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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,656 |
Sorry that this wasn't up at midnight. I wasn't trying to be a tease. But for some reason, I couldn't get on the site last night. I tried several times between quarter to twelve and one a.m., but no luck. I was relieved when I woke up this morning and was able to get on again. So I don't know if it was just me or if the site was down. Anyway, here is the next part. Oh, and for those of you who were hoping that Lois was sipping coffee and giving her story to Henderson... sorry to disappoint you.  ML 
She was in such a good mood she let all the pedestrians in the crosswalk get to safety before taking off again.
- CC Aiken, The Late Great Lois Lane
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
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I thought I had it all figured out, but now it looks like I was wrong.
To me it looked like we had an explanation for Lois' 'disappearance'. She and future Clark were 'holed up' somewhere together, staying out of the public eye until the timestream caught up with Clark's original disappearance into the past. Then they could emerge together and take their rightful spots in the new flow of the future.
I could just see Lois, at the Daily Planet (before Clark actually arrived) constantly sneaking off to see her 'secret' lover until the Congo story comes along and gives her the means to be with him openly.
Oh well, now I guess I'll just have to keep reading and find out what happens as it happens.
Tank (who says that the 'proper' haircut for Lois would have been a perfect way for her to disguise her identity while she and Clark waited for time to catch up with them)
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
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It wasn't just you -- I was refreshing regularly last evening (um, don't ask me how often, OK?  ) and it went down around ... 10, I think. My daughter was still up doing homework so I told her about your cliffhanger. She said you were cruel.  “When he came down, he hit his head against the corner of my desk. I rushed over and grabbed the gun, but by the time I got it and turned around, I realized he was out cold. I was tying him up when Henderson arrived. OK, I laughed. Out loud. All that worry for absolutely nothing. Lois totally rocks!  And suddenly, he knew that was exactly what he was going to do. Not just for an hour or a week or a year. He had no way to get back to the future anyway. And he wasn’t entirely sure he would go back even if he could. Back to a life that was no life. Oh, Clark, I feel so sorry for you. And I don't blame you at all for deciding to stay. I even want you to stay ... but this is not going to end well. (Well, OK, it is going to end well ... but not for another gazillion parts, knowing ML. ) “Oh my god, it’s exactly what it looks like, isn’t it?”  I love Molly. Giving a final sigh, he dropped it, watching as it sunk through three thousand fathoms of water to settle in the silt on the ocean floor. Oh ... my. That I did not expect. He can retrieve it someday, of course, but ... that certainly shows the finality of his decision. And the rest I won't quote, except to say that I can't believe how much stuff you packed in this chapter and how awesome it was. The beard on Clark's face after his attack made me gasp, and I loved how confidently Lois just told him about the time travel, the flying and the floating. LOL, I adore her! She's a kinder, gentler version of our Lois, who found her true love before she had a chance to be jaded by love and life. Which is exactly what I've always felt Alt-Clark needed -- someone a little more nurturing to take care of him, the way our Clark took care of Lois. “I’ve come to fetch you, my boy,” Wells said. “You have to come back to the future with me. Everything depends on it.” And this doesn't surprise me at all. I knew there was no way Clark could stay here; it would change the future too much, not just in terms of Superman but in terms of the current timeline's Clark Kent. But I'm not exactly expecting Clark to go quietly, especially after what he's just promised Lois ... Awesome story so far, ML! As much as I wish I could devour it all at once, at least this is a cliffhanger I can wait 48 hours for.  Kathy
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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Yay! 
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always
depend on the support of Paul.
-George Bernard Shaw
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Freelance Reporter
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Freelance Reporter
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Thank goodness Wells came to get him, cause if he never does then there will be two Clarks in that universe. That's a huge no-no.
Sarah,
Tempus: You want to know the future, Miss Lane? No one works, no one argues, there are 9,000 channels and nothing on!
