I just wrote a very long, detailed fdk post, and the cursor on my laptop highlighted it and deleted it! Stupid cursor jumping all over the place on me. So frustrating.
Here we go again:
"Clark." Superman's stern voice broke the moment as abruptly as if we had been splashed with cold water. <...> "I'd like to talk to you for a moment. Privately."
So, this is where I had my "Duh!" moment. I had noticed Clark was weak after speaking with Supes in the last chapter, and I seemed to recall he had been weak after meeting up with Superman during his and Lois's walk the other day, hence my "Does Superclone have K on him?"
After reading the above quote, I remembered. Clark didn't just *talk* to Superclone the other day, he flew off with him - and it was pretty obvious at the time that it was to Luthor and another dosing of K. (In my defense, I read that chapter over 2 weeks ago. One of the drawbacks of reading chapter by chapter, instead of in one fell swoop.) And, of course he was weak after talking to Superman in chapter 13 - given that just *before* talking to Superman, Nigel had exposed him to K! So, as Emily Litella (a.k.a. Gilda Radner) would say... "Never mind."
Mud was sloughed over much of his suit, obscuring the blue and weighing down the cape so that he seemed shorter than he usually looked.
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I stood to take my plate to the sink, but Clark stood at the same moment <...> It always surprised me when I realized how tall he was.
My take on Clark's anger: I think it was something Luthor said, not something Superclone said. (I second D. Chak's motion. Please let Clark eventually tell Lois - and us - what is being said during his little trips with Superclone!)
My take on the globe: Clark hid it, just as he said, in his Fortress of Solitude. He knows Supes is eavesdropping, so he give the wrong colors and location. I hadn't thought of him sending an ailing clone off to the North Pole to die, but that's an interesting idea. What I thought of was that he really does, as he says, want Lois to ask Superclone about it - he knows the clone will repeat back the wrong answers which he just overheard. I also have a theory as to when, who, and how Lois will discover the true colors and location of the globe. Time will tell how close (or far off) my theory is.
I'm talking a lot about plot in my fdk, but I want you to know that - outstanding as I think the plot is - what really impresses me is the nuance and depth of emotion. All the subtle little things the characters say and do which speak volumes. Very well written.
