From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9710D" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:00:01 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Re: SPOILERS:Review of FTASB MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Barbara Garonzik wrote, re FTASB: >> I agree. I think it's one of my favorite nfics. << Oh, it's a great story, alright... it made me cry. Very few stories actually provoke me to tears, but this one did. Okay, so that probably h= as something to do with the fact that I have a new baby that I love very muc= h , but Sheila, I have to say that you're a *great* writer. PJ who doesn't actually enjoy crying over fanfic and who will probably never= read this story again !^NavFont02F018C0015MGHHGhMGxHG57MG59HH8D5F71 ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:21:47 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: Re: Fanfic Archive Websites In-Reply-To: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I'm curious and I hope you are as well. Has anyone tried to make a total count of the number of fanfics? 681 regular fanfics ~200? nfanfics ??? Season 5's ??? Krypton Club ??? Metropolis Club ??? ??? Club Some redundancies in there somewhere too. Also, do you people out there like small vinette-type stories, like I have posted before? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:22:28 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: SPOILERS:Review of FTASB In-Reply-To: <199710220100_MC2-24B8-499E@compuserve.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 1:00 AM -0400 10/22/97, Pam Jernigan wrote: >PJ >who doesn't actually enjoy crying over fanfic and who will probably never >read this story again LOL Pam! Well, it made me cry when I first read it, too. Back when Sheila sent me the orginal to proof, I stayed up until 3 am to finish it (just couldn't put it down), and then I just could *not* go to bed like I planned. I was up for another hour, all sniffly , writing up my comments. And I'm with you - sometimes I get misty over a really good scene/story, but I almost never cry (And I was thinking of my young daughter, too.), so this one really hit me. As for never rereading it, I can attest to the fact that each time Sheila sent me the darn thing (nfic, script form, then S5) for my assistance, I would start out thinking I would just skim it, and then I found myself getting into the story all over again. I think this is truly the mark of a good story -- if you can read it over again and still enjoy it. Oh, and I didn't cry anymore after the first time. Once I knew what to expect, I was OK. Kathy (who has no idea if Sheila is on the listserv or not ... but I think not. Therefore, I'm going to start forwarding her these comments until she tells me not to. ) ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 12:59:16 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: FANFIC RERUN: Merry-Go-Round 1/2 Well, I don't know who decides what fanfic gets the rating of "Classic", and it seems a little forward to put such a title on my own, so I'm following Zoomie's lead on what to call this -- a rerun of an old favorite of mine, which fits the point in the TNT reruns where we are: Scardino is gone, Supes is a friend, and Lois & Clark have discovered just how much they enjoy kissing each other The recognizable characters in this story are the property of ABC and December 3rd Productions, KKMJ Majic 95.5 is a real radio station (in Austin, Texas), and Stephen Michael Kerr is the DJ who hosts the Majic Love Songs dedication show on Saturday nights, but Lizi and the story are mine -- *all mine*. **For Sherry -- who was *my* best friend in high school, and for Debby Stark, from whom I borrowed a line or two. /thoughts/ *emphasized words* {radio voices} **************************************************************** Merry-Go-Round by Peace PEverett9@aol.com "So, Lois, now that you're out of circulation, so to speak, what's going to happen with Superman?" Lois stared at her friend Elizabeth in surprise. "What do you mean?" "Well, you and Superman used to hang out, you told me -- uh, something about romantic dinners and flights over Metropolis--" Lizi gestured airily, "-- and now you've started dating Clark. So where does that leave Superman?" "Ok, for starters, you've got *one* thing right: I've just *started* dating Clark, which doesn't mean I'm necessarily out of circulation. Yet. And as far as Superman goes, well, we haven't really talked about it, but I think he knows about Clark and me, and he has a lot of respect for Clark -- he hasn't been hanging around trying to steal me back." "Unlike that Scardetto person, who wouldn't take no for an answer." "His name was Scardino, Dan Scardino, and he was very sweet..." "Uh-huh, and he almost screwed things up for you and Clark." Lois smiled a little grimly -- she really didn't want to talk about Dan Scardino. "You were talking about Superman..?" "Yes. I was. Um.. So, um, well.. Is he.. um.. you know.." "Is he..? What, Lizi? Spit it out -- I can't read your mind!" "Is he.. seeing.. somebody.. anybody.. these days?" Lois' eyes had a dangerous twinkle as she swiveled her head to look at her friend. "Why? Are you interested? "Hel-lo? This is me, remember? Lizi 'Crazy-About-Men' Lyons? Of course I'm interested! Why don't you fix me up with him? Isn't that what married friends are for, to fix up their single friends?" "I'm *not* married -- I just started dating the guy, remember?" "Still, you got a man -- and what a man, if you don't mind my saying so --" Lois grinned, partially appeased. " -- so get off your duff and help *me* get one, too!" "And you want Superman." "Hey, aim for the stars, right?" Lois took a long sip of her Coke, considering. She had always hated having her married friends trying to fix her up, but maybe that was because the men they fixed her up with were all such losers. /Well, obviously Superman is not a loser, and neither is Lizi, and if she *wants* me to fix her up with him.../ "I'll tell you what," she offered finally. "I'll invite Clark and Superman over for dinner on Saturday, you come too, we can rent movies, hang out, and see how it goes." /That way/, she decided, /if Superman isn't comfortable with Lizi, it isn't a real date, and I haven't totally put him on the spot./ Lizi pumped a fist in the air. "All right," she crowed. "I got a date with Superman!" Lois looked warningly at her. "Chill, Lizi. This is a friendly little get-together. This is *not* going to be a big romantic evening, unless you *and* Superman hit it off and make it one." /Why do I have the feeling this is a huge mistake?/ "Hey, relax, Lois, this is me! What's not to hit off?" "Right. Whatever. Just--" "Lois! Are you jealous?" "No! Of course I'm not jealous!" "You've got Clark, now -- you didn't *want* Superman." "I wouldn't exactly say--" "You're not allowed to have them both, you know. Share the wealth!" "I know! I know! Just.. take it easy with him, ok? After all," Lois tried to smile conspiratorially, "you wouldn't want to scare him off by coming on too strong, now, would you?" "You didn't scare him off." Lois started to look offended, then changed her mind. "Good point." "Relax, Lolo, it's gonna be fine." ****************** "You did WHAT?" Clark couldn't believe his ears. "I invited her to have dinner with you and me and Superman tomorrow. She asked me to set her up on a date with him, and I figured this way if they don't hit it off after all, they're not stuck spending a whole evening alone together." "How thoughtful of you -- like he sticks around for a whole evening!" His sarcasm didn't seem to phase her so he tried a different tack. "Have you talked about this yet with Superman? I mean -- what makes you think he'll go for it? He's a pretty independent kind of guy." "No, Mr. Negative, I haven't seen him around much lately -- " /I've been too busy looking at you, but I'm not going to tell *you* that just yet./ "-- haven't seen him at all since I talked to Lizi yesterday -- but he's gotta eat -- at least I think he does -- so why shouldn't he eat with us? And if I happen to have my best friend from high school over.." "I thought Linda and.. and.. what was her name? uh.. Sherry were your best friends from high school." "Don't sidetrack me, Kent. As I was saying, if I happen to also have a friend from high school over for dinner, and they happen to enjoy each other's company, well, who knows? I might be a successful Cupid after all. You could bring something from your Cheese of the Month club, maybe a nice bottle of wine..." She put her arms around Clark's neck, smiling smugly as she leaned forward to kiss him. Clark kissed her back, then pulled away slightly to look quizzically. "Now who's trying to sidetrack whom?" "Shut up and kiss me, farmboy." She kissed his cheek, and nuzzled her way around to his ear. "Lo-is! We should-- mmmm... We've got t..mmm.." Clark realized that he wasn't going to be able to think with her kissing him like that, but.. well.. he still had all day tomor..mm.. and this..mm.. was so..mmm.. nice..mmmm.... Clark dismissed the double date with all its disastrous possibilities from his mind, and settled down to enjoy Lois' attentions. **************** As Clark was on his way home that evening, still smiling to himself because.. well, just because.. his superhearing picked up the sound of shots being fired. "Aw, man.." He had planned on getting in at least a couple of hours of dreaming about Lois tonight, but it appeared he would have to be the Man of Steel first. He only hesitated a microsecond before ducking down a dark alley, emerging at the other end as Superman. A woman looking down at the alley from an upstairs window saw the transformation and blinked hard, then looked down at the drink in her hand. "Nah..." When Superman got downtown, he discovered that a couple of thieves had tried to break into Tiffany's/Metropolis. They had set off a silent alarm and the police had responded. Now the thieves were holed up in the store, and seemed determined to shoot it out. He landed in front of the broken glass of the front window, setting himself in the line of fire between the thieves and the police. He folded his hands over his chest, staring sternly at the men inside the store. One of the thieves, recognizing him, immediately put down his gun in surrender. The other wasn't quite so perceptive. "Look at this idiot!" he yelled. "We can take him -- use him as a hostage and get ourselves out of here!" He raised his gun and then suddenly the gun wasn't in his hand anymore. He looked around and realized that the "idiot" was behind him now, calmly crumpling his gun like so much aluminum foil. "New here, aren't you?" commented Superman drily. "Uh.. ah..i..a..uo.." responded the thief before he fainted dead away. Superman picked up the two thieves by their collars and carried them out to the police. "All yours, gentleman. Is everyone all right out here?" "Thanks, Superman -- yeah, we're all fine. These guys weren't exactly great shots. Lucky for us they did it at night -- there doesn't seem to have been anyone in those buildings." The officer indicated several windows across the street that had been shot out by the thieves' wild aim. Superman shook his head, laughing in disbelief. Just then a familiar Jeep pulled up. "Lois? What are you doing here?" "Hi, Superman! Officer, I got a call from my editor, Perry White, about this robbery. Seems he got a call from someone crediting Intergang," she turned momentarily to Superman, "obviously someone who didn't know that *you* had saved the day again!" She smiled up at him, a little teasingly, and punched him lightly on the shoulder. Superman rolled his eyes, and the officer smirked a little as he started to turn away. "Officer? Care to comment on the Intergang connection?" "Not at the moment, Ms. Lane." "Ok. I'd like to talk to your prisoners if I may." The officer grinned and walked away. "Later, Ms. Lane, you know the rules." "Yeah, yeah, can't blame a girl for trying..." She turned back to Superman, who, amazingly had not yet flown away. In fact, he was looking at her almost tenderly /huh?/ which he tried rather unsuccessfully to cover up when she looked at him. "Well, listen, I- I- I'm glad I got the chance to see you.. uh.." She felt a little flustered by the look in his eyes. "You haven't been around much lately, and I was hoping we could still be friends, even though Clark and I are together now, but I hope you know that I still care about you, and you shouldn't be a stranger and .. and.. I'm babbling, aren't I?" "Your babbling has never bothered me, Lois," Superman admitted softly. Her scent was intoxicating, the knowledge that less than half an hour before she had been in his arms.. Clark's arms.. whoever.. It was a good thing, he reflected, that they were standing in the shadows, lest she see just how badly he wanted her back in his arms. Lois stared at him, trying to conceal her dismay. /He loves me. He really loves me, and now I'm with Clark, and it's going to break his heart.. Why didn't he look at me like this before.. before.. oh, Clark, now what am I gonna do? Listen to me, I babble even when I'm talking to myself!/ With an effort, Lois pulled herself together and pasted what she hoped was a bright *just friendly* smile on her face. "Well, listen, come to dinner tomorrow, ok? Say about 7ish? We can have a nice chat and catch up on things." She patted his arm. Superman was so involved in calming down his aroused state, visions of sugarplums and other delightful things dancing in his head, that Lois' invitation barely registered. "That'd be great, Lois, I'd like that," he agreed vaguely. A news bulletin on a passing car radio caught his attention, and he turned his head slightly concentrating on hearing as much as he could. {We've just received word that the nuclear sub Enterprise is experiencing difficulties while en route to Hawaii. They have surfaced, and are evacuating the crew into lifeboats. No word yet about the danger of radioactive contamination.