From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9804C" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 14:13:01 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Michelle Glenn Subject: Looking for a fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII A couple of months ago I read a fanfic that had Perry finding out Clark was Superman when he overheard Lois and Clark talking in a parking garage or a basement, I don't remember which. Anyway, I have no idea about any other details of the story or its name, but that scene is etched in my brain. Does anyone know what story I am talking about? If it helps any, Lois was upset and Clark was comforting her. Thanks, Michelle "You've got to let your love shine through your eyes, your smile...you got to let somebody know how you feel inside...your heart...you'll find somebody wants to be a part of your life." ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 13:31:30 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Alyssa Mondelli Subject: Re: Looking for a fanfic In-Reply-To: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Wed, 15 Apr 1998, Michelle Glenn wrote: > A couple of months ago I read a fanfic that had Perry finding out Clark > was Superman when he overheard Lois and Clark talking in a parking garage > or a basement, I don't remember which. Anyway, I have no idea about any > other details of the story or its name, but that scene is etched in my > brain. Does anyone know what story I am talking about? If it helps any, > Lois was upset and Clark was comforting her. "The Apology" by Carla Humbert. (Aha, I finally got one!) This is one of the first stories I read, back in the dark ages (the summer after second season), and still one of my favorites. == Alyssa in St. Paul == (agmondelli@stthomas.edu) Webmistress, Tempus Expeditions - http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/ Home of the Fortress of Insanity and Lois & Clark Season 5 "What's less than square one? Minus zero? Negative bupkes?" --Capt. Don Cragen, _Law & Order_ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 14:47:44 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Michelle Glenn Subject: Re: Looking for a fanfic In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Thanks! That was quick! "The Apology" is a great story, I just couldn't seem to remember anything except that one scene and it's been driving me crazy. Rummaging through 760 stories didn't seem to appealing so I am so happy someone knew what I was talking about and that I hadn't dreamed it! Michelle "You've got to let your love shine through your eyes, your smile...you got to let somebody know how you feel inside...your heart...you'll find somebody wants to be a part of your life." ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 14:51:34 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jeff Brogden Subject: Re: Looking for a fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Michelle Glenn wrote: > Rummaging through 760 stories didn't seem to appealing so I am so > happy someone knew what I was talking about and that I hadn't dreamed it! Many a times I wished I could use the unix grep command to search through the archive. What would be involved in setting up a search option on the archive web site? ================================================================= Jeff Brogden jwbrogden@bigfoot.com http://www.bigfoot.com/~jwbrogden/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 17:41:26 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Weeblos Subject: Do you know where? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi! I started reading and saving 2 stories a few months ago...but many chapters of both got lost in the shuffle (*my* shuffle, not anyone elses ) with the change in the MB's, etc. etc. Do any of you know who wrote, and/or where I could find the stories: On the Run, and Life Without Lois? I would surely appreciate it! Kathy ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 18:12:13 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: demona Subject: Re: Do you know where? In-Reply-To: <993c03e5.35352988@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 05:41 PM 4/15/1998 EDT, you wrote: >Hi! >I started reading and saving 2 stories a few months ago...but many chapters of >both got lost in the shuffle (*my* shuffle, not anyone elses ) with the >change in the MB's, etc. etc. Do any of you know who wrote, and/or where I >could find the stories: On the Run, and Life Without Lois? I would surely >appreciate it! >Kathy I know that Plan9Lives began posting her "On the Run" story parts to Beth & Zoomway's website message boards some time ago. Was that ever finished? It's been a while since I've been able to do some reading myself! :) Demi ____________________________________________________ Demi (a.k.a) Demona or http://fantasia.simplenet.com/lcfantasy/demona.htm --- L&C Site http://fantasia.simplenet.com/lcfantasy --- "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. for I have the biggest, *meanest* dog in the whole damn valley." --(excerpt from Phil Atcliff's 'Couch Potatos') ______________________________________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 20:00:07 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Lisa M. Ramirez" Subject: Re: Do you know where? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Demi wrote: > I know that Plan9Lives began posting her "On the Run" story parts to Beth > & Zoomway's website message boards some time ago. Was that ever > finished? It's been a while since I've been able to do some reading > myself! :) As far as I know, "On the Run" is still a continuing saga. I think part 48b was posted to Zoom's message board April 13. Lisa M. Ramirez ramirez@estuary.amrl.odu.edu Never borrow trouble, the interest rate it entirely too high. ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 20:44:15 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jerrica76 Subject: Re: Do you know where? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Both "Life without Lois" and "On the run" have been in the LNC fanfiction new groups as well as the AOL ABC (yea yea i know what it with the tomatoes) fantasy folder, you should be able to find it throw deja news, or the boards ttfn Jerrica Author of "Lossing Faith", "Saving Grace" and "Kent lost and Found" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 23:43:22 +1000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Louise Kendall Subject: Re: Looking for an Editor In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Is there any way of becoming an apprentice editor? At 07:19 13/04/98 -0800, you wrote: >Well, generally speaking ... it would be someone who is a meticulous >reader, can spot a typo at twenty paces, leap dangling participles in a >single bound *grin* ... They need not only to spot poor grammar and >spelling, but also to suggest a better way of writing a clumsily reworded >sentence. Also, being fresh to the story, they can discover any plotholes >or moments of "out-of-character"ness. Some of the latter is subjective but >you know that any time someone goes "huh?" they either didn't read it >properly or you,the author, has got some 'splanin' to do! > >While I have you here, those who offered to edit my story, I .... ah, >decided last night it wasn't finished after all. The hero isn't nearly >developed enough, there needs to be a tad more tension and the whole >she-bang gets resolved by one of those "airing of emotions" that never >happen in real life unless you're on irc *grin*. So -- I'll be in touch >with those who offered when I get that all sorted out, probably at the end >of the week. > >Thanks, >Leanne > >Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) >Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html >Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html >Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/ >Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: >http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html > > ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 10:14:13 PDT 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: Re: Looking for an Editor In-Reply-To: <3.0.1.32.19980415234322.008a1560@mail01.cbr.aone.net.au> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable jem asked: > Is there any way of becoming an apprentice editor? Hmmm... I've not heard about anything like that -- I think most of us just sort of jumped into it. What you might want to do is choose an author whose stories you really like, and ask if they would be willing to share the comments made by *their* editors, which might help give you a feel for what they consider to be particularly helpful comments. Bear in mind that they probably would want to get their editors' permission before sending you this, and they might not be interested in letting someone see an early version of the story, but if you explain that you want to see the comments because you want to learn how to edit, I would imagine most of the writers would be willing to help you out that way. Then take the plunge and offer to edit for someone. Most writers have at least 2-3 people editing for them, so you don't need to worry about catching *every* detail -- what you don't notice, someone else will. And many times your writer will reply with comments to your comments which will also help you learn. Remember to be constructive in your criticism, tell the writer what you liked and what surprised you as well as things you think need to be changed (after all, who wants to hear only negative things about their work?) and remember that the writer has the final say -- you're only making suggestions. Peace who owes a lot to her editors! ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 18:09:38 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: Looking for an Editor In-Reply-To: <3.0.1.32.19980415234322.008a1560@mail01.cbr.aone.net.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Is there any way of becoming an apprentice editor? > > Peace had a fine idea and I'm gonna be brave and suggest another. I've a fanfic almost ready for editing (just a coupla things to fill in once I get the time to) and I have a bunch of people willing to edit it. I'm gonna *gulp* bare my soul here ... If those who offered are willing, I'm prepared to set up a webpage (Louise, here's hoping you can websurf!) with the original story, the final version, and each editor's edits and even comments on why I did or didn't choose a particular editorial path (and the editor is free to write a comeback on that which may even change my mind!) I'll even put dates on it, so you know the general timeframe etc etc. I think every editor needs a dictionary, a firm knowledge of punctuation and the rest is, I guess, experience and lots of reading! Leanne Heck, did I just volunteer to do something *AGAIN*????? Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/ Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 01:06:33 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Doris Schmill Subject: Re: Looking for an Editor In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" April 17, 1998 Hi, Folcies! Putting up an example for "editing in progress" is a really great idea, I think. It's very generous and courageous of you to do that, Leanne. Not all writers like early version of a story of theirs floating around. I am not sure I would. It's really great to have an example of what goes into the writing and editing process, not just for prospective editors, but also just for readers of fanfic itself. So much time, work, and love goes into creating the final project that ends up in the Archive that many of us can only guess at. I would have liked to become an "apprentice editor," too. Even though things may not work that way now, I still really appreciate the idea if only as an avid reader and writer-wanna-be. Thanks Leanne and Peace for your suggestions! I wonder if there is any other writer out there who -- and his editors -- would be willing to let some of us peek over their shoulders so to speak. Keep on writing, guys! And thanks again for volunteering for another project, Leanne. Doris at dorisschmill@gmx.net OR dor2302@usa.net OR schmill@mail.students.go-on.net OR cschmill@zedat.fu-berlin.de "No one knows how long they've got ... It's not the years that count, it's the moments. Right now ... as they happen." (CK in BY) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 08:06:44 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Grace Wong Subject: the kerth award statue MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi folcs! I've been really busy lately so today is my first time on the fanfic site since the kerth awards took place, I thought that's a really cute statue you've got there! I can see it has a figure of a man and a woman, superman's S ans a keyboard at the bottom...do they signify anything? And who designed it? Grace lois1979@yahoo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We wacky earth women get mighty cranky about losing our husbands. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 11:54:07 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sandra McDermin Subject: Re: Looking for an Editor (My personal considerations) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >>Hi, Folcies! Putting up an example for "editing in progress" is a really great idea, I think. It's very generous and courageous of you to do that, Leanne. Not all writers like early version of a story of theirs floating around. I am not sure I would.<< I, too, think this is a fabulous idea (Leanne, you're just chock-full), and I really wish I had had the capacity to do with a story of mine. It should be very instructive, fun, and lead to a good deal of constructive debate. Can't wait to watch it. As a matter of fact, Leanne, if one of your editors-to-be balks at participating, please call on me. I'd loved to do it if you go through with the process this way. >>I would have liked to become an "apprentice editor," too.