You can find the story here: Conspiracy Theory

This story was inspired by my new addictions The Flash and Gotham tv shows, even though the characters aren't based on those depicted on those shows.

I apologize for an errors. Grammatically this story is confusing even to me with all the back and forth about talking about possibly living or dead characters in the present or past tense (as the case applies). Please feel free to let me know where I should have a different tense. My beta was my 10 y.o. daughter and while she did catch a few things, verb tenses isn't her strong suit, especially in a grammatically messy story as this.

I hope you all enjoyed this story and didn't find it TOO confusing. Happy Halloween!

Confusing, yes, but interesting. Well done weaving together all those bits and pieces of the various heroes' stories. (Or should I say, "the hero's various stories," since they are all one hero in yours? Ugh -- I don't think I could write that last sentence again if I tried.)

And Halloween was indeed the perfect time to share this. Thank you.

Joy,
Lynn

My head hurts.

Ow.

But still, a fun read. It's interesting to think that there's one conspiracy theory that turns out to be true, even if it's so convoluted that it makes the Kennedy assassination theories seem as simple as making peanut butter sandwiches. (Please don't get me started on the Kennedy theories - some of those people think that there were a dozen or more people involved who were really just innocent bystanders.)

It just seems as if Lois/Iris/Vicki has crammed a whole lot of living into her less-than-thirty-closer-to-twenty-five years. She was twenty-six when L&C started. And what about Lucy? Was one of them adopted? Maybe that's part of the reason Lois/Iris/Vicki was always so mature.

Your mind works in mysterious and strange ways, Virginia. Interesting ways, mind you, but still strange. Please keep it up.

A conspiracy theory worthy of the name. Very creative. :-) convoluted... But creative. I loved the "uniforms" correction.

So this is the ominous one-parter

Looky there! I see you’ve started Netflixing The Flash.
LOIS: What’s this with another female investigative reporter and another STAR Labs. Something’s fishy!

Where are you in the season?








:

She’s a reporter and those are just facts, not pictures?

Wait, what’s the name of that super hero who got his powers from an atomic blast. Aside from that, we have Batman and Vicki Vale, Superman and Lois Lane, and The Flash and Iris West. It sure is a pattern of trying to score with the hot reporter in town. Must be the same dude!

Yes. Not even a shadow of a body!

A giant bat flying around between the twisted towers of a radioactive wasteland?

If he’s superfast? Plus, it helps with keeping a honey in every city. Imagine if they found out they’re all dating the same guy!

So, you’re not going with the dark-skinned Wests?
IRIS: No, I went by Ororo Munroe.

Good skin care? Regular exercise?



Rrrrrrrright.



You mean, like Harvey Dent and Two Face?

No, sounds to me like he’s a bit of a…well…if the name fits

By his smile….Oh, right. Duh!

Well…duh! But she does sound like maybe she needs a date with Maxwell.

But Lex is *ooooold*!

See! /points to above note/

He can adapt his body, make bits and pieces grow larger and smaller as need be?

But Bruce Wayne could also be a crime boss. Just like Bill Church!

Yep. She’s totally cuckoo.

CANON LOIS: See! What I’m saying all the time!
CANON CLARK:

TRASK: In my defense, they were *flying*!

Wait. What? No way!

See! No way!
BARRY: Good thing is, I can run away very fast!

No way!

I think you just re-invented Soul Mates!
HGWells: I claim copyright infringement!

But I bet her martial arts and her vocal skills came in handy as Black Canary. But let’s see, that’s six different superheroes, at least. She sure is the ultimate Super Groupie!



Michael

I wonder if maybe they both also did some time travel?

Wow, yeah that was kinda confusing but really interesting. I didn't think at first you'll go this far with superheroes and secret identities! But that was excellent.
I only understood the characters were not from the current flash when Iris told she made herself look like a blonde.

That must have been really tricky to write, so congrats because even if it was a bit hard to keep up, it made sense in the end and you proposed an interesting twist by suggesting only one man was behind all these superheroes/secret identities.

Wow... That's a heck of a theory! I like it.

Wow, thank you all for all the wonderful feedback!

Lynn: Yes, sorry about the headache. I meant to include a warning for my story. My apologies. I'm glad you enjoyed this confusing story about re-inventing oneself numerous times.

Terry: Thank you for reading. Sorry about the headache. The convolution of the theory was Clark's saving grace. Who, other than Lois, would believe such a crazy story?!

