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Joined: Apr 2023
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Columnist
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Columnist
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Happy Ficlet Friday (kicking it off this week)! This is part 4 of the Pizza Run Series. This chapter lives here. No beta on this one, so any mistakes are my own! I don't mind having them pointed out, since I'll plan to submit this to the archive. And of course, any other comments are really just encouragement to keep writing the next part. Thanks for reading!
Looking forward to this summer's Location Challenge! Looks like stories are due around August 1st, and then polls open for voting! And don't forget about the 2026 fundraiser! Head over to the Fundraising page to donate or consider adding a story to the Keepsake Collection fundraising drive!
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 201 Likes: 46 |
Yay, part 4! It's been a great week on the MBs ^^ “But I don’t just hand out money to everyone who asks. Maybe some of those people could really use it, but what about the con artists out there just trying to scam you? No way! If I’m going to make a donation, I do my research and then I make an annual contribution to an official organization.”
Actually, this makes a lot of sense for Lois's character. She'll help, but on her own terms. That way, she avoids being made a fool of, which is something she hates. And that seems to be a recurring theme in this series! None of their conversations were simple anymore since she’d learned his secret. Now everything he said sounded like it was only half true or awkwardly truncated or a deliberate obfuscation. She was definitely getting better at pinpointing when he was lying, but she still doubted the veracity of everything he said, replaying conversations in her head and second guessing what she’d thought he’d really meant.
Again, this makes perfect sense. She feels like she's fallen behind in this run (ha!) and wants more than anything to close that gap. She missed having her reliable, trustworthy friend at her side.
Oh  “You’ve just… never really mentioned liking kids before,” he replied more carefully.
“That doesn’t mean I think they should be illiterate.”
Ok, this made me laugh unexpectedly. Please say it, hint it, just allude to it and we can end all this, and I can have my best friend back.
It feels like my heart has been ripped apart. He hadn’t asked her if she was going insane every day, knowing that her best friend lied to her nearly every time he opened his mouth. He hadn’t asked if she was constantly at war with herself, trying to decide if she should tell him or punish him or reveal him or forgive him or beg him to forgive her. And he hadn’t asked her if she walked through her days absolutely heartbroken and unable to tell anyone.
*stands up to applaud* So many emotions, so beautifully written! The "beg him to forgive her" part makes it seem like Lois feels guilty about the situation too. Very interesting. And she really couldn't talk about it with anyone but Clark, which makes the whole thing even sadder. He smiled at her warmly, as if he were looking forward to spending the evening working beside her. “Sound good to me.”
Poor Clark, he's so oblivious... The space between them was just as intense as the look in his eyes [...]
OMG this line!!! UARRR. *screaming in her native language* I'm feeling THINGS. But he wasn’t Clark.
He was Superman.
Clark is stuck on the idea he's just Clark, while Lois is stuck on the idea that he's Superman. I'm curious to see how they'll find a balance. “What!?” Cat asked incredulously.
LOL. She suddenly understood. He needed to work with her tonight so that he could then escape her and go help the robbery hostages, the same way he had a hundred other times with a hundred other rescues. He was about to lie to her again.
And she couldn’t stand it.
She knew he needed to help those hostages.
But it didn’t need to be her that he lied to.
[...]
She already heard the lie coming. He was setting it up right now. She snapped.
She pushes him toward Cat because she doesn't want to be the one he lies to this time!!! That's so deep and sad. It brought up feelings I'm still processing. Because she’d been the person that had made it harder for Superman to get to that rescue.
So if anything happened to any of the hostages…
It would be her fault.
Oh, an ethical dilemma! Excellent! Things are getting more and more interesting. I wonder if we'll see a direct consequence of this in the next part. I loved how you captured Lois’s conflicting feelings so well. As a reader, it’s possible to understand her and relate to her. I especially like how she cares about the fact that she and Clark are - or should be - best friends, and how that haunts her, because I think that, on top of feeling intellectually diminished, it makes sense that it hurts her so much. Besides, she also thinks she could have helped him if she had known. And of course, she also uses anger as a shield, which confuses her even more, especially in the moments when she actually doesn’t want to or can’t feel angry at him. It’s a beautifully human conflict. I’m really curious to see how they’ll work things out and what their conversation will be like. Will Clark tell her? (Hmm, I doubt it.) Will Lois give in and say she knows? Or will Clark end up finding out that she knows now? Can't wait for the next part. And thanks for sharing this gem with us.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Columnist
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Columnist
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Lois just made it harder for Superman to rescue the hostages. Making Clark miserable is one thing but jeopardizing the lives of innocent people because you have hurt feelings is a whole different game. It will definitely be on her if any of them die.