<< I think most of us are "apprentice editors", as very few of us do it for a living. As a matter of fact, when I wrote my first story for Lois and Clark which -- for all practical purposes -- was my first story ever, I took the first four people who said they would edit it. I didn't care who they were or what their experience was -- all they had to know was how to do read. I figured they knew how to do that as they had responded to my e-mail. ; ) When I got to my second story, I decided to narrow it down to two people who I felt very comfortable with, basically because the second story was something that I felt I could do well (comedy) and I really didn't think I needed a lot of help on the structure, flow, plot, etc. (Complete arrogance on my part, but I didn't want a lot of to-ing and fro-ing. ) I had also found, by virtue of my experiences with the first story, that four editors was way too many for me. Too much work responding to them all. When I got to the third story, I was up against two considerations: I was not comfortable with the story *and*, on account of that, I wanted a lot more criticism. So, I went seeking more editors *and* readers -- people who would just read a big chunk and give me impressions. This time, I had a track record. So, I selected people, not on the basis of their experiences as editors. (I don't care a hoot about whether the person is an editor in real life or which really great fanfic writer they've edited.) What I was looking for (although I didn't say it) was: (1) had they read my other stories and (2) did they like them. This was not an ego thing for me, but something else. I wanted people who were comfortable with my style of writing, who seemed to enjoy my "point of view", who I didn't have to explain things to.... I remembered reading about how some famous writers at publishing houses have their own editors who stick with them throughout their career, because they had developed a symbiotic relationship.... After all, could you imagine editting Joyce, or Faulkner, or Proust. Brother what a nightmare! Actually, I would bet my last buck that Proust never had an editor or, if he did, he committed suicide after reading a paragraph that went on for 400 pages. (By the way, I am not at all suggesting that I have anywhere near the abilities of these authors -- No way! No how! No time! Never!) It's just an example to make a point. In any case, the bottom line is, choosing editors, for me, was a story by story thing. Each story seemed to have different requirements and, I, as the writer, had different needs for each. *And*, lastly, I also found that the editors began to serve different purposes for me. I even began to label them: one was my grammar person, one was my overall flow person, one was my stay on character person.... They all had *their* different strengths, and, all together, they made a terrific team without, in a sense, knowing it. Sandy (who probably needed an editor for this e-mail.) Okay, Laurie, back to "Episode" 19. ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 12:55:58 -0600 Reply-To: Erin Klingler Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Erin Klingler Subject: Questions about the Classics MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all I know we had a thread going on this topic a while back, so I hope I don't get ppl mad if I ask this question. I'm trying to read a bunch of the classics that I've heard about, but never read. For example, I read To Kill a Mockingbird, but that's about it. I found an old copy of Moby Dick and Little Women and plan on reading those right away. But are there other classics that I just can't possibly miss?? How about writings by Tolstoy, etc., or any particular poetry that's great, or Shakespear? Are any of the classic plays worth reading? (and will I need Cliff notes to get through them? :) I'm sure I'm leaving out a TON of great classic authors...my mind is just coming up blank at the moment. You can email me privately if you think this topic isn't worthy of the list. I would just really love to get some suggestions from ppl on which classics they think are worth reading. Thanks! Erin :) ___________________ (aka ELK on IRC) erink@ida.net "The truth is, no one knows how long they've got. Anyway, it's not the years that count, it's the moments...right now...as they happen." CK to LL in BY ******* "You bet your sweet little chumpy I am." _________________ ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 07:37:56 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: LoriMcE Subject: Tim Minear Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Thought this might be of interest to some folks. This was posted on the AOL WB Lois and Clark message board - <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Subject: Sunday's X-Files Date: Thu, Apr 16, 1998 23:02 EDT From: Tim Minear Message-id: <1998041703021400.XAA10326@ladder01.news.aol.com> I want to extend a personal invitation to all the FoLCS to tune in The X-Files this Sunday night. My first solo effort, "Mind's Eye," airs this Sunday night at 9:00pm on Fox. I think you guys will enjoy it. Best, Tim <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Lori ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 11:37:02 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Jea111nne Subject: Re: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L Digest - 16 Apr 1998 to 17 Apr 1998 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Sandy wrote: <<*And*, lastly, I also found that the editors began to serve different purposes for me. I even began to label them: one was my grammar person, one was my overall flow person, one was my stay on character person.... They all had *their* different strengths, and, all together, they made a terrific team without, in a sense, knowing it.>> I thought this statement made a lot of sense. I started editing when I was reading a fanfic by an author whose fanfic I adored and respected (You know who you are!). In this particular fanfic I came across several typos and minor mistakes in punctuation and grammar. After about 5 or 6 errors I decided to keep track of them. I realized that these errors distracted me. This may seem foolish to some of you, but I know there are others out there who are distracted by such things. It really bothered me to see imperfections in a work which I thought was otherwise terrific. I decided to risk everything and send my humble corrections to the author (I think my list had about 25 items when I finished) hoping that I would be helping her by pointing out a few thing she had overlooked. I was so gratified that the author, a wonderful person, took my corrections the way I meant them. I have been delighted to edit for her ever since. I suspect she would put me in the "grammar person" category. I know she has other editors, some of whom are better than I am at pointing out incongruities in character and so on. I now regularly edit for the archive. This is a different type of experience because I don't choose which stories I'm going to edit. Some of the stories I receive are ready or close to ready for print, while there are other stories which require complete overhauls. Although it's more fun to read a basically well written story which only requires a typo correction here or a comma there, the teacher in me likes the occasional challenge of really helping a "newbie" writer. I believe I taught more than one writer how to write dialogue correctly. It was rewarding to me when someone I had helped wrote another fanfic later on, and it was much improved in mechanics than the first one. One last thing. Authors seem to have pet errors. Whereas one author may not know how to punctuate dialogue, another may do comma splices, mix up tenses or use run ons. I have learned a great deal from editing. Every so often something comes up that I have to research. In doing so I have widened my range of knowledge and my editing has improved. I catch things more quickly and efficiently now than I did in the beginning. I view my editing as a contribution to FoLCdom, but I have derived something too. I have improved my own skills in writing, and I have the satisfaction that I have helped some other FoLCs with their writing skills. Jeanne {=^;^=}{=^;^=}{=^;^=} ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 11:31:53 PDT 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: Questions on episode timing MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi, all, I'm working on a new story, and my VCR's broken, so I can't go back and rewatch some early tapes to get the information I need about the sequence of events. So... I have to depend on you, my fanfic buddies, to help me out here. Which episode has the scene where Clark teaches Lois a lesson about stealing stories, the whole "Godzilla doll in the city dump" thing? At that point, had Lois had the "truth and justice" interview with Superman? And had Superman called her by name yet? I appreciate your help with this. You can respond to the list or privately to peace9@worldnet.att.net. Thanks! Peace A FoLC Named Peace Come visit me, and read my Lois & Clark fanfic http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 13:37:07 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Michelle Glenn Subject: Re: Questions on episode timing In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII The episode was "The Source". yeah, Supes was calling Lois by her first name, I think. Michelle "You've got to let your love shine through your eyes, your smile...you got to let somebody know how you feel inside...your heart...you'll find somebody wants to be a part of your life." On Sat, 18 Apr 1998, Peace Everett wrote: > Hi, all, > > I'm working on a new story, and my VCR's broken, so I can't > go back and rewatch some early tapes to get the information I > need about the sequence of events. > > So... I have to depend on you, my fanfic buddies, to help me out > here. Which episode has the scene where Clark teaches Lois > a lesson about stealing stories, the whole "Godzilla doll in the city > dump" thing? At that point, had Lois had the "truth and justice" > interview with Superman? And had Superman called her by > name yet? > > I appreciate your help with this. You can respond to the list > or privately to peace9@worldnet.att.net. > > Thanks! > Peace > > A FoLC Named Peace > Come visit me, and read my Lois & Clark fanfic > http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/7137 > ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 13:55:17 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sandra McDermin Subject: Re: Questions on episode timing Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >>The episode was "The Source". yeah, Supes was calling Lois by her first name, I think. Michelle<< Fraid not, Michelle. The episode featuring Godzilla was #3 of first season (which was supposed to be #2), Neverending Battle. > So... I have to depend on you, my fanfic buddies, to help me out > here. Which episode has the scene where Clark teaches Lois > a lesson about stealing stories, the whole "Godzilla doll in the city > dump" thing? At that point, had Lois had the "truth and justice" > interview with Superman? And had Superman called her by > name yet? Peace, I would suggest you go to Jeffrey Sykes episode website which has detailed synopses of the first season. It's address is http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sykes/lc/index.html If you look at the first few episodes, I think most of your questions will be answered. For instance, the interview -- I believe -- came from episode #2 (which should have been #3), Strange Visitor. As for your last question, I know what you're talking about. She says something like, "you know my name," sort of in amazement, but I can't remember exactly which of the two episodes that came from. Perhaps the synopses, or someone at home with their VCR on hand can help you. Sandy (another Saturday at the office.) ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 13:50:50 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Anne Campbell Subject: Sixth Season anywhere? In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII I hope it's okay I'm posting here to ask FoLCs; I'm only on L&C's Fifth Season/FanFic/Krypton Club listservs (2 of 'em), not the general discussion of L&C listserv anymore. I was wondering if anyone is coming out with a Sixth Season of Lois & Clark via email and/or the Internet. - Anne Anne B. Campbell Reference Librarian campbell@library.pace.edu Pace University ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 14:10:06 -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: Sixth Season anywhere? In-Reply-To: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 01:50 PM 4/18/98 -0400, you wrote: >I hope it's okay I'm posting here to ask FoLCs; I'm only on L&C's Fifth >Season/FanFic/Krypton Club listservs (2 of 'em), not the general >discussion of L&C listserv anymore. > >I was wondering if anyone is coming out with a Sixth Season of Lois & >Clark via email and/or the Internet. > Don't forget a spin-off possiblity... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | Gary A. Rudick mailto:gar8434@rit.edu | | "You decide what you feel heaven is worth" - Deborah Gibson, TWYH | =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 14:06:45 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Michelle Glenn Subject: Re: Questions on episode timing In-Reply-To: <852565EA.00616ACC.00@smtpmta.nas.edu> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Oops, sorry, my mistake...you're right...don't ask me what I was thinking of, 'cause I don't think I even know...Godzilla was not in "The Source" that's for sure! "You've got to let your love shine through your eyes, your smile...you got to let somebody know how you feel inside...your heart...you'll find somebody wants to be a part of your life." ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 15:08:13 +0500 Reply-To: mulders@mindspring.com Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Bob or Chris Mulder Subject: Re: Questions on episode timing In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Hi, Peace, Sandy was correct about all of your questions being able to be answered in the first few eps ... > So... I have to depend on you, my fanfic buddies, to help me out > here. Which episode has the scene where Clark teaches Lois > a lesson about stealing stories, the whole "Godzilla doll in the city > dump" thing? This is from "Neverending Battle," which as Sandy pointed out was aired as episode 3, but was meant to be episode 2. > At that point, had Lois had the "truth and justice" > interview with Superman? And had Superman called her by > name yet? This scene appears at the end of "Strange Visitor" which was aired at episode 2, but was meant to be episode 3. Lois is at the Daily Planet late in the day after she and Clark had been thrown from the plane by Trask. She's throwing pieces of candy into the air and trying to catch them in her mouth when Supes floats down beside her. He says that he's heard she's been looking for him (a remark that would make a lot more sense if SV had aired after NB), and after they exchange a few lines, he tells her, "I'm going to find that man and stop him. That's a promise, Lois." That's when she says, "You know my name," with a kind of wonder in her voice. It takes her a moment to pull herself together, but she does ... ;-) then tells him that she doesn't know *his* name. This is the point where they have the conversation that results in the "truth and justice" line. Hope this helps. :-) --Chris mailto:mulders@mindspring.com ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 13:13:49 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: Sixth Season anywhere? In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >I hope it's okay I'm posting here to ask FoLCs; I'm only on L&C's Fifth >Season/FanFic/Krypton Club listservs (2 of 'em), not the general >discussion of L&C listserv anymore. > >I was wondering if anyone is coming out with a Sixth Season of Lois & >Clark via email and/or the Internet. > Hey Anne (and others), S5 (unrelated to TUFS) is on the last leg of wrapping up its season 5 and discussions are underway for S6. There'll be new management, some authors returning and we still need to discover if there's enough writer and editor interest to sustain an S6. Stay tuned for an announcement on that sometime ... I understand that there's going to be a Superboy fanfic spinoff (although maybe Superteen would be closer) starting in June, I think. There's a link from the Season 5 site, listed in my sig below. Hope this all helps, Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/ Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 16:32:53 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Zoomway Subject: Re: Questions on episode timing Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 98-04-18 13:32:39 EDT, you write: << So... I have to depend on you, my fanfic buddies, to help me out here. Which episode has the scene where Clark teaches Lois a lesson about stealing stories, the whole "Godzilla doll in the city dump" thing? At that point, had Lois had the "truth and justice" interview with Superman? And had Superman called her by name yet? >> Neverending Battle has the Godzilla doll and Strange Visitor he calls her Lois, at least she 'notices' it there at the end, though earlier in that episode he called her Lois but she didn't notice becasue a missile was heading towards them and she was a bit ... distracted ;) Zoomway@aol.com PS thanks for the kind words on the bloopers, I was worried there for a minute ;) Seriously, I'm glad most of you enjoyed it and I have kind of a neat thing coming from someone that will have snippets up at my site once I send a copy to Beth, so I hope you enjoy that too. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 15:14:54 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: Editorial skills and author's blindspots In-Reply-To: <36e21d53.3538c89f@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Jeanne wrote: > >One last thing. Authors seem to have pet errors. Whereas one author may not >know how to punctuate dialogue, another may do comma splices, mix up tenses or >use run ons. I have learned a great deal from editing. Every so often >something comes up that I have to research. In doing so I have widened my >range of knowledge and my editing has improved. I catch things more quickly >and efficiently now than I did in the beginning. I view my editing as a >contribution to FoLCdom, but I have derived something too. I have improved my >own skills in writing, and I have the satisfaction that I have helped some >other FoLCs with their writing skills. > I have to second this. I have some blind spots (one of them being the plothole, the other the run-on sentence :)) and I've recognised it in other S5 writers too. I'm beginning to firmly believe that editing really does improve one's own writing! Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Lois and Clark Season 5 Fanfic: http://www.tempus.simplenet.com/season5/ Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 22:24:50 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Editor qualifications Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hey, just wanted to weigh in on the editor discussion, from the perspecti= ve of someone who's really been helped by good editors. I'll go along with Sandy's comment that there are different kinds of editing, different leve= ls of detail as it were. = Some people are very good at big picture stuff (hey, he said this back in= the first half, so why is he saying this other thing here? and by the way= , your plot has holes the size of a mountain ) (I don't think this is my= strength, btw ) = Then there's smaller stuff... Like knowing the difference between similar words (your/you're, there/their/they're, and peak/peek/pique) and= knowing where to put commas vs. semicolons. The editing I do tends to be= along those lines. (This is one reason it's good to have more than one editor if you can; hopefully they'll have talents between them to cover all the right areas) If you want to edit someone's story, here's my advice: Point out anything that sounds wrong or off-kilter, and suggest replacements if you= can, but remember that you're only offering suggestions. The author may disagree with you, and it's their name that will be on the finished product, so that means they get the final say. Remember that this isn't personal, either way. Point out anything that sounds great, as well. Wh= en I send stories to be edited, one of the things I want to know is whether = or not my jokes worked so if you laughed at something, say so! Besides,= it's extremely depressing to get back a list of everything you've done wrong and nothing you've done right. It's a risky thing, showing someone= something you've written, and constructive criticism can be mistaken for rejection. I like Leanne's idea of showcasing "before and after" fanfics... If I had= more time right now, I'd offer one of mine as well If there's still interest in a few weeks, I might do it then. I'm glad this thread came up, because I firmly believe that editing is a skill, just as much as writing, and it's just as important. And like I= said, I've been helped tremendously by good editors over the past few years. Sarah Wood has taught me everything I know about grammar and Debra Manning (Debz) taught me quite a lot about POV and structure. Chri= s Mulder taught me a lot about plot-building, and ... I'd better stop now, = or this will sound like an acceptance speech Let's just say, my writing= is a *lot* better now than it was three years ago. (at least I hope so!) PJ !^NavFont02F07D50007MGHHND7B71E E-mail from: Pam Jernigan, 18-Apr-1998 jernigan@compuserve.com / ChiefPam on the IRC ~~~~~ http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jernigan/folc.html ~~~~~ "Are you under the care of a qualified psychiatrist, Constable?" = -- "The Ladies' Man", Due South "Women and cats will do as they please and men and dogs = should relax and get used to the idea." -- Robert A. Heinlein ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 04:09:12 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Grace Wong Subject: Re: Sixth Season anywhere? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii ---Anne Campbell wrote: > > I hope it's okay I'm posting here to ask FoLCs; I'm only on L&C's Fifth > Season/FanFic/Krypton Club listservs (2 of 'em), not the general > discussion of L&C listserv anymore. > > I was wondering if anyone is coming out with a Sixth Season of Lois & > Clark via email and/or the Internet. > > - Anne > > Anne B. Campbell Reference Librarian > campbell@library.pace.edu Pace University > Well, I certainly agree with you that I hope there will be a season six for us folcs, both S5 and TUFS was really fantastic! It was the best way to relife our LCWS and I want to say a SUPER thankyou to both staff, you are the greatest! I really do hope there will be a sixth season, but I can understand how much time thinking, plotting,writing and editting will take in doing so. But I really really want a season 6...(ok, enough pleading:) Anyway, thanks again for those wonderful lnc episodes! == Grace Wong lois1979@yahoo.com lois@ms15.hinet.net Zepher on IRC "Grease is the word is the word that you heard it's got groove it's got meaning" _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 15:01:30 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Kathy Brown (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Ep 18, TTLG 8/8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" **** Clark had recovered fairly quickly after the Kryptonite was gone and refused to be admitted into the hospital. Lois, too, had refused all treatment, and they ducked out of a little known tunnel to avoid the paparazzi who had heard that the Man of Steel had been attacked. They took a taxi to Clark's apartment, and sat on his couch, holding each other. Lois was still very upset. "Oh, Clark, I'm so sorry. I don't understand why I did that! I would never hurt you! It was like I wasn't in charge of my own actions." "Shh, Lois. I know. It looked like a post-hypnotic suggestion. I studied some of that kind of stuff when I was living in a tribe of mystics in Asia. But you *broke* the suggestion, so it will never affect you again." She looked up at him. "Are you sure?" He smiled reassuringly and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I'm sure. Besides, you aren't getting rid of me that easily. I've been waiting for you all these years. And now that we're together, I'm not letting go." Lois smiled back a watery smile. "You'd better not, mister. I understand soul mates are hard to come by these days." They held each other in silence for a while longer, until Lois turned in Clark's arms. "Why do you think I went off like that?" Clark furrowed his brow. "I've been wondering that myself. The only thing I came up with was that something Luthor or I said must have triggered your post-hypnotic suggestion." Lois pondered this for a moment, then got up and found Clark's tape recorder. She played the tape of the interview. As Lois listened to Lex speech, she once again heard the phrase "Rome burns." A cold shiver went down her spine and she gasped in fear. Suddenly, she heard another voice saying those words to her ... "Rome burns ... " Lois murmured. She turned to Clark, certain now. "That's it! That's what it was." Lois stood, lost in thought for a moment, struggling to solidify a vague memory. "Yes, whoever kidnapped me, they planted that phrase in my mind as a trigger to kill you." Suddenly, she cocked her head. "Clark, do you have any pictures of Tempus in that scrapbook of yours?" Clark stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. "I think so ...." He pulled down the appropriate book, and flipped through it until he found the right page. He turned the book around so it faced Lois. "This is him." Lois studied the picture. She shook her head slowly. "I can't be sure ... the memories are so vague. Everything is still fuzzy." "Well, I'm not nearly as vague. I got a fax this morning right before we left, confirming something. I was going to tell you about it tonight. Turns out Tempus was in Kinshasa five years ago. On a hunch, I faxed a photo to the police down there last week, when you first appeared here in Metropolis. Turns out Tempus had purchased a large warehouse compound in the area. The police raided it, but it was empty. Electricity had been drawn there as late as last month, though." Lois looked perplexed. "So Tempus did this to me?" "I'm afraid so." "But why?! I never even met the man!" Clark pulled her into his arms. "Do you remember what I told you about the other Lois and Clark? He's done similar things to keep them apart. It seems that his world is some kind of Utopia, inspired by the story and life of Superman, and brought to reality by Superman's descendants." Clark gently lifted Lois's chin to look at him. "His descendants with Lois Lane," he finished gently. "Wow ..." Lois whispered. Her eyes closed as Clark's mouth lowered to hers. As their lips slowly separated, Lois smiled. "This story keeps getting better and better," she teased. "Do we know what our firstborn's name is or anything like that?" Clark laughed. "No ... I think we should keep some mystery, don't you? Besides ... the two universes don't necessarily have to progress the same. After all, that Lois and Clark are already married, so we already know our wedding dates won't be the same--" Suddenly, Clark looked a little worried. "I mean ... *if* ... you know ... I don't mean to pressure--" Lois cut him off by placing her mouth over his. "You're talking too much again, flyboy." **** Later that evening, Lois and Clark sat on his couch, once more looking through the scrapbook of Superman's early days. Lois ran her finger over a picture of her alter-ego. "So she's happily married, huh?" she asked with a little smile. "They've been married for about a year and a half. And yes, they are very happy." Leaning back against the couch with his arm around Lois's shoulders, Clark smiled contentedly. For the first time in two years, he realized, he felt no jealousy over his other self. He would always have fond memories of the other Lois, but now his thoughts were happily focused on the person beside him. Lois turned to him and grinned flirtatiously. "Are they as happy together as we are?" She leaned into his mouth and Clark matched her movement. They kissed enthusiastically. "If they are," he responded, "they are two *very* lucky people." **** OUR METROPOLIS Lois turned in her husband's arms as they lay in bed. "When he left with HG Wells last year, after we rescued you from that time window ... Mr. Wells seemed to imply he was going to help the other Clark find his Lois. Do you think he ever did, Clark?" Clark smiled and relaxed. "You know, honey; I think he did. I don't know why, but I suddenly have this feeling that somehow, some way, they are together and happy." Lois turned to him and grinned flirtatiously. "Are they as happy together as we are?" She leaned into his mouth and Clark matched her movement. They kissed enthusiastically. "If they are," he