleventh Commandment" playing in the background.=20 Clark's face was no where on the commercial but everyone knew who it was for= .=20 <> "Hello officer. Can I help you?" Lois offered the officer to come in as Clar= k=20 came down the stairs. The officer entered the house and stood in the foyer. "I'm sorry I have to come on such bad news but," the officer paused as he=20 looked up at the top of the stairs and saw Lucy. "Ma'am," he spoke softly as= =20 Lucy came down behind Clark with Mattie in her arms.=20 =E2=80=9CWhat is it officer?=E2=80=9D Clark stood next to Lois puzzled. Thin= gs had been so=20 quiet that he thought everything was behind them. The press had presented th= e=20 case as a suicide of a drug abuser. The files even revealed that Greg had=20 abused another woman before. Clark had to calm Lois down the day that Jimmy=20 came in with his past record in the other two states that he had been charge= d=20 with possession. She wanted to stomp on the man=E2=80=99s grave over and ove= r.=20 =E2=80=9CMr. Kent, the investigation into Greg Lawrence was to be closed tod= ay, but=20 we ran into a little snag.=E2=80=9D The officer looked over at Lucy who was=20= standing=20 now next to her sister. She watched as another officer entered the house and= =20 Clark looked out to see that he could close the door. He noticed the lights=20 on the car were still flashing. This was not a courtesy call. =E2=80=9CWhere= Miss=20 Lane was sitting when we walked into the house the night of her boyfriend= =E2=80=99s=20 suicide, the investigators uncovered fresh residue from a gun that would=20 match the one Greg used in the shooting. We found her prints near to the=20 residue. We also have a witness that claims that they saw someone in the=20 bedroom doing something with the body after the gun went off, a matter of=20 minutes afterwards. I=E2=80=99m sorry.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CWhat do you mean sorry?=E2=80=9D All the new information was fluste= ring Lois. They=20 had been sure that all the evidence had turned up. Clark had made sure of it= .=20 =E2=80=98They saw someone in the bedroom doing something with the body after= the gun=20 went off, a matter of minutes afterwards,=E2=80=99 Lois could hear that sent= ence over=20 and over. She remembered that Clark had told her that he had surveyed the=20 room afterwards but that was it. =E2=80=9CWhat do you mean?=E2=80=9D The other officer took Mattie from Lucy and quickly handed her to Clark sinc= e=20 Lois started shaking. =E2=80=9CLucy Lane, you are under arrest for murder of= Greg=20 Lawrence.=E2=80=9D Lois started to grab at the officer as Clark held her and= Mattie=20 back, both of them screaming for Lucy. Clark couldn=E2=80=99t believe that L= ucy was=20 being put up against the wall of her own home and locked up. What mistake=20 could she and Clark possibly have made? =E2=80=9CYou have the right to remai= n silent,=20 anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.=E2=80= =9D The=20 officer continued as Lois pleaded with Clark to let her go. Clark held Lois back as she swung her arms at the officers. =E2=80=9CLois, l= et it go.=20 We=E2=80=99ll get her out.=E2=80=9D The officer led Lucy off and put her in=20= the car and=20 drove off. The other officer left information for Clark and Lois on how to=20 get a bail set as quickly as possible. =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m sorry, but do you have an idea how to get a hold of Sup= erman?=E2=80=9D Clark=20 quickly looked up from the information as Lois looked at the officer as if h= e=20 was dumb. Her face was white with bloodshot eyes and wasn=E2=80=99t in the m= ood for=20 jokes. =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m not supposed to say anything, but I think you ne= ed to warn=20 Superman. I think they=E2=80=99re going to charge him as an accessory for mu= rder.=20 That witness said that it was someone in bright blue and he was there when=20 the other officers arrived. Just a heads up. I know he=E2=80=99s a friend of= yours =E2=80=93=20 let him know to lie low. The last thing we need to have is a superhero in=20 jail for ten years.=E2=80=9D The officer left the house, closing the door be= hind him.=20 Lois stood stone still with Mattie in her arms, looking at Clark. =E2=80=9CAccessory to murder. What did you do?=E2=80=9D Clark stood in the m= iddle of the=20 living room and couldn=E2=80=99t seem to find the words. He watched as he le= t Mattie=20 down. She ran immediately to the door and started banging on it to open. Loi= s=20 tried again, =E2=80=9CClark?=E2=80=9D She watched Clark slump into a ball on= the floor. She=20 could feel her breath catch in her throat looking at his face, as it seemed=20 to turn whiter and whiter.=20 =E2=80=9CI thought that I covered everything.=E2=80=9D He looked up at Lois=20= and then over at=20 Mattie. Without warning his eyes started to get puffy as he sat down. Lois=20 knew that he had never told her the entire truth. She waited to see if he=20 would volunteer any more information. =E2=80=9CI guess Superman is going int= o=20 hiding.=E2=80=9D Lois knew he had much more to do with it than just missing=20= Greg kill=20 himself. He looked up at Lois as she sat down on the floor beside him. =E2= =80=9CCall=20 the folks,=E2=80=9D he whispered to her as she scooted over by him and cuddl= ed Mattie=20 up now in her arms. Mattie moved into Clark=E2=80=99s arms, still in tears a= s Lois=20 nervously dialed and quickly explained things about Lucy and Superman=E2=80= =99s=20 implications.=20 =E2=80=9CMartha, this is Lois. I already called my folks but I think you nee= d to get=20 over here as soon as possible. Clark could be in some serious trouble. No,=20 he=E2=80=99s here but the police just came by and are looking for Superman.=20= Lucy was=20 arrested.=E2=80=9D Lois could hear Martha yelling at Jonathon and hurried a=20= goodbye.=20 Lois was able to get Clark over on the couch and sit him down. He still=20 couldn=E2=80=99t face looking at her though. He sat dead still and stared in= to the=20 walls. Mattie had since fallen asleep from crying and Lois put her to bed in= =20 the spare room when the door rang. Looking down the stairs, Clark still was=20 not moving.=20 Ellen and Sam arrived first in bewilderment. Lois had only told them that=20 Lucy had been arrested and was not allowed visitors fro several hours. Marth= a=20 and Jonathon arrived a few minutes later. Looking in the living room, Martha= =20 could see Ellen trying to get Clark to talk to no avail. She had never seen=20 her son so quiet and nervous. He was even sweating. Sitting down beside him,= =20 she rubbed his back with her arm as Lois brought another chair in from the=20 kitchen. =E2=80=9CClark, son, what happened?=E2=80=9D He took Lois=E2=80=99 hand from across the table and his mother ended up cha= nging=20 places where he could lean on his wife. He kept looking at her for the first= =20 minutes of silence. He was thinking of it being the last moments he would se= e=20 her for a long time. He knew inside that he was guilty. He would have explai= n=20 his disappearance to the rest of the world as Clark Kent. He just realized=20 that this would also bring up all kinds of questions about his Senate race.=20 But nothing mattered now except the truth. He had thought years ago that=20 telling Lois he was Superman was hard; he found something worse than that=20 truth. He slowly looked up at all the worried faces of his family. He=20 whispered, =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m guilty.=E2=80=9D Looking up again, he saw al= l the faces in the room=20 go sickly gray. He felt his mother grab his arms tighter and closed his eyes= . =E2=80=9CBut Clark?=E2=80=9D He couldn=E2=80=99t hold it any longer. Looking around the house, he looked=20= for bugs=20 on the house and found none. =E2=80=9CI flew into Lucy=E2=80=99s place and f= ound her sitting=20 by the living room window and Mattie drying in her crib. Mattie was really=20 bleeding badly and Lucy was in shock. I went and looked at Greg and found al= l=20 the dope he had and was enraged. When I went out and talked to Lucy, she sai= d=20 she was sorry and she passed me the gun from under the curtains. I heated it= =20 up and then cooled it off to body temperature and put it in his hand. I neve= r=20 even thought about the residue on the floor. When Lois was implicated they=20 found it on her hands and they never checked Lucy so I thought I was safe. I= =20 thought she was safe.=E2=80=9D Clark collapsed into the couch and waited for= the=20 reaction from the family. After a few silent minutes, he had no choice. =E2= =80=9CWhat=20 do I say now?=E2=80=9D He looked at his mother who stared at him stunned. Her only son, who happene= d=20 to be Superman, was about to be accused of a crime that he admitted to.