Lois is upset with Clark for not telling her he’s Superman but what she did is wrong too. It’s going to be interesting to see how all of this plays out. I can see hurt and anger on both sides. Thank you! I love this and can’t wait for more!
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 201 Likes: 46 |
In fact, Lois should have thought more carefully about the consequences of her actions, this is a very serious situation that’s bigger than just the two of them. But thinking about the consequences of her actions isn’t exactly something she’s particularly good at, lol. Especially when she’s angry.
As much as I don’t want any of the hostages to get hurt, the possibilities this ending has opened up are incredibly rich from a narrative perspective. Lois ends the chapter already feeling guilty in advance. And just as Superman won’t be to blame if he fails to save the hostages, neither will she, but that won’t stop her from feeling just as guilty as him. They’re already sharing the weight of the same secret, just from different positions. And the whole situation shows just how much power someone gains over Superman once they discover his secret. Maybe understanding this will make Lois start helping Clark, like she wanted to, or encourage her to forgive him.
But I won’t lie, I love the drama! XD The fact that Lois pushed Clark toward Cat out of desperation to keep him from lying to her again is pure narrative gold to me. Besides, I like seeing a more reflective Lois sometimes, and I think her feelings are very valid. We know Clark had many reasons to keep his secret, but his best friend - the person who told him things she’d never told anyone else and thought she knew him completely - is not able to see the situation rationally right now. Now she feels like she doesn’t know him, which is not true, but at the same time, still feels true... definitely conflicting feelings! But I remember JadedEvie saying this series would be fun and without any major consequences, so I think the hostages will be just fine =D Still, it’s fun to speculate.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Joined: Jun 2006
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jun 2006
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Uh oh, Clark really is in trouble. Though somehow he deserved it.
It's never too dark to be cool. 
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Joined: Jul 2003
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jul 2003
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These just keep getting better and better!
~•~
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,135 Likes: 79
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,135 Likes: 79 |
If he wasn’t going to tell her what he should have already told her, she wasn’t going to offer him any information either.
I have to ask one question. Why does Lois think she has the right to know Clark's greatest secret? Has she ever thought that maybe he is trying to protect her and others by not telling her? After all, it is a dangerous secret to know and downright difficult to keep! At least, half her attention would be on the bank records.
The other half would be on the televisions mounted to one wall of the bullpen, and specifically on whichever news channel was covering the ongoing hostage situation.
Because she’d been the person that had made it harder for Superman to get to that rescue.
So if anything happened to any of the hostages…
It would be her fault.
Yes, it would be. This time Lois you aren't thinking. Please try to get pass your issues and let Clark do his 'Pizza Runs'! Awesome series! How are you going to wrap it up? 
Last edited by Morgana; 05/17/26 07:44 PM. Reason: Update information
Morgana
A writer's job is to think of new plots and create characters who stay with you long after the final page has been read. If that mission is accomplished than we have done what we set out to do, which is to entertain and hopefully educate.
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 568 Likes: 77
Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 568 Likes: 77 |
Oh my! So much buried here.
I laughed at her explanations for the charities too, so good and clever, and very valid!
I totally relate to her not wanting him to lie to her anymore, and just wanting to have it all in the open between them so she can have her best friend back...
And that ending! They both need a hug =(
Come hang out in the Discord server! Just make a Discord account and click this https://discord.gg/fv2bAVVUBQ to join. Discord can be a little intimidating, but we keep our server simple and are always happy to help people learn their way around!
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 209 Likes: 33 |
“You’ve just… never really mentioned liking kids before,” he replied more carefully.
“That doesn’t mean I think they should be illiterate.”
This is SO Lois!  Please say it, hint it, just allude to it and we can end all this, and I can have my best friend back.
Awww They’d been partners for a year. A year! In that time, she could have come up with a whole battery of worthwhile excuses. They could have worked out a signal by now, so that he could communicate in public that he’s just used one of his super skills and now needed to dash off to use more of them.
You'll get there one day, Lois! Hopefully.... The last thing she saw as the doors closed on him were Cat’s manicured claws sinking into his arm.
There's a scary visual! So if anything happened to any of the hostages…
It would be her fault.
Oh, Lois! You may have just gone too far... uh oh... I hope everything works out okay. Sending Clark off with Cat is one thing, but hostages lives on the line. Eeek! Anxious to see how this pans out!
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Joined: Apr 2007
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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HI Evie! “You haven’t ever given a dollar to a someone on the street? Even when they ask? Even when they could clearly use the help?”
