From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG0105D" ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 04:17:36 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: John Debbage <106532.433@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Universal Union Book3/Part24 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Title: Universal Union Book3/Part 23 Author: Jenni Debbage Rating: PG-13 Comments: Sorry this is a day late but I had a few personal problems ove= r the past two days, the least ot which was that my husband had another fal= l. No serious injuries this time, just large bruises and very sore. = This chapter of UU3 starts out with a quieter section, but there were certain things that I wanted to set up for a plotline later in the story.= = I just hope that you don't get bored ~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter Eleven Destination Earth Throughout the long bright days of summer Lord Kal-El and Lady Lois'= popularity blossomed as the season's flowering. Without the malicious Rad-Nor to incite unrest, the community of nobles came to except, more readily, the rule of the First Lord and his unique Lady. And when Lois' pregnancy was announced the population of Krypton was overjoyed. = This situation didn't wholly please the lady herself as she waited to= see if her position of consort should degenerate into that of mother of t= he heir. However, it did seem that her fears might be groundless as there w= as little change in the way she was viewed by the people she had come to regard as her family and friends. Of course, they had all, and this included her husband, become slightly more protective of her but, given h= er previous history, this was understandable, and the concern was not overly= stifling. And she had one sure sign that the groundswell of appreciation might= be for herself alone. The invitation to attend the council sessions was issued before the knowledge of the coming child was made known. And though she was not yet a full member of the council with the right to vot= e, it was gratifying to be asked on occasion how a Kryptonian problem might = be tackled on her native planet. It was even more satisfying when her opini= on seemed to be taken into account; as in the case of Krypton's sponsorship = of the planet of Moy into the Federation. = A deputation from the said planet was invited to attend the autumn op= en council meetings, along with various other members of the planetary group= , in the hope that a more informal setting would allow the representatives = to get to know each other. = It had been many years since Krypton had formally opened its doors t= o so many important visitors. Most of the Federation's business was conducted through conference space communiques' or, on matters of extreme= importance, the members would rendezvous at a central point in space and hold a meeting on one of the greater spacecruisers. So this 'actual' conclave was something of an event for the member worlds and for their hosts, and as this was the first interplanetary gathering of Kal-El's reign, it soon developed into something of a state occasion with all members of the United Planets accepting Krypton's invitation. A situation which in itself became a problem. Pomp and circumstanc= e would hardly generate a relaxed atmosphere in which the new member could meet with its allies. Moy's state of technical expertise was somewhat le= ss advanced than the other worlds, and Kal and his council were concerned th= at the Moyan ambassadors would feel intimidated or placed in the position of= supplicant. = During a meeting held to discuss the coming 'State Visit', Lord Tre= y was quick to suggest to his fellow councillors that, given their and the noble classes's narrow-minded and judgmental treatment to one strange visitor who had come amongst them, they were perhaps not the best people = to plan this event. A somewhat embarrassed council conceded that there was some truth in the Prime Councillor's statement and, though the resulting meeting didn't actually place Lady Lois in charge of the arrangements, sh= e was given the position of 'special advisor' and all decisions had to pass= her scrutiny before being adopted by the council. = It wasn't perfect but it was more than Lois could ever have hoped fo= r in such a short time and she was soon immersed in the complicated details= of entertaining a vastly diverse set of visitors. Lois was also aware of= the fact that while the coming occasion might be ceremonial, it had very serious and political implications, and she had been asked to assist in t= he task of plotting the Moyans' course into full Federation membership. It was not totally outside the realms of possibility that one day she might = be asked to do the same for her home planet. The realisation astounded her and caused her a few sleepless nights.= = But Lois wasn't a quitter and she threw herself, despite the small debilities of her advancing pregnancy, into her given role with enthusias= m and determination. After all, she knew better than anyone just how it fe= lt to be a stranger in a strange world. It was in late summer when preparations were at their most frantic a= nd the city of Elvar was being duly dusted down, deoderised and decorated fo= r the coming celebrations; when frequent wrangles were breaking out amongst= the council and workforce employed to bring the ambitious plans to fruition, that a message was received from Commander Medi. = The high-ranking policeman had insisted on leading an undercover task= force out into space in an attempt to find Rad-Nor. Immediately followin= g the discovery of Nor's flight, a formal search by the Kryptonian spacefor= ce had taken place. However, since the most likely destinations were situated in areas prohibited to Federation forces, these sorties had produced no results. Even the deputation sent to Space Station Caytan ha= d yielded up only the information that Nor and his followers had stopped by= to meet up with the remnants of the space pirates, before flying off to a= n unknown destination. The First Couple had little difficulty in persuading the council tha= t Krypton had not seen the last of the menace of Nor; in fact Lords Trey an= d Remy were already in agreement that Rad-Nor at large in space might be an= even greater danger to the planet and thus the Federation. With these t= wo senior Lords' endorsement, the rest of the council had readily agreed to Commander Medi's request. He had been placed at the head of a special squad to investigate the whereabouts of the rebel Lord and to expose any= plot against Krypton and the alliance. The small detachment had been gon= e sometime now but, unfortunately, no enlightening news had, as yet, been sent back. All of which made the thought request received by Lady Lois= something of a shock. The First Lady in her role of special advisor with Trey and Remy to back her, was visiting the outskirts of Elvar city where a temporary village was coming into being. The urgency in the bald statement gave Lois pause. And why did Kal= mention the family and not the council? A small smirk quirked Lois' lips a= t the thought that she'd at last learned patience. = The smirk turned to a grimace as she watched the little altercation between the designers and the builders become more heated. Lois' hand eased over her aching back. She was now in the second trimester of her pregnancy and had already grown larger than she'd ever thought possible. = Under the blaze of the noonday sun, her head had started throbbing and if= it hadn't been for the cooling breeze from the river she would already ha= ve succumbed to the = heat. The 'village' stretched out from the existing boundaries of the ci= ty along the verdant banks of the River El and was indeed a sight to behold.= = Domed buildings of the kind in which she and Kal had exchanged their marriage vows had descended on this spot and were the centre point of the= smaller living quarters. Whilst the large airy structures might be completely adequate for assemblage and dinning areas, these respected guests -- heads of state and government representatives -- could hardly b= e expected to live in glorified tents. Tidy compounds surrounded by newly created gardens would house the planetary delegations, and every small detail was being attended to in order that the visitors would feel completely at home. The First Lady ha= d been happy to note from the existing holotapes of previous conferences th= at the races were mostly humanoid. At least, in the sense that they seeming= ly possessed all the normal parts of a homo sapien. Lois had a picture of a= Star Wars' universe within her head, where she was entertaining giant hai= ry animals, women with two heads and lizard people.... Or little cuddly ted= dy bear types... she wouldn't mind the teddy bears. Kal had told her that many weird forms of life existed in the vast expanse of space -- take the= Taureans for example. Well, truthfully, she'd rather not take them but even they had resembled humans... with just very unattractive hog-like features. It wasn't their physical forms though that Lois hated. They could be as ugly as sin and she could find them acceptable. It was their= cold, murderous hearts that she loathed. Besides, according to all she'd been told of these delegates, the Federation mainly consisted of congenial races who believed in the streng= th of alliances. Certainly, she had done a great deal of homework, reading = up on the different habits and life-styles of the visiting dignitaries, and listening avidly to accounts from Kal, his council and anyone else who'd had dealings with these peoples. Then using that information, to ensure that some well-meaning but dumb-witted designer didn't insult her guests by placing the door and the= main windows of a dwelling directly into the rising sun. It appeared tha= t Capulans didn't much care for bright sunlight and didn't really like havi= ng windows at all. Actually, it appeared that Capulans didn't like any numb= er of things and they had requested that their habitat be set well away from= the others. But the most astounding thing was that they'd agreed to atte= nd the gathering at all. So it was up to Lady Lois to see that their comfor= ts and bizarre requests were taken care off. = And that was where she and her entourage were standing now -- in fro= nt of the Capulan enclosure. And she was shocked to see the prefabricated building being erected in the totally wrong direction. Thankfully, the workforce had just begun to put the structure together and it wouldn't ta= ke so very much extra work to rectify the mistake but it wasn't surprising that a clash of opinions was about to ensue. Surprisingly, since Lois ha= d taken over the role of special advisor' she'd discovered in herself an ar= t for mediation. Perhaps, because in many cases she understood the point o= f view of the common man, or perhaps a little of her husband's sensitivity was rubbing off on Lois. Whatever the reason, she had found her presence= much in demand by the council, the professionals and the labourers. = Evidently, everyone else had uncovered her talent for arbitration and she= frequently found herself the confidant of many of these troubled artisans= . = With renewed energy, Lois plunged into the present dispute, hopeful that she could quickly sooth crabby and indignant temperaments, and could join= Kal-El at Ro-Ellion as soon as possible. "Gentlemen, please! Please, don't all talk at once!" Lois' voice w= as strident and stern but once she'd caught their attention she lowered and softened her approach. "I know it's a nuisance and I don't know how the mistake arose." Lois sent a pointed glance in the direction of the architect. Back on Earth, the 'old' Lois would have been raving at the 'stupid fool' with the intent of completely demoralising him, but Lady Lo= is recognised that ranting was very unproductive and the work needed to progress smoothly, if the village' was to be ready in time for its occupants. Then too, the man had a large and complicated task to