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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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I know it! I know it! Oh, all right, so I googled it. Got fed up not knowing the answers, so thought, sod this for a game of soldiers. A Question of Trust by Rac BRB with a quote. Oh, btw, I discovered that if I put the text into the search engine and then bracketed it with quotation marks it found it. Without the quotation marks it didn't. It's not an exact science, but it could be worth a go for now until we figure out what the problem is with it.
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly. Aramis: Yes, sorry. Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Okay, I'm heading off to bed, so I thought I'd amuse you with this one. What? The big blue bird! He's picking me up! No! No ground! I want down!
"OK, Elroy, I've got you. You're not going to fall, see?"
Right. Sure. The floor is a long, long way down. And.. ohh, nice scratching. Very nice. Hey! I'm back in the living room! I *was* right! You *are* the big blue bird.
"It's OK, Lois. I got him!"
Mom! Did you see that! The big blue bird saved me! Awww mom, not so tight please. I can't breathe! Hey! That's my food dish! Dinner! LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly. Aramis: Yes, sorry. Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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"A Cat's Life" by Melissa Dore. Here's one: "What the ..."
Lois stood dumbfounded as a panel in the back of the closet slid open to reveal a hidden compartment. The shirts fell from suddenly nerveless fingers as her eyes took in the contents of the secret compartment. She reached over and took one off its hanger. There was no doubt about it, this was one of Superman's suits. She'd felt the cheap costume imitations before as had she felt the real thing on many occasions. This was definitely one of the real things. She hadn't really thought about it before, but it made sense that Superman would have more than one suit, but what were they doing in Clark's apartment?
She backed out of the closet and was still holding onto the suit when she tripped over a fold in the carpet and found herself sitting on the floor. It was a testament to how shocked Lois was that the fall didn't even rate a response from her. She just stared at the super suit which she held in her hands.
It took a few moments for her brain to engage and finally try to piece together the momentous piece of information she had just uncovered. As she saw it there were only two options, the first being that Clark was holding Superman's suits for him. Maybe he laundered them or something. That was the most logical answer and if Clark were standing here next to her to tell her that, she'd most likely believe it. But Clark wasn't here, he was missing, and Lois had heard a strange message from his mother on the answering machine about helping out during disasters. Could it be true? Could her farm boy partner really be Superman?
-- Roger
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." -- Benjamin Franklin
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Columnist
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Is this Dark Revelation by Tank Wilson, Roger?
Irene
I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.
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-- Roger
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." -- Benjamin Franklin
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Okay, here's another one. I have a special fondness for this story. Irene Her eyes darted after Clark and watched as he entered the abandoned alley. Then, without warning, she heard a sonic boom.
`Only a low flying jet and a local superhero could achieve such velocity. And, there certainly aren't any airstrips located in downtown Metropolis. Clark heard my whispered confession from across the street. His reason for leaving abruptly meant the difference between life and death.' The puzzle pieces of Clark Kent's life fell right into place. `Clark Kent is Superman. Superman is Clark Kent.'
I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.
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This one is "Revisiting the House of Luthor" by Lara Blasingame. I think my favorite quote from this story is, "Why would two sane people need 15 cars?" I think the question itself is self-explanatory. Here's a quote from one of favorite stories: "Lois, I want to show you something," he said solemnly. Then, quickly and decisively, before he could change his mind, he reached for his shirtfront and started fumbling with his buttons.
Lois watched in confusion as he started unbuttoning his shirt near his chest and continued to work downward. When he'd managed to undo three or four buttons, he gently pulled apart the fabric of his shirt to reveal what lay beneath it. When he paused expectantly, she cocked an eyebrow at him, trying to figure out what it was he was trying to tell her. But as she did, she caught sight of a familiar flash of blue.
'What in the world...?' she thought, startled. Whatever it was he was wearing beneath his shirt, it looked to be made of shiny, blue spandex. But who wore shiny blue spandex? The only person she'd ever seen wear such a material was....
Her eyes widened. No, it couldn't be. There had to be some other explanation. Maybe the fabric wasn't really spandex. Maybe it was some kind of shiny cotton undershirt he'd chosen to wear that day, which was a weird enough thought in itself. But at any rate, there was only one way to find out.
Tentatively, almost afraid to know the truth, she reached out and ran her fingertips across the smooth fabric. When she did, tears immediately sprung into her eyes.
