As always, feedback is not only welcome but much appreciated!

Yay! I did say I wanted more Clark parts ... Good job, as usual! I like how you're bringing in the fact that Clark has had some weapons training in the past with Ching- which gives him a slight advantage over Ren, but only because he has so little experience.

Poor Clark! He's being forced into the games- so soon! Looks like Tempus has been busy...

Looking forward to more soon!

His weapons training is important. It'll help if he wants to survive his time in the arena. Tempus has very busy...and very bad.

Glad that you are enjoying things!

Looks like some foul play afoot. I hope his fighting skills are sufficient to make up for the foul play.

Looking forward to the next chapter.

Thanks Ken! Next up is the stuff you gave me some pointers on.

/Blushing/ Thanks for the acknowledgment.

But of course! The scene works much better now thanks to you.

I know I kept the mismatched weapon sets in this chapter, but I meant it more as a way of showing how they are getting a taste for all sorts of weapons since there might be no telling what they'd get when shoved into the arena.

There was a programme about gladiator training last night - one of the things they seemed to be saying was that gladiator armour was mostly designed to "funnel" blows to where they'd do the most spectacularly bloody damage. Really not nice people, the Romans...

It was apparently quite rare for both gladiators to have the same weapon - more often than not they were matched by opposing styles, e.g. a retiarus (net fighter with net and trident) versus secutor (guy with heavy fish-like helmet, armour and dagger)

Neat! I would have enjoyed seeing that! The next chapter is definitely more along "real" gladiator guidelines. This chapter was more about bending the rules like the shows were prone to doing.

Poor Clark! Not only is he a slave, he's a cut-rate slave! How does it feel to know you're second tier?

The nerve of Tersius to add insult to injury! :p

Maybe since Clark is already in his 30's that drove down the price - since he'd have (presumably) less years of arena fighting ahead of them than 18 year old Ren? Or maybe since he was the last sale of the day, everyone had already spent all their money?

I'll go with the former.

I knew that Tempus would be up to no good!

Caesar being there is really bad news since of course he'll recognize Xena.

You're not really dwelling on it, going from one thing to another too quickly for us to take a breath, but Clark is really going through a lot here.

I've never heard of Clark needing more food than humans when he doesn't have his powers--very interesting.

I'm feeling very badly for him now; you know things are bad when he only thinks of Lois two or three times in the whole chapter. It's took bad their telepathic bond couldn't help them a bit here.

Great chapter!

Hiya Anti-K!

I figure Clark's metabolism would remain constant regardless of the state of his powers (or lack thereof). It's never really specified if that is the case of not. So, for dramatic purposes, it got used as a plot point.

I wanted this chapter to sort of mimic how quickly things have started moving for Clark. So he wouldn't really have time to think about Lois. Poor guy. And things are going to get way worse still.

Glad that you enjoyed it!

It was pointed out in the series that Clark really didn't need to eat, but he enjoyed doing so. He derrived most if not all of his energy from sunlight. However in this alternate universe he is lacking the ability to convert sunlight to energy. It is also pointed out at some point that he does expend a lot of energy. Logically if his primary source of energy is made ineffective it needs to be replaced by something and that something needs to meet the higher output requirements attendant to the higher metabolic rate.

Exactly! Even Zara comments on how fast the Kryptonian metabolism naturally is when Ching and Clark are sparring in Lois' living room and they run out of snacks.

Well put, Ken.

I've been reading a few novels about life in Rome recently, and gladiators have featured a lot, so I too am fearful for Clark.

Fighters in the arena didn't have a long life expectancy, and Clark is fairly old to begin life as a gladiator.

I agree with Marcus, for all the fact that they were supposed to be civilised, Romans were not nice people.

I'm hoping Lois and Xena are able to rescue Clark before he's hurt too much, but I understand that you want to stretch out the drama ... and my nerves.

Yours Jenni

Hi Jenni!

Thanks for reading and commenting! Clark *is* old for someone just starting out as a gladiator. Which is probably why he was such a cheap purchase.

Me? Be evil and stretch out the drama? Of course I am! More coming on Thursday!

AKA the doctore.

/imagines doctore stepping up to Clark and ripping the spear from his hands before slapping him. "No no no no no. You put end with point *into* opponent. Not away from opponent."/

Yep, Clark's definitely going to drive poor doctore crazy.

Oh? Are we talking about Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger? And why is he wearing a centurion's uniform? Or is Clark simply putting it in very laymen's terms?

And shouldn't Clark peek up at the realization that this is *the* Brutus? And not just any Brutus?

I'm sensing a pattern...

That's not good. How did Tempus convince Caesar? And did Tempus also tell Ceasar about the Ides of March? And are we just before the Ides of March?

/squints eyes/ Sounds like he will earn the 'Maximus' pretty soon, huh?

That can't be good.

Yep. Not good.

They're getting women?

How's Clark going to wiggle out of that one?

I just figured. But you're right. My bad

Oh boy. Intentional food poisoning.

That can't be good. And he will make quite a mess. /imagines Clarkus soiling himself from both ends in the arena due to a massive digestive upheaval/

Michael

*spits out oolong tea as she bursts into laughter*

Nope, just a generic, run of the mill Brutus. Just a messanger boy for Caesar.

Tempus can pop in and out of "existance" with the time window - it wouldn't be *that* hard to convince Caesar of his "godhood." Plus, he *could* tell Caesar things that he learned in history class that the general population wouldn't know. He has not told Caesar about the Ides. And if we take each Xena season as a year, then we're roughly 2 years away from the Ides (since this takes place after Season 2 and The Ides of March episode is the second to last episode of Season 4.)

Yes, but in a very sarcastic way.

Ummmm....define "they."



*tries to purge that image from her mind*

Also: does it help that I wrote 2 pages to a sequel last night? I just think it is going to be a while before the story fully shapes itself as I go along. This one practically wrote itself.

Is there any way we can encourage your muse?

/hands over mop to clean up the mess in mind/

Re sequel -> /envisions Xena and Gabi in a set-up like the Visitors./ Poor car, it was too young to die by a Chakram through the grill.

Michael

Chocolate? Lots and lots of chocolate?

Actually, I do plan on having Xena and crew visiting Metropolis in 2011. Why 2011? Mostly because I can.

I'm still trying to work out all of the details regarding the villian(s), but I'm planning on having at least a few gods show up - Ares, Hades, and maybe Aphrodite.

Lois screamed out, "Xena, why did you chakram the bike messanger?"

Okay, so I have a one-fic mind, so sue me 'Dite screams for a PML/Revenge adaption :p


Hey, he was waving a dangerous looking club (aka a cardboard-tube).

Michael

to everything!!!!!!!!!