this is just part 1 again. i figured it was best if we had everything here and a fresh
TOC, so i'm reposting.
for those of you who missed it before, here's the explanation:
this is a sort of boards round robin/open challenge fic.
i wrote part 1, breanna/smallville girl wrote part 2, missy wrote part 3, and carol's taken up the challenge for part 4.
anyone (including those who have written earlier parts) can claim part 5 once part 4 is up, and so on.
to claim a part, simply reply to the
TOC thread with a message that says "i'll post the next part." you should try to have the next part ready within a week or so of claiming it, but there's no set deadline.
once you have your part posted (and a comments thread for that part), you can go back and edit your TOC post to add in the links. don't be intimidated. it's fairly simple, and there is (or soon will be) a message in the TOC folder with step-by-step instructions. for now, you can read step-by-step instructions
here. so far, the story has been, imo, fun and exciting. no one knows where it'll go, not even the people who have written previous parts.
guess that's it. here's part 1 again. usual fic disclaimers apply. usual disclaimers. superman was created by seigel and shuster, superman and related characters are owned by dc comics (an AOL Time-Warner company). dialogue in this part was taken from the l&c episode "barbarians at the planet," written by dan levine and deborah joy levine.
House of Cards
Once, long ago, there was a place of rock and soil where nothing grew. Then, chance brought the right elements together. Or maybe it wasn't chance. Maybe they were guided together. Or maybe they were fated. Maybe they drew themselves together. In any case, they met, and life bloomed. Greenery took root and spread, as it had done countless times before in other places. Gradually (though, on a grander scale, it hardly took any time at all), it grew strong. New observers would wonder if it could be any other way.
Then, one day, things began to change. A new element moved in, and began, very deliberately, to change things to its liking. In even less time than it had taken for the greenery to flourish, it was cut down, replaced with concrete and steel. Only a few carefully maintained patches remained, and some began to wonder when even those would be paved over.
One such patch struggled to live, to get the sunlight it needed, despite the shadow of the looming tower that was marked with the letters "LNN."
Two people walked through that valiant patch of greenery, silence thick between them. They found a bench and sat down together. The woman, realizing that her companion was having trouble breaking the silence, spoke first.
"What is it, Clark?"
He took a deep breath, then forced himself to answer. "Lois, when I thought about losing my job at the Planet, saying goodbye to Perry, Jimmy, everyone... I realized something. I realized I could lose all that and still go on. I realized there was only one thing I didn't want to live without... and that was you. Seeing you every morning, working with you, being with you."
She siezed the opening. Clearly, he felt it, too. Maybe she could use that to encourage him to take the job so they could stay together, still be partners. "That's why you should-"
"No. Lois, listen to me. I'm not talking about the partnership. I'm talking about us." Again, he forced himself to say what needed to be said. "I've been in love with you for a long time." Their eyes met. Silence hung between them once more. This time, he broke it. "You must have known."
"I knew... well, I knew that you liked me, were attracted to me, but... I'm sorry. I don't think about you in that way... romantically." The words were hard to say, but she pressed on. She didn't want to hurt him, and she certainly didn't want to lose his friendship. She strove to define the middle ground, to tell him clearly how she cared for him, and how she didn't. "Clark, you're my best friend, the only partner I could ever stand to work with. I admire you, respect you, and I do love you, but only as a friend."
Clearly, despite her best intentions, the words had hurt him. There had been no way around that. He looked back up. "And Luthor? Do you love him?"
"I don't know," she replied, still trying to figure things out for herself. "I do have feelings for him." It was all so confusing. How had her life changed so much, so fast? Nothing made sense anymore. She needed a solid foundation, something she could count on. If she could find an anchor, she could build from there. She thought back through everything she'd thought she could count on. Her parents had long since been crossed off the list. Perry was gone. Jimmy was gone. The whole Planet was gone. Clark... she didn't even know where she stood with Clark. That left only one. Clutcing to that possibility, she continued speaking. "I haven't said yes, yet. And I won't, until I've talked it over with someone else."
"Who?"
"I think you know. If you see him, will you tell him I'm looking for him?"
He stood up and stepped away, his face unreadable. "Yeah, sure," he said, his voice heavy with a weary, bitter sarcasm she'd never heard from him before. "I'll go see if I can find him for you. It might take a while."
She sat there, stunned, as slowly, deliberately, Clark Kent flew up, up, and away.