Spandex. It was definitely spandex.
-- Roger
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." -- Benjamin Franklin
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Well, I wish I could say that I recognized this one right away, but I didn't. (And I've read this story so many times, too...) And Labby, unfortunately putting the words in quotations doesn't always work, because I've tried it, and it didn't work here. Anyway, after some digging around, I did find it - it's Erin Klingler's marvelous "The Accidental Husband". So here's another one. You'll notice right away that it's a TOGOM rewrite, but since we have lots of those, I don't think it's narrowing down the field too much... He held her gaze and spoke with careful emphasis to stem her rising hysteria. "Clark wasn't shot tonight."
She leapt to her feet and planted her fists on her hips. "Don't try to mess with my mind, buster!" she growled, her eyes flashing. "I saw it myself, remember?"
He shook his head. "You saw Barrow shoot at him. You didn't see the bullets hitting him. You didn't see any blood."
Her mouth worked silently, her eyes clinging desperately to his.
"Clark caught the bullets," he said deliberately. There. It was done. This was where she flew into a fit of rage about his deception, both tonight and for more than a year before that, and then ordered him out of her apartment for good.
She was still looking stunned. "But... but you're the only person who can do that," she quavered uncomprehendingly.
He inclined his head slightly. "That's true," he said.
Her eyes went blank as realisation dawned; then she was searching his face for confirmation. "Clark?" she said disbelievingly. KathyM
"Our thoughts form the universe. They always matter." - Babylon 5
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I know this! It's Meredith Knight's wonderful Courage Under Fire! And here's a new one: "Sometimes I hate Superman, you know. I hate the whole idea of him! If it hadn't been for him, it wouldn't have taken me so long to become Lois's friend. If it hadn't been for him, she might have given me a chance! We might be together, you know, dating, or maybe even married."
Married? Married!
"I love her so much, Mom, and it's killing me that I can't be with her the way I want to be."
Tears rolled down Lois's cheeks as she listened to Clark share his feelings with his mother. His voice was so anguished, naked and vulnerable, and his feelings so passionate and freely expressed. She was in shock. It tore at her heart to know that she had hurt him so badly. She ached knowing that her best friend was in such pain.
"I don't know what to do now, Mom. I've made Lois look like a fool and when she finds out, she'll never forgive me. She'll never believe that I screwed up this badly because I love her, and I'm jealous of myself."
Huh? Lois rewound the tape a bit to listen to this part of the conversation again. What did he mean, jealous of himself? And how had he made her look like a fool?
"I don't know, Mom. You don't know Lois like I do. I don't know how in the world I could ever tell her now. I should never have done it. She was just supposed to lose interest in Superman, but I didn't mean to make an idiot out of her. Oh, God, I wish I'd never invented Superman!"
What? He wished he'd never what?? He didn't invent Superman. He couldn't invent Superman. Superman was a person. Superman was... Superman was... a disguise. Superman was a man with insecurities. Superman was ... Clark Kent. Wendy
Just a fly-by! *waves*
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Beat Reporter
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Irene Dutch, The Spying Game...and I didn't even have to google! Mind you, I did have to go to the archive to check the title. Oooo, so now can I use the quote I found yesterday! "I understand," Clark was saying. "But Kryptonite is the only way I know of to be able to weaken my skin long enough for you to be able to stick a needle in me to draw some blood. And if we don't have a blood sample of my Kryptonian DNA, Lois may never stand a chance at getting better."
Jimmy's jaw dropped in shocked silence. Kryptonian DNA? Kryptonite exposure the only way to weaken his skin? What was Clark talking about? All of a sudden, Jimmy felt the world spinning out of control around him. **Wait a minute!** he thought, his mind a jumbled mess. **Clark Kentis....?** A second later, Jimmy shook his head, as if to shake the ridiculously insane idea from his mind. **No, that can't be,** he deducted. He'd known Clark for a long time, and he'd seen Superman and Clark together lots of times. How about that time just last week when Superman had... no, wait a minute. Clark had left an instant before Superman had showed up, saying he felt the sudden urge for some frozen yogurt or something like that. And he hadn't returned until after Superman had flown off. The more that Jimmy thought about it, the more he started to realize that Clark *always* mysteriously disappeared just seconds before Superman showed up. And now that he was trying to remember a single time when he had seen the two men together at the same time, he couldn't. And then it hit him like a brick wall.
