I had started writing this and then read Lex Luthor's Revenge...Take One.
Honest, there was no plagarism, just a resourceful Lois Lane at work in both cases.
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She was sure enough time had passed for any unseen watcher to be sure she would fall. She didn’t want to begin freeing herself only to have her feet knocked out from under her, literally. She was playing for the crowd, whether there was one or not, but her condition still wasn’t very good. Losing her balance had really shaken her.
Lois felt fear building inside her and knew if she gave it full reign she would die. She said to herself, “C’mon Lane. Pull yourself together. Yeah, it’s a tough situation but these dirtbags aren’t in your league. Deal with it!” Forcing herself to take deep, slow breaths she began to feel herself calming down, despite the gag.
What were her problems? Well, it would be nice to not fall out of this tree and kill myself. I need to do something about my legs. Her Tae Kwon Do lessons came to mind. “Balance is the key to any fight" her sensei had said..... "Even a fight for your life stuck in a stupid tree with a noose around your neck and no one knows where you are?” She let the thought trail off. As well as she could with her arms tied behind her she assumed a fighter’s stance and began some of her exercises. It had to be a strange sight she admitted, but the movement definitely helped ease the cramps in her legs.
Next, how to get out of here? Luckily she was still wearing the ring her mother gave her for her birthday a few years ago. One of the prongs had bent during a previous kidnapping when she had found it worked well as a small hook to tear the individual fibers of her bindings. A few days after she had set herself free a little research had shown that most ropes were vulnerable to the prong-hook attack to some degree and she had decided not to repair it. Bending her wrist severely she confirmed she could reach the ropes binding her arms. This time her kidnappers had used synthetic fiber rope which would require more care and patience than the hemp used last time but, given enough time she would be able to free herself. Of course, once the rope was dealt with she could remove the gag and yell for help.
Always one to hedge her bets, Lois considered the problem of communication further. “Help, Superman,” wasn’t going to be possible for some time. The rope was thick and she would have to take breaks from working on the rope or risk cramps. Her ropes permitted enough movement so she decided to snap her fingers in a snap – snap – snap – snapsnapsnap – snap – snap – snap pattern during each break. Superman would be able to hear and recognize the SOS.
She could also hum. Breath control would also help prevent hyperventilation and panic. But what to hum? Her musical repertoire was pretty extensive but she couldn’t think of any show tunes that would convey, “Rescue-me-because-I’ve-been-kidnapped-and-strung-up-to-a-tree-and-if-you-don’t-I’ll-die.” Lois didn’t know more than the first line of Please Release Me by Englebert Humperdink and honestly didn’t care to learn them. Then she realized she had the perfect song to hum. Clark would understand it immediately. It had started as a joke. Clark had complained about her “Hack from Nowheresville” crack so she had decided to see what would happen if she teased him about it. She morphed Monty Python’s I’m a Lumberjack song into “Clark is a Hack from Nowheresville.” He had turned red, laughed and then retaliated with a tickle barrage. Superman Express was the only reason they weren’t late for work the next day.
Work on the rope was progressing nicely, and it was a question whether Clark would come across her or whether she would have to hitchhike home if some other emergency had him tied up. Deciding to cross that bridge when she came to it she decided to keep the monotony of escaping at bay by outlining tomorrow’s front page story.....
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Sorry--Couldn't work
Arachnicus deathicus into the post.