=20 Martha got up and ran to the restroom. Clark could hear becoming sick in the= =20 restroom and watched as his father took off to help her. =E2=80=9CClark, you= didn=E2=80=99t=20 need to get involved, although I thank you for trying to help,=E2=80=9D Elle= n quietly=20 relented to him. Sam hugged her in his arms as Lois tried to look at her=20 husband. She could see that it killed him to admit anything; she was shocked= =20 that he had kept the secret from her for so long. She wondered if he had tol= d=20 her earlier if she could have helped him cover his tracks better. She now=20 understood why he insisted that he be at everything that had dealt with the=20 suicide; he was covering himself.=20 Martha and Jonathon returned and sat down. Clark had never meant for anyone=20 to ever know anything and never meant to hurt his parents like he did. He=20 knew the rest of the fight would be his. =E2=80=9CI want you, everyone, to j= ust not=20 worry about what I said. Superman is now gone until we figure out what they=20 are going to do about this. I have to concentrate on what now to say to the=20 press that will be outside the house tomorrow waiting for Clark to make a=20 statement why his sister in law is now under arrest. I think you all should=20 be getting down to the county jail to check on Lucy. Send her my love and=20 tell her we=E2=80=99re going to get her out.=E2=80=9D Clark=E2=80=99s voice=20= was still shaky. **RING** Lois walked to the door hesitantly. Clark looked and saw it was Perry and=20 nodded. Lois opened the door and Perry wrapped his arms around her and then=20 headed over and hugged the other members of the family who still were in=20 partial shock from Clark=E2=80=99s revelation. =E2=80=9CI got here as soon a= s I heard. Jimmy=20 was up watching the news and saw the update on the ticker on the station.=20 How=E2=80=99s she doing?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CThey said it would be morning before she was able to see visitors.=20= Ellen and=20 Sam were about to leave to go wait on her.=E2=80=9D Lois was trying to push=20= for her=20 parents to get over to the jail before they completely locked Lucy up. Her=20 parents followed suit and walked down to their car with Lois. Meanwhile,=20 Perry pulled up the chairs that were left and sat down across from Clark. =E2=80=9CDo you know anything else about this Clark? Of all the people in th= is room=20 you seem the most distressed besides Ellen,=E2=80=9D Perry asked. Jimmy sat=20= back and=20 mentally took notes. He had been to almost every meeting and hearing that=20 Clark had gone to about the case and was confused why things changed=20 overnight. Clark looked at his parents and Perry and shook his head. He=20 leaned over to his father and whispered something that caused protest from=20 Jonathon but he relented. Walking up the stairs, he saw his father lean into= =20 Perry and start talking to him. He saw his mother=E2=80=99s face in surprise= . Walking=20 into the bathroom, he saw Lois coming in and seeing him head upstairs.=20 Following him up the stairs, she heard the click of the bathroom door and=20 heard whimpering from inside. Trying to get the nerve up to tell him to let=20 her in, she couldn=E2=80=99t. She sat on the other side of the door and list= ened to=20 him cry. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Lois could hear the famil= y=20 talking to Perry downstairs and heard, =E2=80=9Cwhat?=E2=80=9D come from dow= nstairs.=20 =E2=80=9COur Clark? I mean we went through this with Top Copy but,=E2=80=9D=20= Perry held his=20 breath as Clark=E2=80=99s parents explained the laser and the accusations th= at now=20 faced their Clark. Perry sat still and listened in awe. Not to mention that=20 he knew why they always got the exclusives, he worried about what Clark woul= d=20 do now. ********** ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:29:34 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct 6 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The hours of the night seemed to pass fast. The family could hear voices=20 gathering outside and heard the phone ring. =E2=80=9CHello. Is she alight?= =E2=80=9D Martha=20 walked upstairs to see where Lois and Clark had disappeared to for so long=20 into the night. Rapping on the door, she could hear it unlock and Clark=E2= =80=99s wet=20 face appeared. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s Ellen.=E2=80=9D Clark took the phone an= d headed back=20 downstairs, leaving Lois to sleep longer in the floor. =E2=80=9CClark, I hope you have made a decision son about what you=E2=80=99r= e going to do.=20 We came home because Sam and I were being pushed around up there, but I hear= d=20 that they were applying for a search warrant of your home and I know that yo= u=20 have your capes there. Get them out now. Call us back and let us know what i= s=20 going on over there. I=E2=80=99m looking at the TV right now and the press i= s=20 everywhere in front of your house.=E2=80=9D Clark hung up the phone and ran=20= upstairs.=20 Lois followed him and saw him pull all the Superman outfits out of the secre= t=20 closet.=20 =E2=80=9CWhat are you doing?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CYour mother just called and said they are on the way over here to s= earch the=20 house for Superman. Now how would this look if all of his stuff is here? The= n=20 we get implicated for aiding a person running from the law.=E2=80=9D The res= t of the=20 family, Perry and Jimmy now watched as he burned the contents in the bathtub= =20 and ran the ashes down the drain. His mother just cringed when all the=20 outfits went up in flames. She didn=E2=80=99t know whether to be sicker of h= is=20 running or being guilty in the first place. The whole group jumped when the=20 doorbell rang as the last of the ashes were washed down the drain. Clark=20 looked down and closed his eyes. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s the police. Here goes= .=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CStay here. I=E2=80=99ll get it.=E2=80=9D Lois and the rest of the f= amily went downstairs.=20 Perry stayed upstairs with Clark and discussed his strategy. =E2=80=9CCan I=20= help you=20 officer. We were about to head over to see Lucy.=E2=80=9D She tried to play=20= calm when=20 she saw the warrant.=20 =E2=80=9CWe have a warrant here to search the premises of your home for any=20= and all=20 Superman evidence.=E2=80=9D The officer stopped when another man, the distri= ct=20 attorney, spoke to him. =E2=80=9CJust a minute ma=E2=80=99am.=E2=80=9D The o= fficer walked away, and=20 Lois waited to see if she could tell what was going on. The police had since= =20 dispersed the crowd away from the immediate entrance to the house and now=20 they were screaming questions to her that she chose not to answer. She looke= d=20 up at Clark at the top of the stairs, trying to stay out of the view of the=20 cameras. About ten minutes later, the officer returned with another sheet of= =20 paper. =E2=80=9CWe also have a warrant for the search of the premises and a=20= warrant=20 for Superman=E2=80=99s arrest on the charge of accessory to murder.=E2=80= =9D Lois tried to=20 act calm but could see Clark=E2=80=99s face. The officers pushed past Lois a= nd the=20 family and started looking through the living room and questioning the=20 members of the family who lied about Superman=E2=80=99s whereabouts, saying=20= they=20 didn=E2=80=99t know. Lois looked around at the officers=E2=80=99 faces. They= weren=E2=80=99t buying=20 it. She saw Clark coming down the stairs to greet the officer and pretend to= =20 be oblivious.=20 Clark walked up to one officer and Lois saw the officer put his hand behind=20 his back as Clark greeted him. =E2=80=9COfficer Kirby, can I help you in any= way?=E2=80=9D=20 The officer looked straight at Clark and Lois started toward him when severa= l=20 officers made a move to prepare to restrain his parents.=20 =E2=80=9CYes, you can Mr. Kent.=E2=80=9D The officer took Clark and led him=20= over toward the=20 staircase. =E2=80=9CYou can,=E2=80=9D the officer hesitated and saw the face= of the district=20 attorney. =E2=80=9CPlace your hands on your head please. Clark Kent, aka Sup= erman,=20 you are under the arrest for the accessory to murder for Greg Lawrence.=E2= =80=9D All=20 of the family screamed and watched as the officer put Clark's hands behind=20 his back and was cuffed. He could see Lois being held up by one of the=20 officers. =E2=80=9CDo you understand these rights as I have explained them t= o you?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CYes,=E2=80=9D Clark could barely muster. Clark's head was swimming.= Looking over at=20 his family, he could see everyone fighting with officers. He nodded at them=20 to stop fighting with them.=20 "Mr. Kent, there is a sharp shooter with a Kryptonite bullet on the roof=20 across from this building.=E2=80=9D Lois lunged again and started screaming=20= Clark=E2=80=99s=20 name as the officer started for the door. He looked at Lois with desperate=20 eyes. =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99ll be ok. Lois, my parents,=E2=80=9D was all that Clark g= ot out as the arresting=20 officers closed the door of the house and put him the car.