Hi Nan!
So great to see you’re back to posting stories!
(since you’ve asked: please add “FDK: Sequel to Degrees of Separation” to the topic title. It helps the FoLCs find the FDK thread
And unrelated, I hope my FDK is helpful. I’m going mainly with positive gut-reactions and funny asides these days so you can see what landed. Those are most densely accumulated for funny bits. Fast-paced action gets fewer quips because, well, it’s action and not a laughing matter.)
/digs in the Archive for the previous story/
https://www.lcfanfic.com/stories/2009/html/degrees.html Let’s see, we got CJ and his mentally bonded girlfriend Linda. There’s also perky Marta who had her own set of bully-school adventures.
FoLCs, this is one of the great series on the Archive!
One more bit of feedback: it would help a lot for newer FoLCs (and those who can’t get to re-reading the Archive on a yearly basis – aside from the Home series that is) to have a short summary of the universe you got set up. You can even use the handy ‘spoiler’ tag to make it expand only when clicked on, if that’s needed. We do recommend the Dagger series in the set of should-reads for newly discovered FoLCs who ask for recommendations, but you never know how quickly one catches up on all the should-reads mentioned
I can't guarantee a regular posting schedule, as life has gotten pretty hectic, but I promise to do my best not to take too long between segments.
For me, that’s just fine. I got so much stuff going on, too! Getting updates with enough time in between to catch up works great! So, I’m guess we will be nominating this one in the 2028 Kerth Awards, just in time for the big Three-Oh?
"Don't wiggle!" Martha Kent admonished CJ Kent firmly. "I'm almost done."
What’s gandma doing? /scrunches face/ Oh, a costume! His first one that’s not a jumper!
There won't be a teenage girl in the world looking at your face."
LINDA:
"Linda ought to like it, too."
And he goes from flaming red cheeks to white hot cheeks.
That, of course, was a big plus, but Linda liked the way he looked no matter how he dressed.
Yes, and Lois likes the way Clark dresses in jeans and tight t-shirts no matter the brand. Doesn’t change the fact that there’s a Superman suit in their bedroom that’s modified with ...let’s call them quick remove snaps.
Linda prefers you to look smart. No baggy pants, no sweatshirts with holes in them."
They never got to be friends with young master Tommy Wayne, did they? For smart dress advice, I mean.
"I don't wear stuff like that anyway," CJ objected. "Mom won't let me. Except for some of my jeans that have holes in the knees."
Lois not a fan of her son dressing like a skater punk?
"I'm beginning to realize that I was lucky no other girl snapped Clark up before I met him," she said in an aside to Martha. "How did you ever keep them away?"
Lana. She was a good way to keep other girls away while also having a fixed shelf life.
His mother laughed. "At least CJ won't have that problem with Linda running interference," she said.
With Linda being a girl and just a couple of months behind, how long until Supergirl will make an appearance to swat the groupies away?
"Nice," was her verdict. "I want one like it, only for a girl.
I had no idea what to expect. This matter of fact appreciation is just wonderful!
Ultragirl!" She made a face. "Only I can't wear pink! It makes me look all washed out! And my hair is black, not blond."
Well… /points at the other roleplay costume in their parent’s special closet in their bedroom/ And I think Rhonda’s wearing it in reverse, isn’t she?
"That's because you have your father's complexion," her mother said. "He looks good in pink, but not Ultrawoman's shade of pink."
Did Lois wash one of Clark’s capes with too hot water?
"I guess," Marta said, "but I decided that I'm going to be Supergirl, and someday Superwoman.
So, that leaves Powergirl for Linda? I’m sure CJ will appreciate the style. It might not help distinguish his face from his cape, but he will appreciate it.
And unless somebody shows up with a red Kryptonite laser, or a convenient bolt of lightning hits me, i
/points at Supercop/
Also, is Linda the adoptive daughter of Henderson? Something of the sort is in the back of my mind but I’m not sure if I’m in the correct series with that memory.
CJ's mother smiled. "Not for another four months. But I actually think it's not a bad idea. You kids seem to have a knack for getting involved in unusual situations.
So, it’s genetic predisposition. Also, Clark’s gonna have a fit when he learns just how much of a bird mama his wife is, what with kicking her chicks out of the nest and hoping they’ll fly and all that.
LOIS: What is the reader talking about? There’s no hope involved. They’ll fly. Or they’ll bounce. Either way, they’re gonna be just fine. Martha told me so.
His baby sister was even beginning to develop a figure! When had that happened?
Sometime in the past eighteen years, I’d say
Also, will the media think she’s Superboy’s girlfriend?
CJ:
LINDA:
"Can I come in?" It was Linda Lennox's voice.
"Sure," CJ said quickly. Accordingly, Linda stepped through the door. She stopped when she saw him in the Suit and her eyebrows flew up. "Wow!" she said. "That's great!"
Awww, he likes to show off for his girlfriend
Wait 'til you see my outfit. I finished making it last weekend.
Wheeeeee!
It's green, and all one piece, except for the mask. I still don't know what I'm going to call myself, though."
So, she got to do her own sewing and design? Oh dear, what are we in for?
"I thought Clark said you weren't to go public until you're eighteen," Lois said.
Oh?
He didn't see how Superman could claim all of them were his children!
He could tell people about the professional caregiver system they have set up back home
Martha Kent winked at her. "When you kids come, I'm the one who gets a vacation," she said. "I only get my dishes washed at super speed when Clark or you children visit. That's when Jonathan gets his heavy equipment fixed, too."
