It is that time again! Since the last two HaC challenges were so much fun, I figured we could play again.

Posted here is one half of a telephone conversation. It's up to *YOU* to supply the other half.

Good luck, and have fun.

----------------

Lois grumbled and reached over to grab the phone. "Whatever it is, it'd better be important. Do you have any idea what time it is?!" She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up a little.

"Huh?"

"*Superman*?" She sat up a little straighter, a frown crossing her features. "Have you been drinking?"

Her hand came up to rub her eyes again. "Calm down, okay? I can't follow a word you're---*Married*?!" She glared at the phone. "You *have* been drinking."

"Uh huh. What?! No! No, that's a very bad---just---just stay right where you are, okay? In fact...do you want me to come get you?" She started to climb out of bed.

"What? Oh, he is? That's...that's good, then, I guess."

"Yeah, you do that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Okay. Goodnight."

Lois hung up the phone, yawning as she settled back into bed. It was only a matter of seconds before sleep reclaimed her.

This is my first try at one of these, so my apologies in advance...

***

Lois grumbled and reached over to grab the phone. "Whatever it is, it'd better be important. Do you have any idea what time it is?!" She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up a little.

“Lois! Lois! Lois! Doll, Babe, Sweetie, it’s Jimmy, the Jim-meister, the Jiminator!”

"Huh?"

“I so won! Lois, guess what? Guess what?! I know who Superman is!”

"*Superman*?" She sat up a little straighter, a frown crossing her features. "Have you been drinking?"

“Maybe a little bit. Ok. A whole lot of a little bit."

Her hand came up to rub her eyes again. "Calm down, okay? I can't follow a word you're---"

"I’m so going to bury you, Lois! Kerth, baby, you are mine!”

"*Married*?!" She glared at the phone. "You *have* been drinking."

“Yeah, CK took me out to this new club. They had this new kind of drink and it was so cool. The club is so rockin’. And then he had to go…” Jimmy laughed. “Fly!” He laughed again. “Fly, away, little birdy fly! I wonder if I can fly too? If I hold up one of my arms…”

"Uh huh. What?! No! No, that's a very bad---just---just stay right where you are, okay? In fact...do you want me to come get you?" She started to climb out of bed.

“Get me? Nah, Lois. CK’s back. Oh, look. He’s Superman. Uh-oh. He’s looking at me with those intense eyes that you love, Lois.”

"What? Oh, he is? That's...that's good, then, I guess."

“Don’t worry about me, Lois. I’ll just fly home with CK.”

"Yeah, you do that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

“Not if I see you first. CK, let’s do a fly by… Lois’s apartment.”

"Okay. Goodnight."

“This night so totally rocked, Lois. Oh, and Lois, CK told me to tell you not to believe a word I've been saying 'cause I've been drinking.”

Lois hung up the phone, yawning as she settled back into bed. It was only a matter of seconds before sleep reclaimed her.

***

Oh, yeah. That was totally awful. But fun. Thanks, Queen of Capes.

Loved your scenario, Virginia! Clark seems intent on hurting Jimmy right now, so I wouldn't recommend Jimmy to take any random flights home...

My take...

Lois grumbled and reached over to grab the phone. "Whatever it is, it'd better be important. Do you have any idea what time it is?!" She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up a little.

"Lois, it's Perry. I need you to listen to me very closely right now. I... well, I'm afraid I've got a bit of a situation here."

"Huh?"

"Well, you see, I've tried stopping him, but he's bound and determined. I've got him cornered up here on the roof, but I'm scared for him, Lois. He keeps yelling at me, saying he's Superman, and that he's gonna fly right off the building- Kent! Let go- give me-" there were sounds of the phone being wrestled around, then finally another voice came over. "Lois? Lois!! I love you Lois! I'm gonna fly out to you right now- 'cause I'm Superman! Did you catch that part?"

"*Superman*?" She sat up a little straighter, a frown crossing her features. "Have you been drinking?"

He sounded hurt through the receiver. "I'm not drunk. I'm not anything. I'm flying high on love and sunshine. Why are you attacking me? I *do* love you, Lois Lane! Let's get married, right now!"

Her hand came up to rub her eyes again. "Calm down, okay? I can't follow a word you're---*Married*?!" She glared at the phone. "You *have* been drinking."

