From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG0107B" ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 05:59:40 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JaT Subject: Re: Naked Martha Question In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Thanks! --- Betty Cheng wrote: > Hi James, > > The episode is Ides of Metropolis, where Lois > harbours a fugitive Eugene > whom she believes to be innocent. She asks > Clark for "blackmail > information" and Clark says his mom may be > having an affair. > > Hope this helps, > Simba > > -----Original Message----- > From: Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of > Superman Fanfic > [mailto:LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU]On > Behalf Of JaT > Sent: July 7, 2001 3:37 PM > To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU > Subject: Naked Martha Question > > > Which episode did Jonathan come to Metropolis > and > show Clark 'the' picture? > > James > > > ===== > She...also...dismissed men wearing glasses - > Everyone knew that Superman had > perfect sight, so he certainly wouldn't need > glasses. > - Susan Bantram from Personal Loyalties by C. > Leuch, which can be found at > http://www.lcfanfic.com/stories/2001/personal.txt > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! > Mail > http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ===== She...also...dismissed men wearing glasses - Everyone knew that Superman had perfect sight, so he certainly wouldn't need glasses. - Susan Bantram from Personal Loyalties by C. Leuch, which can be found at http://www.lcfanfic.com/stories/2001/personal.txt __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 09:57:32 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gerry Anklewicz Subject: Re: The Case of the Disappearing Clark, final In-Reply-To: <20010707.221739.-229589.10.cmoncado@juno.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU writes: >Oh, my! I think I just sent the attachment to the whole list instead of >just Dorthea! AHHH! > >I am so sorry! Please no one hate me!:o( > >CM Absolutely not. I haven't had a chance to read the whole fic so this gives me the opportunity. Gerry ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 22:10:48 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Double your list mom, double your fun ... Hi everyone, Just wanted to let you know that effective immediately, Farah will once again be acting as a "list mom" with me. Since the baby was born, I haven't been able to keep up with the posts quite as regularly as I'd like, so Farah has agreed to share the duties with me. Welcome back, Farah! :) As always, you can write to either of us privately to alert of any "situations" that might arise, or to ask any questions. If something happens on the list that needs our attention, and one of us doesn't respond quickly enough, please write us privately to get our attention. We will both be reading the list, just not every day. Our email addresses are: Kathy Brown or Farah Chisham Also, you can still write to Farah with any technical problems you might have, since she is the one who handles the "nuts and bolts" side of things. Thanks! :) Kathy ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 06:10:49 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JaT Subject: Re: Double your list mom, double your fun ... In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Welcome Back Farah!!!! ===== She...also...dismissed men wearing glasses - Everyone knew that Superman had perfect sight, so he certainly wouldn't need glasses. - Susan Bantram from Personal Loyalties by C. Leuch, which can be found at http://www.lcfanfic.com/stories/2001/personal.txt __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 10:51:07 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carolyn Schnall Subject: Re: Double your list mom, double your fun ... In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Gee, I wonder why I now have an overwhelming desire for gum right now....:) Thanks to both of you:) Carolyn >Hi everyone, > >Just wanted to let you know that effective immediately, Farah will once again >be acting as a "list mom" with me. Since the baby was born, I haven't been >able to keep up with the posts quite as regularly as I'd like, so Farah has >agreed to share the duties with me. Welcome back, Farah! :) > >As always, you can write to either of us privately to alert of any >"situations" that might arise, or to ask any questions. If something happens >on the list that needs our attention, and one of us doesn't respond quickly >enough, please write us privately to get our attention. We will both be >reading the list, just not every day. > >Our email addresses are: > >Kathy Brown or >Farah Chisham > >Also, you can still write to Farah with any technical problems you might >have, since she is the one who handles the "nuts and bolts" side of things. > >Thanks! :) > >Kathy ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 19:28:44 -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 20/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Charade: Part 20 by Nan Smith Clark came to a dead stop, listening to Lois's heartbeat. She was speaking softly, and, to his surprise, she sounded pleased. "Good work, Jim. That should slow them up." Ah, that explained it. Lois and Jimmy weren't just sitting around waiting for him to rescue them, then. Trust the pair of them to make a few moves to distract and hamper the enemy. He frowned suddenly. He was hearing three heartbeats, not two. Who would be with them? Whoever it was, he or she was right there beside them. The emergency generator came on at that point, and a dim, yellowish light filtered through the corridors. He could hear the sounds of various pieces of electrical equipment taking up their tasks once more. A man pushed by him, hurrying in the same direction Clark was headed. Possibly part of the repair crew, he decided. With a subsonic squeal that made Clark wince, the laboring main generator came grudgingly back on line. The fluorescent lights flickered into being and the emergency lights died. Clark frowned, continuing to make his way toward Lois and Jimmy and the unknown third party. What had happened? It wasn't like Jimmy to fail so easily. The situation lasted all of forty seconds and the generator went off once more. He heard the dying whine of the turbines and the corridor was plunged into darkness a second time. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Clark found himself chuckling at the inventiveness of his young friend. He had to hand it to Jimmy. The boy--no, he corrected himself, he was going to have to change his thinking about Jimmy. The young man he had become deserved more respect than that. Jimmy had come up with a way of casting the whole underground complex into confusion. Take that, Luthor! he thought. You're not the only one around here with bright ideas! The emergency lights flickered to life as Clark continued to move forward. More people, some wearing white coveralls, pushed past him, and he followed. They must know where the generator room was located, and Lois and Jimmy were in the same area. It made sense to follow them. The loudspeaker was booming again, Luthor was commanding his Security people to spread out and search for Kellie Davenport. Evidently, he hadn't connected the power troubles with Lois and Jimmy yet--but then, Clark thought, why should he? How could he know *who* her companion was? Jimmy didn't really look much like Jimmy Olsen as he had been, especially with his new hairdo, clothing and manner. Luthor probably assumed he was another experienced Planet reporter. Besides, Luthor had never known about Jimmy's expertise on the subject of computers... The generator ground into reluctant life once more, and the vibration rose quickly to a wail of agony. The thing was trying to come up to normal speed much too quickly, and it wasn't doing the damaged mechanism any good at all. The fluorescent lights came on and the backup lighting died once more. The mistreated generator couldn't keep this up for long, he thought, though what else might be in Jimmy's arsenal of tricks he couldn't imagine. With a squeal of almost human pain, the generator quit again. This time, the emergency lights were slower to come back. Around him in the dimness, he could hear the gabble of the frustrated men and women who were attempting to make their way to the demon-ridden generator. Someone was cursing monotonously but imaginatively, condemning the tunnels, the generator, and the vagaries of Murphy's Law all in one comprehensive monologue. "Give it five minutes," a voice said cynically in his ear. "It'll be back." He was right. The generator started up with a pained groan, as if the load was much too much for it to bear. The lights began to flicker, but the mechanism was definitely on its last legs. The groan turned into a dying gasp and the overburdened turbines quit for the last time. Well, that was the end of the generator. Judging from the sounds, there was no chance of it recovering again. And, if his memory was correct--which it was--the backup generator had a time limit of four hours. That ought to be more than just a distraction for Lex Luthor. Briefly, he wondered if Jimmy had any more tricks up his sleeve. But, the next contribution wasn't something Jimmy could possibly--at least to Clark's knowledge--have had anything to do with. Replacing the death rattle of the generator, was another sound. It was the thin, eerie cry of the fire alarm. For a moment, Clark thought Jimmy had overplayed his hand. Could the generator have caught fire? Then, he wondered why anyone would worry about fire here, anyhow. The tunnels were made of stone. How far could a fire really go in such circumstances? A whiff of smoke, laden with the scent of chemicals, made the matter clear. The ventilation system circulated the air down here. If there hadn't been one, the atmosphere deep in the tunnels would have become stuffy and stale in short order. A chemical fire in one of the labs could threaten the rest of the complex without ever spreading from its original location. Would Luthor have started a fire to flush Lois out of her hiding place? He considered that briefly and concluded that it wasn't likely. Luthor might have been determined to capture Lois, but he wouldn't sacrifice his cloning project to do so when there were other, less costly methods of accomplishing the same object. A fire must have started in one of the labs for some unknown reason, and was now menacing everyone in the tunnels. This was going to be a lot worse than even he had anticipated. He couldn't let people die in a chemical fire, but Lois and Jimmy came first. He had to get to them quickly, take them out of here, and then see what he could do to put out the fire. Exposing his presence to Luthor was the last on his list of things to do, but if it was necessary, he would. With any luck, it wouldn't *be* necessary. With the sound of the alarm, people began to retrace their steps. Clark slowly but surely pressed against the tide, and when fleeing people discovered that trying to push him aside was almost as effective as pushing on a stone wall, they squeezed past him as best they could and fled back toward the entrance. Clark kept close to the wall and forced his way forward, step by step. Lois's heartbeat had speeded up a little, but it hadn't changed position much. If anything, it had retreated, slightly. Down here in the tunnels, it was easy to lose his sense of direction, but he believed she was still southwest of him and perhaps two hundred feet or so higher. There was a faint haze of smoke in the air, now. He could see it with his enhanced vision. It wasn't heavy yet, but unless the fire burned up its fuel, it could become thick enough to seriously threaten the lives of everyone in the tunnels. Besides, who knew what kinds of chemicals were burning? The smoke was probably toxic to human lungs, and of course there was always the possibility of an explosion. The repair personnel and the Security people were mostly past, now. Clark speeded up considerably, slowing only when he heard approaching footsteps. A single individual pounded toward him and went past, and then, he could hear no more persons coming in his direction. He shifted into a run. He had to moderate his speed somewhat because of turns and intersecting tunnels, but he was still moving at least twice as fast as a human man could run. A tunnel sloped upward ahead of him and he half-flew up the incline. At the top, another, shorter tunnel ended in a room labeled "Authorized Personnel Only". Lois's heartbeat was some distance beyond that. He went through the room like a bullet, noting peripherally that there were several computers positioned around the room, and out the other side. Lois was close, now. A tunnel extended a short way beyond the room, and there, the previously man-carved walls became rough natural, stone. He could hear the cries of disturbed sea birds and the distinctive sounds of the surf, and suddenly he knew where he was. The sea bird rookery was just beyond, somewhere past the occupied portions of the tunnels. He had noticed and never guessed the meaning of the birds flying in and out of the holes in the cliff side. "Lois?" he called. "It's Superman!" He stepped through an uneven gap in the stone wall into a rough cavern carved by the hand of Mother Nature in the stone, and knew Lois was here. He could hear her heartbeat and the heartbeats of two other persons as well, coming from the shadows behind a screen of tumbled boulders. She stepped out from behind them as the echoes of his voice died. "Well," she said. "It took you long enough. What's happening out there, anyway?" She glanced over her shoulder. "Come on out, it's really him." >From behind the boulders, two more persons appeared. One, of course, was Jimmy, grinning widely. The other was Isaac Mamba, looking very apprehensive. Clark cocked his head at Lois. "I suppose there's a good explanation for this, Ms. Lane," he said. "I'd like to hear it later, but right now I need to get the three of you out of here. There's a chemical fire in one of the labs." ********** Jimmy Olsen had to admit Superman looked just as impressive in one of the Security uniforms as he did in his bright red and blue suit and he was very glad the Kryptonian had shown up at last. He'd been starting to wonder if they'd gotten themselves trapped in this place with no way out and he'd never been so relieved to see someone in his life. The day Jimmy had realized who the superhero really was, he'd first been hurt, and then awed that the Man of Steel preferred to live the life of an ordinary man and finally he had understood. Clark hid his incredible powers behind a pair of glasses and a smart, tailored suit, when he could have had and been anything he wanted as Superman. Evidently, he valued his privacy and the ability to fit in as much as he could far more than the hero worship of billions. He had a wife he loved, a job he enjoyed, and two beautiful children. Why would any man want to throw those things away in favor of fame? There was a time that Jimmy might not have believed that, but his one encounter with "fame" a couple of years ago had brought him a more thorough comprehension than all the verbal explanations ever could. He had vowed that day never to tell anyone Clark's secret, and he never had. There were times when he wondered if Perry White knew, but he couldn't ask and his editor never admitted it if he did. Looking at Clark now, if he hadn't known, he wouldn't have seen the resemblance. Superman was glancing around, no doubt using his x-ray vision or something to locate the best way to get them out. He nodded slightly, then stepped forward, holding out his arms. "Ms. Lane, you first. I'm going to take you out through the birds' caves. If I set you on the beach, you should be all right while I put out the fire." Lois moved easily forward and Superman scooped her up. With a gust of chemical-scented air, he was gone. Jimmy and Mamba looked at each other in silence. Another gust of air brought with it a stronger scent of the rookery. Superman was back, and he held out his arms to both of them. "Each of you put an arm over my neck," he said, briefly. "I'll hold you around the waist. Don't worry. I won't drop you." Jimmy obeyed at once, and after an instant's hesitation, Mamba copied him. Jimmy felt Superman grasp him around the waist, and then his feet left the floor and there was a sensation of rushing air. He'd only flown with Superman a couple of times, but it was a breath-taking sensation for a very few seconds. They burst from the hole in the cliff wall, nearly upsetting one of the birds, which gave an indignant squawk, and then Superman was setting them down on the sand as lightly as a feather. The superhero glanced at Lois. "Don't go anywhere near the mansion," he said. "Luthor knows who you are, as I'm sure you know. I've got to put out the fire before people are killed, then we'll leave and bring in the police. In the meantime, stay here, and stay out of sight." "Superman!" Jimmy spoke up quickly. "I think I know where to start. When Lois and I came in, we hid in a lab near the boathouse entrance. There was a coffee pot on a hot plate that someone forgot to turn off." Superman nodded. "Thanks, Jim. I'll check there, first." Lois stepped forward and rested a hand on his arm. "Be careful, Superman. Luthor has a piece of Kryptonite." His expression softened and he nodded. "I will." In a flash, he was gone. ********** (tbc) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 19:28:54 -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 Apology MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The next part of Charade may be a little delayed. My daughter, Vanya who has been in Okinawa for the past year, arrived in San Diego this morning for her overdue leave before she joins her unit in Hawaii. As you might imagine, my writing time may be cut a little short. I'll try to work on the next few parts and post as soon as I'm happy with it, but it may take a little longer than usual. I just wanted to let you know I haven't quit writing, and to apologize for taking longer than expected. Nan ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 00:00:29 -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: Charade: Part 20/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Once again the truly evil Nan has struck. And she won't be posting for a while either. *sigh* If she MUST spend time with her daughter... Seriously, enjoyed it as always and can't wait to see what happens next! More soon! (After a well-deserved break of course!) CM ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:10:22 +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 Part 9 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII [ And now, in glorious List-O-Scope and E-mail-colour, we present that immortal epic "Birth of a By-Line", starring Charlton Heston and-- Waitaminute! How'd *he* get into this? ) Um... last time, Lois had tentatively, conditionally and provisionally agreed -- under sufferance, with reservations, and in the short term only -- to attempt to have Clark taken on at the Planet (Gee, little Ms Enthusiasm, isn't she? ). Fortunately for Clark, there's a story to write... Now read on:] ***** What followed in the next couple of hours was a revelation to them both. Lois found that Kent had been serious when he said that he wasn't a rookie; in fact, she had to admit (privately) that he was a darn good reporter with a strong grasp of the essentials of the business. His prose was a little touchy-feely for her taste, but she could not deny that it complemented her more forceful style extremely well. When she'd been forced to collaborate with other "partners" in the past, she'd always felt that their writing clashed, each one trying to outdo the other in the "tough, hard-hitting" stakes. Not Kent, though; he seemed to be confident enough in himself not to need to go all macho in print (and she supposed that he had reason, being able to fly, swallow bombs, catch roller-coasters and all), and what he did instead came over as the perfect accompaniment to her own work. She wasn't sure exactly how he did it, but it worked -- the finished article, as bare of facts as it was, was a darn good piece of journalism, even if she did say so herself. Her opinion of him as a reporter hadn't suffered when she heard him on the phone, either. They'd both thought of people who could be asked for quotes on the strange happenings at the park -- and who would be available for comment, even at this late hour -- and had taken turns phoning them, with enough success to make the bare facts of the "vandalism" of the ride into a decent-length article, with the promise of follow-ups. Kent had a good phone manner -- he was rather too polite, in her opinion, but it seemed to work for him -- but the way in which he persisted in the face of non-committal answers, and particularly the way he refused to be put on hold (a true test of a *real* journalist, in Lois' opinion) only served to confirm that he really was a reporter, and a good one, too. She also noticed that he was very precise in the way he introduced himself. It was always, "I'm Clark Kent, calling on behalf of the Daily Planet..." or something similar; he never actually claimed to be working for the paper, although it was made clear to the person on the other end of the phone that his or her comments were likely to appear in print. Lois couldn't think why he would be so finicky about this, until she came to the conclusion that he was being careful not to represent himself as something that he was not; after all, he didn't work for the paper -- yet. In the face of such scrupulous honesty, Lois began to wonder, almost despite herself, if maybe, just maybe, he had been telling her the truth all along. Had she genuinely found a man-- an alien? No, darn it, he might be able to fly, but that was a *man* over there -- who could be trusted? She shivered unconsciously, dismissing that thought -- for now. Whatever Kent was, tonight, he had been her partner in one of the most enjoyable collaborations that she could remember. They'd bounced ideas off each other as they searched for the right way of approaching the story, and she'd been amazed at how much of a rapport they'd established -- on a professional level, at least. Okay, they'd squabbled a bit when he'd tried to edit her copy, but he'd apologised and explained that he'd been an assistant editor at this "other" Daily Planet before he'd left to come "here", and it might take him a while to get back to purely being a reporter. He'd seemed sincere -- but then, he always did -- and so she'd accepted the apology, and even suggested that he take a look at the story *after* they'd finished it; that was when an editor was supposed to get involved, anyway. He'd agreed, and they'd gone back to thrashing out the text, Lois on her laptop and Kent on a legal pad that she lent him. Once she'd finished typing for the moment, she passed the computer to him... and her eyes widened as she was, yet again, stunned by what he could do. He'd told her repeatedly that he could do things at what he called "super-speed", but it was still a surprise to see his fingers fly over the keyboard in a blur. Every so often, he'd have to stop for a couple of seconds -- she assumed it was to let the machine catch up with his typing -- but he returned the laptop to her barely a couple of minutes after she'd given it to him... and there was the story, complete *and* edited, ready to send to the Planet. For his part, Clark had rarely had a more stimulating evening -- professional or otherwise. He'd never really had a regular partner at work -- and certainly not after he'd become known as Superman (plenty of offers, but the "candidates" were only interested in him *as* news rather than wanting to work *with* him) -- so he was feeling rather stunned himself. It had been... fascinating to see Lois at work. Now that he thought about it, this was an aspect of Lois -- *any* Lois -- that he didn't really know. The closest he had come to it was when the other Lois had come to his former world and had been investigating Tempus -- and convincing him that both he and the world needed him to become Superman -- but her "work" then had been focused on stopping Tempus and getting home rather than reporting the news. And when he'd met her the second time, in her world, she'd been far too worried about her missing husband, and the situation -- Tempus elected President of the United States, and most of the populace in thrall to his subliminal messages -- had hardly lent itself to normal working practices. So, working with Lois like this was a new experience for him, and he was amazed at the change it wrought in her. Once it was established (for the moment) that he wasn't interested in an ego-boosting puff piece, and that he could accept and respect her wish not to be mentioned (even though she hadn't told him why), she had relaxed that bit more and they had got on with the job. When they did... it was incredible! She was so focused on what they were doing, and yet so animated. Her concentration was phenomenal! And the way they'd tossed ideas back and forth was like nothing he'd ever experienced. Even their disagreements had a certain charm to them, and the end result was a solid piece of journalism, something with which they could both be satisfied, and which any reporter worth his by-line ought to be happy to have written. If this was what it was going to be like, working with her every day... *Whew!* Now, he *really* wanted that job at the Planet! Which thought made him look at his watch, and he was surprised to see how late it was -- or early, depending on how one looked at it. He pointed this out to Lois, saying that he ought to leave, particularly if they were going to be at the office in the morning to explain to Perry who the unknown name on the by-line was -- and ask about that job. Lois yawned and stretched... and Clark looked away to hide the sudden flush that the sight of her caused. But then she muttered something under her breath, and he looked back at her in concern; she wasn't expecting to be able to get to sleep, being too keyed-up after the events of the evening and early morning to relax. For a moment, he debated with himself as to whether he ought to tell her that he'd heard what she'd said, before deciding that, in all fairness, she should know. "Lois..." he murmured, "Is there anything I can do to help you sleep?" She stared at him in shocked surprise -- and the stare soon became a glare. "How did you--" she snapped, and then the penny dropped, and her angry tone became rueful, albeit still with a certain amount of irritation there as well. "Oh, right... really good hearing." "Yes. My hearing's kinda funny that way; normally, I have to concentrate to hear anything at any great distance -- unless it's a call for help or something like that, which I seem to pick up on more or less automatically... and usually at the most inconvenient times..." He smiled, an oddly endearing lop-sided grin that almost made Lois forget her annoyance with him, before continuing, "...but in ordinary circumstances, I can hear everything -- particularly when it's quiet, like now. Sorry -- but I thought you ought to know." "Oh. Right. Thanks," Lois replied, not quite sure how to react, and too tired to think about it -- but also, as she'd said, not able to relax properly either. Clark nodded in silent acknowledgement before repeating, "Is there anything I can do to help?" Lois thought about that for a moment, then replied warily, "What did you have in mind?" Clark was taken aback -- not so much by her question, or by the tone in which it was couched, but by the realisation that he hadn't really thought about what he *could* do to help her relax. He knew a lot of relaxation techniques, learned all over the world during his travelling days, but it suddenly struck him that those that didn't involve meditation (which he didn't think Lois would be interested in, right now) required massage or some other form of bodily contact -- and suggesting *that* would only confirm the fears that he'd detected in her voice. 'Well, when all else fails, fall back on the old home remedies...' The phrase came to him out of nowhere, and it took him a second or two to work out where he'd heard it. Then he remembered his mother saying that to him as a little boy, and the old feelings of loss swept over him for a moment before he realised that, as always, his mom had the right idea. "How about something to drink -- some hot chocolate, maybe?" he suggested. Lois, watching him closely, alert, despite her fatigue, for any wrong move on his part, saw the brief moment of sadness pass over his countenance, and wondered what she was missing here; she also felt slightly relieved, because she didn't think a would-be seducer would look like that when making his move. Then he brightened and made his suggestion; for a moment, she was afraid that she'd been right to be nervous, but then the "drink" he had in mind became *chocolate* and she relaxed again. "That sounds great, Kent... but I don't think I have any left; I finished my last container a couple of days ago." It didn't faze him in the least. "Not a problem," he said in a breezy tone, stepping over to open her window. He spun in place, changing back into the suit, then tossed a quick look at her over one shoulder as he stepped onto the sill. "Back in a flash," he quipped... and was gone, with only her curtains whipping in the wind of his passage to indicate that he'd been there... ...until, a few seconds later, he reappeared with a shopping bag in one hand. Lois still hadn't quite recovered from her amazement at his sudden change into "the suit", as he called it, and his disappearance; even though she knew that he could do that, and had seen him in action several times that night, it was still... incredible when he suddenly vanished or reappeared like that -- not to mention that spin thingy when he changed his clothes... She went to get up, but he waved at her to stay put, and headed for the kitchen... only to stop short and turn back to her. "I'm sorry, Lois; I didn't mean to presume... Do you mind if I use your kitchen?" he asked. Lois' brows rose -- he was asking for *permission* to use her kitchen? She almost thought that he was joking, or making fun of her -- if he knew so much about her, he must know that she was no cook -- but there was that sincere air about him again, and she decided that, for want of any evidence to the contrary, that maybe he just had very good, rather old-fashioned manners. "Feel free..." she murmured in answer, sinking back onto the couch. He smiled, nodded and moved back towards the kitchen. She couldn't see him once she'd sat down again, but she heard some rather odd sounds... First, there was the clinks and clunks of various containers being taken out of the bag and set on the counter; then there was the by-now familiar noise of him spinning, and she presumed that he'd changed clothes again -- boy, did she wish that *she* could do that; talk about a time-saver! -- and then the oddest mixture of quiet noises that she'd ever heard -- whooshes, soft thuds, tinkles of (she thought) spoons on crockery, paper rustles, and a couple of others that she couldn't recognise, all taking place at once -- or nearly so. But before she could so much as move to see what was going on, he appeared at the end of the couch (dressed as Clark Kent again, she saw) and handed her a steaming mug of the most delicious-smelling hot chocolate -- and it tasted even better! "Mmmm..." she said, taking a sip, and then another. "This is great. What is it -- and how'd you make it so fast?" "Jade and Obsidian Organic Hot Chocolate, made according to my mom's old recipe," he answered in between taking what, to Lois, looked like huge swallows of the stuff. As delicious as this was, she was confining herself to small sips -- it was *hot!* -- and she began to wonder how he could gulp it like that; was this some macho see-how-tough-I-am thing to impress her? She eventually concluded that it probably wasn't, because he didn't try to follow up on it at all; instead, he was extolling the virtues of the hot chocolate: how it was not only organically grown, but was also a fair-trade product -- but the real reason he used it was that it was the best-tasting hot chocolate he'd ever found! And how his mother (his adoptive mother, of course -- his *Earth* mother?) had this special way of making it that it had taken him years to re-create... She took another sip as he talked, and remembered that he still hadn't answered her question. "Okay," she said when he paused for another swig, "this stuff, courtesy of the combined efforts of hard-working South American peasants, your mom and you, is undoubtedly in the running for the title of Best Hot Chocolate Ever, no argument -- which, as a dedicated connoisseur of chocolate, is not an accolade I give out lightly -- but how did you make it so quickly? I mean, you zipped out of here and were back in a few seconds, and it didn't even take you *that* long to hand me my drink... *How?* At the very least, it takes a heck of a lot longer than that just to heat the milk!" "Oh," he replied, that smile lurking around that mouth of his again. "It's just another of the things I can do. I can heat things up by... looking at them, and cool them down by blowing on them. Comes in handy at times like this." "Yeah, I'll bet it does," she muttered. "Why didn't you mention this before? And what *else* can you do that you haven't told me about?" "The subject... just never came up. Lois, I've promised that I'll tell you everything, and I mean it, but I can't do it all at once -- I'm not a computer with a manual that you can download! "Look, let's call it a night, okay? You're tired, and I wouldn't mind a nap myself. I don't need as much sleep as you do, but I do need some." He downed the last of his chocolate, stood up and took the mug over to the kitchen sink to rinse it. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. What time, and where?" They arranged to meet outside the Planet, and Clark stepped over to the window again. Lois began to get up, but he stopped her. "You stay put and enjoy your chocolate. I think I can see myself out..." he murmured gently before spinning into the suit again. "Good night, Lois. Sleep well." And he was gone. "'Night..." she called quietly after him -- which rather surprised her; she'd never been one for saying good night -- the phrase had too many bad memories attached to it from years gone by -- but it had seemed such an easy, natural thing to respond to his words... Lois shook her head. 'What have I got myself into here?' She didn't know, and was too tired -- both physically, and now, as this wonderful hot chocolate worked its magic on her over-active brain, mentally -- to deal with it at present. The only thing to do was to finish the drink and hit the sack; she just hoped that she wasn't going to have to cope with nightmares after the unreal events of that night. So she did. And she didn't. ***** William Church, Junior, walked down the stairs of his father's mansion, feeling pretty pleased with himself, and with life in general. He looked forward to seeing the morning papers and to showing his father and step-mother that a long-standing thorn in their collective side had been removed. Of course, the news might not have made it into print yet, but he could wait. He strolled into the dining room, greeting his parents as he usually did: "Good morning, Dad. Good morning, Mindy." Also as usual, he spent a moment unobtrusively but thoroughly giving his step-mother the once-over from top to toe, and reflecting that his father was a *very* lucky man. 'God, what a babe!' he thought, not for the first time. Mindy Church was indeed a very attractive woman -- young, blonde, buxom, generally scantily dressed, oozing sex appeal... She also had a mind -- and a tongue -- like a bacon-slicer, though both were kept well hidden behind her airhead public persona. And she was devoted to her husband and their joint plans for the North American arm of Intergang. Not necessarily in that order. Engrossed as he was in his... ah, *appreciation* of Mindy's body (and her mind, of course), he was a little slow to notice that both she and his father wore singularly unhappy expressions. He caught on quickly enough, though, when Bill senior tossed a newspaper down the table to land neatly in front of him. The elder Church didn't say anything, but his expression was revealing enough -- as was Mindy's, once one's gaze got that far up -- so Will quickly began to scan the page in front of him. At first, he couldn't see anything that could be upsetting them, even if this was the Daily Planet; it can't have been anything too major, because he wasn't looking at the front page... and then the problem suddenly clicked into place -- a report on a ride at the Fantasy World Theme Park having been "vandalised"... by *Lois Lane!* "What the *hell?