Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: The Man Under the Suit, Part 2/31

Feedback goes here.

I know I said Thursday for Part 2, but Carol and Bob were both helpful and quick, and I got a lot of writing done this afternoon, so we're a little early. Not sure whether Part 3 will get off to them tonight or tomorrow, so I'm guessing Saturday for Part 3.

I did one last check of the boards before logging off the computer, and what do I find? An unexpectedly early posting of part 2. Yay!

I'm fascinated by this different take on Clark's 'multiple personalities'. I really like how you've turned the whole secret identity thing around, and I especially like that Pete and Lana know everything and are there to protect him. It's ironic that the more successful a celebrity gets, the more important it is that he have people around to protect him, and this Clark clearly has a wonderful extended family to do that for him. I'm glad he has friends to bounce things off of and who are watching out for him.

And you certainly answered right up front what Lois thought of Clark Kent! It's interesting how dismissive she is of his books and the power they've had, but since she also admits she's never read them, I'm betting she'll be surprised after she's done some background research. And she's completely snowed by Lex Luthor, which will surely have Clark rolling his eyes when the subject comes up. Will he be able to convince her to look deeper? Or will she ignore his hints because she's so blind to Lex's charms? I can't wait to find out!

I'm looking forward to part 3, HG. Do we really have to wait for Saturday?

I agree with the posters above - More! I want more! And soon! This is a delightful AU beginning.

Tee-hee! That's so Lois!

I'm interested to see what Clark will spill during the interview. Lois believes he's only as deep as the average morning TV viewer? She might up changing her mind....

Happygirl, I love your stories, and this one looks just as intriguing as all the rest.

I like the twist on Clark Kent's identity problem (it's such an interesting variation), and I also like the way Lois dismisses him without even reading his books -- typical of Season 1 cavalier Lois.

I really hope she does Clark the courtesy of reading one or two of his books before she interviews him. If she doesn't, I hope he calls her on it.

More soon, please. I'll definitely be anticipating this one.

I must echo the previous posters. This is a very good alternate take on the beginning of the relationship. There are so many ways this could go, it's not possible to list them all. And you're laying the groundwork so openly and skillfully that no matter which of those directions you choose, it will make sense.

I like this Lana. She's cool, confident, sure of herself, yet she doesn't take herself too seriously, nor does she seem to think too highly of herself. Same goes for Pete, her well-matched husband, although your Pete character doesn't have to overcome your "gentle readers'" (nice phrase, by the way) preconceptions of his character like Lana does. Pete and Lana seem to know that without Clark, they wouldn't be in the positions that they occupy, yet they're operating as his friends and partners, not as sycophants or simple yes-men. I like these two.

And I like the fact that Clark knows about Luthor before he even meets Lois. I also wonder if Lois will do some in-depth research on Clark before the interview and ask him how he gets all his inside information. And maybe Luthor will give her an interview just to keep up with the Joneses - er, the Kents. And Martha? Is she going to show Clark the blue-and-red suit first, or is she going to show him the Duckyman outfit and the Speedy Delivery suit first and save the real suit for later? Or maybe he'll have that tight-fitting shiny black NK suit. Wouldn't that take attention away from his face!

Like I said, so many possibilities. Next part soon, please?

Great part! The only thing I want more of is this story. I agree with what everyone said before so I will not repeat, I hope. I am really looking forward on how the characters develop. You have taken such a nice twist yet so much of it still holds true to season 1 - Lois not thinking much of Clark, being mad that he interrupted the dance, being enamored with Luther, etc.

I look forward to seeing how it plays out. I do hope she reads a book and starts to see soon who the real Clark is.

Kathy
www.chili-everyway.com

I really like how you have managed to take such a completely alternate beginning in so many ways and blend it in with aspects of The Pilot. It is familiar, yet totally different at the same time and it works very well.

The first interaction between Lois and Clark was great - the seeds are sown. Yes, Lois wasn't too impressed with Clark, but in the end she seemed quite pleased to get an interview, even if he was second best, and Clark is already captivated by her, if a little intimidated too.

As has been said previously, there are so many possibilities, too many to speculate on, but it's a great premise and I'm very much looking forward to seing where it goes.

Em

Delightful part. Very well done. I loved the way Lois dismissed this version of Clark as completely as she did the new hire Clark in canon.

But DRAT, no Luthor - Kent interaction. None, not even as much as we got in canon. I was so hoping that Luthor would try to one up Clark using other languages and quotes only to have Clark match him language for language, and quote for quote, with editorial correction for the quote's context and original language.

Perhaps something else can occur to allow some Luthor - Kent interaction.


A question, it sounds like you are planning this tale to take place against the backdrop of his three week stay in Metropolis, in other words all the actions and events will occur within a three week window?

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback!

Things are about to get *really* nutty around here (the real life here, that is), so if I don't get the chance to respond individually to your thoughtful comments, please know that I am reading them and that they are both an encouragement and a help in fine-tuning the story.

That said, a few quick remarks:

I'm glad that you are all enjoying *how* I've turned the secret identity issue on it's head. Later, you might even find out *why.*

I like this Lana, too, Terry. The Lana in the alt-world was a piece of work, but I've seen many fics in which she is someone we like, including your Road Taken. And, in this case, she's not even competition for Lois.

Framework, sorry to disappoint on the Lex Luthor front. He'll probably come into the story a bit more later on, but for now I'm assuming that we all know who he is and what kind of man he is, so I'm concentrating more on Lois and Clark at this point. Lex is still Lex in this universe, but we don't know this Lois and Clark as well as we might think. Clark's differences are obvious. The main difference for Lois is that she doesn't work with Clark. That will have consequences as we go on.

Thanks for reading! Part 3 is at the betas. I'm still aiming for Saturday. Friday night if a miracle occurs.

Well, then I'm hoping for a miracle. I'll be checking back on Friday night.

Can you imagine the outcry if they *did* notice it? And did Luthor present his space program? Will Superman make an appearance? Oh, so many questions.

Michael

bump for the repost

Hi HappyGirl,


I'm sorry about your brother. It must have been a very difficult time for your entire family.

I am thoroughly enjoying this story. I especially like how you are able to borrow portions of the show and modify them for your own use. For example, I enjoyed the bits toward the end of this part in which you discussed Clark's persona, and how you used a number of lines from the show, either directly or with minimal paraphrasing -- How show-Clark's grousing about 2-dimensional Superman taking over his life was transformed into your-Clark's grousing about 2-dimensional "Clark Kent" doing the same.

I missed these posting first time around. (I came to the MB too recently to have seen it then.) I'm looking forward to reading the entire story.

Joy,
Lynn

Yes, I'm also sorry about your brother (forgot to mention in the other post).

I'm also enjoying the story and actually read all 27 parts last night - figured I cannot wait for the next part as I remember bits and pieces for the fic and had to get the story right in my head

Thanks, Lynn and DW. I wasn't sure whether to repost or just point everyone toward the old TOC, but I decided that I need to reread it myself to make sure I haven't missed any loose ends that need tying up and I figured some new readers might want time to jump in to the feedback threads, so I'm doing it the slow way. I'm also making some minor edits along the way--mostly typos and some word choices, nothing that affects the plot.

For a while my husband and I were reading a long book series and whenever a new book came out we had to go back a reread at least part of the last book just to remember what was going on. That's how I feel about this story since it's been so long. Never fear, though--I'm working on the last part now, so it will definitely be ready by the time I've got all the old parts reposted.