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Joined: Feb 2006
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Hack from Nowheresville
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OP
Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 144 |
Seems, I´m the first one to read, so I´ll start the FDK thread! “As far as Perry is concerned, I’ve been investigating the gunrunner story that killed your counterpart. I got stuck in the hold of a cargo ship and have been stuck out in the Atlantic for several days.”
“Bringing me back with you ought to make it all seem a little more plausible,” Lois said. Good idea! Opening the door, he planted a false smile on his face and said softly, “Hey, Lana.”
He hated the way his shoulders were instinctively slumping and his tone of voice changing, becoming more deferential. Lana had spent years molding him into who she wanted him to be, and it was difficult to overcome that immediately. This automatic reaction to Lana tells volumes about their relationship! “What can you possibly have to do that’s more important than our life together?” Lana asked. “Prance around in some sort of circus costume acting like a freak?”
“He has to save the world, one life at a time,” Lois said evenly. She stood in the doorway to the bedroom with an unreadable expression on her face. Did I ever mention that I hate Lana?  “Lana,” Clark said, “We need to talk.” And I need to complain! You let her off the hook much to easily!  And now, finally, to my promise (or threat?) in the last review! *Takes a piece a paper and starts to write* KERTH NOMINATION LIST 2009 1. Veritas by Shayne Terry Well, what do you think? 
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,977 Likes: 11
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,977 Likes: 11 |
Wow!  Shayne, what a finish! What a story!! This gets my Kerth vote. That about Joe's father...is that true? I didn't know. O_O Also, it sounds like you have Joe doing a lot of writing and Jerry doing the drawing--ought this not be reversed? Regardless, this was fantastic. One more question; Lana's worried about the headline "I had an Alien's Love Child"???? Um... She didn't really, though, right?? Right??? O_O But I loved the whole bit with Cyrus, and Lois, and then you brought in HG Wells and Shuster and OMG!!!  Shayne! I think I love you!  ![[Linked Image]](http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs37/f/2008/245/d/1/Lighter_by_QueenoftheCapes.gif)
~•~
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 68
Freelance Reporter
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Freelance Reporter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 68 |
I loved this story. Lois is in a very different life now. This certainly explains how Superman got so big in our world. I'm not sure why Wells did that though.
"We've been sitting here all night and the longest conversation you've had with a woman was when your mom called."
Leonard to Howard: The Big Bang Theory
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 303 |
Bravo Shane! I am sorry this is over, I really enjoyed the ride.
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,823 |
Wow. That's all I can say. Wow. What a great fic this has been. Awesome. Breathtaking. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Kept me logging in every day to see if a new installment had been posted. Always interesting. Superlative. (Thesaurus not present, I run out of words.) From pointing out the fear our world would have at the presence of a real Superman, to the one-on-one interaction of well-drawn characters who get to meet the real Superman, to Clark's self-knowledge, to Lois' epiphany - well done in every respect. Marvelous in every way. And for some quotes and details: She began heading for the back of the plane, which was open to the sky.
Clark was waiting for her.
“There aren’t any cameras back here,” he said. As the pilot and co-pilot stepped outside the plane to the roar of the cheering crowd, Clark took Lois in his arms, spread his new cape as wide as it would go, and he flew straight into the air. He could hear a few gasps in the audience but was reassured that all they saw was the back of him. It was good that Lois was so much smaller and fit so comfortably in his arms.
A moment later they were above Metropolis and heading into their new lives. Great job to make sure that Lois isn't connected with all the hoopla surrounding the deposition of the plane in the ball field! And excellent homage to "Superman Returns"! Within twenty four hours the passengers were already being released. They weren’t even required to stay in quarantine, something Lois felt was a mistake. Oh yes! This world hasn't faced the viral and other outbreaks that our world has. We've painfully had to learn infection control procedures, sanitation, quarantine, all over again. Ebola? Mad cow disease? HIV? These don't seem to exist in Clark's world, fortunately for them. No one walked down the street talking on their cell phone. Yes, Lois. This is the true proof that you are actually in another universe. It was one thing to know that you had alternate versions of your parents in another world. It was another to knock on a door and confront them.