"I'm coming, Lois. I'm going to jump off this roof and fly through your apartment window, and then we can go anywhere in the world! This ledge seems stable enough."

"Uh huh. What?! No! No, that's a very bad---just---just stay right where you are, okay? In fact...do you want me to come get you?" She started to climb out of bed.

"No! I'm gonna go pick you up... Oh, hi Inspector! And Dr. Klein! What are you guys doing here? Dr. Klein and Bill Henderson are here," he spoke back into the phone.

"What? Oh, he is? That's...that's good, then, I guess."

Lois could practically hear the disappointment in his voice. "But doctor... I was gonna go marry Lois! No... alright fine. Sorry, Lois. Dr. Klein and Inspector Henderson and Chief want me to go down to Star Labs first- they said something about helping me plan a better proposal- I'm gonna go, if that's alright with you?"

"Yeah, you do that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Or sooner," he whispered into the phone conspiratorally before she could here Perry takes it from his hands and there was an abrupt click.

"Okay. Goodnight."

Lois hung up the phone, yawning as she settled back into bed. It was only a matter of seconds before sleep reclaimed her.

*****S*****
I don't know. I've never really done this before, and I'm bored right now. *shrugs* Forgive any mistakes. or randomness.

I haven't an entry, but I just wanted to thank QotC for a fun challenge and to applaud both Virginia and Mouserocks. Well done!

Joy,
Lynn

You're welcome for the challenge, and thank you for the fics. Virginia and Mouserocks, those are .

Not for the first time, I wish these entries could be part of bigger stories. Ah well, maybe you guys will feel inspired to expand them someday?

Mouserocks: Your "married" line worked better than my "bury". If I had given myself more time...

So, now I'm wondering, WHAT was Clark drunk on? Red K?

OK. Here's my take:

Lois grumbled and reached over to grab the phone. "Whatever it is, it'd better be important. Do you have any idea what time it is?!" She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up a little.

She listened as Jimmy sang off-key, "Get me to the church on time!"

"Huh?"

Jimmy slurred out, "Hey, is Shuperman there?"

"*Superman*?" She sat up a little straighter, a frown crossing her features. "Have you been drinking?"

"I'm drunk on love. I'm gonna get married."

Her hand came up to rub her eyes again. "Calm down, okay? I can't follow a word you're---*Married*?!" She glared at the phone. "You *have* been drinking."

"Jusht a liitle. To celebuhbrate. I hoped Super-duper-man could fly me and Candy to Vegas tonight. He there?"

"Uh huh. What?! No! No, that's a very bad---just---just stay right where you are, okay? In fact...do you want me to come get you?" She started to climb out of bed.

"Oh, Hey there! Loish, he's here. Big Blue himshelf."

"What? Oh, he is? That's...that's good, then, I guess."

"He musta heard me talking 'bout him. What? Aw darn. He jusht told me he promished to be somewhere in a few minutes. No wedding tonight, but he can take me home. I'm gonna flyyyyyyy."

"Yeah, you do that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"It'sh my day off. Be in on Sunday."

"Okay. Goodnight."

Lois hung up the phone, yawning as she settled back into bed. It was only a matter of seconds before sleep reclaimed her.

Joy,
Lynn

Loved your reply, Lynn! (best part: " I hoped Super-duper-man could fly me and Candy to Vegas tonight." Candy. Wow.)

These would make good longer stories (or at least slightly longer one shots). Maybe I'll think about doing that...

Lynn: Funny! I'm glad Superman got Jimmy home safe and sound. What Lois DIDN'T address is why JIMMY would think SUPERMAN would be at her apartment in the middle of the night while Lois was sleeping? I so totally could see Lois killing him for that assumption (while Clark died of mortification in the background). LOL. Makes you think, huh?

Good point, Virginia! Maybe she was just too tired in the middle of the night. I'm sure she'll find a way to murder Jimmy and make it look like an accident the next day at work. And then she'll kill Clark for trying to step in (as Superman) and saving Jimmy! :p

Virginia, you raise a good question. I agree with Mouserocks that Lois was probably too sleepy during the phone call to consider the implications of what Jimmy had said. But I would *not* want to be in Jimmy's shoes come Sunday morning!

