As much as I looked forward to this story, and as much as I'm (perversely?) enjoying it, it's still a really hard read. I find that I'm flipping back and forth between heartbreak and nausea. You may not get a lot of fdk from me, but I am still reading!

Thanks, E! I'm so weirdly glad this is making your nauseous. It's supposed to. So I'm thrilled it's a hard read. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy(???) the rest!

Huh.

A better idea, the man says. I predict the same thing for Superman that Mr. T's character did for his opponent in Rocky III when he was asked for his prediction for the rematch between himself and Rocky.

Pain.

All those injuries to Clark might cripple him for life. I'm almost surprised he hasn't developed a serious infection from a compound fracture or all those cuts and bloody wounds, or drowned in his own blood from a broken rib puncturing his lung. And if he's beaten that badly on a regular basis, how could he eat? Or even drink water? The Kryptonite has taken his invulnerability, and he's out of the sun, so how is he being sustained? Are they feeding him intravenously? Is Luthor starving him? Oh, the horrible possibilities!

Lois is brilliant. She's enlisted the help of a number of superheroes in her search, although it sounds as if Diana is the first one to do more than say "Nope, I got nothing." And while I'm a little surprised you're crossing over into Marvel territory, it's a great idea to ask Spiderman, even though it's unlikely he'd have any information. At least this way Peter Parker will be on the lookout for any hint of news concerning Superman through his connection to the Daily Bugle.

She's brought Jonathan and Martha into the hunt, too, although I think their greatest contribution will come after Clark is found. He's going to need a safe place to recover, a place where no one can hurt him, a place which places no demands on him while he rests from all the physical therapy and Kryptonite-aided surgeries he'll have to undergo. And Lois will be there with him every step of the way.

Assuming, of course, you take that route. You could always your readers.

You really are dangerous.

Hi, Terry!

Thanks for reading and for the awesome feedback!

Clark's still immune to Earth diseases - perk of being Kryptonian. That's really the only thing keeping him from getting an infection at this point. Because that's, at least, not dependent on his powers being functional. It's just the luck of his genes. And Luthor won't let Clark die unless he wants him to die, so he'd make sure that he's beaten but not within the reach of death. Still, it would be hard to prevent Clark's ribs from shifting and popping a lung. Chalk it up to luck (and an author who is unwilling to let Clark off the hook so easily.)

Clark is being fed food...but not much. All the better for Luthor to break him down.

Lois is pretty smart, huh? Now, she doesn't know the other supers real identities, so she has no idea Spidey is a fellow journalist/news guy (yes, I know, he's "just" a photog). All of the supers are on the lookout for Superman, you can rest assured. But Diana is the first one to really get aggressive on the whole "let's start our own organized search/network of trading any info or leads we might find." As for bringing in Marvel - the more the merrier, even if they remain off-screen.

You seem very sure Clark will be found and will have a chance to recover. We'll have to see if you're right...

DC wrote:

No, I'm not sure. I'm looking on the bright side.

Probably shouldn't, given my rep. And your promise to your readers at the beginning to break everything.

Yikes.

Also had a thought. Wonder how long it will be before news of all these capes looking for Superman makes the news, or at least the villain rumor mill. Nigel is sure to hear about it before too long, and he'll tell Lex, and Clark will suffer more consequences. The guy can't win in this story, can he?

Nope, Clark can't win. However, the supers are keeping it very on the down low that they are looking for Superman. Safer that way, especially if they find him as Clark, rather than Superman. So are far as Lex knows, it's just Lois and the MPD that have looked for him.