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Pulitzer
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Hello all,
I know this is being posted a few days early, but I figured that some people might only check the lists once or twice a week, and I'd rather be early than late.
This vignette was unbeta-ed, so any and all errors are entirely mine.
As always, all comments greatly appreciated.
Joy,
Lynn
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Joined: Jun 2013
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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That gave me a good chuckle. 
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2011
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I was wondering if the man in the hat might be him, as that's how he's portrayed in the comics. I love Clark's usual reaction without a cause. One would think he'd have x-rayed the box first, but I guess there just wasn't time. Lois and Clark need to have another talk with Martha if she's accepting gifts from strangers.
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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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2010
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That imp's presence is never good. They do need to talk with their daughter. Martha is very quick, just like her Grandmother.
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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Pulitzer
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Thanks for the feedback, gals. Annie, my mission for this story is complete.  Virginia, he was too busy thinking about what might have happened to Martha and feeling guilty that it was his fault for not having emphasized stranger danger enough. (Had he tried to look into the box, he wouldn't have been able to do so, since it contained lead.) Good guess with Mr. Mxyzptlk. Morgana, I agree that Mxy's presence is never good for Clark and company, (well, rarely good -- he was actually partially responsible for L&C's being together in the comics) but I always enjoy him. With one very powerful exception ("Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"), his presence always means fun for the reader/viewer. (I am deliberately ignoring the New 52 in this discussion, since I try to ignore it in general.) Joy, Lynn
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Hi Lynn! It's Not Easy Seeing Green Sounds like Kryptonite. Or jealousy.  Maybe a jealous Lois puts some Kryptonite into Clark’s birthday cake? The Kents were just finishing dinner when Clark saw his daughter pull a gray box out from under the table. Oh dear. Lead? She said, "A little man in a funny hat gave this to me when I was playing outside. He told me to wait until I was with you to open it." Why would Tempus wear a hat? And be described as ‘little’?  Clark wondered why Wells didn't just ring the doorbell and hand it to him in person. Because one doesn’t want to be close to Lois Lane while handing her husband Kryptonite. Before he could remind young Martha about stranger danger, she opened the box. Inside was a glowing green rock. So…oops? Clark flinched reflexively before realizing that the stone was just an ordinary rock covered with a phosphorescent paint.  He saw her put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Dad, you're Superman, aren't you?" Huh, she sounds smarter than her mother. Must get it from her father’s side. An invisible fifth-dimensional imp Ah, yes… "April Fools, Mr. Trick-the-Trickster. Now we're even." Cute one! /adjusts calendar to match correct date/  Michael
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Pulitzer
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Hi Michael, Glad you picked up on that. Give the man a chocolate cigar! Huh, she sounds smarter than her mother. Must get it from her father’s side. Yup. For an award-winning investigative journalist who can make some pretty impressive leaps of (il)logic and whose intuition is right on the money so often, Lois sure had one major blind spot. Joy, Lynn
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: May 2011
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Cute story! Clark should have known better. Wells usually means either his or Lois' life is in danger - not to drop off gifts!  Fun little way to kick off April Fools!
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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Pulitzer
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Hi Deadly Chakram,
I agree that Clark should have known better, but he tends to be on the trusting side, and Martha's description did fit Wells. Since he had had several encounters with the time traveler but only one with the imp, H.G. was the person who leapt to mind.
Thanks for the feedback.
Joy,
Lynn
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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Awesome--this is great!  I totally assumed the gift-giver was Wells initially, right along with Clark. The detail of using a glowing paint on a regular old rock was so sneaky/creative--and it set up perfectly with Clark's knee-jerk reaction to flinch upon seeing it...love that! And wow, Martha is quick with putting the pieces together  . Maybe a little investigative reporter in the works, there? Really enjoyed this! Laura
"Where's Clark?" "Right here."
...two simple sentences--with so much meaning.
~Lois and Clark in 'House of Luthor'~
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Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Jun 2011
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Well done! Short and fun, and exactly my speed right now. At first I thought you were maybe going to take this in a darker direction, but this was a clever little reveal. I wonder how Clark will handle the inevitable questions to come...
Nothing spoils a good story like the arrival of an eye witness.
--Mark Twain
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Pulitzer
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Hi Laura. It amused me when I first realized that the description of the giver could equally fit two such different characters. Martha takes after her parents, all right. And on a completely different topic, I hope your entire family is (finally) feeling healthy again. Hello Mouserocks. What? Me, take things in a darker direction? No, never. (Well, hardly ever. ) I'd love to be a fly on the wall while Clark tried to have "the talk" with Martha -- probably at least a few years earlier than he had hoped. Thank you both for leaving feedback. It made my day. Joy, Lynn
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