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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 966
Features Writer
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OP
Features Writer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 966 |
Finally, the end! Thanks go to the writers of the show, from whom I borrowed rather shamelessly, and also to the actors, who made it look great. And of course to my beta-readers--Anonpip, DW, and Morgana! Thanks for being so great with the short deadlines when I went late and the long chapters! And thank you, especially, to everyone who's read and commented! I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I have! 
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 351 |
So beautiful!! <long happy sigh> I have to go sleep now, and hope for better words tomorrow to say how absolutely wonderful your wrap up is. Thank you thank you thank you!!
EvelynC
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,999 |
Nicely done. A satisfying and throughly enjoyable story.
What's next?
Tank (who is secure in the knowledge that since in this universe the relationship has been accelerated, so to will Lois' desire for the proper haircut... right?)
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,800 Likes: 30
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,800 Likes: 30 |
Beta-reading this story was pure fun! Ok, so I bit my nails at the end of every chapter wondering what was going to happen next, but overall this was awesome!
Thanks for adding extra joy to a crazy summer!
Morgana
A writer's job is to think of new plots and create characters who stay with you long after the final page has been read. If that mission is accomplished than we have done what we set out to do, which is to entertain and hopefully educate.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 746
Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 746 |
I ditto what Morgana said, except that the fix made my *winter* that much more bearable  And beta-reading for you was so much fun except when I was anxious to read the next part! 
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,724 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,724 Likes: 1 |
What a fabulous ending! Superman is back! Loved this: But, Clark, if you take back the name and the Suit, Luthor will have failed And this brought tears to my eyes: No wonder, I thought with some bit of vindication, I had not connected Clark to Superman when it had been the clone wearing the Suit; there were a thousand minute differences, from the way they stood to the expression in their eyes to the more diffident, self-conscious way Clark held himself to the astonishing gulf between the clone’s guarded wariness and Clark’s earnest openness Such wonderful details. Fabulous ending for a fabulous story!  Joan (What's next??)
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,384
Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,384 |
This was just beautiful. Remember the chapter I read, alone in the dark on my living room sofa, in the middle of the night, and I was so moved I had to write and thank you? Well, last night I sat in the dark reading the epilogue, and when I came to the end, I was surprised to notice that there was a solitary tear rolling down my cheek. I wasn't sad. It wasn't a tear of joy. I think it was just a reaction to the beauty of this wonderfully written story. Thanks again for sharing. I look forward to reading more from you.
"Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution" - Daniel Webster
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 9,509
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 9,509 |
It was no vacation on the beach, but I loved the perpetual sunrise.  The wind swooped and swirled around us, laughing as it twirled between us and startled into silence when Clark’s mouth covered mine, capturing the wind between his lips so that he tasted of sky and cloud and rain and open space. Well, that's unique! No clone will fool her again. “You know,” Clark said when he pulled back to lean his brow against mine as we caught our breath, “you were right when you said I wandered the world searching for a place that was mine, looking for some feeling of connection, knowing--*hoping*--there was somewhere I belonged. This”--he slipped his fingers from mine to gesture to the gold and silver panorama surrounding us on all sides--“is where I usually went when I couldn’t find that place, when I despaired of ever belonging. I searched the entire globe for that feeling of rightness, Lois, but I’ve only felt it once in my life.”
...
“The day I met you.” Awww. Did she realize that she just proposed? Or accepted an unspoken proposal? “I’m…I’m thinking that tomorrow, I might ask you out on a date. A real date.”
A laugh of molten joy escaped me. “I’m thinking that I might say yes.” Loving the banter of these series of lines!  We hung there in the vastness of a sky large enough to encompass the whole of a world, suspended between the silver and gray vestiges of night and the burgeoning gold and carnelian and alabaster of daybreak, hovering between the blurred lines of strengthening light and fading darkness as the sun asserted its dominance. Yet Clark outshone it all as he smiled at me with a smile that told me just how many of his dreams I had made come true. Which is why we all read FanFic, to see Clark smile like this. Okay, more than a few quotes.  Great story! Loved it! You did not disappoint! Did I mention... ? Thank you for the ride!
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
---
"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,060 Likes: 20
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,060 Likes: 20 |
Beautiful!
~•~
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 613
Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 613 |
I just caught on to this story this week. It took me 3 days, but I read all of it and finished late last night. I was so thrilled to see that you would be posting the epilogue shortly thereafter! This story was amazing!  ~Kristen
Joey: If he doesn't like you, then this is all just a moo point.
Rachel: A moo point?
Joey: Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion, you know, it just doesn't matter. It's "moo."
Rachel: Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?
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Joined: Dec 2004
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Dec 2004
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The perfect ending to a fantastic story. You had me hooked on every last word. Loved it all.
Superman: I hear you've been looking for me.
