TOC Part Two Thanks to Sara Kraft for BRing on the fly.
******
Production Meeting Three:
"Is everybody here?" Paul asked, looking around. After a moment, he nodded. "Great. So, Seth, why don't you start us off?"
"Actually," Steph said, interrupting before Seth could even start, "we've got a crisis that needs to be dealt with ASAP."
"What?" Brian asked. "Lois not back yet?"
"Oh, no. She's back. That's not the problem. As a matter of fact, her little side trip last week probably saved her. No, the problem this week is that Clark's little sore throat was just the beginning. Turns out it was a budding case of laryngitis, and since he was working with everyone here while he was at his most contagious, half the cast has it. I'm just lucky I escaped."
There was a moment of stunned silence while everyone absorbed this, then Paul sighed. "Well, I suppose we can air a rerun this week and..."
"No, I've got it," Timmy said. He'd already discarded the script for the day and was busily reworking everything from the start. "If the effects department can pull a few things together for me at the last minute -- blurred air, mostly -- I should be able to work something out. I'll make it a two-parter. It'll give me time to work out the details, and it'll give Brian time to cast a villain." He flipped a page and started scribbling on the next one without slowing down. "Steph, see if you can get me Klein or someone. Oh, and I'll need some extras and bit parts. Let effects know we'll need an evil machine next week." He paused to scratch out a note. "Here are the general specs," he said, tossing the note in Kate's direction. He went back to writing without looking to see if she'd caught it. "We're going to need some new locations, too," he added, tossing her another note.
Paul looked at the technical director, who was still sitting, staring at the notes in front of her. "Think you can swing that, Kate? Whatever it is?"
She shook herself. "Uhm... yeah. I think we can work something out. I don't think we'll be able to do the airport, though."
"Never mind. If you can get me some stock footage and maybe a cockpit, I'll work something out."
"I'll see what I can do." She stood, with a dazed look on her face, and walked out the door, clearly on automatic pilot.
"Right, then," Paul said. "Seth, how about that report now?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah." He glanced at his printouts to refresh his memory. "Chatter on the 'net is down a bit, but that's to be expected. The first and last parts always get the most attention. They're still very positive, though. Kate's 'uglification' comment got a lot of laughs, and they really seem to like Timmy."
"Anything more from that guy?" Paul asked in a whisper.
Seth hesitated, but Timmy was clearly wrapped up in the editing process. "Yeah. He's back, and... he's got keys!"
"What?"
Seth looked back at the printout. "Uhm, I don't know. That's just what he said. Attic keys, I guess."
"Oh, right. Well, keep an eye on that."
"Sure thing," Seth replied, nodding seriously.
"Okay, if that's it, then let's leave Timmy to work his magic. See you guys when we've got a new script worked out."
"Oh, and tell the sound guys they can leave early today," Timmy added just before the door closed.
******
Part Three:
"Hey Clark," Lois said, coming up to her partner's desk. "Last night was great," she whispered.
Clark grinned up at her.
"So, I was thinking we need to investigate this Lexcorp connection..." she said, before he could say anything too troublingly romantic. She wasn't quite ready for that.
Clark's grin vanished, and he rapidly turned serious. He opened his mouth, but was again cut off.
"Oh, I meant to tell you... In my investigations yesterday, I found a link to Gotham City. Parts coming in or something. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but it might be worth checking out. Remind me to talk to Perry about that. We may have to... Hey! What's this thing doing on my desk?"
Clark thought it should be obvious, and indeed, before he could tell her, she'd figured it out.
"Oh. Dan came by, didn't he?"
Clark nodded, not wanting to say any more.
Lois contemplated the odd gift. "No note?" she wondered aloud. "Never mind. I'll get to it later. First, we need to work out exactly how we're going to --"
A blurry wave washed through the air, jolting everyone.
"What was that?" Lois asked, bewildered. Or tried to ask, anyway. Her mouth moved, forming the words, but there was no sound.
Clark shook his head. He cocked his head, listening. There wasn't a sound to be heard anywhere, even in his considerable earshot. Suddenly, a fly dropped out of nowhere and landed on his desk. It flapped its wings desperately, but couldn't get airborne. The complete lack of buzzing was eerie. Clark was morbidly fascinated, but realized there were more important things to worry about. He nudged his glasses down and scanned the city. The airport! Planes were circling, but with no sound, they couldn't communicate with the air traffic control tower!
He dashed out of the room, barely holding himself to plausibly human speed. In his wake, not a single paper so much as fluttered.
Lois watched him go, shaking her head. He was a good guy, but that disappearing act of his was driving her nuts.
Putting Clark out of her mind, she turned to her rolodex. She pulled out the card for Dr. Klein, picked up the phone, and then froze when she realized that, of course, there was no dial tone.
Off to the side, someone turned the TV on. Lois glanced over to see that LNN had "ALL SOUND GONE FROM METROPOLIS" splashed across the screen in place of the news anchors. More text scrolled across the bottom of the screen, ticker style. "Superman saves airport! Personally directs all planes!" it read. Lois smiled, glad to know that the hero was, of course, on the case.
Suddenly, realization struck. If Superman was tied up dealing with airplanes, he wouldn't be available for other matters, such as finding the source of the problem. With Clark gone, too, that left her by herself. Well, if that's how it was, so be it. She glanced again at the card with Klein's information on it, then headed for the door, a determined expression on her face.
Above her, unnoticed, more text scrolled across the TV screen. "Roads unsafe."
A few minutes later, on Seigel Avenue, a flash of light caught Lois's eye. An ambulance was racing up the street towards her. Its emergency lights were on, but the siren was mute. The driver of one car, having apparently noticed the lights in her rearview mirror, pulled to the side, trying to get out of the way. The person behind her in the next lane, not having seen the ambulance, pressed angrily -- and, of course, ineffectively -- on his horn. He started to swerve out of the other car's path, but was startled by the passing of the ambulance. He swung out further than he'd meant, right into Lois's path. She slammed on the brakes, but it was too late.
The two cars came together, then bounced apart. Glass flew everywhere. The continuing silence gave the entire thing an air of unreality.
The ambulance faded into the distance, its drivers focused on the road ahead of them, unaware of the chaos
they'd left in their wake.
Lois slumped in the driver's seat, unconscious. Around her, the roads were emptying as people, heeding the warnings, avoided the streets.
Lois looked around woozily. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the puddle slowly forming underneath the other car, a thin trail of liquid seeping out from the vicinity of its gas tank. "Help, Superman!" Her lips formed the words automatically, the last item on the emergency checklist before she passed out.
Miles away, with no way to know of his partner's jeopardy, the hero in question continued the vital work of directing air traffic, hovering outside one cockpit after another, relaying the tower's instructions with hand signals, intent on communicating rapidly and accurately.
The little puddle, left to its own devices, continued to grow...
(TBC in
Part Four on Thursday!)
Part Three Comments