Well...most of them probably work as indentured servitude laborers for large scale, multi-national conglomerates. Or they’re recently re-vitalized former corpses of heads of said large scale, multi-national conglomerates. Plus, do you have *any* idea how much that place of hers costs in rent? “Does that mean that you’ve never donated anything in your life?” he asked, taking it a step further.
There was that bit of underwear she sent to the Superman foundation a year ago... If I’m going to make a donation, I do my research and then I make an annual contribution to an official organization.”
Applying the same diligence she does with getting married. LOIS:  “You think I’m lying?”
One liar would recognize another, she guessed.
Still peeved. She eyed him as he grinned at her, unaware that inside she was fuming at his hypocrisy.
He donates lots of stuff. Like hair. Used uniforms. “Personal” donations. Now everything he said sounded like it was only half true or awkwardly truncated or a deliberate obfuscation.
Like “why would you think I love you?” to her question “do you love me?”. She was definitely getting better at pinpointing when he was lying,
Oh, so she started to watch his lips, did she? replaying conversations in her head and second guessing what she’d thought he’d really meant.
Like “do you think I should stop eating so much chocolate everyday?” or “do you think I should spend more time at the gym?” or “do you like that blonde ADA more than me?” “Maybe I’m just curious what kind of organization Lois Lane would find worthy of a donation,” he said in a light, teasing tone.
The Bobby Bigmouth Food Supply Foundation. “You’ve just… never really mentioned liking kids before,” he replied more carefully.
Most cute. LOIS: I’m not against them. It’s just, I never really thought marrying Superman would automatically mean I’d have four kids or something like that. “That doesn’t mean I think they should be illiterate.”
It’s called an investment. Illiterate kids don’t buy the Daily Planet. They’re much more likely to buy the Metropolis Star for his big, colorful pictures of in-harms-way journalists on the front page and more big, colorful pictures of the same journalists in … different settings on page three. Sometimes they fell into sync so easily that it was hard to remember that she was mad at him.
Maybe if she took a step back and considered that being mad shouldn’t be a chore and when it becomes a chore, maybe it’s time to be mad at someone else? they give kids age-appropriate books for the holidays.”
Like, “why Mommy is enjoying her adult grape juice when Daddy is visiting the doctor’s nurse”? The way he was looking at her, somewhere between awed and appreciative, was bothering her.
Makes him seem almost...human and a good catch? “Well, you never asked,” she said uncomfortably.
“I guess you’re right. I guess there’s a lot we all assume about people,”
Ooooh! She could get mad that he thinks she should have simply *asked* him if he’s Superman instead of assumed he isn’t. “Well, sure,” he said easily enough that she knew he would never expect her to ask, ‘Are you Superman?’
 Only one way to find out. LOIS: Are you Superman? CLARK: I’m Clark. LOIS: Liar. CLARK: No, really! LOIS:  CLARK:  Did she want it to be?
“You’d tell me anything I asked?” she pressed.
Sounds like she does want it to be this easy. /points at title/ Easy like Cat. You also just have to ask her nicely. “What are you expecting to find out about me, Lois?”
Kids. Wives. Lovers. Biology. “Well, all of us have something that they probably don’t even tell their closest friends,” she said, giving him a way out if he wanted it.
Pete knows. Bruce knows, too. “Not everyone has some big dark secret to hide.”
No, those are reserved for billionaires. Please say it, hint it, just allude to it and we can end all this, and I can have my best friend back.
He doesn’t see it as a big *dark* secret. It’s not like he has a wive hidden away in Hicksville, Alpha Ceti. His hands slid into his pockets and he shrugged. “I’m just Clark.”
/points at earlier remarks/ The elevator arrived just then, saving her from displaying her fit of pique, and she forced herself not to stomp onto it.
Most cute! forgive him or beg him to forgive her.
Forgive her? Oh boy. Maybe seeking professional help would be helpful? They could visit couple’s counseling? And he hadn’t asked her if she walked through her days absolutely heartbroken and unable to tell anyone.
Poor dear. She really should try the nuclear option and find out if he’d sleep with her without telling her first. Nothing bad ever came from that approach. /gets popcorn/ Her standard reply was out of her mouth without conscious thought. “I’m fine.”
Danger! He doesn’t have a girlfriend. If he wasn’t going to tell her what he should have already told her, she wasn’t going to offer him any information either.
Did we ever have a story where Lois and Clark got stranded on an island without Lois knowing the secret? Her guilt twinged that she’d really managed to turn her capable, competent partner into a pizza boy, and she said, “Let’s just call for a pizza. Then we can jump right in.”
