We all love AUs, right? So how many ways can we turn left instead of right throughout the series.

The Goal is simple. Take one moment in the series and ask "What if X?" You can answer the last "what if" if you want to but it's not required.

Here's an example:

1) What if Deter had (somehow) found out that Clark was Superman? What then?

2. What if Trask hadn't been killed?

3. What if Clark hadn't retracted his declaration of love after Lois' almost wedding?

4. What if Lois hadn't said "no" to Luthor?

5. What if the Superman and Lois photo in SLV hadn't been faked/the original film not destroyed?

6. What if Mayson had lived after finding out Clark's secret during the car bombing?

7. What if the pheromone spray hadn't worn off Lois when Clark finally broke down and told her that if she wanted him, he was hers?

8. What if Lex hadn't died after finding out Clark's secret?

9) What if Luthor had succeeded in transferring his and Lois's souls to the other bodies?

10) What if they had ACTUALLY been married instead of the clones? Would they have had to deal with the curse?

11) What if Clark had known about the spacecraft the whole first season. Would the globe have attuned to him sooner?

12) What if Clark didn't get his powers back in time to save his parents in GGGoH?

Ohhh--I got one...

9. What if when Lois caught her first glimpse of Superman in the transport module she recognized that it was Clark?

Just after bomb is swallowed:
"Clark--how did you??? What are you doing here?--and what ARE you wearing?!?"
"Well, there goes the whole 'secret identity idea' "...(muttering under his breath)

Talk about a game-changer

10. What if in All Shook Up when Lois said to Clark, "I mean I love you" she hadn't added to the statement "...like a brother." ? (A possible fast forward in their relationship somehow?...have to admit, I always groan when the 'brother' part comes up. Come on Lois, you know you love him! )

11. What if after removing Arianna Carlin's bullet, Superman didn't recover right away, and Dr. Carlin and Lois's lookalike got away?

12. What if Martha's hologram didn't work during Clark's press conference in Top Copy?

13(a). What if Lois instead of Clark was shot at TOGOM club?
13(b). What if Clark had been exposed to Kryptonite by a pendant that Bonnie wore, before being shot?

14. What if Clark had flown Lois off Spencer Spencer's island revealing himself as SM to the LFI publisher?

15. What if Jesse had never lost his powers? /COtOC/

16. What if Clark remained Mighty Mouse size after IASWAA? Would Zara still want to take him back to Krypton?

17. What if Lois really HAD been kidnapped by aliens in Contact?

17a. What if Lois had been kidnapped by Zara and Ching? What about by Nor and his cronies?

13 (c). What if Clark had NOT fallen asleep in the jeep at the end of TOGOM? And what is with that?--He doesn't NEED to sleep (technically)

18. Speaking of inappropriate nap times...what if Lois had not fallen asleep in the scene when she is at Clark's apt in The Prankster? They had just had a 'moment' when she said she didn't want to die...what would have played out in their relationship if she hadn't VERY quickly decided on a nap?

19. What if Clark HAD pretended that he and Lois were having a moment of passion in the closet in IGACOY ? I wonder if attraction/feelings would have come to the surface a little sooner...

And to round out the relationship 'what if's?' (tend to focus mostly--if not almost solely--on L&C's relationship throughout the series )

20. What if Lois had decided to stay with Clark at the end of Fly Hard, instead of leaving for the hospital with Lex? Would that have taken some of the steam out of whatever Lex was building in their 'relationship' to hold off a bit on the proposal in the next episode, BATP?

Laura

I'm just re-posting all to update the numbering.

1) What if Deter had (somehow) found out that Clark was Superman? What then?

2. What if Trask hadn't been killed?

3. What if Clark hadn't retracted his declaration of love after Lois' almost wedding?

4. What if Lois hadn't said "no" to Luthor?

5. What if the Superman and Lois photo in SLV hadn't been faked/the original film not destroyed?

6. What if Mayson had lived after finding out Clark's secret during the car bombing?

7. What if the pheromone spray hadn't worn off Lois when Clark finally broke down and told her that if she wanted him, he was hers?

8. What if Lex hadn't died after finding out Clark's secret?

9) What if Luthor had succeeded in transferring his and Lois's souls to the other bodies?

10) What if they had ACTUALLY been married instead of the clones? Would they have had to deal with the curse?

11) What if Clark had known about the spacecraft the whole first season. Would the globe have attuned to him sooner?

12) What if Clark didn't get his powers back in time to save his parents in GGGoH?

13)What if when Lois caught her first glimpse of Superman in the transport module she recognized that it was Clark?

14) What if in All Shook Up when Lois said to Clark, "I mean I love you" she hadn't added to the statement "...like a brother." ?

