TOC Part One Thanks to Sara Kraft (who is also not the lesser of two evil Saras) for BRing this on short notice. My regular BR, Sorcha, did the work, but we've been suffering from a string of technical problems. You'd think there ought to be at least
one working way to get a simple file (or even just the text from that file) from Point A to Point B...
******
Production Meeting Two:
"Okay, everyone," Paul said, "to kick things off today, we've got Seth with the publicity report."
"Well, it looks like we had a good number of viewers, especially for this time of year. Fan reaction on the internet was very positive, too. They're excited to see us airing again, and seem to like being able to see these meetings." He glanced at the clipboard in front of him, which contained printouts of fan reviews. "Well, not all of them like the meetings, but even the ones who don't seem to be enjoying the actual show."
"That's good to hear," Paul replied.
"Yeah. Hope we can keep that up," Kate added.
"We'll see," Paul told her in hopeful tones. "What else is there, Seth?"
"Mostly, they seem to be enjoying the romance aspect, but some of them are enjoying the humor, too."
"Sounds about usual," Brian put in.
"Yeah," Seth replied, "but the important thing is that it's working for them."
"True," Paul agreed. He started to turn away, but an odd expression on Seth's face stopped him. "Was there anything else?"
Seth coughed. He looked at something on his clipboard, then back up, clearly torn.
Paul looked at him more closely. "Seth? What is it?"
"Well," he said hesitantly, "I'm not sure why, but one of the fans out there seems to want to kidnap Timmy and lock him in an attic."
"What?!" Timmy exclaimed. For once, he actually looked up from the pages in front of him.
"I don't know, that's just what he said."
"Don't worry, Timmy," Paul said, trying to sound confident. "It's just the internet. People say all sorts of stuff. We've got good security here. You'll be fine."
Timmy made a face, but settled back into writing.
"So..." Paul started, trying to get things back on track, "who's next?"
Steph coughed nervously. "We've got a problem."
"What else is new?" Timmy muttered, without looking up from the scattered pile of papers in front of him.
Paul glanced at him but chose not to say anything. He was obviously still unsettled by the fannish threat, and deserved some slack for that. Besides, disturbing Timmy while he was working often wasn't worth the potential loss. "What is it, Steph?" he asked with calm concern.
She took a deep breath. "Lois called in sick."
The calm left Paul's demeanor. "What happened? Is she okay?"
Steph coughed again, but this time, oddly enough, she seemed to be stifling a laugh. "From what I can tell, it seems to be a severe case of 'My-boyfriend-is-in-town-itis.' Should clear up in a couple of days or so."
"Oh, that's right," Brian put in. "That thing he was shooting in South America got cancelled just as they were supposed to be finishing up, so he has a bit of unexpected time off."
Paul thought about this. "I guess it's been a while since they've seen each other, huh? So... where does that leave us?"
"With no Lois?" Timmy commented, already rifling through pages. "Let me see.... I can write her out, but it'll leave us light on story again."
Paul sighed. "Nothing for it, Timmy."
"Right," he responded, crossing things out and making notes.
Paul turned back to Steph. "Any other news?"
"Well, Clark has a sore throat," she said, unconsciously gesturing towards her neck, "but nothing major. We'll just have to be careful that it doesn't show. Wouldn't do for Superman to sound hoarse."
"I'll give him fewer lines," Timmy said, resigned, "and I'll try to group the ones he does have together, so he can get them out before the cough drop or whatever wears off."
Paul nodded approvingly. "Sounds good. You're the best, Timmy. So, Kate, how are things on your end?"
The technical director, dressed, as usual, in black, ran her finger down the edge of her neatly organized notepad. "Looking good. Lighting and sound are set up and ready, as are the camera crew. Effects for today are in place. Ezra says the CG guys have started on the Enforcer. They're still debating the design, but we've got time. Jason and I talked to the sets department. They were very apologetic about last time. We won't have any problems today."
"I'd hope not," Steph said.
Kate nodded ruefully. "The props department is going through final uglification of Dan's... thing." Her choice of words caused a few chuckles around the room. She smiled briefly, then continued. "Gotham is shaping up nicely. We have people going over the old sets. I tracked down the guy who has the car. He bought it in an auction a few years back. Negotiations are ongoing, but I'm hopeful. Of course, we're lining up something else, too, just in case."