} "You have to go, don't you." It wasn't a question -- she'd seen that look on his face too often. "I should go check that out -- they may need help. I'll see you later!" He was already turning to go. "Tomorrow," she prompted. He leaped into the air, calling over his shoulder. "Tomorrow. I'll be there!" He was out over the Pacific and speeding toward the sub when the invitation suddenly registered. He pulled up short in mid air, slapping his hand to the side of his head. "Tomorrow? Lunkhead!" ****************** It was several hours, just starting to get light, before he was able to get home. He had been able to confirm that the sub's nuclear reactor did not have any leaks, but was not able to determine the cause of the breakdown in its propulsion system that caused it to dive and surface erratically. The crew had been evacuated because the abrupt movements of the sub had tossed them around like dolls in a little girl's carrying case. He stayed with the lifeboats until a Navy ship arrived to pick them up -- these were shark-infested waters after all -- and let the skeleton crew who had volunteered to remain aboard the sub ride their "bucking bronco" back to harbor. /Good thing it's Saturday, and I don't have to go in to the Planet. I can sleep a few hours, and then figure out how to get me and Superman.. er.. get *myself* out of this mess with Lois./ He spun out of the suit, and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. He woke up feeling groggy, and wandered blearily into the kitchen for some orange juice. He couldn't understand why he felt so sluggish until he glanced at the clock. /6 p.m.?! I slept around the clock! No wonder I feel so bleh. Mom always said sleeping too much made you tireder -- I guess she was right./ He wandered into the living room with his juice, stuck his head out the front door to get his newspaper, which had been sitting there all day (a fact which always amazed Lois -- she had once assured Clark that if she didn't snatch her paper out of the paperboy's hand, it would be stolen before it hit the floor), and sat down to flip idly through it. Lois' ongoing series on Intergang had made the front page again, with the news of last night's attempted robbery, and Clark himself had a good-sized piece that started on the front page and continued on page 5, profiling one of the leaders of Intergang who had been indicted a couple of days earlier. Clark grinned. /Lane and Kent strike again! Lois! Dinner!! The double date!! Oh, man.../ He slumped on the sofa, trying to think how to get out of the problem. It seemed like almost everything he did that was more than rescuing kittens in trees made the news -- there was even an article in the Planet that day about him with the Enterprise -- so having Superman called away for something big enough to keep him away all evening wouldn't work. Well, it would for the evening, but then the next day when Lois checked the wires and found no mention of Superman, she would realize that nothing like that had happened and she would feel snubbed. He considered telling her that he had been called away to Smallville for an emergency, but he really hated lying to her, and it seemed like he was always having to spin some tale to get away and go be Superman... Besides, she would want to go with him. He sighed. There was no way around it. He was about to go on a double date with himself. The thought made him laugh, and then he remembered Robin Williams' restaurant scene in MRS. DOUBTFIRE, where the comedian had changed back and forth into and out of drag to have dinner with two different people in the same restaurant, and laughed harder. /No beer for you tonight, Kent,/ he thought. /You're going to need a *very* clear head to pull this off./ He took a superspeed shower, spun into a clean supersuit, and then looked in his closet for the "Clark" portion of this evening's attire. Lois had said it was going to be very casual, but it was cool out, so he would be expected to have on a jacket, even though changes in temperature didn't bother him until they got much more extreme than this. He finally settled on neatly pressed blue jeans and his black leather jacket, eschewing a tie for a white linen band-collar shirt -- his mother had sewn it for him, with extra fabric down the middle so that if it should happen to gap open his supersuit underneath wouldn't show. He glanced at the clock: 6:15. He considered hopping over to Bordeaux in France for the wine, and maybe down to Brazil for an orchid, but such exotic gifts would be difficult to explain, and besides, Superman had done that when *he* was seeing Lois and... /I hate thinking about myself in the third person!/ He decided he would stop by a flower shop to get one long stemmed red rose and a small bouquet of yellow daisies -- both for Lois -- /Clark can give her the rose and Superman can give her the daisies -- I gotta stop doing this!/ and then at a liquor store to choose a bottle of wine. He did, however, make a quick dash to Wisconsin for brie. Next problem: He was going to be tremendously busy sending Superman out on small fake rescues so that he could show back up as Clark -- the last thing he needed was some sort of real emergency to take up his attention. After a long moment, he dug through his address book, and pulled out an embossed business card. He picked up the phone, and dialed the number on it. "Good evening, Alfred. This is Clark Kent, calling from Metropolis. Is Mr. Wayne in?.. Thanks... Bruce? It's Clark.. Fine, fine, yourself?.. Good... Oh, Lois is doing great. How's Dick?.. Good.. Um, listen, I've got myself into a jam here this evening and I was wondering if...." ***************** At precisely one minute before 7 p.m., Clark parked his rented car in front of Lois' apartment building, and walked up the steps, carrying the red rose for Lois and the requested bottle of wine. He had considered getting a fancy, expensive wine, maybe even champagne, but he had finally decided against it /don't want to encourage her in this double-date nonsense./ Having a car was something she had pestered him about for months "I *do not* get your fascination with public transportation," but he had always resisted "I've gotten some good leads riding the subway." But, for tonight, having a car to duck into and out of, and to drive off in to get things was going to be essential to the charade. He raised his hand, but the door opened before he could ring the bell. "Did I see you drive up in a car, Clark?" "Were you watching for me?" The thought pleased him immensely. "Well," she squirmed a little, flirtatiously, "yes, I was." She reached up and kissed him, and then rushed down the hall. "I wanna see your car!" "Ok." He shook his head, laughing. She had left her apartment door open, so he set the wine on the table and the rose across her plate, closed the door and followed her back down to the street. It occurred to him to feel relieved that he had hidden the cheese and Superman's daisies in a box in the floor of the back seat -- easy to reach, but not easy to spot. He needn't have worried. Lois was busy admiring the lines of the elegant black car. She looked up at him as he approached, her mouth gaping slightly in pleased amazement. "A Lincoln Town Car. How can *you* afford a Lincoln Town Car? *I* can't afford a Lincoln Town Car and I make more money than you do." "Well," he shrugged casually, "it's just for one night, so I figured I would splurge." "One night? It's a rental?" "Yeah, I figured after we get rid of Superman and your friend--" "Clark!" She slapped his arm. He continued, unperturbed, "-- we could go for a drive somewhere, look at the stars, maybe.. go.. run out of gas somewhere romantic.." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. "We could have gone in mine!" "Lois, it's hard to steam up the windows in a Jeep. With bucket seats? Please." "True. You are amazing, did you know that?" "I like to think so.." "And vain! Did I mention vain? Very vain!" She punched his shoulder, then cuddled up against him, unheedful of her neighbors' prying eyes. "Wow! If I had known a car would get you this turned on, I would have bought one two years ago! I should have bought this one! Maybe I should go buy it *right now* --" "Not a chance, Mister!" He had made a teasing move toward the car, but she pulled him back, drawing his head down for a kiss. After a moment she pulled away, leaving him aching for more. "Come on inside -- Lizi and Superman should be here any time, and I'll never hear the end of it if they catch us necking out on the sidewalk." "Yes, ma'am." He dutifully followed her inside. "Oh, Clark, a rose -- how beautiful! I saw you had something in your hands but --" "--but you were so *turned on* by my car that you barely even noticed. Great, the woman loves me for my car..." Lois ignored him. "And you got the wine, good -- Oh, I like this one." Clark immediately made a mental note to himself to remember that wine. "Did you bring the cheese? I've got a cutting board ready." "Cheese!" Clark made a big show of slapping himself on the forehead, Columbo-style. /Easy, Clark -- you don't want to be too obvious./ He rushed out the door, shouting over his shoulder, "I knew I was forgetting something! I'll be right back." "No, Clark, it's ok, it doesn't--" the door slammed "--matter. Why do I bother? The man is always running out on me. You'd think I could fall for someone who would stick around, but no-o-o--" Outside, she heard Clark's car door open, and then his voice floated up to her. "Hey, Superman! How's it going?" She rushed to the window, hearing the car start up and then roar away, as she scanned the sky. She craned her neck to look along the street -- "Looking for someone, Lois?" He had flown up from the other direction, having left the car a block away. "Superman! Yes, you! How are you?" "I'm fine." He hadn't really had a chance to look at her before, but now he had a moment to look, and found himself quite stunned by her beauty. She was wearing a short sleeved, creamy white cashmere sweater with a deep V neckline, and a short, dark brown skirt. Superman reminded himself to breathe (it worried her when he didn't), and said, "You look beautiful." Lois blushed and smiled. "Are those for me?" She indicated the flowers in his hand. "Yes! Of course. May I..?" It was his turn to gesture, and she stepped back from the window, flustered. "Sure, please." "I asked the girl at the flower shop what would be good flowers to give to a friend, and she suggested daisies -- " he floated into the room and handed them to her "-- something about yellow being the color of friendship in the language of flowers. And you've already got flowers.." He tried to sound a little disappointed. "They're beautiful, Superman, thank you! Yeah, Clark brought me a rose -- isn't he sweet? I'll just go put these in water." Just then the doorbell rang. "Oh, would you get that? It's probably Lizi." (continued in next email) ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 13:01:45 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: FANFIC RERUN: Merry-Go-Round 1/2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit MERRY-GO-ROUND - continued "Sure." He went the door, feeling like he was on another of those blind-dates-from-hell that people were always trying to set him up on, at least before he had started dating Lois. /You are on a blind date, idiot, with your girlfriend's not-best friend from high school, which she set you up on because she doesn't know you're.. well.. / He sighed, and opened the door, smiling uncomfortably. "Hi, you must be Lizi." "Well, you're definitely Superman." "Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Lizi..?" He held out his hand. "Lizi Lyons." She took his hand, with a flirtatious look that dared him to do something gallant, like kiss it. He didn't. "Aren't you going to tell him your middle name, Lizi?" Lois called from the kitchen. "Shut up, Lois." "You have a middle name?" Superman quirked an eyebrow, going along with Lois' teasing. "Private joke, Superman. I'm gonna get you for that, Lois Lane!" Since Superman didn't seem inclined to kiss her hand, she turned loose of his and wandered into the dining room. "Hmm. Lois Lane and Lizi Lyons. You must have been quite a pair in high school." "Yeah," said Lois, coming out of the kitchen with the daisies in a low vase which she set on the table. "We started our own L-club, just the two of us." She put Clark's rose in a bud vase, and set it on the highboy in the living room, between two lit candles. "Nice touch," Lizi approved. "Thanks." She opened the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. "I wonder what's keeping Clark. He should be back by now." That was the cue Superman had been waiting for. He knew how long it took for him to get from his apartment to Lois', but he wasn't sure how long she *expected* it to take him. He looked abruptly at the window, feigning intense concentration. "Oh, no." Lois said. "You've got to go?" Superman looked torn, swiveling his head between Lois and the window. "I hate to when I just got here, but I probably should go check that out." He held up his hands appeasingly. "I'll be right back. You.. go ahead and start without me." He waved a hand vaguely toward the table. He handed her his glass. "Go, go. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll get back." Surprisingly, this came from Lizi. She sipped her wine. He nodded, smiling gratefully, and flew out the window. "Very good, Lizi -- I think you just scored some points there." "High five, girlfriend -- I'm gonna reel him in tonight!" Lois reached up to tap her friend's hand, and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lizi drained her wineglass, and was refilling her it when Clark breezed in, cheese in hand. "Hi, hon, sorry it took so long." He kissed her cheek lightly, having already decided to avoid explanations as much as possible. He turned quickly to her friend and stuck out his hand. "You must be Lois' friend, Lizi." "And you must be Clark -- I've heard so much about you." Lizi gushed. "Don't believe a word she told you!" Clark grinned. "I shouldn't? What a shame! And she told me such nice things about you.." "Oh, I walked right into that one, didn't I?" Clark laughed. "So where's Superman? I saw him arriving when I left -- no, don't tell me -- he had to go fix something, didn't he?" "He'll be right back." Lois assured him. He put his arm around her, and turned to Lizi. "Are you sure you want to get involved with this guy? He's always pulling stunts like this, rushing off at the drop of a hat." Lois punched him playfully in the stomach. "Oh, you're a great one to talk." She waggled her hand, suddenly realizing it had hurt when she punched him. "I should stop doing that -- you've got the hardest stomach -- it's like punching a brick wall!" A slightly quizzical look appeared in her eyes, as if something was bothering her that she couldn't quite pin down. Clark quickly began rubbing his stomach where she had hit him. "Well, I certainly would appreciate you stopping. You're gonna make me lose my appetite!" "Wimp!" she teased. Clark put on his best mock-offended look. "Ah! Thanks a lot! I can just imagine what you might call me if you didn't -- I mean -- " "You mean, if I didn't just *love* you to pieces?" She pulled his head down for a quick kiss. /Gotta stop doing that, Lois. Don't want him to catch on too quickly. Mm, but he kisses so nice../ "Little telling what I'd call you." Lizi had wandered over to the window and was looking out, sipping her wine, giving Lois and Clark a little privacy as she scanned the sky for Superman. "Give it up, Lizi," Lois advised. "He'll *be* back when he *gets* back." Clark gave her an admiring glance. /I never knew she was so calm about all the times I had to rush out on her. Or maybe it's because this time I ran out on someone else./ "Anyway, he said not to wait on him, and there's little telling when he'll be back, so let's go ahead and eat." Lois gave Clark a little shove toward the table, and went to the window to draw Lizi away from it. "Come on." "Ok." Lizi looked at her glass. "I'm ready for a refill anyway." "Lizi! Go easy on that -- we've got all evening." "I know, I'm just a little nervous -- being around Superman and all." She drained the last bit and headed for the table. "You're doing fine, relax." But Lois watched her friend with growing concern. Lizi had always tended to come on strong, but tonight she seemed be going overboard -- even before that first glass of wine. Since they were going to watch a movie while they ate, Lois had decided to serve dinner buffet style. They had filled their plates, and were settling on the sofa when the phone rang. "Wonder who that is?" muttered Lois, as she set down her plate and went to answer it. "Hello?" "Hi, Lois!" A perky voice that always seemed to interrupt at the most inopportune moments. /I