15. What if after removing Arianna Carlin's bullet, Superman didn't recover right away, and Dr. Carlin and Lois's lookalike got away?

16. What if Martha's hologram didn't work during Clark's press conference in Top Copy?

17(a). What if Lois instead of Clark was shot at TOGOM club?
17(b). What if Clark had been exposed to Kryptonite by a pendant that Bonnie wore, before being shot?

18. What if Clark had flown Lois off Spencer Spencer's island revealing himself as SM to the LFI publisher?

19. What if Jesse had never lost his powers? /COtOC/

20. What if Clark remained Mighty Mouse size after IASWAA? Would Zara still want to take him back to Krypton? [Peep]

21. What if Lois really HAD been kidnapped by aliens in Contact?

21a. What if Lois had been kidnapped by Zara and Ching? What about by Nor and his cronies?

17(c). What if Clark had NOT fallen asleep in the jeep at the end of TOGOM? And what is with that?--He doesn't NEED to sleep (technically) [Dizzy] ....and, of course, it's right as Lois has a little reality check about them. Argh.

22. Speaking of inappropriate nap times...what if Lois had not fallen asleep in the scene when she is at Clark's apt in The Prankster? They had just had a 'moment' when she said she didn't want to die...what would have played out in their relationship if she hadn't VERY quickly decided on a nap?

23. What if Clark HAD pretended that he and Lois were having a moment of passion in the closet in IGACOY [Embarrassed] ? I wonder if attraction/feelings would have come to the surface a little sooner...

24. What if Lois had decided to stay with Clark at the end of Fly Hard, instead of leaving for the hospital with Lex? Would that have taken some of the steam out of whatever Lex was building in their 'relationship' to hold off a bit on the proposal in the next episode, BATP?

25) What if Lois and Deter had actually made it to the south of France?

(Personally I would love to see a story to that effect but haven't found it)

26) What if Deter had made it to Tahiti? (Admittedly the story probably wouldn't be that different from the actual episode from that point if I remember correctly).

27) What if Lois had won the bachelor auction for Superman? (If you're wondering how she wins it, you could see my story, the sequel that addresses how the date goes is still in the works)

28) What if Lois had gotten her romance novel (the one with Clark and Kent) published?

29) What if Cat returned to the Planet after a stint of working at the San Francisco Chronicle?

30) What if Jack stayed, but only worked part-time at the Planet?

Nan Smith addressed this in Halloween . Let's just say that it didn't take long for married-Lois to discover what a fink Lex was.

BJ also did a fine fic on this theme, in Master of Disguise . It's got a great ending line.

Tee hee! You're not the first to have asked this, and it gives me an opportunity to recommend some of my favorite fanfics. This isn't exactly answering the question that was asked, but Nan Smith tells us in Pheromone and its sequel, The Newlywed Game , what might have happened if Superman were affected by the pheromone as well.

And since that is just a wonderful theme to think about, go ahead and read ML Thompson's Super Stud , where Lex Luthor connives with Miranda to mix some kryptonite with the pheromone so that Superman *will* be affected.

Go ahead and read Pam Jernigan's Just Like That and its sequel, Being Lois Lane . Then Dandello was attacked by a rabid plot bunny after reading these fics (as she said in her note) and penned Game, Set, Match on the same theme.

I think ML Thompson used this as a plot thread in Blind (Super)Man\'s Bluff .

31. What if SuperClone hadn't died?

32. What if Lois' attempt to make Alt-Clark into Superman hadn't worked?

33. What if Lois hadn't gotten sick on their "almost first date?"

34. What if Lois and Clark hadn't had to be on a stakeout, and had gotten to go to the Pearl Jam concert?

35. What if Lois hadn't slammed the door in Clark's face after their real first date?

36. What if Lois hadn't had a concussion at the end of "Contact?" Would that have prevented Clark from breaking up with her for her own good?

37. What if Clark hadn't put Lois in her place by sending her off to find the Godzilla doll so he could get the story? Would she have continued to view him as a doormat?

38. What if there had been no cure for Superman's blindness?

39. What if the carolers hadn't shown up right when Lois and Clark were having a 'moment' by the Christmas tree in Season's Greedings? (although the scene in the window IS pretty cute, I guess )

40. What if instead of staying with Jimmy in Return of the Prankster, Lois had instead stayed at Clark's? (Hmm...I'm really liking this idea. Has a fanfic been written about this? ).

Laura

41. What if Lois had found the globe in Strange Visitor?

Feli

OOooohhh... That one just gave me a plot idea (not enough to be a bunny for me but the gestation of one)

I suspect it would begin to atune to Clark whenever he would hold it. The first time showing Krypton (there's no guarantee Lois'd put the coincidence of the image and Clark/Superman together). By the time the messages ended she'd figure it out though (especially given this comment in one of the messages by Jor-El:

Lois's response: I guess they DO make Kansas boys out of this world.