*" Neither of his companions cared to comment at that moment, but a furious Will was doing enough of that by himself: "Damn that son-of-a... He told me she was dead!" He looked up and met the censorious gazes of his parents -- but, as befitted a Church, he didn't quail at what he saw; no, he was too angry. "Look, Dad, Mindy, I don't know what's going on here. I talked to St John last night, and he assured me that Lane was dead! He said that he watched her take the bait, and that he definitely saw her in the basket, off the ground. The track support was fixed, and it broke just the way it was supposed to -- even the damn Planet says that! -- so how the hell did she get out of it alive? And even if she did, he fixed her car! If she wasn't smashed by the fall, she should have been blown up when she left the park! What the hell happened last night?" "That's what we'd like to know," his father said coolly -- flatly, even. Had Will been less annoyed, he might have felt rather nervous: when Bill Church used *that* tone of voice, it generally meant that the recipient was walking very close to the edge of an abyss, and this was his or her only warning -- get the job done, and done right, or else. However, exasperation was its own protection in this case: not only did Will miss the not-exactly-veiled threat, but he was determined to find out who had loused up and why -- which, since it was exactly what his father wanted to know, meant that nothing more needed to be said. More *was* said, of course; Will was now in the middle of a rant about how he was going to put the fear of God into St John, and right away; how that moron was going to explain what had gone wrong or he'd know the reason why not, blah, blah, blah... Bill Church senior merely looked on in amusement; his son seemed to be adequately motivated, and that would do for now. Shame he had to get so worked up about it, though, but that's how Will was... Mindy kept her reaction to Will's exhibition to herself. ***** [Wise woman... Meantime, there are other interesting things which will be happening that morning, especially at the Daily Planet... But you'll have to wait until next time to find out about (some of) those.] Phil ---- "If you let a smile be your umbrella... you'll get wet teeth!" -- a forgotten comedian, quoted by me: Phil Atcliffe (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:24:08 -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: Question about "All Shook Up" When Lois takes Clark back to his apartment after he's lost his memory, he picks up a football. I know it's a game ball from a college game he played in. But can anyone remember seeing a date on it? What was the name of the other college? Did Clark attend Midwest or Midwestern University? Or was it Midwest/Midwestern State? Was the score from the ballgame written on the ball? I'm not asking much. /me ducks from the flying footballs headed my way. ;-) Supermom ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:38:18 -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 Part 9 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit See Phil. I KNEW you could find a way to post the next part before Friday. Enjoyable as always, but I would like to see more soon! CM ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 22:38:10 +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: Re: Imbalance Part 9 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable [ And now, in glorious List-O-Scope and E-mail-colour, we present that immortal epic "Birth of a By-Line", starring Charlton Heston and-- Waitaminute! How'd *he* get into this? ) Yes, Phil. If you say so Phil. I do like your intros, they always = make me laugh. Do we get to see Perry soon? Like, maybe, uh, Friday? Nic ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 22:28:57 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gerry Anklewicz Subject: Question re suffocation MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit I have a question for those who may know about suffocation. 1) When someone's mouth and nose are covered tightly, how long would it take the person to pass out? 2) What does the person look like if s/he is suffocating as s/he is about to pass out? 3) How long would a person be in the "passed out" stage before any brain damage could occur? 4) How long would a person be "pass out" before s/he suffocates and dies? This is for a fic that's finished first draft stage so it may get out there. Gerry ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 22:32:18 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gerry Anklewicz Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance Part 9 In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Imbalance is a riveting story which I await anxiously each Friday. (And today's only Tuesday, I think.) But, by far, the best part is the preamble. Today's may have been the best. Love it. Gerry ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 21:54:10 -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: Hyperion question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Anybody remember how they opened the secret room in the brownstone? Thanks so much and I promise this story will see the light of day soon so that all your help and patience will be rewarded (I hope!) CM ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 23:20:41 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Ann E. McBride" Subject: Re: Question re suffocation MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 7/10/01 10:28:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Gerry.Anklewicz@NTEL.TDSB.ON.CA writes: > 1) When someone's mouth and nose are covered tightly, how long would it > take the person to pass out? > According to my son the former anatomy student, about a minute or two, unless the person began to panic, in which case it could take less time. 2) What does the person look like if s/he is suffocating as s/he is about > to pass out? > They would turn blue. 3) How long would a person be in the "passed out" stage before any brain > damage could occur? > Five minutes without oxygen is all the brain can take. 4) How long would a person be "pass out" before s/he suffocates and dies? > Don't know -- but I'd guess about ten minutes. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 23:21:49 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: Hyperion question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 7/10/01 11:13:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time, cmoncado@JUNO.COM writes: > Anybody remember how they opened the secret room in the brownstone I think there was a button on the wall they pushed that looked kind of like a light switch. In IGYUMS, Clark pushed it to prove he was Clark. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 20:39:29 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: Question re suffocation MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ann E. McBride wrote: > In a message dated 7/10/01 10:28:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > Gerry.Anklewicz@NTEL.TDSB.ON.CA writes: > > > 1) When someone's mouth and nose are covered tightly, how long would it > > take the person to pass out? > > > According to my son the former anatomy student, about a minute or two, unless > the person began to panic, in which case it could take less time. > > 2) What does the person look like if s/he is suffocating as s/he is about > > to pass out? > > > They would turn blue. > > 3) How long would a person be in the "passed out" stage before any brain > > damage could occur? > > > Five minutes without oxygen is all the brain can take. > > 4) How long would a person be "pass out" before s/he suffocates and dies? > > > > Don't know -- but I'd guess about ten minutes. > > Ann ********* Actually, brain cells begin to die at about 3 minutes without oxygen. It takes a little more than ten minutes to suffocate. Nan ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 22:05:17 -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: Yesterday upon the stair... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Please forgive me if this has already been addressed, but I was curious as to where this story has been. I keep thinking about it and wondering where it is going. Sorry I don't remember who was writing it, but I want the author to know I am anxioulsy awaiting more. CM ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:55:31 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Eileen Barnard Subject: Re: Hyperion question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I think I remember in the episode where Lois and Clark had just moved in, that Lois used a kind of remote control device. Kind regards Eileen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carol L Moncado" To: Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 3:54 AM Subject: Hyperion question > Anybody remember how they opened the secret room in the brownstone? > > Thanks so much and I promise this story will see the light of day soon so > that all your help and patience will be rewarded (I hope!) > > CM ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 11:40:55 +0100 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: Yesterday upon the stair... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Carol, Yesterday, Upon the Stair is by the other CarolM, Carol Malo. And you're not the only one to be missing it! It had me hooked right from the first paragraph. And I'm definitely suffering from withdrawal symptoms! Carol, please, don't leave us hanging here! Wendy -------------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 06:45:27 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: Re: Question re suffocation MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 7/10/2001 10:28:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Gerry.Anklewicz@NTEL.TDSB.ON.CA writes: 1) When someone's mouth and nose are covered tightly, how long would it take the person to pass out? <<>> 2) What does the person look like if s/he is suffocating as s/he is about to pass out? <<>> 3) How long would a person be in the "passed out" stage before any brain damage could occur? <<>> 4) How long would a person be "pass out" before s/he suffocates and dies? This is for a fic that's finished first draft stage so it may get out there. <<>> -Crys_ (who really is worried that she knows this much about the subject ... blame it on 10 years working in hospitals) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 09:31:09 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gerry Anklewicz Subject: Re: Question re suffocation In-Reply-To: <65.16fc55c9.287d8847@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Ann, Nan and Chrys Thanks for your help. I've got the information I need now to make this section sound like I know something. Gerry ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 08:50:00 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Betty Cheng Subject: Re: Hyperion question In-Reply-To: <005601c109ef$a1ebbf60$c57f7ad5@oemcomputer> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In the episode where Clark had switched bodies with Woody Sam (I'm not sure his name), Clark came back to the brownstone and to prove he was really Clark, he opened the secret compartment by pulling on something on the wall. I think it was a hook, perhaps for hanging coats. It was situated on the right side wall if you were facing the secret compartment, but quite a few feet away. Sorry I can't be more specific but I'm at work so I can't look up the episode on tape. Hope this helps. Cheers, Simba -----Original Message----- From: Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic [mailto:LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU]On Behalf Of Eileen Barnard Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 2:56 AM To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Subject: Re: Hyperion question I think I remember in the episode where Lois and Clark had just moved in, that Lois used a kind of remote control device. Kind regards Eileen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carol L Moncado" To: Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 3:54 AM Subject: Hyperion question > Anybody remember how they opened the secret room in the brownstone? > > Thanks so much and I promise this story will see the light of day soon so > that all your help and patience will be rewarded (I hope!) > > CM ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:51:36 -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: Hyperion question MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks so much to everyone - the ep in question where he switches bodies - should be coming up either later this week or early next, so I will watch it and see what happens! Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CM ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:52:19 -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: Yesterday upon the stair... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I was thinking it was the other carol m - *uses the best puppy dog eyes she can muster* - please more soon carol! (the other) CM On Wed, 11 Jul 2001 11:40:55 +0100 Wendy Richards writes: > Carol, Yesterday, Upon the Stair is by the other CarolM, Carol Malo. > And > you're not the only one to be missing it! It had me hooked right > from the > first paragraph. And I'm definitely suffering from withdrawal > symptoms! > > Carol, please, don't leave us hanging here! > > > Wendy > > -------------------------- > Wendy Richards > w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 16:18:19 -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 Part 9 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Phil, Wendy! I am not known for my patience! What a place to stop. Quite frankly, I don't care what happens to Will, but I do want to know what's going on at the Planet and what happens to St. John. Nice use of character BTW. ;) I really enjoyed the Lois and Clark interaction and their respective thoughts on the evening spent working together. Clark is doing all he can to win Lois' trust. And it looks like she is appreciating all he does. I loved the entire hot chocolate scene! Ok, Daily Planet, next day... I am ready, Natascha _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 06:22:59 -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/Part41 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Title: Universal Union Book3/Part 41 Author: Jenni Debbage Rating: PG-13 ~~~~~~~~~~ "We've come this far without any interference from the enemy, so I'l= l just have to trust that my luck holds. We'll keep in close contact and, Dax, go ahead with the arrangements for arming these people; this war isn= 't going to wait while I sort out my personal problems...." "Sire, we have information," Kinnon interrupted sharply, aware that the urgency of his message would excuse his presumption. "The module has= crash-landed in the country you're already in -- the United States of America, sir, at a place called Kansas. Do you know where that is?" "I do, Kal, if you wouldn't mind me tagging along." President West had remained in the background, listening to the alien conversations with= mounting distress for this new acquaintance. Now he stepped forward. "I= 'd like to help and my soldiers could back your own." A long glance of empathy passed between these two men, both understanding how difficult it was to balance duty to a nation with love and responsibility to a family. "Thank you, Owen. I'd appreciate the help. The orbships will have maps and co-ordinates for all the countries= of Earth, but first-hand knowledge is always the best." "Good! That's settled then." Owen traded a handshake with the young= Kryptonian, then addressed his staff. "General Broderick, I'll leave you= in charge here to arrange the weapons shipment and take only my immediate= bodyguards. Bert, will you come with me?" At the security chief's firm nod of affirmation, the President smiled; he felt more comfortable with h= is old friend to cover his back. "Right, that's it! Let's go then, and I think I'm probably right in my assumption that these orbships will be landing on the surface?" "I'm afraid so." Kal let a small smile hover around his mouth when the older man grimaced at the thought of the long climb ahead. = "However..." Quickly punching a few buttons on the control-band he wore around his wrist, Kal held out a hand expectantly. A strange pulsating glow began in the hallway outside the room and when the air settled, one = of the cage-like transporters had appeared. "Your elevator, as promised. A= re you ready for this, Owen? However, I have to warn you... it isn't the mo= st pleasant way to travel." The President quivered with nervous expectancy as he allowed himself= to be shepherded inside the contraption. Kal-El and Ching followed quickly. = "This is a tight squeeze... ohhhh!" Owen's words were cut off by a feeling of nothingness, overtaken almost instantaneously by a disembodied= tingling and, finally, by that wobbly- legged, stomach-in-the mouth sensation one experiences after stepping from the biggest and scariest white-knuckle ride. Only, no ride on Earth could've prepared him for tha= t. "Oh boy! If I hadn't lived through that myself, I never would've believ= ed it." Kal allowed his grip to drop from Owen's arm just as soon as he was satisfied that the Earthman had regained his equilibrium. "I can imagine= how strange all this must be for you, and it does take some getting used to... that kind of transportation." A sympathetic smile touched the handsome face. "We don't use it often for just these reasons, and there are certain risks. It would seem that human molecules do better when hel= d within their own matrix and our physicians have recommended that we only use this in emergencies." = An almost jittery laugh escaped the President. "I can understand that! And you know, somehow the stairs don't seem quite so bad anymore!"= Around him, other cages were arriving as his men were escorted to th= e surface by the Kryptonian guards, and some of the transporters were disappearing just as swiftly as they ferried everyone to the top of the damn. Bert Johnstone was amongst the last to emerge and Owen was a littl= e relieved to see that his Chief of Security looked as green as he himself felt, and even some of the younger agents were showing signs of extreme discomfort. At least, it wasn't due to either his age or his lack of fitness, but he made a promise to himself that whenever this thing was over, he'd make a point of visiting the gym regularly. Suddenly, silently from out of the moon bright night, two large shining globes settled on the wide driveway to the damn. Even though he= 'd expected the arrival of some type of spaceships, Owen's breath caught in his throat. Somehow he'd anticipated a helicopter type landing and this almost ghostly emergence shocked him once again. "Wow! Where did they come from?!" Came a startled voice from behin= d him. Evidently one of his security contingent was just as surprised as = he by this new and awesome technology = = "From our space craft," again Kal explained patiently. "They did fl= y down here but they were cloaked... it gives them the appearance of invisibility, if you know what I mean." "Hey, if only our scientists had that type of stealth technology....