I probably shouldn't answer when I have so little time, but....
The voice perked up. “Good work, Nigel. Your bonus is on its way.”
“Thank you. Will there be anything else?”
“No, that’s all for now.”
What??? Here I thought that Nigel was the mastermind behind all the nastiness going on, and then it turns out that he is just a hired hand? So who's the real weaver of the web?
“I hope you have good news for me, Nigel.”
The voice seemed to communicate irritation, even through the electronic distortion.
Wait a minute. The person talking to Nigel is distorting his (her????) voice? Why? So that Nigel won't recognize him (her???)? Because Nigel actually knows this person? Could it be... Asabi??? (Or Mrs. Cox???)
So Lois did get superpowers. I think you handled the revelation really well, although I also thought Lois was a bit slow on the uptake when she found that
everything was destroyed around her - the building, her Jeep, her clothes - the only thing unhurt was herself and Clark! Then again, I don't exactly blame Lois for not
expecting that she would suddenly find herself super-powered!
I like that both Lois and Clark are so bothered by the fact that so many people were killed in the explosion. The carnage in the explosion when Lana was killed a year(?) previously has affected them deeply.
I loved how you had Clark teach Lois the finer points of flying:
“What I do is just think ‘up’ and I go up. I think ‘forward’ and I go forward.”
Sounds like something any moron could do, right?
“Sounds easy enough.” She lifted one arm away, then stopped. “Maybe it would help if you just kind of floated in one place beside me for a minute or so.”
“Sure.” He slowed to a stop above the clouds, then slowly took his arms out from under her. Sure enough, she floated in place, even if she was a bit unsteady.
Then she began sinking, as if she were standing in quicksand. “Clark! What now?”
He dropped to her level and gently grasped her hands. “Just think ‘up,’ Lois. You’ll get the hang of it.”
She closed her eyes and focused. They fell a few more feet, then slowed to a stop. Almost imperceptibly, Lois began to rise under her own power. She opened her eyes and looked around. “Hey! Nice. Are you sure you’re not holding me up?”
“No, you’re doing this all on your own. I’m just here for moral support.”
How nice! I really like it.
But Lois isn't sure about having superpowers (like having a haircut and not being sure if you're going to keep your hair that way):
“There’s no ‘maybe’ about it, Lois. You’ve got my powers.”
“I still don’t want to tell anyone about it yet.”
He frowned back. “They’ll eventually figure it out. You won’t be able to keep from using your powers once you get control over them.”
“You’re assuming they’re going to stay, and you’re also assuming that I want them to stay.”
I'm not sure I like myself this way....
But Clark likes Lois that way! This was quite poignant:
“Maybe so. Maybe I just like the idea of having another person close to me who can do some of the same things I can do.”
She paused and softened her tone again. “I hadn’t thought about that, Clark.” She looked into his eyes and asked, “Are you really that lonely?”
Yes, Lois, he probably is. He just hadn't realized it until now.
“Just – you don’t have to carry me, but – but I’d feel a whole lot safer if you’d hold my hand while we fly.”
He nodded and took her left hand in his right. “Okay. Ready?”
Wow! I really liked that. It reminds me so much of the sweet flying scene with Superman and Lois in
Superman the Movie, but of course Lois couldn't really fly there. As much as I loved that scene, it always irritated me that they made Lois look as if she could fly under her own power there. Here in your fic Lois
can fly, but she wants to hold Clark's hand anyway, to feel safer. I love it.
(And speaking about Superman the Moive... if there is one thing I think I know about your fic, it is that the upcoming chapters of it will not resemble
Superman II. So there will be no lovemaking in Superman's Arctic Fortress, no amnesia kiss, and no pregnancy for Lois while Clark takes off for Krypton... no, none of that will happen here, that's for sure!!!)
Lois bit her lower lip in thought. Hard. And when she released it, Martha saw that there was no mark on it.
Now
that is perceptive of Martha.
So Clark and Lois will be laying low in Smallville for a while. Well, this was definitely a most interesting chapter, Terry!
Ann