In this story, the woman is now closer to 30 than 25 (which is what the man assumed her age was, or as she had implied it was). Ten years earlier, Lois went undercover as Vicki when she was 20ish. (Perhaps she heard that Batman was partial to blondes.) Then, she returned to Metropolis where she became the famous Lois Lane (her true self). She met Clark when she was 26 (per canon), but then he left town after a year, disillusioned with her (since she seemed so willing to marry Lex). When she realized her mistake, she hunted him down, knowing that Superman couldn't be dead if Clark was still alive. So, it took her 3 years before she finally tracked him down in Central City. Lucy is Lucy and doesn't play into Lois's romantic life with any of these men.

I hope that clarifies things. Perhaps I made an error with my dates, but thinking about such things was making my eyes cross so I failed whenever I tried to double check them. I'll do so again before sending it in to the archives.

HappyGirl: So glad you're back on the boards. Sad it's because of your sick family. Hope they are better soon. Thank you for reading my confusing story. I'm glad you enjoyed my "uniforms" joke. I can't see Clark ever seeing his outfit as a "costume".

Michael: My, that's a lot of comments! I'll have to respond in a separate reply.

Annalina19: Thanks for reading. Sorry about confusing you. No, the characters may have the same names as the current Flash show and this story was inspired by my new-found addiction to that show, but it's not actually based on those characters (and their backstories). Actually, Vicki is blonde and Iris has auburn hair in this story.

I was going to add in the Arrow or Green Lantern in Clark's disguise repertoire but it was getting bad enough already with him as Robin, Batman, Superman, and Flash. That's why I had Lois accidentally assume those green men were the man she was looking for before she found the real one (hence Clark's need to apologize to them AGAIN for Lois's actions).

Marcus: Thanks! I'm glad it worked.

Darth Michael: Hi, Michael!
Yep. This is my Epic squeezed into a one-parter. Take your Tylonal first.

That I have. It's what has distracted me from WC... well, it and Gotham.

It's almost as bad as stealing all the characters from another superhero's life and using them for your show. Oh, wait. That one won't be on Netflix for another year.

My kids have insisted on watching The Flash with me, so we're somewhere between 8-10 episodes into S1. Flash just lost his powers and got them back again and Iris is starting to channel her inner Lois Lane while drooling over the Flash.



Yep. About like that.

Um... okay.

Well, technically, she was right... about her Batman not being the real one.

It's part of her disguise. As Iris, she shouldn't recall the exact name of the Prometheus. Barry... er... Clark would know the exact name.

Was that Atom? Or Captain Atom?

That was my theory.

Details. Details.

JOKER: We just call it 'home'.

Why it's good that he can fly too.

Nope. Vicki was blonde. Iris has auburn hair in this story.

Wrong league.

Robins?

I much prefer Gotham and the original (Michael Keaton) versions.

What Cat Grant could never have been a cat burglar on the side?

I don't think that Harvey can continue being Harvey after he becomes Two Face, can he?

Confused young orphan? Strange. His name isn't Cyo.

She does mention getting her Batman to smile (another reason she knew he couldn't be the real one.)

She's trying to have less dates with psychos, but it's a fine line to walk on when searching for one's soul mate.

Maybe he wasn't in this universe.

Great minds walk in the same gutter.

She was talking about his face.

Explains his adoption of a young circus performer.

Barry reads superhero girlfriend checklist, makes a check mark next to "cuckoo".

I'm guessing she's still mad that he didn't tell her.

Exactly! Well, at least one of them was. Kind of. Hovering for a long time.

What? Iris/Lois/Vicki couldn't be right?

But she doesn't want him to run. She wants him to fly.

Yep. She's THAT good.

But technically, Batman (#2) and Superman didn't actually die.



No, she didn't go that way.

You did see Lois on Smallville, right? I think she dated the entire League before settling on Clark.

Only to another dimension where Clark's folks died when he was ten. So, an alt-alt-dimension. Well, actually, they were born there, so no real travel involved.

Glad you enjoyed it!

WOAH!



That was awesome! Brain-bending, but awesome! Mad respect for however you were able to keep all those thoughts straight in your head while writing it.