=20 The officers released his parents and Lois. The officers were no sooner=20 outside than Lois and everyone else were running out the door to get in cars= =20 to follow Clark down to the station but caught by the media that flooded up=20 to the door. "Lois, what is your husband being arrested for?" The cameras kept clicking=20 and the reporters kept yelling other questions as the family pushed their wa= y=20 to the Jeep. Lois couldn't take it anymore and stopped short of getting in=20 the car while Perry was pulling on her arm to get in. "My husband has been mistakenly arrested. I'm sure everything will work=20 itself out in time." "Does it have anything to do with the arrest of your sister Lucy Lane last=20 night for murder?" The reporter pushed herself right up to the front of the=20 Jeep and in her face. "Like I said before, it is a mistake and will be all cleared up. I need to b= e=20 getting going." Lois shut the door while some reporters still were pushing=20 against the window glass. Perry patted Lois on the shoulder. "I'll meet you there after I stop off at the Planet." Lois started=20 hyperventilate and handed the keys to Jimmy. Getting out of the back of the=20 car Jimmy pushed by reporters and waited for Lois to climb in the back.=20 "Perry, what are you going to say?" Perry looked at Lois sadly and shook his= =20 head.=20 "The secret is safe Lois honey. But I have to tell the truth. Remember, I do= =20 still run a newspaper that happened to be present when they read the=20 accusation." Martha wrapped her arms around Lois as Lois looked at Perry as=20 if to beg to skip the story. After a few seconds of pleading in silence, Loi= s=20 gave up and knew it had to be written. They had written about her arrest and= =20 jail break; now it was Clark's turn. Perry jumped out of the car and headed=20 back to his car down the street with reporters following him. Lois knew that= =20 he wouldn't share any information with other reporting teams. This was his=20 family. Jimmy sped off in the car toward the police station, watching out the back=20 window where several hundred reporters were still running after the Jeep. He= =20 could see Lois in the rearview mirror and heard her talking to her parents=20 asking how did the police figure it out. ********** At the station, Clark walked in and had images of the time Superman had been= =20 booked and how to react this time. He stood completely silent through all th= e=20 fingerprinting and pictures taken. He was put in an empty room and left for=20 what he thought was hours. He went over in his mind everything that he had=20 done and couldn't see anything that he had missed. And how was it that they=20 figured he was Superman? Putting his head down, he started to sob at the=20 table.=20 "Mr. Kent, your wife is here." Clark looked up and saw Lois, her eyes=20 bloodshot and puffy. She sat across the table from him and noticed that one=20 officer remained in the room.=20 "We can't talk here." Lois looked at him and noticed that he was still cuffe= d=20 for reasons she didn't understand. "I know. Perry is getting the lawyers on the phone and they will be over as=20 soon as they can. You know he has to print the story." Lois crossed her hand= s=20 and bit her lips to keep her composure. She looked at her husband from acros= s=20 the table. She had no idea how to solve this. No one would tell them anythin= g=20 about the evidence that held Clark as Superman. "We're going to get through=20 this honey. We have been in this kind of bind before." Clark was still not=20 speaking. Lois didn't know what to think. He seemed to be in shock. "Clark?" He looked up at her. She could see the look in her eyes. She had seen the=20 same look when she had turned him down to marry him right after his secret=20 was found out. He just stared past her into the wall. She was dying to know=20 what ran through his head, but it wasn't going to happen right then. She=20 signaled the officer and left Clark alone in the room. She passed by one of=20 the investigators who went into the room after Lois. Martha and Jonathon too= k=20 her by the arms and walked her back into the main waiting area where Ellen=20 and Sam were.=20 ********** ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:30:28 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct 7 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "I'd like to make a statement." Lois stood on the steps of the courthouse with her and Clark's parents. Lucy and Clark were about to be delivered to the court house to have bail set, if any. Perry had the lawyers inside talking about the case and wondered what was going on. In the meantime, she had read the article that Perry had put together and knew exactly what to say. The media was now quieter and willing to listen to a prepared statement. "This morning my husband and Senatorial Candidate Clark Kent was arrested on charges I feel are wrong. He has been named an accessory to murder of my sister's ex-boyfriend. My sister has been charged with murder. The rumors that you may have heard are true that the police suspect that my husband is Superman and that is why he was arrested instead of Superman himself. I have been told that I should not be answering any other questions without the lawyers present so I have nothing else to say at this time." Lois started to walk away and heard one final question. Turning back to the microphone, she responded, "No, Clark is not pulling out of the Senate race as of yet. That's all I know. Thank you." An officer walked her and the family back into the courthouse where she could see her sister and her husband being walked down the stairs to the holding area. ********** Walking into the courtroom, Lois sat right behind the defense bench and waited for her sister to be brought in first. She looked over at the other side of the courtroom and saw the district attorney sifting through several folders of different papers. She nodded at her sister as the officer sat her down. "All rise. The honorable Judge Watson presiding." "You may sit. Counselor, we are here to set the exact charges and set bail and trail dates. Mr. District Attorney, what are the charges that the defendant is facing?" The district attorney hands the judge a folder and waits until the judge reads over the findings. "Lucy Lane, you are being charged with murder in the second degree for the wrongful death of Greg Lawrence. How do you plead?" Lucy was standing with her lawyer, waiting for his response. She had not spoken to her parents and hoped that they would not be upset with her partial admittance. "My client pleads self defense." Lois could see her parents faces go blank and still. They knew that mean she was admitting to the crime. Now Lois sat still knowing that Clark must have helped her out if the gun was in Greg's hand. "The court notes the plea. The bail to be set Mr. District Attorney." "The court asks for the bail to be set at ten thousand dollars." Lois saw Lucy and knew there was a way for the family to come up with that kind of money by the afternoon; she could Lucy slightly relax as she was led out of the courtroom. Immediately, Sam got up and headed out the door, pulling for his phone. Lois knew Lucy would be free soon, at least for a little while. Lois was talking to Martha about her sister when Clark was walked into the courtroom. She could hear the whispers start, no doubtedly about his suspicion of being Superman. "The charges against you as Superman stand as Accessory to a murder after the fact. Do you have a plea in this case?" The whole courtroom went silent. Lois could have never imagined Clark perjuring himself; he had sworn never to lie about the identity in such a way. She didn't even know what he was going to say; what the lawyers had decided would be his best plea. "Your honor, we would like to tackle this charge in two pieces." The judge looked over at the district attorney and entertained the defense attorney. "My client feels that the court must prove in a hearing that he, Clark Kent, is indeed Superman. Then we would enter a plea if he is so. We would like also that until that time, he be released on his own recognizance." The judge called both counselors forward and discussed the askings of Clark's defense. Clark meanwhile could hear everything but was not about to give the court any reason to think he was Superman. He knew a way out; it was just a long shot for all of them. "After further discussion and the recent problems of convicting the wrong men in court, I have to decided that a hearing is in order for the defense. Mr. Ray, you have the freedom of your client. I have a feeling his running will not be problem since he is running for the Senate. And Mr. Kent, you understand that the prosecution will have every opportunity to try to prove your connection to Superman as you will also have the fifth amendment. Bail is not be set at this time. Court will recess until Monday 8 AM, some four days from today." The judge rose and walked out of the courtroom. Clark turned around and wrapped his arms around his parents and Lois. "Daddy?" "The funds are being wired to a bondsman across the street and the paperwork was started. Lucy should be out in a few hours. You go home and we'll meet you there in a few hours." He patted Clark on the back. "Clark, we'll start tomorrow at your place at seven. I know you and Lois have done a lot on Superman. You need to