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And the (A-)plot advances... Ah, well, if you're lucky there might be a bit of B plot on Thursday.
Chris
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Beat Reporter
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Wanting to put Tierney at her ease, CJ started by asking easy questions, ones to which, thanks to Lois's article, he already knew the answers. Chris, are you a Bujold fan too? Because I immediately flashed to "Admiral Naismith" interrogating someone with fast-penta.  Hey, I also found it "very satisfying" that Luthor thought CJ was particularly troublesome. And he ain't seen nothin' yet! I really liked Mayson's insight into Tierney's motives. You have a marvelous talent for making bit characters very real. And what a great way to end the post! Poor CJ, getting corrupted faster than a speeding bullet.  This is really great stuff, Chris, and I didn't feel any B-plot lack at all.  Looking forward to MORE! Hazel
Lois: You know the deal.
Clark: Superman gets the guys in capes, Lois and Clark get the guys in suits.
-- Action Comics 827
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Pulitzer
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CJ raised his eyebrows, filing away the backhanded compliment. Luthor thought he was troublesome, did he? Hoo-boy, Luthor, you ain't seen "trouble" yet! "Luthor's women all remain loyal to him for months – sometimes years – after he's thrown them aside. He treats them like trash, but it just makes them even more determined to prove themselves to him." I never thought of it quite like that... but yeah, that's the pattern we saw on the show... Huh. They're probably just too aware of how vengeful Luthor could be if they weren't loyal... She eyed the telephone, wondering whether it would be inappropriate to call CJ at three a.m.. True, it was an antisocial hour, but she didn't think that CJ would want to wait any longer than absolutely necessary to hear her news. CJ eyed the phone, wondering whether it would be inappropriate to call Lois at three in the morning. True, it was an anti-social hour, but he didn't think that Lois would want to wait to hear about Tierney. Love this echoing <g> And then they both get busy signals? PJ
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Pulitzer
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Hi, Great part.  Love this piece. A new voice, heavy with sleep, joined the conversation. "Kent? What's going on? I thought I heard voices?"
"Yes, CJ, what is going on?"
Lois's light-hearted enthusiasm had given way to something more wary – as well it might, CJ thought. Mayson, tousle-haired and clad only in a borrowed T-shirt, was standing in the archway that led through to his bedroom, and Lois was eyeing the other woman with suspicion.
Mayson, now that she was beginning to wake up, was staring back at Lois with something like incredulity on her face. "CJ? What's going on here? I thought you two hated each other!"
"Um," said CJ.
Lois turned to face him. Flatly she said, "What is she doing here?"
"That's part of what I had to tell you," said CJ. Lois is jealous! Mayson still seemed to be trying to reconcile the arrival of Lois in CJ's apartment with what she knew about their relationship. Her eyes narrowed shrewdly, then she said with a leap of logic that was almost worthy of Lois, herself, "You're working together, aren't you." It wasn't a question. "On this Luthor thing, I mean. Hey, is that pizza? I'm starving!"
Oddly, it was Mayson's willingness to eat Lois's food that diffused the awkward situation.
By the time they'd finished their first slices, Lois had been made aware of Tierney's, still-sleeping, presence in the next room, and the reason for Mayson's visit. By the time they'd eaten their second slices, Lois had outlined her suspicions about LexCorp's manipulation of the media. As they started on their third slices, they moved on to speculation, and tentatively began to plan out future courses of action.  I like this Mayson. She is not interested in CJ. Lois's calculating expression did nothing whatsoever to reassure CJ; the last time he'd seen that look had been when she'd hacked into the juror's bank accounts. He therefore took little comfort from her next words. "I have an idea, but I'd like to work on it a little before I tell you guys—" which CJ took to actually mean Mayson "—what it is." CJ get use to it! She looked at him again, and again there was that glint in her eyes that made him feel decidedly uneasy. "I said that's too risky." Then, reacting to his open-mouthed disbelief, she said, "Oh, I know we'll have to go through all the proper channels eventually. I'm just saying that it's time consuming to do that, and it involves too many people. The risk of Luthor getting wind of what we're up to, and of someone cleaning house before the police get there – always assuming that the police are straight – is too great. I want to take a look around before that happens."
Warily, he asked, "So what do you have in mind?"
"Tell me, CJ," she said sweetly, "what would you say to a spot of breaking and entering?" CJ love it. More soon, please. MAF
Maria D. Ferdez.
---
Don't like Luthor, unfinished, untitled and crossover story, and people that promises and don't deliver. I'm getting choosy with age.
MAF
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Merriwether
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Good instalment.