responded, "they are two *very* lucky people." **** On the dark street outside, a small man dressed in early twentieth century clothing pulled a pocket watch from his vest, checking its time in the moonlight. He smiled broadly, then walked down the street towards a deserted alley. **** THE END ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 15:01:27 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Kathy Brown (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Ep 18, TTLG 7/8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" **** Getting to Luthor was easier than they had anticipated. They dropped in on his executive office, trying to finagle an appointment, when he suddenly walked into the room. Lois inserted herself in his path. "Mr. Luthor. I'm Lois Lane, reporter for the Daily Planet. I was wondering if you'd consent to my partner and I interviewing you?" Lex stopped and surveyed the confident looking brunette in front of him. If he was surprised to see her, he didn't let it show on his face, but his appreciation of her beauty was clear in his eyes. Lois had purchased a new suit the previous afternoon, rushing into her favorite store just before it closed. Her selection hadn't been a mistake. She had noted Clark's favorable response that morning, and it looked to be giving her the edge here, too. She played it up, smiling demurely. Lex took her hand and kissed it. "Ms. Lane ... I read the story of your return. This fine city is a more beautiful place now that you've returned to her." Clark had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Instead, he cleared his throat, drawing Luthor's attention. "Ah, Mr. Kent ... or should I say Superman?" Luthor nodded his greeting. "I didn't realize you were still writing stories outside of Superman's activities." Clark clenched his jaw at the subtle jab, but kept his cool and forced a polite smile. Before he could respond, however, Lois jumped in once more. "Mr. Luthor, Clark and I have been investigating the death of Nigel St. John and would really appreciate your taking the time to talk to us." Lex looked into Lois's eyes and smiled gallantly. "Well, I don't normally grant interviews, Ms. Lane, but I think this may be time to start." His voice roughed with emotion as he continued. "Especially if would help find the monster that butchered Nigel." Lex composed himself and addressed his secretary. "Mary Anne, what do I have on the agenda this afternoon?" "A personnel meeting in twenty minutes, a meeting with the board of LexCorp in two hours, and a meeting with the directors of MetroBank to finish the day, sir." Lex turned his attention back to Lois. "Twenty minutes might be a good start for you, then we could finish up another time. Over dinner, perhaps?" Clark felt his hackles rise. Luthor had barely taken his eyes off Lois since he first noticed her. Clark took a step closer to Lois, and placed a hand on the small of her back possessively. "I think we could make time for dinner some night, if we don't finish today." Luthor lifted his chin slightly, and noted their body language with a slight narrowing of his eyes. After a moment, he tipped his head deferentially. "Where are my manners? Please, follow me. Mary Anne, will you notify the personnel committee that I'll be a few minutes late? Thank you." Lex ushered the reporters into a plush, yet personally barren office. Everything contained therein was obviously chosen by a professional decorator, and held few clues as to the personality of the occupant. There was a slight breeze coming from the open door leading to a large balcony overlooking the city. After inviting his guests to sit in the two leather-clad seats in front of his desk, Lex seated himself behind it. Clark activated his tape recorder, readied his notepad, then sat back to allow Lois to ask the questions. "First, Mr. Luthor, allow me to offer my condolences to you on the loss of Mr. St. John. He was a pillar of this community and he will be missed. I understand the two of you were quite close?" "Thank you, Ms. Lane. Yes, Nigel was more of a father to me than my own ever was." Lois asked several questions about Nigel, none designed to be too difficult to answer, then shifted her focus suddenly. "Mr. Luthor, have you ever been to Kinstantu, in the Congo?" "Kinstantu? Yes, I was there several years ago, visiting that and other communities in the area. I was working with Blockheed at the time, and we were developing a rather secret product. I was assigned to the project since I speak some of the native languages and have traveled to that area of the world before, to try to make a deal for some materials we needed to procure from that region. Beyond that, I can't tell you any more, for it's still a classified project. You can ask in two years, though. Isn't seven years the limit on those things?" Lex smiled congenially. Lois didn't smile in return. "Have you been back since?" Lex regarded her for a moment. "Yes, I visit from time to time, to keep up my contacts in the area." "Is it true that you had a hired man named Makimba in 1993?" "1993? Well, let me think; that was quite some time ago. Yes, I do believe I hired a man named Makimba once, but he turned out to be rather unsavory. I found that he would work for anyone, as long as the price was right. At the same time that he was supposed to be working for me, he was working for some slavers." Lex paused dramatically as Lois raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Yes, Ms. Lane, you heard me right -- slavers. When I discovered this, I knew he couldn't be trusted with technological secrets. I paid him for the brief time he was with me and never heard from him again. He was in my employ for all of thirty-six hours." Lois wrote some notes in her notebook, frowning in thought. She had been told that the trade Blockheed was making had to do with weapons, but the documents she had read could also have been be interpreted to this end. And if this Makimba really was running slaves, he could have kidnapped her for that reason instead of due to the fact she was getting too close to a story ... Clark, sitting next to her, was not as convinced. Luthor's story seemed extremely convenient. This man was smooth, very smooth. Yet Clark couldn't help thinking that Lex was feeling threatened, and was creating this story to divert their attention. For all this, however, Clark did recognize that his judgment of this man might be clouded. He had taken an instant dislike to Lex Luthor, but he couldn't decide if his feelings had to do with jealousy over the way the man interacted with Lois, or if it was something more. He decided to shift the focus of the conversation once more. "Mr. Luthor, about the re-organization of Mr. St. John's financial interests ...." Lex reluctantly turned from his study of Lois to address Clark. "What would you like to know, Mr. Kent?" "In the last few years, you have developed a rather large conglomeration of your own. LexCorp manages power-plants, medical groups, banks, even fisheries in several countries of the world. How are you managing to control all of your former guardian's interests, as well?" "You have to understand, Mr. Kent, that when Nigel disappeared, the stockholders were looking for someone to lead them. Nigel was such a rock, such a good leader, that they were lost without him. "Instability is a terrible thing. I couldn't just stand by and watch it all crumble. I wanted to make sure that when he came back, it would all still be there for him. You can't just fiddle while Rome burns. You have to take control. "Besides, it gave me something to do. Those thirty-six hour days gave me something to think about besides my own grief." As the two men talked, neither was watching Lois to see the change that came over her as Lex spoke. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Lois suddenly bolted from her chair, looking at Clark with a mix of terror and desperation. As Clark looked at her in surprise, she began backing further away, struggling to remove her bracelet. "Lois, what's wrong?" Clark asked in concern. "Stay away from me! Stay back, you hear?" Lois looked behind her frantically, and backed out through the nearest open door, onto the balcony. "What on earth's wrong with her, Mr. Kent?" Lex exclaimed. Clark stood up. "I don't know; just don't crowd her. She looks very frightened." Clark held his hands out in front of him in a mute appeal to Lois. "Lois ... everything is okay. There's nothing here to hurt you." he said in the most soothing voice he could manage. Ignoring his pleas, she instead looked at him warily, and held her wrist with the bracelet out in front of her as a shield. "Don't come any closer!" she ordered. Lex picked up the phone. "Let me page my personal assistant. He has medical training; he may know what to do here." He spoke into the phone. "Mary Ann, have Asabi come to my office immediately." Lex walked over to Clark. "Perhaps you should try talking to her, Mr. Kent. It looks like a panic attack, probably stemming from her thinking about her recent trials. I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself." Clark nodded, getting very worried. If anything happened to Lois, he'd never forgive himself. He walked towards the door. "Lois, it's me, Clark. There's nothing to be afraid of. Everything is going to be okay." As Clark reached the doorway, Lois wrenched violently on the bracelet. "I warned you, stay AWAY!" The bracelet pulled apart, revealing the glowing tip of a small knife. A green knife. Clark immediately fell to his knees. "Lois," he gasped. "That's Kryptonite." Lois seemed startled when he fell, and hesitated for a moment. But as Clark reached his hand out to her, she lifted the blade up. "No," she said, fearful yet angry. "I won't let you hurt me. You're my enemy. I'll never be safe while you're alive." As Lois approached him with the knife, Clark felt his pain increase. Growing weaker, he fell to the floor. He knew very soon he would completely vulnerable to her. "Lois, please," he pleaded. "Please, listen to me. You know me, Lois; you know I would never hurt you. Remember all the time we've spent together this week? All the things we've said? I love you, Lois. We need each other ... we're soul mates. I love you ... don't do this ..." Lois stood over Clark for a moment, uncertain. A look of confusion entered her eyes. 'He's your enemy!' her mind shouted. 'Kill him before he kills you!' She lifted the blade once more, but her hand shook as she tried to lower it. Her mind shouted out again ... only this time, it wasn't her voice. It was a man's voice. A man with an angry, cruel voice. She looked at the man lying before her ... she did know him .... He had such a nice voice, not at all like the voice in her head. He said that he loved her, that he would never hurt her. She wanted to believe ... she wanted ... Clark. With a strangled cry, Lois threw herself backwards and grabbed the other half of her bracelet from where it had fallen to the floor. She forced the band back into one piece and flung it out over the balcony railing. Sobbing -- as if awakening from a nightmare -- she ran to Clark and kneeled before him. She gently lifted his head in her lap and cradled it. "Clark!" she sobbed. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry ... please be okay ... please be okay ..." Clark squinted a bit as he looked up at her. He smiled weakly and nodded. "It's all right, Lois ... everything is going to be all right." "What happened?" she wailed. "Why would I do such a thing? I don't understand ..." Just then, the sound of an ambulance arriving below drifted up to them. A man's voice interrupted them. "I took the liberty of calling an ambulance. I think you both could use it." Lois looked up, her face stained with tears. "Thank you, Mr. Luthor, thank you. I'm so sorry. I don't know why ... I don't know why ... " Lex crouched next to Lois, and cupped her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Ms. Lane -- Lois, this clearly wasn't your fault. Obviously something happened to you over the past five years, something traumatic. But you didn't hurt anyone, least of all me. I just hope you're feeling better soon. Both of you." By the time the ambulance personnel entered the suite, both Lois and Clark were sitting up, mostly recovered. Still, at Lex's insistence, they escorted Lois and Clark to the nearest hospital. **** As the elevator doors shut, Luthor turned to his personal assistant, Asabi, who had joined the scene. "Well, what do you think?" Asabi looked thoughtful. "She was able to overcome the post-hypnotic suggestion. Quite remarkable. She has a very strong Ka -- I have never seen anyone overcome a suggestion that deeply implanted." Asabi's voice was muted with respect for Ms. Lane and her strength. "Were we able to recover the bracelet?" "Of course, sir." "Good; as in so many other things, Tempus was wrong once again. But the green stuff, that's real enough. I may have need of that soon." Lex sighed dramatically. "It's a shame, though. I was hoping to be there to console Ms. Lane over the death of her newly acquired partner ..." Lex's eyes darkened. "But who knows, Asabi ... I may have that pleasure yet." "If I may suggest, sir," Asabi interjected. "Ms. Lane and Mr. Kent's Kas are connected in a way that is beyond this world. That connection would not be easy to sever." Lex scoffed. "Yes, yes. I heard them. Soul mates. Only a romantic sap could come up with something like that." Lex rolled his eyes in disgust. "Please -- I may throw up!" Asabi nodded in deference. "Well, sir, they don't seem to have any proof of a connection between you and Mr. St. John's untimely demise." "Yes; poor Nigel. He just didn't have enough vision. He wanted me to work for him *still*, when my organization was more than big enough to rival his. There's only room for one at the top, as he so often told me. It's a shame he didn't realize it was time for him to stand aside." Lex sat back in his chair, deep in thought. "If there is nothing else ... " "What? No, Asabi. That will be all for now." Lex turned his chair to look out the window over the city that, for all intents and purposes, he ruled. **** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 15:01:25 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Kathy Brown (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Ep 18, TTLG 6/8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" **** As they were washing the