42) What if Jor-El had left with the New Kryptonians.
42a) What if Lara did? (or both did)

43) What if Clark hadn't been in the kryptonite cage? Would he have been at the wedding or ready to invade it with Henderson, Perry and company?

44) What if Clark had been officially lost in time in Lois and Clarks? What would Alt-Clark have done? What would Lois have done?

45) What if Lois and Clark had been stuck in the 1960s during "Tempus Fugitive?"

46) What if Clark had actually disappeared from Metropolis before Lois got to his apartment in "Whine, Whine, Whine?"

47) What if Clark had been able to Lois before he received the phone call at Lois's in "And the Answer is..."?

48) What if Clark told Dr. Friskin his identity in "Individual Responsibility?" (so she could more properly help him in his session).

49. What if Lois hadn't been able to prove that Superman wasn't responsible for the heatwave in Man of Steel Bars?

Whatever passes for my muse is going crazy with all these what ifs lol.

Feli.

46.(B) What if Clark had actually stayed disappeared after Superman was ostracized from Metropolis during the heat wave? (See #49)
46.(C) What if Luthor succeeded in scaring Clark into hanging up his cape for good in NeverEnding Battle? Would Clark have followed Superman out of Metropolis, or stayed for Lois? If Clark had stayed, would Superman have come back before or because of Nightfall?

50. What if Lois wasn't the only woman chasing Clark in PML?

51. What if Sam Lane found out that Luthor was Menken's money man and that Luthor wanted the cyborgs for soldiers, and warned Lois away from Lex early on?

52. What if Lois kept one of Morris's invisibility suits?

53. What if Toni Taylor had told Clark that Luthor gave her the technology to set the fires on the West Side?

54. What if Linda King had been a mole at the Daily Planet instead of Clark going to the Met Star?

55.(a) What if Vatman had impersonated Clark?
55 (b) What if Vatman told Luthor about Clark?

56. What if Lois remembered that Superman had locked her in the magician's tank and filled it up with water?

57. What if Kyle Griffin (aka The Prankster) really did have a crush on Lois?

58. What if Clark had been exposed to Space Rats while Lois was exposed to Revenge?

59. What if Lois had laryngitis while Clark had been blind?

Perfect! There's no way Lois would let one of those slip through her fingers without a fight.

Clark would finally catch a glimpse of it in Lois's locker at the Planet about five years later....

This one got me laughing, too...could have been a very interesting episode

60. What if in JSN, the thought of investigating the page in the book never came up, and they did instead decide to make up in a "room that's not musty and owned by a killer"?

61. What if Lex Luthor had blown Lois's cover in IGACOY?
62. What if the New Kryptonians had shown up *before* Clark became Superman?

63. What if they didn't figure out how the powers were transferred to Lois so Ultrawoman was permanent and Superman was gone?

64. What if, at the end of Tempus Fugitive, Clark hadn't gotten the card away from Lois and she had seen the 'Clark is Superman' note she had written to herself?

65. What if when on Lois and Clark's date, after the end of Individual Responsibility, Clark DID disappear at either 7:01, 7:02, 7:03, 7:04, or lastly, at 7:05? (LOVE that scene!)

This is one I've always been curious about.

66) What if Clark's apartment had never been broken into. (admittedly it would have made for a pretty boring episode what with no secondary plot to move it forward.)

67) What if Lois had accepted Luthor's offer of living in her duplicated apartment?

68) What if Lois had been able to reach Clark on the phone in "All Shook Up?"

69) What if Lois had been able to get Clark on the phone at the end of "Metallo?"

70) What if Clark had actually shown Lois the evidence he had collected on Luthor?

71. What if, every time Clark's powers got transferred to someone, they degraded? (Think of how, every time you make a copy of a copy of a copy, the quality gets worse and worse.)

There is a fic on fanfiction.net called Rising Sun that is a crossover with Ranma 1/2 that has that as a premise. One of the Ranma characters (Kasumi) gets stabbed with a poisoned knife stopping an assassination attempt on the US president. When it is realized that there is no cure for the poison he orders one of Secret Service agents to save her. The agent grabs her and flies her out to sea into a thunderstorm and the lightning copies the agent's powers to her. The US has a program where some special forces and Secret Service agents get powers copied from people that accidentally got them from Superman. Luthor has moderate levels and escaped to Mexico where he sells powers. Lesser ones then he has of course.

AU based on Resplendent Man getting his powers copied by Luthor.

No one has powers that match Superman but the first generation copies are close.

72. What if UW had to save Earth from Nightfall, instead of Superman. What would have happened if she'd been found naked without any memories in a hole in Suicide Slum?

