Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Fanfic Quiz -- Opening Lines

FROM: "Lois Lane"< maddoglane@dailyplanetnp.met.r.com >
TO: "Lucy Lane" < littlesister@metcooksch.7287.edu >
SUBJECT: Need recipe-FAST!
DATE: 12 Jul 08:30:09

Dear Luce,

Help! Dan is coming over tonight and I want to show him I can cook (don't you say anything!). Need ideas for something quick and easy to fix. What do you recommend?

Lois

"Well, hello, Lois," Superman said conversationally.

Lois let out an angry puff of air. "Hi, Superman."

Superman sat down on the edge of the roof and stared out over the city. "Lovely view here, isn't it?"

Lois gave him a look that said "any closer and I'll kick you right off this roof, a pity you can fly," and struggled at the bonds that were holding her tight against a metal protrusion from the roof.

Superman whistled to a passing bird, which did a double-take and almost crashed into the side of the building.

Finally, Lois made a sound that was somewhere between a squeak and a curse. "All right," she said, giving up. "Superman, can you help me?"

"Why, certainly," he said with a grin. "All you had to do was ask."

"One hundred and seventeen buttons," the Wedding Coordinator had pronounced with no small satisfaction, as she closed the last one. Between the bride's mom and herself, the "buttoning in" of Lois had taken a mere half an hour. During which the bride had stood quietly, mind racing, as each button further sealed her fate- locking her away from her former life, her former self, and her former...ummm...partner.

Lois, looking back hours later, from the safety of her own bedroom, could hardly believe it hadn't been a dream. The glorious gown, her own anxiety, the constant murmurs of her mom and Mrs...um...Mrs. Wedding Coordinator Lady. None of that seemed real. And none of it mattered anymore. No, what mattered now, as the sun set on what was to have been her wedding day, were the 117 buttons.

"Excuse me, I'm WHAT?!" Lois stared at the city clerk on the
other side of the window in utter disbelief.

"According to my records, you're already married," the clerk
repeated, more slowly this time.

"I am *not*," Lois insisted adamantly. "I would *know* if I was
married! You think a woman forgets something like that? Maybe
*you* would," she spat out, causing the clerk to stiffen
defensively, "but I certainly wouldn't! I am not married!"

"Yes, you are. It says right here that you are, as of December
12th, 1993."

"Who does it say I'm married *to*?"

"Umm..." the clerk mumbled as she studied the records one more
time. "A Mr. Clark Kent."

"Clark, I'm terribly bored." Lois slapped shut the magazine she'd been flipping through without really reading it.

Her partner looked up from the surveillance equipment he'd been checking on for the fifth time that night. "What is it, Lois? You don't find..." he cocked his head to the side to read the headline of her magazine "... 'Spice up your love life: 100 tips to seduce him' interesting?" he teased.

She gave him a wrathful look. "This article is completely worthless," she growled. "The woman who wrote that gives all the cliches, from the good ol' strip-tease to the 'buy him a whip for his birthday' trick. The whole magazine isn't worth anything, anyway. I'm sure it's not a good way to seduce your lover."

The elevator doors opened and Clark stepped out into the
Daily Planet's newsroom. As he walked down the ramp to his
desk, Jimmy bounced up to him with a broad grin on his face.

"Hi, CK! Or should that be, Super-CK?"

Clark stared at him in shock, momentarily lost for words.

"S-sorry?" he stammered eventually.

"So what does Metropolis look like from up there in the clouds?"

"I-I-"

But Jimmy had sailed away before he could respond to the young man's startling question. He made his way to his desk in a daze, wondering if Jimmy really had figured out his secret. Before he had time to dwell too much on that worrying thought, Perry appeared round the corner of his desk.

"Superman! You and Lois. In my office. Five minutes. With everything you've got on the mayor's story. OK?"

Stupid!

He was so stupid!

How could he have let this happen?

She had chosen Dan - Hawaiian shirt wearing, ugly-flower bearing - Scardino.

Why had she chosen Scardino?

It was absolutely crazy!

Ludicrous!

He almost refused to believe that it had happened. Was it just a crazy nightmare? First some slimeball had sued Superman for breaking his arm -- as Superman saved his life. Now Lois had declared her love for that monkey-man?

*Laney, wake up!*
Laney Kent sat up in bed in response to the voice
sounding in her mind. *I'm awake*, she thought. *I'll be there
in a few minutes.* She checked the clock. Two a.m. Moving
slowly and stealthily, she slid out of bed and dressed in old
jeans, a dark t-shirt, and hiking boots. She pulled her heavy
brown-black hair into a ponytail, and, after a moment's
thought, took insect repellent from her dresser and slathered it
on her exposed skin. Smelly stuff--she'd have to be sure to
shower before Marty or her parents saw her tomorrow so they
wouldn't suspect--but if she were to come down with malaria
in a week or so, there would be no way to keep this a secret,
so there would really be hell to pay.
She tiptoed to the door and opened it, cursing its
tendency to creak. Fortunately, Claire's room was next door.
Of course, she couldn't be totally silent, so if Marty or Dad
were listening then she was just dead and would probably be
grounded until her high school graduation, which was flatly
unreasonable. It wasn't like she was sneaking out to a wild
party like most kids her age would be.

The worst day of the year was approaching fast, and, as usual, it had caught Lois unprepared. One day, life was normal. Chasing down leads, catching bad guys, getting headlines, dreaming of a Pulitzer, and fantasizing about how Clark looked without his shirt.