figure out all the possible tests, interviews, and criminals that the district attorney might have that could prove you are Superman. " Pulling Clark nearer to him, he whispered, "physical tests." "I understand. I have some thoughts." Clark shook his hand and started out of the courtroom with his wife and family, breathing a sigh of relief and worry." ********** Sitting down after dinner, Clark and Lois fumbled through stacks of paper on the couch. "You find anything?" "Lois, you asked me that a minute ago." Clark went back to reading through some of the stories they had written. **RING** "Who did you call over here?" Clark got up and answered the door. "I thought with everyone else thinking I was Superman that one other person wouldn't be a big deal." Lois looked at him in surprise as Dr. Klein walked through the door. "Thank you for coming." "I heard that you had a run in with the law Clark. Are you and Lois ok?" "Yes, for now, but I think that we need to discuss something. Did you hear about the reasoning for the hearing postponement?" "I heard that they thought you were Superman or something." Clark let out a deep sigh and motioned to Dr. Klein to follow him into another room. That afternoon when he had returned home, he found that the police had found nothing about Superman in the house, least of all in the secret compartments. Walking through a sliding door into a smaller closet. Dr Klein was mesmerized by all the portals built into the old house. Clark came out of the smaller closet and pulled out the one remaining Superman outfit he had. "Are you telling me something Clark?" Clark breathed hard and spun around in the small attic space. Lois stood in the doorway and watched. Dr. Klein controlled his feelings and voice by covering his mouth. "So, you see Dr. Klein, I have a problem. See, what they say about me being Superman is true. But I have to prove them false by Monday. Otherwise, I, Clark probably will," Clark changed back to himself, "let's not think about that part." He closed up the closet and headed back down the stairs. "You want me to help you cover this all up?" Lois and Clark both stood in front of Dr. Klein and waited for his answer. "I guess you're going to need , what are you going to need with me?" "I need to be pervious to injury." Dr. Klein leaned back into the chair and looked at Clark. "Clark, Super, Clark. You know what you're saying?" Clark and Lois wrapped up in each other's arms and slightly smiled. "Ok, external or internal." "We were thinking more in terms of that virus that Superman had several years ago. The one Sam Lane took care of me during." "I remember. Our lab got some of the samples left over from what was grown in that culture. But it could kill you unless I can fix it." Lois and Clark straightened up when he mentioned trying to redo the composition where Clark wouldn't become as sick. Shaking their heads, they followed Dr. Klein to the door. "I'll see you later this weekend. Top secret, I know." He smiled as he left he house and Clark knew that was going to be the last person that would know anything. *********** The next few days went by quickly. Hours were spent with both Lucy and Clark's attorneys hashing out details. Neither attorney knew of the truth about Clark and no one was about to volunteer the information. "Well, goodnight. We will see both of you in court tomorrow morning." Clark walked the attorneys out and faced a barrage of TV and photography cameras. "I have nothing to say right now. I am still running for office; I will not pull out of the race because Clark Kent has done nothing wrong." Clark shut the door and tried to bang his head against the wall. "Yes?" Opening the door, Dr. Klein gave him a dirty look. "Sorry, come on in. You can se we're all a little uptight." "Yes, and I'll make this quick. I was able to reduce the strain some, but you're still going to be very ill if the hearing runs over three or four days. I was able to come up with an antidote but it will only work up to 72 hours. You must remember how powerful this was the last time." "I remember. Thank you doctor. How long before it takes affect?" "Take it with a drink; within hours I would think. It practically covered the lab during the weekend. We had to burn it out." Dr. Klein opened the door and let himself out. The family say all around the living room and waited. Clark came back from the kitchen. "If this doesn't work; let's just hope it works." *********** "We're here today to prove that once and for all regardless of all the speculation in the past, that Clark Kent never was and never will be Superman. The prosecution will begin, hopefully with the reason that Mr. Kent was suspected in the first place." "Yes, your honor. We would like to first play a tape that has been identified as Mr. Kent's voice and woman's voice. This woman's voice has been identified as Ellen Lane, the mother in law." Clark looked back at Lois and Ellen. "To introduce the tape," the prosecutor was interrupted. "Under what circumstances was this tape obtained?" "Your honor, an anonymous person turned it in. We believe it's from a common police scanner." The judge looked crossly at the prosecutor and the defense attorney. Clark felt the attorney nudge him and wrote, 'throw out,' on a pad of paper. "Sir, you know as District Attorney I would love to get to the bottom of this hearing as fast as you would, but I also know that you realize the first thing I am going to do is throw out any illegal taping of any kind, including your tape of a phone conversation. There will be no tape played, there will be no transcript of the tape, and no mention of it from here on out. Bailiff, please remove the tape from this courtroom and have it sealed as non admissible evidence for any future use. You may proceed counselor." The prosecutor continued to talk for several more minutes, trying to regain his quickly shot composure. Lois watched and nudged Martha to look at Clark. He was starting to look tired and frail. The virus had worked. Clark turned around and looked at Lois. He looked real tired; she hoped he would make it through the hearing. "Mr. Kent, I understand that you have agreed to some physical tests for this trial." Clark looked up at the judge and shook his head. The judge motioned for the prosecutor to call the doctor he had hired for the hearing. Clark got up and walked around to the center of the courtroom and sat down in the chair. "First the doctor has decided to simply break the pencil." Clark took the pencil in his hand and snapped it in half but no more. The prosecutor's face never changed expression. "Good, with your permission, we would like to draw some blood simply to prove that you, unlike Superman, can bleed." The doctor pulled out a syringe and wrapped a rubber band around his upper arms. Lois saw him winch when it was popped against his arm. "He felt that, like a sting," she whispered to Martha. The doctor pricked him and started to draw blood. Clark's eyes closed and Lois watched as the doctor examined the contents of the vial. "I think this will do." The prosecutor was dumbfounded. He had heard the tape; he knew the truth. This Clark Kent was not supposed to bleed, especially not to the prosecutor's liking. "Thank you Mr. Kent, you may go sit down." The doctor handed Clark a band aid and went back to his seat. "Your honor. I have one more test for Mr. Kent. I have decided that this would be more proof than any other physical test I could give." The judge nodded his head. Clark looked back at Lois and his lawyer. "I would like to call one person the stand. SUPERMAN!!!" Clark started to squirm in his seat and his lawyer started even looking at him funny. This was bad. They would hold the hearing until Clark was well and try again if they felt they were right. "I said SUPERMAN!!!" The court doors flew open and Superman stood in the doorway. Lois turned around in shock. The whole court room was in an uproar. Clark was rubbing his head in astonishment until he saw a strange little figure he had not seen in four years walk past the door. "I heard someone calling for me. I'm Superman." The figure stood in the doorway for a moment more and headed to the witness box. The prosecutor went through every test again on this man and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was Superman. "Your honor, I would like to suggest that Clark Kent be fully released from these hearing and that we proceed with the bail and charges against Superman himself." The judge agreed and within an hour Clark was sitting in the back of the courtroom with Lois and the little old man. "My boy, how you changed history. One moment Utopia and another was a barren wasteland of convicts. I came this weekend and read the awful news and knew we had to fix it." "But what if he gets convicted?" Clark sounded nervous not wanting to go back to the alternate universe again. "He may. And then he may not. The proof you needed was not to be found out and that is exactly what we did." The three sat in the courtroom and listened as the judge began to speak. "What do you plead?" "Not guilty your honor." "Be it so. The prosecution has allowed the defendant to be released on his own