perform= in designing the various accommodations, so it wasn't totally surprising that some things should go amiss. Lois decided to be magnanimous. "But= that's not important anymore and it surely won't take too much time and trouble to turn the building round?" Her eyebrows rose in question at th= e men before her, who shuffled their feet and scowled somewhat peevishly bu= t, nevertheless, nodded in reluctant agreement. "That's settled then. And = as to the question of the windows -- would it be possible to cover them with= thick shutters?" "Yes, My Lady," came the quick answer from the building overseer. = "That should work out well and if the 'Professor' here will give me the measurements I can order them directly." The well-built, middle-aged foreman bobbed his head in the direction of the 'Professor'. He was stil= l feeling slightly aggrieved at the extra work and he wasn't about to give the man who was responsible his proper name. "That won't be a problem, Lady Lois-El." The architect, realising he'd got off lightly, spoke apologetically. "I think you can safely leav= e things to myself and Brynn here. We'll have everything put to rights in = no time." "Thank you, gentlemen, for your co-operation," she smiled as she addressed them. "As a matter of fact, I do have to be somewhere else rather urgently. I leave the problem in your capable hands. I'll return= tomorrow to see to the contents of the building. I know that we programm= ed them into the matrix but viewing them on a holoscreen just isn't the same= as seeing them in reality. " There were certain aspects of Kryptonian technology that Lois still wasn't confident with. "Till tomorrow gentlemen. Have a nice day." = As she turned to head for her transporter, Lois couldn't resist throwing the Earth saying over her shoulder. However, putting aside architectural and building problems, she concentrated her thoughts. This= new skill still took a great deal of her strength to accomplish, especial= ly when she was not communicating with Kal. ***** = From the moment that Lois hurried into the garden room of Ro-Ellion= followed by her equally curious escorts, she realised that the news wasn'= t good. The family were huddled together in the leafiest part of the large= atrium taking advantage of the trees' shade while enjoying the small rive= r breeze through the now open glass walls. Yet for all the outward appearance of a family enjoying their own company on a pleasant summer da= y, there was tension in the air. Lois set her little chin aloft and walked into the cauldron of worried emotions, her heart lifting as Kal rose to meet her. "What is it? What has happened?" She took the hand that Kal offer= ed her and allowed herself to be drawn into the close circle. "What has Med= i discovered?" "He found out where Nor stayed on Caytan and why he stayed...." "But I thought that he just made a quick call and left with Ballen2 and company." "That's what we all thought but it turns out not to be quite true," Kal commented as he seated Lois and himself on a comfortable couch and waited until the two elder Lords found = chairs before continuing. "Nor's party spent a few days in hiding on Caytan while Keira gave birth." "Keira has had her baby!" Lois exclaimed. "What am I saying?! O= f course, Keira has given birth, because I know that Kryptonian pregnancies= are very similar to Earth ones and she had to have had her baby months ago.... I mean, I have this right, don't I? Kryptonian pregnancy doesn'= t last for a year or something?" A reluctant smile burst through Kal's concern. "Lois, you're babbling! And yes, having a baby here is pretty similar to back on Earth= . = We would have told you otherwise and I know that Tamar has explained it a= ll to you. And we know he's very happy with how your pregnancy is progressing, so you really shouldn't worry." Recognising that his pregna= nt wife was rather more paranoid than normal, Kal was happy to offer her the= reassurance that she frequently needed. But he was also pleased when he saw her smile rather sheepishly and return to the matter at hand. "Sorry! You were saying... about Keira!" Lois was well aware that= the whole family had been anxious about the girl's fate. "Keira gave birth to twins... a boy and a girl." Lois' eyes widened. "Twins! Two babies!" Oh, twice the pain, Lois= surmised, and... "Don't twins run in families?" "Yes, but not this family!" Lara came to sit beside her children an= d quietly appropriated Lois' hand and stroked it comfortingly. "Lois, you're not having twins. Tamar would have told us." Kal reminded her with just a slight edge of exasperation in his voice. Keira= was his sister and she was so far away from his protection. "Sorry! Again! I don't know what possessed me to act so selfishly when I should be worrying for poor Keira." "Lois, I think we know what got into you," Lara said with some amusement while her eyes slid down to Lois' protruding middle. "And we understand perfectly. Pregnant women are allowed to be a little eccentri= c. It's all the fault of those raging hormones...." "And we're all perfectly aware that you're concerned for our daughte= r too." As always, Jor-El offered Lois his understanding. Since first she= 'd arrived on this planet, Jor had been there with his common sense and his shy, yet friendly smiles. Of all the El family, Jor-El was the most self-effacing and yet Lois often wondered if his quiet empathy was the foundation for this close-knit family's strength. = "Oh I am! Was Medi able to find out how Keira and the babies fared?= " Kal leaned his elbows onto his knees and his hands wrung nervously together. "He managed to search out the physician who attended the birth.... Physician! Hmph! Some charlatan who ran rather than face a mass-manslaughter charge on his own world!" Lois' hand stole to her lips. "Oh, Kal!" "Still, he was willing to offer up information when Medi bribed him.= " = Kal raised his eyes to find his wife's warm sympathetic gaze envelope him= . = "It seems that it was a hard birth... but both mother and children survived it. He was paid to stay with them for a day and they were all alive when he left. That's all he knows." "But Medi was also able to find out that Keira and the children were= taken aboard a Taurean craft with Nor and his troopers the day after the physician left them. No flight plan was logged but that's not surprising= . = Ships come and go at Caytan without any regulations. Though it's a prett= y fair bet that the ship was bound for Taurus or one of its moons." Major= Ching added the information, flexing his shoulder muscles subconsciously = as he spoke. = Ching's injuries had healed well but there was still a residual stiffness in the muscles of his upper body. When first he'd been discharged from the military medical-centre, he'd spent a few days at hom= e with his family but he'd eagerly accepted Kal-El's invitation to continue= his recuperation in the palace. There, he'd been able to work out and train with the rest of the guards and even Kal joined in when he found ti= me out of his busy schedule to keep fit. No one had reason to remark on th= is move to the palace as Ching had been a member of the El household since boyhood and so no ulterior motive was sought. But it had enabled Zara an= d Ching to spend some time together, albeit only as friends and always in t= he company of another member of the family; to do otherwise was just too risky. Needless to say, the couple most preferred to have Lois as their chaperone as she always managed to create some way for them to share a private moment. = Shortly after Ching's arrival at the palace, when he was still feeli= ng very bruised and battered, Lois had asked him to attend her in the apartment under the pretext of presenting him with a small gift to acknowledge the anniversary of his birthdate. This was an Earth traditio= n and one which Lois was not about to abandon. But the greatest gift of al= l was when the lady had disappeared into the bedchamber and Zara had taken her place. In one graceful motion, Ching found himself cradling the body= of his love and he was smothered, very delightfully, in kisses from her soft lips. All thought of caution fled as he revelled in the touch of th= e woman he loved. The spectre of death which had so recently brushed him, lent Ching a greater appreciation of life. No one could know how long th= ey had to live and so it was the moments that mattered. Both Zara and Ching= had made the most of that moment and every other which their dearest Lady= Lois managed to carve out for them in the sanctuary of her apartment. And at least, one good thing had come out of the pirates' insurrection, Ching had been speedily promoted to Major and had also received a commendation for his bravery. Major Ching's star was in ascendancy which augured well for the lovers' secret liaison. = Only some days previously had the newly created Major returned to fu= ll active duty as Kal's personal bodyguard, a role that had been adequately filled by the willing Poli -- the unfailingly optimistic Poli, who now found himself assigned to the task of taking care of the First Lady. An= d was Lois the only one to have noticed a demoralised and jealous pout on Poli's handsome face when told the news? A querulous look that had disappeared so instantaneously that she doubted that it had ever existed.= = Lois instinctively looked behind at her Lieutenant to see how he would react to Ching's obvious knowledge of the situation but Poli's expression= showed only solicitous interest, and immediately her attention was drawn back to her husband. "And Keira and her babies are now well out of our jurisdiction." On= ce again Kal-El's compassionate nature prompting concern for the safety of h= is sister and not for the capturing of her rebel Lord. = = "I think that we're all forgetting one thing. Nor now has a son, bo= rn into the house of Nor and out of the house of El." Trey's solemn words dropped into the hush of the garden room. "If things go wrong here," and= at that the elderly Lord had the grace to blush, "Nor has a legitimate alternative claim to the throne." An angry and aggrieved First Lord and soon to be father sprung from his chair. "But things aren't going to go wrong. And even if Lois did have a girl... well there's nothing wrong with that. I would still love her and take care of her and, if she's anything like her mother, then she= 'd make an excellent ruler for Krypton." "Nephew, dear boy! Don't take on so! A baby girl will be very welcome. After all, your mother had a daughter first before giving birt= h to you. Besides, as your father will assure you, science can work wonder= s these days. I'm sure that both you and Lois will produce an heir.... If= not this time then...eventually." = Thankfully, everyone's attention was drawn to Kal and no one noticed= Lois' slight grimace at that thought. It wasn't that she didn't want mor= e children; she just wanted to get over this pregnancy and birth first befo= re contemplating another. And if the science was available to help her conceive a boy, she intended to make full use of it. There was no way th= at Lois planned on turning out babies with the regularity of a conveyor-belt= . "I didn't mean to offend, sire, and I wish Lady Lois a safe delivery= ," Lord Trey put in, his manner conciliatory. "But you must know that a female on the throne would not be acceptable on Krypton." "But a traitorous Lord like Nor would be acceptable as regent?!" = Kal's eyes blazed. "No! Never! Yet I doubt that Nor would take that into consideratio= n. I'm very much afraid that he's more likely to arrive here at the head of= a Taurean attack force to take the throne by force. And the one thing that= we've all worked so hard to prevent would occur...." = = The anger quickly drained from Kal-El and his final word was almost = a sigh. "War!" ***** tbc in Part 25 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 04:17:49 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: John Debbage <106532.433@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Universal