dishes, Clark noticed Lois pushing up her sleeves to immerse her hands in the soapy water. "That's an unusual bracelet, Lois. What is it?" Lois shrugged absently. "Oh, it's just something I picked up somewhere. I've had it for so long, I don't even remember where I got it, to tell the truth. But I love it. It's -- I don't know, I just miss it so much when I'm not wearing it that I never even take it off anymore ...." She trailed off, then stood, just contemplating the bracelet. Clark noticed how tired she seemed. "Would you like to crash on the couch for a while? I'll wake you when it's time to go." "No, Clark. I'm too wound up. I couldn't possibly sleep. Of course, I'll be sorry for that tomorrow. But my appointment with the realtor isn't 'til one o'clock, anyway. You're still coming, right?" "Of course!" "Good; I told my dad that you would be there. I think even *he* will accept it if Superman says a place is okay. He and Mom have been threatening to come out and find a place for me just so they're sure it will be safe. It's sweet, and I know they've been through hell over this, but I've been on my own for so long ... I just don't need the kind of fussing over they want to do." Lois took one look at Clark's face and felt guilty. "Oh, Clark ... I'm sorry. I know I sound ungrateful." Clark shook his head. "No ... I understand. Actually, I wasn't thinking about my parents so much as about Lana. It was difficult when we split up because I felt so ungrateful after everything she and her family had done for me. They gave me so much, but then Lana made me feel like ... like in exchange for that stability, she got the right to run my life. And when I became Superman against her wishes ... that was it." Lois furrowed her brow. "Sounds like we should set her up with my ex-boyfriend, Claude. I dated him for a couple months when I first got to the Planet ... he was French, and I thought he was so mature and worldly. But when it came down to it, he wanted everything done for him, things handed to him on a silver platter. One day I caught him "borrowing" some of my notes for a story he was going to write up. I kicked him out so fast, he didn't know what hit him!" "You sound so in control of everything, so sure of yourself," Clark said almost wistfully as they moved the conversation to the couch. "I envy you that." Lois just smiled sadly. "I'm not in that much control ... look at what a mess my life is right now. I've lost a whole chunk of time ... time that I'll never get back. And every time I think about it--" She broke off, her voice cracking with emotion. Clark leaned forward. "But you're strong, Lois ... most people wouldn't be able to handle this nearly as well as you have." Lois sniffled. "Sometimes I don't feel very strong," she admitted aloud for the first time. "I mean, when I go to bed at night, half the time I end up crying because I'm so scared and angry. It's just so unfair." Clark wrapped his arms around her as they leaned back against the couch. He began telling her about his parents' death, and how hard it was on him. Then he related his mixed feelings over meeting the Kents in the other dimension last year. On one hand, it was a deeply emotional experience, to be held in his mother's arms one last time, even if it wasn't really *his* mother. But on the other, it was terribly traumatic to have those old wounds reopened -- and he confessed that sometimes he still got angry over how his childhood was stolen from him, especially when he found out the other Clark didn't have to go through that. Lois told Clark about her family, and how she felt guilty for not wanting to spend more time with them in California. Lois was raised in Metropolis, but just a few months before she had gone to the Congo, her parents moved to Silicon Valley to be closer to Lucy, who had just given birth to their first grandchild. Lois had never even been to the house before a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful house -- in a nice community named Sunnyvale -- but it wasn't *home*. "And right now, Clark ..." she finished, her voice thick with emotion. "All I want -- desperately -- to be somewhere I consider home. Does that make any sense?" Clark took a shaky breath. "Lois, it makes more sense than you probably realize. You know, when I started working as Superman, the city offered to buy me a big, fancy house near the government district of the city. But instead, I just bought the apartment next door when it became available, and joined the two to get a little more space. I mean, the house would have been a lot bigger, but I just couldn't bear to leave this apartment. I've lived here ever since I moved to Metropolis. It's the longest I've ever lived anywhere except for the farm where I lived with my parents until I was ten." As Clark related his emotional story, Lois turned in his arms. "I guess we're both looking for the same things," she whispered. "A home ... stability ... someone to trust .... someone to love." Clark looked deeply into her eyes. "Kids that grow up like me," he said, trying to smile, "tend to crave those things ... stability, I mean ..." Lois didn't waver. "And the rest of those things? Do you crave those, too?" she asked seriously. Clark swallowed, fighting the building emotions that were welling up in him. Emotions he'd been keeping a tight lid on for his entire adult life. He pulled her a little closer. "I've been searching for twenty years, Lois," he whispered. "And I feel like I finally have a chance at them." Lois smiled through the tears welling up in her eyes and returned his hug. "Me too," she admitted. **** As evening turned into night, the two spent long hours talking. Clark had never imagined being able to share so much of himself with anyone. Lana had repeatedly told him that she would be the only one who would ever understand him ... but she had been so wrong. Clark found himself telling Lois things that he had never shared with another living soul. As midnight neared, however, they packed up their things, and got ready to fly to Africa. Clark knew that Lois was nervous about the trip, both about what she might find there, and any memories that might surface. But she was strong, no matter what doubts she might have, and she jumped into his arms ready to face whatever they might find. They landed at a rough airstrip -- the same one Lois had landed on all those years ago. Lois directed Clark to the clearing where she had been abducted. She had been shocked to see how overgrown the area had become -- five years worth of growth, not the two months that had passed from her perspective. The two stood in silence for a long moment before beginning a search of the area. Clark scanned with every super-sense he had, but found nothing. He could only imagine the frustration and sadness Lois felt in surveying this spot, and his own anger welled up when he thought of someone stealing those years from her. It was too much for him to even put into words. So they each stayed silent. After nearly a half an hour, they reluctantly agreed that there was nothing more to see, so they continued on to the outskirts of the village where Lois had stayed, ready to see if anyone recognized the photo they had brought. The first place they visited was the local market. It was run by a Lebanese couple, surprisingly the same people who had run it when Lois had last been there. Because western people were so rare in that part of the world, they recognized Lois immediately and greeted her profusely, offering her fruits and all their hospitality. They then turned their attention to Clark, who had just entered the shop. He had changed back into his regular clothes after doing a quick survey of the area. "Mr. Kent! It is so good to see you, again. We see that you have found Ms. Lane. Praise Allah." Lois looked to Clark, surprised. He explained, a little embarrassed. "After I met the other Lois, I decided to see if I could find out what happened to you. This was the obvious place to start. The possessions you left behind had been 'acquired' by someone else long before I got here. I asked a lot of questions, but obviously not the right ones," he finished ruefully. Lois smiled and laid a comforting hand on his arm. Imagine, blaming himself! She turned back towards the shopkeeper, and handed him a picture of Lex Luthor. "Do you recognize this man by any chance?" The man studied the picture, then showed it to his wife. They spoke in their native tongue for a few minutes, and Mohammed nodded. "John. It looks a lot like John," he finally responded in English. Lois leaned forward. "Where do you know him from?" "I met him only once. He came to the village looking to hire house help." The man looked skyward, trying to remember more. "It was not long before you arrived, Ms. Lane. I remember because it was so unusual, having two Americans visit the village in such a short time." "Do you know what happened to him?" Clark interjected. The man shook his head. "He didn't stay long; I don't think he spoke to anyone beyond me and my friend, Makimba. He approached us as we walked on the road outside of the village. My friend agreed to work for him, then they both disappeared." "What do you mean, disappeared?" "Makimba has not been seen in all these years since. I am sure something happened to him. He left a poor mother left behind, and if he were alive, he certainly would have given her some support." Lois and Clark exchanged looks. "Mohammed, do you have any idea where this man -- John? -- lived when he was here?" "He gave us some vague directions when he was soliciting us to work for him. My son, Alef, might be able to help you search a few possible locations. He's quite an explorer, our Alef." "But isn't Alef the little one?" asked Lois, confused. Mohammed smiled, "Alef is fourteen now, Ms. Lane. He's a man. He has just gone to deliver supplies to the missionary couple down the path; he should be back any time now." When Alef returned, he led Lois and Clark to three remote huts, two of which they immediately ruled out due to their distance from the clearing. ("My abductor must have carried me out of there. There was no way a truck could have gotten through, " Lois reasoned.) The third, however, was quite promising. It had been abandoned for some time, but it looked more livable than either of the previous two they had visited. Clark did a super-search of the floor of the hut and found a small object. He unearthed it, digging it out of the grime that had collected over it. It was a small cross. Lois gasped. "That was my charm, from the necklace my Grandma Lane gave me. The necklace had broken in the bush that morning. I remember putting the cross in my pocket to keep it safe. It must have fallen out here." Clark grew more serious, his features hardening into what Lois could only refer to as his 'Superman face'. "Well, this was the place, then. Let me do a sweep of the area." Clark returned five minutes later with a grim look on his face. "Nothing helpful, except I did find the remains of a human skeleton. I think it's safe to say we know where Makimba's been hiding all these years." Lois looked up at Clark. "The next step is to talk to Luthor, isn't it?" "Yes, I have a feeling that man has a lot to answer for." **** They flew back to Metropolis early in the morning, their time. They were tired and dirty, but buoyed by the fact that they had some new information to go on. After a quick nap, shower, and a change of clothes, they made it to Lois's meeting with realtor only a few minutes late. The first building that they looked at was a familiar one to Lois. "Hey! I used to live here!" "Yes, Miss Lane. I thought perhaps you'd like to start with this building, since you are already familiar with it. And it's so convenient to your office." "I don't suppose apartment 105 is still open?" "No, currently the only opening is on the top floor of the building." They took the elevator to the fifth floor and followed the realtor into apartment 501. "Oh, it's perfect! It's home! And Clark, look at the windows. Lots of room for you to land." She grinned up at him as she took his hand and pulled him to the window. They stood that way, holding hands and enjoying the view and the nearness of each other, until the realtor reminded them of her presence. "Shall I have a lease written up, Miss Lane?" she asked. She was the soul of decorum, and restrained herself from wanting to ask all sorts of questions about this friend of Superman. She didn't want to do anything to mess up the sale; the commission was too important. But she couldn't wait to get back and share this gossip with her friends. Superman had a girlfriend! Lois looked at Clark, as if asking a second opinion. Clark, being practical as ever, insisted on looking over all the rooms, checking the electricity and plumbing as well as the safety features of the apartment and the entire building in general. After haggling with the realtor ("After all, the fifth floor isn't really all that convenient. Having to cart groceries all the way up here should be worth at least $100 a month!" Lois declared), Lois agreed to the terms of the lease. She could move in the following weekend, due to the fact that she had been a previous tenant and no background check would be needed. "Now to track down all of my stuff. Thank goodness, my sister kept most of my stuff in storage all this time. She said she couldn't accept that I wouldn't come back someday. Of course, Johnny-Angel has more than enough money to rent a storage shed for a few years. He probably owns the building," she said with a little roll of her eyes. Clark just laughed as he dropped Lois off at the White's house, promising to meet her at work first thing in the morning so they could try to find a way to get to Lex Luthor. **** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 15:01:23 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Kathy Brown (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Ep 18, TTLG 5/8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Lois had taken Clark's hand in a show of support when he'd first gotten emotional, but at his last statement, she began to get frustrated all over again. "He did *what*?? Who?! Clark, if you know who kidnapped me, or who saved me, then I have a right to know!" Suddenly, Lois had another thought. The pieces were beginning to fit together slowly, but there were still huge gaps. She changed tack. "Who was she, Clark?" Lois demanded. "The woman that