behalf. You will remain in Metropolis for the time of the trial, set next Monday at 8 AM. We will begin tomorrow with the grand jury hearings for Lucy Lane. Court is adjourned." *********** ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:31:22 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct 8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "I missed you." Lois laid in Clark's arms under the covers and rubbed her fingers up and down his chest. She hadn't been able to lay with him for days he had been so nervous. "I missed you too. Thank you for everything. I just feel so bad about having to lie. But it was the only way." Lois knew that it was killing him inside to not tell the truth. She was glad to start to see his color coming back. As soon as the hearing was over, he took the antidote that was to make him better. "I'm sorry Lois, about all this. I never meant for all this to happen and we still have your sister to worry about." "I think everything is going to start working out. You'll see." "Is that what you really think or are you trying to convince yourself?" "A little of both." Clark hugged her up tighter and kissed her on the forehead. Working his way down, he kissed her on the neck, shoulder, and disappeared underneath the sheets. ********** Everyone sat in the courtroom and waited to find out what the prosecutor could do with Lucy. He felt somewhat defeated about a wrongful arrest proven by the judge, and now he had another chance with Lucy. Clark and the rest of the family were sitting in the courtroom for what it seemed for days before the defense started. During the recess, the family talked to Lucy and the lawyer and figured that all the prosecutor had on her was that she possibly had shot the Greg. The problem was that the residue of the gun was on the curtains. There had been no fingerprints on the gun; the prosecutor thought that Superman had tampered with the evidence. And so much time had passed that looking for additional evidence was fruitless. "Is the defense ready?" "Yes, we are honor. We would like to submit these photos that were taken within an hour of the suicide. These photos that you will notice are not only of Lucy Lane but of her two year old child. Both show extreme cases of violence. The doctor's report revealed several large bruises that matched the fingerprints of Greg Lawrence. Furthermore, we have three calls to a battered women's home that lasted more than thirty minutes a piece..." Clark could feel Lois' grip tightening over her fingers as she got more and more nervous about what the attorney was saying. She looked over at her mother, and she was crying like Lois had not seen in many years. The attorney went through dozens of pictures and witnesses over the next couple of days while Lucy continued to sit silently. She had already made it clear that she was not going to defend herself. Friday finally came and the court packed tight with people. Lois and Clark both had been in a unique position and had to sign affidavits to swear that all Grand Jury proceedings would not be covered in the Daily Planet since no other media was allowed. Lois for once gave up everything in her job for family; something she didn't even do for Clark. "Lucy Lane, will you please rise." Lucy was shaking and turning cold. The attorney tried to comfort her while she stared at the floor. She watched as the judge opened the folder and read over the contents silently. "Lucy Lane, you have been found guilty of second degree murder. You have also been under consideration with the self defense plea. I have already made a decision as to the sentencing with the assistance of the district attorney. Ms. Lane, you are hereby sentenced to serve one year in a minimum security prison with parole in six month. Your daughter will be given custody to Ellen and Sam Lane in the time you are incarcerated. This is the will of the court. We will be back in here for the second trial on Monday. Adjourned." Clark grabbed Lois as she jumped out for her sister. Lucy turned around in tears and reached for Ellen. Pulling her arms back behind her back, the officers cuffed Lucy and walked her out of the courtroom. The families just stood silent in the courtroom. "What happened?" Clark was stiff with anger when talking to her attorney. "They wanted ten years, Clark. We got a bargain if she stays good, she'll be out soon. They were going to take the child to a foster home. We actually came out better." "But she killed him in self defense." Lois was pleading with the lawyer. "The fact remains that she killed a man. I don't like it either, but it was the best we were gong to get. I'm sorry." The lawyer picked up his things and headed out of the courtroom. The courtroom doors closed and all the family sat and stared at each other wondering where to go next. ********** Clark and the alternate Clark sat at the kitchen table with his parents and wondered what was going to happen on Monday. "I don't think anything worse can happen than what happened to Lucy." "How's Lois," asked the alternate Clark. "She's doing ok. She's staying with her family tonight where they can have some alone time and we can get this settled. Besides, I have a meeting with Robert tonight." "I don't think there is anything to get settled; I think everything is going to work out. I'll stand up for me, I'll get found guilty, slapped on the wrist, and then you take over after I leave." Alternate Clark made sense. Lucy had to put her time in but really got off with the self defense plea. Now Superman, with a much lesser charge, should get a lesser sentence. The family sat around the table and talked into the night while Clark talked shop with Robert on the phone. He still was running for the Senate and actually Lucy's conviction only got more backing for him from the battered women's groups. Things were still relatively positive all things considered. On the other side of town Lois and her family were finally settling into bed, although not very well. They all knew that a minimum security prison wasn't bad but this should have never happened to Lucy. Lois sat in bed and wished she had told Ellen back when Lucy was bruised up the first time. ********** "Before we start with you Superman, I would like to ask you a few questions." Clark and Lois sat in the front row wondering where the prosecutor was going with this. They had been told that this trial would last about an afternoon, but it sounded like something was up. "Superman, tell me. How exactly did you handle when you were being sued by people that you were saving? You should remember that; it was only several years ago. Or tell us about how you really felt when Lois was charged with murder?" Clark started breathing harder next to Lois. He knew that the alternate Clark knew nothing of their problems that they had in the present time. Mr. Wells sat in the back of the courtroom and shook his head. "I, I recall that everything worked out for the best in both situations. And we all know that Lois didn't murder anyone." "Tell me Superman. I know you and Lois were close, are close, so remind us how you answered the question ?'""I missed you." Lois laid in Clark's arms under the covers and rubbed her fingers up and down his chest. She hadn't been able to lay with him for days he had been so nervous. "I missed you too. Thank you for everything. I just feel so bad about having to lie. But it was the only way." Lois knew that it was killing him inside to not tell the truth. She was glad to start to see his color coming back. As soon as the hearing was over, he took the antidote that was to make him better. "I'm sorry Lois, about all this. I never meant for all this to happen and we still have your sister to worry about." "I think everything is going to start working out. You'll see." "Is that what you really think or are you trying to convince yourself?" "A little of both." Clark hugged her up tighter and kissed her on the forehead. Working his way down, he kissed her on the neck, shoulder, and disappeared underneath the sheets. ********** Everyone sat in the courtroom and waited to find out what the prosecutor could do with Lucy. He felt somewhat defeated about a wrongful arrest proven by the judge, and now he had another chance with Lucy. Clark and the rest of the family were sitting in the courtroom for what it seemed for days before the defense started. During the recess, the family talked to Lucy and the lawyer and figured that all the prosecutor had on her was that she possibly had shot the Greg. The problem was that the residue of the gun was on the curtains. There had been no fingerprints on the gun; the prosecutor thought that Superman had tampered with the evidence. And so much time had passed that looking for additional evidence was fruitless. "Is the defense ready?" "Yes, we are honor. We would like to submit these photos that were taken within an hour of the suicide. These photos that you will notice are not only of Lucy Lane but of her two year old child. Both show extreme cases of violence. The doctor's report revealed several large bruises that matched the fingerprints of Greg Lawrence. Furthermore, we have three calls to a battered