swear this kid's got a radar../ "Jimmy. Of course. What can I do for you?" "Actually, I need to talk to CK -- he said I could catch him there..?" "Did he. How thoughtful of him. Hold on." She turned to Clark, a look of mild annoyance on her face. "It's for you." As he walked toward her, she whispered, "Do you plan on telling Jimmy every time you're over here?" Clark shrugged sheepishly as he took the phone from her. "Hi, Jimmy." "You wanted me to call at 7:45. It is now 7:45--" Jimmy announced. Clark interrupted him. "You got it? Great!" "Huh?" Clark could hear the confusion in Jimmy's voice, but he pressed on with his make-believe conversation. "It's with who?" "Clark, what are you talking about?" He dropped his voice to a stage whisper. "Hmm.. So that means I gotta go get it right now, before he leaves town." "Hello, Clark. Earth to Clark. This is *Jimmy*. Who do you think you're talking to?" Clark sighed noisily. "Lois is gonna be mad--" Jimmy finally decided to just play along. "Absolutely furious, Clark, she'll probably never forgive you." "Yeah, well.. whatever." "My thoughts exactly," Jimmy agreed. "Thanks, Jimmy, I owe you one." "Uh-huh." Jimmy hung up the phone, and turned to his date. "One of these days, I may even find out what that was all about," he commented. At Lois' apartment, Clark hung up the phone and turned apologetically to the two women. He hadn't entirely thought this part of the plan through, so his mind was racing, trying flesh out the little he'd said on the phone into a believably vague excuse for rushing out. As a result, he completely missed Lois looking at him speculatively through narrowed eyes, a cornucopia of emotions flashing across her face /He's going to run out on me again, just like.. just like Superman! No.. can't be.. but.. yeah, it is him. Wow.. And I just set him up on a date with Lizi.. Oh, man, I've got to help get him out of this mess./ "Let me guess," she said, forcing a sarcastic edge onto her voice. "You've got to go." "Jimmy dug up a source for that story I've been working on.." She nodded. "And you have to go meet him, now." "He's fixing to leave town." "Can I come?" still nodding, as if she knew the answer. /Is it my imagination, or is she leading me through a script? Nah... you're overthinking things, Kent./ "No, he wants me to go alone. Besides you've got company." He gestured to Lizi. "And Superman will probably be back any moment.." "I'm sure he will." Something in her voice made him hesitate, and she shooed him toward the door. "Go. Go! Just.. don't forget to come back.." This time it was his turn to initiate the kiss, and he was pleasantly surprised at how warmly she returned it, all things considered. "Be careful, ok?" "I will -- this shouldn't take long." He hurried out the door at normal speed, moved the car down the block again, spun into the supersuit, and flew back to the window. /This is going to get old, really fast/ he thought grimly. /But at least I've got myself away for an indefinite time, and I'll just have to find some excuse to leave in a little while so I can come back. And I'm not even going to worry about how crazy that sounds!/ He flew through the window and landed lightly on the carpeted floor. Lizi apparently had just said something funny and was laughing loudly at her own joke, and Lois was laughing along, though not as heartily, and he couldn't quite keep all the acid out of his voice as he commented, "Well, I'm glad to see you ladies didn't miss me.." He glanced around the room. "Where's Clark? Isn't he back *yet*?" "He came back with the cheese -- you just missed him, and then he had to leave again--" she made an odd flying gesture with her hand /you're imagining things, Kent/ "to see a source about a story. So what was the deal with your..?" She gestured toward the window. "Oh, bank robbery--" which was true -- he had seen it from a distance. "--but it seems Batman is in town this evening, and he beat me to the punch." "Batman!!" Lizi exclaimed. "Ooh, I want to meet him! He is *so* hot!" She rushed over to the window, as if expecting to see Batman floating around outside, fanning her flushed cheek with her hand, almost dropping her refilled wineglass. Superman looked at her, disconcerted. "What, you got a superhero fetish or something?" "Or something," she agreed, apparently unaware of the sensation she was causing. She had apparently abandoned all pretense of sipping her wine -- she tilted up the glass and drained it. "Wouldn't it just be *amazing* if he came by here?" Superman tilted his head at Lois, widening his eyes slightly as if to say "Who is this person?!" Lois shrugged fractionally back at him, mouthing "I had no idea.." "Right," Superman said aloud. "Uh, maybe one of these days I can introduce you to him -- the next time he's in town.." "Oh, that would be *so* fantastic!" Lois smothered a giggle behind her hand. "Superman, why don't you take Clark's plate -- it's all fixed and he hadn't eaten anything off it yet." "That's fine." Superman picked up the plate and headed over to the sofa, hoping to sit next to Lois, but Lizi maneuvered them so that she sat in the middle of the sofa, between Superman and Lois. "So tell me," she cooed, batting her eyelashes at him, "what's it like, flying around like that all the time?" "Breezy." Superman was suddenly not in the mood to chat. He just wanted this evening to be over. "Breezy -- that's funny. I didn't know you had a sense of humor." "Oh, Superman can be a real riot when he wants to," Lois cut in smoothly. "Eat, Superman," she ordered, "you must be hungry after all that flying around. Now let's see, which movie do you want to watch first, Lizi? GOLDENEYE or MRS. DOUBTFIRE?" Superman almost choked on his cheese -- he hadn't seen Lois' selection in videos. "Oh, GOLDENEYE, definitely!" Lizi exclaimed. "I just love Pierce Brosnan!" Superman just barely managed to contain himself. /This woman is absolutely bizarre! How much wine has she had?/ At least Lois seemed to have understood how uncomfortable he was, and appeared to be helping him out. /Thank goodness for small miracles./ Maybe Lois hadn't seen this side of her friend. He settled back to watch the movie, and removed Lizi's hand from his thigh. A moment later it was back, and so he stood up and went back to the table to refill his plate, which wasn't actually empty yet. When he went back to the sofa, Lizi had moved a little closer to where he had been sitting, and he grabbed the opening it gave him. "I'm sorry -- I was crowding you on the sofa! I'll sit over here." He settled into the recliner and, ignoring Lizi's frustration and Lois' amusement, concentrated on the movie. At least, he tried to concentrate on the movie. Lizi scooted down the sofa as close as she could get to the recliner, and made goo-goo eyes at him for a while, which was amazingly distracting. Then she offered to take off his boots, "so you'll be more comfy!" and when he assured her that he was fine, she offered to get him more food. "Actually," he finally said in complete exasperation, "I've had enough, thanks. Lois, this was great, but I've got to.. um.." "Uh, go make your rounds, I know -- I'm so glad you came." /Is she going to push me out the window?!/ Superman had never seen Lois so cooperative about having him leave. "Uh, Ms. Lyons--" "Lizi, please!" "Right. Lizi. It was nice to meet you." He shook her outstretched hand, then turned to Lois. "I'll see you around." "Mmhmm. Goodnight." Lois moved close to him as he went to the window, and breathed in a voice only he could hear, "I'm so sorry -- I've never seen her like this before. I have no idea what's gotten into her." He smiled down at her. "It's ok. I'll see you." He leaped into the air. "Bye." Lois closed the window and turned back to Lizi. "Batman?!?" Lizi didn't seem to hear her. "He hated me." "I told you not to come on so strong -- what were you thinking?" Lois snatched the wineglass from Lizi's hand. "How much had you had before you came here?" "Just a couple of margaritas -- I feel like such an idiot!" "How appropriate." Lois shook her head in disgust. "You're not helping, Lois." "I'm not trying to! I am *totally* embarrassed -- he'll probably never come here again. I can't believe you!" She knew it wasn't true about Superman not coming back, but she was too angry with her friend to care. /You stick your neck out, you put a friend on the spot, and look what you get!/ "I'm sorry, Lois, I just lost my head. I should go." "I'll call you a cab." ****************** Superman knew that for Clark to show up again immediately after Superman left would be too much of a coincidence -- he was already stretching the bounds of the believable. And besides, he needed some time to cool off -- he was *so* aggravated at that woman. And not the kind of aggravation he had originally felt with Lois, which was underlaid with admiration and the stirrings of something more. No, this was the kind of aggravation that made him want to move to another planet, just get away from her. After a couple of leisurely turns around the continent, he was calmer, and headed back to Metropolis. He started toward Lois' house, but then a thought occurred to him, and he headed to a local easy listening radio station that advertised "the best mix of the seventies, eighties and today." A quick chat with the DJ was all it took to handle his business there, and he took to the air again. He slipped into his parked car and twisted quickly into his "Clark" clothes. He scanned Lois' apartment to see if Lizi was showing any signs of leaving, and was relieved to see Lois was alone, standing by the window. He smiled when he realized she was watching the street, not the sky. He pulled the car up to her apartment building and got out. To his surprise she met him at the door of the building, her jacket on, and the bottle of wine and two glasses in her hand. "Lois, where are you going?" "Out with you, I thought. You mentioned something about going somewhere to run out of gas...?" "What about Lizi and Superman?" "Gone. Him out the window, her out the door. They didn't hit it off." "What a shame." She looked at him oddly. "Uh-huh. Let's drive." He held the car door for her, then went around to the driver's side, grinning when he saw she had scooted across the seat to sit close to him. He started the engine, turned on the radio with volume turned low, setting it to the easy listening station, and then wrapped his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. "Lois? What's wrong?" "Nothing. I'm just feeling a little foolish." She started to say more, then seemed to think better of it. "Let's just drive, ok? I want to enjoy at least part of this evening, and this music is nice." She leaned down to turn up the volume. "Ok." He held her close as he steered the car out of Metropolis. The song on the radio ended, and a velvet, whispery voice that sent delightful shivers up Lois' spine said, {Continuous soft favorites on KKMJ, Majic 95.5. Love is in the air tonight. This is Stephen Michael Kerr and you're listening to Majic Love Songs and your love messages on the air. We'll get back to the Majic love line in just a moment, but right now we have a really special dedication: Superman brought this one around for his buddy, Clark Kent, a dedication going out to Clark's lady, Lois Lane. Lois, Clark wants you to know that he can 'Love You Like That.' This is All 4 One, 'I Can Love You Like That.'} Lois looked up at Clark, her eyes shining. "Oh, Clark!" She reached up to kiss his cheek, and cuddled back down against him to listen to the song. She knew the words, and sang along, very softly. "You like romantic movies, and you never will forget The way you felt when Romeo kissed Juliet. . . . I can love you like that I will make you my world Move heaven and earth If you were my girl." Lois smiled, almost in tears at the sweetness of the moment, as she felt Clark kiss her hair. "I am your girl," she whispered. "You know that." "I will give you my heart Be all that you need Show you you're everything That's precious to me If you'd give me the chance I could love you like that.." Earlier, Clark had found a picnic spot on the highway a few miles out of town, which would be deserted at this hour, where they could talk without being disturbed, far enough from the city lights so they could see the stars, and that's where he headed now. When they got there, he parked the car, and held the door for her to get out. From the trunk, he pulled one of his mother's quilts, which he spread on the ground. "Nice," commented Lois. "You came prepared. Do you run out gas here often?" "Only with you," he smiled back at her. He reached again into the car and pulled out a long, plastic-wrapped French baguette. "A loaf of bread.." Her eyes danced as she held up the bottle in her hand. ".. a jug of wine.. well, sort of.." ".. and thou," he completed softly. He leaned down to kiss her, and this time there were no prying neighbors' eyes, no dinner guests about to arrive, to make her pull away in embarrassment. Only the crunching of the bread being pressed between them. Lois pulled back and grinned impishly up at him. "So, big boy, is that a French roll, or are you just glad to see me?" Clark could hardly believe his ears. "Lo-is!" he laughed, amazed. "I can't believe you said that!" She was turning beet red, but laughing too. "I can't believe I did either." She set down the bottle and the wine glasses on the quilt, took the bread from his hands and put it down as well, and drew him back into her embrace. He wrapped his arms around her waist, as she twined her fingers into his hair and her mouth found his. She smiled against his mouth. "Now I know you're glad to see me." With a groan, he pulled a little away from her, although he didn't turn her loose, and took a deep breath to try to calm himself. She didn't protest, just watched him expectantly. "Lois, before this goes any further, we've got to talk." He took off his glasses, trying to figure out how to say what he knew had to come next. She smiled up at him for a moment, her soft hand stoking his cheek. "Don't worry, Superman," she whispered, pulling his head down to kiss his eyes. "I don't intend to set you up on any more dates that aren't with *me*!" fade to black ==================================================== "(i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses) nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands" e.e. cummings "somewhere i have never travelled" ==================================================== Come read my fanfic! and link to Season 5 - The Adventures Continue... A FoLC Named Peace - http://members.aol.com/PEverett9/peace.html Kal-El: "My heart is waiting for me back on Earth. Lois is my heart. I was an outsider there.. incomplete.. until I met her." τΏτ [No, I can't claim this little face, although I'm *quite* taken with it -- I found it in someone else's note! Is that cute or what?!?] ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 13:47:27 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Peace Everett Subject: My FANFIC RERUN MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Boy, do I feel silly! I just got back what at first glance appear to be two copies of part one of my story, but when I looked at them I discovered that they are parts one and two, just with the same subject line (block and copy the subject line, Peace, but ya gotta remember to *change* the number!) Sorry about that! If I get a number of people saying they deleted one or the other of the parts, I will repost to the list (I'm not going to try to send out individual copies -- I just don't have that kind of time this week.) Failing all else, the story is available on my web page - URL below. Peace Come read my fanfic! and link to Season 5 - The Adventures Continue... A FoLC Named Peace - http://members.aol.com/PEverett9/peace.html Kal-El: "My heart is waiting for me back on Earth. Lois is my heart. I was an outsider there.. incomplete.. until I met her." τΏτ [No, I can't claim this little face, although I'm *quite* taken with it -- I found it in someone else's note! Is that cute or what?!?] ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 22:53:49 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Comments: RFC822 error: Incorrect or incomplete address field found and ignored. From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Fanfic Rerun: SEEING IS BELIEVING MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 In honor of the reruns on TNT, a little classic fanfic.... SEEING IS BELIEVING by Pam Jernigan = (75540.2554@CompuServe.com) = Continuity: I suppose, strictly speaking, this would have to happen sometime during "WE HAVE A LOT TO TALK ABOUT", but it hasn't much of a plot, so I don't think it'll matter. Dan Scardino hummed a cheery tune as he entered the Daily Planet lobby and pushed a button to summon the elevator. It had been over a week since Lois had told him that she didn't want to see him anymore. He'd believed her at first, too, but a little reflection had convinced him that she just needed some persuasion. She'd been angry over that undercover operation, but by now he figured she'd be over that, and missing him. After all, she had changed her mind about not dating him once before, and Daniel Scardino did not give up easily. He also refused to believe that she could have anything going with Kent, no matter what she said. A woman like Lois needed more of a man of action. *** In the newsroom, an argument was building. "Clark, why don't you want to check out this Harris character?" Lois was exasperated enough to overcome the polite facade she'd been maintaining. Ever since she'd refused his proposal, claiming a need to think about things, things had been cool between them; maybe this discussion would heat them back up to normal. She hoped so. She did love him, they just had a few issues to work out before she could agree to marry him. "Because he doesn't know anything, Lois," Clark explained with his best are-you-being-difficult-just-to-annoy- me expression. "He was nowhere near the crime scene; he's just trying to get attention." Lois threw up her hands, getting into the swing of the game. Heads around the newsroom were starting to turn. = She didn't care; she was too glad to be getting back on familiar ground with Clark. Anything was better than pretending they barely knew one another. They couldn't work things out if they were barely on speaking terms. If he were relaxed enough to argue with her, though, she'd take that as a good sign. "How do you know that unless we talk to him, Clark?" she countered in a come-on,-work-with-me-here tone of voice, with a pained expression to match. Belatedly, she realized that he might, indeed, know what he was talking about if he'd been there as Superman... Clark saw doubt flicker on her face and barely suppressed a grin. It did feel good to relax this much around her, to get things back to normal. She sensed the grin he was hiding and unsuccessfully attempted a glare. He looked away hastily, before the grin could erupt into a chuckle. And saw "Please, call me Daniel" Scardino standing near the elevator, watching Lois with a self-absorbed smile. Clark closed his eyes and counted to ten. He did *not* want to deal with his former rival, not while things were still unsettled between him and Lois. He turned back to her. "All right, if you want to, we'll go talk to Harris." Anything to get her out of the building and away from Inspector Gadget. Lois looked at him suspiciously. She'd glimpsed Dan earlier, and had been trying to think of a way to avoid him gracefully. Apparently Clark had the same goal in mind - but why? He wasn't still worried about competition, was he? Clark shrugged a response to her inquiring look. "It'll get us out into the sunshine." "Oh. Well, okay then. Let me get some things together here, and I'll be ready to go." She sat down at her desk and started throwing open drawers. Scardino started walking down the ramp. Clark bristled, and headed to intercept him. "I'll meet you at the elevator, okay?" Lois turned in time to see him walking away. "Even when I know why he does that it's annoying," she muttered under her breath. Clark met Scardino at the bottom of the ramp. As inconspicuously as he could, Clark grabbed the other man's arm just above the elbow and forced him to turn around, heading them both up the ramp. Scardino, surprised at this atypical behavior, acquiesced. "Hello there, Kent. So, you've managed to get Lois upset already." He shook his head in false sympathy. "I'd be careful if I were you, she's wicked with a plunger." Clark didn't understand the plumbing reference, but he didn't let it slow him down. "You're the one that needs to be careful, Scardino; especially around stairs, wasn't it?" He stabbed at the elevator call button, not releasing his grip on the DEA agent's arm. = "Wait a minute here, Kent, I have a right to talk to Lois." "She doesn't want to see you." I hope, Clark added mentally. "So let her tell me that." Scardino smiled, full of confidence. *** Lois took advantage of their distraction to watch the encounter between Clark and Dan. Why was Dan here, anyway? Hadn't she been clear enough last week? On the other hand, when had he ever listened to her? He seemed to plow ahead with his agenda regardless of her wishes. She'd initially seen that as flattering, but recognized it now as arrogance, or selfishness at best. Not very appealing, especially compared to Clark's sweet insecurity. My, but Clark didn't seem too insecure now, did he... still, she decided to go back him up. They were too engrossed in locking horns to notice her walking up the ramp. As she reached the top of the ramp, the elevator pinged softly, and the doors opened. Kent hustled Scardino into the elevator. Scardino, surprised by the strength of the grip on his arm, didn't resist. = They stood on opposite sides of the elevator car, glaring at one another. Scardino told himself that a mere reporter couldn't keep him away forever, and the mere fact that he would try seemed to indicate that things were not all wine and roses between him and his partner. He was confident that he'd have his chance later. Lois had to hurry to make it into the elevator. From her angle of approach, she could only see Clark, and a plan of action sprang full-blown to mind - a way to reassure Clark and give Dan a little object lesson. She ducked in between the closing doors, flashing Clark a wicked grin. Without giving either of the men a chance to say anything, she launched herself at Clark, pinning him to the elevator wall, and raised her face to initiate a very long, thorough kiss. She ran her hands over his hair and shoulders, and after a moment, felt his arms encircle her tightly. She gloried in the feel of his soft lips, his warmly solid chest, his thighs against hers, and completely forgot their audience. Scardino, ignored, watched in amazement. Five minutes ago they were arguing, and now this? His plans to get her back died a quick and painful death. He still didn't understand what she saw in Kent, but there was obviously something going on. Seeing *was* believing. The elevator reached the ground floor, and opened its doors with a muted ping. Lois pulled away from Clark and took a moment to reoxygenate. Turning to leave the elevator, she saw Dan, and managed to act surprised. "Dan! = I didn't even know you were there!" Clark, grinning like a cat with canary on its breath, knew her well enough to know she was lying, but Scardino didn't have that advantage. They exited the elevator, and Clark reached for Lois's hand. Dan was trying furiously to come up with a good excuse for being there. "Oh, well, I was just visiting..." inspiration struck "to say goodbye. I'm going to head back down to Washington soon." His section chief would be interested to hear that, but he knew it could be arranged. Lois tried for a neutral expression. "Well, good luck, then." She stopped walking, and tugged slightly on Clark's hand to stop his progress across the lobby. "Thank you. Uh, good luck to you, too." Dan would have liked to kiss her goodbye, but one glance at Kent convinced him not to try. He turned and walked out, completely routed. After he was safely out on the street, Lois peeked up at Clark. When he met her gaze they both began laughing. = "I think we took care of him, partner," she said, pleased. "So, tell me - did you really want to go talk to Harris?" Clark studied her face, and smiled. "Not really." "So then we should go back upstairs," she prompted, eyes twinkling. His smile broadened. "You want to take the stairs?" "No. I think I like the elevator." As the elevator doors closed, the security guard saw the Daily Planet's two top reporters converge once more. ---- (Inspired by a dream after the rerun of Resurrection; Scardino got off *way* too easily in WWW) = !^NavFont02F1B120006MGHHbZ1556 E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 23-Oct-1997 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ Unreformed, unrepentent, sometimes unproductive but never uninteresting fanfic writer = Visit Sarah & Pam's Shrine o'Fanfic at: http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/2501 ~~~~~ Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/mothership/60/season5.htm ~~~~~ "The first thing she said to me was 'Herbie, get me to the Planet.' Naturally, I wondered which planet..." "Ah, Constable, you've returned. Upon reflection, I imagine this pleases= me." <-- Due South is back! :-) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 00:02:29 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: Fanfic Rerun: SEEING IS BELIEVING In-Reply-To: <199710232254_MC2-24F3-DC90@compuserve.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Pam, Thanks for reposting this one. I've always liked this one a lot. (Big surprise, I like all your stuff. ) >(Inspired by a dream after the rerun of Resurrection; >Scardino got off *way* too easily in WWW) Well, nice to know that I'm not the only one that gets fic inspriation from L&C dreams. :) Kathy ______________________ Kathy Brown kbrown@toolcity.net KathyB on IRC ______________________ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 14:02:02 +1000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jenny Stosser Subject: Fanfic Rerun: ...the Chicken or the Egg In-Reply-To: <199710232254_MC2-24F3-DC90@compuserve.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I have no idea if anyone here has NOT seen this story, but I think given where TNT is up to in the reruns, now would be an appropriate time to rerun it. ************** Author's notes: =20 This is a revelation story with a difference. It came out of a lot of discussion on an idea I had and discussed with quite a few people on IRC. Dedications: To all my friends on IRC who have helped me out with this work, thanks so much... I won't try to give credit to everyone, because so many people have helped with this, giving me constructive criticism on my first attempt at writing L&C fanfic on my own (sort of), that I've forgotten who suggested what. I hope that everyone enjoys this story as much as I've enjoyed working on it. The only exception I would like to make about giving credit is with regard to the scene at the TV Studio, written by Tracey Barlow (barlow@ozramp.net.au). Disclaimers:=20 Insert the regular disclaimer here about who owns what characters. It is not my intention to infringe on any copyrights owned by anyone. No-one is going to make any money out of this story, so if you are thinking of suing me, don't waste your time. Obviously, no-one *owns* Dean, Teri or the rest of the cast and crew, and I hope that what I've written isn't too, too different to how they would react if this really did happen to them! I don't actually know much about their private lives, so I've had to make up quite a bit. If you dislike those aspects of this story, pretend it isn't our world that I'm referring to, but an alternate one very similar. Oh, and you might find the ending a bit familiar .. . Words in *asterisks* are emphasised. Words in 'single quotes' are thoughts. Words in "double quotes" are spoken. Any comments (nice ones only, please!) to jenerate@ozramp.net.au Now sit back and enjoy as we wonder, which came first... ...the Chicken or the Egg? By Jenny Stosser Prologue One Clark sat dejectedly on the top of the highest pylon on the Metropolis Bridge. He didn't know what his next move should be, and he hated not knowing what the next step of a plan was. He knew what it ought to be... he had tried (Lord knew how hard he had tried!) to tell Lois who he was; to tell her his greatest secret. But it was so ingrained in him to keep the secret that every time, just as he was about to tell her all, his senses would kick in and he'd become aware of an emergency, giving his subconscious an "out". Of course, that didn't make things any better at all between him and Lois. It really made things worse, because every time he had to deal with an emergency, he had to give another of those lousy excuses. And as the excuses got worse, and Lois got more suspicious of him, he could see the future of their relationship going down the gurgler. Clark realised that he had to come to a decision. He had to grab the future he wanted with both hands and not let it go. He would go down there to her apartment *now* and tell her. It didn't matter that it was the middle of the night. It didn't even matter that she had almost died facing that Mazik character. In fact, that lent even more force to his decision. All that mattered was getting his secret out into the open. He stood up and stepped off the pylon into midair, when suddenly the air shimmered in front of him. As if a fog had suddenly swept in from somewhere, the air before Clark misted over, and he could almost see a person standing there beside him. And a panicky person at that. Clark instinctively reached out and offered a hand to help the man, but no-one was more surprised than he, when the man reached through the fog and grabbed the offered hand! "You have to help us, Superman!" Forgetting everything he had been about to do, he switched into "Superman mode" and asked the bearded man what the problem was. "There's a bomb! They said it was hidden in the school, but no-one has been able to find it, and the deadline is coming closer! You have to help us find it! No-one on our world can help us!" "Hang on, slow down a moment, Sir!" Superman had understood that there was an emergency, but was confused by the man's reference to 'our world'. "Take a deep breath," he instructed. The man paused, and straightened his suit jacket, but ignored the fact that they were both floating so far above the bay. "Superman," he began again, "I really hope you are able to believe me. I'm a scientist of sorts. I'm from another dimension. It is a place very similar to Earth, with a very similar history to here, but for one major