Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Defeated

Whoa. That's heavy. And that's definitely sadder than anything I've written lately. I can hardly imagine Superman hearing all those people call for help and be completely unable to do anything about it, be totally helpless himself. He's not used to being badly sunburned, so that pain will probably stay with his mind for a long time. And the cruelty of Lois receiving a shredded super-suit with a gloating note from Luthor is - it's just terrible. It's almost worse than her inability to greet her husband as her husband when she finally finds him.

You captured a lot of angst here. This is an excellent vignette, and I see a great future for you in FOLCdom. You write even better than you FDK, and you FDK pretty doggone well. I think we should see more efforts from your word processor.

Terry, you have made my day!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Nancy

All i can say that this is one very moving and dignified story.

I hope that you send it to the archive.

I would even recommend it for a Kerth!

Carry on writing - i'm sure that all your fans out there, me included, are eagerly awaiting your next story.

With regards and LOTS AND LOTS of praise,

SNL

Again, Nancy, you put your medical knowledge to such good use. You make me feel Clark's injuries and pain more than I usually do in these situations. Often, when Superman has been captured and exposed to Kryptonite, I'm just waiting for someone to find him or for him to come up with a way to save himself. In your story, his captivity and helplessness is the story in itself, set against the horrible Katrina tragedy. And just as Katrina adds an awful reality to the situation - my mind is suddenly overwhelmed with all the horrible pictures from New Orleans last year - so your medical knowledge makes Clark's injuries so tangibly real.

I think there are two ways to read this vignette. One way is the straightforward one - this is another story where Lex tries to kill Superman, kill him both as a living being and as a hero. Lex tried to kill Superman's body as well as his good will and his standing among the American people:
Like these two quotes show, people were crying for Superman and when Superman didn't respond to those cries, he became very unpopular. People blamed Superman for their distress, because he wasn't helping them.

On the other hand:
The Daily Planet had received Superman's shredded suit and a note stating that he was dead. Shouldn't a statement have been released that Superman had apparently been attacked and possibly killed? I'm asking, Nancy, mostly because I find it so painful that people should blame Superman for not coming to their rescue, when he was close to death himself.

The other way to read this story is to see Superman as a symbol of what is best and most inspiring about humanity. Our cleverness. Our ever-growing ability to control our surroundings and use the forces of nature for our own good. Our powers, so to speak. And also our optimism and our wish to use our powers to do good.

As your story shows, no matter how much our "powers" are growing, no aspect of humanity will ever become omnipotent. In this story Katrina was too much to deal with. And if it hadn't been Katrina, it would, sooner or later, have been something else. Ultimately there is always a way to defeat us. If nothing else, death will claim each one of us eventually.

But as your story also shows, as long as we retain our optimism and our wish to do good, we will not go down without a fight. Yes, death will claim each of us eventually, but that doesn't lessen the importance of each little victory for life that we manage to score. In your story, Superman emerges - not triumphant, but alive. Lex Luthor didn't manage to kill him. And the next time there is a hurricane, he will be able to save more people and do more to help.

Ann

Yes, Ann, you are probably right. The Planet would probably have published something, and they may have. But perhaps the public would have seen it as speculation or a ruse. I did think of this, but I chose to leave it out of this story since this is entirely from Clark's perspective, and he had no idea what was going on in the rest of the world.

I may write an epilogue to this.

And SNL, thank you so much!! I'm honored that you would suggest this worthy of a Kerth.

Nancy

I'm very impressed by your story. I could feel the whole tragedy of this scenery while reading it. Katrina in itself was bad enough. Well this word doesn't really express it, but it would take me hours to find a better one, so it will have to do the job for now.

Adding the kryptonite exposure made it even worse, poor Clark.


You did a very good job portraying his feelings. I think it's definetly worth a Kerth.

Thank you bakasi!!

You guys are great!

This is definitely sad, but you did it so well. And I do like "Defeated" as a title over "Aftermath".