Union Book3/Part25 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Title: Universal Union Book3/Part 25 Author: Jenni Debbage Rating: PG-13 ~~~~~~~~~~ The weeks passed quickly and it appeared that their worst fears were= unfounded, at least for the present. Yet the Kryptonian military force remained vigilant and Jace's communication section constantly scanned the= galaxy to give warning of an impending invasion. While out in space Commander Medi and his men continued in their search. = But all remained quiet. The space surrounding Krypton was devoid of= any menacing craft and in Elvar the summer mellowed gently into autumn under clear skies and the fading warmth of a kindly sun. No further news= was received from Medi's team. If Rad-Nor had taken up residence with th= e Taureans it seemed as if it might be a long term arrangement. Mayhap too= , the man had abandoned his obsession with seizing the rule of Krypton. And 'pigs can fly', Lois would state sourly whenever that notion was suggested. And at that Lois, Kal and the two bodyguards would share an enigmatic glance. Only they knew that in one place that wasn't such a fa= r out concept. Meanwhile, the little group could only hope that Nor had indeed forgotten his ambitious plans and pray that Keira and her children= were safe. Kal-El and his council were seriously considering calling the Securi= ty Chief back home as the arrival of the delegations for the Federation Summ= it was looming near and Medi was simply the most able officer to organise th= e security arrangements for the visitors. And so the message went out to cease his current investigation and return to Krypton. = Within a couple of days Medi was home and very thankful to be so. = He had thrown all his energy into his fruitless search, and now he just want= ed to be in Elvar; to return to the comfort of things familiar. As a boy he= had implored his family to enroll him in the Military Academy; he had dreamed of voyages of discovery and of adventure in distant galaxies and = he had applied all his energies into fulfilling most of these long ago wishe= s. Only now space- travel didn't hold the same appeal. It was the reason h= e had requested a transfer to the home- based security forces where he had proved to be a valuable asset and had soon found himself at the head of Elvar's force. Nevertheless, his disinclination to space-travel had been= set aside in the desire to fulfil his duty and he had stoically journeyed= off Krypton to trace the lordly terrorist. Regrettably, he hadn't been able to apprehend his quarry but he was glad to be home. And he had been given a new job. One which seemed to be less fraugh= t than his last assignment and would most certainly require his continued presence in Elvar. With renewed enthusiasm and with his customary attention to detail he had immersed himself in planning the protection f= or the visiting dignitaries, his role reacquainting him with his fellow- conspirators of spring. = Commander Medi was in his laconic way delighted, though not totally surprised, to discover that he was to report not only to the council but = to the 'special advisor' of the project, the now heavily pregnant Lady of El= . = The wily policeman had been quick to appreciate the young woman's potenti= al and it pleased him that others were beginning to stray from their preconceived ideas on women. To tell the truth, Medi reflected that it w= as probably an aristocratic orientated view. As a member of the forces, bot= h military and security, he had worked with women troopers and, though they= very infrequently made it into high-ranking positions and then mainly in administrative posts, he had found them just as worthy as their male counterparts. And in the case of this First Lady, he believed that she f= ar outstripped many of the council and heads of houses in intellect, initiative and sheer guts. Having reached this conclusion, it wasn't a huge step to wonder just how many Kryptonian women were being held back b= y the traditional beliefs of this patriarchal society. It seemed, to his dispassionate view, that the females of his race just couldn't be less intelligent than those on Earth. Oh, there was that female, Lady-Mai! No= w she was a real crazy person! But even she'd had a certain cunning, and she'd escaped arrest, unlike her husband. And the dowager Lady El was a wise old 'bird'... ah... lady.. So Medi mused as he paced back and forth before his men at the gates= of the 'Federation Village' as it had come to be known, awaiting the arrival of the First Lord and Lady and their High Council. This was the final inspection before the arrival of the Planetary Representatives. = These Delegations would be landing on Krypton over a period of days and t= he official opening ceremony was due to take place at the start of next week= . = Everyone seemed to be looking forward to the event with a mixture of emotions; excitement, pleasant anticipation and wary anxiety. = A small line of transporters appeared, coming out from the direction= of the city and as they drew near, Medi called his men to attention, bowi= ng along with them as the First Lord and Lady stepped to the ground. A smiling Kal and Lois approached their security chief, Kal beckoning Medi and the troop to rise. All his growing life Kal had been accustomed to this greeting yet, since he had met Lois, his own natural aversion to thi= s sign of deference was increasing. Nonetheless, regardless of his disenchantment with certain traditions, he was quite aware that his peopl= e weren't ready to throw all of their customs into the trash- disintegrator= s so he smiled graciously at the squad and their officers before him. = Gratefully, he noticed that Lois was doing likewise. He was never quite sure of Lois' reactions. She was just as likely to rush up to Medi= , who she now considered a friend, and shake his hand. The two not only ha= d a shared history in working towards the destruction of Rad-Nor but, since= Medi's return, they'd worked closely on the security precautions for the conference. However, his astute young wife clearly realised that whateve= r was the state of her relationship with Medi, here she was on public displ= ay and she would play her part as the gracious First Lady to the hilt. Kal'= s lips turned up in a tiny smirk knowing just how irksome Lois found these traditional restraints. Yet she seldom let her inner irritation show -- Lady Lois-El was becoming the epitome of Krypton's idea of the perfect consort. Of course, in private it was a totally different matter. With her family and her small circle of friends, Lois could relax and just be herself. But Kal was afraid that it was almost as if Lois was developing= two different personalities... the dignified First Lady she showed to the= public and the effervescent Earth girl she returned to in private. It wa= s Kal's earnest hope that one day the two could be reconciled and everyone would know the whole wonderful woman whom he had come to love with all of= his being. But, sadly, Krypton society had some way to go before that would be possible and, even more sadly, Kal-El was soon to discover that = he too was not so liberated as he had supposed. That, however, was for the future; in the present the First Lord and= Lady with their entourage spent a pleasant hour inspecting the finished encampment. Lois had to admit that Kryptonian know-how had certainly bee= n invaluable in constructing this lovely city in miniature. It certainly d= id not have the look of a temporary place, except perhaps for the two large domed edifices in the central park area, and that was only because she ha= d witnessed them flying in. Now with the climbing plants around their entrances and the generous surrounding lawns they looked like they'd been= there forever. So too with the domiciles. Each one was tailored to its visiting occupants and hopefully would have the desired effect of making their guests feel at home. The architects, planners and builders had done thei= r work well, despite the few disagreements that had arisen, and Lois made a= mental note to thank them all with a personal message and one that was written on paper. There were certain things that she preferred from her old home and paper and ink were certainly included in the list. There wa= s something more tangible and durable in the ability to run your fingers ov= er the paper and the words. Techno-messaging was just more impersonal than = a hand written note and she just hadn't taken to it with the same verve as she had some of the other 'adaptations' she'd found on her new world. = < Quite right, honey, and even we Kryptonians still use paper and pe= n for more important documents.> Lois shot a glance towards her husband an= d blushed rosily at the amusement she saw twinkling in his eyes. She hadn'= t quite mastered this thought transmitting yet and sometimes stray thoughts= got away. Anxiously she glanced at the others. His smile lit up his face as he offered her his arm and led her in the wake of Medi and his guard. Medi had also excelled, and the security forces, although comfortingly present, were not obvious. Using a meld of manpower, holo-cameras and force-fields, his guards would be able to keep an unobtrusive watch over the village and be on hand to swiftly assist in an= y imbroglio which might evolve. Lady Lois had been somewhat shocked to hea= r that Federation members might take part in a squabble where security forc= es would be needed to restore the peace, and had voiced her surprise to Kal = in private. To which he had answered dryly that though these civilisations might have advanced technologically and, in the main, had embraced the concept of a peaceful galaxy, not all had yet reached the saintly stage o= f 'loving' all of their neighbours, all of the time. = The First Lord and Lady with their council in attendance continued with their tour of the site, offering the workforce their thanks and appreciation for their stalwart labours in creating this lovely haven and= in such a short space of time. Yet, when only halfway through their inspection, Kal noticed his Lois start to flag visibly, he directed the party's steps back towards their transporters. It was typical of Lois to= brush aside the discomforts of her condition and insist on accompanying t= he group on this the final visit to the village before it welcomed its off-world inhabitants. Kal, just as typically, had been concerned that i= n this latter stages of pregnancy, Lois shouldn't be spending so long on he= r feet but having voiced his worries his indignant wife had pooh-poohed thi= s worry-wart attitude. Now, however, she seemed disinclined to ignore his ministrations and gratefully allowed him to hijack her back to the palace= . = Lois even went so far as to moan in pleasurable relief when, once inside the transporter, Kal lifted his wife's feet onto his lap and gently massaged her cramped muscles. "Thank you, sweetheart. I can't tell you how good that feels," Lois= sighed as she stretched back into the form-hugging chair, laying her head= on the cushioned headrest and closing her eyes. "Don't mention it, milady. I'm here to do your bidding." Kal tease= d in a quasi-servile voice. "Hmph!" Lois snorted without opening her eyes. "Have you forgotten= you're top dog around here!" But her smile belayed her sarcasm. "And thank you for not saying I told you so'!" "Wouldn't dream of it!" Kal smiled beatifically, then fell silent, continuing to rub Lois' swollen feet and ankles while she drifted happily= off into the realms of semi-sleep. So it was that Lois jumped slightly when Kal gently shook her should= er to warn her that they'd reached their destination and, rousing herself fr= om her pleasant haze, she alighted as nimbly as her burgeoning body would allow, and crashed directly into the solid, stiffened back of her husband= , his head cocked slightly to one side as he listened to a telepathic messa= ge that only he could hear. But whatever it was, the news was dire. Lois w= as sure she'd never seen such a thunderstruck look on that