Thanks for your comments, everyone.
Hi Maria. Thanks for commenting, as you do on each and every section. I really appreciate it. The bad guys are definitely up to something; if they weren't they wouldn't be the bad guys.
Terry, thank you for your insightful comments. I agree that sometimes it takes a terrible tragedy to wake people up. This change is going to be really important, but it did come at an extreme price.
Hi Carol, thanks for the wonderful compliments. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying this. It's also heartening to know that using Jimmy's perspective of these events has been effective.
Ann, I'm going to have to politely ask you to get out of my brain.
It was indeed the firefighter in Oklahoma City that inspired that scene. Eleven years after it happened, I can still see that image of the soot covered firefighter, cradling the baby wearing the yellow socks. I could just see Ultrawoman in that situation and I knew how hard it would be for her.
She definitely is modeling her Ultrawoman persona on Superman, which is interesting because Clark modeled Superman on what Lois thought he should be. But it is her deep admiration and respect for Clark that causes her to think about 'what would Clark do?' in the most trying situations.
You're also right that Jimmy's seen an awful lot because of his desire to help Lois and do the right thing. It's going to change him forever and even if he knew that it was going to be hard, I don't think anything could have prepared him for what he saw.
As for Zara's brothers, I agree that it has to be very frustrating for her - leading a whole planet, but knowing she can't keep her little brothers safe. And you're right that I wanted Clark and Talan's conversation to reflect on the differences between their situation and ours. Nor is a less frightening opponent than he could be. If he were actually motivated by a belief, he'd be even more dangerous.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Liz. I very much appreciate it.
I will post more in a few days, everyone. Thanks for reading!
Rac