Awww… they’re super thoughtful.
and his mother had been giggling. CJ had quickly turned off his super-hearing. When Mom and Dad started kidding that way it could get embarrassing fast, and CJ had learned to tune out.
That’s one way to have ‘the talk’
I don't expect you'll be doing that much, but you never know."
Yes, which means Superboy, Supergirl, and the Green Powerpuff are going to be making their debut by the time this story is halfway over.
It was Wyatt.
"Come on in," Marta called.
Oh, right. Marta’s
boyfriend male person she hangs out with a lot.
CLARK: And this, Wyatt, is how I can use my heatvision to roast the Christmas turkey.
WYATT:
…
MARTA: So, Wyatt, why are you walking almost at two feet distance from me all of a sudden?
"Since I'm giving Wyatt a lift, why don't you go put them on and we'll fly home. You might as well get in the practice."
Awww… Of course, it’s the farm country… kids learn to drive sooner.
CJ looked skeptically at his father. "What does Mom say?"
Marta heard her grandmother smother a laugh. Superman grinned.
"You know I wouldn't do something like this without talking to her about it. She thinks it's a good idea. Go on, now. We've got places to go."
She probably suggested it.
Superman was the strongest, fastest man in the world, and nobody bossed him around, except Mom. What did that say about her mother?
/points at line of formerly alive criminals/
She made sure her mask was straight, took one last look at herself in the mirror, straightened her shoulders and marched out into the yard to join her father, brother, Wyatt and grandparents.
Marta’s so adorably serious about this
Clark lifted his head. “Oops,” he said. “I guess I have to return a library book.”
You know, when we start doing super stuff, we’re going to have to work at making sure people trust us, too.”
“CJ doesn’t lie very well, either,” Marta said bluntly. “I’ve noticed.”
So, not getting busted drinking and flying. No spraying. And absolutely no sneaking into r-rated movies. Also, isn’t that the most cute thing about CJ?
Linda snorted. “That’s okay,” she said, as Marta watched CJ’s ears turn red. “Having a boyfriend who doesn’t tell lies isn’t exactly a bad thing.”
Eduardo Montez put down his math paper and glanced at the floor of his room for the fourth time in five minutes, looking at the scene on the other side.
Do we know him? Also, another kid from the invasion.
“Where is it?” Rory’s voice, slurred with booze, or something, came clearly to him. Eddie switched off the earphones and laid them on his bed. “Hand it over, bitch!”
That’s not how you are supposed to talk to your mother. Also, given how ‘Rory’ is forever ‘Rory Gilmore’ that’s just
Rory must be in need of another fix, Eddie thought. He did look a little ragged around the edges. He must be coming down off his latest and didn’t have enough to get himself more of whatever he was on.
Oops, I totally thought ‘Rory’ was Eddie’s older sister. Then older brother. But no, it’s her mother’s boyfriend/’protector’
(yes, I missed the ‘he’ in the first sentence).
He’d wanted a spot where he could avoid the noise from the tenants of the next door apartment when the couple who occupied it started screaming at each other, which they all too frequently did. “Sit down.”
Oh boy. So, somewhere in Suicide Slum?
He walked to the door, looking through it, watching the man walking unsteadily away, and locked the heavy wooden panel. Then he started up the stairs. Time to get Sally back inside before the snow got any heavier.
/marks him down for ‘probably a good guy’/
Resolutely, he ignored the sounds of nightlife in the section of the city bordering on Suicide Slum and took a seat at the table.
/points up/
He didn’t understand why the librarian had looked at him so strangely when he had returned the first Mandarin textbook after a week and had checked out the next one. It wasn’t as if it was really that hard, after all.
This is gold!
Then the day had come whan he had found himself looking through the wall into the girl’s locker room and stared, shocked, until his mother’s warning voice had risen in his memory and he’d quickly turned away.
That one had been loud and clear, a man’s voice, he thought. And then again, the barely audible whisper: *I didn't think it was going to work. I've been trying for a couple of minutes. Your voice isn't too loud, but I can hear you.*
Ooops? T-band communication is broadband, apparently.
Then the man’s voice again: *Okay. Thanks. I guess the test worked, all right. Good night. We'll talk more about this tomorrow.*
The boy’s whisper replied: *Good night.”*
It’s cute how they’re still being careful, aware that there could be listeners so having CJ call Superman ‘dad’ wouldn’t be helpful.
*Who are you? Who said that?*
The silence that followed had had a startled quality, then a cautious voice, the man’s voice: *Who are you?*
Oh, wait, did this take place at the end of ‘Degrees’? It does feel familiar.
That conversation had stayed with him for nearly three years.
Oh, so, it did happen some stories ago in the Dagger series.
Talk to the empty air about it. Someone might show up.
This is a very intriguing start, Nan! So glad you’re back at it. And you haven’t lost your touch at all! I’m sorry I couldn’t find stuff that doesn’t work. I mean, if I’m trying to find stuff, I still don’t know how I missed the ‘when’ of Wyatt mentioning the teep’ing superbeings he listened in on. But that might just be my mind and I cleared it up a few sentences later. It’s crisp. It’s structured. It’s engaging. Once we got a title, we can start bugging CarrieRene about getting started with the Kerth certificate for 2028
I’m a fan. What can I say
Michael