Clark Kent was Superman. BTW, sorry about the messed up formatting. For some reason, the paragraph breaks didn't copy when I pasted, and I can't remember where they all went. Don't know why. Chris
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Good quote, Krissie! 'When You Needed Me Most' by Erin Klingler. Back in a minute with another quote. Okay, I'm back. Here's the next quote: What had happened? Lois strained her ears to hear. Something clinked, and Jonathan's voice said, "What do you mean, you 'think' you feel better? Don't you know"
"He's never been sick before, Jonathan," Martha said. "It's a new experience!"
Lois frowned, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. Never been sick? Everybody got sick at some time or other!
More sounds, then Clark's voice again: "I've lifted a rocket into orbit before. Now I can't even lift this."
What was she hearing? Was Clark crazy? No one could lift a rocket into orbit except Superman! The thought hit her with such a shock that she missed the next part of the conversation.
"...Bounce right back," Martha was saying.
"I don't understand," Jonathan Kent's voice said. "How can a rock that probably came from the same planet as Clark make him sick?"
*What*? Lois couldn't believe what she was hearing. Clark was from another planet, or his parents believed he was. That could only mean...
I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.
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Nan Smith's "A Matter of Ethics." Here's a quote from another of my favorites: And then he'd started talking about being different. What on Earth was that supposed to mean? Everyone felt different growing up. Just because he was strong and fast and didn't get sick as often as other kids... He should feel grateful. Instead, he was trying to convince her that these differences were proof of his claim that he was a virgin. Right!
"Just get to the point, Clark," she had finally interrupted. She wished he would just tell her where he was tonight instead of going on about how alone he'd felt growing up. It didn't justify his having an affair.
"Lois, I'm Superman," Clark responded.
Lois almost burst out laughing. He had just taken lying to an all new level. Everyone knew that when you lied, you should at least attempt to make the lie believable - something that couldn't be disproved - but Clark... It suddenly occurred to Lois that she had never seen Clark without his glasses before - not even when they'd made love earlier. When she'd tried to remove them, he'd stopped her - making a comment about wanting to be able to see her. But in spite of never having seen him without his glasses, he looked... familiar somehow. In fact, he looked a lot like... She gasped.
"You want to know where I was tonight," Clark continued rising to his feet and making his way to the television. He turned it on and switched the channel to LNN.
-- Roger
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." -- Benjamin Franklin
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Ooh, I know, I know ::raising hand frantically:: I *adore* this story. It's ML Thompson's fantastic "First Comes Marriage". OK, I had to get my answer in. I'll be right back with a quote... Clark was safe with her. And she was safe with him. And the world could go hang and would have to look after itself.
He had suffered enough. She was suddenly taken by wondering what he had endured in those hours when he had been...what? Dead? Frozen somewhere in between death and living? Could he remember where he had been? How it had felt?
The intriguing concept occupied her for a few moments, then she decided probably not. Such an experience would be etched on his face, she thought, as her eyes studied every inch and plane of the features in question intently. And he looked so at peace. He looked so...
She stopped in her tracks.
He looked so...
Familiar.
Not...not *Clark* familiar. Familiar in ways she had never expected to....
She found that she was trembling.
The light in the room had brightened as she'd been lost in her thoughts and she could see his features more clearly now. She had smoothed his hair back from his forehead as she'd sought to relax him back into peaceful sleep, undisturbed by whatever dreams had made him restless. Sometime during the night he had apparently taken off his glasses....
He looked...
No...
No, that was...that was impossible.
That couldn't be.
Lois eased herself clear of the arms enfolding her, as carefully as though it were a sleeping tiger she sought to escape and not a man -
/Man?/
The shaky thought interrupted as she slipped over the side of the bed and rose to her feet. She backed up slowly. What...who...was it who lay there on her bed? Man? Or...
...Superman...
"Our thoughts form the universe. They always matter." - Babylon 5
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That's LabRat's fantastic If Tomorrow Comes. Love that story! Okay, here you go: Lois caught up with her aunt, realizing that Allie must have done this before. The road was dangerous here, particularly in this type of freezing rain. After they had done what they could to help the shock victims, Lois turned to look for Clark whom she saw at the far end of the trail of mangled vehicles. He had been hard to spot in his dark clothes in the black night. She walked quickly over the loose gravel of the highway shoulder to reach him.
