From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG0011D" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 11:32:39 +0000 Reply-To: ampaes@etsii.upv.es Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: Authenticated sender is From: Amparo Palacios Escrig Organization: Universidad Politecnica Subject: Reading fanfiction Hello! I'm quite new here and first of all I would like to thank everybody here for the fantastic atmosphere you give.I want to apologize too because isn't very easy for me to write a correct english since I'm from Spain and I'm not very used to it.I'll try to improve. I was greatly surprise when I found the archive in the net and I was delighted when I started to read fanfiction, is amazing the quality of the fanfiction I found there.In a few months I've become addicted to it and my problem is that since I'm studying right now is quite dificult to choose which pieces to read.I know I'm asking for something impossible because there are many great stories out there but I would apreciate very much if you could help me by recomending me stories you specially liked. In fact I've recently only reading the most recent updates in the archive and the stories recomended here but I can't get enough of them and who better than you FoLCs to help me choose? Thank you very much for reading all that and also for being out there. Amparo ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 07:07:05 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "C.C. Malo" Subject: Re: reading fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Amparo, First welcome to the fanfic addicts group. :) -- not sure I should be aiding and abetting here but.... A good place to start your selection of fanfic would be with the Kerth winners which you can access from the fanfic archive. You'll find the winning stories from the last three years. Since many different authors are represented you'll get a good overview. Happy reading:) Carol ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 09:56:43 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Organization: http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam/ Subject: Re: Reading fanfiction MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Amparo, Welcome to the list :) I'm glad you've found us to be welcoming, we try to be friendly. And your English is fine -- much better than my Spanish, believe me ;) I admire people who can communicate in two languages, 'cause I'm not really one of them. Anyway, about fanfic recommendations ... as a coincidence, I have a whole webpage set up just for that :) Go to http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam and look for the link to the Recommended Fanfic (PJ's Picks). The listing there is entirely subjective, just stories that I like (along with some recommendations from others) but it's a place to start. If you follow the links back to my picks from 1998, you'll find all sorts of oldies but goodies. And when (if) you find a story you like, take note of the author -- maybe he or she has written other stories you'd like, too. And if the author mentions friends or beta readers, it might be worth your time to look them up, too :) So I hope that helps you get started ... we've got a tremendous lot of stories out there, and there are many many great ones to enjoy. -- Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." --Psalm 27:13-14 ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:20:37 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III: Memories 1/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This is the third of the Home series. In order to understand what is happening, you need to read the two previous stories: Home, and Home II: Beginnings. As always, the familiar settings and characters don't belong to me, and I have no claim to them. The story, however, and the new characters are mine. Home III: Memories By Nan Smith "Well," Clark said, "the Mayflower's been on its way for nearly fifteen hours, now. It's going to be a long trip. I don't think I could stand being cooped up in a ship--even one that big--for five years." "I'm going to miss him," Lori said. The elevator doors in the lobby of the Daily Planet opened, and she and Clark entered. "I know," Clark said, "but this was what Brad wanted to do. It's the realization of his dream. I'll miss him, too, you know. I like your brother. I got to know him a lot better, this last three weeks. I wish I'd met him a few years ago. I think we'd have been friends." The doors slid shut and he added, "Newsroom." Lori nodded. "Yes, and I'm happy for him too, but it will be years before I see him again. Even Superman can't fly to Alpha Centauri." "That's true. It won't be forever, though. And it's no worse than what colonists from any country and the people they left behind faced in the past." He laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "At least the ship is safe, and they can thank you mostly for that. Of course, Gaia's Children will be expecting the end of the world any day." "They already are," Lori said. She suppressed an unladylike snort. "Did you see those guys with the signs that we passed in the park? They were predicting Armageddon in five years when the ship gets there." "I saw them," Clark admitted. "What's a little thing like having almost the entire leadership of your organization in jail, charged with terrorism, espionage, sabotage, attempted murder, kidnapping and multiple federal crimes beside the incredible danger of a colony on another planet?" "Nothing, of course," Lori said. "What do you think they'll do when it doesn't happen?" "The same thing they did when we put a colony on the moon, and then later on Mars," Clark said. "Nothing will change. There's the old saying about a man convinced against his will." "--'Is of the same opinion still'," Lori quoted ironically. "You're right, of course. I said they were nuts." "You were right," Clark said. The elevator doors opened on the newsroom, and they exited. "Wonder what we've got going today." "I hope it's something interesting." Lori glanced, as she always did, at the framed photograph of the first Clark Kent and his wife Lois Lane in the row of photos on the wall beside the elevator. Something about it inevitably drew her attention. It wasn't the remarkable resemblance between the first Clark and the one beside her; she'd gotten used to that. It was something else she couldn't quite put her finger on, but it nibbled at her every time she saw the picture, an annoying little feeling, as if she'd forgotten something important. "Hi, Clark, hi Lori." Barry Marston, the business columnist greeted them as they arrived in the Pit. "John said to tell you when you got here that he wants to see you in his office right away." "Thanks, Barry," Clark said. He raised his eyebrows at Lori. "I wonder what's up?" "Let's go see," Lori said. She caught the glare the copy boy turned on her and gave him a sweet smile in return. "Fred isn't very happy with us today." "I'll bet he isn't," Clark said. "He's just lucky John didn't have enough evidence to fire him." "Well, at least the morgue is all nice and organized," Lori said innocently. Clark turned a snort of laughter into a not-very-convincing cough. ********** Their boss was leaning back in his chair, heels planted firmly on the desk top, and arms folded behind his head when Clark and Lori entered the editor's office. "You wanted to see us, John?" Clark asked. "I certainly did," John said. He sat up, casually dropping his feet to the floor. "I wanted to give you an official pat on the back for the Gaia/U&B expose, in the first place. We scooped every other news service in the country with it. Circulation's increased a good ten percent since the whole story appeared two days ago. I guess the feds can work pretty fast when it's necessary, although after the dirt you two dug up three weeks ago, they could hardly miss it." His expression told them louder than words his real opinion of the federal investigators. "Good work, both of you. How did everything go yesterday?" "Pretty well," Clark said. "Lori's whole family was at EPRAD in Houston to see Commander Lyons and his family off in the last shuttle. That's when we got that pre-launch interview. They let the crew's families and guests into the viewing room a few hours later to watch Mayflower break orbit, too. It was pretty impressive." "I'll expect a sidebar on part of that from you, Lori," John said. "Something on the perspective of the family of a colonist, if you think you can manage it." "I'm already working on it," Lori said. "I'll have it by this afternoon." "Very good," John said. "I also wanted to let you know that you're off probationary status. You've more than proven yourself as far as I'm concerned. I must admit, I don't usually expect a scoop of this magnitude from the office intern during her first month of full-time employment." "Well, Clark had a lot to do with it, too," Lori objected. "But I couldn't have done it without your help, either," Clark pointed out. "Exactly," John said. "It was a joint effort. You've proven that the two of you perform well together, so I'm assigning you to work as a team until further notice. Clark, I expect you to help Ms. Lyons achieve her obvious potential as an investigative reporter. And Lori, I expect *you* to try to learn how to avoid getting beaten up in the performance of your duty, so to speak. Do you think you can promise me that?" Lori had to work to keep from giggling. "Yes, sir!" "All right, that's all I had to say. Get on out of here, now. Blake's Jewelers was robbed last night. We've got the bare bones of the story, but I want all the facts for the afternoon edition." "On our way, Boss," Clark said. "Let's go, Lori." ************ "Blake's?" Lori said as they exited the Daily Planet and boarded the slidewalk that headed west. "Isn't Blake's one of the businesses with a display at that charity thing next week?" "The annual Metro Charity Art Show," Clark said. "And yeah, they're going to display the Westhaven diamond collection, worth about twenty or thirty million dollars." "How do you know?" she asked. "They brought it in a couple of days ago," Clark said. "The insurance company requested that Superman stand by while it was transferred to the store's vault." "Oh," Lori said. "Well, maybe it wasn't the diamond collection that was taken." "I hope not," Clark said. "How come you don't know?" she asked. "Weren't you out on patrol last night?" "Yeah," he said, "but I don't cover the whole city, you know. Besides, there was a cruise ship in trouble off Peru. I didn't get back until after three." "Oh," Lori said. "Was everyone okay? I mean--" "Fortunately, yes," Clark said. "We change directions here." They left the westbound slidewalk and boarded the southbound one. Within ten minutes had reached Blake's Jewelers. The store was a small, elegant establishment in the business district. Shatterproof glass and metal bars protected the display windows, and within on a background of black velvet, was presented a glittering and gleaming sample of the wares offered for sale inside. Harrison Blake, the owner of Blake's Jewelers, was a tall, distinguished man in his late fifties at a guess, with silver hair, and an air of dignity and competence about him that was visible even distressed as he was. When they introduced themselves, he signaled to an elderly man who had been moving around behind one of the counters. "David, could you come here for a moment, please?" He turned back to Clark and Lori. "David can tell you what happened far better than I can," he explained. "He was the witness." "Oh?" Clark glanced at Lori, then both turned their attention to the small, thin, grey-haired man making his way toward them. "Yes, Mr. Blake?" The little man paused respectfully beside his boss, glancing at the two reporters with a tiny smile. "This is David Merrick, my senior clerk," Blake said. "David, these are Mr. Kent and Ms. Lyons from the Daily Planet. David can answer all your questions about the robbery. I'm sure you understand that we're all very upset about what happened." "Of course," Lori said. "We'll try not to take up too much of your time." He left them facing each other. David Merrick gave a small, tight smile. "Mr. Kent, Ms. Lyons." He glanced around. "Perhaps you'd like to come back to my office. We can all be more comfortable there." Lori glanced at Clark. Her partner nodded infinitesimally, and together they followed David Merrick into the back of the store. He waved them toward a glassed-in cubicle that contained a small desk and a pair of hard, wooden chairs. "Please, sit down," he said. "I'll be glad to answer your questions. Perhaps it will help capture these dreadful people and recover the diamonds." "Then it *was* the Westhaven diamonds that were taken?" Clark asked. "I'm afraid so." The little man settled himself behind the desk and clasped his hands on its surface. Clark and Lori took seats, and Lori glanced alertly around the small, box-like room. The senior clerk's office was neat and prim, much like the man, himself. A computer, probably about a year old, occupied part of the desk, and an in/out box held several printouts of some sort. There was a container to one side, holding a pen and several pencils and markers. An empty wastebasket sat neatly in one corner of the room, and a briefcase was set precisely against the wall. "What can you tell us about the robbery?" Clark asked. "Mr. Blake said you were here?" "Yes," Merrick said. His mouth tightened for an instant. "Do you understand that this is very unpleasant for me? To have been instrumental in this horrible business--" "You can hardly be to blame," Lori said. "If you had been, you'd be in jail." He fixed her with a reproving stare. His small eyes were a bright blue, she noted irrelevantly. "Wait until you hear the story, young woman." He leaned back in his chair and gripped his hands together. "Last night we closed as usual at seven. We began summer hours at the end of May, you know, so we're open an hour longer than our hours for the rest of the year. I had several errands to run, so for the next two hours I was occupied. About nine, I went to the Green Gourmet, a favorite restaurant of mine, to eat, and an hour later, when I emerged, two men held me up." "Did you see their faces?" Clark asked. "Oh yes, Mr. Kent, I saw their faces." The little man shuddered. "Needless to say, I was frightened," he continued. "I offered them all my valuables, but that wasn't what they wanted. They took me to their groundcar and forced me into it. Once there, they explained that they knew I was the senior clerk of Blake's Jewelers and that they wanted me to open the store for them, disable the alarms and open the safe." He looked indignant. "They were utterly brazen!" "What did you do?" Lori asked. "I refused, of course!" Merrick said. "I told them I didn't have the alarm codes, but they said they had been watching me open the store for the last three days, and knew better. The bigger man, whom the other one called Sal, explained that if I didn't do as I was told, he had many ways of persuading me." Merrick took a deep breath. "At last, I acquiesced." "It sounds like you did the right thing," Clark said, quietly. "Jewelry is insured. Your life was more important." "Perhaps, but I felt like a traitor, young man!" Slowly, Merrick regained his composure, and continued. "It was, by then, past ten-thirty. They waited until midnight, then came here. They forced me to unlock the door and shut off the security system, even the cameras, and open the safe. They knew that a security patrol comes by here every ten minutes and appeared to have it timed perfectly. Somehow they also knew I had the override code for the time lock." Merrick seemed unaware of the fact that he had begun to wring his hands. "They took the entire Westhaven diamond collection--the necklace, the tiara, both bracelets, the brooch and the ring, as well as the shipment of uncut diamonds we received yesterday, worth another twenty million." The man closed his eyes and lowered his face into his palms. "I could only think of one thing to do. There is a trigger for an alarm in the back of the store. I was terrified that they would kill me if I tried to reach it, but I was equally afraid they would kill me once they had what they wanted." He shuddered. "There really wasn't a choice. I waited until they were occupied with scooping the jewels into their bag and crept backward to the alarm." Merrick swallowed convulsively. "I almost didn't make it. As I reached the alarm, the second man, Jack, Sal had called him, noticed. He started to fire his stunner. I knew--" His voice rose almost to a squeak. "I knew if he succeeded that I'd never wake up. I lunged for the alarm and hit it with my hand as he fired. The stunner beam grazed me, and I fell, but I heard the alarm sound. They didn't take the time to fulfill their threat. They ran, taking the jewelry with them, but I was still alive. Within a few minutes, the security patrol had arrived, but Sal and Jack were long gone." He shook his head. "I feel so guilty that I wasn't able to prevent the robbery." "You mustn't blame yourself, David." Harrison Blake was standing at the entrance to the cubicle. "You did your very best, and you stayed alive. That was the important thing. If you had died it would have been a much greater loss than the diamonds." Clark stood up. "I agree with Mr. Blake. Your life is far more valuable than the jewels. You did the right thing." Merrick nodded, but he still looked subdued. "The diamonds were insured, of course," Harrison Blake said. "And the police have the description of the two men. We have some hope of recovering the collection." He sighed. "The Westhaven diamonds are valued at thirty million, but the collection is worth so much more. It will be a tragedy if it's lost." ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:24:37 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III: Memories 2/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 2 As they stepped off the elevator in the newsroom of the Planet, Lori glanced at the picture again, frowning. The nagging feeling of having forgotten something important had returned full force, and it was maddening because she had no idea what it could be. "What's the matter?" Clark asked. "Huh?" "You look irritated. What's the matter?" Lori shrugged uneasily. "I don't know--nothing, really, I guess. Have you ever had the feeling you've forgotten something really important, but have absolutely no idea what?" "Sure," Clark said. "I guess probably everybody has. Why?" "It's been bugging me for a couple of weeks, now, and I haven't got the slightest clue what it is." "Oh." Clark grinned in sympathy. "Try not to think about it. It'll probably come to you eventually." "I hope so," Lori said. "So," she added, deliberately turning her mind from the annoyance, "what do you want me to do?" "Well, try to dig up some information on the Westhaven collection, and a picture, if possible. We can use it for background, and to illustrate the article. I'm going to try to get hold of my contact at the 13th Precinct and see if she can send me a copy of the police report." ********** "So," Clark was saying to John Olsen a short time later, "the police already have two suspects identified--Sal Vicente and John Thompkins. I thought we could put their pictures with the article." "That was fast," John said. "Well, they fit the descriptions Merrick gave the police. The guy must have a near-photographic memory, they were so accurate. And the two of them have used this technique before." John shook his head. "What a story. At least Merrick kept his head and managed to survive it. It sounds like he was the real hero of the night." "It sure does," Clark said. "He was pretty upset about it, though. He blames himself that they got away with the jewels." "That sounds like someone else I know," John said. "Send me the piece as soon as you're finished, and remind Lori that I need that one of hers. We'll try to get it in the afternoon edition." "Consider it done," Clark said. He glanced at his junior partner. She was leaning forward to study something on her screen but, almost at the same instant, she looked up to meet his eyes and smiled. John was smiling slightly when he turned back. "I guess the old link is working, huh?" Clark felt himself turning red. "Yeah." "When are you going to tell her the rest?" "Later," Clark said. "Not too much later, but later." "Okay. I guess you know what you're doing." John dropped the subject. "Don't forget about the conference day after tomorrow. Have you got your presentation ready?" "Don't worry about it," Clark said. "I have to," John said. "I'm the editor." ********** Finished with her research for the jewelry theft, Lori pulled up the article she had begun the night before about the departure of the Mayflower and the perspective of the relatives left behind. She was nearly through with it. It was merely in need of some streamlining and judicious editing before she sent it on to her boss. She glanced at Clark, with the intention of requesting his input, and saw him raise his head in the characteristic listening pose she had seen before. Quickly, he rose and approached her desk to lean over her shoulder, as if looking at her computer screen. "What is it?" she asked. "I just picked up a news bulletin. The bullet train from Paris to New York is stalled under the Atlantic. I may be awhile." "Okay. I'll cover for you if anyone asks," Lori said. "Go." "Thanks." Clark smiled at her and strode quickly toward the exit. Lori watched him disappear into the stairwell, and heard the characteristic sonic boom a second later. She turned back to her article and was soon engrossed in it. She was going to have to do this without any help from Clark, so she wanted it to be as polished as possible. She was working on the concluding paragraph, with which she was not quite satisfied, when she became aware of a presence behind her. A glance over her shoulder revealed Fred, simply standing directly behind her, rather obviously reading what she had written. "Do you need something?" she asked pointedly, without much of an effort to hide the irritation in her voice. He shook his head, his eyes still focussed on the screen. With a decisive motion, Lori minimized the article. "If there's nothing I can do for you, do you mind going away?" she asked. "It's hard for me to concentrate with you looking over my shoulder like that." The copy boy's eyes narrowed slightly. "I guess you must feel pretty good about that scoop you and Mr. Kent got," he said. "About the Mayflower and all." "As a matter of fact, I do," Lori said. "What's your point?" "No point," Fred answered. Lori studied him for several seconds. His body language was at variance with the casual words; it was almost threatening. She suppressed a crawling feeling on the back of her neck. She had been aware, ever since the first part of the Gaia/U&B expose had appeared three weeks ago, that her coworker was unhappy with the results of the investigation she and Clark had conducted. As a member of the Earth cult that had been deeply involved in the plot to destroy the Mayflower, he probably believed that what she and Clark had done would ultimately bring about the end of the world, she thought. Well, it was unfortunate, but she wasn't at all sorry that things had turned out the way they had. "In that case," she said, "would you please go look over someone else's shoulder? I've got an article to finish, and I don't have Clark here to check it." "Lori!" John's voice said from somewhere behind her, "I need that piece in ten minutes!" "I'll be done in five, sir," she said, quickly. She looked back at Fred. "You heard the boss," she said. "Please go away, Fred." Fred turned without a word and walked away. Lori firmly suppressed the faint crawling feeling on her scalp and concentrated on the final sentence. Done just under the wire, she transmitted it to John Olsen's computer and leaned back in her chair to stretch her neck and shoulders. Clark made it seem so easy, she reflected wistfully, but it was a lot harder than it looked. Still, she thought she'd done pretty well and with any luck, it would pass John's scrutiny, anyway. A little over half an hour later, Clark returned as unobtrusively as he had left. Lori had heard about Superman's rescue of the bullet train during the previous minutes from the newscaster currently speaking on the big monitor screen, so his return wasn't a surprise. He gave her a thumbs-up gesture before sliding into his desk chair to write up his exclusive Superman interview. Lori smiled and went to get herself a cup of coffee, heavy on the chocolate. It was just past four-thirty when the note from her boss popped up on her screen, requesting her presence in his office. As she got to her feet, she saw Clark also rising from his chair. Together, the two of them headed into the editor's office for the second time that day. John was frowning at the vidscreen when they entered. "Is something wrong?" Clark asked. "Nothing insurmountable," John grunted. "Clark, I'm afraid you're going to have to deliver both addresses at the conference on Saturday. There's been a minor change in plans." "What plans?" Lori glanced at Clark, mystified. "The International Conference of Investigative Journalists starts in two days," John began without further preliminary. "Clark was one of the representatives. Pat Harrelson was supposed to be the other. Pat can't make it." "Is Pat okay?" Lori asked, at once. Pat was a big, quiet man whom she had met occasionally during her brief employment at the Planet. She had talked with him a few times, and noticed the holocube of his wife and three kids sitting on his desk. She certainly hoped nothing serious had happened to him. "More or less," John said. "At least, he will be. Pat called in sick this morning--a touch of the flu, he thought. I just got a call from his wife. He's at Metropolis General, in emergency surgery--an acute appendicitis. He won't be going anywhere for a few days, so we're short a representative. I've got his presentation here, Clark. Do you think you can handle it?" "Sure," Clark said. "Good. And since Pat's not going to be going, unless you have an objection, I'm going to send your partner with you. The ticket is already paid for, and the experience will do her good." "No problem," Clark said. "Unless you have something better to do this weekend, Lori. I know this is kind of short notice." Lori felt slightly breathless at the thought of attending the prestigious conference, but she simply nodded. "I didn't have anything important planned," she said. "This will be wonderful!" John smiled at her enthusiasm. "Fine. You leave tomorrow afternoon. That will put you in Alta Mesa by tomorrow evening. You'll have the opportunity to socialize with the other delegates before the conference actually starts." ********** "What an incredible opportunity," Lori was saying to Clark as they exited John's office. "I'm sorry Pat got sick, but this is unbelievable!" Clark grinned. "I know what you mean," he said. "Pat's a nice guy, and I hope he gets well quick, but I have to admit I prefer your company to his." He turned his head as his vidphone chimed. "Oops. I better get that. Excuse me." Lori nodded, running over in her mind what little she knew about the conference as she made her way back toward her desk. She remembered Clark mentioning that it was being held in Alta Mesa this year in honor of the tiny country's newly independent status, and she had looked it up later out of curiosity. Alta Mesa was *very* tiny, she had discovered, approximately the size of West Virginia, and situated high in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Central America. That was exciting in itself. Her only venture outside the continental United States so far consisted of a single, short trip to Baja California during the summer following her high school graduation. True, she didn't speak much Spanish, but fortunately Clark was fluent in a lot of languages, and Spanish was one of them. She was thinking so hard about the upcoming trip that she nearly bumped into Fred who was standing squarely in the way. "Oops, sorry, Fred." She moved sideways to avoid the copy boy, but he also moved deliberately to block her passage. Lori stopped in her tracks, staring at him. "Excuse me," she said, after a startled moment. Again, Fred moved to block her as she attempted to pass him. Lori glanced quickly around, but no one appeared to have noticed the incident. "What do you want, Fred?" she asked, quietly. The copy boy's expression was hostile. "You think you're pretty smart, don't you Ms. Hotshot?" he said in a low voice. "What the devil are you talking about?" she asked, sharply. Andrea Waltham, a few feet away, glanced curiously at them. Fred's voice was barely audible, but the volume level couldn't disguise the venom in his words. "You think you're better than the rest of us, don't you?" he said. "Partnered with Kent, getting big scoops, probably sleeping with him, too. Is that how you did it?" Lori flushed bright red with anger and humiliation. Fred didn't like her and resented her promotion, that much was obvious, but he wasn't stupid enough to let someone else overhear what he had to say. He might have guessed his assignment to reorganize the Planet's morgue was somehow connected to her too, but that was no fault of hers, quite the contrary, in fact. Outrage stiffened her knees and caused her voice to ring more loudly through the newsroom than she'd intended. "Nothing I might or might not do is any of your business, Fred! Now, let me past!" There was a sudden silence in the newsroom as heads turned in their direction. She caught a glimpse of Clark's surprised expression out of the corner of her eye, but fixed her gaze squarely on Fred's sullen face. "Let me past," she repeated, "or I'll take this straight to Mr. Olsen, Fred; don't think I won't." Fred stared at her as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard, his cheeks turning a dull red, and then he slowly stepped aside. Lori swept past him without a sideways glance; not even pausing when her heel descended squarely on his toe. She took her seat, conscious of the silence and the watching eyes of everyone in the room, and ordered her computer to bring up the history of the Westhaven diamonds. The move was purely bravado, but no one else needed to know that. She was trembling with anger and hurt pride from Fred's unexpected verbal assault, but that, too, was something no one else needed to know, though Clark, with his super senses, probably already did. "Are you all right, Lori?" Clark's voice said softly in her ear. She glanced up. He was leaning over her shoulder, looking concerned. She drew a shaking breath. "I'm fine," she said. "The nerve of that little twerp!" The concerned look disappeared, and Clark chuckled, softly. "I think Fred is jealous. That wasn't the smartest thing he could do." He glanced around at all the interested faces. "Show's over for now, everyone. As you were." There was an immediate murmur as people quickly made a show of attending to business. Clark turned back to Lori. "That was my contact at the police department. The police upstate arrested Sal Vicente and Jack Thompkins about half an hour ago. They've recovered the diamonds, and the insurance company is sending a representative to check them over. Come on." "Where?" "Upstate. If we hurry we can beat the insurance guy there." He glanced at Fred, who now appeared to Lori to be a little worried. "If you'd like I can have a word or two with Fred when we get back." Lori shook her head. "If I need to I can handle him," she said. "He's an idiot. Come on. We've got a job to do." ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:27:02 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III: Memories 3/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III: Part 3 "What did your contact say?" Lori asked, as they ducked into the stairwell. Clark's form shimmered briefly beside her, and an instant later Superman scooped her into his arms. The walls of the stairwell blurred momentarily around her as he shifted into high speed, and then they were launching from the roof of the Planet. Lori laid her head against his shoulder, enjoying the moment and forgetting her question for the time being. She had finally admitted the fact that she was attracted strongly to Clark, after he had let her know beyond the possibility of a mistake that the feeling was mutual. What he saw in her she wasn't sure, but it was obvious where his interest lay. During the short reunion of her family yesterday in Houston, Marcy had made a determined effort to engage his attention, but though he remained perfectly courteous, and as charming as he always was, Clark had made it clear that he had no interest in Lori's sister. Later, Marcy had said as much to Lori, in her own backhanded way. Sometimes Lori thought that maybe Marcy might want what was best for her after all. "I don't know how you did it," she'd remarked, when the two of them had adjourned to the ladies' room for a few moments, "but hang onto this one, sis. He's gorgeous, successful, and he's obviously crazy about you. If you let Mom chase him away, you'll be the big loser." Mariann Lyons had watched Clark suspiciously, Lori recalled with some amusement, but he behaved like a professional, with enough propriety when in her mother's presence that Mariann hadn't been able to find a single, legitimate criticism to level at him, and not for lack of trying. Even Marcy was impressed. Lori rested her head against Clark's shoulder as they flew through the afternoon sky toward the small town where Vicente and Thompkins had been apprehended. Clark held her securely, and didn't seem to object to the position. Once, he turned his head and she felt him press the lightest of kisses into her hair. She had to admit it felt good. They'd clarified their relationship somewhat while Lori had been recovering from the minor concussion given her by Edwin Gossett, three weeks ago. She'd awakened in the motel room from a nightmare about being his captive to find Clark holding her, and when it became obvious that she wasn't going to sleep again, at least for awhile, they'd talked. They had decided that before they leaped into anything closer, they would get to know each other better as friends. Lori, always cautious about close relationships with a man--even one as nice as Clark--had been relieved by his willingness not to rush things. The few dates she'd had up until now had always been marred by the guy pushing for sex as a payment for taking her to dinner, a show or a party. Lori just couldn't see how one merited the other, which was why, at twenty-one, she was still--to Marcy's complete incredulity when Lori had admitted it--a virgin. No one, her sister stated flatly, was a virgin at twenty-one. No one! Clark hadn't even brought the subject up, for which she was grateful. Their first, tentative "official" date had been two weeks ago, and he hadn't mentioned it, although she had half expected him to do so. The complete lack of pressure almost made her feel giddy at times, especially on those occasions when--like now--he made it clear that he did indeed regard her as more than just a friend. Below them, the open country was giving way to occasional small houses that gradually grew denser, and became a small town. "That's it," Clark said. He seemed to recollect that she'd asked him a question some fifteen minutes earlier, for he added, as he brought them down in the tree-shaded park, "Minnie just said that they'd picked up the suspects and they had the diamonds on them." "Let's hope this settles it then," Lori said, as he reluctantly put her down. "It would be nice for once to have things turn out all right without any complications." "I hear you there." Clark spun back into his civvies. "Let's head over to the police station and see if they'll give us a look at the loot." The police captain was willing to let them speak with the arresting officers, but refused to allow them to see the recovered diamonds without the consent of the insurance company's representative. Fortunately, however, the man wasn't long in arriving. They occupied the time by interviewing the arresting officers, an older police veteran and her rookie partner. Young Officer Woods seemed perfectly happy to relate the events to Lori while Clark spoke with his partner, and they had barely completed the interviews when the insurance company rep arrived. The man, a tall, businesslike Asian, raised his eyebrows at the sight of Clark. "I take it you're here about the Westhaven collection, Clark?" he said, sounding resigned. Clark grinned slightly. "I always said you were psychic, Ben. This is my partner, Ms. Lyons. Lori, this is Benjamin Tang. He works for Metropolis United Insurance, and has an office right down the street from the Daily Planet." "Pleased to meet you," Lori said. Tang extended a hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Lyons." He glanced at Clark questioningly. "Didn't I read that you and Ms. Lyons cracked the sabotage attempt on the colony ship?" Clark nodded. "You did. I have to give Lori at least half the credit for it, too." "Nice work," Tang said. "Anyway, to business. I gather you'd like to see the recovered property." "If it's not too much to ask," Clark said. "No problem." Tang went over to the desk sergeant to present his credentials, and a few minutes later an armed officer escorted them into a small room. A second police officer stood by as two more brought in the missing diamonds. >From his pocket, Benjamin Tang produced a computer pad and keyed in a code. Slowly and deliberately, he unlocked the case and set aside the small bag of uncut diamonds. With great care, he removed the pieces of the Westhaven collection, checking each against the pad: a glittering tiara, a brilliant necklace, a brooch, one bracelet and then another. Lori mentally reviewed each piece as it emerged and compared it to the holos she had seen of the collection. Then Tang stopped, frowning. Meticulously, he checked each zippered inner pocket of the leather bag once more before looking up with a grim expression. "Officer, was anything removed from this case between the time of the arrest and the time it was brought into this room?" "No, sir," the young man said. "There's been at least two officers present at all times whenever it was out of the safe." "That's what I was afraid of," Tang said. "What's the matter?" Clark asked. Lori spoke up. "The ring is missing, Clark. According to the research I did, it's worth 2.7 million dollars." Clark's dark eyebrows rose. "Two point seven million?" he said, incredulously. "Yeah," Lori said. "It's beautiful. According to the history I read it's made of gold and platinum and set with perfectly cut blue diamonds all around the band. There's not another one like it in the world." Clark whistled softly. Benjamin Tang was checking the leather bag of uncut diamonds to ascertain that it didn't contain the missing ring. He glanced up at the silent officers standing by the door. "I need to speak to your captain," he said. "I want that car you impounded gone over with a fine tooth comb, and I'll need to call my office..." ********** Several hours later, the ring had not surfaced. Clark and Lori finally left when it seemed as if no more could be done for the present. They took off into the evening sky, lit faintly in the west by the rapidly fading colors of sunset. Overhead, the stars had begun to brighten, and to the east, a crescent moon was rising. Beneath them, the small town was a patch of glittering lights surrounded by the darkness of the open country. Here and there, beyond the town, an isolated patch of light below marked a single house in the surrounding countryside. Lori snuggled next to Clark's warm body against the faint chill of the breeze in her face. "Cold?" he asked. "A little." He drew her closer. "Is that better?" "Mm." She nodded. They flew in silence for several minutes. Finally, Lori said, "What happens now, Clark?" "Now we file our story, such as it is," Clark said. "And the insurance company and the police start their investigation." "That's all?" Lori asked. There was a grin in his voice. "No, of course not. I called Blake's awhile ago to try to talk to Mr. Merrick again, but they were closing. Merrick agreed to meet with us tomorrow morning at eight, at the Green Gourmet." "Oh," Lori said. "That's a good idea." She slipped her arms around his neck. "Clark, is it possible they did something with the ring before they were caught? It's small and easily concealed." "Anything's possible," Clark said. "When we get back from the conference, if nothing's surfaced in the meantime, I'd like to look into it." "So would I," Lori said. She lifted a hand to run her fingers across his jaw, feeling the faint rasp of bristles. His body tensed slightly as she did so. "I'm glad I'm going with you to the conference, Clark." "So am I," he said. The grin had disappeared from his voice. "I can't think of anyone I'd prefer to be with." Again, they flew on in silence. Far ahead on the horizon, Lori could see the glow of lights that marked the city of Metropolis. "Are we going to the Planet?" she asked, finally. "No. I'll file the story from my apartment. I thought you might like dinner at my place tonight." "That would be nice," she said. "Do you mind stopping at my flat so I can change into something else? I don't have many business suits." "No problem." She could see the flash of his teeth in the darkness. "As soon as we get to my place it's jeans and a T-shirt for me, too." That, of course, was also something to look forward to. She touched his cheek again, a little timidly. "Clark?" "Yes, Lori?" He seemed to sense her mood. "Is something bothering you?" "Fred all but accused me of sleeping with you to get my promotion," she said. "I don't really care about that, but it's something you never brought up, and I kind of expected you to. I mean--" She fumbled a little with the sentence, unsure of how she should phrase it. "I mean, don't guys expect--um--" "Lori, it's okay," he said. "I'd never ask for anything from you that you don't feel right about giving." That almost took her breath away, in spite of his behavior on their first date. He'd implied on the night he'd saved her from Edwin Gossett that he might be in love with her, but he hadn't pursued it since, letting her set the pace of their relationship. Clark was something pretty special, all right. "I wondered," she said, slowly. "Other guys I've dated always wanted--well, you know what they wanted." She could feel herself blushing. "It isn't something I'm ready for--yet, anyway. Thanks for being so understanding about it." "Any time," he said, and there was a smile in his voice. "I care for *you*, Lori. Pushing you into something you feel is wrong wouldn't say much about me, would it?" Wow! And this was the guy her mom wanted her to discourage? Not for the first time, it occurred to her that Mariann Lyons' view of men and marriage might be inaccurate, to say the least. "I care about you, too, Clark. More than just as a friend." He turned his head, and she had the feeling that he was looking at her intently in the darkness, but he merely said, "I'm glad." ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:32:31 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III: Memories 4/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Home III: Part 4 Clark unlocked the door to his apartment and let Lori precede him into the room. He always did that, Lori thought. It was something she had noted about him early in their acquaintance. He held doors for her, helped her with her coat and pulled out chairs for her with unusual courtesy, but he'd never once treated her as if she was incapable of taking care of herself. "There's soda in the fridge," Clark said, opening his bedroom door. "Back in a minute." She started toward the kitchen, pausing for a moment at the bookshelf where the fertility statue sat. Something about the odd little statue caught her attention as it always did, with a twinge of déjà vu. She shook her head a little before going on into the kitchen. That sort of thing was happening to her a lot lately. If she hadn't had a great deal of faith in her sanity, she'd have begun to wonder about it. When she returned, Clark was already sitting at his computer and working on their report about the capture of the jewel thieves, the retrieval of most of the Westhaven collection, and the concern over the missing ring. When he had finished, he glanced at her. "Want to check this and see if I've left anything out?" "Sure." She slid into the chair he vacated and read the article over with close attention to detail. "It looks okay to me," she said when she had finished. "Your writing is always so vivid, it's almost like being there. How do you do it?" "Practice," he said. "You're already picking it up." "I've tried to imitate you," she explained. "You make it look so easy, though." "It will be for you too, before long," he assured her. "Your writing wasn't bad to begin with--just in need of a little polish." "Well, this is fine," she said. "Shall I send it?" "Go ahead." He ambled over to the wine rack and stood studying the labels for a moment, before selecting one. "I'll get dinner started. Would you like stir fry or steak?" ********** It was just past eleven when he took Lori home. The day had been a busy one, but Clark wasn't anxious for it to end. The things Lori had told him during their flight back to Metropolis were still fresh in his mind, and left more uncertainty in their wake. They walked slowly through the darkened streets, her hand in his. Lori's little flat was only a few blocks from his own apartment and parts of the neighborhood weren't of the best, but Lori had suggested they walk. Clark harbored the hope that it was because she didn't want the evening to end, either. She'd said she thought of him as more than a friend, and that she enjoyed being in his company. That was a hopeful sign. The fact that she had practically admitted to being a virgin was almost a little scary, although he wasn't entirely surprised. It did, however, tell him that his instinct had been right when he'd made the decision to follow her lead in the advancement of their relationship, but it also told him that he was going to have to tell her the rest of the truth about himself, and soon. He couldn't let her invest too much in this until she knew everything. The dilapidated old apartment house where Lori lived loomed ahead. She looked up at him in the darkness. "What's wrong, Clark?" "Wrong?" "You're awfully quiet." "Oh. I'm just thinking. We need to take time to talk sometime soon. I want to tell you some things about me that you should know." She squeezed his hand gently. "You're actually a criminal on the lam, right?" He chuckled. "No, I'm afraid not." "You're dying of an incurable disease?" "No. There isn't much that can hurt me." "You've got three wives in three different countries?" He broke out laughing. "Lori, you're outrageous! No, I've only been married once." "Well, what else could be so earth-shattering, then?" "You have no idea," he said. She squeezed his hand again. "Well, I'm not too worried, since I know you and the kind of guy you are. You'd have to be a serial killer or something for me to change my mind." "It's the 'or something' I'm worried about." "Well, maybe we can talk tomorrow if we have the chance--or maybe at the conference we'll have a little time for ourselves." "Yeah," Clark said. "We can go somewhere in the mountains where you can scream at me without witnesses." She nodded. "Good idea. If I'm going to yell at you, I don't want spectators." "You're not taking this very seriously." "I just don't see what could be so awful," she said. "I guess I'm finding it a little hard to take seriously." "How much wine did you drink?" he asked. "Two glasses, but it was with food." "Okay, I guess that's not it," Clark said. She whacked him with her free hand, then shook it. "Ouch!" "Hitting Superman isn't a good idea," Clark said. "Yeah, I noticed," she said, but she didn't sound upset. He opened the door to her apartment building and since the place seemed deserted, whisked her up the stairs rather than taking the time to wait for the creaky elevator. Within a minute, they were at her door. "I'll see you in the morning," Clark said. "Superman has to tee off at a charity golf event at seven-thirty, so I'll meet you at the Green Gourmet as soon as I can get there, okay?" "Okay," Lori said. "If Mr. Merrick arrives before you do, I'll tell him you were unavoidably delayed." "Thanks." He lifted her hand and kissed the knuckles lightly. "Good night, then." "Clark." "What?" She didn't let go of his hand. "We had our first date two weeks ago. Don't you think it's about time you kissed me good night? You can carry this chivalry thing too far, you know." "I didn't want to pressure you." She made a little face. "Just shut up and kiss me, Mr. Kent." He smiled a little. "As you wish, Ms. Lyons." ********** Lori looked up at Clark's handsome face, waiting. He was certainly the best friend she'd ever had, and maybe more. Since the flight back to Metropolis when he'd put into words the fact that what she wanted was more important to him than what he wanted, she'd felt this way. He'd taken away even the imaginary pressure that she'd imposed on herself, and she was suddenly ready to be a little bolder. She probably was falling in love with him, a sneaky little part of her brain acknowledged. She just wasn't ready to say it out loud yet--not until he told her whatever he was afraid she'd be mad about. The seeds of doubt sown by Mariann Lyons couldn't be brushed away so easily. But... Clark's arms slid around her and she lifted her face. Very gently, his lips came down onto hers. Lori closed her eyes. She'd been kissed by guys before--a few high school kisses, one or two in college. Her heavy academic schedule hadn't left much time for a social life, and the kisses had always been marred by the apprehension that inevitably went with them--was he going to want more? And what should she do if that happened? But this time-- Her mind ground to a halt and all she was aware of was the feeling of his arms around her and his lips covering hers. And most of all, the incredible feeling of rightness, that this was where she belonged. Several eternities later, he released her. Lori came slowly out of her trance. "Wow," she breathed. He was looking a little shaken. "Yeah," he agreed. "Wow." ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:34:36 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III: Memories 5/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Home III Part 5 The Green Gourmet was a small, cubbyhole of a restaurant in a row of older buildings in the business section of Metropolis, barely two blocks from Blake's Jewelers. It was tucked between a dance studio on one side and a high fashion boutique on the other. Lori entered the little establishment glancing around for any sign of Clark or David Merrick. She didn't really expect to see either of them, yet. It was only quarter to eight; she had made a point of getting there early to be sure she was available to sub for Clark on the chance that he might be late. A hostess appeared within moments, a young woman dressed in green, wearing a pair of earrings that might be jade as well as a ring that bore a large, pale green stone. "Table for one?" she inquired, reaching for a menu. "Um, no," Lori said. "I'm supposed to meet a Mr. Merrick and a Mr. Kent here at eight." "Oh, yes, of course," the hostess said. "Neither of them has arrived yet. Would you like to wait here where you can see them when they come in? Or, if you like, I can seat you at the table Mr. Kent reserved." "I'd like that," Lori said. "Fine. This way, please." The woman picked up the menu, and led the way into another room. She indicated a corner table. "Will this be all right?" "Sure." The room they had entered was about half full of customers, even this early in the morning, and Lori could smell the delectable scents emanating from the kitchen. She slid into a chair and dropped her bag to the floor beside her. "Would you like a cup of coffee while you wait?" the hostess asked. "Yes, thank you," Lori said. "It'll be just a minute." The woman walked briskly away. Lori leaned back in her chair, looking around the room. The place had an unusual décor, attractive in its own way; she had to give it that. The walls were painted a light green and the floor was covered with a carpet of the same color, four or five shades darker. Here and there about the room sat pots containing growing plants, and, hanging from the ceiling on ropes made to look like green vines, were containers of bright green ivy. Even the chair cushions were green, and so were the outfits worn by the employees. She relaxed back in her chair, and for a moment let her mind drift back to the night before. That kiss had been like no other she had ever received. It had been sweet and gentle and passionate, and left her with such a feeling of belonging that she had been literally shaken. And the thing that hadn't struck her as strange until later was the sensation of familiarity, as if sometime Clark had kissed her before. He hadn't, of course. She would certainly have remembered. They had said good night then, and after she entered her little flat she'd watched him turn and walk back down the hall. And last night she'd dreamed of that kiss over and over, reliving again and again the sense that somehow she belonged with Clark, and he with her. "Miss?" A waitress was standing beside her, holding a coffeepot, and Lori blinked, rousing herself from the very pleasant daydream. "Oh, hi." "I guess you were somewhere else," the waitress said. She wore green, too, Lori noted, and her white nametag, edged with green, identified her, in dark, green letters, as Sandy. "Yeah, I was," Lori admitted. "I guess I better get my act together, huh?" "Oh, I don't know. You looked like whatever you were thinking about was pretty nice." "It was," Lori said. Sandy grinned. "Marie said you're waiting for someone. Would you like some coffee?" "Sure," Lori said. The woman set a cup and saucer in front of her and poured a stream of coffee into it. The bracelet on her wrist caught the light, flashing bright green. It was a continuous band of what appeared to be some sort of green crystal, and in the illumination from the overhead lights it almost seemed to glow. "What a pretty bracelet," Lori remarked. "I've never seen anything like it." "Oh, thanks." Sandy held out her arm for Lori to examine the piece of jewelry. "My husband made it for me." "Really?" Lori ran a finger over the ornament's surface. It was cold and slick, and the green tinge turned her fingers pale green. Something almost like a chill lifted the hairs on the back of her neck, and she pulled back her hand. That was no reflection--the crystal was actually glowing. "Yeah," Sandy said, oblivious to Lori's reaction. "He makes natural jewelry. He made this out of a piece of crystal--some kind of phosphorescent quartz, he thinks. The management encourages us to wear green accessories, so when Andy gave it to me for our first anniversary I couldn't resist wearing it." "Where did he get it?" Lori asked. "Oh, a friend of a friend of Andy's found it in some farmer's field out west, years ago. Isn't it amazing what weird places you can find real treasures like this?" "Yeah, it is." The longer she looked at the bracelet, the less attracted she was to it. Now the pale, green glow seemed almost sinister. She couldn't explain it to herself, but the thing made her skin crawl. She clenched her hands in her lap and forced a smile. "Well, it's certainly unique. Thank you for letting me look at it." "No problem. Andy runs 'Andy's Creative Designs' down in Old Town. They sell all kinds of natural jewelry there." "Maybe I'll drop by," Lori said. A movement at the corner of her vision attracted her attention, and she turned her head. "There's Mr. Merrick. He's one of the people I'm supposed to meet. Maybe he'd like some coffee, too." "I'll bring a coffee cup," Sally said. The hostess escorted David Merrick to the table. Lori got to her feet. "Hello, Mr. Merrick." "Ms. Lyons? I understood your partner, Mr. Kent would be here." "Mr. Kent called to tell me he'd been delayed, but he'd be here as quickly as he could," Lori said. "Won't you sit down and have some coffee while you wait?" "Thank you." Merrick took the place across from her and waited while Sally poured coffee for him. "Thank you, Miss." "Just signal me when you're ready to order," Sally said. "Thanks, Sally," Lori said. She turned to Merrick, who was meticulously measuring half a teaspoon of sugar into his coffee. "I'm sure you know about the recovery of the Westhaven collection?" Merrick nodded. "Metropolis United contacted us at once, several hours before Mr. Kent's call. Mr. Tang has already spoken to me about the missing ring. I must say, I'm relieved about the recovered jewelry, but I'm very distressed about the ring." "Mr. Merrick, did you actually see the thieves take it?" Lori asked. "Is it possible it wasn't there when you opened the safe?" Merrick sighed. "I know it was there when I opened the safe, because I saw it, and it was gone after they fled, but part of the time--while I was attempting to reach the alarm--their bodies were between me and the safe. I have no idea what they did with it." "No, I can understand that," Lori said. She shifted in her chair. One foot struck her shoulder bag and upset it. She reached down to set it upright once more. "Sorry." Merrick took a cautious sip of his coffee. "Of course, Mr. Tang must investigate all the possibilities," he said, calmly. "I completely understand his mandate on the matter. Still, it's ironic that I should fall under suspicion, after what occurred." "I'm sure it's just a formality," Lori said, carefully. The scrutiny of the man's small, blue eyes, fixed unwaveringly on her made her slightly uncomfortable. "Of course it is," Merrick said, a little testily, "but naturally I worry about what may be happening to the ring while they're wasting their time with me." "It's such a beautiful ring," Lori said. "I saw a picture of it in a history I read online." "The photos don't do it justice, Ms. Lyons," Merrick said sincerely. "If the wrong person finds it, it could be broken up into its component parts and thereby lose half its value." "That would be awful!" Lori said. "Yes, it would." Merrick took another sip of coffee. "Ah, Mr. Kent seems to have arrived." Lori glanced around to see Clark crossing the room toward them. "I see everything went all right," she said. "Yeah. Sorry to be late, Mr. Merrick," he said. "Something unavoidable came up." Merrick nodded. "Perfectly all right, Mr. Kent." "So," Clark said, "what's the insurance company have to say?" "They're attempting to trace the path the thieves took after they left the store," Merrick said. "And, of course, they're investigating the remote chance that it could have been taken by someone else at the store." "Well, that's to be expected." "Of course," Merrick said. "By someone else, of course, they mean Mr. Blake or myself. We are the only two persons who have the combination to the safe and the code to override the time lock. I assure you, however, that I've been an employee of Mr. Blake's for thirty years! I'm due to retire within a few months. I wouldn't jeopardize my retirement with such a crime, even if I were of the bent to do so. And I have complete faith in Mr. Blake's honesty." "We understand," Clark said. "It's normal to be upset, but if you're innocent, I don't think you need to worry. It's just company policy." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and shook his head suddenly. "Are you all right, Mr. Kent?" Merrick said. "You look ill." Lori looked at Clark in alarm. He had gone white, and sweat had broken out on his forehead. "I...need some fresh air," Clark said. He started to rise from his seat. "Is everyone ready to order?" Sandy appeared at Lori's elbow, a smile plastered on her face. To Lori's horror, Clark staggered a couple of steps from the table, gave a faint groan, and collapsed to the floor. Lori leaped from her chair to rush to his side, only vaguely aware of other people hurrying to crowd around him. This couldn't be happening! she told herself. Nothing could hurt Superman! But there was Clark, face down on the floor, slipping into unconsciousness even as she and Sandy rolled him over. "Someone call the paramedics!" Sandy said. Paramedics? Lori didn't know what to do, but she had to do something. She couldn't allow a doctor to examine Clark, or the fact that he was one of the supermen would be discovered. In the face of emergency, inspiration struck. Rhonda! Rhonda Klein, Ultra Woman, whom she had met three weeks ago, was also the super family's physician, Clark had told her. Someone was trying to open Clark's collar. She couldn't allow that, either. "Don't touch him!" she ordered, brushing the helping hands away. "I'm calling his doctor! Please, everyone, stand back!" Lori desperately punched the relay code for Rhonda's private number into her wrist talker. Barely ten seconds passed before the woman's voice answered. "Rhonda Klein." "Rhonda, it's Lori! Clark's collapsed!" "What? Where are you?" "In a restaurant in Metropolis called 'The Green Gourmet'." "Are there other people around you?" "A whole crowd." "What happened?" Lori described the events leading up to the situation, and Rhonda's voice dropped so she had to hold the little communication device up to her ear in order to hear. "Try to get everyone to move back as far as possible, whichever way you can. I'll be there as fast as I can get there." Lori looked up at the curious faces around her. "Could everyone move back, please? Give him some air." Reluctantly, people shifted about, but did not retreat. Lori felt a flash of anger. Clark's welfare was more important than the wish of onlookers to satisfy their curiosity. "Everyone, please! Just move back! I appreciate that you want to help, but his doctor is on the way! Please, go back to your tables!" Slowly, the crowd began to break up. Sandy said, "Is there anything I can do?" Lori shook her head. "I don't think so. Just get everybody away from him, could you?" "Sure." Sandy got to her feet and began to politely, but firmly chivvy the restaurant's patrons back to their tables. Clark groaned softly and opened his eyes. For a moment, he looked blankly up at her. "What...?" "Oh, Clark!" Lori heard the break in her voice and forced it under control. "Lie still. Rhonda's on her way." "Got to...get out of here," Clark murmured. There was a whoosh outside and an instant later Rhonda Klein stood in the doorway, impressive in the costume of Ultra Woman. "Is there a problem?" she asked, in a clear, carrying voice. "My partner's collapsed," Lori called. "I need some help." Clark was feebly trying to push himself upright. Rhonda glanced quickly around the room as if checking for something, although Lori couldn't imagine what it might be, then strode quickly to Clark. "I'll meet you at Clark's" she whispered to Lori. Quickly, she scooped Clark up in her arms and was gone. Lori sat back on her heels and blew out her breath. Slowly, she got to her feet, trying to ignore the stares of the other diners. David Merrick was standing behind her when she turned, holding her bag. He handed it to her. "I certainly hope Mr. Kent will be all right," he said, "But I need to get to work. Mr. Blake will be expecting me." "I understand." Lori took a breath. She was in a hurry to leave, too, but she still had a job to finish. "Would it be all right to contact you in a few days to see how things are going?" "Of course," Merrick said. "If you like, I can call you, myself. That's the Daily Planet, correct?" "Yes," Lori said. "That would be fine." She was anxious to get to Clark's apartment and find out how her partner was. Something definitely out of the way had happened, and she wouldn't be easy until she knew what it was. David Merrick departed. Lori glanced around for Sandy. The waitress was pouring coffee for another patron across the room, but when she saw Lori looking around, she hurried over to her. "Is your friend going to be all right?" she asked. "I...I think so," Lori said. "He wasn't feeling well, yesterday. It might be that virus that's going around." There was always a virus going around, she reflected. "Could I have the bill? I'd like to get to the hospital and see how he's doing." "Oh, honey, it's on the house," Sandy assured her. "It was only a couple of coffees. Go on and make sure he's okay." "Thanks. Here." Lori tucked a credit token into the other woman's hand. "Thanks a lot for your help." Sandy slipped the token into the pocket of her skirt. As she did so, the strange, green bracelet caught Lori's eye. Was it possible? No, that didn't make sense. How could a bracelet hurt Superman? "Don't mention it," Sandy said. "Come back some other time, okay?" ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:38:28 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III: Memories 6/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "Come on in, Lori." Rhonda opened the door to Clark's apartment. Lori slipped quickly inside. "Is Clark all right?" "He will be." The superwoman closed the door behind her. "He's already feeling better." Clark was sitting on his sofa, looking pale and drawn, but much improved over the last time she had seen him, twenty minutes ago. Lori hurried to him. "Clark, what happened? I was so scared!" He reached out and took her hands. His own felt abnormally warm. "I'm sorry, Lori. It wasn't intentional." She put a hand on his forehead. "You're burning up! Clark...!" "I know, but I'll be all right, thanks to you. Your quick thinking may have saved my life. You certainly saved my secret." "But, what happened?" He looked past her at Rhonda Klein. "I think we need to explain about Kryptonite." "What's Kryptonite?" Lori asked. Rhonda moved forward to seat herself on the sofa beside Clark. "Lori, Kryptonite hasn't been seen in almost a century, but it's the only substance we know of that can actually hurt one of us." "What is it?" Lori asked. "Well, we think it's part of Krypton. That's where the name comes from," the tall superwoman explained. "We believe that when it exploded, some pieces of the planet were caught in the field of the ship that brought Superman to Earth and were dragged along. They turned up after he grew to adulthood, but it was thought that all of them had been found and destroyed. We may have been wrong. Clark's reaction was typical of Kryptonite exposure." "You didn't react, though," Lori said. "I checked before I came into the room," Rhonda said, matter-of-factly. "By the time I got there it wasn't nearby, and Clark was beginning to recover. I think I felt it, very slightly, which was why I got out of there as fast as I could. Tell me, did you see a green crystal anywhere around about the time Clark collapsed?" Lori stiffened at the description. "Does it glow?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Clark nodded. "It has a green glow," he affirmed. "You *did* see something?" Lori nodded. "I think so. Sandy, the waitress, was wearing a bracelet. She said her husband made it out of some kind of green, phosphorescent quartz. She'd just come over to take our orders when Clark collapsed." Rhonda and Clark looked at each other. "You asked her about it?" Clark asked, looking at her oddly. "Yeah, I noticed it. It was pretty, but for some reason it gave me the creeps." Lori sank down on Clark's other side. He put an arm around her. Rhonda was frowning. "It gave you 'the creeps'?" she repeated. "Why?" Lori shrugged. "I have no idea. It just did." Lori saw Clark and Rhonda exchange another glance. "What?" she asked. "Nothing," Rhonda said. "Clark, I'd say we better let the others know about it--and to stay away from the Green Gourmet in the near future." "That's only a stopgap measure, though," Clark said. "We have to figure out some way to get hold of that bracelet--without letting on why we want it. Kryptonite has almost been forgotten. The last thing we need is for people to find out about it again." "Or connect it with you," Lori said. "We'll think of something. Clark, what about the conference? Are you going to be well enough to go?" "I think so," he said. "Fortunately we're flying by shuttle, though. I couldn't get us there, right now." "Why not?" "I don't have any super powers," Clark said. "What are you talking about?" Lori stared at him in shock. "What's the matter?" "A heavy exposure to Kryptonite can knock out our super powers for a while," Rhonda explained. "It isn't permanent, but for the next couple of days or so, Clark will be the same as any other man. No flying, no catching crashing aircars." She winked at Lori. "I'm counting on you to keep him out of trouble." The chime of the vidphone punctuated the sentence. Lori glanced at the I.D. displayed on the screen. "The Planet's calling." "I better go," Rhonda said. "I'll spread the word about the bracelet. Call me if you start feeling worse, Clark." "I will," Clark assured her. Rhonda rose to her feet and was suddenly gone. Lori blinked. "I never get used to that." The vidphone chimed again. Clark glanced at it. "Screen block on," he said. "Yes?" "Mr. Kent?" It was Fred's voice. "Yes, Fred?" "Mr. Olsen wanted to know if you and Ms. Lyons were coming in today." "We just finished meeting a source," Clark said. "Ms. Lyons and I will be in soon. We have a few things to get done before we leave for the conference." "Okay, sir," Fred's voice said. "I'll tell him." "And Fred," Clark said easily. "I'd like to have a short word with you, later." A note of apprehension crept into Fred's voice. "About what?" "We'll talk about it when I get there," Clark said. "Goodbye." Lori couldn't help smiling. "I thought I told you I could handle Fred." "What makes you think I'm going to say anything to Fred about that?" Clark said, looking innocent. "He cast aspersions on *my* character, too, you know." "Huh?" "When he accused me of taking advantage of you." "Huh...oh, yeah, I guess he did." Lori noticed that he hadn't removed his arm from around her shoulders. "Somehow, it never occurred to me that a guy would care about that." "Well, that depends on the guy," Clark said. "I don't like his insinuation. Besides, it'll do Fred good to worry a bit. We may not be able to pin any of the things we know he did on him, but that doesn't mean we have to take any of the garbage he's handing out, either. It's not your fault he got himself in trouble, and it's not your fault that you're a much better journalist than he'll ever be." "I guess not," Lori said. She felt his cheek again. "Are you sure you're feeling well enough to go in, Clark? You're still too warm." "Yeah, I'll be all right. My body temperature is a little higher than a human's anyway, so it's not as bad as it seems." "Maybe, but not this high." She hadn't removed her fingers from his cheek. "Clark, I was really scared. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. I think--" She paused and took a deep breath. It was still just a little too frightening to say. "I don't want to lose you," she substituted. Clark removed her hand from his cheek and kissed the back of it. "I never want to lose you, either, Lori." He sighed. "I was hoping to have some time to talk to you before we went in, but I guess it'll have to wait." "You can't do it now?" He smiled briefly. "I have the feeling I need to set aside a good-sized chunk of time for it. Especially for the groveling part." "I don't want you to grovel!" "Well, maybe not now, but you never know." He brushed back the dark hair from her face with gentle fingers "Maybe it won't matter. I hope not, but I don't want to take the chance." His face was completely sober. "If you decide you can't handle what I have to tell you...then I'll have to live with it. But..." Lori stared at him, finally understanding what he meant. Clark was afraid! It was that profound and that simple. *Superman* was afraid of losing her--her, Lori Lyons, a moderately attractive, perfectly ordinary woman, without anything special to recommend her--when he could probably have any woman he wanted just by lifting a finger! Was it possible that she meant *that* much to him? "In that case, maybe you shouldn't tell me," she said. "Is it really that important that I have to know it, or could I live without knowing?" "You could," Clark said. "But you deserve to know the truth. It wouldn't be fair not to tell you." "Then we'll set aside some time after we get to Alta Mesa," Lori said. "We'll go somewhere that we won't be interrupted and we'll talk, and work the whole thing out. Deal?" He smiled. "Deal. Now, let's head for the Planet and finish up our business. We have a shuttle to catch in a few hours." ********** Fred was nowhere to be seen when they arrived at the Planet. Clark headed for his desk, regretting sincerely his inability to use his super powers to locate the copy boy. If he was any judge, Fred wasn't going to drop his harassment of Lori just because her partner didn't like it. Not that Lori couldn't handle the man on her own. He was certain she could, to be truthful. His soulmate could be tough when necessary, and Clark suspected that if Fred went too far, he wouldn't know what hit him. It simply went against his instincts to stand back and let a bully get away with that kind of obnoxious behavior toward the woman Clark loved. Because he did. That kiss last night had shaken him more than he expected. The same sense of belonging he'd known with Lois was there full force with Lori, and reinforced what he already knew--without her he would be only existing, because it was she who made his life truly worth living. The possibility that she might reject him after she learned the truth was terrifying, but he would respect her wishes, whatever she decided. He simply prayed to whatever, or Whoever, might be watching over the universe--and him--that she wouldn't. "What the devil did you say to Fred when he called you?" John asked. His editor's voice behind him startled Clark, because he hadn't heard him approach. "He took off out of here like a scared rabbit right after he talked to you. Said something about taking one of his sick days." Clark suppressed a smile. "I only told him I wanted to have a word with him when I got in," he said, innocently. "I see," John said. "So why did he have a guilty conscience?" "You'll have to ask Lori about that," Clark said. "I only caught the tail end of it." "Uh huh," John said. "I think I can add up two and two." He looked grim. "I think I'm going to have a word with Lori--and with Fred. I won't tolerate harassment in this office." "Good idea," Clark said. "On another front," John said, "how are you feeling?" "Oh," Clark said. "Rhonda got hold of you, huh?" "Yeah. You're sure it really was...it?" "I'm sure. Lori saw it, and even though she didn't know what had happened, she got me out of the situation. I'll be fine." "Thank God for that," John said. "I had my doubts about her in the beginning, but not any more. She's one in a million, Clark. You're lucky to have found her." "I know." Clark bit his lip. "I only hope she'll have me." John smiled. "I think she's going to surprise you. Have a little faith." "I hope you're right." "You're going to tell her?" "Yeah. As soon as we get a breathing space. Maybe we'll have time at the conference." "Good idea. I'll work on the bracelet matter while you're gone. I've already made a few inquiries. The waitress's name is Sandy Timmons. Her husband runs 'Andy's Creative Designs' down in Old Town." "John, be careful. It's perfectly possible that the stuff could affect you, too." "I know. Give me some credit, will you?" His great grandson grinned. "I've got several resources at my disposal. Trust me." He glanced at Lori, who was busy reading something on her computer screen. "Excuse me. I have a few questions to ask your partner." ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:41:25 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III Memories 7/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 7 Some time later, Lori finished straightening her desk and shut down her computer. A glance at the chronometer on her wrist talker informed her that they had two and a half hours before their shuttle was due to leave. The Metropolis to Buenos Aires shuttle had a stop in Santa Lupita, Guatemala, and from there, they would take the smaller, local shuttle to Alta Mesa. Clark had told her that they would arrive at the hotel in time to get settled before dinner, although the actual conference didn't begin until tomorrow. It would give them a chance to socialize, and he could introduce her to some of the other journalists. The conference lasted through Saturday and Sunday, but their flight didn't arrive back in Metropolis until late in the afternoon on Monday, so they wouldn't return to work until Tuesday. If things went all right, Clark would have recovered his powers by then, and hopefully they would have had time to talk about whatever was bothering him. A thought occurred to her, and she opened the bottom drawer of her desk. It might not be a bad idea to take along a recorder. Most of the speeches would doubtless be blather; they usually were, but every now and then, there was something useful to be heard. Her little recorder and enough disks to last through the presentations wouldn't take up much room in her bag, and would enable her to record everything the speakers had to say. She would just have to be sure she removed it before they scanned her bag at the shuttleport checkpoint so as not to ruin the disks. The big, leather shoulder bag was brand new and very roomy. It had been a goodbye gift from Brad and Sharon just before they departed on the colony ship and Lori already loved it. She snapped on the recorder to test it and muttered under her breath when the machine failed to work. Quickly, she opened the little door on the bottom of the device and popped out the power cell. The tiny blue dot on the bottom had turned red. Out of power. She sighed and hunted around in her top drawer until she found a fresh cell and snapped it into place, then slipped the recorder and tapes into an inner pocket of the bag. After picking up several loose credit tokens that had somehow wound up on the bottom, she dropped them into the half-open change compartment and pulled the zipper completely closed. There was a small rip in a side seam where a few stitches had unraveled, but fortunately, a needle and thread could fix it without any difficulty. Still it was annoying. She'd only had the bag for two days. She shook her head in mild exasperation. Maybe today wasn't such a good day for flying after all. This series of minor mishaps was getting downright ridiculous. She glanced around to see Clark rise from his desk. The usual spring in his step was missing as he came toward her, in spite of his claim that he felt much better than he had an hour and a half before. A couple of months ago she wouldn't even have noticed. Now it worried her. "Ready to go?" he asked. Lori got to her feet. "All set." "Then let's stop by the lockers, get our stuff, and we're on our way." "Clark, do you feel okay?" She rested a hand against his cheek. "You're still a little warm." He smiled slightly. "I'll sleep on the shuttle. I'm just not used to feeling sick." "I guess that would make sense," Lori said. "I'm sorry, Clark. I don't mean to hover; I'm just worried about you." "I don't mind," Clark said. "Come on, let's go." As they waited for the elevator, Lori looked automatically at the framed photo of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. It was uncanny how much that other Clark looked like the one beside her. He even had the same little birthmark on his lip. Lois Lane was smiling brightly, and he was looking at her with an expression Lori had seen on her Clark when he looked at her. Something about that ancient picture touched some note deep inside her every time she saw it. "Lori?" Clark said. "Is something wrong?" "No," she said. "I just get the strangest feeling when I see that picture. I can't figure it out. It's like it should mean something to me, and of course it doesn't." Clark didn't reply, and the elevator arrived at that moment. Clark let Lori enter first. "Lockers," he said. ********** The Metropolis Shuttleport was crowded and chaotic, as Lori expected. They checked their bags, picked up their boarding passes, and proceeded on to the security checkpoint. Lori removed her earrings and wrist talker, fished the recorder and disks from her purse, and turned on her portable computer for the security men in order to prove that it was actually what it purported to be. She passed through the scanner while her purse proceeded through the x-ray and was checked for any signs of weapons. She reclaimed her property while Clark went through the same ritual, and rejoined her on the other side. Clark glanced at his wrist talker. "We have a little under an hour until boarding. I just thought of something." "What?" "It's past one. I'm hungry. I missed breakfast this morning. Shall we wait an hour and let them feed us on the shuttle, or shall we pay the exorbitant prices here and get ourselves a snack to tide us over?" "Let's get a snack," Lori said. "I didn't get anything to eat, either." ********** The Metropolis to Buenos Aires shuttle was late, which wasn't surprising, Lori thought, as the failure of the shuttle companies to keep their schedules had been the subject of editorials recently in a number of news publications. Clark and Lori were not traveling first class; they found their seats in the coach section, tucked their computers and Lori's leather shoulder bag into the overhead compartment, and settled down in the places assigned to them. Clark pointedly did not take the window seat. As soon as the shuttle was airborne and the "Fasten Safety Webbing" sign went off, he tilted his seat back and closed his eyes. Lori could tell, however, by the rigid set to his jaw that her companion was not asleep, or even relaxed. After a moment, she slid her hand over his. "Clark?" He didn't open his eyes. "Yeah?" "Do you feel all right?" Now he did open them. He smiled slightly. "Yeah. I just...don't like flying...in shuttles." "Huh?" She certainly hadn't expected that. "It just seems...well, unnatural." She didn't laugh, in spite of the circumstances. Trying to look at it from his perspective, she could see how that might be so. For a being who propelled himself through the air under his own power, being powerless, and having to depend on one of the man-made devices that he had several times had to save from a fiery end must be frightening. She entwined her fingers around his. "Does this help?" He smiled a little. "It doesn't hurt." "In that case, just keep holding my hand until you feel better. They're supposed to serve something to eat in a little while, I think. And then you can try to sleep." He chuckled softly. "I'm not coming across very well today, am I?" Lori squeezed his hand gently. "You don't have to try to. I'm glad to see that even a guy as perfect as you has a few flaws." He laughed again, very softly. "Lori, I'm anything but perfect." "I know; I was joking, Clark. You don't have to be perfect for me. You just have to be you." This time he squeezed her hand. "Thanks." A flight attendant came by a few moments later, and Lori flagged him down. "Can we have a blanket and pillow, please?" "Sure." The man produced them in short order. "Is there anything else I can get for you?" "What time will we be eating?" Lori inquired. "Both of us missed lunch, except for a snack at the shuttleport." "We'll be serving an afternoon snack in about an hour," the man told her. "Thanks." Lori shook open the blanket. "Here, Clark. Get comfortable. We've got awhile to wait." Clark accepted the pillow and blanket with a slightly embarrassed smile. "You don't have to baby me, you know. I'll be fine." "I promised Ronnie I'd keep you out of trouble, and I take my responsibilities seriously. Settle back and go to sleep." Clark made a wry face. "I should know I'm no match for two pushy women. You win." "I'm glad you know your limitations," Lori said. She glanced at the attendant. "What's the show today?" "'The Thing That Stalked the Moon Shuttle'," the man told her. "I've seen it," Lori said. "I guess it's just as well I brought along a book." ********** The shuttle landed in Santa Lupita, three hours later. The warm, tropical air of Guatemala had a soft, damp quality that had not been present in Metropolis, Lori thought, when she and Clark disembarked along with several other passengers. They waited in a holding area for persons changing shuttles, and Lori listened to the chatter of people around her. Most of the conversation was in Spanish, however, and incomprehensible to her. While Clark went to one of the snack bars to negotiate for food, she gravitated to the window to look out at the scenery beyond, since this was probably all she would get to see of Guatemala. The afternoon sky was a deeper blue than it had been in Metropolis, but to the west, heavy, black storm clouds were gathering. A brisk wind tossed about the leaves of the coconut trees at the edges of the field. Behind her, an announcer on a vidscreen spoke fluent Spanish. It appeared to be a weather report, but it meant nothing to her. While she was trying to interpret the symbols on the screen, Clark appeared at her side with a small cardboard tray containing two very ordinary hamburgers, a small bag of fries, another of onion rings, and two sodas. They sat close to the windows, looking out and eating. Lori licked grease off her fingers. "I never thought a second-rate hamburger could taste that good." "Well, there's no sauce like appetite," Clark said. "That snack on the shuttle wasn't very substantial." "You can say that again," Lori agreed. "How much longer until we board? "About thirty-five minutes--if it's on time." Fortunately, their connecting flight was punctual. Since they hadn't left the holding area, there was no need to pass Customs. Half an hour later they boarded a much smaller craft, and a short time after that were headed southwest toward the tiny country of Alta Mesa. Sitting in the passenger section of the little shuttle with Clark and three other passengers, Lori glanced out the window as they climbed toward the clouds. Below them, the dancing fronds of the jungle trees were a testament to the strength of the growing wind. In spite of that, however, the trip was uneventful, until the last minutes of the flight. The first indication was a sudden, sharp jolt of the shuttle. Lori grabbed her chair arms. "What was *that*?" "Wind," Clark said. "Feel the vibration?" Now that he had drawn her attention to it, she could feel it, all right. The safety webbing sign lit up suddenly. "This is your Captain speaking," the intercom announced, almost simultaneously. "We are encountering some unstable weather conditions. For your safety, please fasten your seat restraints." The shuttle bucked suddenly, and Lori gasped. "Downdraft," Clark said. "It's okay." Clark would know, she reasoned. He had plenty of personal experience flying, after all. All the same, she could see that his knuckles had gone white from gripping the arms of his chair. "I'll be glad when this is over," she said. "Me too," Clark said. He pulled the webbing across his lap and chest. "According to the weather report I saw back at the shuttleport, there's a tropical storm moving in, but I don't think it's really going to hit Alta Mesa before we get there. This is just a little wind. We probably won't get the actual storm until late this evening." The shuttle shook again, and Lori grabbed Clark's hand. Her partner didn't look any more comfortable than she did, but said, "It's going to be all right. Better strap down, though." They could feel the buffeting gusts of wind shaking the shuttle. Lori pulled the safety webbing across her body and fastened it with trembling fingers. For some reason the picture, almost four weeks ago, of the London Shuttle coming in toward Metro Shuttleport out of control, and its subsequent rescue by Superman popped up in her thoughts. Only, Superman was sitting here beside her, powerless to do anything. Resolutely, she pushed the unsettling memories out of her mind. Scaring herself to death with what-ifs certainly was not productive. A flight attendant came down the aisle, gripping the backs of the seats to keep her balance. She glanced at the two passengers, both obviously nervous, and smiled cheerfully. "We'll be in ahead of the real storm," she said, with a reassuring note in her voice. "We get a lot of wind over these mountains when there's any kind of weather disturbance out in the Pacific." Clark nodded. "We'll take your word for it. How long before we land?" "About ten minutes," the woman said. "They'll be announcing it in a moment. If you look out the window, you can see the ocean from here." "I think I'll pass," Clark said. Lori glanced out the shuttle window and saw that they were turning. Far below and to the west she could see the choppy, dark blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, looking darker because of the layered mountains of purple storm clouds massing in the sky and hiding the sun. One, small break in the clouds allowed a single beam of gold light to illuminate a streak of ocean, turning it to aquamarine, and far out, almost on the curve of the horizon, the black silhouette of a ship was just barely visible. It was a picturesque scene, but the shuttle was continuing its turn and now the view consisted only of blue sky with streamers of clouds beginning to creep over it. Try as she might, Lori couldn't ignore the vibration of their craft, caused by the gusts of wind. True to the flight attendant's prediction, the intercom came to life, warning passengers to prepare for landing, and Lori let out her breath in relief at the proof that the trip was almost over. ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:44:10 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III: Memories 8/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 8 Alta Mesa's single shuttleport was tiny in comparison to the others she had seen. Lori followed Clark down the ramp and onto the field. Here there was no direct connection to the terminal that she could see a short distance away. They descended onto the tarmac and approached a gate where two uniformed individuals and a large, German shepherd dog awaited them. Lori watched as the men examined the passports of the passengers ahead of her, and the big dog sniffed in a disinterested fashion at a their carry-on luggage. Apparently, they contained nothing of interest, for the passengers were allowed to pass and the attention of the men shifted to her. Lori presented her shoulder bag for examination, eliciting no interest from the animal. One of the officers riffled through her bag, assured himself that she was carrying no weapons or contraband, and gestured her through. The air here was slightly chilly and drier. It must be, Lori thought, because they were so high in the mountains. The wind was brisk, however, and she was just as happy to accompany Clark across the blacktop to the low, stone building that was the terminal, to reclaim their luggage. ********** The capital of Alta Mesa, Cuidad del Sol, wasn't large in comparison to Metropolis or any of the other big cities of her own country, but Lori found herself staring around in fascination at the thriving, little city when they emerged from the terminal. In the far distance on all sides, shadowy mountain peaks rose up, many of them capped with snow. Wind whipped through the streets, foreshadowing the coming storm, tossing the fronds of the big palm trees that seemed to line every thoroughfare. Beside her, Clark whistled shrilly, and a taxi about the size of a breadbox screeched to a stop in front of them where they stood on the sidewalk. The driver leaned out the window. "Adonde va?" he inquired. Clark spoke rapidly in the same language and the man nodded vigorously. He jumped from the cab and hurried around to open the trunk for their bags, and a few moments later the little vehicle sped forward over streets paved with grey mountain stone, headed for the Mesa Grande Hotel. The driver spoke volubly as he drove, gesturing right and left, apparently indicating points of interest. Lori tried to look in all directions at once, although she didn't understand a word the man said and he spoke far too quickly for Clark to even attempt to translate. Within twenty minutes, the taxi was pulling up at the entrance of a large white building. Three wide steps led up to an awning-covered entranceway, where a doorman, wearing the livery of the hotel waited to welcome guests. Beside the door on a brass plate, modest lettering announced "La Mesa Grande". They had arrived at their destination. ********** "La Mesa Grande", Clark told her, meant "The big table", a puzzling name, unless one realized that the hotel had originally been a restaurant. He had naturally read the hotel's brochure that had come with the travel packet several weeks ago, when the reservations had been made. That was just what she should have expected, Lori thought with inner amusement. The new owners had taken the building and expanded it, turning it into very comfortable hotel, where the restaurant was only part of the services offered. It didn't compare to the Lexor in Metropolis, but it was elegant and surprisingly modern for an establishment in such a remote and tiny country. The staff, Lori thought, seemed efficient and helpful. They directed Clark and her to the front desk, where a tall man in a neat suit, bearing the logo of the hotel on its jacket pocket, met them with a friendly smile. "May I help you?" he inquired pleasantly in lightly accented English. "Yes," Clark said. "We're with the journalists' convention--from the Daily Planet in Metropolis." The man--his nametag informed them that he was Eduardo Sanchez, the assistant manager--turned to the computer on his counter. "Mr. Kent or Mr. Harrelson?" "Mr. Harrelson was taken ill at the last moment," Clark explained. "Ms. Lyons is his replacement." Sanchez frowned. "That presents a slight difficulty, Mr. Kent. Between our regular guests and the convention, every room is completely booked. You and Mr. Harrelson were slated for one room with twin beds. I'm afraid I don't have a room for Ms. Lyons." Clark glanced at Lori and then back at the man. "Is it possible for me to double up with someone?" he inquired. "I'm afraid not. Every room intended for double occupancy is booked. There are no spares. Or," he amended, "there won't be when everyone arrives. If it should happen that someone fails to claim his reservation by midnight--" "In that case," Clark said, "Ms. Lyons can have the room. I'll find another place in town. I'm sure that--" "Clark." Lori touched his arm. "I don't want to throw you out of your room." "Well, *you* can't wander around town looking for a place to stay," Clark said. "Your conversational Spanish is limited to about five phrases." Lori couldn't help laughing. "True. Look, Clark, if anyone is a gentleman, it's you." She glanced at Sanchez. "The room has twin beds, right?" "Yes, Senorita." "Then Mr. Kent and I will share the room," she said firmly, overriding Clark's instinctive protest. "We're professional colleagues, Clark. I don't have a problem with it if you don't." He looked worried, but finally nodded and glanced at Sanchez. "I guess we'll take the room." "Very well, Mr. Kent." The man turned and gestured to a bellboy, who hurried over. "Si, senor?" "Take Ms. Lyons' and Mr. Kent's bags to room 238." "Si, senor." Clark completed the check-in procedure and looked at Lori. "Shall we go get ready for dinner, Ms. Lyons? I don't know about you, but I'm famished." Lori nodded. The hamburger and onion rings nearly two hours ago were long gone, as far as her stomach was concerned. "That sounds wonderful, Mr. Kent." ********** The room was airy and spacious. A vidscreen on one wall was easily four or five times as big as the tiny one in her flat, and the twin beds were big enough for two people each, she thought. There were a couple of big, comfortable armchairs, a large, mahogany dresser, and on the wall was a big timepiece modeled after a stylized sun. A window opened on a balcony overlooking the picturesque street outside, and the rug underfoot was thick and soft. The bellhop had set their suitcases down next to the closet. Clark glanced hesitantly at her. "Would you like the bathroom first?" "Why don't you go ahead?" she suggested. "I'll probably take longer. We women always do." Clark gave her an odd smile. "You know, I've never understood why someone as attractive as you thinks she has to work to look that way." Lori felt herself blushing. "You don't know what it takes to *keep* looking that way." "Yes, I do," Clark said. "You know, Lori, before my wife died...she was very concerned with her appearance, but to me she was as beautiful as the day I married her." Lori fell silent. She had wondered about Clark's wife. No one at the office seemed to know anything about her, at least those to whom she had spoken. An online search for records had come up dry. She had concluded that the marriage had taken place in some remote area where records were not computer accessible. Such places *did* exist, in spite of the reach of technology. A few countries didn't allow it, and records from the Lunar Colony, and Mars were only available by special request. She found herself looking up into his face. It had been only seconds by the wall chronometer. She surprised herself by saying, "You miss her, don't you?" He nodded. "A little. But since I met you..." He sat down on one of the beds. "It's different." She came to sit beside him. "How is it different?" He folded his hands in his lap. "When she died, Lori--I felt like the best part of me had been torn away. I felt lost. I don't feel like that anymore. I feel...complete again." She laid a hand over his. "Do you?" He freed one hand and put it over hers. "Yes. I love you, Lori. I've loved you from the second I saw you." The breath caught in her throat. "Clark, I..." "Before you say anything you might regret, though, I have to explain something. You see...you know I'm Superman, but I'm not just--" There was a knock at the door. Clark broke off with a sigh. "We'll get back to this later." He got to his feet and strode to the door. "Yes?" The man on the other side had raised his fist to knock again when Clark opened the door. A big smile split his face. "Clark! Hey, long time, no see, man! I heard you'd just gotten here!" "Hi, Vane. Come in." Clark smiled. "Lori, this is Vane Williams." "From the Chicago Sentinel?" Lori stood up. "I've read your work." Williams looked surprised. "I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something important?" "Oh, no," Clark assured him, quickly. "Pat Harrelson wound up in the hospital at the last minute, so my editor sent Ms. Lyons along with me instead. Only, the hotel didn't have an extra room, so--" He shrugged. "Vane Williams, Lori Lyons, my new partner. Vane and I worked together for a few weeks a couple of years ago, Lori." Williams stuck out a hand, looking her over critically. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Lyons. Congratulations on the Mayflower scoop." Lori took the hand, feeling herself turning pink. "You saw that?" Williams laughed. "Every journalist in the country would have willingly murdered both of you for that story. I'd say it's an easy Kerth nomination for you." "Really?" "Yeah. If you'd like to dump this guy and come to work for the Sentinel, you can partner with me, any day." "Forget it, Vane," Clark said, a grin on his face. "She's *my* partner. Look, Lori and I barely got here. We'll be down in a bit, after we've had a little time to get ready." "Oh, sure." Vane nodded. "I'll get out of here and let you change. Happy hour's just started. See you in a few minutes." "Right." When Williams had gone they looked at each other and simultaneously began to laugh. "We're cursed, I think," Clark said. "Go on, get fixed up. We'll come back to this a little later." Lori sighed. "You're right, of course. If we don't show up--" Clark groaned. "I hate to think what Vane will be saying to everybody else if we don't. The guy's got an overactive imagination, not to mention he was always trying to fix me up with some woman. But I swear we'll talk about this after dinner. I just don't want to rush through it." "All right, but Clark, it will have to be something pretty earth-shattering to make me think less of you." "I hope it isn't earth-shattering enough," he said. ********** Forty minutes later they entered the hotel's bar. Vane spotted them as they came in and waved. "Hey, Clark, over here!" Clark and Lori made their way over to the group of five persons of which Clark's friend was one. Vane introduced Clark and Lori to the others. "You don't have to introduce me to Kent." Margot Ryerson, the only other woman in the group said. "How are you, Clark?" "Doing pretty well," he said. "I'm working for the Daily Planet, now." He surveyed Margot thoughtfully. She would be about forty by now. She had always been a tough, no nonsense journalist, but she looked older than she had the last time he had seen her. Her hair was still dark and curly, but there were lines in her face that he didn't remember even from two years ago. "So I gathered from the byline," she said. "Is it permanent or just another short term job?" "It's permanent, this time," he said. "Ms. Lyons and I are partners." Margot turned to look Lori over critically. "So you're Lyons," she said, briskly. "Your reputation precedes you." Lori looked surprised. "It does?" "Your paper scooped the lot of us," she said. "I expected a hard-bitten pro. New out of school?" "Lori was the office intern," Clark explained, calmly. "If it hadn't been for her we wouldn't have gotten to the bottom of the story, though, at least not before it was too late." He added, "Lori, this is Margot Ryerson from the Kansas City Constitution." Margot shook Lori's hand briskly. "Nice to meet you. Clark, why don't you get both of us a couple of bourbons? I want to get acquainted with your partner." "White wine for me, Clark," Lori interrupted quickly. "All right," Clark said. He left the two women and crossed the room to the bar. It wan an indication of the quality of the hotel that the bar had an actual human bartender instead of the usual computerized serving equipment. He had to wait for several minutes for his turn to order the drinks, as there were several persons ahead of him. While he waited, he surveyed the room, keeping an eye on his partner. Margot Ryerson and he had known each other for several years, on and off. The woman was a very sharp reporter who had been his rival in more than one investigation, but he respected her for her reporting skill and integrity. On the other hand, she had the instincts of a predator when she thought there might be a hot story in the offing. Quite a few of the persons in the bar, of course, had nothing to do with the convention. A short, balding man, waiting just ahead of him in the line glanced at him, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other. "You one of the guys here with the journalists' convention?" he asked, in English, with a decidedly New York accent. "Yes," Clark said. "Are you here for it?" "Me? Naw. I just got in half an hour ago. The shuttle almost didn't make it--at least it seemed that way. The wind was knockin' us all over the sky. I was sure I was gonna meet my Maker." The man shivered. "I'm just here on business. Tom Myers, from New York. I'm an architect for Mechtel Corporation." He thrust out a hand. "Clark Kent, from the Daily Planet," Clark said. "My partner and I got here a little over an hour ago. The wind was pretty bad then, too. I'm told the storm is temporarily stalled out over the ocean. It's expected to move in early tomorrow morning." "Well, at least my feet are on solid ground again," Myers said. "I just hope it'll be finished blowin' us around before I have to leave." Clark grinned. "I'm with you there. I don't like flying in shuttles." He added, "It's your turn." "Huh? Oh, thanks." Myers turned to give his order to the bartender. "Bourbon, on the rocks." The bartender didn't even hesitate, but whipped the glass onto the bar, dropped in ice cubes and poured the liquid all in the space of ten seconds. Myers paid him, picked up his drink and departed with a friendly nod to Clark. When Clark returned to Lori, Margot accepted her bourbon with a grimace of thanks and downed half of it in one swallow. Clark suppressed a wince, and handed the white wine to Lori. He, himself, was drinking soda water. Normally, Superman could drink nearly any amount of toxic substances, but without his powers, the effect of alcohol on his system was less predictable. He preferred not to take chances. Margot said, "I like your partner, Clark. Sharp young woman." She nudged Lori with an elbow. "Keep an eye on this guy, sweetie. Every time I've competed with him, he always got to the story before I did, no matter what. Maybe you can figure out how he does it. If you do, let me know his secret." Clark smiled blandly. Lori sipped her wine and didn't comment. Happy hour was beginning to break up. Clark touched her elbow. "Shall we go get something to eat, Lori? That wine will sit a lot better on a full stomach." "Okay." She turned to the newswoman. "We'll probably see you later." "Enjoy your dinner," Margot said. "I expected to see Pete Swanson here. I heard he arrived this afternoon, just before I did, but I haven't seen him yet. Oh, well, he never did handle shuttle travel very well. He's probably in his room sleeping off the free drinks." She swallowed the rest of the bourbon and eyed the empty glass wistfully. "I suppose I'd better have something to eat, too." She glanced around. "Vane! Are you sitting at my table?" ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:46:31 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III Memories 9/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 9 Lori tucked her hand lightly into Clark's elbow as they left the bar and entered the waiting area of the restaurant. Half the room had been roped off, and a sign read ""Reserved for Conventioneers". A hostess approached them after only a moment. "Table for two?" she asked cheerfully. Lori found the young woman's light accent very attractive. "Yes," Clark said. "We're with the convention." "This way." She led the way into the roped off area and indicated a small, two-person table near the rear of the room. "Will this be all right?" "This will be fine." Clark pulled out a chair for Lori, then took his own place. The hostess set two menus on the table. "Someone will be here in a moment," she said. Lori looked over the menu and made her selection, then folded it and laid it on the table in front of her. The muted lighting of the room made it more difficult to see fine details, but she saw Vane Williams and Margot Ryerson sitting with two other persons a short distance away. Movement near the door caught her eye. She glanced up to see a little man standing there, half obscured by the leaves of a tall, tropical plant. There was something familiar about him, but before she could pin the feeling down he had stepped backward into the doorway and out of sight. "What's the matter?" Clark asked. "Huh? Oh, nothing, I guess. I just thought I saw someone I knew, but I guess I was wrong." Lori dismissed the impression and smiled at her companion. "This is nice. It's been a hectic day." "That's an understatement," Clark said. "I hope the rest of the evening is a lot quieter." "Me, too." She looked up as a uniformed waiter approached. "A little peace and quiet will be nice for a change." "If a little unusual," Clark said. "I really want to make time for us to talk." The waiter stopped by their table. "Have you decided?" ********** While they waited for their appetizers, Lori sat back in her chair, simply enjoying the relative quiet and admiring the man who sat across from her. Clark had fortunately lost the tired look he'd had immediately following his exposure to the Kryptonite bracelet, although he told her quietly that his powers had as yet shown no sign of returning. Presumably, Rhonda knew what the effects of this mysterious mineral on Superman would be. He hadn't appeared to be worried either, but Lori wasn't as confident as the others seemed to be that his powers would return before long. A substance that could rob Superman of his powers frightened her. How could they be sure of its ultimate effects? "Clark, buddy!" Lori looked around. A short, stocky man with a florid complexion and a big smile ambled up to the table. Lori could smell alcohol on his breath as he slapped her partner on the back with unnecessary force, causing Clark to cough. "Hi, Barney." Clark turned in his chair to face his assailant. "How are you doing?" "Just great, ol' pal. Is this that pretty li'l partner o' yours I've heard about? You lucky dog!" Lori glanced at Clark in time to see him roll his eyes. "Sorry," he mouthed at her. "Yes, Barney, this is Ms. Lyons. Ms. Lyons, this is Barney Rundle, from the Miami Vanguard." The obviously tipsy man smiled, continuing to ogle Lori in way that reminded her uncomfortably of a dream in which she had come to work far too lightly clad for the professional image she tried to cultivate. She could feel the flush rising from her collarbone and up her neck. Clark got to his feet. "Lori, would you excuse us a moment? Come on, Barney, I think I saw your wife around awhile ago. I haven't talked to her for a couple of years. I'd like the chance to say hello again." He winked slightly at Lori and led Barney away. Lori breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She couldn't blame Barney, but she was glad Clark had sprung to her rescue so quickly. Superman, it seemed, was on the job, powers or no powers, she thought whimsically. A waiter appeared at the table with glasses of water and the coffee that Clark had ordered. Lori picked up the glass he set before her and sipped, feeling a comfortable fatigue in her body. It *had* been a busy day, and it had left her more tired than she realized. She caught herself in a yawn and covered her mouth with one palm. Motion at the corner of her vision caught her attention. She turned her head, to see a short, balding man standing next to a leafy, potted tropical plant of some sort a short distance away, apparently watching the entrance to the restaurant. From the doorway, he would be only partly visible, and completely inconspicuous Lori thought idly as she watched over the brim of her glass. There was something almost furtive about the balding man's attitude. He glanced at her and saw her watching. With a slight smile, he nodded to her and strolled away toward the restrooms, turned the corner beneath the small, tasteful sign, and disappeared. Lori found herself frowning after him curiously. He hadn't done anything all that unusual, but something about his attitude wasn't quite right. Her reporter's instinct stirred, and she continued to watch the spot where she had last seen him, but he didn't reappear. It was nearly ten minutes before Clark returned. He sat down and wiped a hand dramatically across his brow. "Sorry about that," he said. "Barney's a nice guy, but he does tend to party a bit hard. I left him with his wife. She'll keep him under control." She laughed. "It's okay, Clark. Thanks for the rescue." "Don't mention it." He looked around. "Here come our appetizers." ********** In spite of the fact that Lori remained alert for the balding man again, she saw no sign of him, although how he could have gotten out of the hallway to the men's room without being visible to her she couldn't understand. Something about the situation stimulated her curiosity, what Brad had called her "reporter's instinct". Lori had to admit she was far too nosy for her own good, but awareness of the fact didn't change it. She decided to keep an eye out for him for the remainder of their time at the hotel. It was perfectly possible that there was nothing at all out of the ordinary, but that pesky "instinct" said differently. Whether it was something important, or just a personal indiscretion, it told her that something was up, and Lori was curious. Lori and Clark weren't allowed to return to their hotel room immediately following dinner, to her disappointment. Although the actual journalists' banquet wasn't until Sunday night, no one apparently was willing to leave for the evening without an unscheduled gathering in the lounge adjoining the bar. They were a group of professional people who knew each other either by personal acquaintance or at least by reputation, and the temptation to postpone the end of the evening was too great. Friends of Clark's both male and female, acquired over the past few years, appeared to Lori to be selectively seeking him out. She could understand his popularity, however. Her partner was a very likeable man, who apparently made friends even among his rivals, but the fact made it difficult for them to slip away. Lori was standing quietly at Clark's side, listening to the chatter when an ear-shattering clap of thunder shook the room and made everyone jump. The lights flickered sharply. "What was that?" someone, a woman, gasped. "Sounds like lightening struck right over us," a man's voice replied. "It must be that tropical storm they were talking about on the shuttle." Margot Ryerson, at Clark's elbow, said, " I hope this place has it's own power supply. I don't feel like being without power because of a storm!" "Me, either," Vane Williams said. Lori glanced at the big window in the reception room's far wall as lightning flashed brightly. Thunder crashed again, and she winced. Water was streaming almost horizontally across the glass, obscuring the garden beyond and they could hear the wind, even through the walls of the hotel. Somewhere above, something fell with a loud clatter. The storm had arrived, full force. "I guess it didn't stay stalled as long as the weather forecasters thought," Clark said in her ear. He glanced at his wrist talker. "It's only ten-thirty." Lori yawned. "I'll be right back, Clark." "Sure." Lori headed toward the powder room. She was tired and it looked as if they weren't going to get back to their room for another hour, at least. Inside, she splashed water in her face and leaned forward to repair the damage to her makeup. Two other women were just departing, talking rapidly to each other in Spanish. Behind her, the door opened and Margot Ryerson entered. She winked at Lori. "You look tired, honey. Rough day?" Lori nodded. "Rough two days. Clark and I have been following a jewel robbery in Metropolis since yesterday. We were out late last night, covering the capture of the thieves, and this morning we interviewed the senior clerk of the store that got hit. They found everything except one ring." "Oh? Anything special about this ring?" "Yeah. It's worth 2.7 million dollars." Margot whistled. "That must be *some* ring." "It is. I've seen a picture of it. It's gorgeous." "Any clues?" Lori shrugged. "The police and insurance company are investigating. That's all I know, so far. If the bad guys hid it somewhere before they got caught, there may be some chance of getting it back but as of this morning, there wasn't any new information. If nothing turns up before Tuesday, we're going to look into it. The whole thing may be over by the time we head back, though." "Bad timing," Margot said. "I have to congratulate you, though, on your ingenuity." "What ingenuity?" "Getting put up in a room with Clark. The guy has a reputation for being impossible to seduce. With that body, don't think a lot of women haven't tried." "Oh? I didn't know." Lori fiddled with the strap on her purse, wishing that Margot would drop the whole subject. She was sure that Clark would find it as embarrassing as she did. "Well, you know what they say about the quiet ones. I expect a full report and a rating on him when it's over." "Margot!" The older woman laughed. "Take it easy, honey. It's only natural to be curious. Whatever it is you did, I have to give you credit. I just hope you're not too sleepy to enjoy it." Lori could feel the infuriating blush suffusing her cheeks. Margot laughed. "You don't have to be shy. You should know you're the object of considerable envy among most of the women here." She glanced at Lori's scarlet face and took pity on her. "It's okay; I won't say another word. Have a nice evening, though." She winked. Lori fled with as much dignity as she could manage. ********** As she ducked out into the hallway, Lori heard another rumble of thunder and the building quivered slightly. She winced and headed quickly back toward the lounge where she had left Clark. There had been several more thunderclaps in the last few minutes, none of them as loud as the first two, and the lights didn't flicker again. With luck, they could make their excuses and get back to their room soon. Not only was she tired, she wanted to hear what Clark had been going to say when Vane interrupted them. She turned the corner into the adjoining hallway... And the lights went out. The hallway was plunged into pitch-blackness. Lori stopped moving at once and held perfectly still, trying to regain her bearings, then she felt to her left for the wall. The darkness was complete, but it wasn't silent. From the room up ahead where Clark and the other journalists congregated she could hear the confused chatter and gabble of alarmed people. She oriented herself by it. The wall was farther away than she had first thought, at least a few inches beyond her arm's length. Slowly, feeling her way by sliding her foot along the carpet, she moved sideways until her reaching fingers contacted the smooth surface of the corridor wall. She leaned against it for a moment and took several seconds to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding uncomfortably hard, her nerves jittering from the suddenness of the power failure. Only... Lori froze completely, hugging the wall as she realized that the power wasn't out. From the room up ahead she could hear the sounds from the vidscreen as an announcer matter-of-factly recited the weather report. The words were in Spanish, but the cadence of the voice was unmistakable. Very faintly, now that her eyes had begun to adjust, she could see a pale flicker of light from the vidscreen outlining the rectangle of the doorway. It wasn't enough to illuminate her surroundings, but it was there. But if the power wasn't out, why had they lost their lighting? She held her breath, listening, tuning out the voices from the room up ahead. She had no real reason to feel apprehensive, except the instinctive alarm at being suddenly unable to see and at the knowledge that the lights should still be on. What was happening? It was that primitive sense possessed by small, helpless creatures hunted by the bigger and more vicious predators in their environment that was more alert than her conscious mind, for it was aware of danger before she was. There was motion here in the blackness not far away, stealthy movement of something nearby that roughened her skin, and all the hair on her head tried to rise from the roots. The muffled sound of a shoe scraping softly across the surface of the hall carpet told her beyond doubt that it *wasn't* her imagination. She squinted into the blackness of the hallway behind her, trying to see. There was a slightly darker bulk back there, or could that vaguely darker blotch be her imagination after all, working overtime? But then she heard a soft indrawn breath. Someone was there. Common sense told her to speak up, to demand to know who it was. Most likely, she told herself, it was only another guest who had been just as startled as she was by the sudden darkness, but a more basic sense of self preservation kept her silent. She began to slide quietly along the wall toward the noise and safety of the crowd only yards away. Straining her ears, she was sure she heard very softly, another muffled footfall behind her, and then the scratch of nails along the wall. Lori held her breath, willing herself not to panic, to move slowly and carefully, and as noiselessly as possible. She could hear breathing behind her, only a few feet away now. Then a hand reached out of the darkness behind her and caught at her arm. Lori jerked away and the hand gripped her blouse. Instinctively, she screamed and struck at the hand as it yanked her backwards. The fingers loosened; she felt fabric tear as she twisted about. Suddenly she was free. She swung her bag as hard as she could with both hands gripping the strap. It struck something heavily and there was a muffled exclamation. And suddenly the voices from the room were louder; Clark's voice called, "Lori! Is that you?" A small hand light, dazzling to eyes adjusted to the pitch darkness, flashed over the scene. Lori caught a blurred glimpse of a dark shape that vanished quickly down the hallway. Clark's voice said, "Lori, are you all right?" "Clark!" Lori took another step forward, and felt his arms go around her. "He tried to grab me!" "Who tried to grab you?" Clark demanded. "I...I don't know. Someone was there. He tried to grab me in the dark." Clark trained the light on the dark hallway, but now nothing moved within the range of its beam. "Whoever it was is gone, now," Clark said. "Are you hurt?" "No...no. Just a little shaky." She didn't try to move away from the comforting circle of his arm. "Clark..." And at that instant the lights came back on, showing an empty hallway, and a crowd of people in the lounge beyond, all trying to shade their eyes from the sudden light. ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:50:33 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story Home III Memories 10/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 10 It was after midnight when they finally made it back to their room. Hotel Security invaded the area within minutes after Clark reported the attempted assault, and the mystery of the lights was explained, but not in a way that made Lori feel any better. The circuit breaker for the lights in that section of the building had been tripped. A hotel bellboy had found it and switched it back on. Lori huddled next to Clark wearing his jacket to cover her torn blouse while Hotel Security questioned her about the hallway incident. Clark acted as interpreter for them, one arm around her, unperturbed by the impression it created with observers. Lori could only be grateful. The thought that continued to run over and over in her mind was that someone had deliberately laid a trap for her. If not for Clark she had a pretty good idea what would have happened. When they finally allowed her to return to her room, Clark led her away without a word. "Do you think they believed me?" she asked. "Shh." Clark didn't loosen his grip. "Yes, I think they did. They just don't have enough facts yet." "Clark," she whispered, "why me?" "I don't know," he said. "Opportunity, maybe. But we can't rule out a more direct reason." "Someone cut off the lights," she said. "Why?" He guided her into the elevator. "Come on. You need to go to bed. You're worn out." "We still have to talk," Lori said. "We will. After you're in bed, I'll explain everything." ********** Lori crawled into bed, yawning widely, and pulled the blankets up. Outside the window, she could see the rain beating heavily across the glass, and lightning flickered every minute or two, followed by the rumbles of thunder heard faintly through the walls. She could hear the rush of running water through the bathroom door as Clark prepared for bed, and she smiled at the sounds. Clark had been there for her again when she needed him most, just as she had been there when he needed it this morning. It wasn't all one way, she reflected. If she hadn't seized control of the situation, Superman might have died. His secret would certainly have been exposed. Whatever he was worried about telling her, he was willing to abide by her decision. He had willingly handed all the power over to her. Lori relaxed back against the pillow to wait. ********** When Clark emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, he glanced at his roommate and sighed. It looked like their talk was going to be postponed again. Lori was sound asleep. The sheer fatigue of the day's events had caught up with her--not surprising, considering everything that had happened today, and the hour. It was almost one o'clock in the morning. Quietly, he slipped into his own bed and lay down. The lights went off obediently, and the window automatically frosted over. He would talk to her in the morning, he thought. He was pretty tired, himself. ********** When Lori woke the next morning, the first thing she saw was Clark. His blankets were kicked off and he was sleeping on his stomach, his face buried in the pillow. She sat up slowly and simply stared at her partner. In his sleeping shorts, Clark looked...wow. He was certainly worth looking at, that was for sure. Sure, she'd seen him in his skin-tight spandex suit, but this way...Lori swallowed and tore her eyes away. Muted light came through the window glass, which had cleared when she sat up, and Lori could see that the storm still raged. Raindrops beat against it like bullets, and she could see the palm trees tossing wildly in the wind. Well, it looked as if that tour of the city after today's presentations was out. The time readout on her wrist talker informed her it was just before seven. The first presentations started in an hour. Well, there was no reason Clark couldn't sleep while she showered. She selected a few items from her suitcase and, with a last look at Clark, she hurried into the bathroom. By the time she came out, fully dressed and combing her hair, he was awake. He looked at her guiltily. "Sorry I overslept." "That's okay. We've got about forty-five minutes until the conference starts." "I better hurry." He ran a hand over the stubble on his chin. "Good thing I thought to bring something along to shave with. I usually don't have to use them." "How *do* you shave?" she asked, curiously. "Heat vision," Clark said. "I bounce it off a mirror. I better get moving. This is going to take longer than usual." "There's no sign of your powers?" Lori asked. "No, not yet." Other than a minor mishap with the sonic razor, it took Clark twenty minutes to shower, shave and dress. They hurried down to breakfast with only a short time to spare. Lori settled on a glass of milk and a piece of fruit for a quick meal, and Clark chose a donut and juice. Lori briefly envied him his Kryptonian metabolism. In a few years, she was sure, her ability to eat whatever she wanted would undoubtedly disappear and she would have to fight to maintain her figure. Oh well... She wondered if a guy as obviously attractive as Clark would be interested in her if she got fat and developed white hair and wrinkles. She rather thought he would, judging by what he had said about his wife yesterday. Her appearance had apparently worried her before her death, but it hadn't made a difference to Clark. She wondered idly if the superheroes ever developed wrinkles or got fat. None of the ones she'd seen in person or on the vidscreen ever seemed to. Rhonda had looked about Clark's age, although she knew Ultra Woman had been around several years longer than Superman. She looked suddenly at Clark as he downed his donut and juice. Just how old was Clark, anyway? She'd looked up his journalistic history a while back; he had a formidable resume, and apparently the respect of the journalistic community, but she hadn't been able to find out much else. It was as if his personal history had been deliberately obscured. Just how fast did the supermen age? Was it as the same rate as regular humans? The question had never occurred to her before, but now that she'd thought of it, it seemed a reasonable question to ask. They were, after all, only part human. Clark glanced at his wrist talker. "Oops, we better hurry. The first presentation starts in about five minutes." Lori got up quickly, grabbing for her bag. "Let's go, then." They were nearly the last people to arrive at the hotel's Dolphin Room. They took seats in the rear of the room, and Lori caught sight of Margot Ryerson eyeing her speculatively. She smiled politely, but didn't approach. "What's the matter?" Clark asked. Honestly, the man seemed to read minds! "Is telepathy a Kryptonian talent?" she asked, softly. "You always seem to know!" "Only for some of us," Clark said, unexpectedly. "And only with other Kryptonians." "Really?" "Yes. And," he amended, "to a degree, with people who are very close to one of us. Why do you ask?" "You always know. Just don't leave me alone with Margot, please!" "Why?" Lori could feel her face turning pink at the memory. "She thinks you and I are--well, she thinks I convinced you to share my room because--and then, when the lights came back on last night, you had your arms around me, and Margot--" "Oh," Clark said. He grinned and ostentatiously lifted her hand to kiss the back of it, well within view of Margot. "We might as well give her something to think about. We'll never convince her that nothing's happened. It'll probably be good for both our reputations." She couldn't help laughing, in spite of her embarrassment. It was true; the thought of being in a position to do exactly what Margot had been implying last night was starting to appear more attractive--as long as it was with Clark. For Lori, unlike Marcy with her numerous boyfriends and her string of husbands, sex just for the sake of sex wasn't attractive. But with Clark, now... Remembering his seemingly uncanny ability to know what she was thinking, she determinedly turned her attention to the man now walking across the podium. It was starting to look as if trusting Clark to behave had never been the problem. Making her own libido behave, on the other hand--now that was another thing altogether. ********** The presentations went on for the next three hours. Clark's first presentation was scheduled for the afternoon session and the other for tomorrow morning. Lori was careful to record the speeches, though from what she heard, her first guess had been right; a lot of the presentations were just blather, but here and there was something worth preserving. When they broke for lunch, she dropped the recorder back in her purse, and the little rip in the seam caught her eye and she reminded herself to repair it as soon as possible. The hotel room had an emergency repair kit included with its other supplies. It would do until she got back to Metropolis. "Thinking about anything in particular?" Clark asked. They had strolled out into the hotel lobby with the rest of the crowd. Lori glanced at the big windows beside the entrance, from which they could see the rain pounding down on the pavement outside. "Not really," she said. "It's a shame this storm had to hit just now. It's really the first time I've been anywhere but the states--except for two hours in Baja California right after high school." Clark smiled. "I promise that I'll bring you back next week if you like. And maybe we can have dinner in Paris or somewhere else you choose. Will that help?" "That would be wonderful," she said. "And after the presentations are over for the afternoon we're *going* to talk if I have to hide us both in the cellar to keep from being interrupted. It's past time that you knew." "Knew what?" "All the dark secrets of my past," Clark said. "You have the right to know the whole truth." "You make it sound disreputable," she said lightly. "Well, not disreputable exactly, but not your ordinary history, either." "Nothing about you is ordinary, Clark...ohmigod, here comes Margot." Clark put a hand on her arm. "Steady there...hi, Margot." "Hello, Clark." Margot Ryerson's dark eyes were sparkling with curiosity. "So, how are you this morning, Lori?" "Much better," Lori said. The expression on the other woman's face, and the knowledge of what she obviously thought she knew, was the final straw. The little devil that controlled her sense of humor prodded her. Marcy could have warned Clark about this aspect of her younger sister's personality, but Marcy wasn't there. Lori threw caution to the winds. "I had a good night's sleep," she added. "We were both...tired." She sensed rather than saw Clark's dark eyebrows fly up, but she didn't look at him; instead she moved a little closer to him and felt his arm tighten slightly. "Clark was really wonderful about helping me feel better after all the things that happened last evening," she continued recklessly. Clark gave an odd-sounding cough. She stepped on his toe. "So," she continued, "did you enjoy Harold Bertie's speech?" "It was pretty good, actually," Margot said. The curiosity on her face had sharpened, and Lori fought the desire to giggle. "Were you going to have lunch?" "We were just on our way there, now," Clark said. "Lori wanted to see the town after lunch, but it looks like that's out of the question for the present." "Only if you want to come back looking like a drowned rat," Margot said, distastefully. "Why don't we all go in together? I wanted to ask you about what happened when the lights went out last night. The Hotel Security guys weren't talking." "I think they're waiting until they have some more information," Clark said. "Maybe," Margot grumped, "but I'm a reporter. What *did* happen last night?" "I'm not really sure, anymore," Lori said, untruthfully. "Besides, I don't want to think about it right now." "Well," Margot said, "maybe we could talk about it later when we can get together, just us girls. What do you think?" 