claimed to be me ... the one that was there when you became Superman?" When Clark didn't answer immediately, Lois went on, getting more worked up. "I mean, it's frustrating enough knowing that there's this whole huge section of my life that I'm missing, but to find out that while I was gone, someone was posing as me ... that's just too much. And no one will tell me anything! Perry and James are being vague on purpose, I just know it. And that really pisses me off! I mean, this is my name, my life ... and if someone just tried to steal it then disappeared ... what if she was responsible for kidnapping me? What if she stole my life?! What if--" "Lois!" Clark stopped her by placing his hands on her shoulders. "It wasn't like that." Lois stopped in mid-babble. "Then what was it like, Clark? Tell me!" And so Clark told her all about the two strange visitors who had come to the Daily Planet looking for him. How they knew about his powers, and claimed to need his help. About a man named Tempus who was trying to defeat Perry White in the mayor's race by having him murdered. How they all came from another dimension, an alternate dimension, where many things were the same, yet many things were different. And how the woman called Lois Lane taught him how to be Superman, then returned to her own time and space ... returning to marry the man that she loved. Lois sat stunned as Clark recounted his story to her. They talked for long hours about the events of his life two years ago. She asked many questions, and Clark tried to answer as best he could. He even pulled out the scrapbook he kept of that time, and showed her the blurry background pictures of the woman who called herself Lois Lane, and the man who claimed to be HG Wells. Clark then went onto explain how he had visited the alternate universe last year, and had helped that Lois when her husband was kidnapped by Tempus. And how, as they were leaving, Clark had vocalized how much he wished his Lois -- this Lois -- hadn't been taken from him before he'd even had a chance to meet her. Lois inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to process all that she'd heard. "So, what you're saying ..." she started slowly. "Is that in this alternative universe ... you and I are ... married?" Clark nodded. "Yeah ... we are. Only, it's not us. Not really. I mean, she isn't you -- you were raised differently, just like the other Clark and I were raised differently, and therefore, are different people. Maybe like twins separated at birth." Clark smiled a little at his analogy. Then he hesitated. "I know it's hard to believe ..." he said apologetically. Lois just shook her head and started to chuckle a bit. "Yeah, it is ... but the scariest part is I actually believe you. I shouldn't. I should be running for the door. But I actually believe you." She smiled at him, at a loss. "Why is that?" Clark smiled too, and tentatively reached up a hand to stroke her hair. "Maybe because after all the craziness you've gone through to get to this point, you finally have an explanation ... or maybe ...." His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Because we're soul mates, and are meant to be together." She looked doubtful. "Do you believe in soul mates, Clark?" "I didn't ... until I met you. What I feel for you, Lois ... I can't really describe it. It's like I'm drawn to you." Lois looked into his eyes. She saw incredible kindness and such gentle strength. It was like she'd been looking for this all of her life, and suddenly it was right here in front of her. Even though her mind was telling her that it was crazy, her heart was telling her not to fight her feelings, to reach out for everything this man had to offer her. She tried to tell herself that it was just the romance of the moment, that she was going through a stressful time in her life and this man was just the one who happened to be offering her solace. But if that were true, then maybe that was her good luck. She may have overlooked him otherwise -- he made her notice him. Still ... there was one thing holding her back. There was one question left unanswered. "You spent a lot of time with the other Lois, didn't you?" "Yes, I did." Lois took a deep breath, knowing she had to ask. She was sure that Clark had romantic feelings for her ... but were they feelings for the Lois that sat before him? Or for the other Lois that he had met two years ago? "Were you in love with her, Clark?" Clark lowered his gaze for a moment, then returned to meet her eyes. "I ... had feelings for her, yes. Strong ... feelings. She put me in touch with a part of myself that I didn't know existed. She was the first person in my life, besides my parents, who made me believe that I was someone special, and that I didn't need to be ashamed of who I was. And I will *always* be grateful to her for that." Lois felt her heart sink over his admission. She felt protective of this man, and from everything she had learned about his childhood and early years at the Planet, she could only imagine how painful his life must have been. And she, too, was grateful to the woman who had helped this man feel good about himself. But the fact still remained that Lois Lane would never play second fiddle to any woman, and could never allow herself to get involved with a man who saw her as his second choice. As if reading her mind, Clark continued, imploring her with his voice and his eyes to understand. "But you have to believe me, Lois; I honestly feel that my feelings for her were supposed to be directed towards you. You are a different person; you had a different life. I feel -- I feel a connection with you, Lois, that I've never felt with anyone else before in my life. And I think that even though my feelings may have been ... jump-started ... by meeting her first, it's become increasingly clear to me over the last year that it was *her* that was a substitute for *you*, not the other way around. And it's *you* that I want to get to know better." Lois sniffled as a couple of tears slipped out of her eyes and ran down her face. She wiped at them and laughed. "Wow," she said on a little gasp. "That was ... really beautiful." Clark chuckled with her, but it was clear his speech had left him feeling emotional and vulnerable. His voice was earnest when he spoke again. "Lois, I told myself I wouldn't pressure you. I've had a lot longer to get used to these feelings, and I want you to know that I don't expect you to necessarily return them. I know you've been through a lot this last month, and the last thing I want is to become another pressure on you--" Lois shook her head as she wiped away the remaining tear marks. "Clark," she interrupted, "have you ever heard the phrase 'quit while you're ahead'?" Clark gave her a puzzled look. "Yeah ...." Lois rolled her eyes. "Shut up and kiss me, flyboy." **** Clark pulled his mouth away from Lois's as yet another cry for help interrupted their "getting to know each other". After sighing heavily, he cocked an eyebrow over the fact that Lois seemed to find the situation amusing. In fact, she was laughing out loud. "I don't find this funny," he said as he spun into the suit for the fourth time that evening. She grinned. "You should ... I bet it's not every night that Superman has to wipe lipstick off his face before saving someone." Lois sat up and reached for the stack of papers on the corner of the coffee table, as Clark self-consciously swiped at his mouth. "And it's not every night I have so much fun 'working'." He just shook his head. "I hope you continue to feel that way ... I'm already starting to regret taking this 'second job'." "People are always most patient when they're in the beginning of a relationship. Now go, before I have to go rescue the person myself." Lois smiled as, with a wink and a gust of wind, he was gone. She was getting used to these interruptions. Over the week that she had known him, he had frequently made these quick exits, sometimes in the middle of a conversation. She could imagine that it could get really annoying in the future, but for now, she was content to know that he was out doing good for the world. And in any case, at least it was clear what she was getting herself into. >From what she could tell, Clark Kent had surrendered a fair bit of his private life when he took on the job of Superman. In exchange for regular patrols, the city of Metropolis put Clark on retainer, as well as helped pay for the expansion of and extra security for his apartment. In exchange for frequent interviews, the press stayed out of his life after hours (unless he was dressed in the suit). Though, from what she had heard, he hadn't had much of a social life as Clark Kent. He himself had told her he hadn't dated much recently, and the papers were full of evidence for how often Superman was needed. It was enough to make her wonder if he had room in his life for a girlfriend, but she was heartened by Clark's sincere admission that while his Superman duties were a high priority for him, they were not his only priority -- especially now that he had found her. Time would tell, she supposed, how well they would be able to work through the disagreements that were bound to arise over how he allocated his time among those priorities. But for now, Lois was content to enjoy spending time with him, and let the relationship develop. Just then, Clark flew back in the window. "Sorry about that. It always seems to take longer than I think." Lois waved him off. "That's okay. I think I'm done for the night, anyway." "Did you find anything?" Clark asked, peering over her shoulder at the notes she had taken on their list. "No, nothing yet. But I know there's something I'm missing. I just have to find it." "We'll find it, Lois. We'll find it." Lois sighed. "I know ... but not tonight. I'm really beat. It's been a very eventful day." She smiled tenderly at him for a moment. "Say, do you want to go with me on Sunday to look at apartments? I have a realtor showing me some that are available and I'd love a second opinion." Clark perked up. "Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun." He smiled as Lois's jaw cracked into a huge yawn. "But for now I'm taking you home. Ready to head to Perry's?" Lois gathered up her purse and briefcase. "Yes, if you don't mind. We have to be in early tomorrow, so I want to get some sleep." Clark picked her up, belongings and all. "Superman Airlines, leaving in five seconds." If anyone had looked up into the darkened sky fifteen minutes later, they would have been surprised to see Superman doing somersaults of joy on his way home from the mayor's house. **** The next day, Lois was working on cross-referencing all of the international companies affiliated with Lex Luthor when something caught her eye. Pulling up another file, she found a list of all of the mission hospitals in Zaire. Sigma Health Corporation, through its entity known as New World Health, operated nearly all of the mission hospitals in the area of Zaire she'd been found in -- all except one. Lois sat back in her chair. It certainly could be a coincidence that Lois regained consciousness in the one clinic in the area that was *not* associated with Lex Luthor ... but her reporter's instincts told her it wasn't. She quickly checked to see if Lex Luthor had made any visits to Zaire recently. Sure enough, he had visited the region once or twice a year over the last few years, always on St. John Corporation business. His last scheduled trip had been five months ago. At that moment, Clark Kent entered the newsroom from the stairwell and returned to his desk. "Hi Clark," she said absently. "Were you able to clear that pile-up?" "Yeah. These summer storms can be pretty violent in the midwest ... people get caught in their cars when they have no business being on the road." Clark looked like he was going to say more when he noticed how distracted his partner looked. "What's up, Lois? Did you find something?" "Well, I'm not sure. Look at this." She showed him her paperwork, and explained the two connections that Lex Luthor had to the region. "Now, Clark ... I may be reaching here, but do you think that if it was HG Wells that helped me get to that hospital, that he would have known to choose the *one* facility in the area that wasn't associated with Lex Luthor? And if so, why?" Clark was silent for a moment, deep in thought. "Lois, would it be all right if we started looking into the lead you had that took you to Africa in the first place? I have a weird feeling that you're more tied to this than you know." "Yeah, I was going to suggest the same thing myself. I have a folder of stuff -- it has all my old notes plus the stuff I've been able to find since I came back." Clark super-skimmed the notes. "Blockheed Marvin? Supporting rebel insurrections in Africa?" Clark whistled. "Holy smokes!" "Yeah. I never even let Perry see how big this was. Just told him that it was a gun-running story. The implications of this would have been stunning." "But Lois -- Luthor worked for Blockheed. There was a short period of time when he left St. John Corp. for a couple positions elsewhere. By summer of 1995, he was working for Tempus's campaign, but before that ..." Clark grabbed a different folder, and pulled out a sheet of paper. " ... he was working as a junior vice president at Blockheed-Marvin. There were rumors that St. John had interests in Blockheed, and that Luthor had been sent in to clean up some mess. He spent an extended amount of time overseas, but there was never any word on what that mess was, or even where they had sent him. Lois? When did you start researching this story?" She thought back. "Well, I guess it was around January of 1993." Clark frowned. "And Luthor started working for Blockheed one month later, right about the time management might have gotten wind of your investigation. He stayed until July of 1995, moved to a full-time position in Tempus's group, then went back to St. John Corp. as soon as Tempus was exposed." The two looked at each other. This warranted a great deal of research. Unfortunately, they both knew that Lex Luthor was probably going to be their primary source of information. Lois looked pensive. "Clark, can I ask you a favor?" "Of course you can, Lois." "Do you think you could fly me over there ... to where I disappeared? I want to take an old picture of Luthor with us. His name -- it has seemed so familiar to me, as if I'd heard it spoken at some point .... Anyway, maybe the