Lois: All my life.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 6,142 Likes: 3
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 6,142 Likes: 3 |
Much better to have him just across the city than clear across the world, especially when he was now so free and open and unburdened. Yes, otherwise you'd have to microchip him with a tracking device like a puppy. The whole of Metropolis was in an uproar as Luthor’s empire toppled from the shining top of Lex Tower all the way down to the corrupted foundation, and the resulting front page stories were keeping both Clark and me incredibly busy. *wonders what the unemployment rate in Metropolis has just sky-rocketed to* Despite the late nights, however, I always woke up early, eager for the moment when Clark would arrive to kiss me as if the nights apart were as hard on him as they were on me and cook breakfast while I kept him company. Probably harder on him actually. The tapping sound repeated, and I froze when I realized that it was coming from the living room window. Clark? Cloneboy? *Has* to be Clark. Right? He raised his hand in a small wave just as I stepped close enough to see that my visitor wore a winter coat over casual clothes…and glasses. Dangerous move, Clark! But, you are adorable, so we'll let it slide. “I can fly!” he repeated jubilantly, laughing exultantly. *pictures the "he can fly" scene from Peter Pan* “I can fly!” he said again, and I idly wondered if this had been his reaction the first time he had discovered he could snub his nose at gravity. “I’m completely back to normal--well, normal for me.”  Something, some lingering darkness, fell away from Clark, and his expression lightened still further. As he floated us out of the window and shot straight up into the night sky, I knew without even looking back that the last of Luthor’s chains had fallen from Clark’s heart, leaving him, finally, unfettered and free. Horray for the healing of mental scars! “No,” he agreed, laughter sending tremors through his voice. “But it could be *sunrise* forever.” Ooooohhh! “You know,” Clark said when he pulled back to lean his brow against mine as we caught our breath, “you were right when you said I wandered the world searching for a place that was mine, looking for some feeling of connection, knowing--*hoping*--there was somewhere I belonged. This”--he slipped his fingers from mine to gesture to the gold and silver panorama surrounding us on all sides--“is where I usually went when I couldn’t find that place, when I despaired of ever belonging. I searched the entire globe for that feeling of rightness, Lois, but I’ve only felt it once in my life.”
“When?” I breathed out, though within my chest, my heart was fluttering as wildly if a bird had somehow become incorporeal and lodged itself within me as I flew through the sky that had once belonged to it alone.
Clark’s eyes, when they met mine, were as solid, as real, as shocking as if he possessed some other form of heatvision, piercing straight and true to the very center of my being, so direct that the breath caught in my throat and fled. “The day I met you.” Another nice mixture of two of my favorite lines/scenes. “I can’t believe the first time I looked into your eyes, I didn’t instantly know you were the man I’d spend the rest of my life with.” “And I’m thinking that I might ask you out a lot more after that, maybe every day, just so I have an excuse to see you even when we’re not working.” “And then…” The sun reflected in his eyes, twin orbs of gold and crimson hope. “Then I’m planning on asking you to marry me.” Or you could just skip to that part. Yeah.... The taste of wind-blown mist and cool sky and drops of pure sunshine.
The sound of Clark’s smoky voice murmuring my name as if there were no other word in any language that mattered as much.
The scent of his skin, fresh and pure and clean.
The feel of his form defining mine through the strength of his embrace, the gentleness of his touch, and the depths of love revealed through his kiss.
And light--eternal light that is mine and mine alone. Wonderful! Amazing tale that you have woven for us! I completely enjoyed every moment of it. Excellent job, as always. And I do hope to see more from you soon!
Battle On,
Deadly Chakram
"Being with you is stronger than me alone." ~ Clark Kent
"One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation." ~ Figment the Dragon
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Joined: Jun 2010
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,200 |
Finally had a chance to catch up to the last few parts! SO beautifully well done!!
Reach for the moon, for even if you fail, you'll still land among the stars... and who knows? Maybe you'll meet Superman along the way. 
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Posts: 4,425 Likes: 1
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 4,425 Likes: 1 |
A fantastic epilogue to a Kerth-worthy story. There's much I want to quote, but I'll restrain myself and just quote a few of my favourite lines. First, I loved the repartee: He blinked, then chuckled. “Exactly how many spacemen have you met?”
“Enough,” I replied haughtily before softening. “Just exactly enough.” I also like the oxymoronic phrase of "hopeful trepidation." And the following is sheer poetry: Clouds spattered the ebony-inlaid sky And speaking of poetry, the following would be the delight of any English teacher looking for alliteration: shooing away the shadows almost absentmindedly as it poured its liquid light over the world Joy, Lynn
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,058
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,058 |
Sigh... What a beautiful ending. Loved it all. laura
Clark: “If we can be born in an instant, and die in an instant, why can’t we fall in love in an instant?”
