The characters contained in this story are loosely based on those in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures in Superman. You’ll find quite a few changes, not only in life choices, but also in the personalities that would make such life decisions possible. No copyright infringement is intended.
Fic PG-13
While it isn’t about sex and drugs, this story is set on a college campus where drunken parties rule the weekends and unmarried partners have sex, sometimes without consent. Also, there is one scene in particular with a wee bit of violence, with a little Lois whumping thrown in for good measure. (That means she gets beat up, in case they don’t use that term in this fandom.) There is both coarse language and adult scenes, although there is nothing explicit.
Imagine a world where Clark was content with who he was—never searching the world for a place to fit in, but instead working for The Daily Planet from his college internship on.
Imagine a world where Lois was too impatient to wait for what the world had to offer her, but instead traveled the globe to see what she could grasp by the horns.
Such a topsy-turvy world may look a little bit like this…
No, In Any Language
A Love Story
By Elisabeth
Her hands were sweaty. It wasn’t a good sign. She had done this so many times in her life, and over a dozen of her attempts were successful. Still, this was bigger and better than any previous attempt on her behalf. Hence, the sweaty hands.
He was spending an awfully long time reviewing the fine points of her résumé. An editor was trained to read carefully, so she had spent hours honing the document over the years. Still, he appeared to be doing more than just a careful examination.
Finally, he spoke, “I don’t get many résumés for an internship.” His voice held the soft drawl of a man raised much farther in the South. “Most men just bring a transcript.”
He finally glanced at her, the question clear in his upraised eyebrows.
“I’m not most men,” Lois declared, meeting his gaze firmly as she always did in interviews. “And this isn’t most papers,” she blustered on. “The Daily Planet deserves a little bit more from its people, like the experience I offer.”
“So what kind of grades do you get, Miss Lane?”
Oh, there it was. He thought she hadn’t brought a transcript because her grades were too bad to mention. Hardly!
“I start freshman orientation at Southeast New Troy State a week from Wednesday, sir,” she stated candidly, noting the surprise that came across his features. “I’ll be honest with you, Mr. White. I started out too ambitious for college. I found that in most third world countries they care more about results than education, so I’ve learned how to produce results.”
No one was better at playing up their good points than Lois Lane. Ambition, results: it was all sounding good.
He grunted his acceptance and went back to studying her résumé.
She steeled herself against the silence. An editor in Colombia had once told her he turned her down for a job once because she babbled. Hah! The Colombians talked faster and moved slower than anyone else in the world. But then again, she had gotten her revenge, making his competitor the top paper in the city in the few months she had worked there. Still, she had learned from the mistake. Some men were just looking for an excuse not to hire a capable woman. She never gave them an inch.
“It does look like you specialize in hot spots…” Mr. White mumbled without taking his eyes off the paper. “Georgia, the Sudan, hmm…” he continued to glance over the highlights, “…worked for the French in Iraq.”
“The French didn’t want to go, but I did.” She tried to lighten it up, hoping it would cure the flop-sweat before she had to shake hands. “Heck, I would have been in Berlin when the wall fell, but my elementary school wouldn’t give me the time off.”
He nodded without so much as a grin and set her résumé down on his desk.
“I’d love to give you an internship, Miss Lane, but all those positions were filled months ago.” He shrugged, “I’m surprised Personnel made an appointment for you.”
Lois smirked. “I can be persuasive.”
Lois could see the moment he came to a decision. It was written all over his face. He was going to give her the heave-ho, with a slick promise to keep her resume on-file should some impossible chance ever arrive.
“I could offer you a starting position in research. It wouldn’t be Iraq, but I might be able to slip you the occasional obituary.”
Yes! It wasn’t much, but all she needed was a foot in the door. The truth was that there weren’t any scholarships available to those pushing thirty. And with The Daily Planet on her résumé, she would have a real shot at the brass ring when she graduated.
“You make it sound so appealing,” she returned, trying not to sound too eager.
There was an annoying knock at the door. Mr. White held up a finger to stave off the rude intruder. All she needed was just one more minute to get him to sign off on the deal.
“Well, research at the best newspaper in the world is better than work study with the campus custodians,” she allowed. She stuck out her hopefully dry hand for a firm handshake for a good close. “Mr. White, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
“All right then. Drop your class schedule off before you go with Glen—he supervises research. He’ll contact you with a work schedule.”
She turned on her heal, determined to maintain her self-assurance all the way past the glass front of his office. She would celebrate in private once the elevator doors closed.
She spared half a glance for the usurper who tried to push her out of her full interview. While he was admittedly mildly attractive, he certainly looked stupid with his mouth hanging open like that. Men!
~*~
“Hello?” The whir of the dishwasher told Clark that his mom was in the kitchen.
“Kents.” Dad had probably picked up the extension in the barn.
“Mom? Dad? You’ll never guess what just happened. I met the girl I’m going to marry.”
“Clark?”
“What’s she like?”
“How’d you meet her?”
“What’s her name?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I didn’t think to ask her when I saw her. But I’ll find out… Look, I better go. I just kind of snuck off with my cell phone, because I wanted you guys to be the first to know. But I better get back. Love you. See you in a few days.”
He hit end before they asked anymore embarrassing questions to which he had no answer. It had probably been a mistake to call them prematurely. Still, it felt good to say it out loud.
