Hi all,

I've toyed with the idea for this story for over a year, but I never wrote it up because I didn't think its premise would be well received. But when I saw Queen of the Capes' EVIL Challenge , I knew the time was right to let my muse run wild. It seemed to me to be a perfect fit for the challenge.

Thanks, Queenie! :-)

As always, all feedback welcomed.

Joy,
Lynn

Well, that was definitely evil. Wise Lex is enough to make anyone nauseous.

No mention of Lois. Perhaps Superman wasn't so well received because he didn't have her to help him. Or perhaps he was well received, but Lex re-wrote history. Or perhaps Lois married Lex, which would be enough to make Superman more than a little cranky.

Interesting premise - not a nice premise, but interesting.

Corrina.

Hi Corrina,

Thanks for your feedback. I had been starting to fear I wouldn't get any comments on this story. I agree that the premise wasn't nice; hence my holding onto the idea until Queenie made her challenge. I'm glad I had the opportunity to post this story; I had long wanted to explore what might have happened had the asteroid hit and Lex actually proved to be the preserver of mankind. (I somehow can't quite bring myself to use the word 'saviour' in conjunction with him, even in an alt-verse. ) The premise has haunted me for a while now. I hope that by writing this piece I can get it out of my mind.

I sort of took sub-challenge one for this fic. ("Lois and/or Clark must be locked out of some place they need to get into.") In this alt-verse, Lois turned down Lex's offer and so was outside the Ark when Nightfall hit. I figure that had she survived, history would never have become so perverted. But since Lex would probably have been predisposed to invite primarily Superman-haters and Lex-toadies into his bunker, the people who lived through the catastrophe would not be at all averse to some serious revisionist history.

I was also thinking that with Lois' rejection, Lex invited Gretchen Kelly to serve as both companion and scientist, hence Alexandra Kelly.

Joy,
Lynn

I really like this story. It's fun to explore what could have happened and how things could have gone wrong. Of course we don't want Lex to win and Superman to be vilified, but I view this more as a "what if?" than an "it should have happened this way."

I like the format of a kids' play. Beyond just telling what happened after Nightfall, it shows how the kids have been taught Lex's version of history. It's got a real brainwash-y vibe to it that makes the whole thing feel even more insidious.

Altogether, this is a fun story, and I really enjoyed it.

Nice story. I really enjoyed it. It was a lot different than anything else I've ever read, but one of the great things about fanfic is exploring things that never could have been done on the show itself.

Wow. That is Eeeeeeeeeevil!

Wow! Very, very evil! I really enjoyed this 'what if' scenario.

Alexandra, huh? I wonder if there was a Roxanne and a Lynx too…

Very spooky! This definitely shows that history is written (or rewritten) by the victors. I was a little afraid to read it at first (since it was an EVIL Story) but then realized it was you and that you'd go for the Twilight Zone aspect as opposed to the gore aspect. Well done.

That's definitely the spin Lex would put on it. Very well done!

Hello all,

Thanks so much for the feedback! Given the nature of the piece, I hadn't expected very many people would read through to the end of it.

Female Hawk, re: "Wise Lex": I had actually originally written "Saint Lex," but revised the story lest the original cause offense to anyone. I agree with you, though, that either one is enough to make one gag. (Sorry, Mrs. Luthor; I'm sure you'd disagree.)

Mrs. Mxyzptlk, you definitely got what I was trying to do with the story: Propaganda at its best/worst. And the sad thing is that I don't think it is all that far-fetched. After all, to take just one example, how many American children (and even adults) believe that George Washington actually said, "Father, I can not tell a lie. I did it [i.e., chopped down his father's favourite cherry tree] with my hatchet"? And although I can't quote specifics from other countries, I have no doubt in my mind that the U.S. is far from alone in having a skewed version of its historical figures.

Lois Lane Fan, I'm delighted to hear that the story is different from what you've read before. One of the joys of reading fanfic is indeed discovering new approaches to old friends.

Queen of the Capes, I aim to please. And thanks for issuing this challenge so that I could loose this story on to the MB.

Ultra Lucille, why thankee. Let's see...Alexa, Alexis, Alex, Alexander, Lexanna...