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Hi ML, No time to write much now, but I did want to let you know how much I enjoyed this part. Thank you for posting it so soon! Joy, Lynn
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 8,945 Likes: 28 |
Well, the boards where unreachable this morning. Anyway, I'm sort of at a loss here. Except to mention that there's a special place in hell reserved for truly evil authors. /takes a moment to pop in another nitroglycerin pill to stabilize newly developed heart condition/ I fully expected her to be dead. And hurt. It was the only logical setup, given how she explicitly noted her lack of self-defense training a couple of part ago. “Lois,” he breathed, his hand hovering slightly above the fresh stains. The only silver lining is that she apparently fought to the death before he could hurt her. She's alive. But is she hurt? Probably not. She wouldn't be alone in the room. Or left in there with the medics if she were. Would she? And I think about here was the second heart attack. He whispered her name over and over, planting kisses on her hair, cheeks, face, neck, bare upper arms... Followed by a third, because maybe they hadn't time to get her out and her clothes are torn and  Suddenly, the whole picture of what he had seen when he’d first looked up filtered its way into his mind.
Lois Lane... wearing nothing but a towel. /ambulance arrives and the defi is being brought out./ Shower? She wouldn't be wearing a towel if she... But I think I got sort of moved away from the light again at this point... A quick knock on the door was followed by Henderson poking his head inside. “Sorry,” he said when he, too, took in what she was wearing. “I thought we were finished, but...” He gestured to the rug. “Guess we should hold onto that, too.” From heart attack to laugh attack in five paragraphs. Did I mention the special place in hell already? Lois closed and locked the door, ignoring Linda’s muttered protests, before turning back towards Charlie.  Giving a final sigh, he dropped it, watching as it sunk through three thousand fathoms of water to settle in the silt on the ocean floor.  Oops. Now he’s most definitely thinking with his… well, the part that’s not his brain. The Daily Planet would be running a different headline. ‘Stafford Arrested For Wesley Murder.’ /whispers/ I don’t think the headline works. Nobody knows who ‘Stafford’ is. Or ‘Wesley’. It would probably not even work in the Ink & Quill. Unless Bob already made the frontpage the previous day and there’s a ruckus going on about him. She giggled, suddenly having some very erotic images of just what a ‘private lunch’ between her and Charlie might entail. Using her tongue to chase some sub sauce down his bare chest was a particularly appealing image - although not quite as appealing of having him do the same to her. If it were chocolate sauce on the other hand... Yep, not shy at all ‘Hi, honey. I’m home,’ was what she had intended to say. What she said instead was, “Charlie!” She’s pregnant. And little Clark will be born just when Lois is supposed to have her internship. O boy. Oh boy. Oh boy. I fully expected him to have disappeared. “Wha...” she began, staring at him as if taking in a stranger. Reaching out a trembling hand, she touched the fully grown beard now covering his face. Or merged with his timetwin. “I don’t want to hear it, Char... Clark. I don’t want to hear anything except that you love me and that you’ll never leave me.” Yes, but if he *were* married? A knock on the door prevented Clark’s lips from touching hers. She gave him a frustrated smile. Who’s it now? Oh, hello,” she said, cutting herself off when she opened the door and saw the strangely dressed little man standing on the other side. Oooh boy. “I’ve come to fetch you, my boy,” Wells said. “You have to come back to the future with me. Everything depends on it.” Oooooooooh booooooy… Kathy’s right. Waiting 42 hours for the next part is okay this time. But I still stand by my earlier remark about special places. Oh, and I have no idea where it will go. Where it could go, well, there’s the classic of hiding away. And Clark getting back to the future and finding a picture of himself, his 10 y/o kid, and his wife on his desk. And a frontpage on ‘Linda, the Madame of Capitol Hill’. Michael, who's sort of worried about the length of this piece of FDK
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Columnist
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Columnist
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What a relief!!! Lois is still alive and ok! But you sort of had me worried there for a second with Lois clad only in a towel! “Wha...” she began, staring at him as if taking in a stranger. Reaching out a trembling hand, she touched the fully grown beard now covering his face. Now I am sort of wondering if Charlie the time traveling doesn't have a sort of aging effect on Clark??? And I did somehow expect HG Wells to show up somewhere to collect Charlie and now he needs to leave to save the future .... At least now we can somewhat peacefully wait for the next part and keep thinking "Lois is dead" etc.