The thought that they might reject her because she wasn’t their daughter was paralyzing.
Clark looked good in his charcoal suit. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it a little. “This is a gift…If I could see my own parents again…” So true for all of us. Make the most of those moments, because life isn't guaranteed, and any day could be your last. Better yet, everyone seemed to be assuming that Superman had come from that other universe. With Clark Kent having a life history in this world, it made his secret identity just a little more plausible. Yes! Yes! The secret identity is a go! Even the other passengers seemed to believe it. Clark suspected that a few of them knew more than they were telling. He’d seen a couple of sharp looks when he’d appeared at the press conference as himself. Yet somehow they all seemed to have an unspoken pact not to talk about what had happened.
Of course, the fact that he could throw an airplane might have had something to do with some of their silence. Clark tried not to think about that. There was an implicit threat by his very existence that he worked every day to deny. Shayne, the first chapters of this fic illustrated very plainly how humanity and its governments would fear and distrust the alien. Well-written, and sadly, so true. It's a good thing that Clark put on the Suit. He got the power of seventy years of good public relations behind him when he did that. And that's why the secret identity is such a necessity. Clark dropped to the ground and held out his hand. “Let me help you,(Cyrus).”
Clark didn’t know how things were going to turn out. All he had was faith that it would turn out for the best. That's the essence of Superman right there, Shayne. Smiling slightly, the little man headed back into the alley for his time machine. There was one last thing he could do for the Superman of this world. Wow, Shayne, what a good way to work in the whole mythos! Superman's been around in our universe for seventy years, in fictional form. I'd certainly like to believe that he exists in some parallel universe. And you made it happen! “A bald villain was good for one story, Joe,” Jerry said. “But we need a hook to keep the readers. We can’t keep writing about a bad guy.”
A voice from the end of the counter said, “So write about a hero.” Oh, yes! Yes! It's Siegel and Shuster, there to make comics history! (Too bad Wells didn't tell them to keep 5% of their idea instead of signing all the rights away for $130.00.) The strange little man said, “I read your story ‘The Reign of the Super-man’ and thought it was inspired.” I'm no Superman expert, but they did have this on the "Look, Up In The Sky!" DVD that I bought. It gives a history of Superman, and according to the DVD, that's how it all started. But I guess Siegel and Shuster just got a little transuniversal help.... “Well, this guy is going to be a little like Clark Gable and a little like Kent Taylor…strong jaw, good looks…”
“Perhaps turn it around,” the other man said weakly.
“Taylor Gable? That’s a little obvious.” At the man’s look he said, “Clark Kent? Hey, that’s not bad.” Wow, is that where the name came from? I really didn't know that! “Superman…faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than…a locomotive. Secretly working as a reporter named Clark Kent, he stands for truth, justice and the American way.” Joe felt excited about this idea in a way he hadn’t in a long time. This was an idea that had legs. And so it does.... “Fly?” Jerry said.
Joe smirked. There were limits to what people would believe. The guy had given them some good suggestions, but he obviously wasn’t a writer. Flying was simply too much for people to accept.
“Maybe we’d better stick to ‘able to leap small buildings in a single bound,” Joe said. Tee-hee! What a great way to end the story!
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Posts: 5,797
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,797 |
This was a good sequel to a truly awesome story. (Guess I would have been even happier to see more of Lois and Clark in the epilogue, but that's me.) And I really loved this: “Are you sure about this?” Lois asked.
They were standing outside an unfamiliar house in the suburbs, and Lois’s stomach clenched. It was one thing to know that you had alternate versions of your parents in another world. It was another to knock on a door and confront them.
The thought that they might reject her because she wasn’t their daughter was paralyzing.
“Lucy is with them,” Clark said. He looked good in his charcoal suit. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it a little. “This is a gift…If I could see my own parents again…”
Lois nodded slightly and squeezed his hand in return. With the other she reached out and knocked on the door.
It took a moment for the door to open, a moment in which Lois felt her knees weaken. She’d faced gunfire in Iraq that had made her less nervous than this.