Fantastic theory. I kinda wish there was more of it... like did Barry/Clark/Dick know that Lois was Lois the whole time? Why did he run from her in the first place? How did she track him down again? And exactly what did she do with the Martain Manhunter et al? Crazy! I'm all in on this Super-conspiracy! Wonderful job!

(This is my brain on your story: And I thank you for that.)

Mouserocks: Thanks for the applause.

Just don't ask me what I did two days ago in RL. Those kind of details aren't important enough for my brain to keep track of.

Dick / Clark (OMG! That's why that man never aged! ) thought Vicki was Vicki until she disappeared from Gotham and then went to track her down. He discovered that she was Lois Lane, hence his move to Metropolis (as Clark Kent).

Clark knew (or thought he knew) that Vicki and Lois were the same person. He thought he was moving on with Iris until she admitted that she was Vicki (and then also Lois). So, he didn't know it was Lois in disguise until she made him see her (being that she's the master of disguise and all. )

After she became engaged to Luthor, he lost hope and left town (he's good at running away). Anyway, he had already 'killed' off Superman, but still wanted to help people so he wanted to make a clean break from Metropolis. This time Lois had to track him down... after a few mistakes (i.e. those green superheros) she finally realized he was Flash and then had to find his alter ego.

With lots of trial and error.

Let's just say, I'll leave that up to your imagination. I doubt any of them are stupid enough to admit the truth within Superman's hearing range.

You're welcome. I'm glad you got a kick out of this mind-bending story.

Hey ...

Well done! I really admire the extreme creativity it took to #1--come up with this story...and #2--write it, keeping up with all the twists and turns. Awesome job!

I have a bit of a headache, but I gotta confess--it was there prior to reading (up to my usual late hour last night, then couldn't get to sleep...then, of course, my luck, a crazy-busy morning ensues ). But--even while being a bit in a self-induced mind-fog, I was still able to follow along, really enjoy where you took us, and love the ending. Great job!!!

Laura (who thinks your daughter did a super job editing )

Nice, if a bit confusing, story.

I think Lois skipped the Flash and Black Canary, didn't she? And Smallville kind of skipped Wonder Woman, too. :p

Laura: Thanks for taking a ride on my short story roller coaster!

Yea! A headache not induced by my story. But I'm sure it didn't help it any. I hope you're feeling better today. Both my husband and I had post-Halloween headaches too. Perhaps it had something to do with 2 kids bouncing off the walls with sugar highs for two days.

I'll let my daughter know that you thought she did a good job. She'll be thrilled! She loved that I asked her to correct my writing for a change (instead of vice versa).

Lara Joelle Kent: I'm glad you enjoyed my story.

Well, technically, Lois BECAME Wonder Woman for one part. Flash was there (once or twice), but it was so long ago I can't recall it clearly. Maybe Lois didn't date him because he was even younger than Clark.

Thank you for reading.

What a fun fic! Tell your daughter she did a great beta job!

I suspected from the start that Iris and Barry were Lois and Clark. Although, I did wonder mid-way through if Barry was the lookalike from the talent agency in TOGoM. (Hey, with Superman "dead" there wouldn't be much need for a lookalike.)

I love the whole long convoluted string of identities/hero identities that Clark's blown through. Very creative!

Twisty story! Amazing that your daughter could follow along well enough to give you a good beta review - props to her! I had to read it twice, but the logic is definitely there. I love conspiracy theories.

Deadly Chakram: I'll be sure to tell my daughter that she's earning fans for her beta-work. I'm glad you found my dizzifying story fun.

I did wonder if I needed to post it in the Superman in Other Canon fanfic section due to bringing in so many other DC characters, but the heart of the main characters was firmly lodged in LnC canon.

What a great twist! Sometimes, though, the biggest twist is the lack-thereof.

Thank you!


groobie: Thanks for reading!

Truth be told, since she hasn't seen the show since I first started writing Missing Lois (can't count back that many years this late at night), she did get lost in many places. What I loved best from her beta was her comments: "Is superman dead ?!?", "Iris saw Superman?" (apparently, she forgot TV exists in stories. ), "Who’s Nightfall?", and "Iris dated Lex Luthor!?!" In the end, I had to sit her down and explain what happened on the show and then what was going on in my story before I saw the light come on. For a 10 y.o., though, she had some great beta notes, "You don't need this" and "I had to read this twice to understand this." I may have to call upon her services again... the next time I write PG.

Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction and that's what makes a good conspiracy theory.