I doubt Jimmy would even remember the conversation by then, so he couldn't even try to come up with a defense other than the obvious one: that he had been too drunk to be thinking clearly.

The fact that if this took place in or after S4, Jimmy would have been right about Superman (well, Clark anyway) being there would be completely irrelevant. Amusing, but irrelevant.

Joy,
Lynn

Lynn, I had assumed it was a S1 Lois. A S4 or later Lois wouldn't have been as bothered by the question, agreed. But ONLY then, if Jimmy was in on the know.

Yep. I see a whole story developing here.

I hadn't particularly considered seasons. I agree that it does seem more S1-ish, but it could work any time, really. I had actually figured that you had thought it would be later, given your mortified-Clark-in-the-background comment. I guess you only meant that he was in the background on Jimmy's end; I had originally thought you had meant that he had been in bed with Lois at the start of the conversation, and had spin-changed and flown to Jimmy when he heard how the conversation was going. (I'm not quite sure how he would have found him; perhaps he had just looked in on Jimmy's usual haunts.)

If this sparks an idea for a larger story for you, by all means run with it!

Joy,
Lynn

Actually, Lynn, it has sparked an idea. I'll try to make it a (1/1). If I may borrow your dialogue and Queen of Capes. This could be a funny reveal.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by VirginiaR:
<strong> If I may borrow your dialogue and Queen of Capes. This could be a funny reveal.

Be my guest! I'm honoured that you like my idea enough to 'steal' it, and am interested in seeing how you weave it into a (slightly) larger story.

Oh, and Mouserocks, I forgot to comment earlier: I hadn't meant to exclude you. If you want to run with my half story, go for it. It would be interesting to see how two different people fleshed it out. I know I am finding it fascinating to see the way different authors fill in the other half of the conversation in this challenge.

Joy,
Lynn

Oh, I had meant to comment on Mouserocks' "Candy. Wow," comment. It had to be either that or "Bambi".

A sign of changing times: I've been listening to the old Superman radio shows, and there is a character in it named "Candy Myers". What threw me when I first heard the name is that it belongs to a male character. Specifically, Candy is a private detective whom Clark occasionally consults.

I can't imagine any straight male character nowadays being given the name 'Candy.'

Just one of many ways the old show reflects the times in which it was written.

Joy,
Lynn

Lynn: I'm sure 'Candy' was just a nickname for a man who likes to eat a lot of candy. Like 'Stretch' is for a man who is very tall. And 'Bigmouth' is for a man who can't shut up if you feed him a lot.

Virginia, I imagine you may well be right; but even so, could you honestly see a man being given the nickname 'Candy' in 2011? I can't. A schoolboy who was constantly being picked on, maybe. A full grown, respectable man? Nope.

But I should add that the nicknames in the old radio series were always pretty heavy-handed, and the show explicitly had the characters living up to their nicknames. For example, if a hypothetical character were nicknamed, 'Squints,' the show would have commented explicitly about his eyes. I don't recall Candy Myers ever eating sweets on the show.

Joy,
Lynn

A lot of female names used to be male: Ashley, Lindsay, some others I forget right now... The popular name McKenzie literally means "Son of Kenzie"; make of that what you will.

I predict that in the future, there will be no male names left. Girls will be sporting names like John, Craig and Brian, and parents of boys will be forced to give up and just stick their son with a name like Susan.

Loved what Virginia, MouseRocks, and Lynn have done

DW, , you nailed it! Great job. I never thought about her mother and drinking. Great tie-in.

Yes, really liked Ella drinking, DW! And the marriage thing, too! Well done!

As for me, I might end up fleshing out my storyline, and it might be fun to do an alternate take on Lynn's story- be fun to compare some things! And a Lois-murders-Jimmy fic would be fun to write (before you all gasp and hands fly to your poor little hearts, it's not for real!! Jeesh... write one little deathfic and everyone jumps down your throat...)

I should be asleep, but it’s too hot, so I thought I’d have a go at this as well. It’s almost certainly awful – enjoy!

---

Lois grumbled and reached over to grab the phone. "Whatever it is, it'd better be important. Do you have any idea what time it is?!" She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up a little.

“I know, I know, but I thought I ought to tell you straight away.”

"Huh?"

“It’s me, Clark, I think I’m Superman and--”

"*Superman*?" She sat up a little straighter, a frown crossing her features. "Have you been drinking?"

