Throne Room of the ECQ

Birthday Fic: What She Wants, 1/1

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:20:18 GMT

Title: What She Wants, 1/1
Author:htbthomas

Fandom: Spectacular Spider-Man toonverse
Characters/Pairing: Peter/Gwen, MJ, Liz, Betty, Black Cat
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,235 words
Betas: Van-El II,foxtwin

Summary: After Peter and Gwen’s first date, Peter can’t figure out why things aren’t quite right.

Author’s Note: A birthday fic for mark_clark

Peter tilted his head, peering askance at Gwen walking beside him. “Did you have a good time?”

“Yes.” She smiled, shyly turning her eyes toward the ground. “It was great.” She didn’t offer any more information.

Peter grinned in return. He was pleased with how their first date had gone. Amazingly, it had been a very quiet Friday night. They had been able to go to dinner and even see a movie – all without one tingle of his spider-sense. Maybe all of the criminals of New York City were feeling the Christmas spirit?

“So, did you like the movie?”

“I liked it. Really exciting.” She kept her attention on her feet.

“Yeah.” He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. He didn’t remember it being this difficult to talk to Gwen before… Why? They’d surely spent a thousand hours talking at the lunch table… while studying for a test… but this? This was hard.

“Of course, it wasn’t as exciting as swinging from the top of a parade float,” she suddenly added, laughing nervously. “Thank goodness.”

Spider-Man had also saved her that day. “Thank goodness?” His eyebrows drew down worriedly. “Thank goodness Spider-Man saved you?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” She shivered. “It’s just not my idea of a fun time, you know?”

“I guess not.”

Peter spied Gwen’s house just ahead, and picked up the pace, his thoughts whirling. What did she mean by that? What did she think of Spider-Man? What if they got really serious? What would she do if she found out?

“Well, I guess we’re here.” Gwen’s voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah.”

“Thanks for the movie. It was fun.”

“You’re welcome,” he answered vaguely, mind still recovering.

“Well, good night…”

With a wave, Peter began to turn toward the street, when the realization struck him. Things were different now! She probably wanted a kiss… He leaned forward awkwardly and kissed her on the cheek, a brief peck. “Good night…”

She blushed, and smiled tightly. “See you Monday.”

It was only on Sunday night, in the middle of foiling a robbery, that he realized her expression might not have been shyness… but disappointment.

His reduced-fat turkey sandwich with 12-grain bread was practically tasteless at lunch on Monday. Not because Aunt May’s new cookbook recipes weren’t successful – just that he couldn’t focus on anything very well today.

Gwen claimed she had to study for an English test and begged off. So the ‘geek table’ felt really lonely.

He felt a touch on his shoulder. “Hey, Tiger. You all alone?” He didn’t turn his head, but only Mary Jane addressed him that way.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“Hmm.” She shifted to sit beside him. “Not what I heard around the drinking fountain.”

That made him turn. “What did you hear?”

“Just that the chemistry club was scheduling some extracurricular activities.” Her eyes twinkled. At his flummoxed look, she added, “You and Gwen.”

“Oh! I, uh…”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I think it’s cute.” She bumped her shoulder against his. “You two just belong together.”

Peter stared into the depths of his lunchmeat. “I’m not sure about that… I think I messed up somehow. She seemed… I dunno… not happy after our first date.”

“Why do you—?”

MJ’s question was interrupted by a sing-song call of, “Petey!”

Peter swiveled his head the other direction, to see Liz Allan flounce over to his table. “Hi, Liz.”

“How are you doing?” she asked, placing a friendly hand on his arm. “Where’s…” She glanced around the table in all directions. “…Gwen?”

Peter blushed, looking back down. “Studying.”

“Without you?” Her hand trailed down toward the back of his hand. “She must not know what a great study partner you are…”

“I think she does.” MJ was suddenly between them. “He’s just not in that class, right?”

“Um, right.” He couldn’t believe that two girls were so interested in who he ate lunch with! A year ago, Gwen was the only girl who ever spoke two words to him… at least, by choice.