= " = Another of the US servicemen was heard to utter. A thought quickly cut o= ff as he realised he was in the company of aliens... even though these alien= s seemed disposed to friendliness. Lord Kal-El cleared his throat loudly. "We should board! I'd like = to get to Kansas as quickly as possible," he remarked in his commanding Firs= t Lord voice. Then, satisfied that his men were ready to escort the Earthlings, Kal led the way, walking, without thought, through the skin o= n the ship. "Oh boy," said Owen West once again, as he followed hard on his new friend's heels. ***** The trip to Kansas was accomplished with what was to the Americans, unbelievable speed. This whole episode had left most of them with the uncomfortable realisation that Earth was a fairly backward planet when compared to the evolution of this species of alien. Yet in the physical sense, it would be hard to tell either race apart. These extra-terrestrials were men, just as they were men. So, okay, Kryptonian= s had a few accomplishments that Earthlings were lacking but, according to what had been revealed this night, with training they too could learn som= e of these aliens' little tricks. And they certainly could catch up with t= he technology if given the chance. Of course, that didn't take into account the flying and the superpowers, but this Lord Kal- El didn't appear too keen on letting his soldiers develop these advantages, which had to be a good thing. And onc= e they had broken through the innate reserve of these black-suited, stern-faced troopers, the servicemen of Earth found they had a lot in common with the strange visitors. = Ensconced in the lead ship, Kal-El and Owen West watched with satisfaction and relief as their two forces talked together tentatively sharing, if not quite with consummate ease, a bond of common experience. = It appeared that a soldier was a soldier no matter in which solar system = he originated. The aliens who'd arrived with the ships had brought along so= me extra weapons and they were now deployed in demonstrating the use of thes= e futuristic guns to their Earth counterparts. A quiet hum of conversation= ensued with a hint of muffled laughter breaking out now and again. Gratified that his soldiers were being well taken car of, Owen turne= d his attention to the young man by his side. It was obvious that the boy was troubled. Kal's anxiety over the fate of his wife showed clearly in his creased brow and clenched jaw, but Owen was also certain that from somewhere, unknown to himself, the Kryptonian leader had found some sort = of comfort and the strength to go on. "We'll find her, Kal." Owen surprised himself by offering assurances= of which he wasn't totally convinced himself. Yet, instinctively, he wanted to support this young man, and he didn't quite understand why tha= t should be so, either. This was an alien entity and one who belonged to a= race that was literally trying to enslave the people of Earth. But looki= ng at the white-faced youngster, Owen was quite ready to bet his life that this particular alien would never seek to enslave anyone. = "Thank you, Owen. I believe we will." Kal's small smile was wistf= ul and his eyes glittered suspiciously with unshed tears. "I just hope tha= t she's still alive when we do." With a silent apology, Kal turned his ba= ck on his friends, both old and new, and went to stand by the viewport. He could barely make out the countryside far below him as the craft sped onwards -- with no one to see them, Kal allowed the tears to flow. The link he shared with Lois had dwindled to a single diaphanous strand, and never before in his life had he felt so terribly alone. ***** = The cranky truck bounced over the deeply furrowed track as the portl= y man wrestled with the steering-wheel to keep his ancient work-horse' on t= he road. His wife and companion of thirty-odd years jiggled in her seat as the broken springs of the vehicle failed to take the strain. "Jonathan Kent, it's no good! I can't take this rocking and rolling= anymore! You just have to get us a new truck!" = "Now, Martha, you know we can't afford one at the moment. If we ge= t a good crop this year and the price is right, then maybe we can think abo= ut it. But with things the way they are... I doubt that will happen, and there is your motor," her reasonable and cautious spouse replied. "Which happens to be in the repair shop at the moment, which is why = we had to go to the council meeting in this old thing!" = She batted her hand against the door in disgust, but she wasn't real= ly angry; she too understood that their finances were not exactly buoyant. = Martha let out an amused chuckle; she'd waved goodbye to any chance of riches when she'd married her dearest farmer so very long ago and she'd never regretted her choice. Well, only on very small occasions when Jonathan was proving to be as stubborn a man as she'd ever met. = But through the good times and the bad, he'd been a tower of strengt= h. Even when they'd discovered that she couldn't have children, he'd never faltered in his support and his love for her. And through the years they= 'd come to terms with their loss, and built a life for themselves with their= friends and the close-knit community of Smallville. Jonathan Kent had become the fair yet diligent spokesperson for the local farmers' association, while Martha had taken on one of the most important and busiest roles in the county -- that of the local midwife. She couldn't have babies of her own, so she'd channelled her incredible kindness into attending the births of generations of Smallville children and caring for= them as they grew. Martha was, quite simply, the best loved woman in the= district. = The hour was very late, or early, depending on how you viewed it, fo= r the couple to be out and about. A Saturday night open-council meeting wa= s rather unusual but had been called to discuss the emergency situation whi= ch was currently threatening the world, the invasion from outer-space. = Increasingly worried by the broadcasts of the alien Rad-Nor, informing th= em that Earth was now an annex of Krypton, the local administrators had decided that a few guidelines should be offered to the people in case of = an attack by these supposedly supermen', and had called an open forum to thrash out a plan of action. It had even been muted that small bands of partisans had been formed throughout the world to combat these aggressors= , raising the question of whether an attempt should be made to contact thes= e freedom fighters'. Yet somehow the whole situation seemed vaguely surrea= l -- life here in Smallville, Kansas continued as it always had with just t= he echoes of the conflict reaching them through rumours and TV images. = Most of the surrounding community had turned up and the meeting had= , surprisingly, morphed into a social gathering with a quickly assembled country-music band, and with Maisie, the owner of the local eaterie, supplying the snacks and drinks. People were tired of living in a consta= nt state of panic and had decided to let their hair down in an impromptu party, enjoying themselves for what could be the last time... who could tell? And, since the next day was Sunday, which meant that neither Jonathan nor Martha would rise quite so early, and the company agreeable,= the couple had stayed longer than intended and were now travelling home i= n the dark of the night. = The old truck continued its way down the dusty dry-rutted road, typical of a farm track in the height of a Kansas' summer. To take her mind of the uncomfortable journey and the lingering sense of anxiety that= the earlier part of the meeting had evoked, Martha surveyed the countrysi= de of her much loved home. They didn't have far to go to reach their farmhouse. They'd taken a local shortcut and were just passing Schuster'= s field. The green grass in the fallow field and the stand of trees in th= e far corner were rimmed with silver from the brightly shining moon. = Martha's eyes drifted appreciatively skywards. The night sky was clear o= f clouds and dotted with millions of sparkling stars, like diamonds scatter= ed on black velvet. = You didn't get skies like this in the city, Martha reflected as she thought of her and Jonathan's visit to Metropolis in the early spring to visit her old Aunt, well before the troubles had started. The city was okay for a short time, but all those city folks who scurried around takin= g care of business just didn't know what they were missing. They really should learn to take time out to smell the roses, then maybe their high-blood pressure wouldn't trouble them so much. Besides, cities had been the first places to be targeted and, though she was sorry for the people, she was glad that her home had, so far, been passed by. A contented sigh escaped her. "What are you thinking?" Jonathan's soft inquisitive voice intruded= pleasantly. "I'm just thinking how lucky we are to be here. Just look at that sky! You know, maybe we should park for a little and not let this lovely= starlit night go to waste." It was Jonathan's turn to chuckle and, allowing the calm of the nigh= t to soothe his concerns, he quickly did as he was bid. Like his wife, he stretched back in his seat to better take in the view, his arm snaking round Martha's still slim shoulders. That action elicited another giggle from his wife as she leaned into= his side and laid her head on his shoulder. "We haven't done this in years! What would they think of us? An old married couple like us parki= ng for a cuddle." "To tell the truth, Martha, I don't much care what they think. I don't need anyone's approval to enjoy the view... and my wife." The elderly suitor dropped a kiss on his wife's upturned lips... which, unexpectedly didn't evoke the response he'd been looking for. Martha placed her hands on Jon's shoulders and pushed strongly, bending forwards to crane out the window. "What is that?!" Her hand pointed to something in the sky which had attracted her. = Following the line of her outstretched hand, Jonathan gave the objec= t in question a quick study before dismissing it. "It's a falling star, Martha. We've seen lots of those before. Now quit distracting me!" His= teasing smile robbed his words of their sting and he leaned nearer his wi= fe to kiss her again. "I'm just remembering how this whole scenario goes." But Martha was not to be put off and she batted at his hands once more. "Jonathan, that's like no other falling star that I've ever seen."= = Her eyes never left the mysterious thing. "It could be a plane... and it= 's on fire!" The sense of concern in her voice got through to Jonathan and = he returned his attention to the sky. "Nope! That's not a plane! Not the right shape! But you're right = it is on fire. Maybe it's a meteorite!" = = "I don't think so!" By now both their gazes were fixed on the stran= ge object as it came ever nearer. It glowed with intense heat and bright flames spiralled in its wake. "It could be part of a plane," Martha surmised. = And, indeed, this hypothesis seemed fairly likely as all around the object flares flashed with white-heat and burned themselves out in the backdrop of sky, leaving behind ghostly vapour trails. The unidentified item hurtled on its way towards the ground and now it became clearer in t= he watchers' vision. It was almost square and an eerie halo surrounded it, holding the greedy flames that sought to consume it at bay. Realisation came quickly to Jonathan. "Martha, it could be one of those space ships we've just had the meeting about! Let's get out of her= e and go warn the sheriff." = "It doesn't look very threatening," Martha countered, ignoring the suggestion of escape. "And, Jonathan Kent, don't you dare go talking thin= gs up! We've been lucky enough up till now not to have been visited by thes= e monsters and we shouldn't get people all fired up until we know what we'r= e facing. Maisie was telling me tonight about her cousin in Chicago who's been terrorised by these Taureans... you know the other aliens.... = According to Maisie, the population panicked which just gave these creatures' an excuse to steal and maim... and even kill some folks for no= other reason than they got them annoyed.... Maisie's cousin was lucky to= get out of there alive. He told Maisie, when he stopped by on his way to= visit with his parents, that it was best just to keep calm and do what th= e aliens said." "I know, Martha. It must be terrible for all these people who live near where these monsters have set up camps." The Kansas farmer's soft heart was sorely troubled by the scenes he'd witnessed on the news bulletins and the information that had passed from community to community= by word of mouth, brought in by frightened refugees from the occupied zones. "It's just that we don't do much head-bowing around these parts, = so I just pray that they haven't decided to visit Smallville." Jonathan's searching gaze took in the quiet country, slumbering in the balmy night -= - apart from that thing in the sky everything was as it should be. "And it= 's kinda hard to imagine all that horror when life seems so normal here!" The object had almost reached its destined meeting with the ground a= nd Martha found herself bracing for the impact. "Well, life is going to become very abnormal here any second now!" = Jonathan copied his wife, holding onto the wheel with a tense grip, while the pair watched and waited, mesmerised, for the collision, which was... remarkably small. The bits and pieces of burnt-out debris were creating a heavier effect as they ploughed their way into the ground, leaving great gouges in the grassy carpet. Martha was out and running towards the crash site. "Martha, come back! You don't know what's inside that thing!" Yet,= so intent was Martha on her quarry, she didn't hear the shouted warning, leaving her husband with no other option but to follow. "Martha, be careful! This could be the start of the invasion." = The two scrambled across the terrain, the lush grass tugging at thei= r heels, and when Jonathan finally reached Martha's side he was breathing heavily. The woman was more slightly built than he, and was fleeter of foot than she had any right to be in her middle years; not to mention, fa= r too inquisitive for her own good. "Martha!" Jonathan puffed, leaning ov= er and placing his hands on his thighs, taking a moment to recover. "Martha= , this could be dangerous!" = "I don't think so, Jonathan." Together they stood and surveyed the scene before them. The thing that had landed from the heavens was just about the size of the farm's guest bedroom. It was almost square but it had settled in the ground at a fairly precarious angle. "That little thi= ng has crashed." All around them the charred remnants of the Taurean ship lay smouldering, lighting tiny fires in a few dryer patches of grass. The couple spent an anxious time stamping on the most threatening of these conflagrations till, thankfully, the flames died away. When all looked safe and an eerie stillness had settled on the moon-bathed landscape, Jonathan turned to view the object that had come so unexpectedly to Schuster's Field. = "It's certainly smaller than the spaceships we've seen on television." His eyes shifted to the great expanse of sky, where he expected to see a whole squadron of these flying saucers - - except it wasn't saucer shaped and it certainly seemed to be alone. Only the enigmatic stars twinkled back at him. "Doesn't appear to be anymore of them about.... Martha!" The farmer had looked back at his wife just in time to spot her walking closer to the strange entity. "Martha!" he call= ed out in warning, but it was too late. The ever stouthearted lady placed h= er hand tentatively on the surface of the object. "That's strange, Jonathan, it's not as hot as I would've imagined it= to be... and there's a sort of glimmer around it. You can't see it from over there. And my hand feels kinda funny, like I was pushing through ti= ny needles. It doesn't hurt though, just a bit tingly!" Martha spoke in a wondering whisper. "Come over here, Jonathan. Tell me what you think!" His curiosity pricked, and his heart rate settling back to almost normal rhythm now that Martha appeared completely unharmed by her actions= , Jonathan crept nearer and joined his wife in stroking the craft. "You're= right, Martha. There's actually something stopping us from touching the side of the ship... something like an invisible shield." Jonathan found himself mimicking his wife and talking in whispers. "And if this thing came through the atmosphere as we think it did, then it ought to be real hot." "Like all the other bits of this stuff." Martha's hand swept over t= he charcoal briquettes that were strewn around. "What you said about a shield, Jonathan, is probably true. This little ship is in one piece because it was shielded." The Kansas farmwife finished on a note of amazement. "And that means there's probably someone alive inside...." "Martha!" Jonathan's tone rose on another note of helpless warning.