'Not in this lifetime,' Lori thought. "Maybe." "Okay." Margot seemed to accept the answer, but Lori wasn't fooled. "By the way, I was wondering if you'd seen Pete Swanson this morning. He was supposed to be here yesterday, but I haven't seen him yet." "No, I haven't," Clark said. "Maybe one of us should go check on him. He might have gotten sick or something. What room is he in?" "I don't know. I guess we could ask at the desk." ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:52:44 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III Memories 11/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Home III Part 11 "He doesn't answer his page," Clark said, some time later. "Maybe we better go check and see if he's all right." "He could just be sleeping off a hangover," Margot said. "He hates flying," she added, for Lori's benefit. "He always ends up barely able to stagger off a shuttle." "Still, we better check." Clark turned and spoke to the desk clerk in rapid fire Spanish. Margot shook her head. "Wish I could handle foreign languages like Clark," she said, enviously. "I've never once seen him at a loss in all the time I've known him." "Clark's very good at languages," Lori said. "I'll say." Margot eyed Lori curiously. "Is he as good at other things?" "Clark's good at a lot of things," Lori said noncommittally, and firmly stifled the urge to laugh at the flicker of annoyance that crossed Margot's face. The desk clerk was speaking rapidly, first to Clark and then to a bellboy. A moment later, the bellboy headed for the elevator with the three of them trailing along. Pete Swanson's room was on the second floor, but instead of turning into the hall where Clark and Lori's room was located, the bellboy turned left toward another hallway. Halfway down it they stopped, where a "Do Not Disturb" sign hung prominently on the knob. Clark and Lori looked at each other. "I hope we're not disturbing him too much," Clark murmured. "Me, too, but no one's seen him since he got here," Margot said. "If there's something wrong and we don't find out..." She let the sentence trail off. "Senor Swanson?" the hotel employee called. No one answered. The young man frowned and called out again. Still no one answered. This time the bellboy knocked sharply No sound from beyond the door. Another knock. Silence. Without further ado, the man produced an electronic key and unlocked the door. "Senor Swanson?" he inquired, opening the panel a crack. No answer. The bellboy cautiously opened the door wider. The bed was visible from the door. It was neatly made and a pair of suitcases sat next to the bathroom door. Other than that, there was no sign of occupancy. Still, the suitcases were monogrammed with an "S" and when they checked the bathroom, Lori could see a sonic razor sitting on the counter. Pete Swanson had been here, it seemed, and wasn't here now. "I guess he must be all right," Margot said, sounding relieved. "I guess I just missed him. He'll probably show up after awhile." "Just one of those things," Clark said. He turned to thank the bellboy, who nodded and spoke back in the same language. Lori stood in the center of the room, looking around. She didn't know what it was about the situation, but something struck her as wrong about this room. The neat suitcases sitting there--a piece of cloth was sticking out of one as if it had been closed and left that way. That wasn't an unusual thing. Many people left their clothing in a suitcase upon arrival at a hotel. Only, that looked like the material for the jacket or slacks of a dress suit. Wouldn't a man who expected to wear such a suit to a formal dinner at least hang it up to avoid wrinkles? Lori crossed the room almost on automatic pilot and knelt, fingering the material. "Clark..." "What's the matter?" "Why would a man cram a dress suit into a suitcase like this?" "What? Oh." Clark also crossed the room, Margot on his heels, followed quickly by the bellboy. He also knelt to examine the material, then, without a word he unsnapped the catches of the case. The suit had been rolled up carelessly and thrust into the suitcase. Lori stared at it. "Nobody packs formal clothes like that." "It looks like it was yanked off a hangar and just shoved in here," Margot said. Lori stood up, a horrifying idea suddenly crystallizing in her mind. The hotel closets weren't large; they barely had room for more than four or five hanging items at a time, with no room to spare. Considering the hotel room's need for space, it was reasonable. But what if the reason the suit had been removed from the closet was to make room for something else? Lori turned and hurried to the tiny closet. With a quick move, before she could change her mind, she yanked the door open. She was expecting something, what she wasn't sure, but because of it, she was able to confine the scream that tried to rise in her throat to an odd-sounding yelp. Crammed tightly into the tiny closet was a short, balding man who looked horribly familiar to Lori. He was the man she had seen in the restaurant the night before, and he was quite dead. ********** Clark knelt beside the body of the man he had met briefly in the bar last night, careful not to touch anything. A shadow fell across him, and he glanced over his shoulder. "You're blocking my light, Margot. Could you move back a little, please?" Reluctantly the woman edged back a few inches. Clark examined the dead man visually. "It looks as if he was stabbed." "No kidding," Margot said, sarcastically. "I can see that for myself." Behind them, Clark could hear the bellboy at the vidphone, speaking almost hysterically to someone. Lori simply stood back, watching without a word, her face a peculiar shade of light green. His partner might be an investigative journalist, he reminded himself, but she was new to the business. She had probably never seen a dead man anywhere but on the vidscreen before, certainly not one who had been brutally murdered. He had seen far too many, but the fact didn't make it any easier. He got to his feet again, still careful not to contaminate the crime scene by touching anything, and moved over to her. "Lori, I think you better sit down." She didn't object when he pushed her gently into one of the room's armchairs. "Are you okay?" She took a couple of deep breaths and nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay." "Good. Just stay where you are for a few minutes, all right?" She nodded jerkily. "Is he...your friend?" "No," Clark said. "His name is Tom Myers, but that's all I know. I met him for about two minutes at the bar last night." "I saw...I saw him, too," Lori whispered. "He was just standing near our table. Then he went down the hall toward the restrooms and I didn't see him after that. But why should he be in the closet of your friend's room?" "That," Clark said, "is the million dollar question." "Then where is your friend?" "That's another one." Clark sat down on the arm of the chair and reached out to take her hand. "We'll find out, Lori." He glanced at Margot and the bellboy. "Hotel Security should be here in a minute. How did you guess about the closet?" She gulped, looking distinctly green. "I didn't. It just seemed like there had to be a reason the suit wasn't hanging in the closet, so I looked to see why." "Good old common sense," Margot said. "You've got a smart partner, Clark." "I know." He squeezed Lori's hand reassuringly. "I've got an incredible partner." Margot's eyes narrowed slightly and then widened. "Well, well," she said, after a short pause. "That explains a lot." She looked cryptically at Lori. "Now I'm really envious, sweetie." "Not now, Margot," Clark said. "We've got bigger problems here." "That's for sure. Where are those Security people?" "I'm sure they'll be here in a minute. I better call the front desk and have them tell whoever's handling the scheduling that I may be late for my presentation." ********** The wind whipping through the streets of town was too violent even for the police to make it to the hotel. The weather services reported that the storm was just sitting off the coast, spinning. It had been upgraded to a category one hurricane, and Alta Mesa was catching the edges of it. Clark and Lori were the last of the four to leave the Security Office, two hours later. They had spoken to a Homicide detective over the vidphone, and he had interviewed all four of them, one at a time. The interview--except for Clark's and the bellboy's, of course--had been hampered by the official's limited command of English, and Lori's almost nonexistent Spanish. Margot spoke the language haltingly, but they had waited until an interpreter, a young policewoman, had been summoned, as the man had wanted to hear Lori's version of events without Clark acting as intermediary. Since all four persons who had found Tom Myers' body told essentially the same story, it wasn't very helpful to the detective who had apparently been put in charge of the case. "Did you overhear anything about what they plan to do until the police can get here?" Lori asked. "Yeah. My hearing seems to be improving. My powers may be starting to come back," he said. "They're going to start searching for Pete Swanson. He checked into the hotel--I saw his signature and photo on the hotel register page that the desk clerk called up before we went up to his room. It was his, all right, so he got here. What happened to him after that is another question, but if he's here anywhere, he can't leave even if he wants to. Even the police are stuck while it's blowing so hard." "Do you think he would have killed Myers?" Clark hesitated a long moment, obviously considering the question seriously. "Unless he's changed a lot from the man I used to know, no, he wouldn't. The Pete Swanson I knew wouldn't hurt a fly." "Could something have happened to him, too?" Clark smiled wryly. "Who's the telepath here?" he asked. "I've been thinking the same thing." He glanced at his wrist talker. "I've got that presentation in a few minutes. Look, if we've still got communications we can try hooking into the Queenstown Courier. His picture is always next to his byline. I'd like to do a little checking around, too. Maybe someone saw him last night, even if Margot didn't. And while we're at it, maybe we can dig up some background on Mr. Myers. When we talked, he told me he was from New York and that he worked for Mechtel Corporation." "Queenstown?" Lori asked curiously. "Where's that?" "New Zealand. Pete's a second generation New Zealander. Awfully nice guy; he just has this problem with flying in shuttles. I couldn't exactly blame him." "Oh," Lori said. "All right; it's a good idea. I'd rather be doing something than just sitting around waiting. If they don't figure out who killed him before long, we could be stuck here." "Well, they haven't charged us with anything," Clark said. "Unless they tell us we can't, there's no reason we can't go home on Monday. Still, I'd rather be doing something, too." He paused for a moment, thinking. "When you saw Myers last night, what was he doing? You said before that he was just standing near our table." "Yeah. He seemed to be watching the entrance to the restaurant. I looked, too, but I didn't see anything unusual." She frowned, obviously making an effort of memory. "Only earlier, something did happen." "What?" "Not much, actually. It just struck me as a little odd. You and I were sitting at the table, reading our menus, and I happened to look at the doorway. There was somebody standing there. I couldn't see him very well, but for some reason, he looked familiar just for a second. It was the strangest feeling of déjà vu." "Did you see his face?" "No. He was standing by that big, leafy tropical plant next to the door. I just had the funniest feeling that he was watching me. Imagination, I guess." "Not necessarily," Clark said. "Remember what happened to you a few hours later. It could be that whoever it was *was* following you." Lori shivered. "Do you really think he could have been?" "Maybe. Or it could be connected to this murder. Myers was in the bar when I talked to him, but he could have gone in to dinner before you saw him." "Do you suppose there could be a connection?" Lori asked. "Maybe we've got a psychopathic killer on our hands." "Mmmm..." Clark didn't sound convinced. "Maybe. I guess it's possible, but it's too soon to be making guesses. Let's do some digging and see what we turn up. I have the feeling that there's a lot more to this than meets the eye." "So do I," Lori said. "And don't go off alone into deserted areas, okay? After what happened last night, I don't want to risk something happening to you. If it wasn't related to this business, good, but I don't like coincidences." ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:56:09 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III Memories 12/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 12 Clark's presentation was received with more enthusiasm than many of the previous ones had been, at least in Lori's opinion. It had actually been interesting and occasionally humorous. In the meantime, with her portable computer braced firmly in her lap, she connected with the Queenstown Courier, searched out a photo of Pete Swanson and downloaded it into her own computer. Finished with that, she contacted Personnel for Mechtel Corporation, looking for Thomas Myers in New York City. When Clark concluded his presentation accompanied by modest applause he left the podium and hurried straight to Lori where she sat, by special request, in the front row. She looked up from her computer. "Nice job, partner." "Thanks. Did you come up with anything?" Lori glanced around. "Let's get out of here and I'll tell you." They made their way out of the Dolphin Room, and Clark glanced at his wrist talker. "I just thought of something. The only thing I've had to eat today was a donut and a glass of juice. It's past three. Why don't we grab a light snack of something while we talk?" Lori's stomach grumbled at the thought of food. When they'd found the body of Tom Myers it had effectively killed any appetite she'd had at the time, but that was now over four hours ago. "I could use a sandwich or something," she admitted. "Okay. Let's go." At Clark's request, they were soon seated in a booth in the far corner of the restaurant's coffee shop, and a young woman took their orders for light afternoon snacks. While they waited, Lori set her computer on the table, pulled up the picture of Pete Swanson and turned the screen so Clark could see it. "Luckily for us, the storm hasn't affected our communications yet," she said. "Will this do?" "Can you enlarge it a bit?" Clark asked. Lori turned the computer back and worked on the picture for a moment, then turned it back. "This is the best I can manage. I'll lose resolution if I make it any bigger." Clark examined it. "I think it's adequate. You didn't have the best picture to start with. We'll need hard copies." "No problem." Within a few moments, she had produced them. Clark took his and looked it over critically. "Nice job. Any luck on Thomas Myers?" "No," Lori said, "but what I *didn't* find is almost as instructive. There's a Thomas Meyerson who works at Mechtel in New York, but no Thomas Myers. I tried every possible spelling of his name. Meyerson's picture doesn't look anything like our victim, either; I checked. So, who is Myers, and where did he really come from?" "Good question," Clark said, thoughtfully. "I contacted Research at the Planet and sent them the information we had. They're going to make some inquiries. Myers had to have gotten here via shuttle. Where and when did he book a flight, for instance, and who paid for it? If he used a credit account, maybe we can trace him from that." "Smart," Clark said. He glanced around. "Uh-oh. Here comes Margot. Watch it. She's a barracuda when she's on the trail of a story." Lori turned off her computer and set it on the floor beside her. "Hi, Margot." "Hi." Margot glanced curiously at the computer, then at the pictures of Pete Swanson. "Find anything?" "No," Clark said. "We thought we'd ask around and see if any hotel employees or other guests might have seen Pete since last night." "Not a bad idea," Margot said. "He checked in about half an hour before I did, according to the desk clerk, and I got here a little while before you. We'd planned to get together last evening," she added. "He and I have been working on a story about an international ring of jewel thieves that's been operating for about ten years or so--at least that's how long Interpol's been after them." She picked up a chair from a nearby table, sat casually down across from Clark and grinned suddenly at his stunned expression. "I wouldn't be telling you this, Kent, but I know you don't steal stories, and I'm worried about Pete. "Anyway, recently some pieces that were stolen in California turned up in New Zealand, and a local dealer was arrested in connection with the ring. It was the first big break in the case, and that's where Pete got involved. I was on the California end, and Pete was following it from his, and we were going to get together here and compare some of our notes. He never called me after I got here, and he never answered his phone. At first, I figured he was just drunk, but this morning I started to get worried." "I think I remember reading about the jewel thing," Lori said. "We were in the middle of the Mayflower investigation at the time, though." Clark nodded agreement. "Lori, can you whip me up another picture of Pete?" He handed his picture to Margot. "Here, you take this one, and we'll ask around as soon as we've had something to eat." ********** "Sure," the bartender said, examining the paper Lori had handed him. "I remember this guy." The bartender was a tall, broad, muscular man with the unlikely name of Angelo MacGregor. Not only that, but he didn't look in the least Scottish. His face shape, brown skin and slightly Asian eyes suggested ancestry possibly from the Philippines or that same general corner of the world. He not only spoke perfect English; he spoke it with an unmistakable Brooklyn accent. "What time was that?" Lori asked. "He was here about five-thirty, with some other guy," MacGregor said. "I didn't think he ought to be drinking, because he'd already had a couple too many from what I could tell. He was staying here at the hotel, though, and his friend said he was just going back to his room, so nobody saw any real harm in it." "What did the friend look like?" Lori asked. MacGregor handed the paper back to her. "I didn't notice him in particular, Ms. Lyons. He was a little skinny guy; that's all I remember." "Do you remember how he was dressed or anything?" The man shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Just like everybody else, or I would have noticed." "Okay," Lori said. "Thanks. You've been a lot of help. I don't suppose you noticed when they left or where they went?" "They left just before happy hour started at six. They went out toward the lobby, I think, and I didn't see them again after that," MacGregor said. Lori folded the paper and stuck it into her purse. "I really appreciate this, Angelo. If you remember anything else, Mr. Kent and I will be around until Monday morning at least." "Sure." MacGregor frowned. "I heard about the body you guys found upstairs. That must have been bad." "That's one way of putting it," Lori said, drily. "Yeah. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you know." ********** "So, the only person who saw him after he checked into his room was Angelo," Clark said. "Nobody saw him after that. I talked to the housekeeping staff. Room Service delivered a meal to the room last night, and Housekeeping made up the bed this morning. The maid said the room looked okay at the time. Of course, she didn't check the closet." "Then he was there last evening, and slept in his bed," Lori said. "Unless..." "Unless what?" "Unless it was someone else." "What?" Clark glanced at the lounge door, as there was a smash of breaking glass in the bar beyond. Happy hour was in full swing, and someone had dropped a tray of drinks. "What do you mean 'someone else'?" "Well, he went out with this 'little skinny guy' and nobody ever saw him again," Lori said. "I know this is a stretch, but what if the 'skinny guy' did something with him and took his place? What if he's our killer?" "Why would he take Pete's place?" Clark asked, trying to follow her logic. "I don't know. Unless he needed to be here in the hotel for something." "I'm not sure I understand," Clark said. Lori shook her head. "Neither am I, but it makes a weird kind of sense. Look, for the argument, let's say he needed to be here for something, but there were no rooms, right?" "Right." "Okay, whatever this hypothetical reason is, it's life or death to him. So, he gets a guy who's already tipsy into a bar and makes sure he has another drink or two. Then he takes him outside, where the storm is already starting to blow stuff around and hits him over the head or stabs him or something, leaves him in an alley someplace and takes his keys. How's that for a scenario?" Clark looked at her in awe. At times like this Lori's reasoning was exactly like Lois's had been. She made leaps of logic that seemed to make no sense, and yet more often than not turned out to be right. It had to be something that was part of her persona, that went with her from life to life, one of the things that was part of *her*. Okay then, it was time to trust her instinct. "If that's what he did, he doesn't have the room to hide in anymore," Clark said. "And why would he kill Myers?" Lori was looking thoughtful. "Clark, here's another really wild idea. Myers didn't work for the people he said he worked for. What if it was a cover story? What if he was after our killer and the guy caught him by surprise?" "You mean like a cop?" "Maybe, or a detective, or something." "But he hadn't killed anyone, yet." "We don't know that, and even if he hadn't, maybe there was some other reason a law officer was after him." Clark thought it over and nodded. "Okay, assuming you're correct, we need to try to confirm who Myers really was. See if Research has had any luck with the shuttle companies that had flights into Alta Vista on Friday. I already found out from the manager that he checked in yesterday, so we can probably assume that he arrived here then, too." Lori grinned. "On it, Boss. And, in case the company won't give it out, let's ask Rhonda if she can get Oliver to get it for us. Do you think he would?" Clark couldn't help laughing. Lori had realized pretty fast, that Rhonda could get Oliver to do just about anything she asked if she had a good reason for it. She might not know that Police Inspector Oliver Brent was Rhonda's oldest son, the only child who hadn't inherited his mother's super powers, but she had figured out the rest. "Good idea. They'll probably do things for an officer of the law that they won't do for a news service. Let's get on it." "Any sign of your powers coming back yet?" Lori asked. He shook his head. "My hearing is starting to pick up, like I told you before, but so far nothing else. It would be useful if they would, too. We could really use them right now." "That's for sure," Lori said. "Oh, and while you're doing that, I'm going to check with the local hospital to see if Pete might have been admitted as a John Doe. If he was mugged by 'the little skinny guy'..." He paused and added, quietly, "And, of course, I'll have to check the city morgue." ********** Calls to both local hospitals and the morgue turned up no unidentified men matching the picture that Clark sent them. Research had been unable to worm the information out of the shuttle companies. Clark contacted Rhonda Klein and explained the problem. She promised to contact Oliver at once and reply to them as soon as possible. Margot Ryerson entered the lounge while Clark was speaking on the vidphone, his privacy screen on. She raised an eyebrow at Lori. "What's going on?" "Clark's talking to a friend of ours with some connections," Lori said. "We're trying to get some information from the shuttle companies about their passenger list." In spite of the fact that Margot was Clark's friend--or at least a friendly rival, she amended--her reporter's instinct told her not to give away too much to anyone she didn't really know. "Oh? Why?" "Myers wasn't who he said he was," Lori said. "We're trying to figure out where he really came from and who he really was." "Any ideas?" Margot asked. Lori shrugged. "Guesses, that's all." She rubbed her face. "I've got a headache." Clark shut off the phone. "Come on, Lori, let's go get some dinner. It's been a rough day. I think it's time you had a chance to relax." Margot followed them out and headed for the bar. Happy hour was winding down, and people were drifting toward the restaurant. Clark guided her through the bar without pausing, one hand lightly on the small of her back, and Lori glanced up at him, mildly pleased at the gesture. "A little time to relax sounds nice. I just hope it's not followed by a bomb threat or something. We've had everything else, so far." Clark made a face. "Don't even think about it." "Maybe I should knock on wood," she said. "I didn't really think of conventions being like this." "They usually aren't," Clark said. "I've been to a lot of them, and there's never been a murder at one before that I can remember. We did have an earthquake once, when I was in Istanbul, but it was only a little one." Lori found herself giggling. Clark's sense of humor was certainly offbeat at times, but he knew how to take the tension out of a situation, even if only for a little while. A short time later, they were seated in the same corner of the restaurant they had been in the night before, and Clark spoke quietly in Spanish to the hostess. The woman nodded and departed. Lori directed Clark's attention to the doorway. "The man last night was standing next to that plant," she said. "You can see why I couldn't see his face." "Too many shadows," Clark agreed. "Low lighting may be romantic, but it's definitely inconvenient for making out fine detail. Don't worry about it for now, though. There isn't much we can do until Rhonda gets back to us anyway. Do you know what you want to eat?" A waiter appeared beside them, set two wineglasses on the table and presented a bottle to Clark for his inspection. He examined it and nodded. Lori watched in bemusement as Clark and the waiter engaged in the time-honored ritual that Lori had seen only a few times in fine restaurants before Clark solemnly approved the vintage, and the man filled their glasses. "What's going on?" Lori asked. Clark smiled. "Does anything have to be going on just because I want to treat my best friend to a nice dinner?" She glanced uncertainly at him. Clark lifted his glass. "To friends." She touched the rim of her glass to his and sipped the wine. He eyes widened. "This is really good!" "It's a favorite of mine," Clark said. "I thought it was appropriate for tonight." "Why?" He smiled. "Here comes our waiter. Have you decided?" ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 10:58:42 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III Memories 13/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 13 Clark deliberately kept the conversation light while they waited for their dinner. Soft music played in the background, and he watched as his partner relaxed under the influence of the low lights, wine and music. Lori had been on edge ever since her discovery of the body in Pete Swanson's room this morning. If they were going to have the time to talk a little later, he didn't want her so keyed up that she reacted badly to what he had to tell her. "Hi buddy! Long time no see!" Clark glanced up in mild irritation at the sound of the brash, cheerful voice. He saw Lori wince. The owner of the voice, Rob Braddock, had been a friendly rival of his for some years when he had lived in Europe. Rob was a free lance investigative journalist like he had been until recently. Clark made introductions. "Lori, this is Rob Braddock. Rob, my partner at the Daily Planet, Lori Lyons." "Oh, yeah. Somebody said you'd gone to work at the Planet. Getting tired of free-lancing, huh?" "Something like that." "I heard the two of you stumbled over a big story this morning..." "Rob," Clark said, "we've had a rough day. I'd rather not talk shop right now." "Don't blame you. What happened to Pat? His name is on the schedule for tomorrow." "Pat wound up in the hospital at the last minute," Clark said. "My editor assigned Ms. Lyons in his place." Rob grinned. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Lyons." Lori nodded and smiled mechanically at him. Clark said hastily, "Rob, we'll talk after dinner, okay? Lori and I need a little decompression time." "Sure." Rob glanced at Lori and then back at Clark's face and suddenly seemed to catch on. "See you later, Clark." After Rob had gone, Clark glanced at his partner. "After dinner, let's not hang around, okay? I'd just like to go back to our room and talk." This time the smile was genuine. "I'd like that." She looked past him. "I think this is it coming now." Dinner was, for once, undisturbed. When they finished, the waiter brought Lori a decadent chocolate confection that made her eyes light up. When the man had set it in front of her and departed, she looked at Clark with a smile. "Was this your idea?" "Of course," Clark said. "You looked as if you needed it." "I did. You must have read my mind. You didn't did you?" He shook his head. "We don't read each others' minds much. It's not easy, and it's considered rude. And I couldn't read yours if I wanted to. When one of us is very close to someone else we can sometimes tell strong emotions, but that's all. You'll never have to worry about your mind's privacy from me, Lori." "Can you tell my emotions?" "Sometimes. When Gossett had you prisoner, I could tell you were afraid and in pain, but I couldn't communicate with you. I was able to tell direction, though, if not your exact location. That's why Rhonda and I arrived so quickly when you signaled. We were already on our way." "Oh. I didn't think of that." "I know. You weren't in any condition to do much thinking by the time we got there." He looked sober. "I came awfully close to giving him a taste of his own medicine. The only reason I didn't was that I knew what you'd think of me if I did. It was one of the few times I've ever come that close to doing something I'd regret." She reached across the table and put her hand on top of his clenched one. "I'm glad my opinion means that much to you. I'm not sure I'm worth it." For a second she saw a spark of anger in his eyes. "Don't ever say that, Lori. You're worth more to me than you have any idea of. I just wish you'd stop undervaluing yourself." He turned his hand over and slipped it around hers. "I know you think your sister is prettier than you are, and that your mom told you that you talk too much when you're nervous, as well as a lot of other things, most of them not true. Brad and I had a conversation about it the day after we caught Gossett and his goons. I want to tell you something. In my opinion, your sister doesn't hold a candle to you, and I like the way you talk when you get nervous. There isn't anything I don't like about you, except your habit of putting yourself down. Nobody puts down the woman I love." Lori was staring at him, wide-eyed. "Clark..." She gulped, and even in the dim light, he could see her blinking back tears. "I've never heard anything so beautiful in my life." Again she gulped and gave a watery smile. "I guess love really is blind." "Maybe." He released her hand. "Go ahead and eat that thing. I want to have that talk before something else happens." ********** They left the restaurant ten minutes later and made their way through the lobby toward the elevator. Lori looked at the grim expression on Clark's face and remembered what she had discovered a few days ago in Metropolis. Clark was about to do something that frightened him badly. He was going to tell her...something, and whatever it was he was afraid it would drive her away from him. That took courage and character; whatever he intended to tell her could, at least in his estimation, cost him something he had already made plain was precious to him--and yet he was going ahead with it because he felt it was necessary to be fair to her. Her welfare was more important than his own. Lori wasn't sure she wanted to hear it. Was it so important that she know whatever this awful secret was if it made her change her mind about him? Clark glanced down at her and gave her a tight smile. "I thought this would be so simple," he said. "It's as hard as it was the first time." "The first time?" Lori asked. "Yeah." They came to a stop before the elevator and paused. "When I decided to explain the fact that I led a double life to..." He broke off as the elevator doors slid open and two persons emerged and headed toward the restaurant. Clark and Lori boarded. "Second floor," Clark said. "Your wife," Lori said. "Yes, my wife." Clark smiled a little sadly. "It turned out that I was interrupted and she found out on her own. She was furious that I'd kept it from her for two years. She felt I'd made a fool of her; I think she was as angry with herself as she was at me, and she was as afraid of making a commitment as she was angry. Eventually we straightened it all out, though, and we were married." "But I already know," Lori said. "I wasn't angry." "It's not the same secret," Clark said. "You know the first part--the fact that I'm, well, you know. The second part is a little harder to explain, but I can't let things go any farther without you knowing all of it." The elevator braked to a halt on the second floor and they headed straight for their room. Clark opened the door with their electronic key, gestured Lori through and quietly hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. "I don't care what people think," he said. "This time we're going to talk without interruptions." Lori shrugged. "I don't care what they think, either. Everyone already thinks I'm sleeping with you. Most of the women and according to Margot at least two men are jealous. Besides, the only person who would care is my mom, and she's not here." Clark smiled fractionally. "Good attitude. Lori, before we go any farther, I'd like you to remember that I'm not asking anything of you. If you feel like you can't handle this, you have every right to walk away, but I hope we can still be friends. If I have to, I can live with that." "Clark--" "But before you make any decision, pro or con, I'd like you to take at least a day to think over whatever choice you're going to make. I don't want you to ever be sorry you didn't make the other." "Clark, you're scaring me. Nothing can be that bad." "I hope not." He sat down on his bed and folded his hands in his lap. Lori sat down on her own bed, facing him. "You know I'm different from an ordinary human in several obvious ways." "Well, sure." "Well, there are several differences that aren't obvious. One in particular is what I'm worried about. How much difference can you live with?" "What do you mean?" She frowned, trying to understand what he meant. "You're not saying that--physically--I mean, you look like a man." "Huh?" Clark looked startled. "Oh, no. That's not it. Physically I look the same as any other guy." Lori ducked her head. "Sorry. I thought you meant..." "Lori, we Kryptonians have had children with human men and women. We look exactly the same as humans. But, besides our powers there's one big difference." He stopped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's our molecular structure." "What?" "Our molecular structure is dense. It slows the aging process to a crawl. I'm older than I look--a lot older." "How much older?" she whispered. "Physically, I'm what you see--a man of about twenty-nine or thirty. Lori, I'm Superman, but what you didn't know is that I'm not just a Superman. There's only ever been one--the original. I'm the Clark Kent who came to Earth from Krypton as a baby--in the year 1966." ********** For long minutes after he had finished speaking, Lori was absolutely silent. The silence stretched out for what seemed forever. Her face had lost color, but her expression was impossible to read, even for him. He had to fight the urge to reach out and take her hands, to beg her to say something, but he forced himself to remain silent until his nerves had stretched so thin he was sure they would snap. "Are you angry with me?" he whispered. She looked slowly down at the hands she had clasped tightly in her lap, then slowly up again to his face. "No." The word was almost inaudible, and dismayed, he saw tears gathering in her eyes. "No. I wondered...but I didn't expect this." "Lori, please don't cry. I can't stand to see you cry." "Why did you fall in love with me, Clark?" she whispered. "My parents--my grandparents--were children when you were grown and married...even had children of your own. You're so far beyond me..." "Lori, I'm not. I'm just a man who has the same hopes, dreams and feelings as any other man--including love." He reached out hesitantly to touch her hand, but she didn't pull away, and he took the hand in his. "'Why' isn't something I can answer. It just is." A tear rolled down her cheek. "Your wife was Lois Lane, wasn't she? That's *your* picture at the Planet." He nodded. "I missed her every day for over twenty years--until I met you." "You'll outlive me, too, Clark." "Maybe," Clark said, gently. "And maybe not." He was holding both her hands now. "Lori, I nearly died yesterday morning. It's because of you that I didn't. My entire family owes it to you that our secret wasn't revealed for the whole world to see, and all our lives ruined. I don't know what will happen tomorrow; none of us does, no matter who we are or how long we *expect* to live. However many years we have, I want to spend them with you, if you'll have me. I don't want to waste them." He felt her hands tighten slightly in his. "The number of years doesn't matter anyway, because they don't exist. All anyone ever has is *now*." "It isn't fair," she said in a small voice. "I was going to get my career started, get myself established, and *then* maybe make time for marriage and a family. I never expected to fall in love with you." His heart jumped but he kept his voice level. "Does that mean you'll consider it?" "I can't *not* consider it," she said. Her voice broke and she began to cry in earnest. "Darn it, Clark! Why did I have to fall in love with you?" He moved over to sit next to her. "I'm sorry, Lori." She didn't answer. Hesitantly, he put out his arms and pulled her to him. She didn't resist. He held her and stroked her hair while her tears soaked his shirt, until the emotional storm blew itself out. When the tears had subsided to an occasional sniffle and hiccup, he spoke again. "Lori," he said quietly, "you don't have to make any decision now. Take as long as you need to work it out for yourself. I'll wait. I don't want you to ever regret anything you decide to do." She nodded against his shoulder. "But," Clark said softly, "if you do decide you'll have me, I promise you I'll never stop loving you, and I'll never leave you for as long as both of us live, unless you throw me out." "I know." Her voice was muffled. "You're a good man, Clark." She moved to free herself and he let her go at once. "Okay now?" "Well, maybe not okay, but better." She gave him a shaky smile, and rose to her feet. "I need to wash my face. Thank you, Clark." "For what?" "For telling me the truth. I need time to think; you were right about that, but I promise that whatever happens, I'll never stop being your friend." "I appreciate that." He subdued the desire to drop to his knees and beg her to make a decision in his favor right now. It was *her* welfare that mattered; he had to remember that, but he couldn't help the fear that gripped him at the thought that she might decide against him. ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 11:00:49 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story Home III Memories 14/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 14 Lori splashed cold water on her face, then soaked a washrag in cold water and held it across her eyes. She really looked horrible right now, and she didn't want anyone to see her like this. Her sister and mother had always emphasized physical appearance in a woman; her mother had been a strikingly attractive woman in her twenties and thirties, and even now in her late fifties, she still turned heads. Marcy took after her. Lori and Brad resembled their father, with their dark hair and brown eyes, a point frequently deprecated by Mariann Lyons. She didn't want Clark or anyone to see her looking this way with her eyes red and swollen and her nose running. Clark. What was she going to do? Clark was Superman, the man from Krypton who had started the whole line of supermen. Every one of them was his descendent. He was the legendary Kal-El, the most honored of all the superheroes, who had fought his own people to save the Earth when the New Kryptonians had invaded a century ago. The story of that invasion was in the history books. When Superman had disappeared fifty years before, everyone had assumed that their hero was dead, and an enormous memorial had been erected in Metropolis to honor him. But he wasn't dead--he was sitting in their hotel room waiting for her to come back out. Why on Earth did he want *her*? And more importantly, how could she possibly live up to the standard of the woman who had been the mother of the new race of Kryptonian/humans whose avowed mission was to protect humanity? And yet, for some reason, he did want her, and wanted her badly. She had seen the fear in his face when she walked away from him a few moments ago. Clark loved her, and she loved him, in spite of all the reasons it shouldn't have happened. The question was, could she live up to the challenge of being Superman's wife? No, not Superman's wife, Clark Kent's. He was Clark first; he had made that abundantly clear. Superman was his way of being able to help, of using his incredible abilities without sacrificing his private life to public scrutiny every minute of every day. Lori found herself staring into the mirror at her reddened eyes, and remembering what he had said to her earlier in the evening. "There isn't anything I don't like about you except your habit of putting yourself down." For some reason, to him she was something special and unique. No one had ever made her feel that way before; even Brad hadn't gone so far as to say the things Clark had--after all, he was her brother, not the man who loved her and wanted to marry her. That was obviously Clark's intent. But was it a role she could fill? Was it something she even wanted? There was a light knocking on the door. Clark's voice said, "Lori? Are you all right in there?" She'd been in here for twenty minutes, she realized in surprise. "I'm all right, Clark." Her voice was steady, in spite of the knot that clenched in her stomach. She was going to have to go out and face him sometime--she wasn't going to make any life altering decision in here, that was for sure. "Let me just fix my makeup and I'll be right out." ********** When she emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, she looked almost fearfully at him, but he hadn't changed. He didn't look like the demi-god who had been portrayed in the history books that she had read in school. He looked like Clark, a nice, ordinary (although incredibly good-looking, a sneaking corner of her mind interjected)--man who at the moment appeared very worried. "Are you all right?" he asked again. She nodded. "I'm all right, Clark. Are you?" "Me? Sure." It was a lie. Clark didn't lie very well, and that was definitely one. She examined his face, seeing the lines of tension there, and her heart melted. Clark was as upset as she was, but he was determined not to pressure her. This might be the godlike Superman, but it was also Clark who had become her best friend, who had saved her life at least two or three times in the last six months, and who was putting her welfare ahead of his own no matter what it cost him. Certainly, he deserved some consideration. "Clark, I think we should just go about our business like we were doing before," she said, suddenly. "We don't need to sit up here being uncomfortable with each other. I'll think a lot more clearly after I've had a while to digest all this, anyway. Let's go downstairs, talk to your friends and try to relax. What do you think?" He gave a slight smile. "I think that's probably a good plan. Let's go." ********** Quite a number of the journalists had gathered in the bar since they had been upstairs. Lori saw Margot eyeing her knowingly, and was surprised to find that it didn't bother her in the least. Let Margot think what she wished. It wasn't important beside the momentous decision that faced Lori. She let Clark get her a non-alcoholic drink and sipped it as he introduced her to journalists she had not met the night before, and exchanged small talk with them. Angelo, the bartender, and two of his assistants were busy serving drinks; she didn't envy him his job, she thought. On the other hand, he seemed to enjoy conversing with his customers and she had found him to be a friendly and gregarious person when she had spoken to him earlier, so maybe this was the kind of job he enjoyed. Tending bar in a nice hotel, after all, must be far superior to the same position in some of the seedier sections of Metropolis. "Ms. Lyons?" It was one of the young women carrying a tray of drinks. "Angelo asked me to tell you he remembered something else. Would you go to the bar, please?" "Sure." Lori excused herself to Clark and crossed the room to where the bartender was pouring a drink for a customer. The man nodded to her. "I'll be right with you," he said. He turned and filled a beer mug, set it in front of a tall, lanky man, collected the money and turned his station over to an assistant. He beckoned Lori over to the end of the bar. "I've been thinking about the little skinny guy," he said, "trying to remember something about him, like you asked. There wasn't a whole lot--he was one of those people who kind of fade into the background, you know? He was barely taller than you, though, a little prissy kind of guy, maybe sixty or so. That's mostly what I remember about him." "Do you remember any particular features or anything?" Lori asked. "Any scars, eye color, anything?" Angelo squinted into the distance, obviously making a real effort to recall. "I'm not sure; he kept his face down mostly, but I think his eyes were blue. I don't remember any scars, though. I'm sorry I can't help any more than that." Lori shook her head. "Don't be. That's more than we had before. Thanks." "Don't mention it." Angelo's smile flashed. "Glad I could help." Lori glanced around the room. Clark was standing in a corner speaking to Rob. The information could wait, she thought. Nothing was going to happen in the next few minutes. She glanced around, looking for a place to sit down where she could think in private. There was an empty booth in the far corner, and she made her way quietly toward it. She slid into the seat, making herself as inconspicuous as possible and sat back, watching her partner from a distance. He stood in a circle of men and women who were laughing and talking, but he wasn't laughing. He smiled occasionally, but the smile seemed forced to Lori, although no one else appeared to notice anything wrong. He answered someone's question, and there was a general laugh among the others. One of the men clapped him on the shoulder and turned away toward the bar. She frowned as she realized what she was seeing. In spite of his obvious popularity with his colleagues, Clark was oddly alone. But he hadn't seemed that way when he had been with her. Her wrist talker beeped softly, and she touched the little button at the bottom to activate it. "Lori Lyons." "Lori, it's Rhonda." "Rhonda?" The woman must be relaying through at least four booster stations to reach her via wrist talker, and the connection was riddled with static. "Is that really you?" "Yes." Rhonda's voice was terse. "Old Hurricane Harry is really kicking up a fuss where you are. Oliver had to pull special priority to get me through. Just listen. We could lose the connection any second. He got the information for you. Myers was a passenger on Western Shuttle Lines. He boarded in Metropolis, and arrived in Alta Mesa at five-thirty yesterday. You were right; he doesn't work for Mechtel Corporation. His company paid for his shuttle ticket and his reservation at La Mesa Grande, but the reservation wasn't made until after he arrived in Alta Mesa. He works for Metropolis United Insurance Company, as an insurance investigator." The last word trailed off, and Rhonda's voice was drowned in static. ********** An insurance investigator. Lori thought about the information Rhonda had given her, turning the facts over in her mind. They should be telling her something, she thought. There was a pattern here and it wasn't a pretty one. An insurance investigator for Metropolis United Insurance had come to Alta Mesa and had been murdered. Last night, someone had tried to assault her in the hallway outside the lounge. Pete Swanson had left the bar in the company of a skinny little man with blue eyes and never been seen again, and the murdered man had turned up in his room. Less and less did she believe that it was simply a coincidence. There was some common thread here, if she could just see it. Metropolis United was the company that insured the Westhaven diamonds. Pete Swanson had been investigating a ring of jewel thieves. Was that a connection? She didn't know, but she and Clark had been reporting on the theft of the diamonds, and a ring was still missing. The common thread here seemed to be jewels. But why would anybody assault her? And who was the mysterious little man who might be their murderer? The answer hit her suddenly, almost breathtaking in its simplicity, and with it what was very possibly the answer. Suppose--just suppose--that someone had been afraid the police investigating him for the possible theft of the missing Westhaven ring would discover it in his possession, and he had known that she and Clark were leaving the country for a few days. Clark could have easily mentioned it to him when he made the appointment for them to meet him that morning for breakfast and an interview. And she had been terribly distracted for a few vital minutes... Lori's eyes fell on her purse. She had discovered the torn seam that afternoon and been annoyed that her brand new purse had already developed a tear in the seam. But what if it hadn't been shoddy manufacture? It shouldn't have been. The bag Brad and Sharon had given her was expensive and of good quality. Lori opened her purse and ran a hand down inside, pawing through various items and felt in the bottom. Under the lining was a distinctive lump. Casually, she withdrew her hand and fastened the catch of the bag securely. Feeling as if she was carrying a hot coal, she slung the purse onto her shoulder and, gripping the strap tightly, she stood up. Where was Clark? He had been there before Rhonda's call, but now he wasn't anywhere in sight. She looked around, trying to spot him. Clark wasn't in the room. Where had he gone? "Lori!" Margot called. She appeared at the table, a drink in one hand. "We still have to talk, honey! I wanted to hear all about it!" "Margot, where did Clark go?" Lori asked urgently. "He went looking for you," Margot said. "I figured maybe you were trying to avoid him, so I didn't tell him you were over here. What's the matter? Did you two fight?" "No, I just have a headache. Too much wine," she improvised. "I'm not used to drinking much. I need to find Clark. I want to go back to my room and lie down." "Okay. He went out into the hall," Margot said. "Come on, we can probably catch him." Together the two women hurried out of the bar. There was no one in the hall but a bellboy, who disappeared through the door to the lobby at the same instant she noticed him. Lori looked around. "I don't see him." Something cylindrical and cold pressed into her back: the muzzle of a stunner. Margot said, "Don't look back, sweetie. Head straight down that hall. There's an elevator for the hotel staff at the end. Don't do anything stupid and you might live through this." ********** Clark glanced around the crowded, dimly lighted room, lamenting the loss of his enhanced vision. Music blared from hidden speakers on the walls, and the chatter of conversation was loud in his ears. Where was Lori? She had gone to the bar ten minutes ago and had not returned. He excused himself from the circle of other journalists and moved to the bar, scanning the room as well as he could in the low lights. There was no sign of his partner. Angelo, the bartender, was mixing a drink, and one of his assistants approached Clark. "What'll it be?" "I need to speak to Angelo," Clark explained. "It's urgent." The assistant raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "I'll tell him." While Clark waited, he drummed his fingers restlessly on the counter. The assistant spoke to Angelo, his voice inaudible to Clark over the noise of many voices and the blare of the music. The bartender nodded. Clark looked around again. It was possible that Lori had just gone to visit the powder room, but the fact that she had been so upset, and the unexplained attack last night warred in his mind. Whether she chose to accept or reject him was immaterial at the moment. What did matter was her physical safety, as long as the assault of the night before remained unexplained. "You wanted to talk to me?" Angelo was standing before him. "Yes. I'm Clark Kent--Ms. Lyons' partner. She was just speaking with you. Did you see where she went?" "Yeah. She went over to sit in the corner booth over there." He pointed. "Looks like she's gone now, though." "Thanks." "No problem." She had been sitting in the booth. Clark scanned the area once more. Two figures were moving toward the door, and even in the low light, he recognized Margot, with Lori's shorter figure at her side. Quickly, he started after them, but they vanished through the opening seconds before he could reach them. Clark shouldered his way through the crowd. Something wasn't right. Why should Lori leave the bar with Margot? She had wanted to avoid being alone with the woman. Margot hadn't been exactly subtle in her desire to worm any juicy details of their sexual relationship out of his partner, and he was well aware that Margot's obsession with every possible salacious detail would not allow her to accept a denial of any such relationship from Lori. Lori must know it, too. He reached the door in time to see them turn left down a hall that branched away from the main corridor, apparently having ignored the entrance to the lobby directly across from the bar. That was odd. That hall led to the parts of the hotel frequented by staff and management of the establishment, according to the floor plan he had studied in the lobby. Something most definitely wasn't right. All his instincts said so, and tugging persistently at the back of his mind was a strange feeling that he recognized--it was the part of his telepathic ability that picked up the strong emotions of his soul mate. Lori was scared. Instinct told him to rush to her rescue, but common sense triumphed. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but it couldn't be good. If he went barreling into the situation, he could conceivably make things worse. He moved quietly after them, ready to charge Margot if she made any move to harm the younger woman. "Where are we going?" He could just make out Lori's voice, strained with fear. Margot's voice was casual. "To see someone who wants to meet you." "Why?" "Because you have something that belongs to us. Move!" What did Margot mean by that? His hearing was definitely coming back; he could hear Lori's heartbeat faintly, light and fast, but when he tried to float, nothing happened. His hearing had always tended to come back before his other powers after exposure to Kryptonite, he recalled, although he hadn't been exposed to the stuff in over ninety years. He couldn't count on any of his powers this time; that was becoming very obvious. It was going to have to be human ingenuity and human ability, and if any of his other powers came back in time, it would be an unexpected bonus. The elevator door opened and Margot pushed Lori into it. Clark ducked into the stairwell seconds later and ran up the stairs as fast as he could, heedless of the noise, but his progress was painfully slow to a man used to super speed, and he didn't know on which of the hotel's three floors Margot's room was located. Of course, that might not be where they were headed, but Margot was taking Lori to see someone, and their "little skinny guy" had to be hiding somewhere, assuming he was the one Lori was being taken to see. Of course, this might not be connected to the murder at all, but Clark didn't believe in this kind of coincidence. Somehow, whatever it was that Lori was supposed to have that they wanted was connected to the murder of Tom Myers, the disappearance of Pete Swanson, and the assault on Lori last night. He paused at the landing and peered out of the small window set in the door. There was no sign of Lori and Margot, and he was just about to start up the remaining flight when he heard the faint 'ding' of the elevator. The doors slid open, and the two women emerged. >From this angle, he could see that Margot held a stunner pressed firmly to Lori's spine, directly between the shoulder blades. He swallowed. Stunners were designed to temporarily jar the nervous system and render a target unconscious, but they were not completely harmless, at least in certain circumstances. A maximum stun blast right against the spine had been known to cause spinal trauma, and although modern science could repair damaged nerves and spinal tissue, an injury to that portion of the spine could cause her death from asphyxiation before help could arrive. He wasn't about to risk Lori's life like that unless there was no other choice. He forced himself to remain absolutely still until they had passed beyond his range of vision, then eased the door open a crack. Lori and Margot were just rounding the corner far down the hall to the left. He waited until they had disappeared, pushed the door open and followed. When he rounded the corner, they had disappeared, but on the floor, as if dropped and kicked carelessly aside, was Lori's handbag. He scooped it up one handed without pausing, and hurried to the next corner, but there was no sign of them. Clark stopped and listened. Lori's heartbeat was distinctive to him; he could have distinguished it from among a thousand others. It came from behind him. Clark retraced his steps, listening carefully as he passed each door. There it was. There were three heartbeats in the room, Lori's, Margot's and a third that seemed familiar. Then a man's voice spoke, and in a flash, he recognized it. David Merrick. Clark's hands balled into fists, as a great part of the mystery they had been trying to unravel grew suddenly clear. Trying to look as innocent as possible, should someone pass by, he stood in the hall, listening. ********** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 11:03:42 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Story: Home III: Memories 15/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Home III Part 15 Margot herded Lori down the hall toward the elevator. She didn't resist. Her chances of escape were slim, and getting shot by a stunner in the back was not appealing. Even if it didn't seriously injure her, it would be unpleasant, and the aftereffects were said to be very uncomfortable. Where was Clark? What she wouldn't give to have him appear on the scene right now! Unfortunately, she had hidden from him and he had gone looking for her. She was going to have to try to talk her way out of this, or at least confuse things as much as she could. One thing she didn't do easily was give up. At least she had information that Margot couldn't know she knew. She had no illusions about this. If, as she now suspected, the "little skinny guy" was David Merrick, he and possibly Margot had already killed at least one man. Killing her wouldn't make the penalty any worse than it already was. She had one hope. Clark had said he could feel intense emotions from her. Maybe, just maybe he would be able to tell that something was wrong, and would come looking for her. It was a thin thing to base a hope on, but it was all she had. The elevator opened within a second of their arrival, and Margot herded her in. "Second floor," she said. "Where are we going?" Lori asked. "Why don't you just ask me for whatever you think I have? I don't take things that belong to other people, and neither does Clark." "Be quiet," Margot said. "Has anybody ever told you that you talk too much?" "Yes," Lori said. "My mother." "She was right. Just shut up." "Okay," Lori said. She fell silent, trying to decide what to do next. The ring was in the bottom of her purse, but did Margot know that? If she did, wouldn't she have shown more interest in the handbag? Why was Margot helping Merrick, if that was who was behind this? How did she even *know* him? There was, as Clark had said, much more to this than met the eye. There was the group of international jewel thieves Margot had spoken about earlier. They did exist, Lori knew. She remembered reading about them while she and Clark had been in the middle of the Mayflower investigation. What a spot for Margot, if she were a member of the group! An investigative journalist, with perfectly legitimate reasons to go from country to country without any questions being asked. She would make a perfect courier for stolen jewels. But Merrick...if he had stolen the ring, and Lori was now certain he had, and planted it on her to get it out of the country... Assuming that she was right, Merrick's whole set of actions had been strange if he was trying to smuggle out a fabulously expensive piece of jewelry for them. If the theft of the ring had been for this group, why had he used *her* for a courier? Anything could have happened to the ring; she and Clark could have discovered it, for one thing. It seemed like a very chancy thing to do. Wouldn't they have used one of their regular couriers? And would someone in his position attend to the actual recovery of a piece of smuggled jewelry personally, or would he simply alert his bosses so another member of the gang could take care of that part? It certainly seemed to make more sense that way. So, maybe, just maybe, Merrick was in this for himself. So, why was Margot helping him? Especially since she didn't seem to know that the ring was in the bottom of Lori's bag. Lori's mind was racing, stringing together a few half-formed ideas that all of a sudden made a terrible sense. She was coldly afraid, but it didn't seem to affect her ability to think. What if Margot didn't know that Merrick meant to double cross his bosses and keep the ring for himself, perhaps to disappear and retire in luxury to some country that had no extradition treaty with the United States--even if anyone could ever find him? He might have recruited her to reclaim the ring he had hidden in Lori's purse, but if what she was guessing at was true, that meant Margot's life expectancy would be almost as short as her own promised to be. And he might not have told Margot where he had hidden the ring. It didn't seem likely that he would trust another person, even a supposed ally, with that information. Somehow, 2.7 million dollars or not, she had to get rid of it. Once Merrick got what he wanted, he had no more reason to keep her or Margot alive. The elevator braked to a stop and the door slid open. Margot nudged her with the muzzle of the stunner between the shoulder blades. "Out. Walk straight down the hall until you get to the first intersection and turn left." Meekly, and very conscious of the stunner muzzle pressed between her shoulder blades, Lori obeyed. For a brief moment she almost felt as if someone were watching her, but dismissed it as imagination. If only Clark had realized that she was in trouble and would come to help! Another thought struck her, and she was briefly glad that he didn't know. Clark had no super powers right now. He would be as vulnerable as she to any weapons Margot and Merrick had between them. There was no doubt whatsoever in her mind that he would do everything in his power to protect her, which meant he would very likely get himself seriously hurt or killed. This way, if she didn't manage to get away, he might mourn her but he would survive. Above all, she didn't want Clark to fall prey to this murderous duo, not even if it would save her life. She loved him far too much for that. It was a revelation, although it hadn't come to her the way she'd wanted it to. As they rounded the corner, she shifted the purse off her shoulder and gripped it in front of her. "Uh uh," Margot said. "Don't even think about it, sweetie. You're too anxious to hit people with that thing." Lori dropped it on the floor of the hallway. "Were you the one I hit?" Margot laughed shortly. "No, but I know what you did to David. He's not happy with you." Lori didn't answer. She'd pushed the subject just about as far as she thought was safe. "Stop," Margot said. "Knock three times, stop and knock twice." Lori obeyed, and after a few seconds the door opened. Before her stood a little man with bright, blue eyes. On his head, he wore a white bandage stained with dried blood. David Merrick stood back, a tight, prim smile on his lips. "Come in, Ms. Lyons. Please shut the door behind you." Lori entered the hotel room, her eyes riveted on his face. She was about to embark on the biggest bluff of her life. All she could do was to stall and hope that something would happen that would allow her to get away. "Merrick, " she said, softly. "So it *is* you. Clark and I thought it might be when we found the ring." The little man's face hardened. "You *found* it?" "This afternoon," Lori said. "It was in my purse, under the lining. You put it there that morning at the Green Gourmet, didn't you?" Merrick didn't answer. "Where is it?" "In the hotel safe," Lori said. "Well out of your reach. As soon as communications clear, Clark is going to call his friend Superman to take it back to Metropolis." "Well, then, we'll have to get it back before then, won't we?" Merrick said. Lori's heart was pounding suffocatingly in her chest, but she wasn't going to show him any fear. "And what are you going to do after you get it--if you can figure out *how* to get it? I'm sure you're going to kill me, but how about Margot?" Margot laughed. "Sweetie, don't be an idiot." "I'm not," Lori said. "He's planning to keep the ring, Margot, don't you see? He wouldn't have stuck it in my purse in the first place, and he wouldn't be here personally trying to get it back from Clark and me if it was just business as usual. Think about it for a minute! How many people have been killed over ten dollars, much less for 2.7 million dollars? Nobody else but you, Clark and I know the whereabouts of the ring. If we're all dead, who's going to know?" For an instant, doubt flickered on Margot's face. Then Merrick laughed. "A very nice scenario, Ms. Lyons," he said. "Ms. Ryerson knows what happens to persons who betray our organization. I wouldn't be such a fool." He turned to Margot. "We're going to have to find Kent. He'll get the ring for us if he thinks it will save Ms. Lyons. Can you do it?" Margot nodded. "Sure, I can." "Then go ahead. I'll take care of Ms. Lyons here. We need her alive until we have the item. After that, she becomes a liability." "I suppose you betrayed Pete Swanson, too," Lori said. "It must be nice to know what sort of person you really are, underneath. How many deaths are on your conscience, Margot, or don't you have one? Is this what you became an investigative journalist for?" Merrick held out his hand for the stunner. "No one is listening to you, Ms. Lyons, so I recommend you save your breath," he said. He took the stunner and gestured with it. "Sit down in that armchair, where I can watch you. I have no hesitation in using this, so unless you wish to wake up with a severe headache, you will not resist." He added quite casually, "Do you know, Ms. Lyons, the result of the repeated firing of a stunner at close range? The cumulative effect is brain damage. I won't need to kill you. Of course, by then you won't care, so it would be best if you behave." Lori moved to the chair and sat down. "Is that what you did to Pete Swanson?" Marrick ignored her. "Go, Ms. Ryerson. The sooner we conclude this business the better." ********** Outside the room, Clark listened in growing horror to the conversation. Lori was spinning a tale he could have appreciated if the situation had not been so serious. If he had had his super powers, there would be no problem; he could have burst into the room and even if Lori were hit by a stun beam, a normal one would be relatively harmless, barring one from inches away. The worst she would have to face would be the post stunner headache and nausea that inevitably followed such an event. But if he charged in there now, all he would be doing would be delivering himself into the hands of the enemy, without helping Lori in the least. He was as vulnerable to a stunner as she. He knew Lori had to be lying; they had not found any ring at all. Of course, he had not heard the beginning of the conversation, so he didn't know where the ring was supposed to be, but considering that David Merrick was here, he must have planted it on Lori somewhere, at some time, and the only chance seemed to be the time at the Green Gourmet. What had Lori had with her that would be a safe place of concealment for a tiny item like a ring? He looked down at the purse that Lori had dropped in the hallway. Why had she discarded it? Was it possible? This was the only item she had brought with her that she had had in her possession that day, and it certainly filled the bill. Could she have discovered something during the short period they had been separated in the bar? He heard Merrick's command to Margot and the words spurred him to action. Quickly he strode to the corner of the hallway and ducked around it. He could search Lori's purse later; right now he definitely didn't want Margot to see him while she was still within hearing of David Merrick. He heard the door open and close, and then Margot's distinctive footsteps came down the hallway toward him. He glanced around. No one was in sight, although that could change any minute. How could he explain this to Security in time to save Lori? If Merrick became too desperate, what would he do? The man was clearly ruthless. Lori was merely a tool for him to use to complete his plan. Her life meant no more to him than the life of Tom Myers, whom he or Margot had killed. As Lori had said, 2.7 million dollars was a real incentive to kill someone. He didn't want that someone to be Lori. There was, however, one possible chance to get her out of this unharmed. Margot's footsteps came closer. Clark flattened himself against the wall. His hearing was tuned to any sound that might indicate the approach of someone. There were a few people in some of the rooms nearby, but it seemed that the majority of them were empty. Probably most of the journalists were downstairs socializing in the bar and lounge. Assaulting a woman went against the grain, but it was Lori's life that was at stake here. To save her, there was very little he wouldn't do. He drew the line at killing, but assault was another matter. As Margot turned the corner, Clark grabbed her. ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 11:05:44 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: New Stry Home III: Memories Part 16 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Home III Part 16 Margot struck expertly at him, but he blocked her as expertly, silently thanking Ching for teaching him Kryptonian combat techniques all those years ago. He was stronger than he expected; perhaps his strength was beginning to come back as well, but only slightly. He pinned Margot's hands behind her and smothered her instinctive scream with one hand. Margot bit him, and he gritted his teeth against the pain. No, he definitely wasn't invulnerable yet. "Hold still!" he whispered sharply. Margot rolled her eyes toward him and suddenly stopped struggling. "If you scream, I'm going to turn you in to Security right now," Clark told her, in no uncertain terms. "I don't think they'll have any doubts about you for long, with Lori as Merrick's prisoner." Jerkily, Margot nodded. Clark removed his hand, ready to clap it over her mouth again, but she didn't make a sound. Clark regarded her coldly. "I saw what you did to Lori, and I overheard you and Merrick in there," he said. "I swear to you, Margot, if Lori gets hurt because of this there won't be a spot on the Earth that's safe for you." "You can't prove I'm involved," Margot said. "I don't need to," Clark said. "Once the suspicion's been raised, I'm sure an investigation will tell us all we need to know. If your bosses are anything like Mr. Merrick implied, you know where that will put you. You'll be a loose end." He paused to let her digest that. "And you should realize that Lori was probably right, anyway. Merrick's going to keep the ring, and you, Lori and I are all liabilities. Your organization may not look kindly on that sort of behavior, but if you're dead and they never find out, what will it matter to him? Either way, you're finished, Margot." Margot was silent a moment, then she seemed to gather her nerve. "We want the ring," she said. "You're the only one that can get it for us. If you want to see Ms. Lyons again, you'll do what you're told." "I heard what Merrick said. He has no intention of letting her go." Clark shook his head in disgust. "What happened to you, Margot? Where is the idealistic investigative journalist I used to know? You can't even be the same person if you'd allow this to happen to an innocent young woman. She's barely twenty-one; she has her whole life in front of her, and you're willing to let her die over a piece of jewelry." Margot didn't answer. Clark considered. Calling for super help was out unless one of his telepathic relatives was passing within a couple of hundred miles or so. He'd attempted to make contact with any one of them several times and gotten no response. He could call Security, but valuable time would be wasted explaining and convincing the authorities that there really was a crisis. Not to mention, a hostage situation--with untrained negotiators--wasn't exactly guaranteed to get Lori out of there in one piece. He slung Lori's bag over his shoulder. "Come on," he said. "Where?" "I want to talk to Mr. Merrick." He pushed her toward the room, gripping both her wrists behind her back with one hand. "Ow!" Margot said. "Watch it, Kent! You don't know your own strength!" He raised an eyebrow, but loosened his grip very slightly. "You're not going to get away, Margot. And you're not going to get the ring if you don't do exactly as I say." With his free hand, he seized the doorknob, twisted it and pushed the door open. "Mr. Merrick?" Merrick's head whipped around, and for a second Clark saw shock on his face, then he rose to his feet. Lori's wrists had been tied in front of her, and a rope looped around her chest and another around her waist bound her to the chair. Merrick stood in front of her, facing the two intruders. Clark saw that he held the stunner in one hand, aimed directly at him. A long-bladed butcher knife lay on the table beside Lori's chair--quite possibly the weapon that had been used to murder Tom Myers. It would have been very easy, a macabre corner of his mind considered, for Merrick to stab the man once he'd been stunned. "Mr. Kent," Merrick said. "I trust Ms. Ryerson conveyed my demands to you." "More or less," Clark said. He shoved Margot into the room ahead of him, kicked the door shut behind him and let Lori's bag slither down his arm to the floor. "And the answer is 'no'." "I see. You realize, of course, the consequences to Ms. Lyons if you fail to obey." "I realize the consequences to her if I give you what you want," Clark said. "I'm here to make a different deal." Lori was looking directly at him. Her gaze flicked to the bag, then moved up to fasten on his face. Her lips moved to shape his name, but no sound emerged. He moved another step closer, holding Margot's wrists tightly. Merrick looked nonplused for a moment, then picked up the butcher knife. "What sort of deal?" "A trade," Clark said quietly. "Me for her. I'll be your hostage, and she can get you your ring." "Clark, no!" Lori burst out. Clark shook his head at her and pushed Margot forward another couple of steps. "That's the deal, Merrick," he said. "Take it or leave it." "No closer, Mr. Kent," Merrick said. He rested the knife against Lori's cheek. "I wouldn't want to cause unnecessary damage to Ms. Lyons' appearance." Clark stopped. "Let her go," he said. Merrick chuckled. "And have you refuse to fulfill your part of the bargain once she's free?" he asked. "I propose a trade. Bring me the ring, and I will release her." "I guess we're at a stalemate," Clark said. "The ring stays where it is until Lori walks out of this room unhurt." Merrick blinked at him. "Don't be foolish, Mr. Kent." "Foolish?" Clark said. "Not at all. We can stand here for a long time debating this and get nowhere. I want Lori out of this, and that's the only demand I make. You can have your ring--as soon as she's safe." The two men stared at each other across the seven feet of space separating them. Suddenly Merrick nodded. "Very well." I'll release Ms. Lyons. I hold her here until you're tied in the chair. Then Ms. Lyons will go with Margot to retrieve the ring from the hotel safe." He lowered the knife. "Does that satisfy you, Mr. Kent?" "She goes first," Clark said. "And she goes alone. You're holding the stunner; I can hardly escape. Otherwise no deal." He shifted his weight cautiously, still gripping Margot's hands. "Cut her free, now, and let her go." Merrick smiled. "You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Kent. What if I choose to decline?" Clark didn't answer directly. With all his strength, he shoved Margot straight at Merrick, in a direct line between himself and the stunner. Margot careened against Merrick, and Clark landed on the two of them hard, one hand striking at Merrick's knife hand. With or without powers, he was still heavier than a human man, and he heard the breath whoosh out of Margot in a long, agonized grunt. Merrick had dropped the knife, but the stunner rose and fell, striking Clark's shoulder in a paralyzing blow. He cried out at the pain, and his left arm dropped helplessly, completely numb. Merrick tried to follow up on his advantage, striking at Clark's face with the heavy little weapon, but with his good hand, Clark grabbed for the stunner, striving to immobilize it, and realized at the same instant that Margot was groping for the butcher knife. Lori's foot came within his range of vision, and she kicked the weapon across the rug, out of reach. Merrick's finger contracted on the firing stud; he heard the whine of the stun beam, and felt it brush him like a breath of ice along one cheek. The part of his body that it touched should have instantly gone numb, he should have fallen unconscious, but nothing happened. Why it hadn't stunned him, he didn't understand, but he didn't pause. He seized the stunner one handed, wrenched it free and hurled it away. Something smashed in the background. Margot's fist struck him across the cheekbone and he saw stars, then suddenly the woman was slumping beneath him. With only one adversary left, Clark seized the much smaller man's flailing left hand and pinned it to the floor. Avoiding Merrick's right hand, which was clawing at his eyes, he rolled his struggling opponent over onto his face. His own left hand and arm were full of pins and needles and nearly useless, but he planted a knee in Merrick's back, breathing hard. The little man writhed furiously if uselessly, spitting obscenities, all his previous decorum abandoned. "Clark, are you all right?" Lori's voice sounded slightly constricted, and he looked up to see her wiggling against the ropes that bound her to the armchair. "Yeah. Just winded. Can you get out of those?" "Now that he's not standing over me, I can!" As he watched, she wormed her way under the cord that held her upper torso to the back of the chair, using her bound hands to force it over her head. She scooted downward, squirming lower and lower in the seat and, with a certain amount of contortion, slid out of the remaining rope. She dropped instantly to her knees beside him. "Are you sure you're okay? Margot hit you!" "I'm all right," he said again. "What happened to her? I didn't do anything to her." "I know. I did." Lori got to her feet and hurried to the vidphone on the opposite wall. With her bound hands, she punched the red emergency button with unnecessary force. "When I saw her hit you I was so mad I kicked her in the jaw." "Oh. Good job." He found himself laughing, albeit a little breathlessly. The pins and needles in his left arm had not subsided, and the limb hung uselessly at his side. "I hope Security hurries. This is going to be a lot of fun to explain..." Lori sank down onto the floor beside him and leaned against him, resting her face on his shoulder. "I hope it doesn't take too long. I've got a few things to say to you. I've been an idiot, Clark." "No, you haven't," he said, softly. "Not ever. I love you, Lori. Haven't I told you not to put down the woman I love?" "Yeah," Lori said. Clark saw her look down at David Merrick. The little man had stopped struggling and now lay still, glaring balefully up at them. "And I think I finally realize how much." ********** After they had given their stories to the Security personnel, Lori and Clark were confined to their room until the police could arrive to investigate the whole mess, whenever that might be, and neither minded particularly. When the door closed behind them, Lori walked straight to Clark and put her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. With a certain amount of care for his left arm, which seemed to have been only badly bruised, Clark wrapped his arms around her as well. "Clark, I'm so sorry," Lori said. "I should have realized right away..." "No, you shouldn't have," Clark said. "You had every right to be upset. Someday I'll tell you what happened when Lois discovered that I'd been fooling her for two years with a pair of glasses." She gave a shaky laugh, and he realized all at once that she was crying. "Lori? Honey, what's wrong?" "Nothing." She hugged him tighter. "It just scares me to think what I could have lost." "Well, you didn't. And more important, I didn't lose you. Come on. Let's sit down over here. Much as I enjoy hugging you, I'm getting a cramp in my shoulder." "Oh! I should have thought!" She released him at once. "Is your arm any better?" "Some." He sank down on his bed, and Lori seated herself beside him. He took her hands in his. "It will be fine when my powers come back. Are *you* sure you're okay?" He ran a forefinger over the faint bruises on her wrists where the rope Merrick had tied her with had been. She nodded. "Nothing that won't heal. Do you think they'll let us go?" "Yeah. Merrick was already under suspicion for theft in Metropolis, remember, and there's all the other evidence besides. And, you gave them the ring. I think they'll believe us all right." "That's good. I don't like the idea of going to jail for something Merrick did." Her hands squeezed his. "Clark, was I imagining things, or did he fire that stunner at you during the fight?" Clark shook his head. "You weren't imagining things. It just didn't seem to have any effect. I'm not really sure that I understand why, either. I wasn't invulnerable. Margot hit me right after that, and it hurt. The only reason I can think of that it didn't work is that I'm not human." Lori's eyes widened. "I'll bet that's it! Stunners are supposed to affect human nervous systems, and yours isn't!" He looked at her with a touch of misgiving. "Does it matter to you, Lori--that I'm not even part human?" "Of course not! If you were, we'd both be in a lot of trouble right now." She leaned forward to slide her arms around him and to lay her head against his chest. Automatically, he rested his head atop hers and closed his eyes. Lori pulled him closer. "I love you, Clark," she said. "I don't think I could ever love anybody else. I want to spend my life with you--if you really want me." "No putting yourself down, remember," Clark said. "Not anymore." He smiled into her hair. "Is it a deal?" "It's a deal," Lori said. She straightened up and looked into his face, a puzzled expression on hers. "I'm having the strangest feeling of déjà vu. Like I've done all this before, somewhere." "Maybe you have," Clark said softly. "Maybe I asked you this in a previous lifetime." "Asked me what?" He slipped from his seat on the bed to kneel at her feet. "Will you marry me, Lori?" She looked completely taken aback for a split second, and then her face broke into a smile. "Yes, Clark, I will." ********** The Daily Planet newsroom had never looked so good to Lori. They had arrived in Metropolis on Monday evening via Superman Express, after a side trip to Paris and a jewelry store Clark knew. Now, walking into work, she looked down at the glittering stone on her hand, wondering just what to do with it. She felt conspicuous, but at the same time, she wanted to show it off, to let the world know that Clark had given it to her. She looked up at Clark, walking at her side and caught him smiling at her. "What?" she asked. "Nothing," he said. "I just like looking at you." She felt her face growing warm. Clark could definitely be good for a girl's ego. Her gaze swung to the picture of Clark and Lois Lane on the wall by the elevator. It still gave her an odd déjà vu-like feeling, but at least part of it was explained now. "Clark! Lori!" John's voice sounded over the early morning chatter of people getting themselves organized. "In my office, now!" "Oops," Clark murmured. "Nothing like a yell from the boss first thing in the morning." They crossed the Pit to John's office and Clark let Lori precede him, closing the door behind him. "Yeah, John?" John turned from the vidphone and looked them over. "Can't the two of you go anywhere without stirring up a fuss?" he inquired. "Fuss?" Clark said, innocently. "I thought you liked the exclusive we sent you." John grinned. "Actually, I do," he said. "Good work, both of you. At least Lori didn't wind up with a black eye this time." He dropped into his chair. "I thought you'd like to hear, Swanson's paper called to let you know he's going to be all right. Did anyone ever figure out how he wound up in somebody's house in the town with a big lump on his head?" "Nothing anyone can prove," Clark said. "He told Superman the last thing he remembered was sitting in the bar talking to Merrick. We think Merrick took him outside, slugged him and left him in an alley. It was a good thing somebody found him and took him home before the storm really got going, or he'd have been dead. It was nice of his paper to call us. We were kind of worried." "Yeah," John said. "I notice that a story isn't the only thing you brought home from Alta Mesa." He nodded at Lori's hand. "Congratulations, Clark. You're a lucky man." "I know," Clark said. "Thanks." "Oh, and Lori, welcome to the family," John said straight-faced. Lori gaped at him. "What?" "I'll explain later," Clark said, hastily. "Any word on the Kryptonite bracelet, by the way?" "Yeah, both good and bad," John said. "The Superman Foundation financed the purchase of the bracelet, and it's now history. That's the good part. The bad part is that it was cut from a larger chunk, and it was only one of four pieces of jewelry made from it. We're still trying to track down the other three." "Great," Clark said. "We've got people working on it," John said. "I'll keep you updated." "Thanks," Clark said. "I feel like there's a ticking time bomb out there waiting for me." "For us," John said. "We'll find them. Now, I want you two doing a follow up on the Westhaven story. You're both going to be going to the Metro Charity Art Show tonight, and I want an interview with the owner of Blake's Jewelers about the theft. Clark, a human interest story about the betrayal of a long time employee..." Clark laughed. "Say no more, boss. We're on it." "Oh, and Clark--" "Yeah?" "I'll expect an invitation to the wedding." "You'll get one," Clark said. "Come on, Lori, we've got a job to do." Together, they hurried out the door. The End (To Be Continued in the Final Story). ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 14:13:29 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Essential classics for newbies? Amparo's post and the responses set me thinking. There has been an explosion of fanfic in the last couple of years, in many ways: overall number of stories, number of new authors, length of stories and complexity of plot. It also occurred to me that whenever I'm asked to recommend a good fic I generally tend to think of a more recent one, frequently by a relatively new author. But there is a mass of wonderful fanfiction out there from the 'old- timers', people who were writing while the series was still in production (some of those writers are still coming up with new stories now, and some not). In some ways, many of these older stories are quite different from the newer ones - shorter, less complex, perhaps less inclined to diverge from canon as it was at the time. (Not that I'm entirely sure why I'm distinguishing between 'older' and 'newer' stories, except that there do appear to be differences). Anyway, in what was a very roundabout way of getting to this point, I was wondering whether we could compile a list of 'highly recommended' older stories; I'd certainly be interested in seeing what might appear on that list. There are plenty of recommendations for stories posted in the last two or three years, but what about stories from before then which we believe have stood the test of time? If we arrived at a list of recommendations, we could even call it 'Essential Classics for Newbies'. Okay, what would I include? Just off the top of my head, and *entirely* subjective as a result... Counter-Clarkwise by Zoomway; Love Beyond All Measure/Dimensions of Loving by Chris Mulder; Amantium Irae Amoris Integratio by Ruth Ellison; A Chief Dilemma by Rachel Smith; Lois's Revenge/Clark's Response by BB Medos; Alt Shook Up by Georgia Walden; The Chicken or the Egg by Jenny Stosser; Getting Away from it All by Pam Jernigan. So... anyone else got their own favourites, or want to agree or disagree with my list? Wendy ----------- Wendy Richards wendy@kingsmeadowcr.freeserve.co.uk ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 14:24:10 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Marilyn L. Puett" Subject: Re: Essential classics for newbies? "Camping with Clark" by Kathy Brown has to be one of my all-time favorites. It was also one of the first fics that I read after becoming interested in Lois and Clark (which was AFTER the show had gone off the air by the way). ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 14:52:44 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Organization: http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam/ Subject: Re: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ooh, good topic, and good suggestions from Wendy and Marilyn. I could probably come up with about a hundred more, but off the top of my head, I'll just add: Heartbeat, by Jiji Baker, and Dawning, by Debby Stark. I think every FOLC should read at least the first few parts of Dawning, as time and patience permits ;) Actually, I think the Kerth nominee list from 1998 is a good place to start. -- Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." --Psalm 27:13-14 ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 14:57:25 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I'd like to add the "Diary of a Superman Groupie" series, by Glenda M. Hernandez; "A Cat's Life", by Melissa Dore; "AKA Daddy", by Christy Kubit; and "Heaven's Prisoners", by Demi. There are soooo many more, though. I love the classics. Mols;) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 21:57:43 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Chiara P Subject: R: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit What about all the Wendy Richards' fic? Ok they are really a lot, but all are wonderful.... I'd say 'It happen in a (Super night)' and The Healing Time or if you want really Cry For the Greater Good (but keep near you a lot of kleenex!!!) And the both "A Conscious Choice " There are so much fic great of her...... so you can't mistake with her ! !!!!!!!! Then I'd say Doctor Kline's Lab Rat : 'Sugar & Spice' Is GREAT!!!! And also her 'Burnout' ... then, but you have to have really a lot of time... try with 'Cafed fear' but It's really long ... and wonderful Then Dont' miss All the Richard Mobile's ALL great.. even if we all are waithing the third part of "The fugitive" .... so.... mmm Then the last... Meet me in Kansas City by Chris Mulder (well All Chris' ) and also the family arch by Jenny Debbage.... and Well I just realize there so much Fic I want to tell I can't remember in this moment... and so.... Well this is my tips. So good we have so much good Writer here around! Kisses and hugs Chiara :) -----Messaggio Originale----- Da: Wendy Richards A: Data invio: mercoledì 22 novembre 2000 20.13 Oggetto: Essential classics for newbies? > Amparo's post and the responses set me thinking. There has been an > explosion of fanfic in the last couple of years, in many ways: overall > number of stories, number of new authors, length of stories > and complexity of plot. It also occurred to me that whenever I'm asked to > recommend a good fic I generally tend to think of a more recent one, > frequently by a relatively new author. > > But there is a mass of wonderful fanfiction out there from the 'old- > timers', people who were writing while the series was still in production > (some of those writers are still coming up with new stories now, and some > not). In some ways, many of these older stories are quite different from > the newer ones - shorter, less complex, perhaps less inclined to diverge > from canon as it was at the time. (Not that I'm entirely sure why I'm > distinguishing between 'older' and 'newer' stories, except that there do > appear to be differences). > > Anyway, in what was a very roundabout way of getting to this point, I was > wondering whether we could compile a list of 'highly recommended' older > stories; I'd certainly be interested in seeing what might appear on that > list. There are plenty of recommendations for stories posted in the last > two or three years, but what about stories from before then which we > believe have stood the test of time? If we arrived at a list of > recommendations, we could even call it 'Essential Classics for Newbies'. > > Okay, what would I include? Just off the top of my head, and *entirely* > subjective as a result... > Counter-Clarkwise by Zoomway; > Love Beyond All Measure/Dimensions of Loving by Chris Mulder; > Amantium Irae Amoris Integratio by Ruth Ellison; > A Chief Dilemma by Rachel Smith; > Lois's Revenge/Clark's Response by BB Medos; > Alt Shook Up by Georgia Walden; > The Chicken or the Egg by Jenny Stosser; > Getting Away from it All by Pam Jernigan. > > So... anyone else got their own favourites, or want to agree or disagree > with my list? > > > Wendy > ----------- > Wendy Richards > wendy@kingsmeadowcr.freeserve.co.uk ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 16:28:27 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wanda McCants Subject: Re: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I would have to add "Burnout" by Labrat, "Meet Me in Kansas City" by Chris Mulder, Season 5, and Season 6. How about "Little Man Super" and "Love As a Blonde" by Sandy. So many stories where to start? "What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" ......Langston Hughes Wanda ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 16:47:02 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: R: Essential classics for newbies? That's very flattering, Chiara, and I do agree with you that most of the authors and stories you recommended are well worth reading (well, except maybe for that first one, not really worth bothering with, I think... ). But I was thinking of older stories than those - really, from while the series was still in its first run. Some of those really good ones, as Pam mentions, were nominated for the 1998 Kerths, but there are others also worth mentioning... Wendy ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 16:54:37 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: R: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/22/2000 4:09:36 PM Eastern Standard Time, chiara108@LIBERO.IT writes: << What about all the Wendy Richards' fic? >> Yes I think we all noted the distinct absence of this on Wendy's list . Of course she was trying to recommend older ones and Wendy is one of our newer authors. As is Irene who'd I'd also recommend VERY VERY highly---Firestorm and its sequels and anything else by her. As for older ones, I still like Debby's Carry Tiger to Mountain. Yes, as Wendy said, a different flavor since the series was still in progress at the time. And don't forget Sheila Harper! --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 16:32:07 -0800 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: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit LOL!! Wendy, I've never disagreed with anything that you have written. I even read your post:) Brenda ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OVER WHAT HILL?! WHERE? WHEN? I don't remember any hill. ____________________________________ ----- Original Message ----- From: Wendy Richards To: Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2000 11:13 AM Subject: Essential classics for newbies? > Amparo's post and the responses set me thinking. There has been an > explosion of fanfic in the last couple of years, in many ways: overall > number of stories, number of new authors, length of stories > and complexity of plot. It also occurred to me that whenever I'm asked to > recommend a good fic I generally tend to think of a more recent one, > frequently by a relatively new author. > > But there is a mass of wonderful fanfiction out there from the 'old- > timers', people who were writing while the series was still in production > (some of those writers are still coming up with new stories now, and some > not). In some ways, many of these older stories are quite different from > the newer ones - shorter, less complex, perhaps less inclined to diverge > from canon as it was at the time. (Not that I'm entirely sure why I'm > distinguishing between 'older' and 'newer' stories, except that there do > appear to be differences). > > Anyway, in what was a very roundabout way of getting to this point, I was > wondering whether we could compile a list of 'highly recommended' older > stories; I'd certainly be interested in seeing what might appear on that > list. There are plenty of recommendations for stories posted in the last > two or three years, but what about stories from before then which we > believe have stood the test of time? If we arrived at a list of > recommendations, we could even call it 'Essential Classics for Newbies'. > > Okay, what would I include? Just off the top of my head, and *entirely* > subjective as a result... > Counter-Clarkwise by Zoomway; > Love Beyond All Measure/Dimensions of Loving by Chris Mulder; > Amantium Irae Amoris Integratio by Ruth Ellison; > A Chief Dilemma by Rachel Smith; > Lois's Revenge/Clark's Response by BB Medos; > Alt Shook Up by Georgia Walden; > The Chicken or the Egg by Jenny Stosser; > Getting Away from it All by Pam Jernigan. > > So... anyone else got their own favourites, or want to agree or disagree > with my list? > > > Wendy > ----------- > Wendy Richards > wendy@kingsmeadowcr.freeserve.co.uk > ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 14:44:32 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: looking for e-mail address MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Does anyone have a current e-mail address for Judith Tylke? If so, please contact to me at judithwilliams@prodigy.net. Thanks, :) Jude ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 17:49:11 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/22/00 2:24:38 PM EST, no1supermom@HOTMAIL.COM writes: << "Camping with Clark" by Kathy Brown has to be one of my all-time favorites. It was also one of the first fics that I read after becoming interested in Lois and Clark (which was AFTER the show had gone off the air by the way). >> That was the very first LnC fanfic I read! It got me interested in LnC fanfiction as well as sparked my idea of writing my own nfic! hehe...So I'd have to agree with that choice. Alexis ;-.) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 18:35:23 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "C.C. Malo" Subject: Re: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Favourite Stories 1997 & earlier: In addition to those wonderful early stories already mentionned and those on the 1998 Kerth nominations list, these too among my favourite classics although there are so many which I haven't mentioned and which still give me pleasure. Some of these are pure Waff, some contain good A plots, and a few contain a twist that caught my interest. A Kansas Fourth - Jeff Brogden Come Spy With Me - Eileen Continuity - Cindy Marshall Desperately Seeking Lois - Jennifer Eagen Floating - Sandra Wampler Hark - Angela Walthall A Clark by Any Other Name - Amy Heins Shipwrecked - Laura Tangled Web - Jennifer Baker Carol ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 08:59:25 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Hazel Subject: Re: Essential classics for newbies? In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Wendy asked for a list of "classic fics." These are difficult to classify, although I would imagine that for those of us who joined FoLCdom after the show ended, anything that was archived before our arrival is considered "classic." Most of the fics listed so far have been among my favorites. A few I'd like to add are: The IRC RR "A World Without a Superman" Ben Pistorius' "When a Great Man Loves a Super Woman" Carla Humbert's "Quick Change" Jennifer Eagan's "When Magnolias Bloom" (a deathfic of sorts, but beautiful nonetheless) Melissa Dore's "The Shadow" Pam's "Second Chances" Rachel Smith's "That the World May Know" Sheila Harper's "A Shot in the Dark" Zoomway's "12:01" And, as others have said, just about every episode of S5, S6, and TUFS. I hope that none of the "greats" will be hurt if they're not included here; I did try to suggest fics that haven't yet been mentioned by others. Hazel _______ "Lots of little Bigwigs, Hazel! Think of that, and tremble!" ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 22:37:01 +1100 Reply-To: Patricia Walpole Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Patricia Walpole Subject: Re: Reading Fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I have only read a small portion of fanfic available but I would highly = recommend any story by Wendy Richards and also Irene Dutchak. I think they are = both fantastic authors. I also thoroughly enjoyed the following: Lab Rat -Caped Fear Erin Klingler -What it means to love Kathy Brown -When friends become lovers M.L. Thompson -I will always love you Tricia ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 11:55:35 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Terry S. Horowit" Subject: Re: R: Essential classics for newbies? In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Wendy said: >But I was thinking of older stories than those - really, from while the >series was still in its first run. Some of those really good ones, as Pam >mentions, were nominated for the 1998 Kerths, but there are others also >worth mentioning... Has anyone mentioned Debby Stark's "Carry Tiger to Mountain"? Terry ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 12:06:42 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Terry S. Horowit" Subject: Re: R: Essential classics for newbies? In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Wendy said: >>But I was thinking of older stories than those - really, from while the >>series was still in its first run. Some of those really good ones, as Pam >>mentions, were nominated for the 1998 Kerths, but there are others also >>worth mentioning... > > >Has anyone mentioned Debby Stark's "Carry Tiger to Mountain"? OK, drat, right after posting this, I read someone else who recommended it. So how about Phil Atcliffe's "Montrose's Toast" and "Couch Potatoes", Erin Klinger's "When You Needed Me Most", Yvonne Connell's "Fear of Flying", Jenni Debbage's "The Huntress' Revenge", Piper's "The Heir" (and it's sequel, "The Healing") and Kathy Brown's "Winners". ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 18:02:41 -0000 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Re: Reading Fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit RL is kind of hectic right now, but I wanted to very quickly post to thank everyone who mentioned my fic in this and the Essential Classics thread. :) It's encouraging to know that you enjoyed these stories - and also that you remembered them later. [g] Thank you. :) LabRat :) I also thoroughly enjoyed the following: Lab Rat -Caped Fear Erin Klingler -What it means to love Kathy Brown -When friends become lovers M.L. Thompson -I will always love you Tricia ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 15:53:58 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: New Stry Home III: Memories Part 16 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Wonderful, Nan. Looking forward to the next part! --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 00:18:35 -0000 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Re: Essential Classics MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I don't know if any of these have already been mentioned - sorry, = haven't got time to go check the previous posts. I'd agree with all of = the stories previously mentioned, most of which are my own favourites. = Along with the following: Whisky Galore - FlakeyDom. Meet Me In Kansas City - Chris Mulder A Kansas Fourth - Jeff Brogden Carol Malo's Recognition series. Margaret Brignall's Early Clark series: The Rules, The Long Road and = The One. Pam Jernigan's President Kent series. Discoveries - Barbara Alt. Shook Up - Georgia Walden In the Beginning - B.B. Medos Swapmeet: Burbank - Debby Stark and its companion fic Swapmeet: = Metropolis - Margaret Brignall. Sigh...wallowing in nostalgia and remembering many happy nights spent = curled up on the sofa lost in the worlds these and other authors = created... LabRat :) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 01:00:06 -0000 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Fw: Re: Essential Classics MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Fwding for Brenda. :) LabRat ----- Original Message ----- From: Dennis Arendt To: LabRat Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2000 3:00 AM Subject: Re: Re: Essential Classics > I forgot two of my favorites > > Meet Me In Kansas City by Chris Mulder > Heartache Tonight - Round Robin by German FoLC > Brenda > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > OVER WHAT HILL?! WHERE? WHEN? > I don't remember any hill. > ____________________________________ > ----- Original Message ----- > From: LabRat > To: > Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2000 4:18 PM > Subject: Re: Essential Classics > > > I don't know if any of these have already been mentioned - sorry, haven't > got time to go check the previous posts. I'd agree with all of the stories > previously mentioned, most of which are my own favourites. Along with the > following: > > Whisky Galore - FlakeyDom. > Meet Me In Kansas City - Chris Mulder > A Kansas Fourth - Jeff Brogden > Carol Malo's Recognition series. > Margaret Brignall's Early Clark series: The Rules, The Long Road and The > One. > Pam Jernigan's President Kent series. > Discoveries - Barbara > Alt. Shook Up - Georgia Walden > In the Beginning - B.B. Medos > Swapmeet: Burbank - Debby Stark and its companion fic Swapmeet: Metropolis - > Margaret Brignall. > > Sigh...wallowing in nostalgia and remembering many happy nights spent curled > up on the sofa lost in the worlds these and other authors created... > > LabRat :) > ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 20:07:25 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: New Stry Home III: Memories Part 16 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks, Laurie, I'm glad you liked it. Nan No Name Available wrote: > Wonderful, Nan. Looking forward to the next part! > > --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 14:11:07 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: Re: Essential classics for newbies? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit What a great idea this is! I've only been here about a year so I'm still a kind of newbie myself. I don't know how many of these have already been mentioned, probably all, but these are the stories I would recommend for newbies to read for basic knowledge and understanding: 1. T.U.F.S, S5 and S6. Not everything here is great, but overall, these stories set the tone for LNC fic writing and, for me, provide additional 'canon fodder' beyond what happened in the series' unfinished story. 2. Anything by Sheila Harper. Reading Sheila;s work is like taking an advanced course in creative writing. She is inventive and a master of the craft. I would especially recommend A Shot in the Dark. 3. Anything by Zoomway. Like Sheila. she is inventive and knows how to put the words together. Counter Clark Wise, Always Something There To Remind Me, and Cruise Control are particularly good. 4. For more recent authors, I don't think anyone has mentioned exploring stories by Nan Smith and Judith T ylke. :) Jude ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 19:11:28 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Forty-Seventh Installment, Week #48 (Part 1 of 1) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This is the forty-seventh installment of my rpg on yahoo called, "A Day in the Life of Metropolis." Go to: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/aditlom Public and private feedback welcomed! =) ===================== Cast List: Lois Lane: Alexis W. Clark Kent: Alexis W. Bruce Wayne: Sam F. * * * * WEEK #48 (10/16 TO 10/22) Re: Wayne Enterprises "Damn it! She's going to see the cave. What in the hell am I going to do? Maybe if I call the house and talk to Alfred . . .but they'll be there before he can get down there." >tbc< ========== Re: Wayne Enterprises A box-like contraption came whizzing down the shoot as Lois and Clark continued falling. It opened up and first Clark fell inside and then Lois. Clark groaned a bit as Lois came crashing into him. He wasn't groaning out of pain, he was groaning out of arousal. Not that Lois would know that, thankfully. The door on the box-like contraption closed and Clark could feel Lois' body pushing into his chest. This thing was definately not made for two. He was hoping their ride would be over soon, real soon! He didn't think the lower half of his body could take it any longer. "C-l-a-a-r-r-r-k!" Lois screamed. "Lois, it's going to be all right... ummpf..." he reassured. "We're going to die!!!" she wailed. "Oh God," Clark said as he rolled his eyes. >tbc< ====== Re: Wayne Enterprises/Bat Cave Suddenly their mode of transportation slowed down. "Hey..." Clark smiled. "It's over? It's really over?" Lois asked. "Yeah I thi..." he was cut off in mid-sentance by a creaking noise. The pair looked into each other eyes before the box gave way and they started descending to the ground below. >tbc< Look for Week #49 coming to a PC near you! Enjoy! Alexis ;-.) "ADITLOM" arbitrator ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 19:21:29 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Forty-Eighth Installment, Week #49 (Part 1 of 1) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This is the forty-eighth installment of my rpg on yahoo called, "A Day in the Life of Metropolis." Go to: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/aditlom Public and private feedback welcomed! =) ===================== Cast List: Lois Lane: Alexis W. Clark Kent: Alexis W. Lex Luthor: Dave * * * * WEEK #49 (11/6 TO 11/12) Clark felt Lois' and his body hit some concrete. "Ouch!" Lois yelped in pain. Clark looked up and noticed they were in the batcave! "Oh sh*t!" He had to think fast! Bruce would kill him if Lois found out. He quickly gathered Lois in his arms and made such a force with his body that it threw them both outside of the cave and into the chilly Gotham air. "What on earth was that?" Lois asked as she picked herself off the ground. "I dunno...I guess whatever we were stuck in wasn't done yet!" Clark uncomfortably laughed. "You got that right," Lois sighed. >tbc< ========== uh oh...here comes trouble! "Are you all right?" Clark asked as he watched Lois brush the dirt off her dress. "Yeah, I think so...although right now a hot shower sounds really nice to me." "Yeah me too...of course not together," Clark blushed. Lois rolled her eyes. "Come on Kent, let's try to find our way out of this place and back to the Manor." She started walking down a path until she ran into something soft. "Ummf!" Lois looked up and noticed a man standing there. "Oh, oops, sorry about that." "Ms. Lane, I've been waiting for you." "Excuse me?" "You're coming with me!" he stated as he grabbed her by force. "Hey no!" "Come on!" he said as he tugged on her arm. "What? NOO...I won't go! Help!!! Clark!!!" "LOIS!" Clark yelled as he saw Lois struggling against her attacker. >tbc< * * * * * Luthor's personal Journal Decisiveness is the key to any victory...Once a move is made, the opponent must counter in some way. Invariably, by placing my pieces in the postion to begin an offesive, there will ultimately be a parry to the strategy. But it is the essence of any conflict, of any engagement, to always anticipate your oppenents moves, to... in essence, see through the eyes of your opposition. This can be a difficult thing, no doubt. The challenge lies in setting aside your individual passion and perception to favor that of one who wishes to confront you. So, of course, you ask... have I set aside that passion? Have I not surcome to what I most desire and foolishly allowed my emotion to govern these tactics in the battlefield. But I submit that it is this tactic which will further my advantage. Surround the queen, while checking the bishop, knowing full well that the king looms in the background. The brilliance in this move is the seperation of the king from the knight. Can it be that the king and the knight will eventually oppose one another? Divide and conquer... >tbc< * * * * Re: uh oh...here comes trouble! Clark rushed over to Lois and knocked over her attacker. The man was rushing towards Clark when Lois stood in his way. "Lois, get out of the way!" Clark yelled. "No, Clark...I dont' want to see you hurt," she cried. Clark was grabbing at her waist when a green mist starting filling the air. Clark doubled over in pain. "Ahhh..." he moaned. "CLARK!" Lois screamed as she dropped down to the ground and looked at her partner. This gave ample time for the attacker to grab Lois and for another couple of guys to show up out of no where and grab onto Clark. "Claa...cough!...Claar....cough...cough...Clark..." Lois gagged as she was being dragged off into the smoke. >tbc< ========= Re: uh oh...here comes trouble! Lois awoke to a cool and stoney surface. A sharp pain shot through her head. She brought her hand up to her forehead and felt a bump. She moaned out in pain, as she tried to sit up. Lois found Clark next to her. His shirt was torn and a bit of blood trickled from his lips. "Clark!?!" she exclaimed. "Clark? Are you okay?" Lois asked as she ran her hands down his stiff body. "Clark?!?" "Hmm..." Clark stirred. "Clark!" Lois said as she smiled. "Lois..." he whispered. "Oh Clark, I'm so glad you're okay! I have no clue where we are and I'm so scared! I don't know what happened to us when..." she babbled. "Shh..." Clark said as he placed his fingers on her lips. He lifted his head up high enough so he could kiss her lips. Lois responded and she could feel Clark's heart pounding as her kisses seemed to be creating some extra strength. Lois started unbuttoning his shirt, so she could clean his wounds. As her fingers slide over the first button, Clark's eyes started to close. "Clark? What are you doing? No, Clark! Please don't go to sleep...please stay awake...No Clark...NO!" she cried. >tbc< Look for Week #50 coming to a PC near you! Enjoy! BTW, this marks the end to PART ONE of my RPG. So for those of you who were waiting for Part One to be completed, now you can start reading! LoL! Part 2 will begin starting with Week #50. Thanks! Alexis ;-.) "ADITLOM" arbitrator ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 19:27:37 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Looking for an editor Comments: To: afolcslife@egroups.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I have an RpG on yahoo that just wrapped up it's first part (Part 1) I really need someone to help me out. It's almost 460 pages long but it would be okay if anyone wanted to edit it in sections. LOL! Anyway, if you're interested in editing it, please email at LoisLane9397@aol.com I want to get this puppy edited so I can submit it to the archives. Thanks, Alexis ;-.) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 23:22:26 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Fanfic Archive -- submission deadline for a December upload Just a reminder ... if you want your story uploaded to the L&C Fanfic Archive by the end of December 2000 (and thus have it eligible for the Kerth awards this coming March), you must have the story submitted to stories@lcfanfic.com by December 1, 2000. (That's next week!) If you submit your story after December 1, it may not be uploaded until January 2001. (BTW, if anyone has a story that they wouldn't mind having uploaded in January, I would appreciate having it -- it's always hard to find stories to upload in the first few weeks of January, since so many people want to get them up in December. So if you have a story that I could upload in January, let me know!) If you have any questions, please let me know. Kathy _________________________________ Kathy Brown Editor-In-Chief Lois & Clark Fanfic Archive: kathybrown91@home.com OR kathyb@lcfanfic.com KathyB on IRC _________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 00:48:21 -0600 Reply-To: truitt22@flash.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: timothy truitt Organization: tnt technical services Subject: Re: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Forty-Eighth Installment, Week #49 (Part 1 of 1) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Alexis Glad you are posting again. A plot getting interesting. When are you going to start part 2. Don't wait too long. I'm enjoying this. merry ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 05:19:58 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Subject: Re: R: Essential classics for newbies? In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 11:55 AM 11/23/2000 -0500, you wrote: >Wendy said: >>But I was thinking of older stories than those - really, from while the >>series was still in its first run. Some of those really good ones, as Pam >>mentions, were nominated for the 1998 Kerths, but there are others also >>worth mentioning... > > >Has anyone mentioned Debby Stark's "Carry Tiger to Mountain"? >Terry Oh, thank you :) I've got to look over it for old typos and put it on my site... I'm half way through repairing old Dawnings (gosh, some awful typos...). Thanks for thinking of me :) Debby huitziln@cais.net ftp://ftp.darkmage.net/pub/dstark ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 13:26:33 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Grammar websites? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all, :) I seem to remember a while back that some of you had mentioned some good websites for looking up answers to grammatical and punctuation questions, like when to use ellipses, different tenses of words, etc. Does anyone have a good website or two to give me technical answers like that? Thanks in advance, 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: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 18:40:48 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Laurie Dunn Subject: Re: Grammar websites? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Erin, I happened to bookmark one of the beforementioned sites: < or http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html LaurieD ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 01:41:37 -0000 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Re: Grammar websites? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Erin, here are a couple I have bookmarked. http://www.aj.com/main/metaAnswer.asp?metaURL=http://webster.commnet.edu/HP/ pages/darling/grammar/marks/marks.htm http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/fr_gram.html LabRat :) ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 18:05:37 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: Grammar websites? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi Erin! :)This looks like a good site: http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htmHope you find it helpful,Irene--- Erin Klingler wrote:> Hi all, :)> > I seem to remember a while back that some of you had> mentioned some good> websites for looking up answers to grammatical and> punctuation questions, like> when to use ellipses, different tenses of words,> etc. Does anyone have a good> website or two to give me technical answers like> that?> > Thanks in advance,> > 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."> __________________ sirenegold@yahoo.com --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 21:27:23 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Forty-Ninth Installment, Week #50 (Part 1 of 1) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable This is the forty-ninth installment of my rpg on yahoo called, "A Day in the Life of Metropolis." Go to: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/aditlom Public and private feedback welcomed! =3D) =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Cast List: Cat Grant: Renda Mayson Drake: Renda Perry White: Renda Dan Scardino: Renda * * * * WEEK #50 Cat and Mayson make Lunch! "Well Mayson since we=E2=80=99re here doing phone sitting, why don't we fix=20= some=20 lunch?" Cat asked Mayson as she turned to look out the window. The day and=20 night and flown and Sunday was over and now it was Monday. Cat knew in=20 the back of her mind that she had a date with the Jet, and the frown on=20 her face couldn't hide the apprehension she felt inside.=20 >tbc< =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Mayson fixes the salad As Mayson Drake finished the salad and put it in the refridgerator she=20 turned and looked at Catherine. "You know, I am going to fly back with=20 you. Cat it was not you fault that the pilots were injured by those=20 games. We are all grateful that you could fly the jet and land it=20 safely!" Mayson tried to reassure her friend. Catherine Grant smiled at her and picked up the phone. "Yes. This is Cat=20 Grant. I am calling to check on the status of the Grant Industries Jet." The Airport Mechanic told Cat that the Jet was air worthy and in=20 wonderful shape. Cat smiled and hung up the phone. She turned and looked at Mayson. "You know Mayson. The Jet is fine and we will have great weather flying=20 back. But somehow I feel like something was taken away from me." >tbc<=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Cat and Mayson! Cat turned to Mayson and asked, "Do you think that Diego and the others=20 will find any more of those quake machines?"=20 Mayson looked at her and a frown crinkled her brow. "I really don't=20 know. It is possible. You know with Diego suspecting the Joker as the=20 Gotham culprit!" Cat nodded and replied, "Well, you know the Joker is just as hard to=20 apprehend as Luthor!" =20 =20 * * * * Silver cylinder Diego walked over to get a closer look at the silver cyclinder. He=20 noticed a card sitting on the side of it. He took out his camera and=20 looked through it and with the lens brought it into focus. The card was=20 a Joker! "I believe we have the answer we need!" Diego said to the=20 others. "It would seem the Joker's Wild!" Perry looked at Diego and the others and said, "Well, from what I've=20 heard about this Joker character, Batman is about the only being who can=20 stop him!" Diego nodded and replied, "We just have to keep tabs on the activities=20 of the Joker and *if* the Dark Knight is needed, well then we can simply=20 contact the Commissioner!" Ramone listened to the exchange. "Diego, you realize that the Joker=20 could also be responsible for the accident on Grant Industries Jet!" Diego nodded. "I agree, Ramone. Dan do you think your agency could get=20 some more information on Luthor and Joker?" Dan nodded and opened his secure cell phone. "Yes this is Scardino, I=20 need operation scrabble initiated soon!" >tbc< =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Catherine and Mayson! Diego called Catherine and Mayson to let them know the latest=20 developments. Cat hung up the phone and told Mayson about the card with=20 the Joker on it. "It would seem that we may need help!" Mayson looked at Cat and shook her head. "Catherine you know we can call=20 the Commissioner if we need to!" Cat looked at her and replied, "Yes, and that may be necessary. But I=20 have another idea!" Mayson looked at Cat and asked, "Your idea won't get us into trouble will=20 it?" Cat looked at her and laughed. "I don't think it will. It just requires=20 some investigative reporting. And the beauty of it is, that it will look=20 like Society reporting!" >tbc<=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Catherine and Mayson! Mayson and Cat dressed and headed to downtown Gotham. Catherine Grant=20 was on a mission and would not be swayed from her task. Mayson was more=20 or less along for the ride since at this point in time she was clueless=20 as to Cat's plan. They arrived at a club, called Gambling Joker. Mayson looked at Cat and=20 replied, "Catherine Grant you are going to get us both killed!" Catherine turned to Mayson winked and replied,. "You have to flirt with=20 danger sometimes and dance with the Devil to see that Justice is=20 served." Mayson looked at her and said, "Diego and Ramone will hang us by our=20 finger nails for this!" Cat laughed and told the limo driver to wait for them. Catherine and Mayson walked into the club and waited to be seated. The=20 host looked at them with piercing eyes and motioned them to follow him.=20 He seated Catherine and Mayson at a table and waved a waitress in their=20 direction. The waitress wearing court jester type outfit asked them, "What'll ya=20 have?" Cat looked up and replied, "I have white wine!" Mayson replied, "I'll have a martini dry." "Okay I'll be back shortly!" The waitress prissed away to get their=20 drinks. Cat looked at Mayson and asked, "Do you feel like we are being observed?" Mayson looked at Cat and said, "Yes, I do!" Cat looked around and decided to check out the powder room. "Mayson, I=20 am going to go to the powder room." Mayson watched Cat leave and thought to herself. *Be careful Cat!* The waitress brought the drinks and plopped them down on the table, snappin= g=20 gum she prissed away again. Mayson looked around the room and wondered what would happen next. Catherine had been in the powder room for a few minutes when the powder=20 room attendent came in and handed Cat an envelope. Cat looked at it=20 surprised.=20 She opened the envelope and was shocked to see that it was a photograph of=20 her=20 Father with a bullet drawn into the forehead of the photo. Catherine gasped for air and ran back to the table. She grabbed=20 Mayson's arm. "We have to get out of here, NOW!" Outside the club, Cat turned to Mayson still shaking and said, "Mayson,=20 we have to be extremely careful there is alot at stake." Mayson was about to ask Catherine more when Cat handed her the photo.=20 Mayson turned pale and said. "Cat, we need to notify the police about=20 this." Cat looked at her. "But we have no proof Mayson. Only this photo that=20 was given to me by a powder room attendent." >tbc<=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Ulysses Grant Photo... Cat looked at Mayson as they drove through Gotham in the limo.=20 "Mayson...If anything happened to my Father...I..." Her voice trailed=20 off as she looked out of the window. Mayson placed a hand on her shoulder. "Cat, We won't let anything happen=20 to him." Cat smiled and replied, "He has come such a long way from the days of=20 sleeping pill abuse and him taking his frustrations out on Mom and me. I=20 just don't want to lose the man he has become now." Mayson smiled. "I understand perfectly Cat." "I think we should call Diego and let him see this photo!" Cat nodded and said, "You are right, Mayson we will call Diego now." Cat picked up her cellphone and called Diego. She told him about the=20 photo delivered to her in the powder room of the Gambling Joker. "Yes,=20 Diego we will be careful. Bye now." Cat hung up the phone and turned to=20 Mayson. "You know just when you think you have things figured out it takes=20= a=20 turn down another road!" >tbc<=20 =20 * * * * =E2=80=9CMetropolis Vice!=E2=80=9D Perry White called the Daily Planet on his cell phone to make sure that=20 the paper was on time and would make the deadline. "Okay, and you are=20 sure that there are no glitches?" Perry listened to the temporary editor=20 tell him that all was well and the paper was on time again. "Well okay.