Lots of A plot developments for our duo to hash about with.
I absolutely hate the dual busy signal contrivances whenever they appear, because it's always at some 'significant' moment, which nearly always leads to some sort of 'misunderstanding' that messes things up for quite some time.
I do applaud your using it as merely a device to fool the gentle readers into thinking what they'd obviously would think. That Lois would go running over to Clark's place (even at three a.m.) which she did, and that she'd see Mayson there, all dressed for bed, which she did, and that she'd get the wrong idea and blow up at Clark and go running out of the apartment to indulge herself in several paragraphs (if not pages) of angst. Which, thankfully, you didn't.
Sometimes it's good to actually talk and listen to each other.
Tank (who thinks that Lois' williness to stay and find out exactly what Mayson *was* doing at Clark's as a sort of B plot advancement... no?)
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Pulitzer
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great post, chris! some nice plot development. suddenly they both have a lot of promising leads. i like the way things are leading back to toni, too. as for lex's women, nice observation. personally, i think it's that he's charismatic (and also rich, which doesn't hurt  ). i mean, if you can get past the whole evil thing (which he hid from some and played up to others, depending on personality), he's a savy educated sophisticated intelligent guy (though i still think it's best summed up by "charismatic"). it's just not as obvious to the viewers because (a) we're rooting for clark (b) we know exactly how evil he is. i like the phone thing. that's taken from an ep, but sorry to say i don't know which one. i kind of liked the idea there, but i like your version even better. i'm really glad she came over, and, like pam, i'm really glad mayson didn't become a b-plot point. i especially like the scene when she first walks in the door. "I... uh... heard you coming," he said, unaccountably embarrassed.
"Oh, of course," said Lois, brushing the comment aside as though it was nothing out of the ordinary. CJ marvelled at the way Lois appeared to be more blasé about his powers than he, himself, was. "Here. Take these." She thrust the pizza boxes into his arms.
"Lois," he said, beginning to salivate, articulating his earlier thought. "You are incredible."
"Oh, I know," she said, feigning nonchalance, but CJ could tell that she'd taken his comment as it was meant, as a compliment, and she was pleased by it. you've got a nice touch with their developing partnership. good job explaining how rosie (probably) got gradually sucked into things. i like lois's note-taking style and clark's observations about it. love the last line. great job. looking forward, as always, to seeing more. Paul
When in doubt, think about penguins. It probably won't help, but at least it'll be fun.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Chris.... another great part!!  )
"Well, let's see, so far I've been given a glimpse of ritual crop worship, treated as your girlfriend, and I insulted your parents. No, I couldn't have planned this. Mmm, mmm." -- Lois to Clark, 'Green, Green Glow of Home'
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Pulitzer
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Chris An excellent part!  I really like the way CJ, Lois and Mayson talk and share ideas. I'm completely hooked and look forward to reading the next part. Tricia 
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Chris, Just wanted to say I agree with everyone else. I don't usually give FDK (mostly cause what I wanted to say has been said in a much cleverer way by someone else :rolleyes: ), but I'm hooked on this story and check for new installments every chance I get. Avia
"I get it, you're a ghost. You're dead. Big accomplishment, move on. You see a light anywhere? Go towards it okay?"
Cordelia in 'Rm w/a Vu' - Angel episode 1x05
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Kerth
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Sorry to come in late. I've had a very busy week (Janine graduated from high school yesterday, for one). I'm just going to respond with a me too, since everybody else has pretty much covered it. More, please. Nan Five kids down, two to go.
Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
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Features Writer
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Features Writer
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Chris
excellent part
ditto others
can't wait for more
merry
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Beat Reporter
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I'm afraid I'm only going to commment very quickly on your comments, and say a very general thank you. I have rather a lot of RL stuff that I need to be doing this evening, but thought I'd quickly put this up while I take a short break.
Hazel: actually, no. I've heard of Bujold, but that is as far as it goes. I don't even know what genre she writes.
A general comment re Lex and women... I couldn't see what it was about him that attracted them. All I could suppose was that it was a heady combination of charisma and power, but, quite honestly, I don't understand it. All I could do here was work with it.
Glad people approved of what I did with that plot device. I guess I wanted a bit of fun, playing with readers heads. But also, I needed an excuse to get them back in the same room; this fic is long enough that it gets difficult to come up with new ways to do that!
Pam: almost right about the breaking and entering. Oh, I hope you read part 16 before you read this reply!
Thanks to everyone else, too! Sorry to avoid the individual roll call this time round (again? I think I did on Monday, too) but as I said, I'm in a bit of a hurry.
Next time...
Chris
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