difference; You don't exist there. In fact, over there, Superman is only a myth." "So how did you manage to get here? How did you even manage to hear of= here?" Sounding exasperated, the man sighed, "We don't have much time Superman, the deadline for that bomb is getting closer! Don't you think I should explain this to you after you come back with me?" Quickly weighing up his options, Superman made a decision. If the only problem was to disarm a bomb in order to save some children, and if it was a quick trip, he should be able to be back home later tonight, which meant he should still be able to get down to business with Lois, telling her the truth. "OK, Sir, just how do we go about crossing over to your world, then?" "My machine is just behind me in the temporal rift. Come back through it with me, and we'll be there in no time at all." Taking him by the arm again, the man led Superman into the fog. As they moved deeper into it, he began to perceive an odd looking machine. More than anything else, Clark was reminded of the machine used in George Pal's 1950s movie The Time Machine. It looked intricate in the way of machines from the dawn of the industrial age, all brass, and polished wood. The machine sat atop a detailed Persian rug on a platform, floating, as were Superman and the scientist. It had two cane seats, and in front of one of the seats, as in a car, was a dashboard with controls on it. The scientist took the seat in front of the controls, indicating that Superman should take the other seat. =20 Clark watched as the man fiddled with the dials and vacuum tubes before him. Suddenly the world went monochrome around them, before becoming so blindingly bright that even Clark squinted his eyes shut. Clark felt himself turning inside out and back again, and even found himself wondering whether this was what it felt like to want to throw up, when just as suddenly the world came back into focus. At the same time as his eyes began to re-focus, so did Clark's brain. As if a light had clicked on in his brain, he suddenly remembered where he had met this man before. He remembered everything that had happened with himself and Lois and HG Wells, and realised that this man was not the scientist he purported to be. "There is no bomb, is there, Tempus?" Clark queried his kidnapper woozily. Tempus had seen the lights come on, but he was aware of how Clark's mind would be inclined to wander as a result of the trip, as his brain tried to accommodate to the change of universes, and, landing the so-called "time machine", he spoke again to Clark. "Well, I see that a long explanation isn't really necessary. What *is* true - well, to some extent anyway, is that I could call myself a sort of scientist! I'm experimenting=97with you! You see, I wanted to see what woul= d happen to you in a world where no-one believes in superheroes in real life, only in fiction. You're not really a Superman here, but you play one on television." Clark was mainly aware of the world fading in and out, and of the difficulty he was having staying conscious - or was that "sane"? Tempus caught Clark's attention by dint of grabbing his face and forcing Clark to look into his eyes. "Watch the video!" Tempus instructed, and then he turned and vanished back into the mist surrounding the time machine, as the air reverberated around= it. Clark was very disoriented, and wished he had been able to sort out his brain enough to ask a few more questions, but Tempus was gone and it didn't look like he'd be back for a while. But, trying to make the best of a bad situation, Clark searched the well-appointed residence he'd been "dropped into", and quickly found the video recorder to which Tempus must have been referring. There were two tapes sitting there, but no indication as to which he should watch first. He took one and found it was marked "The Pilot", with his own S-Shield on it, and, realising it was the longer of the two tapes, chose to leave watching it until later. Inserting the other tape into the recorder, he pressed Play, and levitated into a comfortable position to watch it. It was a very brief tape: Tempus got right down to basics. =20 "You are an actor, playing Clark Kent now," he said. "You should find it easy enough to be yourself for the cameras!" 'I don't even know the name of the actor!' Clark was beginning to feel a little panicky about this whole situation. Maybe he shouldn't have done this without thinking it through first! "For more information watch the other video. You will note the similarity in looks between yourself and this world's version of Superman. This is because *I* picked him for the part of playing you on this world! On my previous trip, I -ahem- arranged for him to take your place in your home universe. =20 "A word of warning: Even *you* should be able to figure out what people would think if you tried to tell them who you are and where you're from." Tempus wrapped his arms around himself and mimed being in a strait-jacket, sticking his tongue out. Clark could just imagine Tempus drooling slightly. "Now, I'm going to let you make your own way here. You have one night to recover from the effects of your trip, and tomorrow morning, you'll be picked up to go to the studio for another day's filming. Have an interesting - er - experience! I'll *try* to be back for you in three= days." Prologue Two "Hey!" One of the crew members caught Dean's attention as he walked off the set, "Lane Davies is hanging around waiting to see you. Said it was something private he needed to talk to you about." At the end of a long day of filming, Dean was dying to get out of the costume, but he supposed he should just go see what Lane wanted before heading back to his trailer to get changed. He could see Lane waiting in the lee of the trailer anyway. "Yeah? Some of those Krypton FanClub people mentioned that you would be back on the set for an new episode... what can I do for you?" "Dean! You'll never believe what I found in the storage rooms! You have just got to see this!" Dean looked, and said, "Yeah? So? Its the time machine from your first episode? What about it?" "Dean, sit down, take a load off, I can see you're tired after today's filming. Here, lemme show you what I discovered about this machine! It does the most amazing things!" "Really?" Dean watched in interest as Lane fiddled with the buttons and knobs on the dash of the machine. "Woah!" Dean suddenly felt himself turning inside out and back again, and almost wanted to throw up, when just as suddenly the world came back into focus. Dizzily he asked, "What was that?" "Um, Dean, I have some bad news for you." Groggily he looked up at the man who sat beside him, "Do I really want to know, Lane?" "Dean, I'm not Lane Davies. I'm Tempus, and you are in MY world now. Guess what, Superman?" And with a snide grin on his face, he concluded, "You're Superman!"=20 With that, the devil in a stylish suit stepped off the time machine and sauntered whistling down the street, leaving Dean, all alone in a strange world. Chapter One Dean Cain is an intelligent man. While this whole affair had a dream-like quality to it (who would believe this anyway?) the buildings around him looked too solid to be a trick played by cast or crew members. And anyway, practical jokes were Dean's department, no-one else's! As soon as he had realised that Tempus was for real, and that he had been left in a predicament, he realised a number of things. First, he was stranded, in a Superman suit, presumably in a place where people would identify him as Superman, not as someone who pretended to be him. Also, as far as he could tell, things were happening in a sequential order, unlike the way his dreams usually occurred. He had *no* idea how this had happened, but whether or not it *was* a dream, he figured he'd better let it play itself out to completion. Second, he *wasn't* Superman, so he wouldn't be able to do the things expected of Superman. Third, he needed someone to help him acclimatise to this place, especially if he was stranded here indefinitely. And fourth, he needed to figure out how to get home. 'Actually,' he thought, 'that last one shouldn't be too difficult. After all, Tempus has left me with the machine. Now all I need to do is figure out how to use it to get back home again. He worked those controls, and I'm sure I can figure out how to work them too, but I may need some help to work out what *not* to do! I wonder whether this place works according to scripts I've already seen and played? Or whether it is totally different?' As he worked through these thoughts, Dean was carefully hiding the time machine in the alleyway in which he and Tempus had arrived, so that he would be able to return to it once he had figured out how to get back home. By the time he had finished camouflaging the machine with garbage, his mind had turned to his next requirement. He needed to find someone to help him figure out this place. =20 'Well, I guess I have a few choices. First up, I think would have to be Martha and Jonathon Kent, except that they probably aren't here in Metropolis, and I can't exactly fly to Kansas. Next best might be that Dr Klein at STAR Labs. How am I supposed to get in touch with him? I have no idea! Which leaves me with Lois. Well, in a place the size of Metropolis, surely anyone can point out The Daily Planet to me?' Supposing that he couldn't spend the rest of his enforced stay in Metropolis in the alleyway, and that he didn't really want to anyway, Dean decided that it was time to venture out into the open. Much to his surprise, as he looked around, trying to get his bearings, he found that he had been set down in the alley way right behind the newspaper. At the sight of the Daily Planet building, Dean was hit once again by just how real this whole dream felt. But it couldn't be a dream... or could it? It *had* to be... 'Well, that was easy enough,' he thought. 'Maybe this is all some sort of elaborate hoax,' he wished to himself, walking into the front lobby of the building. But that hope was dashed when he entered the city room, and everyone looked at him with the belief in who he was supposed to be obvious in their eyes. "Hey! Superman! What can I do for you, my man?" A familiar voice penetrated his thoughts. =20 "Jus- er , Jimmy! Hi." Dean wondered momentarily whether Jimmy Olsen would be able to help him out, but decided against it. Lois would be a better bet, as she could help him to disguise himself as Clark Kent instead of Superman. "Um, do you know where I can find Lois today, Jimmy? I have something I need to discuss with her." "Lois?" Jimmy was obviously puzzled. "Perry told her to take the day off, Superman. I thought you knew! After she helped you and CK and his parents out with those blackmailers, she took the rest of the week off to recover." Conspiratorially, Jimmy led Dean into the Conference Room, and leaned closer to Superman, then added, "I'm glad you managed to stop that guy Mazik, Superman! I really hated to see Clark in such pain!" Dean was very surprised, but realised that Lois (and the rest of this world) must have just been through what, to him, was the second season finale of Lois & Clark! 'Great!' He thought to himself, 'Lois already knows that Clark is Superman. That will make my "stay" a lot easier!' "Um, Jimmy, this is going to sound a bit weird, but can you do me a favour? And not tell the world?" =20 Jimmy nodded assent. "Sure Superman, anything I can do for you, you know I will!" "Um, see this suit? Well, it doesn't exactly have pockets. I need to borrow some money from you. Um, say twenty bucks? I can't tell you what it's for. But I'll make sure that you get the money back as soon as I can." Jimmy looked at Dean strangely, but figuring that Superman must need it, he took out his wallet and gave Superman the cash. "Thanks Jimmy. You really are a great pal. OK, I have to go now. I guess I'll see you 'round!" Dean headed back toward the elevator, not noticing the look he got from Jimmy when he didn't leave via the window. Once outside the Planet again, Dean was about to hail a cab to take him to 348 Hyperion Avenue, to see Lois. But he remembered in time that Lois wasn't married to Clark yet, and looked up her address at the nearest public phone booth (this gained him some more odd looks from passers-by). Then Dean hailed a cab and gave the driver Lois' address. Chapter Two (Meanwhile back in the real world...) Clark understood that if what Tempus had told him about this world was true, he couldn't go around in his Superman suit. For one thing, he would probably be laughed out of any establishment he chose to enter. He found that he was frightened at the thought of facing a world like this, and subconciously chose to "distance" himself from his situation. He ejected the Tempus' video and inserted the one with his shield on it and sat back to see what it was all about, and soon became totally enthralled in seeing his own story on screen. How well he remembered his first day at The Planet! How well he remembered his first meeting with Lois! How well he remembered how he had felt wearing his suit for the first time! And how it had felt for Lois to actually notice him! How poorly they had cast Jimmy! This guy didn't look a bit like the Jimmy he knew. And yet... and yet, it was amazing how everyone else looked so right.