Just as she was about to call out to him, she noticed a jeep suddenly appear around the blind curve in the road, speeding toward the pileup, no possibility of not crashing into it. And then, in the dim light of the crescent moon, she saw something incredible. In a blur, Clark moved in front of the speeding jeep as if he intended to stop it. Lois felt a scream begin to rise in the back of her throat and then it was over. Clark was standing in front of the jeep, his hand on the hood. There had been no collision. How could that be? She watched as Clark, in a fast moving blur, disappeared back into the darkness.
Lois ran toward the jeep just as Matt Thomson got out. "Are you all right?"
He looked groggy and shook his head, as if to clear it. "Yeah. Did you see what happened? I should be dead. It was all so quick. I was half asleep and I skidded on the pavement coming around the bend. The next thing I know I'm racing toward this pileup and I can't brake the car fast enough. I thought I saw a man but that can't be possible." He shook his head again and repeated his question, "Did you see what happened?"
"I'm not sure; it all happened so fast." But she was sure; she was very sure about what she had seen. She put it temporarily to the back of her mind. "You must be exhausted," she said. "You can't get back into the car in this state. Come with me. There's tea over at the emergency van."
[...]
Clark came up toward them as she left. Lois noticed the way the rain had slicked his dark hair so that it clung damply to his skull and wondered why she had never noticed his resemblance to Superman before. <It had to be the glasses> she thought in disgust. <and they were *new* ones and I still didn't notice. . . > She wanted to yell at him, to run away from him, to turn herself in for stupidity. She did none of these things; instead she controlled her feelings and said hi.
They walked with Matt back toward his jeep. Clark offered to drive him home and Matt, still shaken from his experience, accepted. Lois agreed to follow them in Allie's car. <Why, Clark? You could just fly back,> she thought angrily. Wendy
Just a fly-by! *waves*
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Aha! I recognised this one right away. It's Carol Malo's Recognition (Truth). Here's the next one: "I wouldn't do it like that," Lois said.
Without thinking, Clark turned around, startled to see someone behind him. Lois stared at him right in the eyes, took his glasses away, and had them cleaned in less then thirty seconds.
"Here you go. I don't see why you didn't let me do that earlier; that would have been easier for you," she said and Clark could see she was about to laugh. "And, by the way, Clark, you're more handsome without your glasses. Ever thought of wearing contact lenses?"
Lois didn't wait for an answer and simply turned and left, leaving a bemused Clark behind her. She hadn't seen anything. She'd just looked at him, right in the eyes, and she didn't even realize who he was! That was amazing, really.
Clark was starting to get angry with himself. He had been so stupid! The whole day, he had endured being half blinded by that blot on his glasses, just because he thought Lois would recognize him at the first glimpse she had of him without his glasses. He'd felt so embarrassed just now. He was wondering how he could have been such an idiot. The only thing that cheered him up was that at least his glasses were clean. What a fool he was.
At the other end of the room, Lois returned to her desk with a big grin on her face. This had been a perfect day for her. Seeing Clark fighting all day against his glasses, trying to find a place where he could be alone to take them off. And she had made sure he would never succeed. Oh yeah, she was having far too much fun with this. If only Clark knew. If only he knew that she had found out about his secret identity almost one week ago... Kaethel
- I'm your partner. I'm your friend. - Is that what we are? - Oh, you know what? I don't know what we are. We kiss and then we never talk about it. We nearly die frozen in each other's arms, but we never talk about it, so no, I got no clue what we are.
~ Rick Castle and Kate Beckett ~ Knockout ~
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Like Putting On A Pair Of Glasses by LcRich. A wonderful story! Here's the next one. And even though it had been almost a year, she'd never forgotten the shock of seeing Superman writhing on the floor, grimacing in pain...much like Clark was now.
Something clicked in Lois' head, and her mouth opened in shocked silence. It couldn't be! Kryptonite was supposed to be harmless to humans. If this was the reason Clark was suddenly so sick, that could only mean....
Her face went white. Turning to look once again at Clark's grimacing form, it was like watching the events in Lex Luthor's penthouse all over again. Except this time it was Clark writhing on the ground.
