Dave, I was going to tell you all over again how wonderful I think Part 4 is - his realisation that he's Superman, and in particular that he sees through the facade of his stoic exterior on TV and recognises his own fear; his assumption that Lois knew and simply didn't tell him; his attempt to convince her and her fear for him, which makes him stop.
And then that final line, the one that almost made my heart stop... ACK!! He's scared! He's terrified!
You know, I love that he knows he's Superman and that doesn't make him falter one bit. The fact that he's Superman, now that he remembers, is as natural to him as breathing. He never doubts for one second that he can fly - and I genuinely believe he can, because I think it
is all belief with him. It's not remembering how to; it's just complete and utter faith that he can. That's why he couldn't fly in the episode; he just never believed that he actually could.
Yet, despite all that, despite all his confidence and utter self-belief, the thought of going after Nightfall still terrifies him. And that's so absolutely convincing - as Jen said, so far it's Asteroid 1: Clark 0.
So, yes, he's petrified.
Anyway, as I said, I was going to go through this and show you all the parts I so especially loved and why I love them... but Nicole did it so much better. So just go and read her post a second time. Or a third... fourth... fifth... tenth...
And I
adored the 'crazy bastard' line too!
No, I can't finish after all without quoting something:
Ice wrapped around his heart. The asteroid... the fear... the panic... A hole ripped itself through his gut. Nightfall.
“No,” he whispered. She paused mid-babble. “No, I can’t go back up there.”
I know everyone else has quoted it. But if you only knew how that one just kicked me in the gut. Stopped me breathing for several seconds after reading it when you sent me the finished part 4 file. Such a shock... so plausible... and so hard for me, as a reader, that I can't even begin to imagine how Clark is feeling.
So just hurry up and write part 5, okay?
Even without your laptop.
Wendy