"Sounds good. Nice to hear something is going smoothly. Anything else?" Paul waited for her to shake her head, then turned to the next person down the table. "Brian, what about you?"
"We're still lining up extras, but I've got Bruce cast, and Lex said he'll come in when we need him."
"Great. So, if Timmy can just figure out how to put together a whole part without Lois, everything should be fine."
Timmy, as usual, did not look up from his work. "Gee, thanks."
******
Part Two:
"Oh, thank you, Superman!"
The hero, already several feet off the ground, turned back and waved before flying off. It was nice, he thought, to take care of the little things for a while. With Lois out doing her own investigating all day, it was easier for him to slip away and go on patrol. He hadn't done much that would be considered newsworthy, but he had still accomplished some real good, helping to improve people's days and to put several lives on slightly better tracks. It was an indulgence, perhaps, but as indulgences went, he liked to think it was a good one.
Soaring above the skyline, he scanned the city. The sound of gunfire attracted his attention. There were some thugs trying to hold up a bank. The shots had been for warning only, but the situation could easily get out of hand. Superman made it across the thirty or so blocks to the bank in the blink of an eye, swept in through the doors, and had the would-be robbers disarmed and trussed up before anyone had registered his presence.
After leaving the bank, he made one more sweep over the city before returning to the Planet. Although he was somewhat concerned about Bobby's mysterious "Project: Enforcer," there wasn't much he could do about it. Lois was out investigating what leads they had, and, much as he disliked it, she'd insisted on doing so alone. For this, she needed old contacts, ones who might be spooked by a partner, even if he had been working with Lois for over a year.
That, of course, hadn't stopped him from keeping an unobtrusive eye on her -- yet another reason for his increased patrols today. He knew, though, that he needed to put in some real work, too. Something to earn his paycheck. Quickly, he wrote up a short piece on the bank robbery, then got to work on an Intergang follow-up.
He wondered how much he should say about the Red Kryptonite. He wanted to reassure the populace that Superman's odd behavior had been a temporary anomaly with a simple explanation, but just mentioning Kryptonite made him uncomfortable. He hated to remind criminals that there was something out there which could affect the Man of Steel. In truth, he hated to remind himself, too.
A voice broke into his musings. "Hey, Kent, where's Lois?"
Clark looked up to see Dan Scardino standing a few feet away, near Lois's desk. "She's out," he answered his rival curtly. "Doing her job," he added pointedly. Didn't a federal agent have anything better to do than hang around a newsroom?
"Too bad. I'm supposed to meet some people tonight, but I've got the day off."
"Yeah, too bad," Clark said unsympathetically.
Dan put some kind of mobile/sculpture thing on Lois's desk. It had a gaudy bow on it (which did nothing to improve its appearance) and a card attached. "Well, let her know I dropped by, will you?" he asked, as if the object (whatever it was) wouldn't make that perfectly obvious.
Clark waved noncommittally, and was happy to see the back of the flashy hawaiian shirt slowly receding towards the elevator. He looked back at the gift on Lois's desk and spared a moment to wonder where the things came from. Maybe Scardino made them himself, from bits of things he'd found in the trash. The man certainly seemed to have more than enough time on his hands to do so. Clark shrugged and got back to work.
He'd just finished the article and was considering another patrol when his phone rang. "Hello? ... Lois? Is everything okay? ... *Whew* Had me scared for a minute. ... Yes, I know you can take care of yourself, but -- ... Fine, I'll stop being so overprotective when you stop taking huge risks and winding up in death traps on a weekly basis. ... Okay, sorry. I just -- never mind. What did you find out? ... What? Are you sure? ... Of course I wasn't questioning your abilities. It's just... this is big. ... For you, too. I know. Well, we'll have to be careful. Make plans tonight? ... After dinner, of course. I wouldn't want to ruin *that* with business talk." He chuckled at her response. "No, I assure you, Miss Lane, that my intentions are entirely honorable. ... Well, okay. Maybe not *entirely* honorable. It *would* be nice to have you come up to my place after dinner, but I promise I won't show you my art collection. ... Okay, then. See you tonight." The smile stayed on his face for a few moments after he hung up, but then one word from earlier in the conversation returned from his memory to spoil his mood. Lois had found a name associated with Project: Enforcer -- Lexcorp.
(TBC in
Part Three , this Tuesday!)
Part Two Comments