I live in the hurricane zone, so this is something I have thought more than once. Water sustains human life, but it can destroy us as well.

Was Lex already in New Orleans when the hurricane hit and routinely carried kryptonite on his person in case he ran into Clark? Or did he deliberately go there after the hurricane because he assumed Clark would as well?

Never thought about this but it makes sense. Ironic. Poor Clark.

There is so much bittersweet pain here. As much as you love your children and may be happy that they share your gifts, there are times when you need your *adult* partner. And the fact that the only way for Clark to get to her is to let his children know his pain makes my heart ache. As an aside, I wonder how left out Lois feels being the only member of the family without telepathy.

This is why we love Clark. Tears!

Nice to know there are some decent people in the world.

Did Clark make that statement on TV wearing nothing but that blanket?

More decent people. It's so easy to forget how many there are in the world when all you hear is bad news.

Yes, poor Lois. But I wonder if she really believed it. People have tried that trick before.

This is a great little vignette. Thank you for writing it.

Mrs. Mosley, thank you for your comments!

My thoughts on Lex were that he had found a way to get to New Orleans after the hurricane with the express intention of making Superman believe he was a victim in need of rescue.


Pretty left out and pretty vulnerable, I'd say. (And a little mad if we all know Lois.) By the time Clark made the statement on TV, he had on hospital scrubs - those rather unshapely baggy uniforms that us medical people so often wear. I thought scrubs would be a little more dignified than a hospital gown. They would have been the more logical choice for someone who came in without any clothes on. On a side note, they actually make disposable scrubs, but I doubt those would have been available in the hurricane aftermath.

Lois might have believed he was dead or close to it this time. It's rather vague in the story, but Clark was on that roof for five days.

Thanks for your comments!! Nancy

Thanks again to everyone who read my story. Would anyone like to see a story about what was going on with Lois during all this?

Nancy,

I definitely would like to read and weep with Lois as she worried for her Beloved Clark.

Her nearly "super" human powers were hinted at in the story as she got to Superman/Kal/Clark sa fast as she did.

Regards,

SNL

Shame on me for not noticing this story before!! I'm SO not proud of myself.

Nancy, this is excellent! Absolutely, totally, *excellent*!!

I wasn't sure at first if I was going to be able to read it - a very dear friend of mine lost everything during that hurricane and it always breaks my heart just hearing about the awful mess Katrina's caused... And 'course you had me going "poor Clark" from about the middle up to the end of this piece and reaching for the kleenex (I cry at everything, what can I say?). But I'm SO glad I read this from start to end.

It's wonderfully well written and beautiful. Thank you so, so much for sharing this with us!

Thank you, Lara!

And I am going to write a story about Lois' perspective, but it will probably be a couple of weeks. I've only got an outline right now.

This was very well written and it pulled me right into the story, had my full attention right until the end. Great story! (I'd LOVE to read Lois' point of view....or hey...what about Jimmy? hrrm....)

Thanks JenniJac. I'm glad you liked the story.

Some of Jimmy's thoughts will be in the Lois story.

Hey,

Really a classic!

I can't find words to describe how I feel, but it is definitely sad.

Especially that last part when Lois is made to believe superman is dead.

I wish you could write a sequel to it portraying Lois' feeling when she finds her husband missing, then thinks he is dead and how she finally finds him.

And Dan's point-of-view too, especially when he recognises who the injured man is, when Superman makes the statement and when Lois comes to meet him.

Thanks, LLCK! A companion fic is in the works.

This one has been sent to the archive with a couple of minor changes. I'm not sure when it will be posted there.

Thanks again, Classicalla

Hey,

And Dan's point-of-view too, especially when he recognises who the injured man is, when Superman makes the statement and when Lois comes to meet him.

Well, now that might make an interesting little story. I'll consider it.

Nancy, I would love a story showing this from Lois's POV! Please include the scene where he gets back to her, though.

Ann