Perfect Lois--she's the only one that could've put it together. And caught Barry/Clark/Dick flatfooted.

Shallowford: Thanks. I figured Lois wouldn't give up until she had this puzzle solved.

Oops? I really need to re-learn the lost art of doing haiku type FDK posts instead of emulating George R R Martin or Virginia R.

On the plus side, mind’s too tired to get headaches



Hmm….which one could that be…Supergirl?

Naughty writer. Naughty!

I just figured that ‘crazy person’ would be the more sane expectation?




CANON LOIS: See, Clark? That’s why you should never try to go for one of the fake Loises. I’m the real deal and you can read about it in the factually correct interview I did with STAR Labs.
CANON CLARK: It should be ‘a spokesperson of STAR Labs’ since STAR Labs is an institution and can’t really give interviews or, you know, talk.
CANON LOIS: And Superman’s just a disguise and can’t really expect to score with Lois Lane tonight. Aside from the fact that she’s married to a reporter who happens to have to leave on an assignment on the other side of the continent later today.

I only know of the Ray Palmer in Arrow.



Yes. So long as he stays away from Red K lasers while kissing one of them.



Yes, the Michael Keatons are great. The new one is mainly an action movie.

Nah. She’s not sneaky enough.
WRONG CAT:

Not really, no. Unless he keeps a right profile.




BARRY: … Wait, was I just insulted?

Ooohhh, did she rob the cradle?







LOIS: Ya think?
CLARK: Every time we run low on Swiss chocolates…



Maybe if she told him she’s preggers from when she last met a superhero?

Too bad…

It’s been a while. But she did show up on a stripper pole in the first couple of weeks after they met.

Always. Plus, it was twisty, too! Always a bonus

Michael

Oh, dear. I'm running behind again. Sorry, Michael.

Me, too. Maybe Lynn SM will teach a class.

Really? I find being tired increases headaches.

That's the one!



Iris is crazy therefore she's sane?

CANON CLARK: I can't help correcting her. It's my nature.

I haven't caught up yet on S3 of Arrow. I don't recall his name.

Recommended.

Just watched the MK one again, recently. I have to say that the sequel (with Catwoman and the Penguin) was better than the original.

Or so you think.

So, yes, since they live in a 2-D world. It's how Clark can get away changing behind objects where people on the other side of him could see him change, but we can't.

No, I was insulting Max Dieter.

No. She stood him up at the alter, though.

Yes, they do say that too much internet can corrupt even an innocent EW's mind.

So, never?

LOIS: No, comment.
GREEN LANTERN:

That too.

I'll remember that.

Okay, I reworked my story, fixing my math. Here's the breakdown of dates:

1966 - Clark born
1967 - Lois born
1976 - Clark orphaned
1977 - Batman makes his first appearance in Gotham City. Clark runs away from foster care & joins circus as "Dick Grayson".
1981 - Dick Grayson adopted by Bruce Wayne (Robin appears) - Clark's 15
1984 - Robin disappears (Dick/Clark goes to college)
1986 - Batman is injured / retires (aka disappears)
1989 - Dick/Clark graduates from college. "Batman" returns.
1990 - (New) Batman meets Vicki Vale
1991 - Arkham explodes apparently killing (new) Batman
Early 1993 - Clark and Superman arrive in Metropolis
Late 1993 - Superman doesn't return from saving Earth from Nightfall (yet, Clark still works at Daily Planet.)
mid-1994 - Lois almost married Lex Luthor, realizes her mistake only after Clark leaves Metropolis
1995 - Flash arrives in Central City
1997 - Time of this story.

Oh dear. And a lost browser history made me miss this one



Yes, that’s step one.

It is funny, though. Kara’s quite a goof.

LOIS: Duh!

LOIS: Why Kryptonians died out.



Yes, think so too. Still dark but more humor.



Been to certain message boards, I gather, huh?

Probably the safer assumption…

Oh boy.

Michael

I realized a lot more on the second read. On the first one I totally missed how Iris was getting physically closer to Barry all through. I also missed the signs that it was not just Barry thinking Iris might figure out his identity as The Flash but that even at the start Iris was implying that she knew who he really was. The first read the Flash being Clark Kent seemed to out there. Even when I realized that Iris was right and the Grayson/Kent connection worked the Flash one was harder to believe.

There was an episode on Smallville where Lois esentially dresses up as Wonderwoman.