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Features Writer
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OP
Features Writer
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 814 |
Well, what do you think? (Also, thanks for all the suggestions and helpful speculation  )
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Joined: Aug 2007
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Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 700 |
Yes, perhaps Cyrus should go back on his meds.  I really liked that exchange, and how Clark couldn't get the image of Superman out of his head. There's some more serious stuff in here of course, but I'm in a more lighthearted mood tonight so I'll let someone else comment on that. Great part!
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,764 |
Wonderful as always Shayne. And Lois seems to be starting to put two and two together... And Clark may be Superman yet . Carol
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Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,020 |
 Drat! No suit! Oh well at least he's thinking about. I love the part about the Airbase. So the USAF has tracked Clark and they at least will know something superhuman is about. Can we please have a USAF more in the image of Jack O'Neill and the SGC instead of Jason Trask and Bureau 39? What bothered Lois as much as anything was the knowledge that something approximately the size of a human being had rocketed toward the fallen boat and shortly afterward that boat had been saved. Maybe, maybe... “The air base went nuts. Soldiers were scrambling, planes were flying…it’s just the same as it was the other day.” ...“Are you sure of the time?” she asked. Hmm, still faster than our Lois...
Framework4
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Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,445 |
I love the idea of Clark dithering about the suit, considering the way that fate seems to be trying to force him into the Superman mould. Apart from anything else, he can go and buy a ready-made outfit in our world from any costume shop - making it a good fit may be harder, of course.
Marcus L. Rowland
Forgotten Futures, The Scientific Romance Role Playing Game
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,147 Likes: 3
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,147 Likes: 3 |
An angel in boxer shorts. What a world.
This is good, Shayne. Now all you have to do is get Clark and Lois back together and let Clark tell her how he saved the Marie Celeste. She won't believe him, of course, not until he takes her flying while he wears his new blue and red suit with the ostentatious cape.
I wonder if Clark's musings about the suit and about doing good deeds in public means that he's willing to stay in this world. Even though he could certainly do a lot of good there, won't the plight of the other two hundred involuntary travelers make itself evident to him soon? Won't Lois ask him about Lucy and her possible fate?
And when do we get to see Lucy again? Haven't any of the interlopers seen a newspaper yet? Have they all professed ignorance of 9/11, to the utter disbelief of their captors? Has Lieutenant Evans met himself? Have the others with "others" met themselves yet? That's a recipe for psychological disaster, don't you think?
Shayne, you're doing a great job staying on task with this story. I'd be running around trying to answer every question and fill in all the blanks, but you just show us only what we need to see. I applaud your technique, your style, and your talent.
Okay, that's enough brown-nosing. Where's the next chapter?
Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.
- Stephen King, from On Writing
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,797
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,797 |
I loved the part about Cyrus and the "angel" in boxer shorts. Well, the angel in underwear had kind eyes, and few things could be more important. So now maybe Clark has saved not only a lot of fishermen, but also a drunk schizophrenic, who is, however, nobody's fool. I loved Clark's euphoria after his successful rescue: He found himself smiling, grinning in a way that wouldn't go away. He wanted nothing so much as to shoot into the stratosphere and shout out his joy.
This was what he'd been born to do. Wonderful. What bothered Lois as much as anything was the knowledge that something approximately the size of a human being had rocketed toward the fallen boat and shortly afterward that boat had been saved.
It was almost enough to make someone believe in Aquaman.
Or Superman. Yes, after all the various pieces of evidence you have seen, Lois, it is time to start believing now. If he was going to do this sort of thing very often, he'd have to have some sort of outfit that was a little sturdier, or the clothing costs were going to beggar him.
It would have to be something tight fitting that clung tight against his skin. As Clark considered what sort of outfit might best work, his mind began to form a mental image.
Shadowy at first, it began to fill in. He'd always loved the color blue. Perhaps some sort of body stocking or ski suit. Slap a symbol on the front and people would know who he was. They might not think he was some sort of alien freak.
The underwear on the outside, that was ridiculous of course, although Clark could see how it might help to conceal certain areas of his anatomy. It might be helpful to have a belt where he could slip money in case he needed it.