= = He knew his wife, and he knew there was no way of stopping her from tryin= g to rescue someone who might be in distress. = "... and we just have to find a door and get it open." Her actions= suiting her words, Martha began to walk round the vessel, studying it intently as she went. "Martha," said her long-suffering husband who had witnessed and even= supported many of Martha Kent's crusades to help the needy, "maybe this isn't such a good idea... and we probably couldn't get in there anyway." That, however, proved not to be their problem as with a quiet swish and almost without their noticing, two things happened -- the nearly imperceptible shimmer died away and an awkwardly angled portal opened hig= h in the side of the craft. "Oh my!" murmured Martha in surprised anticipation. ***** = tbc in part 42 ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 06:22:29 -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/Part40 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Title: Universal Union Book3/Part 40 Author: Jenni Debbage Rating: PG-13 Comments: I'm actually hesitatant about posting this chapter as I'm now writing as I post and, to tell the truth, I'm more than a little worried about my writing skills, or lack thereof, in this particular part. Carol Malo has kindly beta-read this for me and made some helpful suggestions... so, Carol, I hope you approve of the small changes I've made. However, I've now decided to stop being obsessive and allow you readers to make up your own minds. ~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter Seventeen To Face the World Alone = The awareness of danger had come stealing slowly, scarily over the t= wo women locked and mainly forgotten in the shielded room of the Taurean shi= p. No one thought to inform them of the peril that was approaching in the shape of two powerful Kryptonian destroyers; the Taureans were too busy preparing to tackle these insolent assailants. = On the disorderly bridge no sense of panic ensued. Instead, the Generals Horren1 & 2 and their crew were enthused with a barely suppresse= d excitement at the approach of the enemy craft. The will to fight was ingrained into the very psyche of this warrior race and it mattered not a= whit that they might be facing a more powerful foe; submission was not an= option. In fact, they welcomed the challenge and no Taurean would ever envisage defeat. Their sense of superiority equalled their love of battle= . = And if all was lost, death was preferable to the dishonour of surrender. When the cloaking device had first started to fail as the ship dropp= ed into Earth's orbit there had been a flurry of activity to repair it. And= yet, the moment it was clear that the enemy had them in their sites, all stealth tactics were ditched in favour of all available power being diverted to the heavy artillery and protection shields, with the emphasis= on the armaments. Taurean philosophy believed wholeheartedly that attack= was the best form of defence. Which almost immediately proved to be not the wisest of decisions. = Two lightening laser bolts hit the Taurean craft simultaneously with the bridge being caught on the edge of one of the explosions. The stressed metal of the ship shuddered and ripped like silk under the violent onslaught, yet somehow it held tenuously together. Death, though, had co= me to many of the ship's company. The Generals still sat in their chairs am= id the ruination of the bridge but only one was still alive. And yet, they had managed to fire a few of their own fusion torpedoes which must have damaged their opponents, but as the smoke and heated gasses dissipated a little, the sleek Kryptonian battlecruiser could be seen still floating = in the centre of the amazingly undamaged viewscreen. "Damn the arrogant bastards! Their shields held!" General Horran1 spat as he cleared a steady flow of blood from his left eye. There was = a jagged cut in the thick skin of his creased brow; a trivial wound which troubled him no more than a tiny insect sting. It was a great pity that the purloined Kryptonian laser-cannon had been destroyed before their gunners had managed to replicate it, but these heavy missiles were just a= s effective. "Reload the torpedoes! Give the Kryptonian swine another round of our guns! See if he's still in one piece after a full assault!"= "General! Is that wise?" A voice which was neither comfortable nor= fluent in the guttural language of Taurus asked the loaded question. The frowning hulking figure, dressed in its ancient and tattered finery of a Taurean warlord, turned towards the sound, his one good eye searching through the charred air. Finally, the General's attention settled with undisguised distaste on the more delicately built Kryptonian= and his irate bellow reached dangerous proportions. "Wise! Who are you= to dare to ask me that?! You are here only as an observer. We've done Nor's bidding for far too long and it's got my brood-brother killed." = Surprisingly, a single large tear slipped down Horran1's hog-like feature= s, which he quickly dashed away. "Well, now we're in command. Neither you nor your master gives orders on board this ship." Poli limped slowly from his post in the far corner of the control room. His lowly position, behind a bank of defunct tracking devices, had= quite literally saved his life. Clearly there were many others who had n= ot been quite so lucky, he noted as he picked his way painfully over the dea= d and injured to confront the raging giant. But Poli was not without courage; he had his master's cause to promote, and being blown to smithereens was not the fate he had foreseen for himself, either. ."I on= ly suggest that as we are outgunned and outnumbered," Poli tried to direct Horren1's attention to the viewscreens where another vessel had shown up,= "that we should direct all our remaining power to the protection shields and getting out of here!" "Coward! We do not run from a fight no matter how great the odds ar= e stacked against us!" But, at least, the General had turned to view the n= ew threat. "Are Kryptonians lily- livered as well as stuck-up?! That's it,= isn't it?!" Horren1's fist smashed down on what remained of his console.= = "You're trying to stop our attack; to protect your own kind?! Well, it won't work! I'm up to your little tricks!" That the Taurean should have so mistaken his intentions struck Poli = as amusing, but realising that his tendency to laughter might further enrage= this deranged brute, he quelled his unruly emotions. Nevertheless, he couldn't wholly conceal his contemptuous humour. "You might remember Horren1, that these are not my Kryptonians... I'm with the other side." = The uneasy perception that perhaps he had chosen the wrong side, implanted itself in his brain. But it was too late... it was much too late. Lieutenant Poli was fully aware of the procedures on board a Kryptonian battleship. He'd never actually been in combat before but hi= s training at the Military Academy had been very thorough and explicit No= w they would be preparing for another strike and this time the Taurean ship= would be caught in a crossfire. Horren1 had other ideas, though! He would go down with all guns blazing! And there had been enough of his crew left alive to carry out h= is orders. "Fire!" He growled. "Let's take as many of the high-and-mighty= Kryptos with us into oblivion!" "No!" yelled Poli, flinging himself at the General and the bank of instruments, his hand reaching for the button that would activate the shields.... ***** At the first hint of trouble, Lois and Keira had craned their heads = to see if they could spot the reason for the instant commotion that seemed t= o be taking place outside their door. It wasn't a very large skylight and its position made it awkward to actually see anything more than a few passing stars. However, when the sound of the battle-claxon had sounded loudly throughout the ship, with one mind the women had dragged a bed across the floor to use as a platform beneath their only window. = It had been Keira who had spotted the Kryptonian ship, but it had be= en Lois who had recognised the danger. There was a war going on and she and= Keira were in the wrong ship at the wrong time and no one on the other si= de knew of their presence! "Keira, you have to deactivate the thought shield." But the Lady o= f Nor remained entrenched in her silent denial. "Keira, that's a Kryptonia= n ship... one of Kal's and this is a Tauren vessel... you know, the enemy! = = So it's a pretty fair assumption that they're about to attack. We have t= o let Kal know where we are!" "That could be one of Nor's ships!" "No!" Lois was finding balancing on the narrow cot a little difficult, so she took hold of Keira's arm. "Can you read the name?" = Using her sister-in-law as a crutch, she raised onto her tiptoes and twisting her neck she peered at the shadowing craft. "It's the Kinvalla!= = I watched that ship leave Elvar with Kal! You have to believe me, Keira!= " Now it was Keira's turn to struggle to look out their window. For some moments she gazed at the familiar spacecraft and the endless backdro= p of space. Almost angrily Keira cast Lois' hand aside and jumped down to the ground, moving restlessly to the chair by the table but not sitting. = Her tumultuous thoughts would not let her sit down to die. Lois was righ= t. The Taureans were preparing for battle... for glory or for death. She knew enough about this species to know that they would never surrender, b= ut there might still be a chance.... "The Taureans might win!" "Do you honestly believe that, Keira?" The woman gave a surly shrug= . = "Keira! Time is running out here! Can you take that chance? What will happen to your children if you're not here to fight for them?!" That touched a nerve! Keira's careworn face paled! Then the world rocked and Lois was flung from her perch on the bed. = Noise like she'd never experienced punched at her eardrums until she thought they would burst and the ground came rising up to meet her. All thought of Keira faded from her mind as she tried to twist to prevent her= stomach and the baby within from hitting the floor. And she was down in = a welter of blankets and mattress... the bunk had tipped with her and had cushioned her fall. There was sudden silence! Or was it that she was deaf?! Looking around her, Lois was amazed that the room seemed, remarkably, to be in on= e piece. The furniture was a little turned around and small objects were scattered over the floor. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the curtain that blanked off the restroom had fallen askew and somewhere a pi= pe must be leaking because a trickle of water was seeping into the trailing material. "Keira?" Lois whispered and was relieved that she could hear her ow= n voice. "Keira, are you all right?!" = From beneath a providential shelter of tumbled table and chairs, Kei= ra crawled gingerly. "I'm okay! What happened?" "I think we were hit!" "Kryptonian laser-canon!" "Probably the newest version!" Lois was reminded of Major Klei's conversation about the prototype weapon. "So that's what that feels like= !" She tilted her head to listen. The silence wasn't total and as her ears= adjusted to the results of the shockwave, she could hear faint sounds of turmoil filtering through the thick metal door. The weakened girders of the ship creaked ominously and Lois let out a startled shriek. "I'm surprised we're still in one piece, though not for long I'm sure...." = Another juddering groan accompanied her words, while an unpleasant whiff = of burning sifted into the cell. "Keira, the fact that this cabin is protected probably saved us from the worst of the blasts, but we can't re= ly on that for a second attack. You have to take the thought-shield down no= w and let me try to warn Kal! It's our only chance!" Finally, the Lady of Nor gave in to Lois' entreaties. Keira pulled herself from the floor and rushed to the side of the door where she opene= d a small recess. Why had she refused for so long?! She'd allowed her bitterness and her very real fear for her children to cloud her judgement= . = Had she waited too long? If she died here on this ship, which was highly= likely, her babies would be left to the tender mercies of her iniquitous husband. Nor wouldn't care whether she lived or died. In fact, Keira ha= d the unpalatable notion that he would view her demise as a welcome escape from a tedious union. She'd already provided him with an heir who had a claim on both the houses of Nor and El and thus had outlived her usefulness. So Lois-El's advice was sound! She had to put her trust in someone and it appeared that the First Lord was now her only hope of being reunit= ed with her children. Punching buttons with trembling fingers was difficult= , but she made it on her second attempt. "It's down!" Keira almost shouted above the swelling noises of a sh= ip in its death-throes. = Lois closed her eyes to shut out all the distractions around her. S= he was fairly certain she'd only get one chance at this. A picture of Kal standing on the walkway of the battleship floated into her mind -- the ve= ry last time she had seen him in the flesh. Now, however, she didn't close her mind to him but opened the channel with all the love and yearning tha= t she bore him. Almost immediately came the reply. Relief vied with desperation in his voice. = His thoughts rushed one after the other in his fears for her safety. With her eyes closed and her concentration locked solely on Kal-El, the mind-blowing, shattering cracks took Lois completely by surprise and she found herself flung like a rag-doll to the floor. Which was a very strange occurrence, because she was fairly certain she'd already been sitting on the floor. The room tipped over and over, and Lois' fingers d= ug deeply into the thin mattress as she cartwheeled, clinging to it as if it= were some sort of life- raft. Something hard and sharp struck her temple= as furniture flew about the spinning room. Pain blossomed momentarily, then Lois lost contact with her dearest Kal and the rest of the universe.... = ***** Wreathed by the smoke that filled bridge, the uneven fight between t= he massive Taurean and the slender Kryptonian had reached its obvious conclusion and, as the fingers of death reached to steal the slighter man= 's vision, Poli saw his killer fire the final volley. Swaddled in a cocoon = of numbness and only mild interest, the treacherous Lieutenant was aware of the ship bucking beneath him in a welter of explosions. His people had delivered their final verdict on his conduct, and as the ship went swiftl= y hurtling towards the barrier of Earth's atmosphere, Poli's last breath drifted un-noticed in the maelstrom. ***** Kal leapt from his seat as though the thing had suddenly become electrified. An ominous silence assailed his senses. There was no one there.... This couldn't be happening! They had promised to share a wonderful,= long life together.... It couldn't be over so soon! He wasn't ready for= this... to face the world alone... without the other half of his soul! = He would never be ready for that! And it was all his fault! He had sought = to keep her safe and had only left her in the path of such deadly jeopardy. = = His mind sheered away from accepting such an overwhelming loss. In desperation he strove to find that one link that he shared only with Lois= . = Wait! Was there a faint stirring? An almost imperceptible tremor in a gossamer thread, or was it only the echoes of his wishful heart? "Sire! What's going on?" Ching had watched without interruption as= his leader had convened with someone out there. The joyful look on Kal's= face had led him to believe that, at last, Lois had contacted him. But j= oy had turned to fear and dread within a very few moments, sending chills along the Major's erect spine. "Is it Lois?" Kal remained ramrod straight, staring at some point in the high ceiling of the dimly lit room= . = Ching closed the distance between him and Kal, and taking hold of his friend's arm shook it with some insistence, the intensity of the moment prompting him to drop the customary protocol. "Come on, Kal, what are yo= u hearing?" "Nothing!" Came the shocked reply. "Nothing... I'm hearing nothing= now! She was there... for a few seconds I could talk to her. Then she just disappeared... and she won't answer me." Stricken eyes turned to Ching. "And I'm not even sure that I can feel her anymore. She was on that ship you see... the Taurean one we've just attacked...." = "Oh zor! Of all the blasted...." But this wasn't a time for woeful= recriminations or wringing of hands, they had to discover what had happened. Ching directed his thoughts to the Kinvalla but kept them voca= l. "Commander Kinnon, did you destroy the ship?" = "No! Major Ching, isn't it?" At the swift acknowledgement Kinnon went on, taking his cue from the Major and voicing his thoughts. "Not exactly!" Just a few little words and Kal felt a glimmer of hope stir in the depths of his soul. It gave him back his control. "Not exactly?! What = do you mean, Commander?" "We didn't destroy the Taurean craft." That chimera of hope grew, only to be dashed at the next words. "We didn't have to. They managed that all by themselves. The fools fired off a full round of their guns..