Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic COMMENTS: The Needs of the Many - part 2 - a sort of Wendy and Tank Challenge

Okay, there you have my little set up.

I think you can see why I needed to have an extra instalment in there. I just don't think I could have really crammed all I wanted to say in just one part.

Hope you enjoyed the premise, now the fun starts. I think our intrepid Ms. Richards will be able to have a field day with this... don't you?

Tank (who says if you can't rewrite TOGoM again, just change it a bit )

Ooooh, this is good. This is very good!

I knew you had to be up to something, but I did not even suspect this. Very interesting situation. Of course, I have complete confidence in Wendy to set things straight again!

I am also very glad you decided not to wait before posting this. I think Labrat said it best in her post to Lynn. This is definitely a new angle, and I can't wait to see where it leads.

- Vicki (just another desperate reader, eagerly and greedily waiting to see what Wendy does with this!

Are you trying to wrench my gut in every possible direction???

If so, it's working. :p

<bored> Another TOGOM with a different setup? Tank! I expected better of you!

Laura (who lost interest in TOGOM a long time ago)

Just caught up with both parts of this - beautifully done, Tank. Too many parts to comment on individually (besides which it's overdue time I was in bed snoozing and the brain grows muzzy), but I love the entire atmosphere you've created and this little extra twist on the 'Clark is dead' concept is perfectly orchestrated.

I was particularly touched by Lois's thoughts in hospital, when she realised that at her lowest points in life what she needed was her friends.

LabRat

Great start Tank! Can't wait to see what Wendy's got up her sleeve for this one...

Tank,

You are so good, you're scary!

Quickly Wendy, Quickly!! Or Tank, go ahead and write another chapter. Anybody, please.


doublel

LOL well Wendy you sure have your work cut out for you<g> Good job tearing our hearts apart Tank. I noticed how you slipped her haircut in there<g> Laura

Heaven help us! If Tank wrote another chapter, we'd have Lois in a hospital in LA, Clark blown to bits by a bomb, and Superman laying in a gutter bleeding from a kryptonite bullet while Luther stands over him and gloats!

Oh dear!

Wendy! Save us!

~Liz

Tank,
!

Pretty evil Tank. Wendy's got her work cut out for her. Would have been even more interesting if Lois picked up injuries that were, say, 50/50 on whether they were mortal just to make it a bit tougher. Or it would have been nice and ironic for her to get "killed" (missing and presumed dead) in LA since she's trying to avoid just that fate in Metropolis (a reverse TOGOM).

But I'm sure she's already tearing her hair out over this to begin with. It has to be hers since you already gave Lois a haircut.

I am surprised Clark caved in so easily. He knows what it means to lose Lois from his life. I would have thought he would have fought tooth and nail to keep her there instead of just letting her go without a fight.

Just dropping in with a quick note to address Roger's point, which is something I figured some of the gentle readers would consider.

That Clark 'caved' to easily. That his 'love' for Lois wouldn't let him let her leave.

To me, his actions here are more reasonable and logical then they were at the end of Contact where he 'broke up' with Lois for her own good. Superman broke up with Lois, when Lois was actually having a relationship with Clark Kent, the regular guy. That's why it never made sense to me. Here, Lois and Superman have the perceived relationship, which does put the target on Lois' back in a much more real way.

Also, Clark believes that Lois only thinks of him, the real him, as her 'friend' which has to have an affect on his thinking.

The idea that Clark would give up being Superman for Lois is actually a fanfic idea, and I don't think he could really do it. Being Superman is too important to who he is. His need to use his powers to help others is way too strong to give up, even for his own happiness. And again, Clark is not the object of Lois' affections (or so he thinks), it's Superman. So how could he offer to give up the man she loves in favor of the man she just likes.

Anyway, I'm sure Wendy will get into some of these thoughts and concerns, after all she has been known to include a little introspection into some of her stories.

Tank (who has to quit writing these long responses as it's just too taxing on a poor old man)

Just as a quick response to Tank's response , you're correct that Clark has a nasty tendency to become noble, thinking what he's doing is for Lois' benefit, but he also doesn't like the idea of Lois being unhappy. Her giving up her entire life in Metropolis would definitely fall into that category. Clark's usual definition of nobility has himself sacrificing rather than having someone else sacrifice on his behalf, so I would think he would more strongly object to Lois' sacrifice. His behavior here is directly opposite of what he would normally do. He would never allow someone else to sacrifice for him, since his sense of nobility would insist on his carrying the entire burden, but this is exactly what he did. Because he feels Lois sees him as just a friend, HE is giving up essentially nothing while Lois has given up her whole life. That is not Clark behavior (anti-noble in a sense). By not fighting to take the burden of sacrifice himself, he has allowed Lois to take if for him. Only if no alternative existed would I think he would accept someone else's sacrifice, and even then he'd go down fighting.

In Contact, I submit he thought of it more as his own sacrifice to keep Lois safe, even though it never occurred to him that any sacrifice would be mutual. Plus his decision did not force Lois from his life, rather they continued to be partners at the Planet. In this case, Lois is gone from his life forever. Oh, and yes I agree with you that Clark's reasoning made no sense at all, but the point I'm making is that he would try to come up with a way to put any sacrifice on his own shoulders. He did say he wanted to the be the one to leave, but it was at best half-hearted.

He never bothered to explore alternative ways that didn't necessarily force him to give up being Superman, but just let her go. For example Irene's fic, "New Heights," had a similar dilemma. Her way of fighting it was to make it seem that Lois was dating Clark publicly to disassociate her from Superman. So alternatives do exist.

Roger, I agree that alternatives exist, and another author may well have done this differently. Or rather, I guess another author *did* do this differently. I haven't read "New Heights", but I'll take your word for it.

However, I do think that what Tank has done here is completely in character for Clark. (I have enough confidence in Irene as a writer to be positive that she explained Clark's actions in such a way as to remain totally true to his character, too!)

I'm not saying I *like* how Tank has Clark respond ( Wendy!), I'm just saying that Tank has explained it in a way that I can clearly understand. This reaction is 100% Clark. That boy is just too noble for his own good! (And in this story, so is Lois!)

It will be very interesting to see what Wendy does with this. (Oh, BTW, thank you, Tank, for suggesting Wendy take *two* chapters to complete this!)

- Vicki (who's off to go read "New Heights"!)

Oh, Tank, master of the supreme haircut

Ah, I didn't think you'd make it easy for Wendy to finish this. From part 1, it probably would have been way too easy. But then you move Lois far far away (and with a haircut, no less). THEN you blow Clark up. (Bypassing a way to kill Jimmy, but we don't mind. ) I'm just wondering how this could be fixed now. No Doc Hamilton, no cloning techniques.. what possibilities are left? Hurry up, Wendy!

Okay. There is absolutely no doubt about it whatsoever.

Tank, you are


Wendy

Oh, wow, Tank! I just read through the two sections you posted, and I was enthralled from start to finish!

Seriously, I can't believe you killed Clark! Though at least it's a sure way to make Lois face her feelings for him at last. Now, all Wendy needs to do is resurrect our boy and add some sm... all right, I'm going to be predictable, so I'll just shut up and point to the usual blinking arrows.

Great set up, Tank! And Wendy, I can't wait to see what sort of solution you come up with.

Kaethel