Boots might be good, both to make him seem a little taller than his everyday self and to give him another place to slip things like money and credit cards. He'd lost his wallet two or three times already this trip. I absolutely love how Clark thinks about a possible suit in such a way that he considers every part of the famous Superman suit on its own, and he tells himself how every part of it makes sense. It is not as if he starts out from a ready-made suit and considers it as a whole. Damn that movie. The theme song had been rolling around in his head since he'd seen it, and now he couldn't get the costume out of his head. But of course he did start out from a ready-made suit! “The air base went nuts. Soldiers were scrambling, planes were flying…it's just the same as it was the other day.” At first I couldn't figure out what this was about. But the military airplanes are tracking Clark, aren't they? I hope he has enough sense to stay under the radar. And now I really want to see Lois and Clark together again! Ann
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,864 |
It was almost enough to make someone believe in Aquaman. Too funny! It's easier for her to believe in a stranger doing these things than Clark Kent. I also love the way he mentally plans what kind of an outfit he will need. Throw in the theme song and it's perfect. Cyrus is such a poignant character. Messed up on life but unwilling to let this opportunity to pass by without changing him. I'm confused. Is Lois covering the story of airmen getting called in because a missile was launched at Clark when he came in with the plane? Or did the airmen get called in tonight? If the college kids watched twenty airmen getting called to work when he first arrived, it's perfect proof that something did indeed happen. Put out the story of a missile launched by the US over friendly skies at the same time as another story comes out about a torpedo and suddenly the story itself seems larger than life. If they saw them get called in tonight then they have evidence of an unconvention weapon indeed. It's a missile that hooked a left and turned into a torpedo. I've never seen that one, not even on the drawing boards. I like how this part ends. That traitorous part of her that craved someone larger than life was something that had to be savagely suppressed sometimes. This was the real world. Magic didn’t exist and neither did superheroes. She keeps reminding herself of her cynicism, as if she needs it somehow. Elisabeth
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 144 |
Surprise, a new chapter much earlier than I expected! You made my day!  Apparently a couple of college kids were in a restaurant near Andrews Air Force Base. The place is usually crawling with airmen. They have cell phone footage of half the restaurant emptying out after more than twenty people received simultaneous phone calls.”
“When was that?” Lois asked. Frowning, she realized that the mobilization had occurred only a few minutes before the Celeste Marie had turned up afloat. Exactly the moment when they had him on their radar screens again. They simply HAVE to know now who he is. At least the higher ranks who have all the puzzle pieces and are able to put them together. The angel wasn’t anything like what he’d have expected. There were no white robes, no wings, and no halo. This angel didn’t wear anything, other than a pair of black boxer shorts and a white pair of socks. He even looked younger than what Cyrus would have expected, looking like a young man in the prime of his life. What an idea! An angel in black boxer shorts and white ( :rolleyes: ) socks! I don´t get over that image! Cyrus began to whistle tunelessly as he began to gather his things together.
Only a fool spoke to an angel and didn’t let it change his life. Whatever else Cyrus was, schizophrenic, alcoholic or whatever, he was nobody’s fool. I have another quote from someone else regarding that (I´m not sure if I translate it correctly, I only know it in German): "Give and you will receive." Good deeds have their own reward. Will we see Cyrus again in your story? I would like to know what happened to him afterwards. “You’ve been a big help Mr. Johnson.” Lois hesitated, and then said, “Is there anything else that you can remember about it?”
“Most of the planes haven’t even gotten back yet.” So the planes are still out there, trying to find him? Poor pilots, this will be a really frustrating job, he´s so much faster than you! It was a silly thought. That traitorous part of her that craved someone larger than life was something that had to be savagely suppressed sometimes. This was the real world. Magic didn’t exist and neither did superheroes.
Sometimes there weren’t even enough ordinary heroes to go around. Yes, right. Very silly, Lois!  But our real world really could need some more ordinary heroes! I hope we will see Clark in the suit in one of the next chapters! I´m very much looking forward to that! And to the revelation for our real world and Lois! I will be hopefully starting my computer each morning and looking for a new chapter! (And hoping for an early surprise like this morning!) 