When the door finally opened, Lois heard a gasp as she stared at an older version of the woman who had raised her. A moment later she was enveloped in an embrace so tight she could barely breathe.
It was good to be home. That almost brought tears to my eyes. Personally I don't care much about Lana one way or another, but I realize that it was necessary for her to make an appearance in the epilogue. You wrote the necessary interlude well. And I was glad to see Cyrus again! Yay! To me, though, the most interesting aspect of the epilogue was how it underscored that although this 1990s LnC altworld resembles our own world in many ways, it is fundamentally different from the world we are used to: He’d decided to make a big splash immediately, to keep the government from covering everything up.
This government didn’t even try. Within twenty four hours the passengers were already being released. They weren’t even required to stay in quarantine, something Lois felt was a mistake. Consider how trusting this world is. There were no twenty four hour news networks here, although Lex News was apparently considering making the transition. Without such an outrageous amount of information - some of which may not even be true, mind you - people may in fact feel less scared. In a world without You Tube and tabloids paying outrageous sums for gossip, people were more polite and genteel. I think this is a lesson that many people forget too easily. It is easy to take one's own world for granted - one's own society's gadgets, one's own society's brands, one's own society's tabloids and YouTube videos, and one's own society's silent commands regarding what it means to be normal and to fit in. That is why it can be so disconcerting to meet other people from other societies, who can prove to be so different from oneself, despite appearing so deceptively similar. The second most interesting aspect of this epilogue was of course the description of how H.G. Wells helped Siegel and Shuster to invent Superman as a comic book character. It was interesting to learn about Kent Taylor and Clark Gable. Wikipedia says this about Kent Taylor: Along with Clark Gable, Kent Taylor served as the inspiration behind the name of Superman's alter-ego - Clark Kent.[1] Well, fancy that! As for Clark Gable - well, when I first heard of him, I thought to myself that he had almost the same name as Superman! ![[Linked Image]](http://www.garboforever.com/Bilder/Filmpartner/Clark_Gable-13.jpg) Clark Gable's most memorable movie character must be Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind. Another person who appeared in that movie was George Reeves, who later played Superman in the 1950s TV show, The Adventures of Superman! ![[Linked Image]](http://www.glasshousepresents.com/Fred%20Crane%20Photo.jpg) George Reeves on the right. The still is from Gone With The Wind. ![[Linked Image]](http://members.tripod.com/~CARIART/George_Reeves.jpg) George Reeves as Superman. Another person Shayne told us about here was the real-life inspiration for Lois Lane, actress Lola Lane! (Wooops - I almost wrote Lola Dane!) [img] http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2001/1849648332_3cf3a7fa8a.jpg?v=0[/img] Okay, all this was a lot of fun, but why did Shayne include this interlude in his epilogue at all? Let me guess that Shayne is telling us that Superman is a real person in all those other universes out there. (Or at least in several other universes out there.) But Superman doesn't exist for real in our world, and therefore H.G. Wells had to make sure that he at least exists here as a comic book character. That way people in "this world" (which, all thing considered, is probably not "our" world after all - I mean, have you heard of reporter Lois Lane reporting from Iraq?) - well, people in "this world" would recognize Superman when they saw him and realize that he was there to help! How fascinating it is to think that our world, and Shayne's Lois Lane's world, may be the anomalies, because in these two worlds Superman doesn't exist for real! That was a stupendous fic, Shayne, and I don't see how it can not be a Kerth shoo-in! Ann
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,445
Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,445 |
And fade out to a (hopefully) happy ending.
Re. Siegel and Shuster, see my post elsewhere on the boards - there's a house that needs help.