“Oh…” Liz sounded disappointed. “Well, I’ll see you in class later, Petey. Bye!” She gave his hand a slight squeeze, shooting MJ a pointed look over her shoulder.

“Hey,” MJ said after she had watched Liz disappear from sight. “Whatever is going on between you and Gwen… I bet if you set your mind to it, you’ll figure out what she wants.”

“But what if I totally mess it up? What if I do the exact opposite of what I should do? I mean, we used to be best friends, and now it’s so much more complicated…”

The end-of-lunch bell rang, and Mary Jane stood. “Don’t over-think it, Tiger.” She began to walk toward the doors to the main building. “You know what she wants.”

Camera in hand, Peter alighted on the top of the Daily Bugle. He hoped that something on this set of pictures would be worth a paycheck, because he just had to make it up to Gwen. Whatever he had done, he had to do much better the next time.

As he changed from his costume to street clothes, his mind flashed back to what MJ had said. “I bet if you set your mind to it, you’ll figure out what she wants… Don’t over-think it, Tiger…”

Which was it? Think through the problem or don’t!? Wasn’t having a girlfriend supposed to make things less complicated?

He stopped himself. Since when was Gwen a ‘girlfriend’? They had shared a couple of kisses, and gone on one date…

Wait. Did Gwen think she was his girlfriend?

Peter shook himself, and lightly jogged down the stairwell, stomach clenching. Gwen had been ‘too busy’ all day. How was he supposed to figure out what Gwen wanted if she wouldn’t exchange more than a few words at a time with him?

As soon as he got into the Bugle office, he started toward Jameson’s office. Before he could lift a hand to rap on the door, Betty Brant called for his attention.

“Not yet, Peter. He and Robbie are in a meeting.” She gave him a sympathetic look as she typed away at her workstation.

Peter sighed. “How long do you think they’ll be?”

“Hard to say. You can hang out here for a few minutes, if you want.” She patted the corner of her desk.

“Thanks.” He leaned against the proffered spot, placing his camera beside him.

Betty cut her eyes toward the camera. “You get any good shots?”

“Spider-Man stopping the jewel heist tonight.”

“Hmm. I’d say you have a good chance this time…” She stopped typing for a moment, and leaned her elbows on her desk. “What’s been up with you these days? We haven’t had the chance to chat much.”

“Oh… you know, just the average high school stuff… and there’s this girl…”

“Oh, really?” Betty leaned even farther forward. “The one you went to the fall formal with?”

“No, the one who got kidnapped by Venom at the Thanksgiving Day parade, actually.”

“I see,” she said, her interest plain. “So you’re pretty busy, then?”

“Always.” Peter had expected a different reaction – maybe she was getting used to the weirdness of New York City these days. He shot a glance at the windows of Jameson’s office. Jameson and Robbie seemed locked in heated discussion. “And you?”

“Well, Mr. Jameson keeps us busy, too. And, I’m seeing someone now, myself.”

“Oh? Who?”

“Betty? You ready to go get that coffee?”

Peter spun in surprise, recognizing the voice.

“Sure, Ned. I’m totally in the mood for an eggnog latte. Let me log off and grab my things.”

“Hey, Parker.” He waved as he walked up, and then settled himself at the other edge of the desk.

“Lee.” Peter got the distinct impression Ned was marking his territory.

“Boys.” Betty shook her head. “They look like they’re about done, Peter. You can head on in…”

They walked out, Betty’s hand threaded through Ned’s arm. He felt a tiny pang of remorse – if he’d only been a few years older…

“Parker!” Jonah pushed his way out of his office door, bluster at full volume. “About time you got here! You think you can just saunter in here whenever you want?”

“Um, Mr. Jameson, it only just happened…”

“Like that’s an excuse?” He held out his hand impatiently for the prints Peter had in his hand, and began flipping through them. “Hmm… Eh… Ugh…I’ll give you fifty bucks for the set.”

