I think the best thing in this chapter happened at the end of it. Clark contacted Dr. Klein. Very good, because I'll bet that Lois and Clark are going to need his expertise to combat the kryptonite threat.
(And I loved this exchange between them:)
Clark gave a slight smile to his father before asking Lois, “Could I borrow your phone?”
“Of course,” Lois said. “Why?” She paused for a moment seeming flummoxed before saying, “Forget that. It's none of my business. Of course,” and she held the phone out to him.
“It is your business, Lois,” Clark said softly. For a moment, Lois forgot there were others in the room as Clark looked directly into her eyes. “I promise - I don't keep any secrets from you anymore.”
Beautiful. They are finally trusting one another unconditionally.
Another good thing - chillingly good - was how you wrote that awful politician, Mike Skagle, who tried to smear Superman's name in order to win an election:
“If you elect me come November,” he started and Lois audibly groaned, “I will fight for better state funding for natural disasters.
...
“But clearly,” Skagle continued, “we can't count on Big Blue. He's not here now, is he? And have any of you heard about any disasters elsewhere? No, he simply doesn't care. California is not on his radar screen. We need to protect ourselves, we can't expect Superman to do it for us.”
(It's interesting to ponder what politicians would say about Superman if he had been real, and what they would do to try to use him for their own benefit....
)
Oh, by the way, I don't exactly remember Skagle and Mickey Weis, and I'm afraid I don't have time (or the energy) to go back and re-read this story, so could you please remind us what those two were up to, as far as Lois and Clark know?
I think we got a clue in this chapter as to where the kryptonite dust actually is. It is to be found wherever there is a disaster where Superman needs to help out. That suggests that whoever is spreading the kryptonite in the atmosphere either creates the disasters as baits, or, more likely, has the resources to travel to disaster sites almost right after they happen and spread the kryptonite dust there. But if that is true, it might be possible to trace people who turn up at disaster sites.
This was a funny quote:
“It's so romantic,” Lucy said as she entered her own apartment. “Giving up his life and entering the Witness Protection Program for you.”
Lois smirked. “This is a man's life, Lucy. Not one of your romance novels.”
“Excuse me,” Lucy replied. “Those are your romance novels. Not mine. And it's still romantic and tragic.”
Those are Lois's romance novels, not Lucy's! That's really funny. And Lois didn't get angry and didn't feel the need to correct Lucy when she said that Clark had given up his life for her. Lois is forgiving him, probably partly because she feels that his regrets about what he had done were so sincere.
But I was a bit confused about this:
“Oh my… Clark Kent!” Lucy Kent's voice came from the doorway.
Lucy Kent? You didn't tell me that Clark has a younger brother and Lucy is married to him... okay, I'm just kidding...
Lois let go of Clark's hand when Lucy lunged at him, engulfing him in a hug.
...
“Did I meet her before?” Clark asked as soon as Lois entered. “As Clark, I mean. I barely remember her,” he said.
Would Lucy be so effusive with a man she has barely met, and who barely remembers her? Of course she knows very well that Clark has been presumed dead for ten years, so seeing him alive must be fantastic. And maybe she is just a very effusive sort of person.
Let me say that I like the fact that you portrayed John as a nice sort of person here. He has always struck me as nice, so I hope that he has nothing to do with any sort of plot against Superman!
Well, things are getting more and more interesting. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you will resolve all of this!
Ann