=20 At the end of the episode, Clark watched carefully and noted the names of the actors, because he knew from what Tempus had said about the next day's schedule that he would need to know these peoples' names. So *he* was supposed to be Dean Cain, and Lois was Teri Hatcher? He was sure he had seen that name somewhere ... That's it! Those magazines under the videos! "I was Teri Hatcher's first husband!" Tabloid fare, obviously, but then, possibly a way for Clark to learn more about his "co-star"? As he read the article, he realised that he had been right. This National Enquirer was this world's equivalent of his own's National Inquisitor. It was hard to tell which was the worse publication. But at least he learned a little of what to expect of Ms Hatcher. At the back of the magazine, in the "Hot Gossip" section, he even found a reference to Mr Cain. Apparently he was quite popular with women, and was going through young movie stars at quite a rate. Clark didn't know whether to like his doppleganger or not. But there were no photos of him, only of Ms Hatcher in that edition of the magazine. Looking around the house he was in, Clark was very impressed, and found himself wishing that *he* made that sort of money. Dean Cain appeared to be more laid-back than Clark was: obviously someone who enjoyed good food, and the perhaps-more-than-occasional beer. The place was a bit of a mess; but then, Clark realised, he wouldn't have had super-speed to dash around and clean up as quickly as Clark himself often did. =20 Clark was concerned at first that he didn't have his glasses with him, and that everyone would recognise him immediately as Superman, until he recalled that in this universe, no-one believed in Superman or even in aliens from other planets. (His own planet had had experience with aliens other than himself, so they had no reason not to believe. But from what Tempus had said, it was entirely possible that in this universe, Earth *was* the only inhabited planet!) It was unlikely that he would need glasses, Clark realised, when he came across some photographs of the actor (*not* framed and on the mantlepiece, he was glad to note, which implied that the actor wasn't in love with himself alone) and he was amazed to learn that he and the actor truly did look exactly alike - without glasses. At first, Clark wasn't sure, but then it occurred to him to hold the photos up to the mirror and compare the view with the reflected image of himself. He wondered again about Tempus' comment about Dean being chosen by Tempus to play the part , and he wondered whether that was true, or whether it was just Tempus' ego talking there. At any rate, as far as Clark could tell, he and Dean Cain almost could have *been* the same person, had it not been for Clark's super powers! =20 He quickly found a wardrobe and changed into some of the clothes there, noting a few things about this person he was supposed to be: first, he didn't have the same dress sense as Clark himself, and second, despite that, the clothes fit him perfectly, yet another confirmation of the similarities between two people from two different universes. =20 But he couldn't find a single interesting tie in the whole wardrobe! =20 Dean wondered how many other things were different or similar about them. And he became concerned that it would be difficult to pretend to be someone who, although he might look exactly like him, might have totally different views on the world and life in general. Shortly after changing into Dean's clothes, Clark became aware of the sound of dogs barking. Looking around the house quickly, he realised that there were three dogs in the backyard, all barking wildly. =20 "Uh-oh," he thought. "They must belong to Dean." Clark knew that if he was to fit in and *be* the actor for even a few days, he would need to make himself known to the dogs, so that they wouldn't give his secret away to any visitors who might come calling. So he headed out to them to introduce himself. Once again, he was surprised by how well he seemed to be fitting into this world, when the three dogs took to him quite happily. Clark wondered whether even his scent actually matched that of Dean Cain? He brought the dogs inside and fed them, then settled down in the living room. Clark had realised that he knew next to nothing about this world that he was supposed to fit into, but being the journalist that he was, he figured the best way to find out quickly about this world, without revealing who he was to the world, was to watch LNN news. At first he was confused when he couldn't find that station, but it slowly dawned on him, as he settled down to watch *C*NN news that if there was no Superman native to this universe, perhaps there was no Luthor empire either!= =20 Wondering what other differences he would stumble across, Clark made himself comfortable again, floating mid air before the TV, and settled in for the evening. The next thing Clark knew, the doorbell was ringing stridently, and he fell to the floor in surprise. =20 'Well, Tempus did say I'd be picked up to get to the studio tomorr- er, today. Wonder who my lift is?' Muzzily scrubbing at his face, he headed down to the front door, and opened it to...=20 "Lois?! You've cut=97" Suddenly realising his mistake, Clark realised that this must be the actress *playing* Lois for the show, and that she had cut her hair! "Dean! I said seven, and I thought you'd be ready. I'm only doing this as favour to you since you smashed your car - again! You knew we were starting late today, but I really thought ...!" Backing away from the door, mumbling that he'd be ready in a few moments, he headed for the bathroom. Suddenly he realised that just because he knew the name of the guy he was supposed to be, didn't mean he knew anything else about this job he was supposed to be filling. Leaving the house so fast that no-one would see him, he grabbed a few more tabloid magazines from the first newsstand he could find and headed back to the house again. One of the advantages of being Superman was that he was able to speed read the magazines while showering and shaving, and he quickly learned that the woman who looked so much like Lois had the most downloaded image on the Internet. He was shocked to find a copy of the picture in one of the magazines: she was wearing nothing but *his* cape! Still, maybe she would be a good confidante, if only he could figure out how to tell her. 'Geez,' thought Clark with irony as he quickly dressed for work. 'First I have to figure out how to tell Lois who I am; and now I have to figure out how to tell Ms Teri Hatcher not only who I am, but make her believe it too!' Only a few minutes had passed when Clark emerged from the bathroom, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, to find Teri still standing in the front doorway. She obviously appreciated the way he was dressed, from the way her eyes surreptitiously travelled up and down his body. Clark was taken back to the first time Lois had arrived at his apartment to pick him up, shortly after he had arrived in Metropolis, and had found him just out of the shower. Even her words were similar, only that time she had stumbled over the "nine o'clock" ... Chapter Three Luckily for Dean, although the cab driver looked questioningly at Superman needing a lift to Lois' apartment, he easily accepted his explanation that he was a double for Superman, and had been doing some publicity shots at the Daily Planet. Unfortunately, he was also a talkative cabbie and he insisted on "reminding" Dean" of the time when he had been rescued from the traffic jam to end all traffic jams, by clearing the streets only a few weeks ago. Upon accepting the fare (which left little change out of Jimmy's twenty dollars), he left Dean with some sage advice: if he was going to be trying to double for Superman, he really needed to be up to date on Superman's latest feats, otherwise even his vaguely similar looks wouldn't help him out! Unsure when he would next get to his gym to do a workout, Dean chose to climb the stairs to Lois' fifth floor apartment instead. He chuckled to himself, as he climbed the stairs, that the cabbie thought he only looked vaguely similar to Superman; Dean also wondered whether he really did look all that similar to the character he portrayed on a daily basis. 'Not to worry, I'm sure Lois will be able to tell me if I'm doing anything wrong here,' he thought as a knocked on the door. There was a pause and then he heard Lois move slowly to the door. "Who is it?" she called. "It's - ah," quickly Dean thought, 'well, she knows anyway, and Clark is supposed to want her to treat him as Clark rather than Superman.' "Lois, it's me. I just wanted to check up on you." Dean heard the multiple locks on the door being opened, and then, standing before him, looking *very* surprised to see him, was Lois Lane! "Cla - Superman?? Wh - I mean, I thought - er, hang on a moment, I thought Clark was here? I thought I heard his voice at the door? And why are you at the door, instead of the window? What's going on here?" 'Oh no!' Dean thought. 'I misjudged! She doesn't know yet and now I've let the cat out of the bag! HELP!' Lois had opened the door wide enough for Dean to get into the room, so he took advantage of that to get in quickly and close the door before Lois' babbling let the whole world in on the secret. By then, Lois had begun to think of explanations for what she had just learned.=20 "Wait, it's kryptonite again isn't it? You've lost your powers and come to me for help? Superman? Or maybe somehow you've switched bodies with Clark and you've come to me for help? But why would you do that? And how is that possible? It couldn't be that..." "Lois." Dean tried to interject into her babble. "Lois!" He tried again to get her attention. Having made an enormous blunder, Dean realised that to stop himself from making any more he would need help. He had to make the best of a bad situation and enlist Lois' help until he could figure out the machine and get out of here! "LOIS! Stop!" Lois closed her mouth quite abruptly and looked at Dean, surprised that Superman would raise his voice at her (or was it Clark who was shouting? - at any rate, neither of them usually did that! she babbled to herself,) and gestured towards the sofa, indicating that her guest (whoever he was) should take a seat. Dean, in the meantime, was trying to figure out how to explain the situation he was in to Lois, which gave the woman a moment to take a breath and stand up again, head for the kitchen, and offer to make a drink. "Lois," began Dean tentatively. "I'm not who you think I am. No matter what you think, I'm not Superman. And, I apologise, but despite what you thought you heard through at your door, I'm not Clark Kent either. I hope you will hear me out though, and help me too. I really didn't know who else to turn to. "But... you sounded - you *do* sound like Clark. And you look so much like Superman? What is going on?" "I know you and Clark have been through quite a lot in the last few days. I know, you're wondering how I could possibly know. Wait, and I'll try to explain as best I can. Tell me, did Clark mention anything in the past few days about a diary? One the blackmailer had?" "How did you know about the blackmailer? No-one knew about that except me!" "Wait, Lois... I'm trying to tell you, but I also don't quite know where to start. Um, let me try again. Has Superman ever mentioned someone called Tempus to you? Have you ever met HG Wells?" "No, and no. That's ridiculous! How could I possibly have met HG Wells? Time travel? Ha!... wait a moment though, Tempus, that name sounds familiar. Well, of course, it *does* have to do with time travel doesn't it? I'm getting the weirdest sense of deja vu here...=20 "Hang on a moment, Mister. If you aren't Superman, then who are you? What am I supposed to call you?" Dean realised that he was so used to being well-known that he had forgotten to introduce himself to the beautiful woman before him! He told her his name, then began again, trying to explain. "Let me start again. You may not believe this - hell, I don't think *I* believe this! - I'm an actor. I play the part of Superman in a TV show. I know, there probably isn't any such TV show here. But here's the unbelievable bit. I'm from somewhere else. I don't really know how to explain it. It's sort of like time travel, but it's more like, um, dimensional travel. I was kidnapped today by someone I thought I knew. But it wasn't the guy I knew, it was someone from *here* , but from a future of here, who doesn't much like Superman, and he must have kidnapped the real Clark and taken him back to my dimension. So you see, I need your help to get back home and to get Clark back here." "Hang on, hang on a moment, um, Dean? Right?" Lois interrupted. "Let me get this straight." She thought to herself, 'what he's saying then is that in his home dimension, he's an actor in a TV show about me? And that he plays Superman in this show, and that he also plays Clark? But how is that possible?' Then the light dawned, and Lois reacted. "NO! Do you mean to tell me that Clark *is* Superman??" Chapter Four=20 Clark spent much of the next half hour or so trying out different scenarios in his mind, trying to work out what to say to Ms Hatcher to explain to her who he really was. For her part, Teri was quiet and introspective for most of the drive, glancing at him and almost beginning to speak a few times, but then stopping, as if she, too, didn't quite know how to say whatever was on her mind. But then, they arrived at the studios and it appeared that his opportunity to tell her had been lost, as various crew members, make-up artists and hairdressers appeared and bundled her away to her trailer. =20 Clark had seen movie sets in the past, and had a vague idea of what to do to look like he was fitting in, so he quickly located his own trailer and found the daily schedule which would tell him what scenes he was supposed to be filming first, and what the general daily routine would be. Speed reading through today's script to learn his lines, he couldn't get over the way it was so obvious in the script that everyone knew that Clark was Superman! This would truly turn into a novel experience for him! One thing that really cheered him up, however, was the realisation that according to the current episode being filmed, it was apparent that Lois knew the secret too. In a way, Clark could see this as a trial for when he got back home, to learn how Lois might actually respond to the knowledge! "Hey Dean! Where did you get to? You're up in just a few minutes." The words came from a stranger who seemed to be in control of the emerging chaos around him. "You and Teri have a flying scene - you are going to need to get into the suit and get to Make-up. We need you back in 30 minutes." "Yeah, right, Make-up," mumbled Clark, still totally confused by the scenes around him. "Teri, over here!" yelled the stranger. Clark watched as "Lois" hurried off. Of course, he reminded himself, it wasn't "his" Lois. It certainly looked like her and sounded like her, but... "You ready, Teri? Its a cable scene today - tough one too. Dean promised he would work out specially for today; said he won't drop you!" "Hrmph," was the reply Clark heard. "Well, let's just get this one going. I'm not up for a 14 hour day today." "Dean..." Teri looked at him suspiciously. "Is my dress crooked, lipstick smudged... what?" "Sorry," Clark backpedalled. "It's just... umm... I have to get changed. See you in half an hour!" Clark turned and almost ran from the "set". He had to get away - get to make-up, wherever that was. He had to get the suit on... hang on, he checked... he *had* the suit on. He *was* Superman. OK, one detail taken care of. Now make-up? Why did he need makeup to be Superman? He realised though, that being on film, he *would* need makeup, so he scanned the area till he found a trailer marked with the appropriate signs and headed in that direction. He took his time, and used some of the half hour to do some further exploring. The changing to Superman bit would require little effort. He walked through what he discovered was the Warner Brothers Film Studios. He was greeted everywhere he went; he discovered that this "Dean" person was well known and a popular figure in this world - well in the film studio at least. After about twenty minutes, he thought it wise to return to the set and make an appearance at this make-up place. He knew that he was supposed to be Superman the next time he made an appearance - obviously there was no need for an actor portraying a superhero to have a secret identity. Stepping into a corner and out of sight, Clark executed a spin change into his alter-ego. He became aware of a heated discussion in the Daily Planet between Teri and the director. "What do you mean he's wandering around the lot?" Teri questioned. "He knows that I wanted to be out of here early tonight! *Now* he needs to take the visitors' tour? Of all the..." Clark decided that now might be an opportune time to make his presence known. He strolled up to Teri, desperately wanting to assure her that he would not dream of being whatever she was about to label him. =20 "Lo... um, Teri? What's the problem?" "Enjoy your little tour?" She queried. "We're all ready to rehearse this scene and you're ... when did you get changed?" Teri changed tack when she noticed Clark in the suit. "Oh, never mind. Can we just get to work?" Clark shot Teri a bemused grin. This might not be "his" Lois, but this lady certainly acted and sounded like her. She