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Nov 2003
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Yay! And now Lois knows that he is not from a far-flung future I simply loved the villain-bashing, sweet, omniscient, and loving Lois in this part...  Okay I can understand Charlie er Clark's motivation for staying put and dumping the cranky time machine (hey now we can start using 'Clark' again since Lois knows ). The time he left was so bleak and desolate anyway. And as he said, the future is what they make. Obviously the possibility of headaches (and now facial hair growth) didn't occur to him (until his latest attack)and... ...I'm still worried about Clark-1987. Be interesting to see what Wells has to say. By the way, what was he waiting for if he was in this timeline all this while (Lois admits seeing him quite a few times, right?) Sometimes I don't trust him although his heart is in the right place most of the time. Here's an idea... what if when Clark jumped to this time, the Clark-1987 was forced forward to 1997. Like swapping. No wonder Wells is worried. Or maybe, as someone mentioned, Clark 1987 and 1997 are merging together. No two separate people. (Like in that movie..Prince of Persia: Sands of Time) Eagerly awaiting more. (And thanks for posting this part today despite the message board failures) 
If she had to move heaven and Earth, perhaps come back to haunt Perry and explain the story after they'd killed her, she would do it.
Waking a Miracle by Aria
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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Okay, well, that was, um, yeah. Not too surprising HG needs to put a stop to this "I'll just stay here" thing.
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Awesome chapter! My first thought was like Michael's: they didn't use protection. Maybe a ten-year old popping up in 1997 was what propelled Wells to show up in 1987 to fetch Clark. No idea where it all is heading. Just waiting on the edge of my seat. Andreia
"My wife's love is what unites Krypton and Earth in my heart. Without it, without her, I truly would be in hell."
~ Superman: Man of Tomorrow #15
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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awesome chapter! Don't leave us hanging to long. I don't think I can stand the suspense
~I Love this tragic sometimes magic awful beautiful life!~
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Merriwether
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OP
Merriwether
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,656 |
Loved the idea, Tank. That would certainly make an interesting story. She's a kinder, gentler version of our Lois, who found her true love before she had a chance to be jaded by love and life. Which is exactly what I've always felt Alt-Clark needed -- someone a little more nurturing to take care of him, the way our Clark took care of Lois. That's what I was hoping for so I'm glad that is how she's coming across. It was the reason I had her come from a not-so-disfunctional family, too. hey now we can start using 'Clark' again since Lois knows That is one good thing to come out of this part - the fact that I no longer have to worry about calling him Clark when I mean Charlie. As for posting early, which so many of you mentioned, I just don't have the heart to be truly evil. Leaving you with the idea that Lois could be dead (or worse) was just something I couldn't keep going. (I know. I'm a sap.  ) Revelations, confessions, declarations of love, promises, from hell to heaven to another cliffhanger... we've got it all in one part. Anyway, enjoyed the comments and speculation. So we are now finished part four. Part five will start on Sat. at midnight. ML
She was in such a good mood she let all the pedestrians in the crosswalk get to safety before taking off again.
- CC Aiken, The Late Great Lois Lane
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Features Writer
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Features Writer
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“I’m Herbert George Wells, Ms. Lane. And I’ve come here looking for Mr. Kent.”
He stepped into the room without invitation. Lois’ eyebrows went up, but, after looking briefly at the door, decided to close it.
“I’ve come to fetch you, my boy,” Wells said. “You have to come back to the future with me. Everything depends on it.” And there's my worry. Clark has messed things up for himself in the time line they are in right now, the Clark that hasn't yet met Lois and now Wells has to take the Clark that's fallen in love with Lois away from her. The Clark she meets may not be the Clark she fell in love with because things happened while the Clark she fell in love with that changed the life of the Clark she hasn't met yet.... 
Jayne Cobb: Shepherd Book once said to me, "If you can't do something smart, do something RIGHT!