Robbie came to look over Jonah’s shoulder. “Is this the jewel heist tonight? I heard no one got pictures.”

Jonah frowned, glaring at Robbie. “One hundred, then.”

In the end, Peter came away two hundred dollars richer. He had plenty of money to buy Aunt May a nice gift, and treat Gwen to a night on the town. The next night, after an easy catch, he found himself swinging past the scene of the heist. The storefront of Merrill’s Fine Jewelry looked virtually untouched - the iron-bars still protected the plate glass window with the jeweler’s name in gilded paint. Christmas lights blinked in random succession around the outside of the display.

Other than ‘in the line of duty’, Peter had never been inside a jewelry store. What if Gwen was expecting some sort of gift? Or was it too early for that?

He spun around a light post and planted himself on the face of the building above. He slowly lowered himself down in front of the window, gazing in at the display. All of these pieces were way out of his price range… but what if he and Gwen went the distance? Would he be actually shopping for jewelry at a fancy place like this someday?

“A Christmas gift for me? I didn’t know we were that serious…” a silky voice disrupted his thoughts, just as his spider-sense noted the presence of another nearby.

“Cat!”

She vaulted down to perch on the ledge above him. “Although, jewelry? I would have expected something a little more personal.” Then she swung down to hang at eye-level. “Besides, you know I could just take any of these little trinkets myself…”

“I’m not going to buy anyth—I’m just making sure everything’s okay—what are you doing back in town, anyway?”

“Can’t I just come check on my favorite man-in-spandex?”

His narrowed eyes weren’t visible beneath the mask but she seemed to catch his meaning.

“Oh, okay… it’s for this and that…” She placed one gloved finger under his chin, and ran it down his chest slowly. “A lady’s got to have her secrets…”

He swallowed. “Not if they’re illegal.”

“Oh, but I thought we had an understanding. I help you out… you help me out…”

It was hard to concentrate with her finger tracing each of the muscles on his abdomen. “It’s not quite that simple.”

“I think it can be as simple as you want it to be, Spider…” Her hand moved farther and farther downward.

“There’s someone else!” he squeaked.

Her finger stopped, but did not move from his body. “Someone as fun as I am?”

“Yes,” he answered tightly.

Her finger finally moved a blessed distance away. “All right.” In one smooth gymnastic move, she was on the ledge above again. “But just remember, out of all my skills… I’m a master thief.” With a wink of one large green eye, she was gone.

He waited until his body calmed down before heading home.

The next Friday, Peter found himself walking Gwen back to her house again. “That was really nice, Peter.”

“I’m glad you like seafood as much as I do.” He grimaced. “And I’m sure my stomachache in the middle of dinner was the hotdogs I had at lunch… Someone should call the health department on our cafeteria.”

Gwen smiled at his jest, easily accepting his excuse for ducking out for a while. “And it had a really beautiful view over the water, too.”

He took his hand out of his pocket and slipped it into hers. “It wasn’t as beautiful as the view I had.”

He felt like a cheeseball for saying it, but Gwen’s blush was even prettier. “Thank you.”

“I could get used to this, you know?”

“The food poisoning?”

“Well, not that, but…” He affected a chivalrous stance, placing his free hand over his heart. “You know I’d suffer any amount of malicious bacteria for you, milady.”

“Oh, stop.” She smacked him lightly on the chest, and he caught it easily, pulling her into his embrace.

He had been thinking about what Gwen wanted all week, and he’d finally given up. But being around all the other girls… and women… in his life made him realize he had to give this relationship a shot.

His lips touched hers, pressing gently into them, and she opened her mouth to him with a gasp. Then she wrapped her other arm around his neck, and kissed him back forcefully. There was no trace of the shy confessional kiss of two weeks ago.

A rush of feeling flooded through him. It was nothing like dancing with MJ, or like the lascivious thrill of Cat’s hand on his chest. It just felt pure and right.

Pulling back, he gave her a sly smile. “Should I stop now?”

Before pulling him back down, she murmured. “Don’t you dare.”