reminded him of Lois when Clark first joined The Planet: sarcastic, uncompromising, driven and virtually totally ignorant of his presence - it was nothing more than an annoying necessity of circumstance. The director called to Clark and Teri. "Okay people, this is a more complicated scene than usual. Dean, we need to hook up the harness a little differently to get the angles right. We are using a different type of cable which is supposed to give a more realistic effect on camera. We will test them with you and then get you to hold Teri before we get to dialogue or anything else. Got it?" "Uh huh," they both murmured simultaneously. Clark looked around and caught sight of the "harness." He started somewhat when he saw the complexity of the rig required to make him "fly". His actions must have betrayed him, because Teri was looking at him strangely. "Dean?" she queried. "Are you worried about going up there today? I know you are not fond of the usual harness, but this one is supposed to be less demanding." Her tones indicated that she knew that pretending to fly was not particularly easy and Clark gathered that his counterpart was not exactly excited about being suspended in mid-air on a regular basis. "What? No, um, it's ... OK. I was just checking out the new cables. There just seems to be lots of wires and cables." "Of course there are Dean," Teri responded with mirth. "What did you expect, skyhooks?" This woman certainly had the wry humour of Lois. The director called Clark over to be fitted into the contraption. He felt totally ridiculous, but decided to go along with the charade. How would he explain things otherwise? In his own world he was different, a freak, but at least there he existed. Here, he was just a fantasy, a concept dreamed up in someone's imagination. No, now was not the time to declare his hand, but he was going to have to do something, at some stage to work out a way of returning to his world. "Put your arms in here, clip this under the cape. Now as you are elevated, you will need to stretch out horizontally. We'll make it look like you're doing the flying if you follow our directions." Clark felt the tug of the cables as his feet began to lift off the floor. He struggled to avoid using his own powers to fly - it was difficult as his natural response to being in the air was to be self-sufficient. "Now stretch out ... horizontally ... put your left arm out, clench your fist, roll to the side ... no the other side. Now we are going to bring you to an upright position and then lower you slowly. Good .. hold that, straighter ... now soft landing, great!" Five minutes later Clark was back on the ground. He had managed to control his natural urge to be under his own steam, well for most of the time. He was certain that no-one would have noticed him compensating for some of the awkward manoeuvrings of the harness operator. =20 "That was great, Dean! The smoothest we have seen you "fly" in a long time! Must be the new equipment." Clark grinned widely. "Must be," he agreed. "Teri, over here. We need to do a test run with you and Dean together now,'" the director motioned. "Okay, Dean, I want you to rise up holding Teri, to stop and talk with her for a minute or two, then we need to get you into the horizontal position and test some scenery shots behind you. We will need you up there for about fifteen minutes. Is that okay with you two? Think you can handle it Dean?" "Um, yeah, no problems," replied Clark, cheerfully. He looked at Teri who was eyeing him suspiciously. "What, no complaints today, no headaches?" She queried. "You must be sick!" =20 Clark wondered about this Dean character; was he a bit of a whiner, or *was* it really hard work being suspended by wires for hours at a time. He, Clark, would never really know, he mused. "Um, no, Lo - ah, Teri, I'm fine. He really did need to be careful. This was at least the third time he had called her Lois, or nearly had, and this lady was certainly no airhead. She and Dean obviously spent a considerable amount of time together and she knew him quite well. But how well? He still hadn't worked that out. There had been a reference to a 'Jon' that he had yet to decipher. He needed to find some more tabloids! The ropes of the harness were realigned and checked and Teri directed to take her place in Clark's arms. This was difficult - here was the exact replica of the woman he loved in his arms, and it was "Lois" but only a caricature of her. She was an actor portraying Lois. Teri's proximity only served to confuse him even further. "Now, we are not going too high on this one, there is no harness on Teri so we are not risking anything here. Dean hold tight - that's a precious cargo you have there!" The directions were coming thick and fast. Clark felt the pressure of the cables once again, and he and Teri began to rise. "Hold on tight, you hear me, Wonderboy," cracked Teri, betraying a slight nervousness, as they rose slowly together. Teri had her arms linked around Clark's neck and he had one arm around her waist and one pointing into the air. =20 "Can you do this safely with one arm holding me?" She queried, "You only do this when I'm in a harness!" Clark detected a slight sense of panic in Teri's voice and brought his other arm to meet behind Teri's back. He felt her relax slightly. "You seem almost overconfident today, Dean. What's up? You almost look like you are enjoying this - that would be a first!" "Well, maybe I *am* finally getting used to it all; it's been, what, how long now?" The question was a clever one, with the dual purpose of dealing with Teri's question and trying to glean a little more information about his own history in this world. =20 "Three and half years, Dean and I remember you telling me repeatedly that you would *never* get used to this. What gives?" The woman was pressing against him now, and he began to feel decidedly uncomfortable - her closeness being a huge part of the problem. Teri was an actor, this was all an act for her, but for Clark, his relationship with Lois was real and she could not help but affect him. "Dean, you are blushing! What's the matter? You have been acting strangely since early morning. I can't put a finger on it, but somehow you are different." "Well, um... it's..." Clark started to respond, but they were interrupted by the director. =20 "Okay people, that's good. Now we want to get Dean into the horizontal position, just get ready to brace yourself. I only need you to hold that for a few minutes. Just wait for the cables to be realigned." They both felt a jerk in the ropes above them. "Whoa! Oh shit!" They heard a voice above them becoming agitated and then suddenly felt themselves being hurled skyward. The studio was in a warehouse-like building with very high ceilings, but they were approaching the top of the cable with alarming speed. Chapter Five "Wait! I have to explain something, Ms Lane," interrupted Dean. If this Lois Lane was anything like the one his partner was used to playing, he had to get a word in edgewise here before she started babbling uncontrollably. "Somehow (I really don't understand how this works), some of what you have experienced as real life, I have acted out on my TV show. I knew about the blackmailers and Jason Mazik & the diary of Tempus because that story was our second season finale. I would like to avoid telling you anything about your future, but for all I know, my being here is going to change your future from episodes in your life that I've already been in, so maybe it won't make any difference anyway. "You see, at the very end of our second season, *after* Lois has - er, you have recovered from the effects of being frozen and thawed, she goes for a walk in Centennial Park with Clark. And he proposes to her. We didn't know how she - er, you - were going to react, so we actually filmed three different endings for that episode." "Well, gee! I don't know how I would react either. But if Clark tried proposing to me and kept a secret like the fact that he's Superman too from me, one thing I do know is that I'd be -" "Mad?" Dean spoke the word at the same time as Lois. "Yes, mad, very mad! How could you - I mean, he, expect me to agree to spend my whole life with him, if I didn't know everything about him?" "Now wait a moment," Dean interrupted again, "I'm not married, but I do know that you don't necessarily know *everything* about a person before you marry them. That's part of what a marriage is about: learning about each other intimately." "Intimately?" "Well, yes. I mean, well, maybe Clark did make a mistake in not telling you first, but well, it has certainly led to some interesting conversations as a result. I mean, it will for you. I mean - oh hell, I don't know *what* I mean! Anyway don't you remember? Hasn't Clark been trying to tell you something really really important these last few weeks, but he keeps getting called away. Argh! these tenses are getting so confusing! I don't know what will be in his mind when he proposes to you before telling you the secret. I think if I had truly been in his position, I would have done the easier thing first - proposed, that is, and planned on telling you the secret straight afterward. But I can tell you that in my universe's version of this story, you already knew already anyway." "Excuse me? I'm getting confused. You're saying that Clark will propose to me without telling me he's Superman, but that I already know? Well, I certainly know now! And what was that about having filmed different endings to the season finale?" Dean explained, haltingly, and mixing his tenses wildly, how the writers had allowed for three different endings to the season finale, where in one, Lois had said yes, in another she had said no and in the third she had not said anything, but just looked surprised. "But then how did you know that I knew Clark's secret?" Lois asked. She seemed to have realised that she had to take this whole series of events in her stride. Perhaps later she would have a moment to go gibberingly mad over the whole thing. "We've already started filming the *fourth* season, Lois," explained Dean. "I already know what your response is going to be. I think that's what I meant when I said that this is sort of like time travel, as well as dimensional travel. I know that when you tell Clark that you can't marry him yet because the revelation is a bit too much of a hurdle for you, he is going to get all pouty and upset. He's not quite like me, because when you say 'No, not yet,' he'll only hear the "no" and ignore the "not yet". =20 "What do you mean, "he's not quite like you"? You two certainly look the same! And believe me," Lois admitted, "I've done some *looking*." Suddenly she blushed at this confession. Being the TV star he was, Dean was used to being ogled by women, but this was different. He was used to working with Teri Hatcher, who was considered (on his world, at least) one of the world's sexiest women. But Teri was married, and was therefore off-limits. Lois Lane, on the other hand, was neither married, nor he suspected, if he really pushed, off limits. 'This could get interesting,' said a small part of his brain. 'Shaddap,' he told that part of his brain. 'This woman has just had a series of shocks to her system, and she *doesn't* need that sort of treatment!' =20 "That reminds me Lois, something I wanted to ask you..." Dean broke off there. He had been about to ask Lois what it was like to actually have super powers, but he quickly realised that Ultra-Woman was in this Lois' future, and he really didn't want to spoil everything for her. He had to change tacks fast! "Um, would you like to see my time-machine?" He groaned aloud at the way that line sounded. "Is there a problem, Dean?" Lois was concerned now. Dean grinned disarmingly at Lois. "Why is it that when I'm writing scripts for this show, I never have difficulty writing for these characters, I feel like I understand them, but when I'm actually supposed to *be* Clark, I sound so corny?" "Hang on a moment, I thought you said you were an actor?" "Well, yes, but I'm also a writer and I want to get into directing, and I've actually written two scripts for 'Lois & Clark' that have been produced." "'Lois and Clark,' eh? That's what the show is called? Not just 'Superman'? I like the sound of that!" Lois smiled. =20 "Well," explained Dean, the show is supposed to be about the relationship between the two of us, er... I mean you, I mean..." "Don't worry, I think I understand." Lois interrupted. "So, we actually do have a relationship, do we?" To Dean's surprise, Lois put her hand on his knee.=20 "Um, Lois?!" his voice broke disconcertingly. "What are you doing? I've just told you that you're going to be proposed to by Clark, and that you guys are supposed to be having a rel- relationship," he stuttered, "and you - you *do understand* I'm not him, don't you?" Lois, for her part, was feeling quite dazed. The doctors had given her some medication since she had been snap frozen and thawed, and the pills were having quite an effect on her. She found her mind going off on all sorts of odd tangents. She wondered to herself whether this Dean person was as like Superman and Clark as he appeared. She wondered whether Clark (*her* Clark, she thought with a mental giggle) had given any thought to sex with her, and whether making love with him would be different for her than it was with a human. Whether he planned to prepare her for this, or if she was just supposed to find out on her wedding night? She wondered to herself whether of not the suit would or could come off. Then she noticed that Clark ... er... Dean, she corrected herself, was looking at her with those puppy dog eyes that both men shared, and that he seemed quite concerned, waiting for her response. "Sure I do, Honey," Despite the little thrill that went through him at being called Honey by someone as beautiful and sexy as Lois was, Dean suddenly noticed that Lois' voice was slurred; she almost sounded a little like Teri playing Wanda Detroit. "But I've always wondered how that suit comes off, and what it would be like to make love to Superman, and you're about the closest I'm likely to get, right?" "No! No, wait! Lois, this isn't right!" Dean jumped up off the sofa, and moved swiftly to the other side of the room. Lois slumped down into the sofa as soon as her support was gone. Dean moved back to her again, and helped her up. Sitting on his heels before her, he looked at her carefully, and realised that there was something wrong. "Lois? Are you alright?" =20 She stared at him vacantly, and not quite knowing what to do, he found her bathroom (thinking to himself, 'Ah, this place really *does* have a bathroom, does it?') and went to wet a face-cloth to help bring Lois to her senses. On the cabinet, Dean noticed a bottle of pills and looking more closely at the label, realised that Lois must have taken some of these drugs. "Lois?" He called from the bathroom. =20 "Wh..." she murmured. Coming back out into the living room with the damp face-cloth, Dean asked Lois what the pills were. The face-cloth helped to make her a little more alert and she explained that the doctors had given her the drugs, but that given what had happened, they weren't entirely sure how she would react to them. Suddenly she realised what she had been doing, and sat up straighter. "Oh god, oh god, I didn't imagine that did I? I really was coming onto you a bit strong, wasn't I, Dean? Oh god, I'm so sorry. I guess these drugs have taken away my inhibitions! Oh god, I didn't say that out loud, did I?" "Lois," interrupted Dean. "Don't worry about it. You obviously need to rest. Why don't you go lie down till you're feeling a bit better and then we can work out what I'm going to do with myself." Lois looked at Dean, sitting there in the Superman suit, and realised that he had come to her, because he simply didn't know where else to turn. It made her feel as caring (maternal? she thought with a small surprise) as she had ever felt in her life. Something about Clark/Superman/Dean seemed to bring that out in her, she supposed. "Sure. Why don't you, um, make yourself at home here. Fix yourself something to eat. These drugs are really getting to me. I don't know how long I'm going to sleep for, but I feel tired enough to sleep forever. I'll get you a spare pillow, and you can sleep too if you want." Dean looked at Lois questioningly, and she started, realising what the look meant. "On the sofa! On the sofa!" 