Wow. That's all I can say. Wow. What a great fic this has been. Awesome. Breathtaking. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Kept me logging in every day to see if a new installment had been posted. Always interesting. Superlative. (Thesaurus not present, I run out of words.)
From pointing out the fear our world would have at the presence of a real Superman, to the one-on-one interaction of well-drawn characters who get to meet the real Superman, to Clark's self-knowledge, to Lois' epiphany - well done in every respect.
Marvelous in every way.
And for some quotes and details:
She began heading for the back of the plane, which was open to the sky.
Clark was waiting for her.
“There aren’t any cameras back here,” he said. As the pilot and co-pilot stepped outside the plane to the roar of the cheering crowd, Clark took Lois in his arms, spread his new cape as wide as it would go, and he flew straight into the air. He could hear a few gasps in the audience but was reassured that all they saw was the back of him. It was good that Lois was so much smaller and fit so comfortably in his arms.
A moment later they were above Metropolis and heading into their new lives.
Great job to make sure that Lois isn't connected with all the hoopla surrounding the deposition of the plane in the ball field!
And excellent homage to "Superman Returns"!
Within twenty four hours the passengers were already being released. They weren’t even required to stay in quarantine, something Lois felt was a mistake.
Oh yes! This world hasn't faced the viral and other outbreaks that our world has. We've painfully had to learn infection control procedures, sanitation, quarantine, all over again. Ebola? Mad cow disease? HIV? These don't seem to exist in Clark's world, fortunately for them.
No one walked down the street talking on their cell phone.
Yes, Lois. This is the true proof that you are actually in another universe.
It was one thing to know that you had alternate versions of your parents in another world. It was another to knock on a door and confront them.
The thought that they might reject her because she wasn’t their daughter was paralyzing.
Clark looked good in his charcoal suit. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it a little. “This is a gift…If I could see my own parents again…”
So true for all of us. Make the most of those moments, because life isn't guaranteed, and any day could be your last.
Better yet, everyone seemed to be assuming that Superman had come from that other universe. With Clark Kent having a life history in this world, it made his secret identity just a little more plausible.
Yes! Yes! The secret identity is a go!
Even the other passengers seemed to believe it. Clark suspected that a few of them knew more than they were telling. He’d seen a couple of sharp looks when he’d appeared at the press conference as himself. Yet somehow they all seemed to have an unspoken pact not to talk about what had happened.
Of course, the fact that he could throw an airplane might have had something to do with some of their silence. Clark tried not to think about that. There was an implicit threat by his very existence that he worked every day to deny.
Shayne, the first chapters of this fic illustrated very plainly how humanity and its governments would fear and distrust the alien. Well-written, and sadly, so true. It's a good thing that Clark put on the Suit. He got the power of seventy years of good public relations behind him when he did that.
And that's why the secret identity is such a necessity.
Clark dropped to the ground and held out his hand. “Let me help you,(Cyrus).”
Clark didn’t know how things were going to turn out. All he had was faith that it would turn out for the best.
That's the essence of Superman right there, Shayne.
Smiling slightly, the little man headed back into the alley for his time machine. There was one last thing he could do for the Superman of this world.
Wow, Shayne, what a good way to work in the whole mythos! Superman's been around in our universe for seventy years, in fictional form. I'd certainly like to believe that he exists in some parallel universe. And you made it happen!
“A bald villain was good for one story, Joe,” Jerry said. “But we need a hook to keep the readers. We can’t keep writing about a bad guy.”
A voice from the end of the counter said, “So write about a hero.”
Oh, yes! Yes! It's Siegel and Shuster, there to make comics history! (Too bad Wells didn't tell them to keep 5% of their idea instead of signing all the rights away for $130.00.)
The strange little man said, “I read your story ‘The Reign of the Super-man’ and thought it was inspired.”
I'm no Superman expert, but they did have this on the "Look, Up In The Sky!" DVD that I bought. It gives a history of Superman, and according to the DVD, that's how it all started. But I guess Siegel and Shuster just got a little transuniversal help....
“Well, this guy is going to be a little like Clark Gable and a little like Kent Taylor…strong jaw, good looks…”
“Perhaps turn it around,” the other man said weakly.
“Taylor Gable? That’s a little obvious.” At the man’s look he said, “Clark Kent? Hey, that’s not bad.”
Wow, is that where the name came from? I really didn't know that!
“Superman…faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than…a locomotive. Secretly working as a reporter named Clark Kent, he stands for truth, justice and the American way.” Joe felt excited about this idea in a way he hadn’t in a long time. This was an idea that had legs.
And so it does....
“Fly?” Jerry said.
Joe smirked. There were limits to what people would believe. The guy had given them some good suggestions, but he obviously wasn’t a writer. Flying was simply too much for people to accept.
“Maybe we’d better stick to ‘able to leap small buildings in a single bound,” Joe said.
Tee-hee! What a great way to end the story!