handsome face. = "Hurry, Lois!" Kal's hand grabbed for Lois as he shepherded her through the doors, heading with all speed to the elevators. = Lois allowed herself to be so led. Perhaps there was a need for secrecy. But the moment the elevator doors closed and they were alone, s= he turned impatiently towards her spouse, almost dragging her arm from his urgent clasp but not quite... something had badly upset him. "Kal!? What's going on!?" Her tone was peremptory. She would broo= k no holding things back for her own good. "Tell me!" she commanded as he bit at his lower lip and seemed to be involved in some inner turmoil. = "Don't you dare try to protect me from bad news." Kal looked a trifle hurt at this accusation. Truthfully, he never intended to hold this news from Lois.... He couldn't! His travail was i= n wondering how best to tell her. In the end, he told her flatly. "Jace h= as found Rad-Nor...." "And?" Lois took Kal's hands and shook them impatiently. "He's at the head of a huge Taurean fleet..." "They're on their way here? Kal, this is terrible! You have to ale= rt the forces! Call a council meeting or something! Can you place a force-field round the whole planet?" "Lois!" Kal caught her rambling attention and returned the squeeze = of her hands. He stared determinedly yet sympathetically into her troubled eyes. "Lois, Nor isn't coming to Krytpon.... He's on his way to Earth! = He and the Taurean war-fleet plan on attacking Earth!" = The shock held Lois silent for a few seconds. "Earth! Oh my, god! = Kal! Do you think Nor knows?!" It was one of Lois' most admirable trait= s and one that Kal loved... the ability to cut right to the heart of the matter... no hysterical screams or faints. = And it deserved the truth. "I'm not sure, sweetheart, but it has to= be a possibility!" The one great advantage of being friends with your bodyguards was th= e fact that you didn't have to stand on ceremony in their company. = Throughout the ride back to the palace, Ching and Poli had remained unassumingly in the background and had hurried to keep up with their charges in the mad dash to the elevators. Now Poli could no longer keep quiet; he also understood exactly what was being discussed. "But how could that be?! We four are the only ones who know about t= he po... about that!" Even with the evidence that their special secret migh= t be blown, Poli's trustworthiness and professionalism wouldn't let him spe= ak the confidential words. "Unfortunately, that might not be true, Poli." The Lord of Krypton held hard to his wife's hands while the muscle along his jaw twitched spasmodically and his full lips compressed into a tight line. "Anyone onboard the mother-ship could have been spying and discovered the truth. = And there were the foraging parties...." "Excuse me! Foraging parties!?" "Yes, Lois! I sent out groups to check out the facilities in Metropolis and the US. They visited, shopping malls, museums, libraries,= cinemas, government buildings... the senate... even the White House. = Everywhere we thought we could get a true picture of life in your world. = Anything of significance we scanned into our computers. How else do you think we were able to duplicate so much here on Krypton?" Lois shrugged her shoulders, unwilling to admit to the unwelcome notion that her investigative powers had clearly deserted her on this occasion. Well, at least in her defence, she had been rather preoccupied= with trying to adapt to life on Krypton, not to mention a few attempts on= her life. "Spy satellites?!" "Well, we have these too," Kal admitted with a sheepish grin, a litt= le amazed that he could find the energy to smile in this time of crisis. "But, Kal, you made sure that these groups only spent a few hours on= the surface of Earth and you rotated the men in case the... 'thing' was cumulative," Ching reminded reasonably. "We three were the only ones who= spent time continually on Earth and it took a few days for us to develop.= .. you know what." "Then perhaps some of the others were longer down on the surface before you realised anything strange would happen." Lois searched her mi= nd for any suggestion that seemed a possibility. "No, honey, we're always very careful when going into an alien environment." Kal reddened apologetically at his choice of words. "We d= o lots of checks from the mothership before we land, and there was all the information we'd gleaned from the spy satellites, which meant we were pretty sure it would be safe, but we still don't rule out any unexpected occurrences. It's a safeguard for both ourselves and the people whose world we're visiting. I mean, it's not impossible that our presence coul= d have an untoward effect on the indigenous population, so we're always ver= y wary. I made the decision that only myself, Ching and Poli would crew th= e orbship that we took down to Metropolis and I can tell you, the officers onboard the mothership were not amused... but, in this case, I pulled ran= k. We kept in close contact but no other Kryptonian was allowed to land unt= il I gave the word.... And by that time we'd already started to notice changes...." "I suppose it's not totally impossible that someone else went down without permission," Poli surmised hesitantly, unwilling to contemplate that a member of the Kryptonian military would disregard orders. "Or kept us under close surveillance," Ching added. "Or maybe Nor doesn't know and just chose Earth out of revenge on me= ." Kal nodded thoughtfully. "Any one of those is a possibility and we certainly won't get any answers standing around in elevators." While the= y were talking they'd reached the bottom level. "Come on. Jace is waiting= for us.... He might have more news." = ***** tbc in Part 26 ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 11:57:49 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nicola Baker Subject: Are there any volunteers... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable ...to BR the sequel to Landing Lessons? The more the merrier! It's got = a couple of chapters so far. Bullying required. Thanks, Nic ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 16:27:38 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Dennis Arendt Subject: Re: Read Slowly & Think Long & Hard After MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Marilyn said: I've only "met" Anne online but she is by far one of the most considerate and thoughtful people I've ever met. She's always eager to help and has a limitless willingness to share. We are ALL blessed to know her! You are absolutely right, Marilyn. I had the pleasure of meeting Anne in Boston last year and she is all the things that you said and more. (As long as you don't come between her and the NY Yankees:-)) Brenda ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 18:36:28 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: Re: Read Slowly & Think Long & Hard After MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I know I've been neglecting this list for a while, but did I miss something? I have absolutely no idea what this is about. :puzzled Jude ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dennis Arendt" To: Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2001 4:27 PM Subject: Re: Read Slowly & Think Long & Hard After > Marilyn said: > I've only "met" Anne online but she is by far one of the most considerate > and thoughtful people I've ever met. She's always eager to help and has a > limitless willingness to share. We are ALL blessed to know her! > > > You are absolutely right, Marilyn. I had the pleasure of meeting Anne in > Boston last year and she is all the things that you said and more. (As long > as you don't come between her and the NY Yankees:-)) > > Brenda ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 13:43:14 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Subject: Re: Read Slowly & Think Long & Hard After MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I know I've been neglecting this list for a while, but did I miss somethi= ng? I have absolutely no idea what this is about. :puzzled Jude Confused me too for a moment, Jude, but I believe it was a response to a = private round robin email that accidentally got onto the list. May I say, btw, I heartily agree with the sentiments expressed however. <= g> LabRat :) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 10:54:24 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Phillip Atcliffe Subject: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Those of you who have been around this list or Zoom's MB for a while may remember Wendy and I occasionally mentioning our joint magnum opus -- well, here it is, or at least the beginning of it. This is a big story, and we're not finished yet, but we thought we'd start posting it anyway. So as not to crowd ourselves at this very busy time of the year for both of us as academics (or, indeed, any time in the future), we plan to add sections weekly -- so now you have something else to look forward to (we hope) on Fridays! So, without further ado, here's the beginning of: Imbalance by Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) and Wendy Richards (w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk) ---- "Nature abhors a vacuum." -- Anon. "Actually, it doesn't, or there wouldn't be so much empty space in the universe. What nature abhors is an *imbalance*, of which a vacuum can be a classic example, *if* there's something nearby to fill it. Nature is the ultimate egalitarian; most of the laws of physics as we know them are directed towards correcting imbalances, one way or another -- just ask a hurricane!" -- An aerodynamics lecturer who shall remain nameless. Prologue: The Threads of Lachesis --------------------------------- H.G. Wells knocked at the door marked "Clark Kent, Assistant Editor" and opened it. He stepped through the doorway and his eyes widened in surprise behind his old-fashioned-looking glasses as he beheld the plush anteroom on the other side, and the attractive blonde woman sitting at a desk. He was about to apologise and leave when she looked up from her computer and asked politely, "Can I help you, sir?" "Ah..." said Wells uneasily, "I... was hoping to see Mr Kent..." "Do you have an appointment?" "Well, no, not formally... but he is expecting me." "Oh," said the woman, her friendly air cooling somewhat. "I'm afraid he didn't mention it to me. In any case, Mr Kent is not available at the moment; he's out, doing his... other job. You could make an appointment, but it may be some time before you can see him..." Her manner implied that it could well be months, or even *years*, if she had anything to say about it. "Mr Kent is a *very* busy man." There was a *whoosh* and a thump from behind the door on the far side of the room. Wells smiled and looked at his old-fashioned pocket watch. "Mr Kent appears to have returned. Would you be so kind as to ask him if he will see me? I assure you that he has been waiting to hear from me for some time now. My name is Wells." The woman didn't want to disturb her boss for this little man, but she was a conscientious person and didn't quite feel that she could ignore the possibility that Wells was telling the truth. She keyed the intercom on the desk and, when it was answered, said, "Mr Kent, there's a Mr Wells here to see you. He doesn't have an appointment, but he says..." Her voice trailed off as the door into the far room was flung open and Clark Kent came out of his office, his face filled with more emotion than she'd ever seen him show; an odd mixture, too -- anxiety, nervousness, impatience and... hope? He ushered the strange little man into his office with unusual haste, only turning to her as he was about to shut the door behind himself to say to her, "Hold all my calls, please, Miss Drake." And then, as if remembering something, he shook his head slightly, flashed her a dazzling smile and said, in a voice that was unlike any that she could remember him using, "Oh, and thank you." Miss Drake, once she'd recovered from the initial effects of that smile, wondered what she'd done that rated such warm thanks... and how soon she could manage to do it again. ***** Inside the office, Clark pulled up a comfortable-looking chair for Wells and sat down himself. Wells gazed around the room and remarked pleasantly, "You appear to have done very well for yourself." Clark, who had been leaning forward eagerly, started at the innocuous topic of conversation. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and replied, "I guess so. This is all Mr Olsen's idea. I didn't want to leave the Planet, and he didn't want to lose me, but there was no way that I could continue as an investigative reporter after my secret got out, so he made me an assistant editor. It works pretty well, actually -- I can do my editing job at super-speed, so there's no problem when I have to fly off to an emergency, and I even have time to write the occasional article for the paper about what I've been doing." "And the young lady?" "Oh, Mayson? Another of Mr Olsen-- *James'* bright ideas. Assistant editors don't usually rate either an office this size *or* a personal assistant, but he decided that I needed somewhere private to work, and someone to organise me and keep people off my back so that I could do my job-- *jobs!* -- and this was what he came up with. I don't know where he found her, but the rumour is that he head-hunted her from the D.A.'s office, of all places. Maybe he thought I needed a lawyer to deal with people trying to get in to see Superman..." "She seems very efficient -- and quite protective of your privacy." "Yeah, she is. That's what she's paid for, but she takes it to extremes sometimes. She's a nice person and I like her, but she's... over-protective at times. To be honest, I think she's a bit too fond of me; I try not to give her any encouragement, but she's always offering to help me, or do things for me, or inviting me to dinner... It all gets a bit much -- or it would if I ever took her up on any of it. "Anyway, why am I wasting time talking about Mayson? You wanted to see me -- does this mean you've found... *her*?" Wells sighed; this was *not* going to be easy, or pleasant... and yet, there was that *other* possibility, and with it, hope... Clark caught the sigh, and his face became grim. "It's not good news, is it?" he said quietly. "It's not the news you were hoping for," Wells replied. He paused, just for a second, and saw the pain in the young man's eyes, and hurried on, "but hear me out, my boy. Things may not be as bad as you fear." Clark was confused, and more than a little heartsick. He had been trying not to build his hopes too high, but he couldn't help himself; the possibility of finding Lois Lane was too important to him. But now, Mr Wells seemed to be saying that it wasn't possible -- despite his professed belief that "nothing is impossible" -- or was he? Just what was he trying to say? Clark *had* to know. "What do you mean?" "As you know," Wells began, "I've been looking for Miss Lane around the time of her disappearance in the Congo in 1992. Now, to do that, I have had to use some rather... unusual equipment that comes from an era even further in the future of my world than that in which I make my home, these days. Call it a... Time Viewer; it allows me to see events in the past of whatever time period that I, and the viewer, happen to be in. "Now, as you can imagine, such a device could be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. So, in order to be able to use the viewer, I have had to agree to a code of conduct in temporal matters. One of the stipulations of this code is that no change can be made to a timeline without due and ethical consideration of the possible consequences of the change, however small. This may sound incredibly obvious -- why change the past if not to alter the subsequent future? -- but it is an important point, and one which concerns us." Clark said nothing, so Wells, who had stopped for breath and to see how his listener was taking what he was saying, went on, "The point of all this is that, in looking for Miss Lane with a view to rescuing her, I've made some rather interesting discoveries -- and some unfortunate ones as well. I've told you that in my world, Clark Kent -- or Superman -- and Lois Lane are pivotal historical figures; their efforts and those of their descendants paved the way for the creation of the society known as Utopia. It seems that, in this world, you and Miss Lane are equally important to the future good of humanity... but in a different, and quite tragic manner." Wells paused. Clark could tell by the expression on his face that he was not going to like what the time-traveller was about to say, and he was right. "I have seen Lois Lane die..." Clark gasped, but otherwise remained silent. "She was shot by the gun-runners whom she was investigating, just as your Mr White supposed. It wasn't a pretty death, or a quick one. She bled to death from her wounds, and took some time to finally expire... For what it's worth, I don't think she felt very much pain; shock set in quite quickly, and she was unconscious most of the time." Clark closed his eyes, fighting not to break down and cry. "Go on," he said in a leaden voice. "As I said, Miss Lane's death was not quick. If things were otherwise, that would have been a good thing: we could have gone back in time, collected her from the jungle clearing where the gun-runners left her, and taken her to my world for treatment. Her wounds were severe, but she could well have survived them with prompt medical treatment, even in this day and age; Utopian medicine would have ensured a perfect recovery. "Unfortunately..." Wells shook his head unhappily, and Clark tried to prepare himself for the worst. Wells had obviously been building up to something, and this had to be it. "Unfortunately, Miss Lane's murder was witnessed, by a small boy hiding in the bushes at the edge of the clearing... and *he* is the reason why we cannot save her." Clark had been certain that something like that was coming, but it was still devastating to hear. He closed his eyes again, and a half-stifled sob escaped from him. His fists clenched, and Wells saw them shake as he struggled to keep himself under control. Eventually, he looked over at the older man, and the pain in his eyes was terrible -- as was the anger. "*Why*?" he croaked in an anguished voice, "Why can't we save her? What's so important about this little boy that we have to leave her to *die*?!" Wells sighed again. "What is so important," he said heavily, "is that that little boy grows into a man, and that man is *also* a pivotal figure in the history of this world. In 40 years' time, that man will be instrumental in saving this planet from destruction in a nuclear holocaust -- but *only* if he watches Lois Lane die." The anger visibly drained out of Clark, to be replaced by horror and desperation. "But... but can't we save her after he leaves or something? There's got to be *some* way..." Clark knew he was clutching at straws, but he couldn't accept the shattering of all his hopes and dreams without at least trying to save them-- *her.* Wells reached out to pat him on the shoulder in a fatherly way. "I'm afraid not. I thought of that myself, and a number of other possibilities, but none of them will work. The boy is in the clearing before the assassins arrive there with Miss Lane. He hides when he hears them coming, and watches them out of curiosity. The shooting of Miss Lane scares him, obviously, so he remains hidden long after the killers have left, watching the body of the woman he has, he thinks, just seen callously murdered -- and in that time, she does indeed die. "Then, after she finally passes away, he approaches the body, and it is the horror, the revulsion of spirit that he feels at the... desecration of her person, the transformation of what was once a beautiful woman into... well, in his writings, he describes her remains as 'dead carrion', that makes him dedicate much of his life to working for peace. It is *that* memory, of the sudden and awful intrusion of death into an otherwise ordinary day, that motivates and sustains him in times when it looks as though the entire world has gone mad with hatred. In the end, it is the image of her death that gives him the strength to carry on, eventually to see his message of peace and tolerance triumph over the darkness." Wells stopped again, shaking his head gently. "I'm sorry, my boy. I have tried and tried to find a way to rescue Miss Lane and not change the future, but the facts are plain: without that experience, that young boy will not grow to be the man who saves this planet from the madness of a war that nothing, not even Superman, can stop! Lachesis has spun but two futures for your world, and only the death of Lois Lane will ensure the survival of life on this Earth." "Oh, God..." gasped Clark. The despair that had been hovering, awaiting its chance, now crashed down on his soul. He buried his head in his hands and sobbed, the tears finally escaping. This was the end; he could not have Lois, not at the cost of the entire world, and the price of that sacrifice was that he would be... *alone*... for the rest of his life. Wells watched him sympathetically and reached out again to grasp Clark's shoulder. Now was the time to make his offer, before the young man had time to brood. "But she has, perhaps, woven *you* another chance..." he murmured. Clark's head snapped up at that, his tear-filled eyes wide and his expression woeful... and hungry. "What?" he hissed. As he took in exactly what Wells had said, his voice became puzzled, though still with that intense, almost-angry tone. "*Who* has?" he snapped. And then, as his brain finally caught up with his ears and his reflexes, his manner took on a plaintive, but also more normal air as he asked, "Um... what are you talking about, Mr Wells?" Wells looked nonplussed for a moment, before he realised what the problem was. "Oh! I do apologise -- quite by habit, I used a metaphor common among future historians, particularly those who have access to time viewers. Let me explain, and you'll understand. Have you ever heard of the Fates?" Clark's puzzlement increased -- what could *this* possibly have to do with Lois' death? -- but the manners instilled in him by his dead foster parents won out over the surge of grief that even thinking of his lost love caused, and he did his best to answer in as level a voice as he could manage. "Y-yes... They're from G-Greek mythology -- the... goddesses... sort of... wh-who represented the workings of... fate, chance, whatever, that not e-even Zeus or the other gods could overcome..." "Yes, yes -- good. If you know that much, you probably also remember that they are traditionally represented as the handlers of the thread of life." Clark nodded, and Wells continued, "There are differing versions of exactly what each of them did with it, but the basic theme is common to all: Clotho creates the thread; Lachesis spins or twists it, dispensing good and bad fortune to the person in question; and Atropos cuts it off at the end of that person's life. "Where this legend has relevance to us is that the history of a world, made up as it is of the lives of thousands of millions of people, is rather like a cloth woven from an equal number of threads; but the overall sweep of history -- the pattern of that cloth, as it were -- is set by a considerably smaller number of threads, those belonging to pivotal figures such as yourself, Miss Lane... and that small boy in the jungle." Clark grimaced as a fresh wave of pain swept over him at the thought of Lois' death, but he stayed silent. He couldn't imagine what Wells was talking about, but the little man had a strangely commanding presence when he wanted to, and Clark had learned from experience that he was both a good friend and someone worth listening to -- so he did. "Because of this, the number of possible futures at any given point in history is generally quite small. Or, rather, there is an infinite number of possible timelines, but most of them are very