= . fusion artillery, in a ship that was barely holding itself together...." = In the bowels of the Earth the little intergalatic group waited with bait= ed breath. "It just couldn't take it. There were a few small explosions and...." "Commander, did the ship blow up?!" Kal's voice broke through the man's rambling report. "Not completely... no, sire! Did I do wrong?" A note of puzzlement= crept into the Commander's voice. "I understood Lord Dax-Ver instructed = me to attack." "You understood correctly, Commander Kinnon." On the Gellis-Ver, it= s captain, who had been following the proceedings closely, was also rather confused. "First Lord, has something changed?" "Lois was onboard!" Kal ground out, his composure slipping in the effort to find out what had happened to his wife. "Where is that ship an= d could anyone have survived the attack?" Understanding struck both commanders on their respective bridges rendering them both speechless. "= I need answers, now!" "Huh, I'm not sure if anyone could have survived, sire." Kinnon's voice now held a distinct note of trepidation, watching the remnants of t= he Taurean ship flare into bright fireballs as it entered the atmosphere of Earth. The idea that his actions had in someway led to the death of the First Lady weighed heavily on his conscience. "The ship broke up under t= he stress. It's entering Earth's atmosphere now, but even if there were sections large enough and complete enough to harbour life, they're burnin= g up on entry." "No, sir!" A new voice attempted to enter the discussion. "Excuse me, commander, but it appears that a small module might have enough protection to make it through." "Lord Kal-El, did you hear?" Kinnon was ready to latch onto any morsel of optimism and he hurried over to the vidscreen which plotted the= course of a mysterious object. "My men have picked up the track of what= might be an escape-pod...." "Can you scan it for life forms?" The communications officer shook his head, feeling very self-conscio= us in daring to answer Lord Kal-El. "Not during entry and perhaps not at all. It has to be well shielded to have survived thus far. Given the short space of time we have till it hits the surface, I doubt that we can= break through the shields, and...." The young man gulped at his temerity= ; he'd been about to offer instructions to the First Lord of Krypton. Kal, however, was completely oblivious to the incongruity of the situation. "And, officer?!" "And it might not be the wisest of moves. Those shields are the onl= y protection it has. If there are any survivors alive inside, the shields are their only hope of staying that way." "So transportation is out of the question? What am I talking about,= if Lois is inside, there's no metal cocoon to transport her." This time,= though, Kal refused to sink into melancholy. If Lois was in that escape-pod, he was going to rescue her. Invigorated by that thought, he sent a heartening look to Ching, then rapped out his orders. "Commander Kinnon, I want that pod tracked. I want to know the exact location of it= s landing. And Dax- Ver, I want an orbship down on the surface now... bett= er make that two...." = "You're going after her?" Dax asked, not completely sure he approve= d of his leader going off on what might be a hopeless quest. "You know we have no way of knowing if she's in that module. It could be the Taurean Generals." "Perhaps you're correct, Dax, in which case you'd best send a fully armed platoon with the ships. I'll be careful, but I have to go." "I know, my boy, I know." Since it was the thing that Dax so admire= d above all Kal's qualities... his loyalty and his great capacity for love= , the Commander-in-Chief just didn't have the heart to gainsay his young leader. "I'll dispatch the men and ships immediately, but pull out at th= e first sign of trouble. Nor would like nothing better than to get his han= ds on you, and we don't know if super-senses can penetrate our cloaking shields." tbc in part 41 ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 08:05:28 -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: Universal Union Book3/Part40 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Comments: I'm actually hesitatant about posting this chapter as I'm > now > writing as I post and, to tell the truth, I'm more than a little > worried > about my writing skills, or lack thereof, in this particular part. > > Carol Malo has kindly beta-read this for me and made some helpful > suggestions... so, Carol, I hope you approve of the small changes > I've > made. However, I've now decided to stop being obsessive and allow > you > readers to make up your own minds. > Oh, Jenni! You are truly evil! You leave us at the most inopportune moments!!!!! You did just fine writing as you did. I have to know if Lois is okay, so you need to write fast and post soon!!!! CM ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 14:35:24 -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: New story: Valley of the Shadow, 1/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all. This is the sequel to First Night - which should be on the archive soon, but I would be more than willing to send to anyone who hasn't read it, but is interested. Just email me privately. The title, Valley of the Shadow, comes from Psalm 23, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." I'm not sure I'm happy with the title, so it may change before I send this to the archive, but it works for now. Special thanks, as always go out to Missy, my ever faithful beta reader, and Amber and Melisma who also helped considerably. Thanks also go to merry, Liz and Kelly who volunteered to BR - it's nothing personal I didn't send it, honest - just decided to go with it. Right now the plan is to post on Mondays and Thursdays. The first few will be kind of on the short side, but I promise there will be longer ones later. So, here it is. The characters aren't mine - they belong to people with lots more money than me. I just wanted to have some fun. Comments always appreciated! CM ***** Lois sat back and sighed. She loved it up here on the roof. She came here often, to sit and think. It was her place to go when she needed to get away and think. Tonight she was thinking about the last few months. It all seemed like a dream. A nightmare at times, but mainly a good dream. It all started three months earlier. A newbie had shown up at the Daily Planet. She had been prepared to give him the brush-off, but that was not to be. Clark Kent, her new partner, was CJ, the guy she had fallen in love with in Washington, D. C. when she was only sixteen. Somehow - and she had spent a good portion of the last three months trying to find out how - they had gotten married. She hadn't been able to find any of the people involved or figured out how it happened, but it was legal and she was married to the man of her dreams - and the man that many women fantasized about. It turned out that Clark, was, well, exceptional. He had powers that no had ever seen. He'd become the world's first superhero and saved countless people in the last couple of months, including her several times. She was trying to be more careful. Really. Perry and Clark didn't believe her, but she had been trying to take fewer risks. She'd never risk the life of the child she carried for a stupid story - or even the one that would win her the Pulitzer. She wasn't sure she'd be the world's best mom, in fact she knew she wouldn't be, but she would sure try her best. Somehow, she knew this child already. She hadn't felt movement yet - her doctor said it wouldn't be for few weeks or more - but there was an undeniable connection. She had another appointment this week and her doctor said that they should be able to hear the heartbeat of the baby. She had made Clark promise not to try to listen until she could too. His super-hearing made things just a bit unfair. She sighed as she thought about everything that had happened since they had gotten married and found out they were having a baby. "Dollar for your thoughts?" The soft voice of her husband interrupted her reverie. She turned to him and smiled. No matter what else was happening in her world, just seeing Clark made her stomach do flip flops and put a smile on her face. "Dollar?" He sat next to her on the roof of their building, looking to see what she saw. "Inflation," he said simply as he wrapped his arms around her and helped her snuggle into him. "So?" "I was just thinking about the last couple of months." "It's been pretty incredible, hasn't it?" "For the most part. And to think, I didn't want anything to do with you." Clark chuckled lightly and kissed the back of her head. "No one said it was easy to get to you, but I'm glad you let me." Lois smiled, knowing that he would know she was, even though he couldn't see her face. "Well, you're different. You're special. I don't think that anyone less 'super' would have been able to keep up." Clark laughed again. "I know that no one less 'super' could keep up. I have a hard enough time as it is." "It hasn't been easy, has it?" "Keeping up with you?" "No. Everything." "No, it hasn't been easy. Being married is a big adjustment, especially when we didn't even really know each other to start with." "I'm glad we decided to stick it out." "Me too." "I love sitting up here. I just wish that the lights from the city weren't quite so bright. I'd love to be able to see the stars all the time the way we do when we're in the clouds." "I know." Clark sat for a moment, wondering if he dared bring up a subject that had become taboo and then decided to risk it. "The lights aren't as bright in the suburbs." An exasperated Lois sighed. "Don't start, Clark." "I wish this was just one of those times when we could agree to disagree, but we have to make some decisions soon." "I know, Clark, but I don't want to live in the suburbs. And I don't want to hear your arguments again. I've heard them over and over." She shifted, holding herself a little more stiffly and away from the warmth of her husband's body. Clark sighed. They'd never reach an agreement. "How was the car accident, Superman?" So she was still bitter about that, too. "There's a couple of people in the hospital, but they're going to be fine." He traced a line up her arm with his finger. "I had to go, Lois." "I know." "Please don't be mad." "I'm not mad." Her body language suggested anything but. "Yes, you are." "No, I'm not. I'm getting used to sharing my husband with the world. It's no big deal," she shrugged, knowing it was a lie. "I hate spending so much time away from you." "I know." Clark sighed. They'd never agree on this either. He *had* to help. He thought that she understood that, but maybe she didn't. Maybe she never would. This was going to be difficult. He just hoped that they'd find a way to work it out. ***** "Things are not progressing as I would wish." "I know, sir." "We still haven't been able to get either one of those interfering reporters in our hands so that we can take out Superman. Assuming of course that green rock is what they say it is." "I'm sure it is, sir." "Do you have proof?" "No, sir." "Then make sure that one of the minions does this. I don't want to be connected to it, especially if it doesn't work." "I understand." "So why haven't we been able to grab Lane or Kent?" "They have been sticking very close together the last three months. Her pregnancy probably has something to do with it." An eyebrow shot up at that information. "She's pregnant?" "According to sources at Metropolis Obstetrics she is. Thirteen weeks." "That bastard." "He *is* her husband, sir." "Don't remind me.... When can we expect to get one of them in our power?" "Soon, sir. Whenever they are together, Superman shows up. It happens less often when they are not together, unless Ms. Lane is in some sort of predicament. The Boy Scout doesn't appear to have the same affinity for Mr. Kent. He hasn't rescued Kent once in the several times he's been in jeopardy." "I wonder why. From all reports, he's close to both reporters." "Yes, sir." "Well, next time they are separated, get Kent." "Kent, sir?" "Yes. That way we shouldn't have to worry about Superman showing up right away and spoiling the long-term effects." "And if he doesn't show at all, for some reason?" "Well, then, we can use that as a public relations tool against him. He failed to save his best friend whose wife is pregnant. What kind of person would he be if he let that happen?" "And Kent is out of the way in the process?" A smile was the only answer. "Soon. I cannot be patient much longer." TBC ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 15:50:23 -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 21/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Okay, I got some time to write, and here it is. Feedback and criticism is still requested. Charade: Part 20 by Nan Smith Lois stood for a moment feeling as if she was still catching up with what had happened. Clark was off to put out the chemical fire before it killed someone, and Lex Luthor and by now no doubt, his wife, were looking for her, as well as Jimmy and probably Mamba. Common sense would dictate that she and the other two should stay out of sight, but her instincts rebelled. Clark could very well be walking into a trap. After all, Lex knew that when Lois was around, her husband was probably around somewhere, and Superman was almost certainly nearby as well. It was only a small consolation that the only Luthor who had known Clark and Superman were one and the same was the clone who had died in a collapsing tunnel. The temptation to go after him was almost overwhelming. "Do you think he'll be all right?" Jimmy asked, quietly. "I hope so, Jim." Lois sank down onto a dried hunk of driftwood that was half buried in the sand. Sitting idle wasn't in her nature, though she knew it was the wisest course. As long as they stayed here, Clark wouldn't have to split his attention by worrying about their safety as well as the fire, but she didn't have to like it. Mamba dropped down on one of the large, granite boulders that lay at the foot of the cliff. "What time is it?" Jimmy glanced at his watch. "Five-twenty. Man, it seems like hours ago that we started this. The sun will be coming up in a little while." Lois bit her fingernail. Staying here in safety while her husband was saving the lives of Lex's employees and risking his own went against the grain, but going up there made no sense. There was really nothing she could-- The thought was broken off before she ever completed it. She had been watching the ocean while she argued with herself, and now she realized that she was seeing something odd. Against the faintly luminous water, there were five low, dark shapes bobbing up and down on the surface. Aware how sound carried over water, she caught Jimmy's sleeve and pulled his ear down to hers. "Jim--look! Boats!" Jimmy turned. For a long second, he squinted out over the water. "You're right! Someone's landing on the island." Mamba looked in the direction they were both staring. "What?" His voice was equally low. "What is it?" "Boats," Jimmy whispered. "Somebody's trying to sneak onto Luthor's island. Is he expecting anyone?" Mamba shook his head. His face was a pale oval in the dimness of pre-dawn. "Not to my knowledge." "Superman said he thinks there's another group here," Lois said, slowly. "Yeah," Jimmy agreed. "He wasn't able to tell who they are. They could be police, or another criminal group." "Either way, I don't want to let them catch us," Lois said. "They have no way of knowing which side we're on." She got to her feet. "Come on. Let's get out of here, fast." "How?" Mamba asked. He had a point. Facing the sea, the cliff was behind them, the water in front of them and also to their left. To the right, the beach slowly broadened and the towering cliff gradually descended until it vanished into the landscaped area of Lex's estate. The thick stand of pines that divided the manicured grounds from the beach began there, but to reach that point they would have to pass directly in front of the approaching landing craft. Lois hesitated, considering their options. "The cliffs are white stone," she said, finally, "the sand is white, and we're all wearing white lab coats. With white on white, they may not see us. Keep down, and as close to the cliffs as you can, and follow me. And try not to make any noise." ********** Clark re-entered the underground complex through the holes in the cliff and tuned his hearing to the voices of the fleeing people. The smell of burning chemicals was strong in his nostrils and he could hear the men and women coughing and choking. Jimmy had said there was a lab close to the boathouse entrance where he had seen a possible cause for the fire, so that must be to the north. Orienting himself, he flew swiftly through the tunnels, retracing his way as well as he could, always bearing north. The smoke grew denser as he went, and he concluded he was headed in the right direction. The voices also grew louder, and with it the coughing. People were trying desperately to exit the underground complex and the exit only allowed the passage of a small number of persons at one time. Clark hesitated for a microsecond, irresolute. His instinct was to get the people out by any means possible, but his common sense told him that nothing he could do directly would be effective. If he tried to burrow a tunnel for them, he could very well cause the passages to collapse and possibly kill more persons than the fire. No, the best approach was to find the source of the fumes and extinguish it. Heeding Lois's warning, he constantly scanned the corridors ahead of him, looking for a trap, but it seemed that so far, at least, no one had considered the idea that Superman might be here. He hoped Luthor wouldn't think of it but knew that it wasn't likely. Lex Luthor knew that wherever Lois was, Clark Kent and Superman were almost certainly nearby. Therefore, the chances were that the man would be ready if Clark tried to get near him, so, the best thing to do was to stay away from Luthor. It would be more effective to simply keep track of him and Arianna and let the police take care of them. The fire control system was in action, he realized. He could hear the muted hiss of chemical foam as he got closer to the area of the fire, but it seemed to be inadequate to the job for the flames were crackling vigorously in his ears, almost drowning out the sound from the extinguishers. A scan through the walls showed him the situation and he paused for a long second to consider his tactics. Dousing a fire was nothing new for Superman, but he didn't wish to be detected. Since the automatic fire extinguishers were already in action, the best thing he could do was to give them a little assist. The smoke and flames could damage his disguise, so he removed the coat and slacks of the uniform, leaving on only the snug, black outfit he had worn when he invaded the underground complex. Thus prepared, he opened the door, slipped within and closed it instantly. With a burst of heat vision, he sealed the vents to the room, cutting off the flow of oxygen, and watched the fire begin to die. No one would find any evidence of super assistance. The melted vents could easily have been caused by the fire, itself. He waited until the last flames had flickered out, then exited the room and resumed his outer clothing. The fire alarm continued to shrill for several minutes while Clark put distance between himself and the laboratory. He didn't wish to be even associated with the event in anyone's mind. There was an elevator at the end of the hallway--almost certainly the way Lois and Jimmy had entered through the boathouse, and he checked it quickly with x-ray vision. It was empty. The fire alarm shut off, leaving an echoing silence. Clark glanced at his uniform. The man whom he had mugged for the clothing was almost certainly all right. The fumes from the chemical fire had been strong, but he'd put it out before it could do much more than frighten the people down here. He'd tied his victim so that he could eventually work his way free, and left the storeroom door unlocked--which meant that before long, Luthor was going to be informed that there was a false Security guard running around on his island. He rang for the elevator. A Security guard exiting through the boathouse wasn't likely to elicit much comment, considering the current situation. He wanted to take a last quick look around before they returned to the mainland and try to obtain a little more evidence. The photos Pete had handed him had shown, among other things, the cloning cylinders, but evidently, their mystery man had been interrupted before he had been able to gather more definitive evidence. And, of course, he wanted to check on Lois and the others. Previous experience with his wife's ability to attract trouble tended to make him a bit paranoid on the subject. ********** Keeping close to the cliff wall and crouching low, Lois, Jimmy and Mamba made their way toward the stand of pines. By now, all but the brightest stars had disappeared. The sky overhead had lightened slightly, and had acquired a faint pinkish hue, but that was all to the good, Lois thought. The men on the approaching boats would be looking into a sunrise, which meant that anything in the shadow of the cliff would