ARGH

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:44:13 GMT

Jossed!

Should have expected it, but... *sob*

What do you think, Bad Horse didn't work on his whinny?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:14:04 GMT

So I saw that several of my f-listers posted about the premiere of Dr. Horrible today. If you haven't seen it yet...

...GO! gogogogogogogo!

Especially if you like superhero musicals, that eternally popular genre. ;)

Basically, the fans around the world trying to watch Act 1 broke the site -- I couldn't get on it most of the day -- so you may want to support the show by purchasing it on iTunes. I did. Plus, this way I get to watch it over and over and over...

---

On another note, are there any graphics makers who might make me a story banner for Not-So-Random Acts of Kindness? I would like to put in on my profile with the awards banner. The other stories already have them. :)

Results Are In!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:41:15 GMT

*breathes huge sigh of relief*

And so far, there haven't been any reported mistakes... *crosses fingers*

I want to express a huge thank you to everyone who participated and voted, not just those who voted for me. (Though I really appreciate that, too!!)

I won five awards (about 3 more than I thought I had a chance at, actually).

*HUGE SQUISHY HUGS*

This one particularly flabbergasts me -- since I didn't have a thing over 7,500 words...

*off to take a nap*

On semi-hiatus

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:03:10 GMT

I've been really busy with a summer class and I am leaving tomorrow for vacation until July 21st. As a result, there will probably be no:

1) fic updates (generally)

2) commenting on LJ-entries (though I may randomly drop in on some)

3) chat

There will be:

1) supes_mv_awards-related business taken care of (three more days - vote, peeps!)

2) one fic update - a birthday fic

So, for me, please:

If you've posted fic this week that hasn't been reviewed, and you want to make sure I do - comment here! Also, anything I miss during the next 10 days, I want to know about, too. Personal, fandom, fic...

I promise to do my best to catch up when I return. I am taking a to-be-read pile with me, so you may get random comments on stories here and there. :)

*waves bye*

Birthday Fic: Promise, 1/1

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:31:10 GMT

Title: Promise
Author: htbthomas
Fandom: Smallville, AU rewrite of a scene from 7.20 “Arctic”
Characters: Clark Kent, Lois Lane
Rating: PG
Word Count: 957 words
Beta: mark_clark
Summary: What if Chloe hadn’t interrupted Lois and Clark at the beginning of “Arctic”?

Author’s Note: A birthday fic for babettew54.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The doorbell sounded as Clark was pulling a red T-shirt over his head. He threw a quick glance through the walls which separated him from the front door: Lois.

The doorbell rang again, as insistent as a doorbell could sound. As he lightly jogged down the stairs, she rang the bell five more times.

The door opened before his hand had touched the handle. “Hi…”

“Hey!” Lois barged past him. “Get the lead out, Smallville, opportunity is knocking on your door.”

“Come on in, Lois…”

She completely ignored his sarcasm. “Big news, an intern just got promoted to Chloe’s old desk.”

He frowned, wondering where this was going. “Am I supposed to be happy that someone took my best friend’s job?”

“Absolutely! ‘Cause it opens up a spot in the bullpen. And guess whose name is written all over it?” She waited with an expectant smile.

He simply stared back at her.

“‘Clark Kent?’” she answered, as if the answer should have been obvious. She pressed several sheets of paper into his hands. “I’ve got your application right here.”

“Heh. That’s never gonna happen.” He handed the application right back to her, brushing past her to grab his jacket. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have chores to do.”

“Seriously, Clark, don’t you think you’re destined for greater things in life than working on a farm?” Disdain mixed with incredulity in her voice.

But even Lois should know why working at the Daily Planet was a no-go. “Even if I wanted the job, Lois, I’d never work for Lex Luthor.”

Her huff of frustration showed she didn’t really know. “Okay… then why were you such great friends with the guy?” She leaned back against the table, her eyes softening with curiosity. “Looking into Lex’s past, I found out just how far you two go back.”