Her mind started to whirl frantically, searching for a solution to the questions suddenly forming in her mind. Could it be? Clark? And Superman? Were they...could they be...?
As her foggy, panicked mind struggled to reason, Clark lifted his head off the floor just enough to see what she was doing. The instant he saw the glowing, green rock in her hand, it all made sense. No wonder he hadn't been getting any better! Tricia
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Ooh, I know this story *by heart*, I'm sure of it!!
Such a little thing really, a kiss...most people don't give it a moment's consideration. They kiss on meeting, they kiss on parting, that simple touching of flesh is taken entirely for granted as a basic human right.
Susan Kay
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Yay! Pam Jernigan's much improved version of The Eyes Have It, The Blind Leading The Blind. Okay, so here you go... "Your glasses are all wet."
Clark laughed. "I tell you you're beautiful and all you can think of to say is that my glasses are wet?"
"I think they're clouding your vision."
"I've never seen anything more clearly in my life. And..."
Thunder blotted out whatever else he had to say.
Lois clapped her hands over her ears, startled by the loud noise. She heard Clark laugh, and felt rather than saw him wrap his jacket back around her and grab one of her hands. She followed him as they ran towards a nearby building, laughing with him and at his tie flapping in the breeze of his own creation.
When they made it to cover, they stood there, holding hands and laughing.
"See," Clark managed to get out. "Even storms are more fun with you."
Lois laughed even harder until she saw something that made her stop. She heard her own sharp intake of breath, not believing what she was seeing.
There under Clark's white shirt, where his tie would have been had it not been wrapped around his neck, now soaking wet and clinging to his body, was the Superman emblem.
She reached out, her eyes full of fear and surprise. She started to unbutton his shirt, the next to top button, but was stopped by a large hand on hers.
Another hand lifted her chin. When she met Clark's eyes, she saw her own emotions mirrored there.
"Lois, we need to talk." Wendy
Just a fly-by! *waves*
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Ooh, I knew that one right away! that's Carol M's wonderful "The Wet White Shirt". A noise from somewhere behind her caught her attention; she dropped the book and whirled around, searching for its source. Behind her, there was only the kitchen, though, and the arch leading into Clark's bedroom; there was no way that he could have got in there without her seeing him. Puzzled, she got to her feet.
At the same time, a figure emerged from the bedroom. Lois stopped and stared in shock...
In front of her, apparently not having noticed her, was Superman! He'd stripped off the top part of his costume, causing her stomach to do flip-flops, and he carried the blue fabric - and some red fabric, which had to be his cape - in one hand. With the other hand, he was rumpling his hair, which was another surprise for Lois; she'd never seen Superman with his hair any other way apart from slicked back.
What was Superman doing at Clark's apartment? And, what was more, why was he walking around as if he was very much at home there? Coming out of Clark's *bedroom*?
An involuntary gasp escaped her, and Superman swung around, seeing her for the first time. And when she saw his face in full rather than in profile, she realised that, with his hair ruffled, he looked very familiar. Too familiar, especially with the shocked expression he now wore. An expression very similar to the one he'd worn only a little under an hour ago... when he'd broken their kiss in her apartment.
"*Clark*?" Lois exclaimed in appalled disbelief. KathyM
"Our thoughts form the universe. They always matter." - Babylon 5
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This is Wendy Richards' Green Card. Next one: "Maybe I should go with you to make sure you get home all right," Clark suggested, his usual concern for her resurfacing.
"Oh, don't worry Clark. I'll be fine." She paused long enough to smile at him. "But it looks like you could use somebody to look after you."
Clark looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it appears your mom never taught you how to correctly dress yourself." It was all Lois could do to keep from laughing out loud as Clark quickly looked down at his clothing with a very confused expression on his face, then back up at her.
Oh, this is *too* much fun, she thought to herself as she studied the baffled look on his face. Finally she decided to let him off the hook. She gave his chest a couple of quick pats and grinned like the cat that has just caught the mouse.
"Your shirt's on backwards," she told him, pausing for emphasis. "Superman." Kaethel
- I'm your partner. I'm your friend. - Is that what we are? - Oh, you know what? I don't know what we are. We kiss and then we never talk about it. We nearly die frozen in each other's arms, but we never talk about it, so no, I got no clue what we are.
~ Rick Castle and Kate Beckett ~ Knockout ~
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