women's home that lasted more than thirty minutes a piece..." Clark could feel Lois' grip tightening over her fingers as she got more and more nervous about what the attorney was saying. She looked over at her mother, and she was crying like Lois had not seen in many years. The attorney went through dozens of pictures and witnesses over the next couple of days while Lucy continued to sit silently. She had already made it clear that she was not going to defend herself. Friday finally came and the court packed tight with people. Lois and Clark both had been in a unique position and had to sign affidavits to swear that all Grand Jury proceedings would not be covered in the Daily Planet since no other media was allowed. Lois for once gave up everything in her job for family; something she didn't even do for Clark. "Lucy Lane, will you please rise." Lucy was shaking and turning cold. The attorney tried to comfort her while she stared at the floor. She watched as the judge opened the folder and read over the contents silently. "Lucy Lane, you have been found guilty of second degree murder. You have also been under consideration with the self defense plea. I have already made a decision as to the sentencing with the assistance of the district attorney. Ms. Lane, you are hereby sentenced to serve ten years in a Maximum security prison with parole in five years. Your daughter will be given custody to Ellen and Sam Lane in the time you are incarcerated. This is the will of the court. We will be back in here for the second trial on Monday. Adjourned." Clark grabbed Lois as she jumped out for her sister. Lucy turned around in tears and reached for Ellen. Pulling her arms back behind her back, the officers cuffed Lucy and walked her out of the courtroom. The families just stood silent in the courtroom. "What happened?" Clark was stiff with anger when talking to her attorney. "They wanted twenty years, Clark. We got a bargain if she stays good, she'll be out in two. They were going to take the child to a foster home. We actually came out better." "But she killed him in self defense." Lois was pleading with the lawyer. "The fact remains that she killed a man. I don't like it either, but it was the best we were gong to get. I'm sorry." The lawyer picked up his things and headed out of the courtroom. The courtroom doors closed and all the family sat and stared at each other wondering where to go next. ********** Clark and the alternate Clark sat at the kitchen table with his parents and wondered what was going to happen on Monday. "I don' t think anything worse can happen than what happened to Lucy." "How's Lois," asked the alternate Clark. "She's doing ok. She's staying with her family tonight where they can have some alone time and we can get this settled. Besides, I have a meeting with Robert tonight." "I don't think there is anything to get settled; I think everything is going to work out. I'll stand up for me, I'll get found guilty, slapped on the wrist, and then you take over after I leave." Alternate Clark made sense. Lucy had to put her time in but really got off with the self defense plea. Now Superman, with a much lesser charge, should get a lesser sentence. The family sat around the table and talked into the night while Clark talked shop with Robert on the phone. He still was running for the Senate and actually Lucy's conviction only got more backing for him from the battered women's groups. Things were still relatively positive all things considered. On the other side of town Lois and her family were finally settling into bed, although not very well. They all knew that a minimum security prison wasn't bad but this should have never happened to Lucy. Lois sat in bed and wished she had told Ellen back when Lucy was bruised up the first time. ********** "Before we start with you Superman, I would like to ask you a few questions." Clark and Lois sat in the front row wondering where the prosecutor was going with this. They had been told that this trial would last about an afternoon, but it sounded like something was up. "Superman, tell me. How exactly did you handle when you were being sued by people that you were saving? You should remember that; it was only several years ago. Or tell us about how you really felt when Lois was charged with murder?" Clark started breathing harder next to Lois. He knew that the alternate Clark knew nothing of their problems that they had in the present time. Mr. Wells sat in the back of the courtroom and shook his head. "I, I recall that everything worked out for the best in both situations. And we all know that Lois didn't murder anyone." "Tell me Superman. I know you and Lois were close, are close, so remind us how you answered the question 'Do you love Lois Lane?'" The courtroom fell silent and waited for the Man of Steel to answer. Clark and Lois reached forward, hoping to get the attorney to stall or object. The attorney knew that there was reasoning behind the questioning. "Well?" "I said that I was there for her and was there to help prove her innocence." "NO, that would be incorrect. YOu said 'I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt . . . that Clark Kent loves Lois Lane, and I respect that love just like I respect the truth. My job is to uphold the truth, and that is what I would do anything for.' Your honor, since hearings are not considered double jeopardy, I would like to reissue a couple of the previous tests to Clark Kent." "I object. We have been through this." "Your honor. If Superman was such close friends with Lois and Clark, he would at least remember some semblance of what he actually said that day on the stand. I don't think this is our Superman. Honestly, I feel we've been tricked all along." The judge fell back in his seat and looked at the prosecutor. "Superman, you are dismissed. I call Clark Kent to the stand." Clark rose from his seat behind the defendant and sat down in the witness box. Lois sat still hoping that he would only question Clark about what went on at the trial or about anything else. Clark looked down at the floor when he saw the doctor from before reappear. "I would like to call a recess." "No, I think whatever is to be proven can be done in quick time. Proceed." "Clark, we'd like to try a new demonstration this time. We have requested, petitioned you would say, the Kryptonite from the vault in Star Labs. Now, we know that Superman would be hurt, so we asked him to leave." He watched as he signaled the Bailiff to bring in the lead box in. "Now, from past experience we know that you or Superman would buckle over, be in pain, something not a human would do." Lois sat with his parents and hoped that Clark could pretend through it, try to keep from showing it. Clark continued to concentrate on the box. "Bailiff." Clark watched as the box opened and he felt an intense pain in his stomach and lungs. He slowly moved his hand up to his waist and stopped breathing to keep from showing pain. He smiled at the prosecutor. Lois could see him straining. The prosecutor motioned the box within a few feet more and waited. The court gasped as Clark held his head back and grabbed his head. Finally, falling from his chair, he passed out on the floor. "Your honor, we've been played for fools. I think we should recess until tomorrow and I would like to request that recognizance be lifted and Clark Kent be placed in a holding cell under all night surveillance." The judge threw up his hands and pointed at the Bailiffs. Before Lois could even call his name, her husband was dragged out of the courtroom and down the back stairs to the transport truck. "In my court, I don't like games. I have added the charges of Obstruction of Justice and Perjury to the list of charges. Prosecutor, I am sure you will be able to follow these up as you see fit. Until tomorrow." The judge left. Lois looked back and saw that Wells had already disappeared. Lois went home with all the family, thinking about Lucy who was one day into her sentence and her husband behind bars in pain. *********** "Breaking News tonight....the president of the Independent Party has announced that Clark Kent will be pulled from the nomination as soon as tomorrow morning. In a strange turn of events, the prosecutor today in the Superman trail turned the tables and proved that Clark Kent was indeed the original Superman, and not the imposter that is still at large. Clark Kent will be appearing in the court again tomorrow for more than the original charges. Stay tuned to LNN for more." Lois turned off the TV and sat back on the floor. "I can't take this. My husband is going to jail for lying on the stand for sure. My sister is already in jail. My family has been completely embarrassed. This is it." Lois rubbed her head and started crying. Martha ran to hold her and she pushed her away. "Please, no." Lois ran upstairs and slammed the door. The parents sat on the couch shaking their heads. After a couple of hours Ellen headed upstairs to hear whimpering sounds form the bathroom and the water running. "Sam, come help me." The rest of the family went upstairs and pushed the door open. "Lois, there's no reason to do this. We're going to get him out." "I just want to die. I could have said something about Lucy and saved us all this pain. I just want to die." The family cuddled up with her on the floor of the bathroom. ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:32:04 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mary Scibetta Subject: Politically Correct 9 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "Now that we got the right Superman. Would you like to plead? I remind you of the new charges." "Guilty." The courtroom gasped and the judge noted the statement. Clark stood in the courtroom and stared at the floor. This was the end. The trial this time around went through all the regular motions until the court was recessed for a deliberation. Lois sat in the courtroom with Martha and Jonathon and cried. Listening to the evidence, there was no way that Clark could get out of it. The defense had no recourse to use to convince the court otherwise. Martha pointed as Clark was led back into the courtroom. "I'm ok," Clark managed as he was sat down in the chair in front of her. "The defendant will rise. Clark Kent, Superman, you are found guilty of all the charges that were put forth. For the charge of Accessory to Murder, you will serve a term of six months in a maximum security prison, for the charge of obstruction of justice one year in a minimum security prison, for the charge of perjury two years probation accumulated to the two for the Accessory charge. Furthermore, there will no longer be any, ANY, Superman activity in these United States again ever. You are no longer allowed at any crime scene before or after the police arrive. You are further barred from investigating any crime once you are out of prison. This will be worked out with the Daily Planet. God have mercy on your soul." Clark slumped as the police took him by the arms and led him away. Looking back, he could see Lois crumble into his parents arms. This reminded both of them of New Krypton except this time there was no way out. Lois' sister and her husband were gone, at least for the next year. Lois couldn't hear any of the questions or comments. She couldn't hear anything at all, except, "guilty." ****** to be continued... ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:29:48 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Organization: http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam/ Subject: Re: challenge MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Oops. I meant to say that the remaining two fics are joint efforts. One > was an especially long time in coming. Well, that confirms a vague notion of mine... I've lost the original challenge post since I figured I didn't know any but... s p o i l e r s p a c e The quote about Clark's coffee being sans strychnine (sp?) has got to be from When Friends Become Lovers, by Kathy Brown & Demi. -- Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/rdu/j/e/jernigan/ God made you special, and He loves you very much. -- Veggie Tales theology The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. -- Henri Bergson ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:46:51 -0400 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: challenge Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Two points for Pam! Does anyone know the fifth? Someone mentioned that Wendy might be an author, so she's half right. I'll give the answer later today if no one figures it out. ______________________________________________ FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 12:46:02 -0600 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: NEW: The Darkest Hour part 32 In-Reply-To: <37.828ec41.26b4d78c@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all ;) I know it's a bit late, but I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for your wonderful comments, suggestions and feedback that you sent me on my latest installments of 'Darkest Hour.' I was thrilled to hear you're still following the story, and that you enjoyed the recent segments, as well as the nervous intern (trying not to give any spoilers ) and Dr. Klein. I wasn't sure I'd written those scenes well, so I was relieved to hear that they worked. ;) Anyway, thank you again! Your feedback is what keeps me writing. ;) As for the finale of 'Darkest Hour,' I'll be posting the rest next week. It's only taken me what...like, a year to finish this?? Stay tuned. ;) 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: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 22:16:06 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kaethel Subject: Re: challenge MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit s p o i l e r s p a c e Joy wrote: > Two points for Pam! Does anyone know the fifth? Someone mentioned that > Wendy might be an author, so she's half right. I'll give the answer later > today if no one figures it out. I *knew* I should have known this one!! This is 'Just another revelation story' by Wendy Richards and Tank Wilson. Helene (who should have recognised WFBL, too!) ------------------------------------------------------ Kaethel on irc / Kaethel79 on AIM kaethel@club-internet.fr ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 17:33:07 -0400 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: challenge Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Congrats, Helene! You were the first person to get the last one. So, I guess Nan wins with 3 out of 5 completely correct. However, any of the runners up may contribute a challenge of their own. :) ______________________________________________ FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 19:34:10 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Rich & Dawn Subject: Message Board Index Tables MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi FoLCs! The Message Board index tables will be updated tomorrow at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/7378/lnc.html Stories updated this week are: ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY: IRENE DUTCHAK LOVE, LOYALTY & LUTHOR: KRISSIE LOIS' RETURN: CHIARA PRATO GROWING PAINS: AERM1 (AKA ANN) PROFESSIONAL LOYALITIES: LEUCH RED SKY: JENNI DEBBAGE LIFEFLIGHT: RACONTEUR27 CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW: HAZEL A LOVE WELL WORTH THE WAIT: TRACEYLYNN JUST ANOTHER UNDERCOVER ASSIGNMENT: WENDY RICHARDS WHO SAYS IT'S NEVER TOO LATE: WENDY RICHARDS WHO SAYS IT'S NEVER TOO LATE: PART TWO TANK WILSON 30 DAYS HATH SEPTEMBER/BETWEEN A ROCK AND A DARK PLACE: JAMES TULL FORGET IT...NOT: SUPERMOM (AKA MARILYN) DEAR LOIS: SHAYNET POLITICALLY CORRECT: MEG4076 LOST AND FOUND: JWB (AKA JEFF BROGDEN) PUDDLE ADVENTURES COMPLETE VIGNETTE BETHY Enjoy! The Index Crew ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 23:04:55 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kristin Olsen-Molnar Subject: Thanks everyone MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I just wanted to thank you all for answering my question! And Unfortunately I must ask another. I have to give up aol because I keep getting kicked offline, so does anyone know what I have to do to get this same mailing list at another address? I got this so long ago I don't remember how I got it. Thanks again all. Sorry to be such a pain. -Teri44isme@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 20:06:44 -0700 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: Thanks everyone MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Kristin, If you go to the fanfic archive, there are instructions for signing up to this list. Irene --- Kristin Olsen-Molnar wrote: > I just wanted to thank you all for answering my > question! And Unfortunately I > must ask another. I have to give up aol because I > keep getting kicked > offline, so does anyone know what I have to do to > get this same mailing list > at another address? I got this so long ago I don't > remember how I got it. > Thanks again all. Sorry to be such a pain. > -Teri44isme@aol.com ===== sirenegold@yahoo.comwww.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 23:30:12 EDT 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: Thanks everyone MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/4/00 11:10:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Teri44isme@AOL.COM writes: << ! And Unfortunately I must ask another. I have to give up aol because I keep getting kicked offline, so does anyone know what I have to do to get this same mailing list at another address >> I got a kick out of this. My kids have been after me all summer to switch ISPs because of the very same problem. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 12:29:45 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JaT Subject: Re: Question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >>Maybe one day I'll work up the courage to post one of my own fanfics.<< Would it help if you got a certificate of Courage from the Wizard of Oz? No, seriously try posting to Zoom's UBB. They are very nice about advice and suggestions and NAGGING. They have put up me for long time and they still want to read what I wrote. I would be happy read new author stuff. Sorry, That sounded familiar but we haven't a clue at to the title. ===== The D8As - AIM id is mrd8astl Matthew 23:37-39, Romans 1:19-32, 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 Go to WWW.FREEWWWEB.COM for the best Free Internet access! