Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Further on Down the Road 32/41

You know I started looking for this part as soon as you said that you were going to post it.

You write pure poetry, as despicable as it sounds.

Another enjoyable part. Can't wait to see where the story goes from here.


Elisabeth

Loved Ultrawoman's debut. And I'm really feeling bad for poor Cat now. She's really in a bad situation. Great part as always!

I want to echo Elisabeth and say that your writing style is always delightful, and sometimes it really does achieve the heights of pure poetry.

Like Beth, I, too, loved Ultrawoman's debut. I loved how Clark was there with her and did the most delicate work, while Lois was allowed to be just the backup he needed. Clark was like a mentor, showing Lois the ropes. It was great.

This was great, too:

I absolutely loved it!!! In particular, I can just hear and see that little boy wrapping himself around Lois's leg!

However... you knew something was coming, right? Yes. Cat. Terry, you may or may not have heard that I don't like villains. In a way your story is appealing to me precisely because there are so few outright villains. Lex, for example, isn't a villain. (Unless, well... I have my suspicions against Alex Winfield...) And Cat isn't a villain at all. She isn't a villain because she isn't malicious. She does not want bad things to happen. But in her attempts to cause no more harm than is absolutely necessary, she is aiding and abetting a despicable villain. And I hate that.

But poor Cat's awful situation isn't what I hate most here. No, it's the way the good guys behave! Consider. Lois has received word from Lex that there is a mole at the Daily Planet, and she believes in that information. She informs Clark, who is skeptical. They inform Perry, who not only believes them, but who understands who the mole is, too. Cat. So he... asks Jimmy to keep an eye on her.

That's it??? He asks Jimmy to keep an eye on her, when he and Cat happen to be in the newsroom at the same time. At all other times she will be completely unsupervised? Even though an attempt has been made on Lois and Clark's lives, and dozens of other people were killed? Even though Cat acted very guilty when she thought that Lois and Clark were dead, and even though she demonstrated the most incredible relief and guilt when they returned? Perry decides to leave Cat at least partly unsupervised, even though she may very well be indirectly responsible for the death of dozens of people and for the attempt on Lois and Clark's lives? And who knows what new horrors she could make happen if she is allowed to continue doing whatever it may be that she has been doing?

You know that this drove me up the wall, Terry? Completely! Lois and Clark are putting on a performance for Cat, joking and giggling about Superman and Ultrawoman and almost telling Cat that they themselves are the costumed heroes. And if Cat doesn't figure it out on her own, surely her "boss" will.

I hate this kind of unbelievable stupidity on the part of the "good guys"! You'd think the heroes were being bribed by gamblers who have put their money on the villains! Please don't tell us you fear that we wouldn't be getting our "villain's worth" out of Cat if you allowed Perry to put a stop to her activities sooner, Terry!

Heroic stupidity

Gaaaah!!! Okay. I'll try to cool down, even though I think that Perry, Lois and Clark's behaviour is inexcusable. Anyway. Just a final thought. Someone else has already mentioned it - I forget who - but it would certainly be hugely interesting if the mysterious "Boss", the one who distorts his voice when he is talking to Nigel, is actually Lex himself! Yes, but not Lex as Lex, but Lex as Alex Winfield. It would be so interesting if Lex suffers from a split personality, so that he doesn't know that he has two separate personalities. What if one part of Lex truly, honestly loves Lois, but the other part of him - Alex Winfield - hates Lois and wants to kill her!

Doctor Luthor and Mister Winfield?

Here's hoping that you put a stop to Cat's activities in the next part, before she manages to give the "Boss" any more damaging information about Lois and Clark. There is no good reason not to stop her!

Ann

Great stuff, seeing Ultra Woman out and about.

And to consider, they are both gay Next you will tell us they had been forced off Krypton by an intolerant society. At least Luthor doesn't have to worry about Lois running off with Superman, since he would be more interested in Clark.

Michael

Hey, you skipped "Tuesday, 9:00 AM." Not fair. :-(

I think this is the first time we've learned about where Cat's debt came from. It's good to see her character added to like that. But I agree with Ann that our protagonists' willingness to leave Cat alone is confusing and maddening. I'm still along for the whole ride, of course. :-)

I'm glad Lois's first rescue got to be one of the good ones. It seems like it really might have knocked down this Lois's confidence to start out with a (even partially) failed rescue. Of course, those will come, but hopefully she'll be a bit ingrained as Ultra Woman by then.

Ann wrote:
Perry only said that it makes sense that there's a mole in the newsroom. He has no proof, and he has to have proof before he either prints an accusatory story or he actually accuses someone of something. Besides, given the Clark/Lex arc of season one, this series has a history of unproven suspicions being kept under wraps. Cat's behavior is certainly odd, but it might be explained by any number of circumstances. One of her parents is seriously ill. She's seriously ill. Her boyfriend has proposed to her and she really doesn't want to marry him but neither does she want to hurt him. She's been put on probation at work. She's gotten a job offer somewhere else but she doesn't know if it's right for her. She's got gas. Her shoes are stylin' but they hurt her feet. She has gall bladder trouble (not usually fatal but definitely lifestyle changing).

There are any number of valid possible explanations for Cat's attitude. Besides, Perry runs a newsroom, not a kindergarten, and Cat knows how to hide her activities from prying eyes. Jimmy's young and inexperienced, but he's also determined and single-minded. Don't worry, Perry will have all the proof he needs soon. Just what he's going to do with it remains to be seen.

Yes, many people were killed at the lab, but there's no firm evidence that Clark and Lois were the primary targets. The main purpose of the blast might have been just to throw a huge kink in the space program, or to give someone else a chance to pick up some of the business that Luthor might lose because of the delays. And remember that Nigel needed to get rid of Toni Baines, too. As our least favorite Brit (at least, in the L&C universe) might say, "Luck is preparation meeting opportunity."

Elisabeth, thanks for the comment about my "despicable poetry." I know, you meant the coffee! And thanks for all the kind comments about Ultra Woman. I'm glad y'all liked her debut. I promise she won't disappear before the end of the episode.

Nice idea, Michael. I guess Krypton wouldn't be a very open society, would it?

Amy, I'm sorry I missed your favorite time. Maybe it'll show up in a later chapter.

Ann, I don't know how you find all those wonderful images, but keep it up! I laughed out loud when I saw Doctor Luthor and Mr. Winfield!

Thanks for reading, all! Next chapter due later this week. My wonderful betas do have real lives, after all.

"What did you say, Jenkins? There are a couple of Egyptian gentlemen who want to learn to fly, but not to land? Should we inform the FBI? Uuuuhhh... lemme think... naaahh, there may be all those reasons why they don't want to land... girlfriend troubles, shoes may be too tight, or maybe it's their gall bladders...."

Ann

Hi,

Great part!

Hi,

Great part!

So if Lex isnt the "boss" I wonder if it is a woman and thats why they need to distort their voice. Although, if it was Lex, I can see why he would distort his voice. It would be very smart of him, then noone could tie him to what was happening. If it really does turn out to be Lex, what a great actor he is.

I must say, I dont see Lois and Clark getting together. They seem so far apart. If they ever do, I hope you have the talent, because it would take alot to convince me. Especially if Lex turns out to be really good. Then, if they dont get together, I will be pissed because I am a purist. I only read Lois and Clark stories. Never do I read if they end up with someone else.