locals would have some memory of that time." "How soon can you be ready to go?" **** By six that evening, they had arrived at Clark's apartment armed with a few relevant files and a picture of Lex Luthor, taken five years earlier. Following a quick dinner, they were planning to review their notes, then head to Africa around midnight. With the time change, Clark figured that would get them there early in the morning, in time to catch up with some of the locals as they were heading out for the day. As soon as they dropped the files on the table, Clark headed for the kitchen. "I was thinking about stir-fry for dinner. Sound good to you?" "Honestly, Clark, you don't have to cook for me all the time. I can cook, too." "You can?" He looked shocked. "Of course I can! I mean, nothing fancy, but I get by. Why would you think I couldn't?" She pursed her lips a little. "Oh, I get it. The other Lois couldn't?" "Nope. According to her, she could burn water." He chuckled slightly at the memory of that conversation. "So, I'm not exactly like her?" Lois asked as she pushed Clark away from the refrigerator. "No, actually ... not at all. Well, I mean, you do look alike on the surface, but it wouldn't be hard to tell you apart once anyone got to know you. You both have the same tenacity and forth-rightness and sense of justice, but you're ... I don't know ... more open, maybe? I always felt like she was on her guard around me, that her Clark was the only one that she'd really open up to." He smiled as he caught her in a hug from behind and nuzzled her long hair. "I feel much more comfortable around you than I ever did around her." Lois rested her head back against Clark's chest for a moment, then teasingly pushed him off so she could get to work. "And you've met him? What's he like? Anything like you?" "I didn't get to spend much time with him, but I got some pretty good ideas by talking with her. Do you know he eats lots of junk food? She actually offered me Twinkies and Ho-Ho's." Clark wrinkled up his nose. "Does anyone really *eat* that stuff?" **** ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 15:01:20 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Kathy Brown (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Ep 18, TTLG 4/8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" **** As Lois sat in the small conference room next to Vince's office paging through the stories Clark had assembled on Nigel St. John, she grudgingly had to admit that maybe this partner stuff wasn't so bad. Already today, Clark had gotten her set up with the desk across the aisle from his, introduced her to several new staff members, and taken her on a tour of the handful of departments that had been relocated in the last five years. He'd even offered to bring her coffee when she'd moved into the conference room to study his story files. Amazingly, he knew exactly how she took it -- black, with two sweet-n-lows. Of course, as soon as she'd settled in with the file folders, he'd taken off, explaining quickly that Superman was needed uptown. Lois had watched on the television monitors mounted in the newsroom as Superman -- *Clark*, she reminded herself -- performed a heart-stopping rescue, saving a school bus which had swerved to avoid an accident, only to become lodged dangerously close to an unstable bridge railing. She had cheered with the rest of the newsroom as Superman lifted everyone to safety, and found herself more than a little excited at the prospect of getting to work closely with him. He really had been very nice to her so far, and although she normally didn't warm up to people this quickly, she was pleased to say that she felt really comfortable around Clark Kent. Not to mention the fact that partnering with him would give Lois time to continue her own research on the side ... and who knows, maybe knowing Superman would come in handy as she searched for the answers she so desperately needed. In reviewing Clark's files, Lois noticed that many of his recent notes seemed to center on St. John's successor, Lex Luthor. St. John had been very powerful and noteworthy even before Lois had gone to Africa, so much of the stuff Clark had written about him was not new to her. But this Lex Luthor ... she was almost sure she hadn't heard of him before, yet somehow the name seemed familiar to her. She was lost in her reading when the conference room door opened, and there stood her partner adjusting his glasses and fixing his tie. Clark smiled. "Sorry that took so long." Lois smiled back. "No problem ... I watched you on TV, actually. You did a great job." Clark blushed a little, which Lois found amusing and endearing. Didn't he get compliments all the time? "Thanks," he said. "It feels good to be able to help like this. I only wish I had ..." He stopped, as if realizing he'd said too much, and quickly changed the subject. "Say, did I get any calls? I forwarded my phone here, and I'm expecting an important call from the coroner." "What about?" Clark sat down next to her. "Did you read the story about the body I fished out of Hobbs Bay last night? It was pretty decomposed, but I'm hoping the coroner can make an ID. The body was weighted down, but somehow the weights must have gotten free and it floated up. I have a feeling that man is Nigel St. John." "Do you have any leads on who did it?" "No solid ones. The police have it as an open case ... but I have a feeling." Lois picked up some of Clark's unpublished notes. "Luthor. He is the obvious suspect. What's he like?" "Cagey. He hasn't done any interviews and all his background information is incredibly sketchy. Beyond having been briefly affiliated with Tempus -- Perry's opponent for mayor who ended up being an interdimensional criminal -- they have nothing on Luthor. Not even a parking ticket." Clark paused and dug out the background sheet from amongst his notes. "What we do know about him is interesting, though. His parents died when he was thirteen, and he was quasi-adopted by Nigel St. John. Supposedly of incredibly high intelligence, he was educated at the best schools and trained at military academies. St. John certainly didn't seem to spare any expense on him. But beyond that, nothing. No pre-fame interviews. Plenty of academic and athletic awards in school, but no details about friends. Seems like he was always a loner." Lois looked thoughtful. "You know, I had a whole file on Nigel St. John before I left. I always had a feeling that there was more to that guy than the image he presented. In fact, I was working on a lead when ..." Lois trailed off, suddenly looking very tired. "... when you went to the Congo?" Clark finished gently. Lois looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. She was deciding whether she should say anything more, when there was a knock at the door. In walked a young man carrying a large box. Clark smiled at their guest, and upon seeing that Lois had buried her threatening emotions and put her professional face back on, he made introductions. "Lois, this is Jack. Jack is a researcher and occasional photographer for the Planet. Jack, this is Lois Lane." Lois reached up and shook Jack's outstretched hand, letting it go quickly as the box he was balancing started to wobble. "Nice to meet you," she offered. "Nice to meet you, too, Lois. Boy, are you sure the talk of the office. Anyway, if you need anything, just let me know -- especially pictures. I'm the Planet's most flexible photographer." "Yeah, he's even kind of good when he remembers to take the lens cap off," Clark quipped, with a wink towards Lois. Jack rolled his eyes. "Geez, you make one mistake ..." Clark interrupted him before he could get any farther. "What's in the box, Jack?" "Oh! I was down getting office supplies for your desk, Lois, when Leanne found this box way in the back. Apparently, it's been sitting there since you disappeared. I thought you might like to have it." Jack set the box down on the table. "Okay, I've gotta go. Oh, and Clark? Cat says hi." The boy gave Clark a wicked grin, and scooted out the door. Lois raised an eyebrow. "Who's Cat?" Clark looked a little uncomfortable. "Oh ... Cat Grant. She's a reporter down in Sports." Lois tried to hide her disappointment. "Your girlfriend?" she asked, as casually as she could manage. Clark sat up straighter. "No! I mean ... no, she's not. She, uh, asked me out a couple times, but I never took her up on it. I mean, she's nice and all, but we're just friends." Lois felt relieved, but decided to push her luck anyway. "I would imagine a lot of women ask you out," she said off-handedly. "You probably have a lot of girlfriends ..." Lois let the sentence trail off, watching him for his reaction. Clark looked at her for a long moment before responding. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft, as if he was trying to communicate with more than just his words. "Actually, Lois ... I really haven't dated much in the last couple years. I've been ... kind of waiting for--" Just then, Clark's head lifted and he got a far-away look in his eye. "What? What is it?" she asked, puzzled. Clark shook his head and sighed. "I've been monitoring this fire in Gotham City, and I thought they had it under control, but I think they could use my help after all." He stood up. "Listen, take your time reading through these files. You might want to hide out in here for a while, so those nosy reporters out there lay off. Have Jack give you any names you need to get yourself set up with a phone and computer. He's friends with most of the technicians, so he'll get it pushed through as fast as possible. And do me a favor, if the coroner calls ... " "I'll pump 'em for information. Don't worry! Now *go*; I'll be fine." Clark cocked his head and gave her the strangest smile before leaving the conference room. After he left, Lois got up and walked to the window. Within seconds, she saw a human figure fly off in the direction of Gotham. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to go flying with him -- not after a rescue, but just for fun. **** Clark launched himself off the roof and flew off directly to Gotham. Once there, he tried to distract himself from thoughts of the woman waiting for him back in the newsroom by concentrating on the fire that was threatening to spread to several more vacant buildings. But even as he scanned the buildings for remaining occupants (fortunately, everyone had gotten out), his mind kept returning to her. She had looked happy to be getting back to work, though he knew that inside she must be despondent about her missing years. The few times the subject had been brought up between them, the look of loss on her face was heartwrenching. He couldn't help but feel he was somehow responsible. That was one part of being Superman that he hadn't quite come to terms with -- how, even with all his powers, sometimes he just couldn't save everyone. He felt this guilt most strongly when it came to his parents' death, but two decades had fortunately dampened that pain. Clark knew that it was unrealistic to set such high goals for himself -- whatever he could do should be enough. But it was one thing to say that, and another to believe it. And now he was confronted yet again with a quandary of what to do and how to do it. How should he interact with Lois Lane? He knew in his heart that they were meant to be together, and would have loved nothing more than to scoop her up and fly her to a deserted island, where he could tell her everything and make her fall in love with him. Yet he knew this was just a fantasy -- if this Lois was anything like the other Lois, she wouldn't take kindly to being forced into a romantic situation with a stranger. No, pressuring her would be the surest way to rejection. He couldn't "make" her do anything ... especially develop feelings for him if they weren't there to begin with. Fortunately, however, she did seem to be interested in him, and that gave him hope. Clark hadn't failed to notice how Lois kept looking at him after he had first rescued her (and if he was honest, he had to admit that he couldn't have planned a better introduction -- he wasn't above sweeping Lois off her feet if that gave him a better chance with her. Unlike the other Clark, he had no secret identity to protect, and if his Lois was intrigued first by Superman the way the other Lois had been ... that was fine with him.) But Clark still held out hope that they wouldn't encounter the same problems that the other Lois and Clark had getting together. Lois definitely seemed to be intrigued by Superman, but she had acted just as warmly towards Clark. It had felt good -- really good -- to work with her this afternoon on the St. John story, and he thought that she felt it too. Several times she had graced with him that smile ... oh, that smile ... As Clark moved from building to building, cooling off hot spots as necessary, he shook his head to clear it. All of this pondering wasn't doing him any good. There was really only one option. As much as he wanted to rush things, he had to be patient, to make her feel safe, not scare her away. To get to know her for who she is and not who he projected her to be. Clark knew from experience that people often prejudged him -- and Lois deserved so much more than that from him. He had studied up on this Lois Lane two years ago. He had learned everything he could about her past -- her schooling, her upbringing, her work. But these were just words on paper. Clark wanted to get to know her, the real her, who she was inside. And so, even if it killed him, he would force himself to be patient and not pressure her in any way. **** For the next few days, Lois and Clark continued to work together, writing several articles on the discovery and identity of the body, as well as working on a few side stories that Vince had assigned them. The coroner had been able to make a positive identification on the body that Superman had found in the Bay. It was indeed Nigel St. John. The corpse, however, held little other information. The cause of death was still unknown, and no further clues had been produced which might lead to a perpetrator. A feature story heralding the return of ace-reporter Lois Lane had appeared in the Friday edition of the Planet. There was much speculation but no mention of the cause of Lois's missing years. Lois had grudgingly given Mitch an interview for his story and investigation, but had continued to investigate into the situation on her