be all but invisible to them. Nevertheless, when they reached the line of trees and put a screen of branches between themselves and the invaders, Lois breathed a sigh of relief. It was quite possible that they had nothing to fear from the new arrivals. If they were law enforcement, all would be well, and she, Clark and Jimmy would have the exclusive story, but it was just as likely that they belonged to a rival of Lex and Arianna, in which case she, Jimmy and Mamba were caught between two enemies. Until they found out for sure, they would have to stay out of the way of both. Mamba was panting heavily, and she stopped for a minute to allow him time to catch his breath. The older man glanced fearfully over his shoulder at the men, dressed uniformly in dark jumpsuits, who were now pulling their inflatable crafts up onto the sand. They were all wearing gun belts and what looked like automatic weapons were slung from their shoulders, Lois saw. As she watched, one of the men from the nearest craft reached back into it and began passing more weapons to his companions. "Come on!" she whispered. "Let's get out of here before they see us!" They moved back into the trees as quietly as they could. The island birds were filling the air with their morning serenades, and the noise helped to cover their retreat. Lois cut through the stand of trees lengthwise, in the direction of the boathouse. It allowed them to stay under cover for the greatest amount of time. They didn't dare show their faces on the main lawn of the mansion. She didn't need super powers to hear the voices of over a hundred excited persons all talking at once. Most of the staff must have exited the underground complex through the entrance in the gardens that Mamba had mentioned. When she was sure the three of them had cleared the area of the beach where the men had landed, she stopped and motioned for her companions to crouch down in the underbrush. Their best chance of being unobserved lay in being perfectly still and quiet until they were sure the unknown forces had passed by. Belatedly, Lois pulled off the white coat and sat on it. Black clothing was much less likely to be noticed in the dimness that surrounded them among the plant growth. Jimmy and Mamba did the same. The scientist was wearing dark clothing under the coat, for which Lois was thankful. The three of them sat in silence, breathing as quietly as they could, and Lois surreptitiously crossed her fingers. They were going to have to leave the shelter of the trees to reach the boathouse, but Lois planned on going around the perimeter of the island and thereby avoiding both Lex's minions and the invaders. The yacht, as well as various other craft, was docked there. She had no idea how to sail a yacht, but she was perfectly competent when it came to handling a motorboat and so was Jimmy. If they could get away from the island, Clark would find them and they would be safe. She was quite sure her husband would get the final details of the story, as well as the story of the invasion of Crescent Island. As much as Mad Dog Lane might wish to be in the middle of the action, she knew that she couldn't be, this time. Not only did she have two children who were waiting for their mother to come home, she was responsible for the safety of both Jimmy and Mamba. Getting them out of here intact had to be her first priority. A soft crackling of brush alerted her. She saw one of the invaders for an instant through the trees, moving with the skill of a trained guerrilla. He carried a pistol in one hand, the two long weapons were slung on his back and his face was coated with some black substance; camouflage, she thought. He disappeared through the underbrush and trees, and there was quiet again. Lois let out her breath. That was too close, for certain. As soon as she was positive that all the men had passed by, she was getting her little party out of here. The faster they got away from Crescent Island altogether, the better off they would all be. ********** (tbc) ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 18:10:10 -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: Charade: Part 21/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Yeah! So glad to see this! Just curious - did you post in the same number of posts as on the boards? Um, guys in dark clothes with weapons, doesn't sound good to me! CM ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 09:14:42 +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 Part 10 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: QUOTED-PRINTABLE [Oo, look -- double figures! Wonder if we'll make treble... Anyway, last time, Clark demonstrated that music hath nothing on the=20 charms of hot chocolate when it comes to soothing the savage breast --=20 if the breast in question belongs to Lois Lane, anyway. Certain *other* breasts, however, all of which answered to the name=20 "Church", were *not* soothed by learning, the following morning, that=20 Lois Lane was alive and well and writing articles describing events at=20 a certain theme park which *ought* to have been referred to in her=20 obituary -- or so they thought. Of course, the Churches paid no attention to the unknown name that=20 accompanied Lois' in the by-line... *We* know that that was something=20 they'll come to regret, but *they* don't... (heh, heh, heh... ) Meantime, Lois and Clark have plans to meet at the Daily Planet -- but=20 first, Lois needs to wake up... Now read on:] ***** Shortly thereafter, Lois woke from a deep, relaxed sleep to the=20 appetising smell of... what *was* that? She sat up in bed and looked=20 around the room, but couldn't see anything, so she got up and somewhat=20 unsteadily went over to the door and opened it. There, outside her bedroom door, was a tray, and on it was a cup of=20 steaming coffee, a plate with two croissants and small jars of assorted=20 preserves, some cutlery, a vase containing a single long-stemmed yellow=20 rose, and a note. Lois stepped over the tray and out into the living room, but the=20 apartment was empty. She caught a flicker of motion out of the corner=20 of her eye, but when she looked that way, it was just the window=20 curtains billowing gently in the breeze from outside. She picked up the tray and carried it over to the table. Putting it=20 down, she opened the note; the handwriting was unfamiliar, but it was=20 strong, simple and very clear. It read: Dear Lois, Good morning! I'm showing off again, I know, but I just wanted=20 to welcome my new partner to what I hope will be=20 a rewarding association for both of us, now and=20 in the future. See you at the Planet. Clark Lois, not a morning person, still wasn't with it, so her initial=20 reaction was to wonder what he meant by "showing off"... Only after=20 sipping the coffee -- and spending a moment or two lost in amazement;=20 this was incredible -- not only was it just the way she liked it, it=20 was also the *best* coffee she'd ever tasted! -- did her mind start to=20 work. Her first reaction was not quite panic -- 'How did he get in here?' --=20 which quelled itself somewhat when she realised that a) he could fly,=20 and b) she must not have locked the window last night. Then she stopped=20 and thought about what had just gone through her mind, oh, so calmly --=20 well, sort of... First, and most important, a *man* had been inside her apartment! Never=20 mind how he got there -- and, right at that moment, she really didn't=20 want to think about that -- the fact remained that this guy, whom she'd=20 only met twice, if you could call their first "meeting" that, had=20 *invaded* her home in the middle of the night! But then, that little voice inside her, annoying as ever, spoke up:=20 'Oh, yeah, some invasion, Lois. The guy brought you breakfast!' 'Who asked him to?' she shot back. 'I can get my own breakfast!' 'Sure you can,' the voice replied, 'but how often do you bother? Most=20 of the time, you settle for coffee, and maybe a bagel from the bakery=20 across the street, *if* you don't have something "better" to do.' 'That doesn't matter! Who does this guy think he is, barging in here,=20 trying to run my life?' 'Oh, gimme a break! Since when does buying your new partner breakfast=20 qualify as running her life?' 'Breakfast is... different. If it's not a working breakfast, it should=20 be a private thing; it's when a person is at their most vulnerable...' 'Oh? I notice your "invader" didn't hang around to watch your=20 vulnerable self eat it...' 'He doesn't need to! He's probably watching me now with those=20 super-peepers of his.' 'Oh, come *on*, Lois! You have no reason to think he's doing anything=20 of the kind. The guy wanted to do something nice to mark your first day=20 as a team -- if you can persuade Perry to hire him -- and you're=20 turning it into a Federal case!' One of the reasons Lois disliked that little voice was that it was so=20 often reasonable -- usually when she didn't *want* to be reasonable!=20 Like right now. Since she wasn't getting anywhere arguing with herself=20 about whether or not Clark had invaded her home or not, she moved on,=20 rather unwillingly, to *how* he'd done... whatever she eventually=20 decided that he'd done. Last night seemed like a dream, full of phantasms and unbelievable=20 events straight out of a pulp novel or comic book -- right down to the=20 amazing, handsome ('Make that "amazingly handsome,"' her little voice=20 chipped in) hero in flashy spandex and a cape -- except for two things:=20 the story that she was certain would be appearing in the morning=20 edition of the Planet (not on the front page, admittedly, but she'd=20 already snagged a spot on that with the continuing Harrington expos=E9),=20 and the tray (and the note) resting on the table in front of her. Both=20 were solid, tangible evidence that what she remembered was true: she=20 really *had* been rescued from an Intergang death-trap by an alien who=20 could fly and swallow bombs ('and makes *great* hot chocolate and=20 coffee,' the voice added)... and who wanted to be her partner. Lois winced, although she wasn't sure what it was about... about... 'Go=20 on, you can say his name...' the voice urged her in its usual annoying=20 fashion. 'All right, all right!' she snapped back. She wasn't sure what it was=20 about... 'Kent! His name is Kent! Happy now?' -- that had her feeling=20 most apprehensive, all of a sudden: was it that he was from another=20 planet, or that he had all those incredible powers... or was it that he=20 wanted to *work* with her? 'Don't let's forget the bit about wanting to be your *friend*, Lois,'=20 came the inevitable response. 'Thanks a whole bunch,' Lois grumbled -- though the voice had a point.=20 Kent's sudden intrusion into her life was pretty overwhelming, coming=20 as it did on both professional and personal levels. 'Oh, so you admit that there *is* a personal level involved here?' 'No! I mean... well, yes... No... oh, I don't know *what* I mean...' Lois was now thoroughly confused, which was not a state of mind she=20 enjoyed. One thing, though, was clear: this was all Kent's fault, and=20 she was going to have a little talk with him when they met up at the=20 Planet... Only then did she realise that she'd finished the coffee and the=20 croissants, and, now that she thought about it -- not that she could=20 remember much; she'd been thinking too hard to really appreciate the=20 taste of anything, but even so... they'd been delicious! ***** Whatever else Lois might have felt about her new so-called "partner" --=20 and she was still arguing internally over the breakfast business -- one=20 thing she had to admit was that he was punctual. She was slightly early=20 for their "appointment", but there he was, standing outside the street=20 entrance to the Daily Java, the coffee-shop on the ground floor of the=20 Planet building, as relaxed as could be, watching the world go by. She also noticed that the world -- the female population, at least --=20 was watching back. As she watched the... fourth (or was it fifth?)=20 woman walk slowly past, flaunting whatever she thought she had to show=20 off, Lois had to admit that they -- *and* all the others who confined=20 themselves to *very* close observation as they wandered by -- had a=20 point; he *was* very good-looking, and that suit he was wearing=20 (charcoal business rather than blue spandex, this morning) didn't hurt.=20 His tie, on the other hand, was a bit garish but, on reflection, he=20 seemed able to carry it off. All in all, very GQ and *very* dishy... She noted with some surprise and amusement that the flaunters were=20 wasting their time. Kent smiled at a couple of them, but it was only a=20 small smile, more in acknowledgement of their own than anything else,=20 but he didn't follow them as they went past, didn't look them up and=20 down to see what they were flaunting... didn't react much at all, and=20 certainly not in any way that anyone could have called encouragement. But then he saw *her*... and his whole demeanour changed. That smile=20 was back, but it was just the icing on the cake, so to speak. He'd...=20 *brightened* was the only word for it. Before, he'd been the picture of=20 a good-looking (as witnessed by all those passing oglers), but slightly=20 dull guy who only barely reacted to anything around him, someone whom,=20 if she hadn't known better (she *did* know better, didn't she?) she=20 might have thought needed to visit the Java for his initial caffeine=20 fix of the day; *now*, it was as though someone had flipped a switch=20 and turned on a million-candlepower spotlight inside... and the effect=20 was dazzling. Lois forced herself to ignore his... well, the only word that she could=20 think of that fitted was *joy*, particularly since she didn't want to=20 think about why he seemed so glad to see *her*. Nor was she prepared to=20 deal with her own reaction to seeing him come alive like that, so she=20 squashed it firmly, reminding herself that she was mad at him. She was about to greet him with a blistering reprimand when the thought=20 struck her that not only was the sidewalk in front of the Planet *not*=20 the best place to upbraid someone for entering her apartment uninvited,=20 but discussing *how* he'd done that would jeopardise his secret -- and=20 her exclusive! Instead, she allowed him to lead her into the coffee shop, and into a=20 booth at the back, making small talk about the lead stories in that=20 morning's Planet until the waiter had taken their order. She noticed,=20 with some cynicism, that Kent ordered his cappuccino with full-cream=20 milk, not skimmed, and also asked for extra sugar. Was this some=20 side-effect of being from another planet, she wondered -- was he able=20 to eat whatever he wanted without putting on a pound? Or did he just do=20 some sort of special super-hero workout -- bench-pressing planets, for=20 instance? Their coffee was delivered then, so, as soon as the waiter had=20 disappeared Lois launched into speech, still furious at Kent's invasion=20 of her personal space. Okay, the breakfast had been delicious and she'd=20 been touched by the addition of the rose, much as she tried to tell=20 herself that it was a corny, sappy gesture. But that didn't excuse the=20 *nerve* of the man! "Okay, buster, just what did you mean by coming into my apartment this=20 morning? We may be... prospective partners, but that's at work! It=20 certainly does *not* give you the right to barge in on me any time you=20 feel like it! Got that?" She was rather expecting him to be taken aback by her outburst; that=20 was the point, after all. And this was also a kind of test, to see how=20 he'd handle being told off. Most men would go on the defensive, which=20 generally meant one of two reactions: either they'd become aggressive=20 in response to her... forthrightness, or they'd just sit there and=20 suffer in silence like a scolded dog. Lois wasn't sure which was worse,=20 the macho types or the wimps... Actually, yes, she was: the wimps were=20 worse, because they were likely to try to get back at her on the sly;=20 at least the testosterone overdose cases were up front about disliking=20 her attitude, and she knew how to handle that. To her surprise, Kent was neither angry nor sullenly resentful.=20 Instead, he looked guilty, and a little sheepish, and began to=20 apologise. "I-- I'm sorry, Lois... I didn't mean to intrude on your=20 privacy; that's why I left the tray outside the door -- and, before you=20 ask, I *didn't* look in on you. My parents raised me better than that!=20 I just put the tray there, made sure that everything was still hot, and=20 left. But... I guess I got a bit carried away, and didn't think how you=20 might take it. I seem to be making a habit of that... I'll try to stop. "I realised, after I'd done it, that you might be worried, and I've=20 been more than a little nervous ever since. It's just that... haven't=20 you ever wanted to do something nice for someone -- for a friend, say,=20 or a relation -- just because you could, to make them feel good?" Lois had to stop and think about that; it had been a long time since=20 she'd been in either the mood or a position to do anything nice for=20 anyone, but she eventually conceded to herself that there had been=20 occasions in the past when she'd felt sufficiently benevolent, and=20 nodded. Clark went on, "Well, I can *do* things like that really easily -- to=20 me, France is only a few seconds away, so why not go there? -- but=20 sometimes, I guess I get a bit... over-enthusiastic. "But, you see, for so long, I had to hide it all away... never be *me*=20 without being scared that someone would find out and wreck everything,=20 cart me off to some lab as an experimental animal, a freak who wasn't=20 fit to associate with 'real' people... and then, I found a way to help=20 people -- the suit. It was gaudy, it was kitsch, it had this *stupid*=20 name that went with it... but it *worked!