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 19:42:26 -0400 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: New fic questions Comments: To: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hello, I'm finishing up an old fic, and I need some information about Mindy Church. What color are her eyes? Her dog was it a toy poodle, or a yorkshire terrier? Did she call the dog something like 'pookie'? Did she ever refer to herself at the dog's parent? Example of dialogue: "Did you miss Mommy?" Your assistance would be appreciated. Anita ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 16:57:06 -0700 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: New fic questions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I took a look at her eyes on my copy of "Home is Where the Hurt Is". They look green or gray to me, but I can't be sure. Her dog is a toy poodle. It's name was Pookie. As for the last question, I couldn't find any incident of her calling herself it's "Mommie", but I could have easily missed it. Can anyone else answer this one? Nan Anita Dicker wrote: > Hello, > > I'm finishing up an old fic, and I need some information about > Mindy Church. > > What color are her eyes? > > Her dog was it a toy poodle, or a yorkshire terrier? > > Did she call the dog something like 'pookie'? > > Did she ever refer to herself at the dog's parent? > Example of dialogue: "Did you miss Mommy?" > > Your assistance would be appreciated. > > Anita > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 09:18:34 -0700 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: Re: New fic questions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I could be mistaken, but I thought it was her husband she called pookie. Jude ----- Original Message ----- From: Nancy Smith To: Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2000 4:57 PM Subject: Re: New fic questions > I took a look at her eyes on my copy of "Home is Where the Hurt Is". > They look green or gray to me, but I can't be sure. > > Her dog is a toy poodle. It's name was Pookie. > > As for the last question, I couldn't find any incident of her calling > herself it's "Mommie", but I could have easily missed it. Can anyone > else answer this one? > > Nan > > Anita Dicker wrote: > > > Hello, > > > > I'm finishing up an old fic, and I need some information about > > Mindy Church. > > > > What color are her eyes? > > > > Her dog was it a toy poodle, or a yorkshire terrier? > > > > Did she call the dog something like 'pookie'? > > > > Did she ever refer to herself at the dog's parent? > > Example of dialogue: "Did you miss Mommy?" > > > > Your assistance would be appreciated. > > > > Anita > > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 12:20:08 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: James Tull Subject: Re: New Red Sky Part 21 s p o i l e r s p a c e Jenni, What has gotten into you! I thought Yvonne was mean to Clark, but you're rapidly gaining ground on her. I'm glad that Lois is starting to get a clue, but you have this fan ranting while he's reading (Elisabeth too!). All I can ask is for more. James and Elisabeth. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 11:04:39 -0700 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: New fic questions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit She did. She also called the dog Pookie. Nan Judith Williams wrote: > I could be mistaken, but I thought it was her husband she called pookie. > Jude > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Nancy Smith > To: > Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2000 4:57 PM > Subject: Re: New fic questions > > > I took a look at her eyes on my copy of "Home is Where the Hurt Is". > > They look green or gray to me, but I can't be sure. > > > > Her dog is a toy poodle. It's name was Pookie. > > > > As for the last question, I couldn't find any incident of her calling > > herself it's "Mommie", but I could have easily missed it. Can anyone > > else answer this one? > > > > Nan > > > > Anita Dicker wrote: > > > > > Hello, > > > > > > I'm finishing up an old fic, and I need some information about > > > Mindy Church. > > > > > > What color are her eyes? > > > > > > Her dog was it a toy poodle, or a yorkshire terrier? > > > > > > Did she call the dog something like 'pookie'? > > > > > > Did she ever refer to herself at the dog's parent? > > > Example of dialogue: "Did you miss Mommy?" > > > > > > Your assistance would be appreciated. > > > > > > Anita > > > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 16:35:29 EDT 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: New fic questions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/7/00 3:42:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time, judithwilliams@PRODIGY.NET writes: << I could be mistaken, but I thought it was her husband she called pookie. Jude >> 'She may have called her husband pookie too. I know she called him hunkie. But she definitely called the dog pookie. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 14:09:52 -0700 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: Re: New fic questions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ann I. McBride wrote > << I could be mistaken, but I thought it was her husband she called pokier. > Jude >> > 'She may have called her husband pookie too. I know she called him hunkie. > But she definitely called the dog pookie. : Nancy Smith wrote > She did. She also called the dog Pookie. ----Now there's a story with Freudian overtones just waiting to be explored! Jude ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 18:15:38 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Charlotte Fisler Subject: Re: challenge MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I was starting to think everyone went to LAFF but me. I was away for the weekend though and am only getting to the quiz so you all probably figured it out by now. I may not be good at these challenges, but I do know one so here's that answer before I read any more. s p o i l e r S p a c e <<"Oh." Vicky was in shock. She couldn't believe that he remembered her so vividly from both her incarnations that night.>> Gale Force Winds by Irene Dutchak. BTW if you want the plot, I can probably recite it word for word, I've read this one so many times. This statement is Vicky's reaction to finding out that Michael figured out that Nightwind and the girl he saw in the nightclub the night of the fire that blinded him are one and the same. He doesn't figure out Vicky is both of them though until Vicky tells him. Wonderful story. No clue on any of the others, but this is a geat way to learn about stories we may have missed, so keep them coming. I enjoy the quizzes and appreciate all the efforts involved in making them up. Even if I'm so slow on the responses. Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 18:43:28 -0600 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: OT: LAFF Report?? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey LAFFers?! Are those of us who didn't get to go to LAFF going to get a full report or what? I've been dying to hear how things went! 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: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 18:09:22 -0700 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: challenge MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii --- Charlotte Fisler wrote: > I was starting to think everyone went to LAFF but > me. > I was away for the weekend though > and am only getting to the quiz so you all probably > figured it out by now. > > I may not be good at these challenges, but I do know > one > so here's that answer before I read any more. > > s > p > o > i > l > e > r > > S > p > a > c > e > > > <<"Oh." Vicky was in shock. She couldn't believe > that he remembered her so > vividly from both her incarnations that night.>> > > Gale Force Winds by Irene Dutchak. > > BTW if you want the plot, I can probably recite it > word for word, > I've read this one so > many times. This statement is Vicky's reaction to > finding out > that Michael figured out > that Nightwind and the girl he saw in the nightclub > the night of the fire that blinded him are > one and the same. He doesn't figure out > Vicky is both of them though until Vicky tells him. > > Wonderful story. > > No clue on any of the others, but this is a geat way > to learn > about stories we may have missed, > so keep them coming. I enjoy the quizzes and > appreciate all the efforts involved in making them > up. > Even if I'm so slow on the responses. > > Charlotte Charlotte, thank you so much for your very kind words about my story. It was a bit of a surprise to read this very nice note from you in the middle of the challenge, but it was a nice surprise. I'm glad that you enjoyed 'Gale Force Winds.' Irene ===== sirenegold@yahoo.comwww.communities.msn.com/equestrianmusic __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/