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Everyone else already said everything so I'll just put in the mandatory quibble. feeling much as if she were trying to approach a reticent horse. Reticent? The horse didn't want to talk? ret·i·cent    /ˈrɛtəsənt/ Show Spelled[ret-uh-suhnt] –adjective 1. disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved. 2. reluctant or restrained. —Synonyms 1. taciturn, quiet, uncommunicative. Maybe the horse was skittish or reluctant instead? And yes, speaking of horses, I'm looking this gift one right in the mouth. This was where he belonged, with her, in her arms. A place that existed, not in black and white and maybe shades of gray, but a place bursting with color and possibilities. I love this line. It describes the alt-Clark's life so well. He was living a B&W life. It's like Dorothy before she goes to Oz. A small sound seeped from the back of her throat and then her arms were around his neck and she was kissing him with the same abandon he was showing her. His arm slipped under her legs. He picked her up in his arms as the kiss continued. In only two steps, he was placing a knee on her bed to gently place her on the surface.
He pulled back far enough to meet her eyes, silently assuring himself that this was really what she wanted. She reached for him and, without further thought, he surrendered all that he was and all that he would ever be to the woman he loved. OMG! So romantic! So wonderful! And so full of angst and doom because we know there are more parts of the fic to come? Why would there be more parts if our protagonists have solved all their problems and are going to live happily ever after? I know they took off their shoes, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop (all right, that was bad.) She wasn’t sure he even realized it, but at one point, she was pretty sure they’d actually been floating. *snicker* *cough* *laughing* Well, she supposed that answered the question of whether he was using some sort future technology to accomplish the flying thing because, at that moment, he hadn’t had very many places to hide high tech gadgets. *snicker harder and longer* “Whispering? I’m not whispering,” Lois whispered. *laughs out loud* Giving a final sigh, he dropped the time machine, watching as it sunk through three thousand fathoms of water to settle in the silt on the ocean floor. Why do I think he's going to end up regretting that action? They had a lot still to talk about. And she was surprised to realize that he was more important to her than getting more copy space in any paper, even the Daily Planet. And this is the Lois who hasn't had to become the Mad Dog. This Lois has her priorities in order. The future would be whatever they decided it would be. And in her future, he was going to be her friend and lover. And nothing was going to change that now.
A knock on the door prevented Clark’s lips from touching hers. She gave him a frustrated smile. No, no, no! The kiss that wasn't. Obviously a metaphor for whatever new problems you're going to throw at them in the next chapters! Despite my quibbling and my dread about what's going to happen next, I'm really enjoying this fic and can hardly wait for the next chapter. *Thanks* for posting early!
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Wonderful part! Awesome part! His head snapped up in shock. It took him a moment to realize that what he was seeing was not an apparition, but a real, flesh and blood version of the woman he loved. Without further thought, he was on his feet and she was lost in his arms. He whispered her name over and over, planting kisses on her hair, cheeks, face, neck, bare upper arms...
Suddenly, the whole picture of what he had seen when he’d first looked up filtered its way into his mind.
Lois Lane... wearing nothing but a towel. How wonderful! Awww!!! Clark is so beyond thought or consciousness at his "relief" - far to weak a word - at seeing Lois alive and unhurt that he envelops her, surrounds her with every inch of his body, holds her to his heart, kisses every part of her - until he realizes that she is not far from naked.... “I thought...” He gestured to the rug.
“Oh, that,” she said with a grimace. “Guess there’s no way to get the blood out of that, is there?” Can a woman who has just been attacked by a man intending to rape and murder her be any cooler than that? The remaining problem is the rug? “I thought...” He managed to get out before his mouth seemed unable to continue, as if to voice what he had thought would somehow make it so.
All of a sudden, it sunk in what he had thought. She took a slow, cautious step towards him, feeling much as if she were trying to approach a reticent horse. And sudenly she realizes that he is upset about Stafford's attack on her. That he thought that she was dead. “I thought...” he repeated.
“I know,” she whispered, tenderly stroking his cheek. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” Aaawwww.... Yeah!  Get to it! “Whispering? I’m not whispering,” Lois whispered. “Oh my god, it’s exactly what it looks like, isn’t it?” “Now... let’s see if I can remember how that story goes again,” Lois said. “Sleeping Beauty - that would be you - has gone to sleep. Some evil spell or something. The handsome prince - that would be me - comes along and... Clark as Sleeping Beauty and Lois as the Prince! I love it! The Daily Planet would be running a different headline. ‘Stafford Arrested For Wesley Murder.’