That’s deflecting! Also, he doesn’t mind getting pizza while rescuing some Italian people. It’s much better quality than the fried oil bread they produce at Serge’s Pizza and Teriyaki Meat Palace. She brushed past Cat on her way out of the elevator.
You did advertise her appearance! Also, will she get jealous? And why is Cat here at the start of Season Two? “Whoa, Lois! Where’s the fire?”
/points at Clark’s pants/ Lois watched Cat wrap her manicured hand around Clark’s upper arm like a Venus fly trap and her felt her temper flare.
Nicely done!  We’re not going to waste time standing here doing the math to see if that dress actually shows more than it covers.”
 “Why are you dressed up?” Lois asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Doctors’ conference at the Lexor. “Vanity Fair is opening an east-coast office in Metropolis, and tonight’s their launch party. Everyone who’s anyone is going to be there. Oh,” she said, sounding suddenly surprised, her plucked brow arched, “that must be why you’re not invited.”
B-urn! “What hostage situation?” Clark asked.
and she immediately turned her focus back to Cat, though she’d missed whatever caustic barb she’d been served back.
Point Cat. And while she did, of course, understand there was no way that Clark Kent could tell two reporters that he’d just looked through several buildings to ascertain that Myerson wouldn’t be joining them any time soon, she was angry that she and Clark hadn’t gotten past this yet.
You know, she’s get *really* angry when Clark offers to accompany Cat to the Vanity Fair gala instead. CLARK: I can more easily slip out when Cat is schmoozing with the vanity crowd, clear up the hostage situation, give Meyerson a lift to the gala, and excuse myself to write up the hostage situation for the Planet. I’m sure Lois won’t mind me stepping out for an hour or so. LOIS:  They could be even closer friends than they’d been a week ago, an unstoppable team that was so in sync that it was hard to tell where one of their thoughts ended and the other’s began.
You know, I fully expected to read the simplified version: “hard to tell where one of them ended and the other began.” Her anger was rising so high that she felt sick.
Maybe if she sicked all over Cat’s outfit? Her head turned back to Clark, and her voice turned saccharine and husky at the same time. “Unless you’d like to escort me tonight?”
See? Cat’s helping Clark with a well-crafted excuse. LOIS: “That’s a great idea,” Lois heard herself say.
LOIS: I don’t *have* to be petty all the time! I just like to be petty *some* time. She knew he needed to help those hostages.
But it didn’t need to be her that he lied to.
She going to be setting him up with dates so he can lie to other people some more? The last thing she saw as the doors closed on him were Cat’s manicured claws sinking into his arm.
Great work how you showed us her ever growing ire Let him try to get away from that.
He deserved it, she reminded herself, feeling herself deflate.
So why didn’t she feel better?
Because she knows Clark will honor his obligations, return to Cat’s side and then accompany her home where she will invite him in for a cup of coffee. Because she’d been the person that had made it harder for Superman to get to that rescue.
He just needs to be more creative. It’s good exercise. So if anything happened to any of the hostages…
It would be her fault.
It was going to be a long night.
It’s what you get for being vindictive. As she headed toward Perry’s, she sort of wished she’d let Clark pick up that pizza after all.
There there. I do sense things are starting to escalate. Lois is probably reaching her breaking point soon and then things will get really interesting indeed!  Michael
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
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None of their conversations were simple anymore since she’d learned his secret. Now everything he said sounded like it was only half true or awkwardly truncated or a deliberate obfuscation. She was definitely getting better at pinpointing when he was lying, but she still doubted the veracity of everything he said, replaying conversations in her head and second guessing what she’d thought he’d really meant. She missed having her reliable, trustworthy friend at her side.
Awww! I get it! “You’d tell me anything I asked?” she pressed.
He made a show of eyeing her warily, but she could see the humorous twinkle behind his look. “What are you expecting to find out about me, Lois?”
I can just see him! “Vanity Fair is opening an east-coast office in Metropolis, and tonight’s their launch party. Everyone who’s anyone is going to be there. Oh,” she said, sounding suddenly surprised, her plucked brow arched, “that must be why you’re not invited.”
Ooooh BURN! XD I love Cat! “Besides, I was going to get us a pizza for dinner and—“
Not the pizza again!!  The other half would be on the televisions mounted to one wall of the bullpen, and specifically on whichever news channel was covering the ongoing hostage situation.
Because she’d been the person that had made it harder for Superman to get to that rescue.
So if anything happened to any of the hostages…
It would be her fault.
It was going to be a long night.
Oooof!! Hindsight's 20/20!! Another great installment, with excellent characterizations all around! Thank you for sharing!! ❤❤❤
What we've got here is failure to communicate...
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