Mary, this was great! Love your use of the classics. <G> Never would have thought of using the parrot sketch. You adapted it so well, too. Nice job with the title.
Cameos... let me see if I can get them all...
The clerk shrunk under Superman's gaze and cowered behind the counter like a frightened little mouse. "Well, sir---um---if the lady is not satisfied, we at Fred and Ozzie's Little Critters will gladly refund her money and give her any pet in the store---free of charge!"
FOLCs gets a new meaning. Nice use of the acronym.
Superman shrugged. "Well, I guess it just goes to show that no one really knows just what a fish knows."
"Or what a fish sees," Lois turned towards the little black cat that had just come padding up, curious to know who these strangers were.
Love your use of Anna's titles.
"Aw...." Lois allowed a little squeal to escape her as she bent down to pet the kitty. As soon as her fingers brushed against the soft fur, the cat leapt up and tried to scratch her. "Sheesh! It's cute and harmless, until you get up close! Then it's a killer!"
Superman mumbled something about Lex Luthor.
Is that a reference to "There's More Than One Way..."? If so, I'm honored.
Also, does it double as a reference to Kitty? (Even though, because of the other reference, this kitty doesn't turn out to be nice, it is still a kitty...)
"Well," said the clerk, "some of our pets are, in fact, second hand. This particular rat was once part of a STAR Labs experiment to see if rats could type. From what I hear, she performed amazingly well at this task, but then one day she just stopped doing it. No one knows why. They couldn't use her in their project anymore, and Dr. Klein didn't have the heart to put her to sleep or anything like that, so she ended up here."
Lois wagged her finger at the rodent. "That's what you get for lying down on the job!"
lol. Always love a good LabRat reference. And you even managed to get the STAR Labs link! And typing! Love the warning, too.
They browsed the rest of the aisle, looking at various snakes, lizards, and reptiles, none of which Lois wanted. The dogs were too slobbery; the cats, too stuck up; the pig---too...Canadian. After considering and ruling out practically every pet in the store, Lois found herself being led to the bird section.
The Canadian Pig is a reference to Julie, right?
Superman voiced her astonishment, and the clerk explained to him (and indirectly to her) that this was a special breed of domesticated pelican imported from Norway, very rare, very valuable, and very unusual.
And here we have an unexpected Pelican. <g>
I think that's it. Unless there's something I'm missing with Marvel Boy. Is that just supposed to be a talking MB? Hadn't thought of that till just now.
Great ending, in any case.
Good job, Mary!
Paul