Caroline's "Stardust"
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 9,066 Likes: 31
Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 9,066 Likes: 31 |
I had told Clark that I wasn’t used to sleeping in the same room as another person, but now I was no longer used to the solitude. /hands Lois address for Mazik's Jewels/ There's a remedy for that. Clark had insisted on moving to Perry’s the same day we had told each other our stories, Nonononono. Can we please have the clone back? which meant no one had connected Superman to Luthor or come to the erroneous conclusion that the superhero was once more “dead.” /remembers line from the Sidekick Guide / 23. I will not die and be brought back to life by the Hero with such frequency that the fans say I have a revolving door in the afterlife. staving off the reality of the empty spot across the room where the cot had once been by imagining Clark lying beside me, his arm resting across my waist, his breaths feathering the back of my neck, his smile filling my dreams. She should 'suggest' it. And by 'suggest' I mean suggest in a Lois Lane fashion. Like she's 'borrowing' evidence from the crook's office. The tapping sound repeated, and I froze when I realized that it was coming from the living room window. Shouldn't Clark be using the door? Is the clone back? He raised his hand in a small wave just as I stepped close enough to see that my visitor wore a winter coat over casual clothes…and glasses. Naughty Clark. Going flying without being dressed. “If I had known you were flying around, I’d have left the window open.”  “I’ve been waiting to ask you this my whole life.” 'Come fly with me...' But he couldn’t mean…no. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Propose. Huh. No. And Lois has a one-track mind, already measuring for a solitaire. “I want you to wear the Superman Suit.” So cute Lois forcing him. And it might also cause a fit for Clark. Michael
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 966
Features Writer
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OP
Features Writer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 966 |
Thanks, Evelyn--I thought your words were quite enough on their own!  Glad you enjoyed it, Tank. And, yes, I'm sure Lois was just on the verge of getting her haircut. It just slipped her mind during the rest of the commotion. Thanks, Morgana and DW! May I say that I vastly appreciated your willingness to beta such a long, involved story! I'm glad you liked all the little tie-ins--I adore the show, and I'm afraid that leaks out a bit. I was afraid it was a bit much, so thanks for the reassurance there. Thanks, mozartmaid! What a relief to know the light/dark themes weren't too overdone! Wow, Lynn, thanks. I don't think of myself as a particularly poetic writer, so it was a treat to see your comment! Thanks, Laurach! Glad you enjoyed it! Glad you enjoyed the story, Darth Michael! More great lines from you--yes, Lois is somewhat single-minded, and I could just see her 'borrowing' and 'suggesting.' I'll let you answer your philosophical question--in the eye of the beholder and all that. I assumed that Lois didn't recognize the clone Superman as an imposter because when Clark/Superman left, she still didn't know Superman too well and was, of course, missing the biggest part of what makes him what and who he is (that, I'm afraid, is about as philosophical as I get). And yes, for the record, I'm certainly considering them engaged, though I'm sure there will be one (or two, or three, or more) proposal scenes in their future. Once again, I just want to thank everyone who left feedback as this story was being posted. I know it took a long time to be finished--so thanks for sticking with it. Also, for fun, I thought I might just list some of the ideas readers/friends/family who read the story had about what the explanation might be for the 'extra' Superman. Clark, in the cell, was a plant. Superman was Luthor in disguise. Superman was Luthor's soul transplanted into a Superman body. From the moment Superman rescued them, Lois and Clark were trapped in Luthor's virtual world. Clark was dead and the appearance of both Clark and 'Superman' were only figments of Lois's delusional imagination. Superman was a future Clark, come back to fill in for the wounded younger Clark. Superman was Alt-Clark brought in by HG Wells to protect the world while Clark was recovering. Clark had been split in two through various, convoluted means, and Superman was the other half of his personality given form. Clark and Superman were brothers. And I'm sure there were many others, but these were just the few I could remember off the top of my head. So many of them sounded like such great ideas that I sometimes wished I had thought of them first so I could write them instead. In fact, I was feeling a bit embarrassed to simply offer up a very long rewrite of the episode 'Vatman' by the time I heard all the theories everyone else came up with. Still, this is some of the best fun I've ever had--thanks for enjoying it with me!
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 9,066 Likes: 31
Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 9,066 Likes: 31 |
And yes, for the record, I'm certainly considering them engaged, though I'm sure there will be one (or two, or three, or more) proposal scenes in their future. "No Clark, I do not consider us kind of engaged after you kind of broke up with me for my own kind of good"  Michael
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 635
Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 635 |
Oh. My. Goodness.
Finally finished reading this, and I can honestly say, I'm in absolute lust with your writing style and in absolute LOVE with this story!
It made me two-hour bus ride fly by.
I'm pretty sure it's officially one of my fav. fics ever. Just sayin'
.talk nerdy to me.
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 966
Features Writer
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OP
Features Writer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 966 |
It's always a treat to get more feedback, so thanks for commenting, MrsLuthor! Glad I could help out on your long bus ride.
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