That was very moving, Elisabeth. Unlike Laura, I felt that your fic was finished. The impression I got is that this man was actually brought back to the land of the living by Lois Lane's, or make that Ultrawoman's, borrowed solar-charged aura. Since you are religious but I am not, although I'm very interested in religion, I don't know what references you are comfortable about me making. Nevertheless, the idea that Lois "revived" this man without even realizing it, reminds me of the story from Luke 8:43-49. A woman who is suffering from constant bleeding touches Jesus' clothes, and she is immediately healed. But of course, unlike Lois here whose mere presence brought Edgar Banneret back to life, Jesus noticed what happened when the woman became healed through touching his clothing. I know, of course, that you are not suggesting that Lois is in any way like Jesus, but there is some sort of similarity between the two events, nevertheless.
One of the things that I sometimes asked myself when I read my "kid-i-fied" Biblical stories, was what it would be like to have been dead and to have been brought back to life by Jesus. What was it like to be the daughter of Jairus, and to have been dead but to have become alive again? I actually wondered even more about Lazarus, because his story was so weird, and he seemed even "deader" than Jairus' daughter, but even so he was still brought back to life. Would everything in Lazarus's life be just the way it had been before he died, or would everything look, sound, smell and taste completely different? That's why I found these words by Edgar Banneret moving:
"It's hard to explain, but ever since I died things have been different for me. I can sense things that I never sensed before. It's like I can hear things that other people can't hear, and I can see things like I've never seen before, and I can smell and taste and feel things like I've never felt before. And then there's this intangible sense that I can see people for who they really are.
It's fascinating that Edgar Banneret wouldn't say that he knew that Clark is Superman, because whether or not he is "Superman" is not the point. The point is that Clark has an aura of protection, and that Edgar Banneret can see it, or sense it. And it is a beneficial aura, an aura of blessing even, and Banneret knows that Clark uses it to do good. And Lois had exactly the same kind of aura that night when she brought Edgar Banneret back to life. Edgar Banneret knows who both of them are. That's beautiful.
(One more religious reference... I can't resist. Stewart Swagger, the leader of the weird religious cult. I rather doubt that you were intending to make anyone think about Jimmy Swaggart, swaggering but discredited TV preacher. Well, I was thinking of him.)
Fascinating and beautiful vignette, Elisabeth.
Ann
EDIT: Oh, by the way, there is one more Biblical reference that would be appropriate here. I'm thinking of Matthew 17:1-2. Jesus is transfigured before the eyes of Peter, James and John. Jesus' face shines like the sun, and his clothes become dazzlingly white. That's a lot like Edgar Banneret seeing an aura of power surrounding first Lois and then Clark.