“No. Well, a couple of glasses of champagne in celebration. Me and Cat just got married.”

Her hand came up to rub her eyes again. "Calm down, okay? I can't follow a word you're---*Married*?!" She glared at the phone. "You *have* been drinking."

“No, honestly Lois. Apparently we’ve been seeing each other in secret for a while now, and with this asteroid about to kill us all we thought, well, why not. But apparently when we kissed at the altar we floated off the ground, so we’re trying to find my Superman costume and work out how I fly so I can have another go at saving the Earth and then we can have a proper honeymoon in Hawaii. Cat thinks I should just jump off the roof of my, I mean ‘our’, apartment and see what happens. And if I can’t work it out tonight, well, it is our wedding night and Cat has some very... interesting ideas on how we can celebrate it.”

"Uh huh. What?! No! No, that's a very bad---just---just stay right where you are, okay? In fact...do you want me to come get you?" She started to climb out of bed.

“No, Lois, don’t be silly. I’m not going to hurt myself. Cat’s already tried to stab me with a knife. It’s just a ball of metal now, I really am Superman. And we don’t need your help, we’ve already got Jimmy here helping out, and we’re struggling to get him to go away and stop interrupting us when we’re making out.”

"What? Oh, he is? That's...that's good, then, I guess."

“It’s only good if you don’t want a nice romantic wedding-night with your new wife, Lois. To be honest, I think he’s a little jealous. ... Oh, wait, Jimmy’s just found a secret compartment in my wardrobe. It’s full of Superman costumes. ... What? ... Oh, Cat’s saying something about trying to figure out how to attach the capes. ... No, honey, I have no idea. ... I think it’s going to take us all night just to work out how I’m supposed to get these outfits on, let alone fly. I’d better get to it.”

"Yeah, you do that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

“Hopefully. And if we can get this all sorted out in time, I’ll be able to see you the day after as well. I’d better go, Lois, I’ve got to save the world.”

"Okay. Goodnight."

“Goodnight, Lois. I know it’s a lot to take in all at once but trust me, everything’s going to be all right. See you tomorrow.”

Lois hung up the phone, yawning as she settled back into bed. It was only a matter of seconds before sleep reclaimed her.

--

OK, that really isn’t as good as the others. And I'm almost ashamed to post this... but to make it work better I'd need to change a couple of Lois' lines as well and that really wouldn't be in the spirit of the challenge. So I'm putting away my red pens, hitting the 'add reply' button, and blaming it all on sleep-deprivation.

- Alisha

Alisha, you're too hard on yourself. It thought that worked out rather brilliantly! Though nobody really likes the idea of Cat and Clark, I like the tie-in with the Nightfall incident. Clark's confusion is adorable, Jimmy's butting in hilarious, and Cat would take advantage of the amnesia as best she can... worked well! I think you could extend it/improve it the way you wanted it and post it... I would read.

Another pair of excellent entries.

DW, the idea of using Ellen is brilliant.

Alisha, your entry is hysterical! And far from being awful, I think it may be the best one yet. I second everything Mouserocks said about it.

QotC, Good point about the feminizing of a lot of male names. And I loved the 'Boy Named Sue' tie-in.

VIrginia, Mouserocks, and Lynn thank you for the feedback. I am so

Alisha,

Love that Jimmy was in the way and how excited Clark sounded on the phone.

Glad you guys enjoyed.
I totally agree with you. It's one of a couple of bits that I wasn't entirely happy with. For the purposes of this little challenge, I think we ought to pretend that Lois had taken some very strong sleeping tablets . If I were to flesh this out into a story, I probably would have Lois rush over to Clark's instead.

And, on a side note, has anyone ever written a story where Clark believed Cat when she told him they were seeing each other?

- Alisha

Ooh, ooh! My turn!

******

Lois grumbled and reached over to grab the phone. "Whatever it is, it'd better be important. Do you have any idea what time it is?!" She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up a little.

“Lois? It’s Lucy. You weren’t sleeping, were you? Geez, it’s only 1:00, and it’s Friday night…well, I guess it’s Saturday morning…but still…Anyway, I’m back in town and I thought you’d want to know.” In the background Lois could hear the loud buzz of dozens of conversations being shouted over the clamorous music of a rock band.