* I remember the first time I=20 wore it: I helped a cop arrest a guy with a gun, and he *smiled*, and=20 *thanked* me, and said that 'Superman' was a 'cool name'... "Do you have any idea what that was like? To have someone react like=20 that, when the police had always been people I had to be *so* careful=20 around... it was incredible! I had never felt so *free*..." He shook his head, as though to clear it of the emotion that washed=20 over him -- which, Lois could tell, was very powerful. She felt herself=20 empathising with him almost unconsciously; she couldn't imagine what it=20 must have been like to have to hide like that, but she *did* know what=20 it was like to feel that you had to fight against other people's=20 prejudices or be something that you were not. She'd been doing that all=20 her life, starting with having to deal with her father's disappointment=20 that she wasn't a boy, and then his expectations that she would follow=20 in his footsteps and go into medicine; then, after she struck out on=20 her own, there was the inevitable struggle to establish herself as a=20 journalist, despite the "handicaps" of being young, female and=20 attractive; and now that she *was* recognised as one of the best in the=20 business, she was "Mad Dog Lane", the "Ice Maiden"... Oh, yeah, she=20 knew what it was like not to fit in with the crowd, all right... except=20 that she'd stopped caring about fitting in a long time ago, whereas=20 Kent hadn't really had that option; if he'd done that, he'd have been=20 exposed as... 'As what? An alien? An experiment? A *freak?*' Did she think he was any of those? She wasn't sure what to think. After=20 all, this was a man who could fly, who could get to Paris and back in a=20 matter of seconds. He was incredibly strong; he could see through=20 things; he could hear and see things long distances away. He was also,=20 he'd proven last night, a good reporter -- a *very* good reporter, in=20 fact. And he wanted to be her friend.=20 Did she want him as her friend? Or did she just want the story -- the=20 full explanation of who he was and where he came from? She was pretty=20 sure that he hadn't yet told her everything -- well, he'd admitted that=20 there was more to the story than what he'd told her. And he'd said he=20 wouldn't tell her everything yet. So, if she wanted it all, wanted the=20 exclusive scoop on this amazing man who could fly, she was going to=20 have to accept him as a friend. But was this only for the sake of the story, or was it for real? Did=20 she want Clark Kent, Superman, as a *real* friend, as part of her life?=20 Lois didn't do friendship at all well; in fact, she was aware that=20 friends were something in very short supply in her life. Male or=20 female, they just couldn't deal with her competitiveness, her=20 hard-working nature, her need to succeed. They tended to get upset when=20 she cancelled arrangements in order to follow up a scoop or go on a=20 stake-out. They objected to her strong opinions. They couldn't=20 understand her lack of interest in men, her refusal to believe in love=20 and romance. So any friends she'd had in college had long since faded out from her=20 life, and, as she hadn't really made any new ones since then, she'd=20 quite simply got out of the habit of *being* a friend. Clark, on the=20 other hand, seemed to have some notion of how to go about it, but what=20 she really couldn't understand was *why*. Why would someone like him --=20 very attractive, intelligent, talented, and with all those special=20 abilities -- choose *her* to be his friend? If he wanted a friend, he could have anyone: someone far more=20 beautiful, or nicer -- less snappy and arrogant, for a start. What was=20 it about *her*, Lois Lane, which made him want her? Why had he chosen=20 her to reveal himself to? Okay, he'd saved her life, but he could=20 simply have flown away once she was safely deposited on the ground --=20 or he could have checked out her car and then left. There had been no=20 need for him to follow her home, for him to allow her to find out that=20 the mysterious flying man was Clark Kent from Kansas. What did he=20 really want from her? A job at the Planet, it seemed; and he seemed to think that she would=20 be able to get him that job. But wouldn't Perry White have been a=20 better choice? After all, Perry did the hiring. And if Clark wanted to=20 be accepted by the rest of the newsroom staff, she was certainly not=20 the best person to sponsor him. She wondered whether she should point that out to him, when another=20 thought occurred to her. He'd known who she was, and seemed to know=20 quite a bit about her. Okay, he'd spent a few hours the previous day in=20 the Planet's morgue, so it was possible that he could have read her=20 articles and realised what an excellent reporter she was. And if he=20 wanted to work with the best... *she* was the best. Something else was weird. He'd known who she was, both yesterday and=20 last night. The Planet didn't publish thumbnail pictures of its reporters, unlike=20 some of its competitors. So, unless Clark Kent had happened to find a=20 photo of her in the morgue, how could he have recognised the person=20 he'd run into on his way out as Lois Lane? She hadn't introduced=20 herself. Though... last night, it had been as if he hadn't been=20 remotely surprised to find that it was her at the park, and some of his=20 comments, both then and later in her apartment, seemed to suggest that=20 he had been looking for her in any case. He wanted to work at the=20 Planet -- and he wanted to work with *her*. He wanted to be her friend. Leaving aside her unanswered question as to whether she wanted him as a=20 friend, there was something distinctly weird going on here. It was=20 blindingly obvious now that he'd known all about her before they'd met=20 -- and he couldn't have got *all* his information from a search of the=20 Planet's morgue. So there was definitely more to Clark Kent than=20 outward appearances and these strange powers of his. Well, if he wanted an entr=E9e to the Planet, she would provide it; she'd= =20 already agreed to that part of the plan in any case. If he genuinely=20 wanted to be her friend... well, she would treat that side of their=20 relationship with caution. After all, she had never met a man who=20 didn't have a hidden agenda. She wasn't sure what Kent's was: surely,=20 if all he wanted was a job at the Planet, he could have achieved that=20 without her intervention. If he thought he was going to use her as a=20 stepping-stone to awards and fame, he'd better think again. After all,=20 she knew all about him, and that information would earn her a Pulitzer=20 some day, she was sure. But still, there was something about him -- a hint of vulnerability --=20 which became more obvious as he continued to apologise for invading her=20 privacy; she'd noticed it as well the previous evening, when he'd told=20 her about his parents dying. That couldn't be an act, could it? And he *had* apologised, something which, again, was not normally=20 forthcoming from men she knew. So that was a point in his favour...=20 perhaps. Smiling lightly as she accepted his apology, she resolved to=20 test his strength of character at some time in the near future. Would=20 he let her walk all over him, or would he stand up to her? That would=20 be interesting to see. For now, it was time to introduce him to Perry. ***** [So, once more unto the breach, friend Clark... Or, in other words,=20 it's time to try to impress your once and future boss (you hope). But,=20 whether or not you're successful, certain *other* people may also be=20 impressed... whether you want them to be or not. To find out what that cryptic statement means... you'll have to wait=20 until next time.] Phil ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 04:07:13 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Dot K Subject: Re: New story: Valley of the Shadow, 1/? In-Reply-To: <20010712.143532.-181871.6.cmoncado@juno.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi Carol :) could you mail me a copy of "First Nights" ? Thanks and keep up the great writing! Regards Dot __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 07:09:46 -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 Part 10 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I knew there was a good reason to get up early today!! Very interesting introspection - loved Lois fighting with herself! That was great! Now - she's suspicious about CK and his knowledge, but I doubt even Lois could make the interdimensional jump without a little (or big) push from someone else. Can't wait to see how Perry reacts to the new "addition" to the Daily Planet. More soon please! CM (who knows there has to be some good excuse for Phil to post again before Friday!) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 08:25:55 -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 Part 10 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >>To find out what that cryptic statement means... you'll have to wait until next time<< Phil, you are a cruel tease But thanks for posting this part, Lois does go through the internal monolog gymnastics, doesn't she? Lots of good stuff here. So, 'next time' would be next Tuesday, right? ;) Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ "They thought that what they were seeing on the screen, the plot and effects and dialog, was all there was. They had no conception of how much work our willing brains were doing on the initial stimulus after our senses took it all in. We took the show in and fixed it, and it was to this fixed-up version that we gave our passionate response." --Lois McMaster Bujold, from an essay ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 06:08:38 -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: Charade: Part 21/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The posts on the e-list have now caught up with the ones on the boards, Carol. they're numbered differently because I they were posted in different sizes, if that makes sense. Nan Carol L Moncado wrote: > Yeah! So glad to see this! Just curious - did you post in the same > number of posts as on the boards? > > Um, guys in dark clothes with weapons, doesn't sound good to me! > > CM ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 19:10:33 -0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Missy Gallant Subject: Evening editions Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Hey everyone! At what time would the deadline be for an evening edition? I'm assuming that it would be out before the rush hour traffic for people to pick up on their way home from work. How long does it take for the paper to be printed and on its way for distribution? What do they call those boards that the copy is pasted on? Thanks!! Missy _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 14:31:11 -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: Evening editions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey there - I think they're copy boards, but don't hold me to that. I'm not sure how long it takes to print, but we used to deliver papers to convenience stores and stuff. The morning paper went out about 6? and the afternoon/evening edition went out about 4? I was like 9 so I don't remember ALL the details... CM On Fri, 13 Jul 2001 19:10:33 -0000 Missy Gallant writes: > Hey everyone! > > At what time would the deadline be for an evening edition? I'm > assuming > that it would be out before the rush hour traffic for people to pick > up on > their way home from work. How long does it take for the paper to be > printed > and on its way for distribution? What do they call those boards > that the > copy is pasted on? > > Thanks!! > > Missy > _________________________________________________________________ > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 14:52:53 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: Evening editions Missy, I'm not sure newspapers use copy boards any more - although, of course, we saw Perry and/or Jimmy with them once or twice. In the mid to late 1980s, newspaper production went through an electronic revolution and, while not all changes happened at once, certainly over at least the last half-dozen years pages are created on computer, looking exactly as they will when printed. All the changes made newspaper production a lot cheaper... Wendy ---------- Wendy Richards wendy@lcfanfic.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 16:16:35 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: Evening editions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 7/13/01 3:10:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time, zoomer71@HOTMAIL.COM writes: > At what time would the deadline be for an evening edition? I'm assuming > that it would be out before the rush hour traffic for people to pick up on > their way home from work. Hmm, probably around noon or 1 pm, depending on how many copies they're going to print and if there is more than one afternoon edition. When I was a kid and delivered the afternoon paper, they arrived anytime between 3 and 4, but there was an earlier afternoon edition that hit the streets by around 2:30 or 3. I would be surprised if they still actually use the copy boards with all the computers nowdays. It's one of the reasons that sometimes there are glitches -- I don't think anyone actually sees the whole thing in real size. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 18:14:51 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Amy Lauters Subject: Re: Evening editions MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi, Missy: I used to be a reporter for a paper that came out in the afternoon. Our deadline was 11:10 a.m. Also, we did still use layout sheets -- we called it paste-up -- even though we were doing most of the work electronically. From what I understand, it was because it was too expensive to replace the presses, which still required the old aluminum plates for printing. So we'd do the layout electronically and print it, then it was pasted up, and the paste-up sheets were photographed and the images transfered to the aluminum plates to put on the press. Probably more than you wanted to know. Hope it helped! :) Amy ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 20:25:29 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Diane Trim Subject: Re: Evening editions In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii In my job, I work for a company that publishes two newspapers, both an afternoon/evening one and a morning one. The single copy papers for our afternoon newspaper (the papers in the vending machines and stores) have a copy deadline of 9:30 A.M. and a press deadline of 10:00 A.M. We have this deadline so that the editions hit the streets in time for the noon lunch hour. It's our smaller paper, so the single copy run is only 10,000 copies. Since this press run is so small, it lasts about 15-20 minutes (our press prints 1,000 papers/minute). Our afternoon home final edition's copy deadline is 11:30 A.M. and the press deadline is 12:00 P.M. This press run is larger, but, for the sake of your story, you can figure 1,000 papers/minute--that's cut, folded, spindled and mutilated, but without any advertising inserts (like coupons or other glossy copies). The home final's delivery deadline is 6:00 P.M., but my paper is usually at my door by 2:00 P.M. You know, I have never seen the copy boards like they have on L&C. 10 years ago we had a paste-up department of 15 people. Now we have no one doing it unless there is a computer emergency--I've only seen it once. The paste-up department uses hot wax to paste image-set photo-quality copy onto hard cards (big sheets of paper with blue grid lines). (We still have a rudimentary set-up because we handle printing jobs for other, smaller publications. Sometimes these come to us on hard cards and we have to be able to manipulate them. We also keep the paste-up area in case our computers crash.) Someone in production then photographs the hard cards to make the negatives to turn into plates (what a long process). The plates hang on the off-set press and transfer the image to a rubber blanket, which then prints on the "web" or newsprint. Now, instead of doing paste-up, we send pages from the copy editors' computers directly to an image setter which prints to a negative, skipping the whole paste-up process. This is the standard in the industry, at least among daily papers. The process of outputting from the computer to a negative, then creating a plate, takes 17 minutes from newsroom to press. In other words, if there's a mistake, or if someone yells "stop the presses" (like during the November 2000 election), the edition will be a least 20 minutes late. Actually, by February 2002, we're going to even eliminate printing to negatives--we'll be printing directly to the plates (the ones that hang on the press). It'll mean a savings of about 10 minutes from newsroom to press, which may mean more sports scores in the home final editions and fewer late papers (in theory). Sorry about all of the technical stuff--as the educational services director, I do all the tours of our facility! This is the first time I've posted to the list, though I've read just about every fic in the archive. I just couldn't hold back on this request! Diane --- Missy Gallant wrote: > Hey everyone! > > At what time would the deadline be for an evening > edition? I'm assuming > that it would be out before the rush hour traffic > for people to pick up on > their way home from work. How long does it take for > the paper to be printed > and on its way for distribution? What do they call > those boards that the > copy is pasted on? > > Thanks!! > > Missy > _________________________________________________________________ > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 07:06:32 -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 July 13 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi FoLCs! Several new stories and vignettes, lots of new story parts, three completed stories, and three new tocs this week! Links on the L&C Message Board Index and Links page at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/7378/lnc.html New stories this week: CODE OF HONOR: DAWN FIELD I STILL LOVE YOU: CHRISTY LANDRUM LEARNING THE HARD WAY: NICNACS MAYSON'S DIARY COMPLETE VIGNETTE TERRAN REVELATION OF A DIFFERENT KIND COMPLETE VIGNETTE IKUKO VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: CAROL MONCADO WORLD WITHOUT, A COMPLETE VIGNETTE TERRAN New part(s) posted: ACCIDENTAL HUSBAND, THE: ERIN KLINGLER AFTERMATH: AERM1 BRAVE NEW WORLD (KAL'S STORY): CHRISH CAMPAIGN, THE: KESTREL73 (AKA LOTE TREE) CHARADE: NAN SMITH HEARTS DIVIDED: PAM JERNIGAN IMBALANCE: PHIL ATCLIFFE AND WENDY RICHARDS JUST LIKE CLARK: KESHANDRA LONELY IS THE MAN: JONWOLFFE STRANGERS III: MISSY GALLANT (AKA RAGGIEMOM) SURVIVAL OF THE SIGNIFICANT: MANOFSTEEL30 (AKA SCOTT J VINNACOMBE) UNIVERSAL UNION: JENNI DEBBAGE Completed stories this week: AMBITION - T&W CHALLENGE: TANK WILSON CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING CLARK, THE: CAROL MONCADO SURFACING MEMORIES: KAETHEL New TOC's CODE OF HONOR: DAWN FIELD HAND THAT ROCKS, THE: PINTOFOLC LONELY IS THE MAN: JONWOLFFE Added to the Archive this week: Strangers II: Becoming Partners by Missy Gallant Enjoy! Dawn & the Index Crew __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/