similar to many others, only differing in the smallest details. From the point of view of the world as a whole, the number of alternatives is surprisingly small. What determines which of these alternatives is taken are the choices made at certain key events, and once those events have occurred, in whatever fashion, the path of history is settled in general terms for years, or even centuries, until the next set of events. "The death of Miss Lane is, I'm afraid, just such an event, but so is your appearance as Superman; by revealing yourself, you have provided an inspiration -- a hero! -- that this world needed, and that, together with the great man of peace who will save humanity from itself in 40 years, has put the world on course for a better future. The road there will be long and difficult, but the human race *will* succeed. "What humanity here will create will be quite different from the future in other timelines such as my own world's Utopia, but equally, if not *more* worthwhile; the people in this world's future value their peace and prosperity greatly because they know and remember what high and terrible obstacles they have had to overcome to obtain them. Whereas, sometimes, I think the citizens of Utopia have become a trifle complacent..." Wells smiled ruefully at that, and Clark couldn't help but respond, just a little. Some of the crushing weight of grief and despair lifted from him for a few moments, but even the knowledge that he had helped, or would help, to create a better future could not keep his misery at bay. Wells seemed to sense this, and went on talking. "This probably seems like cold comfort to you, and little enough of it, but there is a point to it. You see, you have *already* made the important choice: the world knows that Superman exists, that there is a being from another planet on Earth -- but one who is 'here to help'; who, unlike the 'alien invaders' of popular culture, only uses his great powers to aid his fellow man. Who is a *hero*... "In a very real sense, you have *done* your work here; the pattern of history is now woven for the next 40 years. Which means that there is a chance that you might also be able to find some happiness... *elsewhere.*" Clark looked blankly at him. Right now, he couldn't imagine being truly happy ever again; and *what* the other man could possibly mean by "elsewhere", he couldn't begin to imagine. He tried to think about it, but his head felt thick and he couldn't concentrate properly through the emotion that he was barely holding at bay, so he asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, my boy, remember that the Lois Lane that you first met was not from this world. As another writer has remarked, when it comes to universes, two is a ridiculous number..." The clogged feeling inside Clark's head got worse. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and let out some of the near-overwhelming grief that he felt, but Wells kept throwing these concepts at him -- alternate histories, Greek mythology as metaphor, and now what? Universe counting? -- as though it was of vital importance that he comprehend them, and immediately. The trouble was, he *did* understand the consequences of one of them, and it was that understanding which hurt so much. "We all know that there is at least one universe, by the very fact of our existence," Wells continued, "but *two*, and *only* two? No, no, that makes no sense; if there are two worlds, two parallel dimensions, then there must be more -- an infinite number, in fact -- so, once I satisfied myself that there was no way to save this world's Miss Lane, I went looking. And, in one of those universes, I found something rather interesting: a world that needs a Superman, much as this one did -- and, perhaps, a way for you to find some happiness... *if* you can bring yourself to take on another burden." Clark's eyes narrowed. What Wells was saying was like something out of his stories, lightly, almost flippantly describing mind-boggling ideas, but his tone of voice was serious -- and solicitous. What was this leading up to? Or, he suddenly thought, part of his mind, and perhaps his hopes, racing ahead of his consciousness, had the man already led up to it? He'd certainly got Clark's interest -- so much so that the painful emotions that had dominated his awareness only moments ago had been pushed into the background without him thinking about it. "What burden?" he asked, although he had the feeling that he already knew, at least in outline. "The burden of trying to save the soul of a woman -- and with her, a world. You see, the dimension that I mentioned does not have a Superman, nor will it; although Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, was indeed sent to Earth just as you were, he died as an infant. So there is no Clark Kent in that world... but there *is* a Lois Lane -- and she needs help. "Her Earth is more like that of the Miss Lane whom you know than this one... except for the lady herself. Her life until now has been harder on her, particularly emotionally, than it was for her counterparts; this, together with being deprived of her... partner... has brought her close to... well, you'll see that for yourself, if you decide to accompany me." Clark knew he must sound stupid, and again he was sure that he could guess the answer, but he needed to have Wells spell it out for him before he could accept that it was more than a mad, desperate idea brought about by the need to believe that he was not destined for a solitary, lonely life, always longing for Lois Lane... "Accompany you? Where?" "Why, to this Miss Lane's world, of course," replied an unsurprised Wells. "If you want to help her and her Earth, and thereby meet the needs of both of you for your soul-mate, you will have to leave this world -- probably never to return." ***** More next week Phil ------------------------------------------------------------------ "We gotta get out into Space / If it's the last thing we ever do!" -- Return to the Forbidden Planet A sentiment echoed by Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 07:11:39 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Cool!!! :) -- Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ The difference between journalists and other people is that other people spend their lives running from violence, tragedy, and horror and we spend ours trying to get in on it. --P.J. O'Rourke ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 08:06:50 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Natascha Kortum Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Wow! Is it next Friday yet? ;) Thanks for a great graduation present. :) This is fascinating and I want more! Long story, you said? Even better! Natascha _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 08:02:20 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Vicki Krell Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue MIME-version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Well, I'm totally hooked!!! NEXT WEEK?? Hey, is Monday considered "next week?" Let's take a vote...;) More, please, and the sooner the better! Vicki -----Original Message----- From: Pam Jernigan [mailto:jernigan@BELLSOUTH.NET] Sent: Friday, May 25, 2001 4:12 AM To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue Cool!!! :) -- Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ The difference between journalists and other people is that other people spend their lives running from violence, tragedy, and horror and we spend ours trying to get in on it. --P.J. O'Rourke ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 11:33:04 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carol L Moncado Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Gotta vote with Vicky on this one! Monday is next week after all! Also curious as to who the nameless aerodynamics lecturer is! CM ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 09:54:30 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Wow! What a fascinating premise, Wendy and Phil! I can hardly wait for more, Irene ===== sirenegold@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 12:21:47 -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: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue CarolM wrote: > >Also curious as to who the nameless aerodynamics lecturer is! Carol, Phil is a lecturer in aerodynamics. :) Wendy (a lecturer in industrial relations, which doesn't sound so exciting! ) ---------- Wendy Richards wendy@lcfanfic.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 12:23:12 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carol L Moncado Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit That's what I figured! CM(who occasionally lectures in classes on history, but who is currently unemployed so she can finish her Master's and have a baby!*BG*) On Fri, 25 May 2001 12:21:47 -0500 Wendy Richards writes: > CarolM wrote: > > > >Also curious as to who the nameless aerodynamics lecturer is! > > > Carol, Phil is a lecturer in aerodynamics. :) > > > Wendy (a lecturer in industrial relations, which doesn't sound so > exciting! > ) > ---------- > Wendy Richards > wendy@lcfanfic.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 15:43:44 EDT 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: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This might be a stupid question...but I'm so behind on my reading that I needed to know this. Does this particular fanfic have a series of stories we have to read before it, in order to follow along?!? Thanks, Alexis ;-.) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 17:48:56 -0400 Reply-To: "Heidi A. Bingham" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Heidi A. Bingham" Organization: Militant Breastfeeding Cult Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > More next week Wow! This is awesome. Interesting concept. :-) Can't wait for next week! ~ Heidi ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 18:40:48 EDT 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: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Wow! Just what we all need: a nice long story. Thanks Wendy and Phil, this is a fantastic beginning. "What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" ......Langston Hughes Wanda ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 18:56:40 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jacalyn Sue Newman Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Phil said "More next week." In the fanfic, he also explained how nature dislikes imbalance. Okay..... a week is far too long and I'm feeling VERY imbalanced. Dangerously close to the edge, in fact. The new week starts Sunday 12:00:01 AM, approximately. So, in the interests of good physics I demand that the imbalance be addressed as soon as possible !!! :-) I'm also willing to shamelessly beg for more to be posted ASAP. Jackie -- Jacalyn S. Newman jacalynsue@earthlink.net ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 18:31:02 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: lcfic Subject: Message Board Index Update through May 25 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi FoLCs! Quite a bit of activity on the boards this week! Several vignettes and new stories, lots of new story parts, and several completed stories! Links at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/7378/lnc.html New stories this week: FIRE AT STARLABS COMPLETE VIGNETTE DAWN FIELD & ANNE D. IMBALANCE: PHIL ATCLIFFE AND WENDY RICHARDS JUST LIKE CLARK: KESHANDRA KAL-EL'S KRAZY KOUSINS SERIES OF IMPROBABLE SUPERHERO NAMES VARIOUS R.I.P. LOIS LANE: THE LAST W&T CHALLENGE: TANK WILSON & WENDY RICHARDS SOMETHING TO CHEW ON COMPLETE VIGNETTE LUKESJEDI New part(s) posted: CHARADE: NAN SMITH HAND THAT ROCKS, THE: PINTOFOLC HEARTS DIVIDED: PAM JERNIGAN GREEN CARD: WENDY RICHARDS STRANGERS III: MISSY GALLANT SURVIVAL OF THE SIGNIFICANT: MANOFSTEEL30 UNIVERSAL UNION: JENNI DEBBAGE Completed stories this week: FUGUE II – FUSION: SHAYNE TERRY LANDING LESSONS: NICNACS SERIAL VENGEANCE: TANK WILSON TIMESTORM: IRENE DUTCHAK New TOC's none Added to the Archive this week: A Brand New Start Part One: Shattered Dreams by Kraz Growing Pains by Crystal Wimmer Lady Loisette & Sir Charles: The Adventures of Soulmates by D. Field Lois and Clark and Valentine's Day I by Carol Moncado What You're Asking of Me by Raconteur27 Enjoy! Dawn & the Index Crew __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 03:54:06 -0400 Reply-To: msafrans@ix.netcom.