Clark opened his mouth, but no words came out. Just what should he tell her?

She persisted softly, “You’re nothing alike. Why were you so close for so long?”

A thousand scenes flashed through his mind. All the times when he thought he was seeing a different Lex, a Lex who had put his Luthor background behind him… and the disappointment that always followed. “Sometimes… people don’t turn out to be what you thought they were.” Furthermore, with Lex came danger to the people he cared about. Clark moved toward her. “Lois, if you’re going to continue working for Lex, promise me you’ll be careful.”

She looked less than impressed at his concern. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, Smallville, I’d think you were worried about me.”

He rolled his eyes at her narrowed ones. Silence stretched as he once again tried to decide what to say. She could make him feel so uncomfortable sometimes! “Uh…”

Lois smirked.

“Well, of course I’m worried about you, Lois,” he replied noncommittally. “You know first hand how dangerous Lex can be – especially if you get in his way.”

“Hey,” she said, taking a step back. “I can take care of myself. I’m there until I can dig up just what’s going on with that sleazeball.” She paced past him, gesturing in the air. “Who else but me is going to do it? And maybe Jimmy. None of those other chumps at the Planet have the balls to step up, now that Chlo’s gone.”

She turned back to him. “That’s why I’m there, Smallville. I mean, maybe I can’t be out ‘saving the world’ on a daily basis like Oliver, but I can make my little corner of it a better place.”

For a moment, her fiery diatribe left him speechless again. Clark looked down at his hands. There were so many things he could say to her right now… That he had already helped save the world a couple times over, but that it never seemed to be enough. That he still felt driven to help over and over again, despite the personal consequences.

That he feared his own end was coming sooner rather than later… and that Lois might meet the same fate with her crusader ways…

“You know, Smallville,” Lois said gently, somehow close to him again. “I always pegged you for the same kind of person. I mean, I’ve only known you for four years, but I’m not wrong, am I?”

He looked back into her hazel eyes, warm with an unconcealed concern. “No, Lois, you’re not… but maybe I need to go about making the world a ‘better place’ in my own way.”

By taking care of Brainiac. By stopping Lex from learning he was The Traveler.

“By chucking hay bales into the loft?” she teased him with a tilt of her head.

“No…” He shook his head with a grin. “But if I promise to think about it, will you leave me alone?”

She snapped the application in the air in front of him. “Only if you take this, too. I could really use your help around there.”

As much as he hated the idea of working closer with Lex, maybe she had the right idea. And maybe he could keep a closer eye on Lex this way, too… as soon as the whole Veritas problem was solved.

“Fine.” He snatched the paperwork from her outstretched hand.

Lois smiled in triumph.

Just then, the door opened and they both turned to see Chloe. Her face lit in surprise at Clark’s visitor. “Hey, Lois. Can I talk to Clark for a second?”

Lois nodded with satisfaction. “Yeah, I think we’re done here. You better keep that promise. All right?” She sauntered out the door, giving Chloe a friendly elbow nudge on the way out.

Chloe watched her go and then turned back to Clark with a tilted eyebrow. “Promise?”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This is where I usually remind you that you may request a ficlet, but prompt submissions are coming to a close! I’ll be finishing my commitment up on Aug. 3^rd. ♥ If you have a birthday in July, this is your last chance to ask!

Smallville/Superman Returns/LoSH crossover: Scion, 7/?

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:55:18 GMT

Title: Scion, 7/?
Author: htbthomas
Fandom: Smallville/Superman Returns/Legion of Superheroes crossover. Mostly set in the Smallville universe, with a few comics/toonverse touches.
Rating: PG
Word Count: Part 7: 2,124 words
Betas: van_el, mark_clark
Summary: Chloe, Clark and Lois encounter a strange visitor… from another dimension.

Author’s Note: Sorry for the delay. The Superman Movieverse Fanfiction Awards have been taking up a lot of my time. (Go vote, by the way!) But we’re drawing nearer to the conclusion of this story!