The next day--WHAM! Everywhere you went, pink, pink, and more pink. Oh, and sometimes, to break up the monotony--red! Candy hearts. Heart-shaped balloons. Pictures of hearts. Heart streamers. Even stupid, annoying,
saccharine-sweet Valentine's Day cards, always addressed to other people, with pictures on the cover of--you guessed it--hearts! Lois, prize-winning investigative reporter, detected a theme.

The large double bed could just be seen through the door to the bedroom, but for some reason Lois' eyes gravitated to it. She swallowed hard. She'd been in the honeymoon suite at the Lexor previously. She'd even slept in that bed before. But this time was different.

She heard the man behind her paying the bellboy and closing the door. Somehow when she had accepted his proposal, she hadn't considered what would happen on their wedding night. She shook her head slightly. It was crazy. Obviously, he would expect to consummate their marriage. Still, she wondered if he was as nervous as she was.

She could feel him come up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She tried to force herself to relax. She had been in his arms before.

"It's going to be okay, Lois," he whispered.

The training room was nearly empty. The only sounds that could be heard were two fighting sticks making contact with each other, and the occasional grunts and heavy breathing of the Dre opponents. Two muscular young men,
both in their mid to late twenties, parried and sparred in the tradition of the masters of their sport. Both wore the traditional black jump suits, which hugged their bodies and revealed the muscles developed from years of
practice. Both were covered in a thin sheen of sweat, the result of nearly an hour of testing their opponent's skills.

Pausing to catch his breath, one of the fighters removed his tunic, leaving him only in the skin-tight pants. His hair, soaked with his sweat, was plastered to his head. His well-sculpted chest, glistening with perspiration, shone with the rise and fall of his laboured breathing.
Resuming his stance, he faced his rival.

"Your skills are improving, Kai," he managed to say as he ducked to avoid a swing from his opponent's weapon.

From the roof of the apartment building across the street, the couple could be clearly seen in the colored glow of the Chinese lanterns that were hanging around the sidewalk cafe. They were relaxing over dinner and wine, their newly married status apparent in their frequent touches and easy laughter. Attractive, young, and visibly in love, they drew smiles from other customers and passers-by alike.

Lois Lane was upset and, being Lois Lane, was taking it out on the inanimate objects around her. Her keyboard groaned under the angry onslaught of her fingers, sighing in relief as she paused to take a sip of coffee. Banged down too hard, some of the coffee leapt skywards and made a desperate bid for escape. Lois muttered a curse and reached for the box of tissues cowering on the corner of the desk.

"Somebody help! The bridge is going to collapse!" The frightened voice made Clark Kent jerk his head up suddenly, earning a few skeptical looks from his Daily Planet colleagues. Clark looked over at his partner and fiancee, Lois Lane. She raised her eyebrows questioningly, and made a quick hand motion under the table. Clark nodded furtively.

"Ah...Perry...?"

"Clark has to..."

Lois and Clark started at the same time. Perry slowly looked over at the two of them expectantly.

"Any particular reason why you two are disrupting my staff meeting?" he drawled.

"I'm sorry, son," said Perry to a very dejected Clark Kent.

"It's not your fault, Perry. Luthor's good at covering his tracks. It was a long shot thinking we could find the evidence we need to bring him down before the wedding. I knew that. I guess I just hoped..." Clark quickly cleared his throat when his voice broke on the last word.

Perry watched with concern. He was worried about Lois marrying Luthor, certainly. But his current consideration was whether Clark would survive Lois' marriage. What had kept Clark going for the past few weeks was searching for the evidence they needed on Luthor. Now that they had failed, Perry was more than a little frightened about how Clark would react.

"Hey, C.K., there are lots of fish in the sea..." Jimmy began, but trailed off at the look of warning in Perry's eyes.

Clark gave a humorless chuckle. "I know, Jimmy. The problem is there's only one I want, only one I've ever wanted." He gave Jimmy what was meant to be a friendly slap on the back, but he nearly knocked the breath out of the kid. "Sorry," muttered Clark. "I guess I just need some time alone. I'll talk to you guys later." With that Clark grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" asked Jack once Clark was gone.

Perry looked thoughtful for a minute. "If Lois goes through with the wedding tomorrow, I'm really not sure. I hope I'm wrong but..." he shrugged his shoulders.

"How does it feel to have world-class journalists for parents?" asked Mr. Green.

"Uh, okay," I said politely even though I get really tired of that question.

Mrs. Green said that my parents must be pretty busy, always rushing out to talk to sources, and I said that yes, they're always rushing out, especially Daddy, and sometimes Mummy has a job called 'Acting Editor', and then she gets a lot of phone calls. I was trying not to yawn because really, I get these questions so much that it's an actual bore, but I was trying very hard to be polite because Mr. and Mrs. Green are Lisa's parents and Lisa is my new best friend, and anyway, since I was eating dinner at their house it seemed like I should do my best to be courteous even if their conversation was so boring that--

And then I got it. The bombshell. Dropped right in my lap.

"Auntie Lois!" The little bundle of energy that Lois called a nephew came rushing into her office.

"Hey, Sammy, what's up?"

Lois smiled at the grinning little boy as he hugged her leg. Lois glanced up to see her sister, Lucy, step through the door. Lucy leaned against the door jamb. She seemed
worn out, but then it was quite a chore trying to keep up with her exuberant five-year old.

The little boy looked up at his favorite aunt. "We went to see Grampa Sam today. Did you know that he saved Sooperman's life once?"