Marcus L. Rowland
Forgotten Futures, The Scientific Romance Role Playing Game
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,977 Likes: 11
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,977 Likes: 11 |
Okay, all this was a lot of fun, but why did Shayne include this interlude in his epilogue at all? Let me guess that Shayne is telling us that Superman is a real person in all those other universes out there. I can't speak for Shayne, but it was my understanding that since our Superman was the reason this Clark donned tights and found Lois in the first place, it was essential to make sure that our Superman was invented in order to inspire him.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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Blogger
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Blogger
Joined: Mar 2004
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Shayne,
That was fabulous. What an amazing premise, and you really did it justice. You really kept me guessing with all the twists and turns. It was also such a great commentary on the way the world is today and the extensive changes that we have lived through in such a short period of time. I also really liked the switching POV and how you told the story through the eyes of a number of different bit players who were affected by the story. I also loved how you brought Cyrus back in the epilogue-- I had forgotten about him and the important role he played. I am so sad that this story is now over and I don't have more parts to look forward to reading. I have had scant free time since I had a baby in February, but reading this story has been one of my favorite ways of spending that free time.
I know the story has a natural end here, but I'd love to see another story set in this universe. I'd love to see how Lois and Clark adjust to their new lives. I just look forward to anything you plan on writing. :-)
Hutch
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,145 Likes: 3
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,145 Likes: 3 |
What a ride.
Shayne, I'm really sorry the story is finished. There is no "truth" to seek on the boards now. I'm certain that this Lois and this Clark will make it work somehow. And I'm so glad it ended this way, with Lois leaving an empty life and going back with Clark to live a full life with people she can love, people who will love her, and a vocation where she can have a real and significant impact on the world. Lois deeply wants to matter, to make a difference for herself and for others, and now she'll have a chance to do just that.
I still wish we'd seen more of Lois vs. Lana. That would have a been a pay-per-view match worth the price.
I'm looking forward to your next excellent story, Shayne. I know it will meet - or even exceed - the high standard you've set for yourself and for the rest of us. Thank you for sharing this wonderful tale with us.
Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.
- Stephen King, from On Writing
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 391
Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 391 |
Once again late to the party... Let me just join everyone else in saying that this was a wonderful story, it kept me checking the boards much more often than I otherwise would have, and I am so sorry to see it come to an end. I will say that rather than Lana (who isn't worth it), I would have liked to see more of Lois and her alt-family (you stopped just when it was getting to the good, weepy part!), and Lois meeting the Daily Planet and its staff for the first time. But we can't always get what we want.  I agree with everyone else: definitely my pick for a Kerth.
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 273
Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 273 |
"He's my best friend, best of all best friends
Do you have a best friend too
It tickles in my tummy
He's so Yummy Yummy
Hey you should get a best friend too" - Toy Box
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 8,947 Likes: 28
Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 8,947 Likes: 28 |
Shayne, I loved the ending. It was fitting and I so did not see Herb make an appearance to explain the very strange coincidence. Michael
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Posts: 1,791
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Apr 2003
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Whew. Just read the whole story in a single swoop. (Work? What do you mean, I have to work? You mean I can't just sit at my desk all day?) There've been stories of Superman and alternate universes without a superman before, but this is the first where I've seen him put into our world, with our issues and problems and disasters. It really makes an impression. I kept wondering the whole time if he was going to stay in "our" world and help fix our issues, or go back to his own to prevent them there. I really loved how you fit everything into this story, and made it almost real. And I love the ending scene.  I just wonder what happened with the older Lois and Clark?
"You need me. You wouldn't be much of a hero without a villain. And you do love being the hero, don't you. The cheering children, the swooning women, you love it so much, it's made you my most reliable accomplice." -- Lex Luthor to Superman, Question Authority, Justice League Unlimited
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,018
Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,018 |
I just re-read this tale. Delightful. I hope to see it on the Archive soon. TOC
Framework4
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Posts: 8
Blogger
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Blogger
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Great fanfic Shayne, congratulations on the Kerth!
You gave me a great deal of enjoyment with every segment and I was sorry to come to the end. I don't think I have ever googled as much with any other fanfic!
Tim
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Posts: 1,483
Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,483 |
I posted the link to this story on another board:
<snip>, tell this Shayne Terry that his (or her?) story ROCKS. I read the whole thing tonight.
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,200 |
Excellent story! (Yup, people still reading it a few years later...)I read it all in a day! Hats off to very well told story!
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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