own. She didn't tell Clark about this, but she had a feeling that he knew anyway. Lois often found herself pondering that little mystery as she watched Clark work at his desk across the aisle from hers. She had just met the man, yet they interacted as if they had known each other much longer. It was a very comforting feeling, to come back to a new friend. But still ... sometimes she felt there was something he just wasn't telling her. Oh, he treated her well, that was for sure. He always held up his end of their partnership -- neither leaving her with more than her share of the work, nor doing it all himself and making her feel left out. In fact, she had heard some of the staff gossiping and had learned that the quasi-regular working hours that Clark was keeping were unusual for him. It seemed that ever since becoming Superman, Clark had been doing a large portion of his work from home via modem. And it was only since he'd been partnered with Lois Lane that he'd begun to not only spend more time in the newsroom, but seemed a happier person, overall. Lois would reflect on these statements as she'd study Clark. What was going on in his head? Sometimes she'd catch him looking at her with an expression so tender that it made her heart skip a beat ... but other times he'd withdraw, indications of loneliness, or even guilt, marring his chiseled features. And so, the question that kept entering her mind was ... does he like me or not? It hadn't taken Lois long to realize that she was very interested in this man. Oh, sure, the cape and the superhero bit was neat, but what really seemed to draw her was the vulnerability that clearly lurked below the surface. Lois had always been a "rescuer" -- it had been her downfall with men since high school -- but she sensed in Clark Kent a need for comfort and friendship more than someone to 'take care of him'. She had done some furtive research on Clark these last few days -- his schooling, his upbringing, his work. And how he had become Superman. Now there was a mystery. The news reports from two years ago gave her lots of facts, but there seemed to be important details missing. Like who was this mystery woman who was frequently seen with Clark in the days leading up to his revealing his superpowers to the world? Lois had been told that it was someone who claimed to be her -- Lois Lane -- but what had happened to the woman? Perry and James were being deliberately vague on the subject, she was sure, and Lois was getting annoyed by the lack of details. Yet she wasn't sure quite how to bring it up with Clark. That Friday night found the two reporters holed up in Clark's apartment, doing research on a list of companies they've been able to link to Lex Luthor. The work was tedious and time consuming, and Clark had suggested they would have more room to spread out at his place. And they had -- papers littered the coffee table and were strewn about the floor. With a groan, Lois straightened on the couch from the file she was reading and started to massage her neck. "Oh, man, my eyes are crossing," she complained. "How about taking a break?" Clark suggested. "I've got some stuff in the 'fridge if you want a snack." "Sounds good to me." Together, they raided his refrigerator, and brought the food back to the couch. Lois was pleasantly surprised to find cream soda in his pantry, which he claimed he had just purchased this week. Not many people seemed to buy cream soda anymore ... in fact, she was the only one of her old friends that liked the stuff when she was first working at the Planet. Yet, here was a man who not only had some for her when she came over to visit, but also seemed to know other things about her -- like how she took her coffee, how she tended to babble when she got upset or nervous, and even which wrist she wore her watch on. And there was something else ... "Clark? Remember when you asked me if I had seen a man wearing a bowler when I was in the mission hospital?" Clark stopped in mid-bite of his sandwich. "Yes?" Lois furrowed her brow. "Well, I kind of remembered something the other night, but I'm not sure if it's my memory or one that you planted there. You know, by mentioning that man to me?" Clark swallowed and put down his plate. He leaned forward. "What do you remember?" Lois took a deep breath, still visibly concerned. "Not much, really ... I still don't have any recollection of how I got to the hospital, but I vaguely remember opening my eyes and seeing a man like the one you described. He said my name -- which I thought was odd at the time since I'd never seen him before -- and he told me that I was in a hospital, but that everything would be okay." Clark looked positively enthralled. "Did he say anything else?" he asked, almost fearfully. Lois cocked her head. "Yeah, though again, I'm not sure if this all was a dream, or what. But when he told me I was in the hospital, I said 'That's impossible', and he just smiled this soothing little smile and said, 'Oh, my dear. Nothing is impossible.'" Clark sat back against the couch and exhaled a shaky breath. "Oh my God," he whispered. "He did it. He really did it." To Lois's surprise, Clark looked like he was on the brink of tears. "He said he'd help me, and he did." ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 15:01:18 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Kathy Brown (by way of Leanne Shawler)" Subject: S5: Ep 18, TTLG 3/8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" **** Lois and Perry rode the elevator up to the newsroom towards their meeting. Lois was focused, but Perry still wasn't certain they were doing the right thing. "I don't know if this is such a good idea, Lois." "Perry, I'm going nuts just hanging out at your house. And while I appreciate your offer, I don't want to be your personal assistant. Much as I like your company, if I don't sink my teeth into some real work soon, I'm afraid I'll go insane." "I know, I know. But it's so soon. Are you sure you don't need some more time to recover? After all, you've been hit with some pretty big changes ..." Lois shook her head. "What I need is to get back to work," she said firmly. Perry acquiesced. "All right, all right. But, I'm not promising anything, understand. My replacement, Vince Nelson, is new to the Planet and may not be familiar with your work." "Not familiar with my work?" Lois sputtered. "Wasn't he speaking English when I won my two Kerths and got nominated for that Pulitzer? Or has the entire news business contracted amnesia where I'm concerned?" she added sarcastically. Then, realizing what she'd said, Lois sighed. "I'm sorry, Perry. I didn't mean that ... it's just so frustrating! For me, it's like I've been gone a couple of months at the most. I still can't believe it's been ..." she swallowed, unable to finish. Perry put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Five years. I know, Lois, and I'm sorry, too. If there was any way I could have prevented this from happening to you, any way I would have known in advance ... I would have stopped you from going to the Congo." Lois gave a little laugh. "You and what army?" she teased. Then she sobered once more. "Seriously, Chief, we both know I was bound and determined to get that story. This wasn't your fault -- and it wasn't mine. Sometimes things just ... happen." Lois sighed again. "And now I just have to deal with that the best I can." Her voice became stronger. "And that is why I'm going to go into this interview and kick some editor butt until he gives me my job back!" Perry laughed out loud. This was his Lois, all right. "Go get 'em, tiger," he encouraged. "Thanks, Perry. And thank you so much for everything you've done for me," Lois continued sincerely. "Coming all that way to get me, taking me to visit my parents on the way back to Metropolis ... then letting me stay with you and Alice these last few days. I need to regain some sense of normalcy in my life, and staying with my parents in California was not going to do it," she explained ruefully. "It's not that I don't love them -- I do -- but I was going crazy having them hover over me like I was a china doll. They're so protective, and I'm not going to figure out what happened to me sitting around having them fuss every time I try to get a glass of water for myself. And Lucy! She's just as bad, wanting me to come 'recover' at the Corbin estate with her and her computer-geek, millionaire husband, 2.4 children and golden retriever. Her Johnny-Angel husband makes me want to gag." Lois rolled her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. When she continued, she was more subdued. "I just need to get back to finding *me* again. And let's face it, five years ago, Lois Lane was a darn good reporter. I need to get back to that." Perry sighed and nodded in support. "I'll do whatever I can to help you, Lois." **** The elevator doors opened, and Lois stepped onto the landing to survey the newsroom. It had changed so little in the last five years ... it was almost enough to convince her she really had only been gone for two months. If she had begun to doubt the year, however, the reaction of the newsroom staff gave her all the proof she needed. As the people in the newsroom realized who was standing there with the mayor of Metropolis, a hush fell over the crowd. Lois looked at all of the stunned faces, many of whom she recognized, albeit as slightly older versions of themselves. For the first time since she had woken up in the hospital, she was the center of attention. Normally, this would not have fazed her, but this time she was feeling quite disconcerted. Fortunately, a voice broke the silence. "Mayor White -- Perry, Ms. Lane, welcome back to the newsroom of the Daily Planet." James Olsen walked to them with a hand extended and a warm smile on his face. "Mr. Olsen, let me introduce you to possibly the finest reporter I've ever managed: Ms. Lois Lane." "Ms. Lane, may I say what an honor it is to meet you. I respect the work that you did a great deal, and I'm thrilled to have you standing in my newsroom. Welcome home." Lois nodded and smiled politely as she shook James Olsen's hand. The reporters in the room were starting to recover, and began whispering amongst themselves. Lois couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could imagine. She decided that confronting the situation head-on would be the best way to diffuse it. She turned to the newsroom, squared her shoulders and put on her most confident smile. "Hello everyone," she said. "I know it's been a long time, but believe me, I'm thrilled to be back in Metropolis." She glanced at Perry with some hesitation, then plowed on. "I also know that a couple years ago, there was someone here claiming to be me. I don't have any information about that, but I can assure you that the real me is back now, and I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with you all." Lois's speech did seem to break the ice. Several of the reporters that she'd known came forward to welcome her back and say how glad they were that she was okay. Others hung back, waiting for a formal introduction, but immediately realizing why Lois Lane was considered one of the great ones. She commanded quite an audience. After a few moments, James Olsen interrupted the chatter. "I know you all want to catch up with Lois, but right now, we have some business to discuss. Lois, Perry, why don't the three of us proceed to Vince's office. I think we all have a lot to talk about." **** The trio walked to the office, countless eyes monitoring their progress. The door shut behind them, and after a few moments most of the reporters returned to business as usual. No one seemed to notice that Clark Kent had returned to the newsroom via the staircase, and now stood watching the scene from a distance. It wasn't that he didn't want to get in the middle of this reunion, to walk right up to Lois Lane and ask her the million and a half questions that had been swirling in his mind since he'd first realized she was back -- it was that he wasn't sure his brain would function if he got close enough to ask her anything. He still couldn't quite believe this was happening. All these years, all this longing ... and now she was really here, alive. But where had she been? Why couldn't he find her? Did she not want to be found? Had she been held captive? She certainly didn't look like she'd been traumatized, but then again, Clark knew first hand how people could hide their emotional pain from the rest of the world -- he'd done it himself since he was ten years old. And so he'd watched from afar, studying her, absorbing every detail that made her *his* Lois. Oh, he knew she wouldn't appreciate him thinking of her in that way. After all, to her, he was a stranger. And she was technically a stranger to him, as well, wasn't she? There had to be a thousand differences between her and the Lois he had known. After all, he and the other Clark weren't exactly alike. As he had stood there and watched her, Clark even tried to convince himself that his feelings for her were not a given. Maybe he really did care for the other Lois and this one would be a poor substitute ... But then Clark had watched as Lois braved the stares of the newsroom, how she had taken a situation where she felt off balance, and turned it around so that she was in control. He had listened to her heart-rate and knew that she wasn't feeling as confident as she wanted people to believe. Yet, after everything she must have gone through, she still confronted her fears. And in that moment, Clark knew that he was hooked. What he felt for her was not simply a hold-over from the other Metropolis's version of this woman. No, she was a person unto herself ... beautiful, brilliant, vibrant ... and strong. And he wanted to get to know her better -- so badly he could almost taste it. **** "Ms. Lane, it is such an honor to finally meet you. I was a big fan of your work when I was with the New Troy Times, and never dreamed that I'd have the chance to welcome you back to the Planet ." Vincent Nelson, a short, thin, balding man with intense eyes, held out his hand in greeting. "Mr. Nelson, it's a pleasure. I'd like to thank both you and Mr. Olsen for agreeing to meet me today. I know I've been out of circulation for awhile, but I'd like to assure you that I am more than ready to get back to work." "Ms. Lane, Mr. Olsen and I have discussed your coming back to work almost from the moment Perry alerted us to you