Virginia, thanks for the vote of confidence. Right you were that I stay as far away from gore as I can. (<Insert political joke here>) And the saying about history being (re-)written by the victors had been very much in my mind when I contemplated writing the story.

Marcus, thank you. I'm glad you think I stayed true to Lex's character, even if he himself never showed up in the story.

Thanks again to all who left FDK.

Joy,
Lynn

I just read this today in the archives and I agree with everyone. This is an evil story and the victors do re-write history.

If Lois had lived she would have been a force to be reckoned with and Wise Lex's version would have never seen the light of day. This is a very refreshing take on ASU, thanks for writing it!

So my challenge to you... write a sequel?

Hi Morgana,

Thanks for the feedback.

I agree with you that history would have been written very differently had Lois survived.

A sequel? Hmmm... My muse usually turns her nose up at them. It might be interesting, however, to see what would happen to society if someone (say, Alexandra Kelly) stumbled upon the ruins of the Daily Planet, discovered the morgue there, and discovered what Superman was really like. How would people react if they discovered that their alleged hero was really a villain and vice versa? I'm not sure my muse is up to tackling such an ambitious story, but I'd love to read it if someone else wanted to try their hand at writing it.

Joy,
Lynn

I really liked the story. It's fun to be in the dark and not know where a story is going. Thanks.

I saw Morgana's challenge for a sequel and immediately thought of Clark as Buck Rogers, showing up 500 years after ASU.

Hi Shallowford,

Thanks for the feedback.

Clark coming back after 500 years? That would make Brandon Routh's Clark seem like an amateur. At least he confined his space travel to a five-year mission.

Joy,
Lynn

Hi Lynn, got to Mary’s fic and she said this one should be read first. And apparently, I didn’t
4 options:
Random.
Daughter of LnC.
Clark’s teacher.
Lois’s teacher.
Will go with Lois’s teacher because of the Metropolis feel.

/squints/

Clark’s son?

What? Did Lex win?

[qquoteWithout any further ado, we give you… 'THE LINGERING NIGHT.'" [/quote]Oh, Nightfall. And Superman didn’t show up twice.

Oh boy. Also, this reminds me of The 100.

Did I already say “oh boy”

uh huh…

The ark. Duh! And I did wonder a bit earlier if Alexandra is in honor of Lex. Lot’s of wee ones are gonna be lex-based.

Yes. Evil.

Ohhhh. Yes, I should have remembered

Great little story, Lynn!

Michael

Hi Michael,

What a delightful surprise to receive feedback on one of my most evil stories. I had almost forgotten about this one. (Has it really been closing in on a decade since I wrote it? Wow.) And it is a double delight to get the feedback from you -- I always enjoy your reactions to the various story beats.


Yes, Dr. Beckett. Or may I call you, "Sam"? But I must say that I do agree with the sentiment.

Joy,
Lynn

Okay, I couldn’t resist reading this story. Based on what I have read of your work Lynn, I couldn’t imagine you producing an ‘EVIL’ fic!!

But it is indeed evil!

Talk about revisionist history!

Well done, Lynn.

Hi Lynn,

Time sure does fly.

I hope to get through more of the recent vignettes in the near future. And there's the longer stories that also need some attention. Let's hope there's enough hours in the day

Michael

Hi Penny,

Thank you for your feedback. You are absolutely right that this isn't my usual type of story. I much prefer writing stories that leave the reader in a better mood than when they started. But occasionally an idea comes to me that I find so powerful that it haunts me until I exorcise it by writing it down. These are stories that, quite frankly, I wouldn't even read had another author written them. (I try to keep my fiction reading light.) If you wish to see what my more WHAMmy stories look like, try In a Very Alternate Universe, Moving On, If Looks Could Kill, or Afterwards. Then, of course, there is my series of stories of various tones in which Lois and Clark have two sones, one of whom has autism. (I'd be happy to provide links to them if you so wish.) Their tone spans the gamut from tragedy to comedy; they're also among my favourites of the ones I have written because they draw so much from my personal experience.

Joy,
Lynn

Hi Michael,

I very much look forward to your feedback should you do so.

An overabundance of reading material is always a good problem to have.

Joy,
Lynn