Plotting against you? Now
there's an idea.
Sorry it's taken me so long to respond. I read the chapter about fifteen minutes after you posted it, I just forgot where I saved my response!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this chapter.
It's interesting that Lois comes right out and states that Superman is just a job. The way you've crafted their relationship is incredibly interesting because regardless of the fact that Lois knows, she's only interacted with Clark as Clark. She loves him like she did in ATAI, but I almost wonder if she can't entirely love him for himself because she hasn't been able to get to know him as he really is. I could be entirely off, but that's how it feels to me. So her statement is interesting to me because Superman never has been "just a job." He came from Clark's longing to help, but the more Superman grew and defined in character, the more he became a part of Clark. In other words, not only did Clark's longing to help become a necessity, but Superman's personality formed and define other parts of Clark's, like his over-protectiveness, his calm in dangerous situations, and his lack of patience with some of the show's villains.
I don't think Superman was ever just a job to Lois-she understood that he was a huge part of him, or she would have married Clark on the spot instead of asking for more time in order to get to know him better.
I'm not necessarily trying to be too critical here, I just wonder how you think that all fits in! This Lois has had such different experiences that I sometimes wonder what she's thinking in comparison to canon Lois.
As for the chapter itself, I think you had some really interesting ideas! As frustrating as it is, I do understand why it took Lois so long to decide she was being lied to-Dr. Deter's evil twin manipulated her into trusting him, really-in letting her know that he was telling the truth. Lois wavered, and she knew at some points that something was off about the situation, that it was exactly as her source said, but at the end of the day he was able to give her enough evidence that she trusted him. I love your approach to her realization here because Clark has always been the truth she knows above everything. And seeing him hurt like that brought that truth of him, who he is, forward. It's unfortunate that she didn't put the pieces together before then, so she wouldn't have believed what she was doing was right. A few days earlier and we could have fixed the whole situation!
Lois's source convinced her that it was right to destroy Clark for the benefit of himself and the world and that she could not let him have a say in that or know, really. Why? I know she wouldn't have gone along with things if they wouldn't make Clark happier, but that doesn't make Clark not having a say in it right. What did her source tell her to make her believe it was okay? Was it about Lois being in his life when she wasn't supposed to meet him? Does that justify her in leaving him out of things? Is it right?
Hmm, I'm scared of what Martha's going to do when she finds out about what happened. Yikes, but good for her.
I love the direction you went with Lois's memories, but it worries me that she's still fighting migraines away. If those memories were natural, then they should have been gone by now since she destroyed everything. Are they a form of torture? Will she have to live with them forever? Are the migraines a stress reaction to those memories or are they the result of some unnatural connections?
I'm afraid of what Lois's source will do when he realizes what's going on (or what will happen when he begins his plans for her, whichever comes first). Is that how Clark's going to be inserted into the action? As much as we've seen of Clark, we haven't seen much of him. I'm excited to see what kind of role Clark's going to play, since he's been mostly in the background.
I agree with everyone else that this source sounds like Tempus, but I'm going to hold off a little longer.
Can't wait to see what's next!