"Huh?"

“’Huh?’ Is that all you can say? Wake up, Lois, and focus.” Lucy was shouting into the phone in a semi-futile attempt to be heard over the noise. “This is your sister speaking,” Lucy continued, “and I have something important to tell you. You’ll be happy to know that I am done with losers. Done, finito, caput. I’ve finally figured it out. I’m going to get Superman for myself. He’s the last true gentleman.”

"*Superman*?" She sat up a little straighter, a frown crossing her features. "Have you been drinking?"

“Of course I’ve been drinking! It’s Friday night, and, unlike you, I am not an old married fuddy-duddy. But that doesn’t matter. The point is, I’m not letting any more jerks like Steven or Curtis or Brian treat me like dirt. You’ve got Clark, and I’m going to get me the next best thing. I’m going to meet Superman, and then we’re going to get married. Well, not right away, of course. He’ll want a few dates to get to know me first, but eventually. He’ll come around, you’ll see!” Lucy’s voice was steadily gaining pitch as she talked. Whether that indicated excitement or desperation, Lois couldn’t be sure. Probably a little of each—Lucy could go from happy, manic drunk to sobbing, wailing drunk in a matter of seconds.

Her hand came up to rub her eyes again. "Calm down, okay? I can't follow a word you're---*Married*?!" She glared at the phone. "You *have* been drinking."

Lois felt Clark’s hand on her shoulder, but she was having a hard time understanding Lucy, so she waved him off. She didn’t even notice when he quietly slipped out the bedroom window.

“Of course I have. I already told you that. So what? It doesn’t make any difference. Drunk or not, men are still creeps. All of them except Clark and Superman, of course. I know just how to meet him, too. All I have to do is…excuse me, Lois…” Lucy’s voice became muffled as she addressed someone else. “Do you mind? I’m trying to talk here. Oh, puhlease, like I haven’t heard that line a hundred times before.” Whoever it was must have gotten the hint, because Lucy turned her attention back to Lois. “Anyway, like I was saying, all I have to do is find a tall building and jump off. One loud scream, and voila! Superman to the rescue! That is how you met him, isn’t it?”

"Uh huh. What?! No! No, that's a very bad---just---just stay right where you are, okay? In fact...do you want me to come get you?" She started to climb out of bed.

“Hold on, Lois.” Lucy turned away from the phone again, but Lois could still hear her saying, “Look, buddy, I already told you…” After that all Lois could hear was a low rumble of voices. After a minute or two, during which Lois strained mightily but unsuccessfully to make out what was going on and became progressively more worried about her little sister, Lucy’s voice came back on the line, sounding much steadier than it had earlier. “What were you saying? Oh, right! You don’t need to come get me. Clark’s here.”

"What? Oh, he is? That's...that's good, then, I guess."

“Yeah, some drunk guy wouldn’t take no for an answer, but then Clark showed up and gave him the big brother act. I never knew Clark could be so scary. He told me he was here to meet a source. I don’t even want to know what kind of a story he’s working on. And why didn’t you wait up for him? Did you know that he knows Superman? He says he can arrange for me to meet him without jumping off any buildings. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, Clark’s going to take me home now, and he said I should come over for lunch tomorrow so we can catch up.”

"Yeah, you do that. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Okay. Goodnight."

Lois hung up the phone, yawning as she settled back into bed. It was only a matter of seconds before sleep reclaimed her.

Happygirl, your scenario was awesome! Never even thought about using Lucy in that situation- this was absolutely perfect! Love how you made it after Lois and Clark are married- Clark's coming in at the end was inspired!

Happygirl, that was a really cool scenario and I loved your take on the conversation

Thank you both. I love how so many stories can come out of the same prompt. And props to Queenie for the inspiration!

Happy

Poor Clark; I can just imagine him having to fend off Lucy's advances while he's in the suit.

I'm starting to think we need more of these, what say you? And hey, if any of y'all want to start one, go right ahead.

I think someone needs to go over to the fanfic thread and post a link to these. I, however, have my hand full, literally, with HappyBaby.

ETA: Did it, now that HappyBaby is happily asleep.

These are awesome!

Candy, the man, although I am not sure he has a last name there but he is a detiective, also showed up in the George Reeves Superman TV show.