Perry White had looked up at her in shock several times while reading. Then he’d chopped her story apart into four, full size stories, claiming that this was far too important and complex for a single story. It was that good, Lois! Since Paul was currently under arrest - although Lois didn’t know the details on that development yet - Perry had contacted the staff advisor for the Ink and Quill and quickly hammered out a deal with him - one that had involved a promise from the advisor that her stories not be shown any prejudice in the future due to her bringing this one to the Daily Planet and explaining why she’d brought them the previous story. Hah! Yes! ‘Hi, honey. I’m home,’ was what she had intended to say. What she said instead was, “Charlie!” Noooo!!! The hour of reckoning is here! “Wha...” she began, staring at him as if taking in a stranger. Reaching out a trembling hand, she touched the fully grown beard now covering his face. It is as if time has jumped forward for Clark. Beard doesn't grow that fast. It is as if Clark is being torn apart by different time streams. One timeline has him staying with Lois in 1987. Another timeline is pulling him in another direction and has brought his head and face into a time where he has a beard. “Did you have them before you started traveling in time?”
“Wha...”
“Is it possible this is... I don’t know. Some sort of time traveling sickness?”
He sank down onto the side of her bed, seeming stunned by her question. “How long have you known?” Hah! This Lois isn't galactically stupid! “Yes, I saw the time machine - and your plans for the time machine. But I also remembered you. My guardian angel. The man who rescued me from falling out of a tree when I was nine. The one who told me that guardian angels don’t have names.” She reached up and gently stroked his cheek. “Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?” Awwww... He looked down. “I was going to tell you. Today. It was one of the things I was planning to tell you. I should have told you last night before we...” He looked up at her, seemingly searching her eyes for signs that she was angry. "I was going to tell you"... where have I heard that before? And he is worried that she might be angry. She leaned over, giving him a light kiss to alleviate his obvious fear. “One of the things you were going to tell me? Was the other one that you can fly?”
She had to admit, the stunned expression that appeared on his face was somewhat rewarding. <giggle> “What do you mean, after last night?” he asked cautiously.
“Charlie... we floated.”
He stared at her in disbelief. Obviously, he hadn’t noticed. It was nice to know how distracting she could actually be. A planet named Krypton. A small space ship being flung millions of miles across space. Okay, ML, this is something I'm going to ask you to change! It is not "millions of miles" to Krypton. It is "millions of miles" to the Sun. It is even "millions of miles" to planet Mars. Admittedly it is only between 200,000 and 300,000 miles to the Moon. Planet Krypton would be trillions of miles away. At least. Well, I'm glad that Lois knows that "Charlie" is really Clark. I don't know why, but I find it slightly grating not to be able to call Clark Clark. “I love you, Clark Kent,” she said softy. Aaaawwwww.... And then H.G. Wells turns up. Didn't we all know he would? Well, whatever happens now... this was a wonderful, wonderful chapter, ML! Ann
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Merriwether
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OP
Merriwether
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,656 |
Reticent? The horse didn't want to talk? Oops. I'll change that to skittish. Planet Krypton would be trillions of miles away. At least. I'll change that to trillions. I'm glad that Lois knows that "Charlie" is really Clark. I don't know why, but I find it slightly grating not to be able to call Clark Clark. If you think it's grating not to be able to think of Clark as Clark, you should try writing it. No one is happier than I am to drop the Charlie name. Well, it's a good thing I posted last night because the Saskatchewan Roughriders went into overtime tonight and, rivited as I was to the game (football), I would never have remembered to post. (Oh, and since I know you will all be thrilled to know this... my boys won!!!!) Anyway, thanks for your comments and speculation. I'm continuing to enjoy it. ML ML
She was in such a good mood she let all the pedestrians in the crosswalk get to safety before taking off again.
- CC Aiken, The Late Great Lois Lane
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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Just catching up to the story! Got a little behind! But OMG! Awesome! Love it! Your characterizations are right on the money, and the plot is getting better and better! Way to go!
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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