=20 Goodbye!" Perry hung up the phone and sighed.=20 Diego looked at him and asked, "Something wrong at the Planet?"=20 Perry shook his head. "No, I just miss the smell of ink." Diego looked at him and said,"Ink would smell much nicer than the oder=20 here in these drainage tunnels!" Ramone looked at them as said, "A homless man would smell better than=20 this place!" Dan Scardino looked around and asked,. "Do you really think that this is=20 the work of the Joker?" Diego looked at him and replied, "I have learned never to take clues at=20 face value where certain criminals are concerned." Dan looked puzzled but remained silent! >tbc< * * * * Re: Ulysses Grant Photo... Cat and Mayson made another stop at the hotel photo store. Cat picked up=20 more of the Ball pictures. "I have a hunch Mayson that there is more to=20 this than meets the eye." Mayson looked at Cat and asked, "Cat, does your Father know anyone here in=20 Gotham?" Cat looked at Mayson and smiled. "Yes, he knows alot of people here and=20 in many cities. My Father has holdings around the world and as a=20 business man I am sure he has many enemies." Mayson listened and then replied, "Well, you know if it is this Joker=20 person he can be ruthless!" Cat looked at Mayson and said, "Mayson, who ever is behind these threats=20 well they aren't playing with a full deck and that makes them criminally=20 dangerous! These criminals are the worst kind to apprehend because they=20 write their own rules." Mayson nodded in agreement. >tbc< * * * * Look for Week #51 coming to a PC near you! Enjoy! Alexis ;-.) "ADITLOM" arbitrator "I see it but I don't believe it." (Cat) "What? A man who flies?" (co-worker) "No. Lois Lane, finally, literally, swept off her feet. Too bad he's an=20 alien." (Cat) {LnC, Pilot} ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 21:43:11 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Fiftieth Installment, Week #51 (Part 1 of 1) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable This is the fiftieth-ninth installment of my rpg on yahoo called, "A Day in the Life of Metropolis." Go to: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/aditlom Public and private feedback welcomed! =3D) =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Cast List: Anya Starr: Tabitha Cat Grant: Renda Mayson Drake: Renda Dick Grayson: Dave * * * * * WEEK #51 Anya "Want to go to Zeta Delta tonight? I hear there's a great party," asked=20 Monica with a grin as she gathered up her books. "Well I can't, I hopefully have an interview tonight," said Anya.=20 "Hopefully? You want to interview somebody rather then party. Are you=20 crazy?" demanded Monica.=20 "Well I hope to interview Cat Grant. She's from Metropolis and she landed=20 a plane when something happened to it's pilot and co-pilot," said Anya.=20 Monica still wasn't impressed. "Look I'll try to make it. Besides why do you want me to go so badly if all=20 you are going to be doing is making out with your boyfriend?" asked the blac= k=20 hair college student.=20 "That's not the point, so when are you going to do this interview?"=20 asked Monica. "I don't know I still need to call her," said Anya.=20 "Well do you know her phone number?" asked Monica tossing her fiery red=20 orange=20 curls.=20 "Yup," said Anya simply.=20 "So when are you going to see Dick Grayson again?" asked Monica.=20 "I dunno I gave him my phone number," said Anya.=20 Monica squealed loudly. "You go girl," she laughed.=20 "Get that look of your face gosh I only met this guy once. This is a guy=20 that probably has his own fan club for goodness sake!" stated Anya.=20 Monica rolled her eyes. "Who?" asked a brown haired girl. "Dick Grayson, Anya went out with him last night and stayed at the Wayne=20 Manor," explained Monica.=20 "He goes here you know," said the brown haired girl.=20 "That's great but this is a big college..." Anya started.=20 Monica interupted her. "Stop being such a downer. We could very easyily get=20= a=20 hold of his class list..." Monica started to rattle.=20 Anya dialed her cell phone praying Cat would answer. >tbc< =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Anya Ring....Ring....."Hello Catherine Grant here, speak to me!" Cat listened as a female named Anya Starr asked her for an interview=20 tonight of all things. "Well Anya....I'll agree to this interview if you ca= n=20 meet me at the Celtic Queen at the Gotham harbors at eight o clock and bring a date if you'd like!" Cat listened to her and replied. "Okay Ms. Starr, I'll see you tonight at the Celtic Queen. The Front=20 Desk Clerk can give you directions to my suite. Bye for now!" Cat hung up the phone and turning to Mayson saidm "I am being=20 interviewed by a Ms. Anya Starr tonight!" Mayson looked at Cat and said, "Well what do you know!" >tbc< =3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Anya Anya let out a squeal as she hung up her phone. Monica looked up from=20 her book and looked at Anya. "I have no lost my mind. I have an=20 interview with Ms. Grant tonight at the Celtic Queen," said Anya.=20 "I am impressed, anything else I should know before I rack my brain trying t= o=20 think of what you should wear," asked Monica.=20 "I am sure jeans and a shirt will be fine. She says I can bring a date," sai= d=20 Anya.=20 "Let me pick your clothes. Why don't you call up Dick to see if he'll go wit= h=20 you?" asked Monica. "Because I don't know..." Anya started.=20 "Stop being a wuss and ask him," commanded Monica.=20 Anya frowned and picked up her phone . "I am not a chicken look," she stated= =20 as she dialed the phone. "Yes hello I would like the phone number of Dick=20 Grayson please,"=20 she said to the operator.=20 Monica smiled and started to think of what Anya should wear for the night=20 >tbc< =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Anya=E2=80=99s call Dick was hanging out in Barbara=E2=80=99s room while she got ready for class= . Barbara placed her comb on the vanity, and made her way to the large oak=20 desk on the other side of the room. reaching for her backpack and=20 leather jacket. "You ridin' in?" "Yeah, I've got class in a few..." A soft chirp eminated from Dick's pocket. He reached into it to produce=20 a small cell phone, and extended the antenna. "Dick Grayson..." >tbc< =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Anya=E2=80=99s call "Hello Dick, this is Anya from the ball remember? Anyway I have an=20 interview to do with Catherine Grant and she said I should bring a date=20 so I thought you might want to go with me. Or else my room \mate here=20 will try to play match maker and set me up with someone else. It's at=20 the Celtic Queen tonight," said Anya.=20 Anya raised an eyebrow not impressed as Monica fell to the floor laughing.=20 >tbc< =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Re: Anya=E2=80=99s call Barbara peered over to hear snatches of Anya's voice over the phone. She=20 giggled and winked at Dick. Dick ignored her. "Of course I remember you, Anya. I've been looking all=20 over for you! Where are you?! Are you okay?!!! I'm so sorry. You're not=20 mad, are you?" >tbc< * * * * Re: Anya/Cat and Mayson! Mayson looked at Cat. "What have you got cooking in that brain of yours=20 now?"=20 Catherine smiled at her like a cat who just ate the canery and=20 replied, "Well, Anya is a reporter and we are trying to fish out a joker=20 or a prankster if you get my drift?" Mayson looked at Catherine and threw a pillow at her. "Cat Grant you are=20 a genius. You may get us killed but you are a genius!" "Oh Darling you haven't seen anything yet!" >tbc< * * * * Re: Anya=E2=80=99s call "Chill, I am fine. I left you a note. I am sorry for having to rush out=20 but you see I had an early English Lit class to go to. I am not at all=20 mad," said Anya with a smile.=20 "Not mad just stupid to skip the company of a hottie to attend ole' Mr.=20 North's crummy class," spoke up Monica.=20 Anya glared at her roommate. Monica continued reading her magazine happily. >tbc< * * * * Re: Anya/Cat and Mayson! Diego, Perry, Ramone and Dan arrived at Cat and Mayson's suite. Cat=20 walked over to Diego and told him about their plans for tonight at eight=20 in the Irish Club of the hotel. "Catherine, are you sure that you want=20 to do this?"=20 Cat looked at Diego and smiled. "Sometimes you have to take chances to=20 flush out a fish!" Diego told Catherine about the joker card on the quake device in the=20 tunnel. Cat walked around the room thinking. She turned to Diego and=20 said, "I smell a rat!" Diego nodded. "Si, that is what I am thinking also." Cat looked around the room and picked up the information that she had=20 gathered since the things had started happening in Metropolis. "Diego, remember the problems you had in Spain last year?" Diego smiled and shook his head yes. Cat walked over and whispered in his ear. "The best way to catch an=20 elusive mind is to walk right into it!" >tbc< * * * * Look for Week #52 coming to a PC near you! Enjoy! Alexis ;-.) "ADITLOM" arbitrator "I see it but I don't believe it." (Cat) "What? A man who flies?" (co-worker) "No. Lois Lane, finally, literally, swept off her feet. Too bad he's an=20 alien." (Cat) {LnC, Pilot} ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 21:46:45 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Oops! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ignore that last fwd of my rpg...I meant to send it someplace else! Thanks, Alexis ;-.) "I see it but I don't believe it." (Cat) "What? A man who flies?" (co-worker) "No. Lois Lane, finally, literally, swept off her feet. Too bad he's an alien." (Cat) {LnC, Pilot} ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 21:50:11 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: LOISCLA MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Can someone please send the URL to the LOISCLA archives. I lost my bookmarks the other day. :( Thanks, Alexis ;-.) "I see it but I don't believe it." (Cat) "What? A man who flies?" (co-worker) "No. Lois Lane, finally, literally, swept off her feet. Too bad he's an alien." (Cat) {LnC, Pilot} ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 20:24:58 -0700 Reply-To: erink@ida.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Fun English Quizzes! (Was: RE: Grammar websites?) In-Reply-To: <20001126020537.26580.qmail@web903.mail.yahoo.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all, First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for the links to the grammar sites! You guys sure gave me some good ones. :) Secondly, in my quest for some more of these grammar sites, I found one that had a bunch of grammar/punctuation quizzes. I know, I know...most of you are probably thinking, "Voluntary English quizzes?! You've got to be kidding!" But as a hopelessly addicted writer, I thought it was great fun to see how my old high school and college English was holding up. :) You can click on any one of the dozens of quizzes, and they give you your question, then when you complete your answer, you can immediately click on the answer to compare and see how you did. So it's really no scary task. Anyway, if anyone is as demented in me in their passion for staying sharp with their English, here's the site: http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.stm#marks Off to try some more quizzes, 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: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 03:55:12 -0000 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Re: Fun English Quizzes! (Was: RE: Grammar websites?) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Erin, thank you - what a wonderful site. And the best way to learn of course! I think I've learned more here in the past half hour than I have in months of purusing all of the other grammar sites together. :) Thank you for sharing. LabRat :) > Anyway, if anyone is as demented in me in their passion for staying sharp > with their English, here's the site: > > http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.stm#marks > ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 23:38:52 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Margaret Brignell Subject: Re: Essential Classics Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" On Fri, 24 Nov 2000 00:18:35 -0000 LabRat wrote: > I don't know if any of these have already been mentioned - sorry, haven't got time to go check the previous posts. I'd agree with all of the stories previously mentioned, most of which are my own favourites. Along with the following: > > Whisky Galore - FlakeyDom. > Meet Me In Kansas City - Chris Mulder > A Kansas Fourth - Jeff Brogden > Carol Malo's Recognition series. > Margaret Brignall's Early Clark series: The Rules, The Long Road and The One. > Pam Jernigan's President Kent series. > Discoveries - Barbara > Alt. Shook Up - Georgia Walden > In the Beginning - B.B. Medos > Swapmeet: Burbank - Debby Stark and its companion fic Swapmeet: Metropolis - Margaret Brignall. > Thank you:) I haven't read the Early Clark stories or "SwapMeet: Metropolis" myself since I threw them at the archive, maybe I should--even if it's only to check for the inevitable typos Nah, let the typos fall where they may, they add a certain insouciance to the work;) > Sigh...wallowing in nostalgia and remembering many happy nights spent curled up on the sofa lost in the worlds these and other authors created... > Yes, those were the days:) I like your list of suggestions (and not just because I'm on it) Although, a couple of the authors aren't familiar to me. I *am* slowly catching up on the backlog of unread fanfic I have on my C: drive. I think I'm up to about February 1999 so I can't really comment on any recent stories. Aside from the above--and ones others have mentioned--some of the stories I liked (and saved) that were written back when the show was in full swing were (in no particular order): [The dates in square brackets are the dates I saved the story to my C: drive.] "Couch Potatoes" by Phil Atcliffe [1996] "Two Roses" by Lynda Love [1996] "Forget Me Knot, Redux" by Pam Jernigan [1996] "Degeneration" by Jeff Brogden [1998 (but written much earlier, I think)] "Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave" by Jennifer Baker [1995] There are lots more, but these are a good beginning:) Margaret ****************************** Margaret Brignell brignell@sympatico.ca Ottawa, Canada %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% My fanfic now available at: http://www3.sympatico.ca/brignell/ ****************************** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 05:00:47 -0000 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Re: Essential Classics MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Margaret wrote: > I like your list of suggestions (and not just because I'm on it) > Although, a couple of the authors aren't familiar to me. I *am* slowly > catching up on the backlog of unread fanfic I have on my C: drive. I think > I'm up to about February 1999 so I can't really comment on any recent stories. > I'm fairly sure - although don't quote me [g] - that all of the fic on my list are available on the Archive. So I think anyone interested in finding them should be able to pick them up there with a bit of luck. :) LabRat :) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 02:54:28 -0500 Reply-To: phmogul@mindspring.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Philip H. Mogul" Organization: Science, Inc. Subject: Re: LOISCLA MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I think this is what you want. http://www.lcfanfic.com/ Take care, Phil "Alexis W." wrote: > Can someone please send the URL to the LOISCLA archives. I lost my bookmarks > the other day. :( > > Thanks, > Alexis ;-.) > > "I see it but I don't believe it." (Cat) > "What? A man who flies?" (co-worker) > "No. Lois Lane, finally, literally, swept off her feet. Too bad he's an > alien." (Cat) > {LnC, Pilot} -- _________________________________________________ Intelligence is like a river, the greater the depth, the quieter it is. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 09:32:19 -0000 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Re: Essential Classics... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable You've got me going now. Just a couple more favs that I discovered = while giving my fanfic index a long overdue overhaul this morning. BB Medos - Lois' Revenge and its sequel, Clark's Response. Waffy and = funny. Peabody's - Goodnight, Metropolis - Waffy and sweet. For those who enjoy Next Gen fic: Susan Stones' series of fanfic. Especially Lanie and the Giantkillers. Rachel Smith - Anna Karen Ward - Tomorrow's Past. Christy Kubit - Emptiness in Harmony - one of my all time favourite Next = Gen fics. Enjoy. :) LabRat :)=20 ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 10:19:18 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Daisy Chain Subject: Re: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Fiftieth Installment, Week #51 (Part 1 of 1) Wow! I thought my holiday weekend at the relatives would be a bore, and was happy to see they have the 'net. Having never been on before, I surfed around and stumbled across this Lois and Clark list (I LOVE that show and Dean Cain is hot, hot, hot!). The idea of a RPG was intriguing, so I checked it out, starting with #49...you know, just to take a peek. This is fabulous! Terrific! The best spoof I've ever read! Some of my fave parts are: (#50)"Barbara peered over to hear snatches of Anya's voice over the phone", "The best way to catch an elusive mind is to walk right into it", (#49) "He quickly gathered Lois in his arms and made such a force with his body that it threw them both outside...", "..she ran into something soft. Ummf! Lois looked up and noticed a man standing there." and "Lois responded and she could feel Clark's heart pounding as her kisses seemed to be creating some extra strength". These lines are just a scream! At first, I thought this might be translated from another language (you know how those trans. site get words wrong and such), and then I realized that this is just sheer genius! I can't imagine how much time it must have taken to put this together. I mean, your on #51 and still in part 1. And the detail! "Shoot" instead of chute, the typos, and other little gems that I found throughout the story. I was laughing my butt off all night! Thanks for a great read. I've printed out the whole thing and can't wait to go back to the beginning and read the whole thing. You are a genius! I hope you're trying for a job in sketch/joke writing or something like that, because you would be a sensation. Bye! Daisy ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 08:03:19 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: LOISCLA MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I think this might be what you're looking for, Alexis. Nan http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/loiscla-general-l.html Alexis W. wrote: > Can someone please send the URL to the LOISCLA archives. I lost my bookmarks > the other day. :( > > Thanks, > Alexis ;-.) > > "I see it but I don't believe it." (Cat) > "What? A man who flies?" (co-worker) > "No. Lois Lane, finally, literally, swept off her feet. Too bad he's an > alien." (Cat) > {LnC, Pilot} ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 11:37:04 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: new fic on the archive MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Glad to see Jenni's Red Sky got to the archive. This series is worth reading--and continuing (hint, Jenni!!). --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 18:18:13 -0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: btinternetmail Subject: Re: Grammar websites? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Erin Try the following: http://www.wsu.edu:80801~brians/errors.html this is good for common errors in English. Hope this helps Regards EileenB ----- Original Message ----- From: "Erin Klingler" To: Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2000 8:26 PM Subject: Grammar websites? > Hi all, :) > > I seem to remember a while back that some of you had mentioned some good > websites for looking up answers to grammatical and punctuation questions, like > when to use ellipses, different tenses of words, etc. Does anyone have a good > website or two to give me technical answers like that? > > Thanks in advance, > > 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: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 18:20:28 -0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: btinternetmail Subject: Re: LOISCLA MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Alexis This is at http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/loiscla-general-l.html. Hope this helps Regards Eileen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alexis W." To: Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2000 2:50 AM Subject: LOISCLA > Can someone please send the URL to the LOISCLA archives. I lost my bookmarks > the other day. :( > > Thanks, > Alexis ;-.) > > "I see it but I don't believe it." (Cat) > "What? A man who flies?" (co-worker) > "No. Lois Lane, finally, literally, swept off her feet. Too bad he's an > alien." (Cat) > {LnC, Pilot} > ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 15:53:01 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Margaret Brignell Subject: A question about the archive search feature Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi, I'm intermittently keeping up-to-date on the fanfic list via the archive, rather than going "mail" on the list. However, whenever I do a date search at the page http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/loiscla-general-l.html, to find out what's new since the last time I went to the page, I get the following two messages at the beginning of every result: Item # Date Time Recs Subject 000681 17/11/20 15:53 15 Re: Looking for a fanfic 020643 04/01/01 15:04 40 Re: Fanfic Recommendation I used to only get Item # 000681, but now I get two extra messages. I'm assuming this is because the items have invalid dates. Is there any way to eliminate them from my search result? Also, is there some way to sort the date search result by Subject? Thanks Margaret ****************************** Margaret Brignell brignell@sympatico.ca Ottawa, Canada %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% My fanfic now available at: http://www3.sympatico.ca/brignell/ ****************************** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 12:57:56 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JaT Subject: 7 Days of Superman Parts 30 and 31 Comments: To: 7days FanFic <7DaysFic@egroups.com>, BackStep Fiction , Tad Flowers , Dave and Debbie Harrison , Melanie , Backstep Operation , Vernon Terrell , Travel Time , Dad Tull , Danny Tull MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Title:Seven Days of Superman Author/pseudonym:Mr. D8A Fandom:Seven Days/Lois & Clark:The New Adventures of Superman Rating:PG-13 Status: PARTS 30 & 31 Archive: Yes E-mail address for feedback:mr_d8a@yahoo.com Series/Sequel: 7 Days/l&c:tTNAOS Crossover Other websites:BACKGROUND INFORMATION.SEVEN DAYS (Details supplied by http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/9329/SevenDays Disclaimers: Lois and Clark and the rest of the show's entourage are the property of DC, Warner, ABC, and Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson. Seven Days is the property of UPN. Summary:Superman fails to stop the nuking of Washington DC and gets some help from Frank B. Parker from Operation Backstep. Part: 30 Sent +++++++++++++++++++++++ Wednesday, October 6, 1999 7:47pm CST Smallville Kent Farm +++++++++++++++++++++++ Nan and the Carpers were waiting for them when they arrived. They had heard the news and feared they had lost both men. Nan covered her mouth, running toward them even before they landed. She grabbed Lex and gave him a warm hug. But Lex wasn't in a hugging mood. He swiftly pulled away and moved into the house. Nan looked over her shoulder at the threesome. Seeing her quandary, Olivia shooed her after him. The Carpers moved toward Clark, gentle smiles on their faces. Fred stretched out his hand and firmly grasped Clark's in his. "Welcome home, Super…" As had always been his custom, since this Clark had dawned the cape, he had started to call him Superman. To Fred, he would always be Superman as long as he wore the Suit. It just seemed right, no matter how often Clark had insisted otherwise. Now, however, Fred's greeting died on his lips. He took in the gaunt look of Clark's face, the haggard drupe of his shoulders. Lex had told him. He knew about Lois. Fred's face paled as he stammered. "I…I'm so sorry." Clark ripped his hand away from Fred’s. “Sorry? SORRY?” Clark’s face was a study in cold fury. “You’ve been ‘friends’ of the family for as long as I can remember. You were the first non-family members to ‘discover’ how special Lex and I were. *Now,* I know why you had such a sad look on your face whenever you saw Lois, Olivia. Or should I call you Olga?” Olivia looked down. “Olivia is fine.” “Now, I know why you cried as much as Ellen when we got married. You weren’t crying out of happiness, but in sorrow! We even made you both Alexander’s godparents.” Clark ran his hand through his hair. “Why? Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you try to stop this?” Fred tried to explain. “We did try. God knows we tried. Something had been preventing us from making any changes. Something has always stopped us. Most of the time, it just didn’t seem the thing to do.” **It just didn’t seem the thing to do. That sounds familiar.** “The Subliminator.” “The what?” came Olivia’s query. Clark’s face had softened considerably. “It sounds like you have been under the effects of the Subliminator.” “You mean that device that Tempus used to win the election against your mom?” “Yeah, but the way it was used on you doesn’t sound like his style though. It’s too subtle for his liking. I just don’t understand.” Clark shook his head in dismay. Olivia heard the weariness in his tone, understood his confusion, and remembered his grief. The sorrow in her bespectacled, ancient eyes reached out and touched Clark’s heart. “Clark, I’m so sorry." She reassured him, "Lois went quickly. She wanted you to have this.” Olivia agedly reached up and started to pull the thin silver chain over her head. Clark had never seen her without it around her neck. She had never let anyone see what was on the end. Finally, she removed it. It held a white gold band and a diamond solitaire engagement ring. He would have recognized them anywhere. He had sealed his vows with them to Lois six years ago. Upon seeing them, he started to cry. Olivia gently placed them in his hand. He accepted the band and held it up to his tear filled eyes and tried to focus on the inscription inside. After wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he could read what he had written so long ago. “To Our Eternal Love – Clark.” He had engraved it himself; combining his microscopic vision with his heat vision. His face crumpled. It was the tangible proof that he had lost her. The heart of steel was shattered. Olivia's soul ached for the superhero. She had been devastated after the loss of her first husband. It took a long time before she allowed anyone to be close to her. Frank Parker was the first to get in under her protective shell. After being trapped in the past for more than five years, she finally gave up on being rescued and accepted his proposal. The last twenty-five years of their life together had been wonderful, but it would be selfish to prevent Lex from having a chance to have a normal life. They had already talked about it. They really had no other choice. They would try to fix what went wrong. ~*~ Try as he might, Lex could not believe he had made so stupid an error. He had been kicking himself all the way back from the East Coast. Even seeing Nan at the end of the trip didn’t make him feel better. He went into the house and plopped down on a kitchen chair. “Lex, what happened? I thought you remembered how to program the missile,” Nan asked gently. “So did I. So did I. I'm not sure what went wrong. The readouts looked fine. All I can think of is that maybe it measured in kilometers instead of miles. I don't know. All I *do* know is that most of the East Coast is in darkness. Anyone with a pacemaker is probably dead. And to make matters worse, there's a cloud of Kryptonite laced, radioactive fallout spreading halfway across the globe on the jet stream right now." Lex paused for a moment and then continued. "Oh, and let's not forget me telling Clark how his wife died. That was a real joy. All in the span of a couple of hours. Not bad for Supersap!” Lex's self-loathing had reached a pinnacle. “Don’t call yourself that! You couldn’t have known." She tried to lighten the mood. "Besides, you saved my life, so you're not a total screw-up.” Lex looked Nan deeply in the eyes and smiled. He loved it when she tried to brighten his spirits. He had fallen in love with her the day he met her. Both times. First as the three-year-old Alexander--less than a month ago, real time; thirty years ago, by his memory. The second was just a little before that. @@@@@@@@ Six months earlier. @@@@@@@@ Nan had been temporarily assigned to the detail that came to check out the Metropolis pending an official visit from the President and Jonathan Kent. Lex met her on one of his patrols, educating a mugger on the error of his ways. He had heard the struggle and cry for help and was coming to the rescue, when she stepped around the corner of the alley. He stayed above and watched the scene unfold. She was just as he remembered her: five foot three with long, flowing chocolate-brown hair and marbled blue eyes. Her size was her disarming feature. That lithe frame of hers carried a wicked set of martial arts skills that could best someone three times her size. She much preferred hand-to-hand combat to pulling a gun. She loved the adrenaline which flowed through her veins at such times. Plus, she got a real kick out of taking down brutes the size of sumo wrestlers. And she loved to taunt her targets. “Hey! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size? Like a three year old.” The man dropped his intended victim and tossed his knife from hand to hand. “I think you’ll do just fine, sweetie.” In a sing-song voice Nan called out, “Help. Help, help.” -- just like the damsel-in-distress from a Ray Stevens’ song. It was all Lex could do to contain his laughter. With a wry grin, he watched as Nan swiftly rendered the would-be-mugger weaponless and incapacitated. With her foot firmly on his throat, she mused out loud, “Now, what do I do with you?” Lex came floating down from above. “Allow me, Agent Smith.” As soon as he said her name, he knew he had made a mistake. He had distracted her and she nearly lost her footing. “Defender! I didn’t know you were in town, but I guess that makes sense since your mom is coming.” She gave him an inquisitive look. “How did you know my name?” Lex switched to high gear. After a couple heartbeats, he had an answer. “Keith. Keith Jackson told us that some additional agents would be in town. He named the agents and only one of the names was feminine. Since you're wearing a Government Issue wardrobe and the most decidedly feminine, I put two and two together and got you.” Nan smiled at the explanation. Unlike some of her contemporaries, she was not above acknowledging a nice complement when it was offered. As Lex picked up the mugger, they walked to the nearest police precinct and dropped their bundle off. It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship. Lex had been in a state of denial since then. He had flatly refused to talk to the Carpers about the budding friendship every time they brought it up. He knew they were just trying to keep his heart from being broken. He didn't care. If they were going to reset the timeline back to the way it was, he was going to spend as much time as he could with her. And their time was running out. @@@@@@@@@ The Present @@@@@@@@@ Clark opened the kitchen door behind them and added his agreement. “She’s right. I was there with you, remember? I saw everything you saw and it all looked fine," Clark reminded him. "There was nothing on the readout that indicated kilometers instead of miles." Lex was about to argue when the phone rang. They all stared at it like it was going to bite them. Lex picked it up. “Hello, Kent's Farm.” The voice on the other end took a sharp intake. “Lex? Oh, thank the good Lord above. Sweetheart, I was so worried when the ground troops reported that you were last seen flying alongside the missile. I thought I’d lost you. Where are Lois and Clark? Where’s Alexander?" The phone hung limply in Lex’s hand. He looked pleadingly into his one-time brother’s eyes. His voice was a rasp. “I…I can’t tell her. I can’t hurt her like I did you.” Martha’s voice started to sound worried, "Lex? Lex are you there?” Clark quickly took the phone from Lex and talked to his mother. He knew that nothing would keep her from coming to him if he told her the truth. It took everything in him to calmly tell her that the last time he saw Lois and Alexander they were fine, safe with Dr. Vukavitch and Agent Parker. He told her not to worry and that they would understand her not being able to get away. There was so much to deal with, considering the explosion. He said his good-byes. “I suspect she knew I wasn’t telling her the whole truth, but this will stall her until she can deal with it.” Fred Caper winked, smiling in reassurance. “Maybe she won't have to. Not if we can undo this mess. Mrs. Carper, will you tell Clark here our plan?” +++++++++++++++++++++++ Wednesday, October 6, 1999 8:24pm CST Smallville Kent Farm +++++++++++++++++++++++ Lex thought that Nan would be the hardest to convince. She actually turned out to be quite the advocate. She was a well-trained member of the Secret Service. The well-being of her charges was paramount to any personal concerns. Who was she to deny Lois and Keith a second chance at life and Lex a normal childhood? Just because she had finally found the most wonderful man in the world didn’t mean that she could be so selfish as to want to keep him. Besides, if everything worked out the way the Carpers planned, she would have no memory of any of this. She held Lex’s hand as the decision was made. They were going to go back in time to stop Tempus before any of this could happen. No one said anything about the single tear that trailed down her cheek. ~*~ “Do you still remember the number?” “Do *I* still remember the number? You must have forgotten that I have a photographic memory.” “Then why have you started to forget our anniversary?” A frown passed across Fred’s face. “Once! I forget one time, and do you forgive and forget? Nooooo. I’ll have you kno…” Olivia Carper leaned over and kissed her husband. When they separated, she smiled and said, “Just dial the number.” Fred gave her one last dirty look and dialed a number that he hadn’t used in over thirty years. It rang. The same perky voice as always picked up the phone. He could faintly hear the smack of chewed gum before she said anything. "How may I direct your call?" "This is Conundrum.” +++++++++++++++++++++++ Wednesday, October 6, 1999 8:30pm CST Smallville Nearby grove of trees +++++++++++++++++++++++ Nit had just finished relaying what was all said. Blondie turned to Red. “We can’t allow this to happen. It will ruin everything for centuries!” Red regarded his companion. “We also weren’t supposed to let the missile blow up in the stratosphere! Clark must have somehow interfered with our control of Lex. I say that we allow them to do what they want, up to a point. They will not flubix all our hard work.” Red turned from his men and looked back at the farm house. **They are not going to undo what we have done. The future depends on it.** Part: 31 +++++++++++++++++++++++ Thursday, October 7, 1999 8:34am CST Smallville Kent Farm +++++++++++++++++++++++ Clark got up with the sun to allow himself a full hour for soaking up its life-giving energies. He now felt like a new man, both physically and emotionally. The possibility of saving Lois and getting his little Alexander back invigorated him. The first thing he was going to do was take that missile of Tempus’ and toss it from here to the other side of the moon, and if Tempus just so happened to be strapped to it, even better. Clark arrived back on the farm to find Lex and Nan just as he had left them, leaned back in the porch swing, holding each other. This was his one regret. To rob his son of this. If everything went as planned, only Clark would remember the loss. He resisted the urge to stroke his son's hair, and pushed his hand through his own instead. **Were the lives of millions worth the love of a few?** +++++++++++++++++++++++ Thursday, October 7, 1999 8:00am MST Never-Neverland Operation Backstep +++++++++++++++++++++++ The five of them landed in the middle of the compound. They were greeted by the Operation Backstep team and several enthusiastic guards. The two groups looked at each other, not sure as to who should make the first move. The team had been prepared by last night's call, but the sight of their teammates, old and gray, had stopped them cold. Talmadge, ever the leader, moved forward to shake Fred and Olivia’s hands. “Welcome home, Frank and Olga.” He turned to Olivia. The years had not been kind to her, but he still recognized the sparkle in her eye and the warmth of her smile. “You look good, Olga.” Olivia swatted Talmadge on the arm. “Flatterer!” She looked at her colleagues. "It’s so good to see you all again. I realize that we seem to have aged so much in last two days, but it’s taken us thirty years to get to this point. And please, call us Olivia and Fred. It’s the only names we’ve known for a long time.” Jason Trask stepped forward to shake the superheroes’ hands. “Ever since the Nightfall Asteroid, I’ve always wanted to meet you two gentlemen." Both men blushed a little. Lex took the initiative. “It was nothing, sir. We just pushed it in the direction Dr. Phil Atkliph told us. At first we thought he was nuts, pushing it toward the Earth, but, as you know, that extra speed caused it to miss the Earth by a good couple hundred miles. After that, it was a piece of cake to push it into the sun." The group continued to chat for a while before Fred started to get anxious. Even after all the years, Fred still hated wasting time. "I know we owe a lot to these two, but we really need to get on the stick if we're going to keep Europe and Western Asia from glowing in the dark." ~*~ In just a few minutes, the group found its way into the conference room. Trask cast his eyes around the crowded table, taking in the dynamics of the congregation. Donovan joined Fred -- they had a lot of catching up to do. Olivia sat near them, with Drs. Ballard and Mentnor, going over the ramifications of what they were going to have to do to the Sphere. Clark and Talmadge were discussing the latest attempts at discrediting his mother. And Lex and Nan stood in a corner, just holding each other. Everyone was talking at once, creating an awful din. Having confirmed her plans with the two men, Olivia decided that it was time to get the meeting going. She cleared her throat a couple of times with little success. Lex let loose a 'mild' whistle. Clark winced and the rest just put their hands to their ears. She turned to Lex and winked. "Thank you, Lex. I knew I could count on you." Olivia got to her feet slowly and began pacing as she spoke. "In a nutshell, we failed to stop Tempus' launch of the missile. Not only that, but Lois Kent was killed, and we found that the timeline had been radically changed. Lex Kent should be a little boy and not the grown man he is before you now. "It is our sworn duty to protect the interests of the United States of the Americas, as well as the world in general. We need to go back again. Only this time, we have to save Lois and Alexander, as well. We owe Superman that much." Trask voiced the obvious question, "But what about all the good that the Defender has done over the years? What about the Nightfall Asteroid?" Fred spoke up in defense of the plan. "In my own universe, Superman, by himself, stopped the asteroid. As to the rest of Lex's rescues, I don't know. If we are successful, only one person will ever know, and that’s the person we send back.” Trask was warming up to the role of being the devil's advocate. “That’s another thing I don’t get, *Fred*." He turned to the room at large, "Why are we sending Superman back? I don't want to speak ill of the most accomplished chrononaut that we ever had, but I thought Capt. Donovan was the fallback if Frank failed.” Donovan sucked in a breath as Fred winced at the remark, but Fred put a hand on Donovan’s arm so that the young man would hold his tongue. Trask was right. Frank had failed. He had failed to stop Tempus, failed to stop the missile, and especially failed to protect Superman and his family. Fred covered his face with his hands. Olivia glared at Trask while she patted her husband on the back. “I realize that Craig is the backup, but time is critical. If we fail to penetrate Tempus’ temporal force field, we are going to need someone that can move at super-speed to intercept Lex and the missile and prevent him from programming it wrong. We just can’t risk it. It must be Clark that goes back. We failed him once: we don't want to do it again." Olivia took her seat next to her husband and leaned her head on his shoulder. Clark moved placed a light hand on his friend's shoulders. "Don't call yourselves failures. You protected my son. You have also given me the strangest opportunity a father could ever have: the unique knowledge of knowing how my son will grow up and develop. If I understand you correctly, I will remember both timelines. I will cherish the memories of the brother I once had and the friends that helped make life a little easier. His voice rose as he addressed the room. "The rest of you, and even myself, have no idea the sacrifices that are being made here today. Fred and Olivia's twenty-fifth wedding anniversary was two days ago. They are sacrificing their happiness to give my family and the world a second chance." Olivia nodded in acknowledgement. She and Fred had chosen their wedding day to commemorate his arrival into their universe and her life. But since then, they had collected a lifetime of memories: swimming in the rain on their honeymoon, eating potluck at the Smallville Congregational Church with Martha and Jonathan, agonizing and oftentimes regretting their decision not to have children, delighting in the 'newfound' abilities of Clark and Lex. And the million and one times they had shared their love for each other. All those moments, they freely gave to Clark and his son. She knew their sacrifice would be remembered. But Clark wasn't finished talking. He moved over to Nan and Lex and took their hands in his. "And these two are sacrificing a future together. If everything goes according to plan, Nan will be forty-six years old by the time Alexander is ready for college. Even if they manage to find each other, it would never be the same." Clark regarded his son's eye's, "I wish it could be different. I am so sorry. So very sorry." "I understand, Dad. I've understood for years. I just wish there was some way to make this all work out for everyone." ~*~ Olivia Carper, John Ballard, a hoard of computer programmers and a handful of technicians worked all day and into the night to make the changes that they hoped would bring them success. The changes seemed simple enough, just hard to implement. Thousands of lines of code had to be scanned and minor tweaks to the temporal control rods had to be made. Finding the dimensional shift mechanism had been a stroke of luck. It appeared to have three positions, and it was sitting in the second position. The alien script above the positions seemed to indicate the first position as being the ‘off’ setting. Their knowledge of the language was still incomplete, but they had a fifty/fifty chance. There was no real way of knowing. They put the Sphere back together and started priming the reactor for the next day. They bid the guards a good-night and crawled into bed. ~*~ Olivia found Fred in his old quarters, sitting in the lounge chair with his favorite book loosely resting in his lap, fast asleep. It was H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine. He had nearly finished it, again, when sleep had overtaken him. She gently removed it from his hand and began to place the well-worn bookmark to keep his place when it struck her. This was the last time. The last time to take care of him. The last time to see to his needs. The last time to cover him up and gently kiss him on the forehead. This was their last night together. Instead of kissing him, she gently shook his shoulder until he woke up. He looked up at her eyes. He knew this was the last night, too. She placed a finger on his lips, quietly took him to the bedroom and together they reaffirmed the love that they had for each other. ~*~ Lex and Nan got married before noon. This was not what either of them had wanted for a wedding day, but if this was going to be their last day together, they wanted to be together in all ways. The ceremony was performed by the base chaplain. Clark and Fred stood for Lex, while Olivia stood up for Nan. The newlyweds spent the day traveling west around the globe, witnessing the sunrise over and over again in beautiful and exotic places. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Friday, October 8, 1999 3:24am MST Never-Neverland Operation Backstep +++++++++++++++++++++++ [[This is a message for Stan Featchum. It's a quiet night, let's go shoot some pool.]] Stan turned to Steve. "It's a quiet night, let's go shoot some pool." Steve looked at Stan like he had lost his mind. "Are you nuts?! Trask would have us demoted in a heartbeat. Where did you get an idea like that?" "I don't know. It just seemed like the thing to do." [[This is a message for Steve Bahr. You're right. Trask will never find out. Let's go.]] Steve got an odd look in his eye. "You're right. Trask will never find out. Let's go." [[This is a message for Stan Featchum. Best two out of three gets dinner from the loser.]] "Best two out of three gets dinner from the loser." "You're on." Stan and Steve left their post near the only entrance to the control room. As soon as they had turned the corner, two figures super-sped into the room. It was Red and Nit. Red closed to within an inch of Nit's face, speaking in a barely audible growl. "This is your last chance. If you botch this one I will *personally* remove your temporal stabilizer. Don't forget that your very existence depends on how well you do in the next few minutes. Have I made myself clear?" Nit vigorously nodded his head and set about linking to the Sphere's onboard computer and modifying the program. Red grinned to himself. Now it was time for his part of the mission. What he was about to do was no easy feat, but that is why he had been chosen to lead this mission. He was one of the few Kryptonian Alphas in the Peace Keeper force. Only Alpha’s could successfully pull this stunt off without any serious side affects. Betas usually got muscle cramps and raging headaches. He started to internalize his energies, speeding up his molecular structure to super-speed. His entire body began to vibrate to the point where you couldn't make out details anymore. His body seemed to hit critical mass and slipped into noncorporealism. He was intangible. He passed through the wall and glided over to the Sphere itself. He reached inside of it, solidified his hand and shifted one of the temporal control rods a fraction of a millimeter, just enough to change the temporal harmonics of the chronofield. He also switched the dimensional shifter to the third position. **No reason to make things more complicated than they already are.** When he was satisfied, he phased his hand and rejoined Nit. He sat for the remainder of their stay. Phasing always burned a lot of energy. Nit finished in a short time. Red checked his work. The kid did a good job. He favored Nit with a smile. Red lifted a small cylinder to his mouth and spoke into it. "Jel-Nor to Andrus. Mission accomplished. Mataius and I will return to you shortly." +++++++++++++++++++++++ Friday, October 8, 1999 10:04am MST Never-Neverland Operation Backstep +++++++++++++++++++++++ Most of the morning Clark prepared for the backstep. He ran through simulations and read through all the debriefings. He was as prepared as he was going to be. The only uncertainty was what was going to happen when he stopped Tempus from kidnapping Alexander. At that moment, Lex Kent would cease to exist and everything that he had done would change. Clark knew that Lex had had a big influence on their mother going into politics. Now he knew why. Lex knew she would one day be the President of the United State of the Americas. Would that change? Would setting the timeline right leave him in a world that he didn't know anymore? A world with one superhero. A world without a President Kent. A world that didn't know he was Superman. What would such a world be like? He could only imagine. All because a little boy was taken back in time some thirty years. He was beginning to wonder if Alexander was destined to grow up out of his own time. ~*~ Clark was just finishing suiting up when Lex and Nan showed up. Their faces were rife with emotion. No one knew how to say good-bye. Clark stared at son. “I told you I would come back. Now I get to keep that promise. I just wish now I didn’t have to.” Lex started to tear up and grabbed Clark close. When he finally spoke it was barely audible to Clark. “Just save Mom.” Lex rubbed his eyes and quickly backed away to Nan’s side. Clark simply nodded, not trusting his voice right then. Fred took Clark’s hand and shook it. “It’s been a pleasure to know you, Clark. See you on the other side of the timeline.” Clark smiled at Fred’s reference to the ‘other side.’ It had been decided that Clark should arrive just after Frank did so that at least this Frank Parker would have the opportunity to meet this universe’s Olga Vukavitch and have a chance at getting back together. Now that they knew Tempus’ exact plans, they could afford to shave the window a little closely. Clark turned his back on his life long friends and family and slowly made his way up the steps to the Sphere’s cockpit. The technical support staff checked everything twice in the Sphere, making sure Clark was correctly hooked up, wanting to leave nothing to chance. John conferred with Clark. "We have you set to arrive on Monday, October 4, at 10:30am MST. That should give Frank plenty of time to arrive." Olivia stood beside Ballard and smiled. "Reactor at 60%," she reported. Fred regarded all the activity with a wry grin. It was strange to be on the outside, knowing that this would all disappear. He hadn’t really looked at it from the Backstep team’s perspective before. In effect, they where assigning themselves to oblivion every time a Backstep happened. It was definitely a bizarre feeling. "Reactor at 70%." Lex and Nan looked into each others eyes, only moments left to them. They joined hands. "Reactor at 80%." Fred sidled up next to Olivia and took her hand into his. John took over the count-down. "Reactor at 90%." He looked up to Fred and asked him if he would like to do the honors. "Sure. If everything goes right, I won't ever have the opportunity to do this again." Fred waited until the indicator reached the necessary mark. "Reactor at 100%! Engage!" The two couples kissed each other just as Clark hit the red engage button. It was the last thing they did. And then time started to unwind in a barrage of images. Lex and Nan got un-married. The missile un-exploded and started to travel back to Cuba. Lex un-programmed the missile. The time window un-melted and formed into the portal that Clark and the missile were flying back into. And time froze. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Wednesday, October 6, 1999 6:17:24pm MST Never-Neverland Operation Backstep +++++++++++++++++++++++ The team had been in a meeting when the alarms went off. A Backstep had occurred. They all looked at each other in confusion. Frank and Olga had been on assignment from the last Backstep. This could only mean that Frank had failed. Their future selves must have had to Backstep again, but Donovan was still with them, so Frank must still be alive. The team scrambled for the hanger. Just before entering, they heard a tremendous crash. Sounds of the shearing of metal and arcing electricity emanated from the cavernous room. A heart-wrenching cry pierced their ears, as well as their souls. They stopped cold right at the hanger door. There were now *two* Spheres in the hanger. Both of them were sitting in the middle of the now ruined gantry. The five inch thick, quartz glass window had been shattered on one of them. Trask automatically drew his gun and prayed that it would be enough. They waited to see what would happen next. ~*~ After Clark hit the red engage button, every nerve ending in his body tingled. He had a new respect for Frank Parker. If this made him uncomfortable, it was no wonder that Frank had found it painful. He was bombarded with images of time unwinding itself. He was actually remembering events in reverse order. It would probably drive the average person mad experiencing effects before the causes. He was also aware of the clock as time unwound itself. Hours slipped away like seconds. Moments after he had hit the engage button, the clock stopped backtracking and the Sphere stopped with a lurch. The readout said it was Wednesday, October 6, 1999, 6:17:24pm EST. Time had frozen, as had the Sphere. But that only lasted a moment as the Sphere violently shifted position one last time. Clark found himself suspended sideways. Clark looked again at the clock. It had started to advance. **Wednesday, October 6, 1999 6:17:25pm MST. 6:17:25pm MST…that means 8:17:25pm in Cuba…I haven't gone back far enough…Lois is still dead!!!!** Clark felt again the despair at his loss. “LOOOOIIIIISSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” ~*~ Superman released himself from the harness and fell to the wall. The Sphere had landed hard against something and had rolled to one side. He got up and made his way to the exit window. He could have sworn that he had heard himself screaming Lois’ name, but it came from outside the Sphere. It didn’t matter, he had a missile to stop and his family to save. He pressed the control that released the window, it fell straight to the floor. He floated down to the ground, ready to give the call sign. He looked up. The sight that met his eyes turned his blood cold. Trask was here, and he was armed. ~*~ Clark determinedly pulled himself together. There was still a missile to stop and his son to save. Clark quickly got out of his harness and made his way to the shattered window. He pressed the control and the window frame dropped to the ground. He climbed out, ready to give the call sign. He looked up and saw 'himself' advancing on Trask. The pure hate on the other’s face and the red glow building in his eyes set off warning bells. **I’m..he’s going to kill him!** Clark's mind slipped into super-speed mode. He flashed back to the time when InterGang had made the clone of him. He had ended up fighting him on an Old West set. The clone had attacked him with heat vision. He had quickly analyzed the clone's heat vision and set a counter frequency beam which would interfere with the clone's beam. Eventually, the clone tired and Clark was able to overpower him. Clark hoped he could do it again. He shot in front of Trask just nano-seconds before the super hot beams of destruction would have intersected with the man’s head. The twin beams that leapt from the double's eyes started to close the distance to Clark's chest. By the time they were two-thirds of the way to him he had already determined their frequency and created a counter beam. What he hadn't taken into consideration was the intensity. The doubles heat vision was slowed down but so overwhelmed Clark's counter beams that he was forced to shut-down his own heat vision to prevent the feedback from damaging his eyes. But it had achieved the desired results. He had lessened the brunt of the beams and caused his double to expend an enormous amount of energy. The beams that struck him in the chest were still terribly strong, but not enough to overcome his aura. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the attack was over. His double shook his head for a moment as he realized who had just saved his enemy's life. The double advanced on Clark with blood in his eye. He was scarcely able to contain himself as he spoke, “That...That *animal* killed…is going to kill my son…" The double could barely get out the last half of his sentence, "…I-Ivan, and *t-torture* Lois." Clark looked from his double to Trask and back. His mind narrowly registered the name of the double's son. His face grew pale as he saw 'himself' reliving those last few moments. "After Frank and Olga failed to stop Tempus' missile, Trask found Lois and Ivan holed up at Star Labs. I got there just after he had found her. He had Kryptonite! I couldn't *do* ANYTHING!" Tears freely flowed from the double's eyes. He pointed a finger at Trask. "*He* had two of his goons hold me up and a third pull my head back so that I wouldn't miss a thing." The double turned back to Clark, "The Kryptonite was affecting Lois, too, though I didn't understand why at the time. Trask seemed to revel in this. Dr. Klein's assistant, Phil Atkliph, held Ivan, burying the little boy's head under his chin to keep him from at least seeing Lois in pain. Trask systematically tortured her for several minutes. She begged him to stop. *I* begged him to stop. Dr. Klein had had enough. He challenged Trask about his cruelty, telling him to at to at least have the decency to remove Ivan from the room. Trask said…" the double choked for a moment then continued, "He said, 'Life is hard. But if you really want me to remove him, so be it…' He shrugged his shoulders and then simply swung, took aim and f-fired. He *sh-shot* Ivan, point blank, right through the back of the head! The bullet hit with such force that it continued on into Phil and killed him, as well." Clark's doppelganger grabbed onto him for support. "There…there was nothing left of my little boy's face!" He shook Clark as he continued to speak, "*NOTHING!*…nothing but blood...nothing but blood..." He collapsed into Clark's arms and sobbed for a short time until he could get himself under control. Clark held him closely, his heart breaking as he contemplated what his reaction would be if the same had happened to Alexander. He could understand why he attacked Trask. Clark had only toyed with the idea of killing Tempus, but hadn’t. But if Tempus, or anyone, for that matter, had done to his family what had been done to this man's…he didn't know. He knew that Tempus was directly responsible for Lois' death, but he hadn't witnessed it personally. He just didn't know if he could be another man's executioner. Superman got his second wind and continued. "Dr. Klein jumped Trask and was shot dead before he could even reach him. Trask t-took Lois away, promising to take good care of her and the baby! She was pregnant! Finally, after so long, she was pregnant. *That's* why she was susceptible to the Kryptonite! She was carrying my child!" It was impossible not to be affected by the mixture of joy and anguish on his face. But he was not finished. "He left me shackled to some Kryptonite and had his men leave. When we were all alone he walked over to me and lifted my chin so I would have to look him in the eyes. He said, 'I could kill you, but that wouldn't be fun anymore. I have your wife and spawn. You can't touch me. I will leave standing orders that if you so much as sneeze in my general vicinity, I will have them both executed. I-OWN-YOU.' And then he walked off, laughing. The staff came in and freed me of the Kryptonite. By the time my powers were back he was long gone. “I don’t know who or what you are but *he* is NOT going to do that to me or my family again. NOW, GET AWAY FROM HIM, HE'S MINE!” The coldness of his last statement sent shivers up and down the spine of everyone in the room. Especially Clark. Trask had grown paler and paler during the entire exchange. He knew that this 'Superman' was from Frank Parker's universe or at least one very similar to it, but that didn't lessen the impact of his revelation. Somewhere, deep inside his soul, lay a monster that, for some reason, had never awakened. **Given the right circumstances,** he mused, **anyone can be a monster.** Trask attempted to talk. He took a deep breath. "I'm so sorr…" It was the wrong thing to do. The double roared and threw himself at Trask, only to be caught in Clark's steel grip. Clark was barely able to contain the raging Superman. After a short struggle, Clark threw him off. Clark continued to stay between Trask and Superman, trying to reason with his counterpart. “I am the Clark Kent of this universe. This is not the man you think he is. But there *is* a missile and I have to get to Lex before he programs it wrong and costs millions their lives. Will you come with me?” Superman looked like he had be physically assaulted, so strong was his reaction. “LEX? LEX LUTHOR! He's alive, and you’re working with him as well? What kind of sick, twisted world have I fallen into? Next you be telling me Kyle Griffin is mayor of Metropolis!" "The Prankster? No, he's still in jail for trying to kidnap my mom. Lex is my son and we are wasting time here. I promise you a full explanation, after we prevent the missile from exploding. Will you come with me?” The last came out more like a demand than a question. Grudgingly but slowly, he nodded his head “Alright.” And with that, twin sets of sonic booms were heard trailing away. ~*~ ===== World's Wisdom (a bumper sticker): He who dies with the most toys wins. God's Wisdom (Luke 12:15b): Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns. NCV WIP for MR_D8A: 7 Days of Superman-TOC http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum5/HTML/003005.html WIP for Elisabeth: Story of a Lifetime-TOC http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum5/HTML/003563.html __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 16:59:35 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Fiftieth Installment, Week #51 (Part 1 of 1) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 11/26/00 10:29:57 AM EST, daisychain47@HOTMAIL.COM writes: << You are a genius! I hope you're trying for a job in sketch/joke writing or something like that, because you would be a sensation. >> I'm not sure if my writers and I should say thank you...but the feedback was well..um interesting I guess. Alexis ;-.) "I see it but I don't believe it." (Cat) "What? A man who flies?" (co-worker) "No. Lois Lane, finally, literally, swept off her feet. Too bad he's an alien." (Cat) {LnC, Pilot} ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 19:32:55 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: Can we talk? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey Gerry, I've been trying to contact you but I keep getting the message returned because of fatal errors in the address. Give me a shout at judithwilliams@prodigy.net , would you please? :) Jude ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 23:17:15 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: Essential Classics... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit << I'd like to add the "Diary of a Superman Groupie" series, by Glenda M. Hernandez; "A Cat's Life", by Melissa Dore; "AKA Daddy", by Christy Kubit; >> <<<< Christy Kubit - Emptiness in Harmony - one of my all time favourite Next Gen fics. >>>> After a busy holiday weekend, I was surprised and excited to see two of my fics listed with the essential classics. I didn't even realize I had been around long enough to be eligible for the category but I definitely appreciate being included with so many greats! Now that I'm back at my computer (and able to look through a file I keep on my favorite passages in fanfic), I also have a few recommendations of my own to add (hoping that I'm not repeating other suggestions): Meeting Buddy - Marcia DeCaro Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave... - Jennifer Baker That the World May Know - Rachel Smith Anything by Sandy McDermin (though I believe you would have to email her to get a copy of her fic...) Meet Me in Kansas City - Chris Mulder Debby Stark's Dawning Series Christy attalanta@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 09:57:58 EST 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: 7 Days of Superman Parts 30 and 31 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit James Your cheering section is jumping about and waving pompoms. Can't wait to read this tonight. Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 14:18:49 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jase Edwards Subject: Re: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Fiftieth Installment, Week #51 (Part 1 of 1) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I agree, Daisy. This RPG has been going on for a while now and I really do find it to be a continuous source of amusement. Alexis and her writers really know how to brighten someone's day. Thanks for sharing your creative genius with us. I hope you plan to send this to the archive- in a category all its own- badfic ;) It would be interesting, at least, hmm? Thanks, Alexis :) Jase ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 15:03:58 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Fiftieth Installment, Week #51 (Part 1 of 1) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit You know if I did say before that I welcome public feedback...then I take that back. Please email all feedback privately. I've been sending this off to my writers and personally some of them are hurt by what the both of you have to say. Not everyone can be the "almighty" perfect writer...they are there to have fun! I've also got an editor looking over it to flesh out some of the parts. I'm sorry but when someone calls it "a badfic" that tends to hurt people's feelings when we were not going for that affect. I'm beginning to think why bother post it here if people are going to be on their "high horses" and laugh at it. Most people on my writing team are amateurs and you have to remember that. Again, PLEASE send feedback to ME and not to this list! It's embarrassing to me and my writers. Thank you, Alexis ;-.) "ADITLOM" arbitrator ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 15:27:58 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: "ADITLOM" (RPG) Fiftieth Installment, Week #51 (Part 1 of 1) OK, kids, we're going to cool this right now. If you can't play nice, take your toys and go home. Thank you, Kathy aka The Establishment ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 12:49:30 +0930 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jill Kaye Subject: Re: L&C on FOXTEL In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Hey gals/guys :) > >For those who dont know and who have cable tv (in Australia)...I just >thought you would like to know that I have been in contact with FOXTEL and >they informed me that at the moment they do not have the rights over L&C but >that they are planning to be able to air the show (which is currently >actually screening only on OPTUSVISION) sometime in the next three months... >keeping our fingers crossed!!! It'll be good to be able to re-tape one or >two of the episodes like ATAI and WHATTA that have dramatically decreased in >tape quality after a couple of thousand runs ;) > >Catchyas!, >-Luc. Hi, I know this email is months old, but I have just receieved next months tv guide and there is no Lois and Clark on. I have also rung Austar (equivalent to FOXTEL) and they were unable to tell me anything. Things aren't looking too hopeful, folcs. I'm not giving up on the idea, though. ~Larissa~ >_________________________________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. > >Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at >http://profiles.msn.com. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 16:13:10 +1100 Reply-To: "jenerator@ozemail.com.au" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jenny or Joe Stosser Subject: Re: L&C on FOXTEL MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Larissa, If you recall, I did a bit of research into this when you (or was it someone else?) first posted that l&c would be on Foxtel; I was told that they had no plans to show the programme, and that they didn't have the rights to it anyway. At the moment it appears on OptusVision. Jen jenerator@ozemail.com.au -*-This message is umop ap!sdn (Jenerator or Some1Else on IRC) -*- JenerEight on AIM -*- ICQ 11477318 Photos of David (8) and Megan (5) on the Stosser Family HomePage http//www.geocities.com/j_stosser Please sign our guestbook! -----Original Message----- From: Jill Kaye [SMTP:tjmckaye@OCTA4.NET.AU] Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 2:20 PM To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Subject: Re: [LOISCLA-GENERAL-L] L&C on FOXTEL >Hey gals/guys :) > >For those who dont know and who have cable tv (in Australia)...I just >thought you would like to know that I have been in contact with FOXTEL and >they informed me that at the moment they do not have the rights over L&C but >that they are planning to be able to air the show (which is currently >actually screening only on OPTUSVISION) sometime in the next three months... >keeping our fingers crossed!!! It'll be good to be able to re-tape one or >two of the episodes like ATAI and WHATTA that have dramatically decreased in >tape quality after a couple of thousand runs ;) > >Catchyas!, >-Luc. Hi, I know this email is months old, but I have just receieved next months tv guide and there is no Lois and Clark on. I have also rung Austar (equivalent to FOXTEL) and they were unable to tell me anything. Things aren't looking too hopeful, folcs. I'm not giving up on the idea, though. ~Larissa~ >_________________________________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. > >Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at >http://profiles.msn.com. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 12:04:59 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Betty Cheng Subject: HELP --- User-Adaptive Fanfic Site MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi, the following is a repeat of the plea for help I posted on Zoom's boards yesterday. Please ... help! Hi, FoLCS! For a computing project at school, my group and I are creating a user-adaptive website for fanfics. (Some of you may recall my initial post on this in Off Topics - http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum9/HTML/000031.html.) The website requires a user to rate the stories he/she has read and based on that, the website will recommend fanfics specific to that user's preferences. We've completed the programming for the website but now we need to test it. To do so, we need real users to rank the stories. Unfortunately, the website requires a database. Since the database is on a secure server, only students from our school (SFU) can access it. As a result, my group and I are collecting data manually via e-mail. Please, if you can spare a few minutes, visit this URL www.sfu.ca/~bcheng/cmpt310/booklist.html and e-mail me at bcheng@sfu.ca with your name, IRC nick (or a user id you like), and ratings from 1 - 5 for as many stories as you have read on the list. You have to rate both stories you like and stories you do not like (as much) for the website to be accurate in predicting your preferences. Please, I'm desperate for this ranking data as our project demo is due in 2 days. Next weekend, I will load the new stories in the archive into our adaptive website as well (assuming the writers will give me their permission). If you like, I can respond to your e-mail with how likely you will enjoy the new stories next week. Just make a note in your e-mail. Thanks. QUESTION FOR WRITERS: Can I please link my website to copies of your stories in the Archive? Please post here or e-mail me if it is okay with you. Thank you. Thank you so much for all your help, FoLCs! If any of you have questions about our user-adaptive website, feel free to post here or e-mail me. Eternally grateful, Simba =) PS - If anybody is concerned about anonymity, please don't be. The ranking data collected will not revealed to anybody and is used solely to test the website. Nobody other than my group members and I can see the data, not even other students at my school. Also, the ranking given by the website or the user is purely based on how much that user enjoys the story, and has nothing to do with how good the story actually is. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 15:19:22 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: HELP --- User-Adaptive Fanfic Site I've just noticed that the URL Simba posted is wrong: it should be HTM at the end, not HTML. (I have no idea why, or what the significance of the missing 'L' is, but anyway...). The correct URL is http://www.sfu.ca/~bcheng/cmpt310/booklist.htm Simba, I'm looking forward very much to the next stage of your project! :) Wendy ---------- Wendy Richards wendy@kingsmeadowcr.freeserve.co.uk ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 17:34:57 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Rich and Dawn Subject: Message Board Index Update MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi FoLCs! Check out http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/7378/lnc.html for stories posted to Zoom's message board through November 24th. New part(s) posted: A LOVE WELL WORTH THE WAIT TRACEYLYNN ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT...? LABRAT FAUX PAS WENDY RICHARDS HEARTS AND DIAMONDS SHAYNET (AKA SHAYNE TERRY) PERSONAL LOYALTIES CINDY LEUCH STRANGERS II RAGGIEMOM (AKA MISSY GALLANT) Completed stories this week: A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW HAZEL HOME III:MEMORIES NAN SMITH New stories this week: HIDE IN PLANE SIGHT IRC RR TEAM KNOCKING ON HEAVEN'S DOOR CKGROUPIE (AKA NICOLE WOLKE) TERRACOTTA SOLDIER SUPERKID #1 New TOC's BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT IRENE DUTCHAK HIDING IN THE SHADOWS IRENE DUTCHAK Added to the Archive this week: Dear Lois by ShayneT Growing Pains by Ann McBride Enjoy! The Index Crew ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 17:37:22 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kate Crane Subject: Re: HELP --- User-Adaptive Fanfic Site MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit So, do you want us to rate each story by each of the authors? ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 18:59:24 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "C.C. Malo" Subject: Re: HELP --- User-Adaptive Fanfic Site MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Simba, I'm still concerned about this. I do hope that this rating system does remain confidential within your small group. As I indicated on the mbs, making this ranking public could be very discouraging for many writers, which I'm sure is not your intent. Afterall, how much a reader enjoys a story is, in fact, a strong indicator of how good that story is. I hate to be so cautious here because I know your marks are connected with carrying out your project and your deadline is very close. Carol ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 19:16:04 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: HELP --- User-Adaptive Fanfic Site Carol, Simba has explained a couple of times that *no-one* sees the rankings apart from herself and her project team. The idea is simply that, once the software is properly developed - using the rankings we provide here - we can rate a story as to whether we like it or not and the software will provide us with a list of other stories which we may like. The ratings aren't therefore intended to be an objective judgement of the story's merit, but an indicator of how much we liked it (not necessarily the same thing). What Simba was trying to do a few weeks ago was to come up with a list of qualitative factors which could 'summarise' different types of fic - eg content-related factors such as whether it was a revelation, next-gen or post-relationship fic, whether it has a heavy A-plot or is more B-plotted, other factors such as length etc. Ultimately, her aim is to create a facility where rating one fic produces recommendations for others. That's the only reason we're asked to rank fics. Wendy ----------- Wendy Richards wendy@kingsmeadowcr.freeserve.co.uk ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 19:41:20 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Organization: http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam/ Subject: Re: HELP --- User-Adaptive Fanfic Site MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > The ratings aren't therefore intended to be an objective judgement of the > story's merit, but an indicator of how much we liked it (not necessarily > the same thing). What Simba was trying to do a few weeks ago was to come up > with a list of qualitative factors which could 'summarise' different types > of fic - eg content-related factors such as whether it was a revelation, > next-gen or post-relationship fic, whether it has a heavy A-plot or is more > B-plotted, other factors such as length etc. > > Ultimately, her aim is to create a facility where rating one fic produces > recommendations for others. That's the only reason we're asked to rank fics. > And I might add ... this is not something that will be added to the archive or anything ... it's just a research project, to see if Simba can create the same sort of program that Amazon uses to recommend books, movies, etc. I think it's an interesting project, but it's mostly a curiousity at this point :) -- Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." --Psalm 27:13-14 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 17:23:42 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Betty Cheng Subject: Re: HELP --- User-Adaptive Fanfic Site In-Reply-To: <41.401df5e.27558da2@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Yes, please, Karen. Thanks, Simba P.S. - And thank you for sending me the BHC postcard. I just got it 3 days ago. My mom was holding the envelope to the light trying to figure out what it is when I came home from school. (I don't get mail much.) She was really puzzled when I grabbed it from her hands and ran upstairs to open it with my letter opener. She kept asking me what's in the envelope for the rest of the day. She knows about my obsession with L&C but doesn't get why. She thinks I'm just weird and that nobody else gets that excited about L&C or Dean. Thanks again. -----Original Message----- From: Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic [mailto:LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU]On Behalf Of Kate Crane Sent: November 28, 2000 2:37 PM To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Subject: Re: HELP --- User-Adaptive Fanfic Site So, do you want us to rate each story by each of the authors? ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 17:54:43 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Betty Cheng Subject: User-adaptive Fanfic Website MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This is a repeat of what I posted in reply to concerns about privacy on Zoom's boards: Hi! First, great news! My teammate managed to get us permission to move our website to the university's general server so anybody, inside and outside the school, can access it. The move will be completed sometime this evening so rankings can be made more easily then. I will post here as soon as the move is complete. Until then, I will continue adding the rankings you nice FoLCs have provided me into the database manually. Carol, let me first assure you that the rankings are anonymous and only available to my group members, me, my teammate's supervisor and the school's network administrators. When you rank a story on our website (or through me via e-mail), the data is entered into a password-protected database. The password is known only to the people I mentioned above. The website then uses an artificial intelligence algorithm called Naive Bayes to calculate what you would likely to rate other stories you haven't read. Basically, the algorithm does this by comparing the stories you haven't read against stories you have ranked in terms of certain keywords, story length, sentence length and other attributes we've set. After that, the website displays a list of the 10 fanfics that you, the individual user, will rate the highest. In other words, this recommended list is different for every user. The sole exception is when you haven't ranked enough stories for the website to carry out the algorithm (the current limit is at least 10 stories). In that case, the recommended list will be a list of the most popular fanfics which will be very similar to the kerth awards list. The only possibility of writers seeing your rankings of their stories will be if they guessed correctly at your user id to the website. (You need to register as a user on the website before using it so that we can keep track of your personalized rankings.) Currently, the website doesn't have password protection for each user. If you like, you can make up a really difficult user id for people to guess so that they have to hack into what you are entering into the website to find out your user id and use it. I hope this alleviate some of your worries. If you have any further concerns, feel free to post or e-mail me. Like Pam said, this is a undergraduate project for school to see if we can create a data-mining application. I was thinking of keeping this website up but that's largely dependent on whether writers are willing for me to link to their stories and whether I can get space on a server with database access. And of course, whether anybody is interested in the website's continued existence, otherwise it will disappear into oblivion by end of this year(millenium?) when the school semester is over. Simba ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 21:23:00 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "C.C. Malo" Subject: Re: User-adaptive Fanfic Website MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks, Simba, for taking the time to address some of my concerns. Carol ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 13:58:36 +1100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: -= LuC =- Subject: Re: L&C on FOXTEL Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed This is how the story goes: I got in contact with Foxtel a few months ago and was told by a very nice lady that they were in the process of negotiating the rights and that it was on the books for the imm. future. That is why i posted it on here! I got in contact with Foxtel again two weeks ago (sorry it took so long i have been interstate), and was then told that they didnt have the rights and that it wouldnt be showing in the imm. future but maybe a bit further on. I dont know whos fault this is and why i was given two bits of info- i apologise to all who got their hopes up! -Luc >From: Jenny or Joe Stosser >Reply-To: "jenerator@ozemail.com.au" >To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU >Subject: Re: L&C on FOXTEL >Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 16:13:10 +1100 > >Larissa, >If you recall, I did a bit of research into this when you (or was it >someone else?) first posted that l&c would be on Foxtel; I was told that >they had no plans to show the programme, and that they didn't have the >rights to it anyway. >At the moment it appears on OptusVision. >Jen >jenerator@ozemail.com.au -*-This message is umop ap!sdn >(Jenerator or Some1Else on IRC) -*- JenerEight on AIM -*- ICQ 11477318 >Photos of David (8) and Megan (5) on the Stosser Family HomePage >http//www.geocities.com/j_stosser Please sign our guestbook! > > >-----Original Message----- >From: Jill Kaye [SMTP:tjmckaye@OCTA4.NET.AU] >Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 2:20 PM >To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU >Subject: Re: [LOISCLA-GENERAL-L] L&C on FOXTEL > > >Hey gals/guys :) > > > >For those who dont know and who have cable tv (in Australia)...I just > >thought you would like to know that I have been in contact with FOXTEL >and > >they informed me that at the moment they do not have the rights over L&C >but > >that they are planning to be able to air the show (which is currently > >actually screening only on OPTUSVISION) sometime in the next three >months... > >keeping our fingers crossed!!! It'll be good to be able to re-tape one or > >two of the episodes like ATAI and WHATTA that have dramatically decreased >in > >tape quality after a couple of thousand runs ;) > > > >Catchyas!, > >-Luc. > >Hi, >I know this email is months old, but I have just receieved next months tv >guide and there is no Lois and Clark on. I have also rung Austar >(equivalent to FOXTEL) and they were unable to tell me anything. Things >aren't looking too hopeful, folcs. I'm not giving up on the idea, though. >~Larissa~ > >_________________________________________________________________________ > >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. > > > >Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at > >http://profiles.msn.com. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 18:55:17 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: a poem MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0050_01C0596C.BFFDDF80" This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0050_01C0596C.BFFDDF80 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Kathy: I don't think this will need much in the way of editing. It's pretty clean. Thanks. :) Jude ------=_NextPart_000_0050_01C0596C.BFFDDF80 Content-Type: text/plain; name="SUPERSONNET TXT.txt" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="SUPERSONNET TXT.txt" Description: A contemporary sonnet for a contemporary couple as Clark = pleads his case in WHALTTA. Title: If I Had Told You Author: Jude judithwilliams@prodigy.net Submitted: November, 2000 Rated: Hazel set up a sonnet challenge on Zoom's Boards and it set me thinking. = I hadn't written any poetry since an exploration, last year, of Japanese = Haiku and Tonka and certainly hadn't written anything in sonnet form for = years. It took a while to complete and it's changed from the one I = posted on the Boards. As I said there, greeting cards are easy; sonnets = (and A-plots unless you're Sheila or Nan) are hard. I want to thank = Gerry Anklewicz for being a terrific sounding board and consultant. She = gave me the poetic line that had been eluding me and made it possible = for me to complete the poem. Here is the final version, inspired by = WHALTTA and my favorite Victorian poet cum Superman, Robert Browning. If I Had Told You... If I had told you all when first we met, Would you have stopped to know and love the man Behind the suit--the panoply which set Me so apart, no ordinary scan=20 Could find my secret out? Or would you still Be dazed, your mind, kaleidoscopic-hue- Entranced, unable to assert its will=20 Beyond romance's blind myopic view? Perhaps some cosmic dice have cast our fate: A chance to share a life we both can own; But you'll decide the end of this debate: If you will stay or leave me all alone. I know, however our two souls were hurled Together, loving you completes my world. ------=_NextPart_000_0050_01C0596C.BFFDDF80-- ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 19:03:43 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: Ooops MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sorry folks, I picked up the wrong address. Just delete it. Jude