'Darn!' thought Dean, with a grin to himself. Late in the night, Dean woke, again, just after drifting off. He wasn't sleeping well, and the knowledge that he had to be lucid the next day wasn't helping. "Damn!" he swore softly, punching his pillow again. His body was *so* aware of the beautiful woman asleep in the bedroom, and he knew it wasn't right to do what he was considering, but he found himself getting up, and padding barefoot from the living room to Lois' room. 'I'm just checking up on her,' he tried to convince himself. But when he saw her asleep in that bed, totally dead to the world, he found the temptation of the bed (not the woman!) too great. 'I'm so tired, that I'm sure to sleep like a log too. It won't disturb her sleep if I just lie on top of the covers, surely!' Almost without thought, he found himself lying next to Lois, and drifting off to sleep. His last conscious thought was something along the lines of 'If my friends could see me now!' Chapter Six "Dean!" screamed Teri. "What's happening?" They could hear people screaming and shouting below them. It was obvious that the whole contraption was out of control. Then just as suddenly as the upward movement had begun, it stopped. Teri looked at Clark and with an expression of sheer relief buried her head in his shoulder. She sobbed audibly. "That was not fun," she whispered. "Please hold on till they get us down from here." "My pleasure," replied Clark, almost a little too quickly. Having decided to keep his true identity a secret, he was surprised at how quickly his deception had almost ended! He was now suspending them in the air, the harness still attached, but the ropes not supporting his body. To the observers below, the cable failsafe mechanism had saved them. However the operator of the harness knew differently. He had been unable to control the upward journey and was amazed when the pair had stopped their ascent. He could also see the slackness in the cable above them. Those two were being suspended in the air by something other than that new, wonderfully unique cable. Clark was concerned about the harness anyway after the almost-emergency, and took the opportunity of Teri not looking to have a *closer* look. What he saw horrified him. The entire rope system was under too much sudden stress and was about to fail. How could he get out of this with no-one the wiser to his identity? Fate came to his aid, for as the harness ropes began to split and separate, one of the counter-weights attached to the end of one of the ropes swung suddenly upwards. The only technician near enough to see what was actually happening up there, took the brunt of the flying counter-weight and was knocked from his platform 10 feet in the air down to the sound-stage floor! Clark was able to secretly use his powers to cushion the man's impact in such a way that when he landed it was gently and onto a pile of unused ropes, so that the landing was not as bad as it might otherwise have been. Then mechanism housing the pulley system at the top of the cable decided that it's job was complete, and as all the ropes in pulleys raced down to follow the technician, Clark realised that he was the only thing between Teri Hatcher and a similar demise! He had no choice but to use his powers to save her, and so, hoping that in the confusion that was occurring down below no-one would think to ask how the rescue was achieved, he flew himself and Teri to the lately evacuated platform. As he deposited Teri on her feet, and indicated that they should climb the ladder down to the sound-stage floor, he watched the emotions playing over her face, so clearly. She moved from bafflement to disbelief to wonder. Clark could almost see Teri's brain ticking over. Neither of them said a word about what had just occurred. As they neared the ground, Clark and Teri became aware of the situation down there. The technician had been surrounded by medical officers. Despite his soft(ish) landing, the man was unconcious. Clark checked him out and found no concussion, and realised that the man must have fainted! The baffled doctors came to much the same conclusion but suggested that he should be taken to a nearby hospital for observation until at least the next day. By then, Clark and Teri had reached the floor, and they were approached by another medical officer. Teri appeared to be in shock; she was pale and her hands were shaking. Although the doctors could not find anything specific wrong with her, they suggested to the director and crew that given that the harness was unusable until it could be repaired, and that call-sheet for the remainder of the day required *only* flying scenes, which meant that the whole day was a write-off, Teri and "Dean" should also be given the rest of the day off. Clark offered to drive Teri back to her home, and quietly led her towards his trailer, where he could get out of the costume and back into Dean's clothes. As soon as they were out of earshot of the rest of the crew, Teri placed a restraining hand on Clark's arm. =20 "What happened back there...? Did I imagine it in the confusion?" Stalling for time, Clark replied with a question of his own. "What did you *think* happened up there, Teri?" Teri paused, trying to find the right words to describe something which she had always known was impossible. "You... you aren't who I thought you were, are you? You've been behaving oddly all day. What is going on here?" Clark realised that he needed to come clean at least to this one person, with whom he was going to have to be working rather closely. =20 "You're right. I'm not Dean Cain," he began bluntly, hoping to get this revelation (at least) over as quickly as possible. He declared quietly, "I'm Superman." "Ohmigod!" Teri gasped, and promptly reacted to all the shocks of the day by fainting. Chapter Seven Much later, Lois began to drift towards consciousness, aware of another warm body beside hers. Still fuzzy-minded because of the drugs, she glanced over to see who was there, and was most pleasantly surprised to find Superman sleeping soundly next to her, wearing not much more than his underwear. She didn't recall much of the previous night's events at first, and couldn't believe her luck! She decided that didn't want to know what he was doing there, but she *couldn't* resist the opportunity to kiss him lightly on the forehead. =20 Dean turned over with a mumble too low to decipher and, much to Lois' delight, he wrapped her in his arms, and fell deeper asleep. Lois had *no* idea what was going on, but she was thrilled. Her body began to betray her and she couldn't resist snuggling up closer to the man of her dreams. Wrapped in a man's arms for the first time in many years, her body still knew what to do and began to respond to his warmth and presence. But the drugs were still in control of her body. Soon Lois, comforted and contented, drifted off to sleep again. Eventually the night began to turn to day, and with the first sounds of traffic, on the street outside, Dean began to awaken. He was so surprised to find himself cuddled up close to Lois that he sat up, startling Lois into wakefulness too. =20 "Wha -?!" they both exclaimed at the same time. Dean grabbed for the sheets to cover himself just as Lois did the same thing. The events of the previous afternoon and evening rushed back into Lois' mind with a forcefulness that made her shut her eyes and hold her temples. "Lois? Are you alright?" Dean was worried. "I'm fine." She was short-tempered because of the headache she just knew was about to attack her. "Dean, isn't it? You wouldn't believe the dream I had last night." "Actually, Lois, given what's been happening to me recently, I think I= would." Getting off the bed, Dean went to the bathroom and came back with some Tylenol and a glass of water. Lois looked at him gratefully, before swallowing the medicine in one gulp. Then she motioned that he should leave the room to let her get dressed. Dean headed back to the living room and was standing looking at his suit with distaste, wondering what he should do about getting some clean clothes, when Lois followed him out there, now in her schlumpy robe, and realised what he was thinking.=20 "Well, first things first, I guess we have to get you some clothes to wear, since you aren't Superman, Dean. I can get into Clark's apartment and get some clothes for you, but I don't think you should be seen in public until I get out there and back. While I'm gone, you'd better call Perry and tell him that neither of us can make it into the office today?" "Wait, Lois, what are we going to be doing today then? Can you take time off work that easily?" "Oh, that's not a problem. I'm due a lot of holiday - I just never seem to need to take time off, and Perry's been on my back about that recently, so I don't think he'll mind if I don't turn up today. As for what we're going to do, well, I thought you wanted some help getting home? And I know I want to see Superman back where he belongs!" "And Clark too, I suppose?" "What, does everyone on your planet read minds?" "Well, not really. But it was fairly obvious which way your mind was headed, Lois." "Anyway, Dean, my plan for getting you back where you belong hinges mainly on working out how the machine works that brought you here. You - er Superman, that is, told me that you had kept the plans for the machine that he drew up in a safe place. You wouldn't happen to know where that might be, since you know him so well?" "The plans? You mean you expect them to actually work?" Dean was very surprised. "Well? And why not?" Lois was bemused. "The machine that brought you here worked didn't it? Why shouldn't it work again, once we understand how to control it?" "But the machine is only a prop," Dean explained. "How can it possibly work? It isn't real!" "Not on this world, Dean... It must be very strange on your world, but *here*, we don't have to understand how everything works, we just accept= it." "Hmm," mused Dean. "I suppose you're right. In my world, we wouldn't accept a person walking around in this suit," he touched the spandex suit on the sofa,"let alone flying around in it!" =20 "Speaking of which, I'm sure you don't want to sit around in your underwear all day. I'll go get you some of Clark's clothes, and we'll get to work on getting you home, eh?" "Um, yeah. While you're out, I'll cook us some breakfast and ring Perry." Dean wondered where he might find the number for the Planet, but assumed that he'd be able to find it somewhere. "Cook? Breakfast? Wow! what a treat!" Lois thought that this man may not have been her Superman or the Clark she knew so well, but he certainly was talented! "If you know the way Clark thinks so well, you might also like to think about where Clark may have stored the plans, too." With that Lois headed for the bathroom and a quick shower before leaving for Clark's apartment. While Lois was gone, Dean took the opportunity to look around Lois' place. He knew that even if he couldn't make Teri believe what was happening to him, he'd still be able to offer some very useful input into her character depiction, even if it was only in the next episode he wrote for the series. He was fascinated to learn what Lois' interests were in music. And he smiled broadly when he discovered her stash of basic cookbooks. It had always surprised him that Lois, knowing her weakness in this area, didn't appear to have done anything to gain more skill in the kitchen. Maybe she was just waiting for the right man to cook for! In the kitchen, he also found that the pantry *was* well stocked as well as the refrigerator, and he had no problems making a healthy and filling breakfast for two. =20 Given the schedule he'd been keeping at home, he decided to treat this time as a bit of holiday, and despite the need to get home hanging over his head, he thought he would take it easy. As Dean wandered through the apartment, he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to call Perry. He couldn't find the number anywhere, and ended up having to call Information to be able to call the place he supposedly worked! But once that was out of the way, his thoughts turned to wondering where Clark would have hidden the plans to the time machine which he had built. Nothing had been said about a hiding place in the script that Dean had read from, but then suddenly it clicked! A hiding place? Of course! In the secret compartment in his wardrobe. Where else would he have put it?= =20 Dean called The Planet again, and got Lois' mobile number and then called her, catching her just as she was about to leave Clark's place. "Lois, go back into Clark's room and open the wardrobe. See the tie rack there? Remember what you told me about what I consider to be props actually working here? Pull down on the tie rack." "Oh my god!" "Lois? What is it?" "It's just..." Lois was momentarily lost for words, an amazing thing for Dean to witness, even by phone. "Well, if I ever needed proof that you were telling the truth about Clark and Superman being the same person, here it is! I can't believe that he'd keep these suits here!" "Lois! Lois!" Dean interrupted to stem the babbling before it really took off. "I need you to look around in there to find the plans for the time machine. That's the only place apart from maybe Kansas that I can think of the Superman might hide them!" "Kansas? Why would Superman hide anything in Kansas?" "Smallville, Kansas, Lois... where his parents live - you know?" "Oh my god! You mean that Jonathon and Martha Kent are also from Krypton?" "Lois, no! Wait. Come back here when you find the plans and I'll tell you what I can." By this point, Dean just wanted to work on getting home. He was pretty much unconcerned about changing what would be the future for Lois, making it different from what he and Teri had played out in script form all those months ago. 'And anyhow,' that voice in his mind told him, 'you don't really know how much Lois was supposed to know, only that she had figured out - or been told - the secret before Clark got the chance to tell her before proposing to her.' Dean's thoughts were interrupted by Lois's discovery of the plans that Clark had indeed hidden in the secret section of his closet. "Dean? I don't know about this... these plans look awfully complicated. I don't know whether we'll be able to build this machine by ourselves. Do you think we should get some help from Dr Klein at STAR Labs?" "Lois, no, I'd