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Mark Safransky Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Phil & Wendy, Bravo! What an awe-inspiring beginning to tease us with. Hey, wait a minute! Next week?!? Say, doesn't that mean Sunday or Monday? < grin > Keep up the great work! Mark ------------ I have precognitive paranoia! ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 07:10:34 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Charade Part 1/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Well, everybody, since this story is in progress on Zoom's new message board, I thought I'd start posting it here, too. I'll post every two days unless something unforseen comes up. I hope you like it. This is the sequel to Vanishing Act, and the latest in the series comprising "Dagger of the Mind", "Dagger's Edge", Assassin's Dagger", "Doppelganger", "Blind Man's Bluff", "Countdown", "Priorities" and "Vanishing Act". If you haven't read them, this story references events that occurred mostly in "Doppelganger", so if anything confuses you, check it out. Comments and/or feedback (even if you have a criticism--I can take it)is requested. Nan ********** Charade By Nan Smith Rated: (Not sure, but certainly no worse than PG-13 for some violence.) Disclaimer: The familiar characters and settings in this story are the property of DC Comics, Warner Bros., December 3rd Productions, et al, and I have no claim on them, nor do I profit by their use. The story, however, is mine. This is the sequel to "Vanishing Act". Charade By Nan Smith "Clark?" Lois pushed her way through scratchy branches and underbrush, and paused, drawing a breath to softly call her husband's name again. Surely, he would hear her. Even the noise of the night insects and the not-so-distant surf couldn't drown out her voice completely, especially for him. The tall pines towered above her, giants in the darkness, and beneath her feet the leaves shed by the few deciduous trees among the evergreens crunched as she took a step. "Clark?" Only the night sounds answered her. Ahead, a cricket chirped loudly, then fell silent at the sounds of her approach. Surely, he must have gone this way, she told herself. She had seen the form of a tall, broad-shouldered man enter the trees only moments before. Was she even still going in the right direction? Under the trees, the silver glow of the moonlight was nonexistent, and she was suddenly unsure which way she was facing. The sound of the surf seemed to come from all directions. She moved slowly forward a few steps and whispered Clark's name a third time, only to sputter and spit out a spider web encountered in the darkness. This wasn't a good idea, she thought. If that hadn't been Clark after all, she could be walking into trouble, especially with all the things that had happened recently, but how was she supposed to find her way out of here? If she yelled for Superman and anyone overheard her, her cover would be blown. An outboard went by on her left with a tremendous racket and she winced at the sound, but it was the clue she needed. She had turned ninety degrees from her original direction. Lois adjusted her course and started forward. Her heels sank into soft, powdery soil and she stumbled slightly. The beach couldn't be very far away and once she was out in the open, she would be able to see. Then she could simply make her way along the shoreline until she was past the stand of trees and she could take a slightly longer detour back to the house. It was no more than five minutes later that she pushed aside a screen of pine needles and emerged onto the open stretch of beach, gleaming under the moonlight. Breakers rolled a short way out, rushing and curling up onto the sand, and collapsing into little eddies of water, edged with foam, which was sucked slowly back into the sea. There was no sign of her husband, but she turned right and began her trek along the shoreline toward the wide path that led back up to the big house on the low hill beyond the trees. She was going to have to change her clothing before she went in to dinner, she thought. The shoes she was wearing were dirty and the hem of her dress was bedraggled and muddy. Mentally, she berated herself. Where had her common sense gone? She'd dealt with difficult situations before without losing her cool. The last thing she and Clark wanted to do was draw undue attention to themselves at this point. A short distance away something lay on the white expanse of sand, like a bundle of rags thrown carelessly down and abandoned. As she moved toward it, the shapeless mass took on form and outline, and she found herself floundering clumsily forward through the powdery substance, her heels sinking into it. One of her shoes fell off and she paused only momentarily to pick it up, barely noticing. It was the body of a man face down on the sand, limp and lifeless like a sack of flour and there was a dark, irregular patch of something warm and sticky blotching the white, formal shirt between his shoulder blades and all down his back. ********** Last week: "Clark, I got that stuff back on Jeffers." Lois Lane dropped a sheaf of papers onto her husband's desk. "You were right. He *did* work for Lexcorp. He was the head of LexTravel Cruise Lines. Do you sense a connection here?" "Could be." Clark looked up at his wife with a smile. "He's become an executive with Caribbean Imports, and we know that Lexcorp, and later Luthor's son, dealt with them. I'd say that's more than a coincidence." "Lexcorp has more tentacles than an octopus," Lois said, distastefully. "You think you've killed it, and then another part pops up." "Well, we don't know Caribbean Imports was actually part of Lexcorp--at least not officially--but I agree with you in principle," Clark said. "Considering the number of illegal dealings they've been caught in, I'd say that's the avenue to pursue next." The investigation into Caribbean Imports had been going on slowly but steadily, ever since the time, six months before, that Lois and Clark had uncovered its connection to a group of white slavers and rescued Lois's sister, as well as three other young women, from a warehouse by the docks where they had been imprisoned. Caribbean Imports, as usual, had managed to wiggle out of the incriminating circumstances, but not without the shadow of suspicion falling on them. Subsequently, Interpol's investigation had located dozens of young women of many nationalities in the secret harems of wealthy men in numerous countries, including the United States. So far, the involvement of Caribbean Imports seemed to be only with the transportation angle, and the only persons connected to that appeared to be a group of lower level employees. However, the company had fallen under suspicion of the international police as a result. "You know," Lois remarked, "if I were a company head, I'd be worried that so many of their lower level employees seem to be involved in illegal activity. It could give the business a bad name." Clark gave a short laugh, but didn't reply. Neither of them was really under any illusion regarding the company. With its headquarters in the Cayman Islands, in spite of the fact that it maintained an office here in Metropolis, Caribbean Imports' had come up too often in the recent past to be mere coincidence. The elevator doors opened and Lois glanced up to see Ralph emerge. The man still walked with a slight limp, she observed happily, the momento of that same event now six months past. He'd acquired a bullet in a delicate spot and still complained every now and then that he continued to have shooting pains there when the weather was damp, as it was today. One good result from her point of view, however, was that the incident had thoroughly quelled Ralph's desire to pursue Clark in an effort to learn the secrets to acquiring his big scoops. Lane and Kent, he'd stated flatly, were crazy, and were going to get themselves killed one day if they continued to use the investigative methods he'd observed. He'd stick to sex scandals. It was safer. Perry had said nothing--pointedly. It wasn't as if their editor hadn't tried to warn him, Lois thought, but it had taken a bullet in the posterior to convince him. Oh well, all was well that ended well. At least they wouldn't have him mucking up their current investigation or anything else that happened to intervene in the meantime. "I've got Jimmy digging into any other connections between the two companies," Lois said. "Want to make any bets?" Clark laughed and shook his head. "Not at those odds. If there's anything to find, Jimmy will find it." Lois thought briefly of the folder of information they were gradually amassing. The owner of Caribbean Imports--ostensibly a gentleman who made his residence on a secluded estate located on a small, private island off the coast of Maine--had refused to grant them an interview, and his background was strangely cloudy, as was everything important about the company. All the ingenuity of Lane and Kent yielded the most minimal of results, but the evidence was very slowly accumulating to prove that Caribbean Imports might be involved in more kinds of business than it advertised. ********** The sky was a dull grey color when they emerged from the building some time later. Lois carried six-month old Marta and Clark toted CJ on his shoulders as they walked the two blocks to their car. As usual, Clark scanned the Jeep carefully with his x-ray vision, looking for explosive devices, before any of them got into it. The attempts to blow them up in their car months before had never quite been forgotten. "No bombs," he told Lois, reassuringly. "Don't laugh, Clark," she said. "You know as well as I do that with the kids, we can't afford to take chances like that." Clark didn't answer, but he couldn't resist a slight smile as he unlocked the doors and set CJ into his car seat. Lois was busy settling her sleeping daughter into her own seat and didn't see it. The thought of Mad Dog Lane worrying about safety was ironic, especially since two years before, he had been the one imploring her to be careful. Having to care for two children had sure changed her attitude, although at times the Lois Lane of old sneaked through. The new Lois, however, was sure easier for his peace of mind. Lois started the engine, glanced over her shoulder for oncoming cars and pulled smartly out into the street. A thin mist was drifting down, coating the windshield very lightly, not enough to turn on the wipers, but enough to obscure slightly the vision of an ordinary human. Clark knew enough to keep his mouth shut; Lois didn't like back seat driving from him any more than from anyone else. They maneuvered through the rush hour traffic without incident, however, and within a short time had left the business district of Metropolis behind. Clark glanced back at the two children in their car seats. CJ might be seventeen months old now, but he still hadn't outgrown his tendency to fall asleep in a moving vehicle. "Sound asleep?" Lois asked. "Snoring," Clark replied with a smile. "I asked Mom if I did that, and she said I didn't, so that's one difference between us." "That's because he's not you," Lois said, reasonably. "Even identical twins have some differences." "I guess so." Clark looked back again at his sleeping son, who was also his genetic twin, smiling affectionately. "Would you ever want to have another one?" "Only if you have the next one," Lois said. The red light they were approaching turned green. "That would be a definite first," Clark said. "I don't think even Superman could handle...look out!" A pickup truck was barreling toward the intersection against the red light, showing no sign of slowing down. Lois jammed her foot onto the brake. "Clark, I don't have any brakes!" Clark did the only thing he could think of. He opened his door and thrust a foot out onto the street, dragging it along the asphalt to slow their momentum. He was aware of a woman's scream from somewhere--not Lois, he thought absently--and then the Cherokee was coming to a halt against the curb. Quickly, he pulled his foot back inside and shut the door. "Oh, God." Lois leaned forward and rested her head on the steering wheel for a long moment. "That was close." "Are you all right?" Clark asked. "Yeah." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "Thanks, Clark." He glanced back at the two children in the rear seat, noting that neither one had awakened. "That's what's meant by the phrase 'sleeping like a baby'. What happened?" "I thought the brake pedal was a little soft when we started, but everything seemed to work all right," Lois said. "But when I tried to stop--suddenly I didn't have any brakes. Where did the truck go?" "It's gone," Clark said. He glanced around at the small crowd of onlookers that was collecting. "I'll be right back. Superman is going to fly us to our mechanic. I want to know what happened." ********** (to be continued) ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 10:19:13 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Seidl Subject: maybe slightly OT: a request Hi everyone! This is my first post to this list, since I'm normally just a lurker. The reason I come out of lurkdom for this post is a little request I would like to make. First of all I want to tell all the writers contributing to this great list that I thoroughly enjoy your stories!!! Well, on to what I want to ask: I'm from Germany, and since I'm soon starting university, majoring in Americanistics, I'll have to be good at English. This is also the direction I want my job to go in - maybe interpreter or something similar... So I thought, for practice, I could maybe borrow some of your stories and translate them into German. Of course, you'd get full credit! I don't know the extent of my project yet, but I promise to keep you posted. So, if at least some of you could give me their thoughts on this project of mine, I would more than appreciate it... :) -Kathy- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 10:54:13 -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: maybe slightly OT: a request Hi Kathy! Good luck in your university studies! You're more than welcome to try translating any of my stories you like. Just let me know if they're going to end up posted anywhere, that's all. :) Wendy --------- Wendy Richards wendy@lcfanfic.com ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 09:20:07 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Good luck, Kathy! Yes, you're welcome to translate any of my stories if you so desire. As per Wendy, I'd like to know if they end up posted anywhere. Thanks. Irene ===== sirenegold@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 09:40:13 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit As with Irene and Wendy, I have no objection. You're welcome to translate any of my stories that you wish. Just let me know if you post them anywhere. Nan Smith Kathy Seidl wrote: > Hi everyone! > > This is my first post to this list, since I'm normally just a lurker. > > The reason I come out of lurkdom for this post is a little request I would > like to make. > > First of all I want to tell all the writers contributing to this great list > that I thoroughly enjoy your stories!!! > > Well, on to what I want to ask: I'm from Germany, and since I'm soon > starting university, majoring in Americanistics, I'll have to be good at > English. This is also the direction I want my job to go in - > maybe interpreter or something similar... > > So I thought, for practice, I could maybe borrow some of your stories and > translate them into German. Of course, you'd get full credit! I don't know > the extent of my project yet, but I promise to keep you posted. > > So, if at least some of you could give me their thoughts on this project of > mine, I would more than appreciate it... > > :) > > -Kathy- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 13:32:59 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Kathy: Add my stories to your list. Like Wendy, Irene and Nan, I would like to know if you post them somewhere. :) Jude ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathy Seidl" To: Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2001 8:19 AM Subject: maybe slightly OT: a request > Hi everyone! > > This is my first post to this list, since I'm normally just a lurker. > > The reason I come out of lurkdom for this post is a little request I would > like to make. > > First of all I want to tell all the writers contributing to this great list > that I thoroughly enjoy your stories!!! > > Well, on to what I want to ask: I'm from Germany, and since I'm soon > starting university, majoring in Americanistics, I'll have to be good at > English. This is also the direction I want my job to go in - > maybe interpreter or something similar... > > So I thought, for practice, I could maybe borrow some of your stories and > translate them into German. Of course, you'd get full credit! I don't know > the extent of my project yet, but I promise to keep you posted. > > So, if at least some of you could give me their thoughts on this project of > mine, I would more than appreciate it... > > :) > > -Kathy- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 18:41:13 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Ann E. McBride" Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Kathy, You may translate my stories. Please let me know if you post them somewhere. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 21:11:56 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 5/26/2001 11:29:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time, KitKaos@HOTMAIL.COM writes: << majoring in Americanistics >> could you explain to us Americans, what that is? Thanks. --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 00:56:02 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Melisma Subject: Well, I guess this is it, folks... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" :::watches everyone fall over with heart attacks::: Sorry... but I've put most of my lists on either nomail or daily digest for 3-4 weeks. Maybe more, but we'll see what happens. Believe me, this has nothing to do with anything that has been going on on any of these lists - or *not* going on, for that matter :) As many of you know, I've gone back to school to work on a TESL certificate. (Teaching English as a Second Language) Things haven't been too hectic up until now, but I've been looking at the schedule for the next little bit and *oh boy*! The amount of schoolwork I'm anticipating is increasing, and I'll be starting my practicum in a few weeks, too. I can see that my schedule needs to be rearranged at least temporarily - email takes up a great deal of my time, and so I've decided to reduce it as much as possible. And that's where these lists come in... I promise that I will at least keep an eye on what happens, but I don't think I will post very often. I hope my friends will write me privately - that mail I will look forward to immensely... And as soon as things slow down in RL, I will be back here like a flash, you can be sure - driving you all slightly, or a lot, nuts from under my Rock... Melisma (missing you all already, here under her Rock) Visit my rock at http://www.intergate.ca/personal/melisma/index.html ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 14:57:02 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Kathy S." Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Wow, you folcs are just great! I'm honored!!! Well, I thought about posting the translations at the German L&C fan fiction archive - at least I hope so. Hope I'll get one or the other story done. :) As I said, of course you'll get full credit, and I'll keep you informed about my progress. ><< majoring in Americanistics >> >could you explain to us Americans, what that is? Thanks. >--Laurie That's basically studies about the American literature, society and culture - all held in English... -Kathy- _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 14:08:58 +0100 Reply-To: LabRat Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LabRat Organization: LabRat Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Coming to this one very late...but you have my permission too, with the same proviso as the others have stated. :) The German Fanfic Archive sounds fine. Good luck! LabRat :) > Wow, you folcs are just great! I'm honored!!! > > Well, I thought about posting the translations at the German L&C fan fiction > archive - at least I hope so. Hope I'll get one or the other story done. :) > > As I said, of course you'll get full credit, and I'll keep you informed > about my progress. > > ><< majoring in Americanistics >> > >could you explain to us Americans, what that is? Thanks. > >--Laurie > That's basically studies about the American literature, society and culture > - all held in English... > > -Kathy- > _________________________________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 10:52:47 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 5/27/2001 8:57:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time, kitkaos@HOTMAIL.COM writes: << That's basically studies about the American literature, society and culture - all held in English... >> Hmm, I think I won't say what I'm thinking... But as I'm down visiting in West Virginia... well the society here is different... (but the scenery is pretty spectacular!) --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 10:07:34 -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: maybe slightly OT: a request >In a message dated 5/27/2001 8:57:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time, >kitkaos@HOTMAIL.COM writes: > >>>That's basically studies about the American literature, society and culture<<< That's what we call American Studies in UK universities; I wondered if that was the same as your course. Wendy ---------- Wendy Richards wendy@lcfanfic.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 15:31:33 -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: Well, I guess this is it, folks... We all understand! Most of us get hit with "Real Life" on a regular basis too. Good luck with your new career. Marilyn AKA Supermom ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 08:37:55 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jeanne Pare Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue Riveting beginning, and one to be expected from two wonderful fanfic writers. Thanks, Wendy and Phil. I am anticipating many weeks of delightful reading pleasure. Jeanne ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 09:17:21 -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: NEW: Imbalance -- Prologue Thanks to everyone for their wonderful comments! :) I should say that this is Phil's story in every way that counts: his idea, his plotting, his design. I'm just along for the ride - and it's been a fun ride, too. I'm very grateful to Phil for inviting me to contribute to one of his classics. :) I hope you continue to enjoy reading. This prologue is all Phil's work, and I take absolutely no credit for it - I'm just lost in admiration of his inventiveness! Wendy ---------- Wendy Richards wendy@lcfanfic.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 16:18:48 +0100 Reply-To: Yvonne Connell Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Yvonne Connell Subject: Re: maybe slightly OT: a request MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Translate my stories all you like, Kathy :) Same proviso as everyone else; let me know if you're going to post it or them anywhere. All the best, Yvonne (yvonne@yconnell.fsnet.co.uk)