LEX: Of course, you live here in this bunker with me, darling. You're my wife.

73) What if H.G. Wells had visited Lois and Clark much earlier about the soulmate curse?
73a) What if he had visited during season one?
73b) What if he had visited mid-season 2?
73c) What if he had visited just after Clark proposed? (beginning season 3)

74) What if H.G. Wells hadn't taken away the memories from "Tempus Fugitive"?

75) What if Dr. Friskin had been the one to help Lois and not Dr. Deter?

Okay, I'm jumping in here w/o a What If....

We have a lot. I know there's all sorts of fanfic (and nFic) out there with these what-ifs as plots, and IolantheAlias has listed several fics. Can we fill the rest in?

There are a few in here I'd love to read. I'm not an author, so I can't write them myself!!

I was thinking about that. Maybe if I posted this up as a "fanfic list" challenge of sorts. The thing is, I didn't know if a list of fics belongs here on the challenge section, the fanfic related section or just the Lois and Clark (ep) section.

What say you guys? Here or somewhere else? I know there's some what ifs here that don't have a related story (I don't think a handful of my Deter ones do for example) and I would love to see what people do with them.

Go ahead and post them. Who knows, maybe it will jiggle loose a story somewhere!

Wait, you meant you were intrigued by one (or more) of the what if's, right?

There are a few what-ifs that I *know* have been writtern as fanfics, that I would love to read. I just don't have the depth of familiarity that others do!

Two of my favorite stories are "what if".

What if when Lois told Superman she'd love him with no powers, Clark couldn't let that comment go?
If I Were You by Caroline K

What if the bullet that Clark was shot with in "That Old Gang of Mine" was made of Kryptonite?
Death in the City by Dandello

41. What if Lois had found the globe in Strange Visitor?

I actually used this in my story 'In Cat's Corner'.

Irene

What if, in The Rival, Lois happened to look up when Clark was hiding on the ceiling? BTW, I've never seen any fanfic with this premise. Does anyone know of any such? If so, I'd love to read it.

Joy,
Lynn

79? Cat lets her inner exhibitionist out earlier and marries Arthur Chow. When Luthor goes after him/her she calls on Lois & Clark for help.

80. What if Clark had been the one to be promoted to editor when Perry got his own promotion?

81. What if Lois hadn't come from a broken home? What if Clark had?

82. What if Clark had known about Zara all along? (Perhaps assuming she'd perished when Krypton exploded.)

Shameless Plug Alert!!!

I did this in Resurrection No More

83. What if Lois hadn't figured out that CK = SM before he proposed? When would he have told her? Especially given that he was trying to tell her earlier in the episode.

84. What if Lois had turned Clark down when he asked her out in The Phoenix?
Oh, and that makes me think of another one

85. What if they'd actually gone out when he asked her in the Pilot? Instead of having dinner with Luthor?

86. What if the New Kryptonians had arrived during Season 1 and mistaken Vatman for Kal-El?

87. What if the Kryptonian virus in HIWTHI had made humans sick?

88. What if the initial exposure to red Kryptonite had changed Clark's personality permanently?

89. What if the New Kryptonians had shown up when Lois was Ultrawoman and Clark was powerless?

90. What if Lois couldn't be revived after Superman froze her in ATAI?

91. What if Revenge had affected both Lois and Clark?

(So many possibilities!)

#90 has been partially answered in The Cold Shoulder and fully answered in She\'s, both stories by me. I suggest some hankies or a box of tissues along with some recovery time for either one. (I say that only because of the feedback each of these tales generated.)

/end shameless plug

And let me add another one.

92. What if Lois hadn't come back from the Congo? How long would Clark look for her, and when (if ever) might he give up?

93. What if Lois and Clark didn't figure out a way to escape their cages in Tim and Amber Lake's collection, at least not for an extended period of time, a week or more?

94. What if Lois had been telling the truth when she told Tempus that she grabbed onto the time machine and really did get trapped in 1866 Smallville?

That sounds like something I would do. I've never written L&C fic, I read so many great stories that I've been too intimidated to try. But I have written Chuck fic and in one of my first stories I permanently blinded my favorite character.

95. What if Baby/Toddler Zara had been sent to Earth along with Baby Kal-El? (I've seen Kal-El goes with the New Kryptonians, but not this direction!)

They wouldn't know about the arranged marriage until they found the globe. They would probably have assumed they were brother and sister and would think of each other that way. Even kids who know they aren't related tend to exclude people they grow up with from romantic feelings. This caused problems with arranged marriages where two royal houses arranged it when the kids were very young and had the bride live with the grooms family. When they became old enough they would marry and even care for each other but not have sex and kids. If they grew up with the Kents I can't imagine the caring about the arrangement anyway.

95a) The New Kryptonians come looking for both of them.