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Joined: Sep 2006
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 391 |
An early surprise! Thank you, Shayne! I loved all the little touches: Clark exhilarated from his first big rescue, him being unable to get the theme song and costume out of his mind, Cyrus and his "angel," and Lois's growing suspicion that maybe... just maybe... Speaking of Cyrus, in the pilot, Clark gives money to a homeless man and then flies off. The homeless man thinks Clark is an angel. Since there's no Metropolis in our world, could it be that Cyrus is that same fellow, but living in California? I also love the way everyone is struggling to come up with rational explanations that don't involve visiting Kryptonians, but the explanations they are coming up with are almost as far-fetched. Lois is starting to suspect the truth, but still can't make herself believe it. Your A plot is still keeping me guessing, which in turn keeps me waiting for that next installment.  I still can't tell if you're going to have Clark show Lois who he is, or have her realize herself that the evidence is too hard to dismiss. Is Clark going to go public in our world, or wait until he gets home? You certainly have my attention. I didn't have a chance to comment last night, and then this morning I saw this: Santa Cruz fisherman survives sinking in Bering Sea; others don\'t . Sadly, there was no Clark on hand, though most of the crew survived.
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Posts: 400 Likes: 1
Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 400 Likes: 1 |
Great juxtaposition of Clark the superhero (saving the boat's men) and Clark the ordinary hero (getting Cyrus to go back to his sister). Not enough ordinary heroes to go around, eh, Lois? I think we just need a reminder that we can make those ourselves.
I think Lois is going to start believing that Clark is Superman, and then start believing that she's going nuts: she's clearly hallucinating, because men don't fly, and her sister is really dead, and.... So Clark is still going to have to prove it to her, even if she starts believing it on her own.
All those Air Force boys must be panicking. Who the heck is launching missiles *from* DC if it's not the government? ;-)
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,999 |
I'm sure that I don't have to heap any more praise on Shayne for another excellant instalment. Everyone else has already done it, and with his talent such comments must be getting to be old hat to him . Anyway, it seems to me that the only way that Clark is ever going to be able to 'rescue' those 200 people from the plane is to actually become a public Superman where his 'other worldly' powers added to the anomolies that those passengers represent will convince enough people of his story and allow them to work toward finding a way back to his world, or... Tank (who feels that Lois' forced familarity with the Superman mythos will make her to keep seeing Superman connections to the 'miracles' that are happening even though she knows there are no such things as superheros)
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Joined: Sep 2005
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Freelance Reporter
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Freelance Reporter
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 76 |
Boots might be good, both to make him seem a little taller than his everyday self and to give him another place to slip things like money and credit cards. He’d lost his wallet two or three times already this trip. Yeah, what about that wallet? Was its only to prove to Lois (who is the only one who has seen it) that he really is Clark Kent, from Metropolis, New Troy? Or does clark have to go back to the Alaskan pacific to try and recover it again? Or will it turn up on the Celeste Marie?  Great story, as usual. I can't wait til they meet each other next. Snave
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 9,070 Likes: 31 |
Clark finds an economic reason for a suit  And Lois begins to wonder about what is really going on. Michael
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Nov 2003
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And the plot thickens... Loved Lois' longing for magic, and Clark's euphoria after rescue. So the government is again on (or trying to be on) top of things, so to speak. It seems to me that Clark would be more in danger if he exposes himself, because although there's probably no kryptonite here, he is definitely susceptible to coercion, blackmail, etc. This world is even more bent (due to various events, etc.) on attacking first and asking questions later. Why would the government trust a parallel universe theory when it can be more in control by imprisoning the 200 people? Of course, I could always be wrong and way off. Still, Clark is the variable here and a lot depends on how Clark is protrayed in the news if he does get exposed. 
If she had to move heaven and Earth, perhaps come back to haunt Perry and explain the story after they'd killed her, she would do it.
Waking a Miracle by Aria
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Joined: Sep 2006
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 391 |
If Clark is not portrayed well in the media, there's always the internet: blogs, Youtube, Flickr, Facebook, etc. Clark is a writer, and Lois is both a writer and a video journalist. They can take their case straight to the people of the world. With Lois's camcorder and a laptop, they could post to Youtube from anywhere.
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