Previously: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Clark’s first reaction was to pull angrily at the golden ring on his finger. What if it was poisoning him even now?

He brought it as far as his first knuckle before stopping in fright. How was he staying aloft? With the ring… or his own power? Would he plunge thousands of feet to the earth below?

“Mordru!” Superman’s deep voice filtered through Clark’s super-hearing. “I’m the one you want. Leave these people alone – they can’t hurt you.”

“Ah, you are quite correct, Superman,” Mordru said with smug satisfaction. Clark heard Superman let out an oof! of surprise – had he been captured? “I still do not understand why my earlier spell was unsuccessful – but no matter. This is easily corrected.”

No, Clark had to leave the ring on until he could help – there was no telling how much time they had down there. Clark rotated toward the ground, toward Metropolis, shooting forward….

“Clark!” This time, Querl’s shout – no, Brainiac 5’s shout – rang in his ears, but he put on a touch of speed. “Where are you going?!”

Clark ignored his cry of panic. He may not have looked anything like Milton Fine had, hiding his nature behind an alien appearance, but Clark’s days of being fooled by that creature were over.

“Clark!” Brainiac 5’s image appeared in the ring hologram above his hand, and Clark forced his eyes forward and away from the image. “You’ll never build up enough speed to trap Mordru this way! You must begin from outside the Earth’s atmosphere!”

Clark kept his attention determinedly on the crisis below, ignoring Brainiac 5 completely.

“Don’t bother struggling against those bonds, Superman. Even with all your super-strength, they will hold you as fast as these three here.” Clark’s heart sped up. Mordru must have discovered Imra, Lois and Jason!

Out of the corner of Clark’s eye, Querl’s holographic image shook his head in frustration. “In all my… hang on…” The robot cut off the transmission after Clark refused to answer.

Suddenly, Clark’s head filled with an echoing voice. Imra – Saturn Girl. “Clark! Are you all right?”

As much as he worried for her and his alternate family, he felt another pang of mistrust. She had helped Brainiac 5 with his deception. And she was obviously much more powerful than she appeared at first. Even held by magical bonds, she could speak telepathically to him. How did you ignore a voice inside your own head? “I’m fine. Coming to help,” he answered tersely.

“Thank you, Clark. You must get here before Mordru completes another spell.” Her mental voice stopped, and he could somehow sense confusion over the link. “But Querl says you are going in the opposite direction. You are not answering his transmission…”

“Querl…” Clark placed heavy emphasis on the word. “…can talk to me if he catches me. Let him try.”

“What…?” Then her mental voice changed. “Oh… You have discovered he is a Brainiac…”

Clark lips pressed together as mistrust turned to anger. She could read his thoughts, too? “Get out of my head!” How did you fight a telepath and a scientifically-advanced robot?

“Clark, Clark… please. I will not stay, but… let him talk to you.”

“Why? The other Brainiac nearly destroyed me! He took away my cousin! He put my girlfriend and best friend into a coma!” Clark flew even faster. He had to get this ring off, now.

“Querl is nothing like his ancestor, Clark. Please believe me.” She paused, and he could almost sense her riffling through his memories. “Would you want others to judge you based on your own father?” Imra’s voice was suddenly gone.

Her question came like a sucker punch to the gut. She had picked out one of his single greatest fears and was using it against him. He slowed and tensed his fists and body. “How dare…”

“Clark!”

In slowing, he had allowed Brainiac to get close to him again. “Listen to me! I am sorry I never told you, but I…”

“You what?!” Clark threw back at him. “You didn’t think I’d come?”

“I was afraid if I told you, you wouldn’t trust me.” He drifted closer, face drawn with remorse.

“That must be your 12^th-level intellect at work,” Clark responded, voice thick with sarcasm.

“But Clark, I am not Brainiac 1.0 – I have put his legacy behind me to help people – to right wrongs instead of causing them. Don’t judge me based on him. I beg you.”

“When you start out by hiding important information from me – how can you expect me to believe that?”

“Have you not done the same thing? Hidden who you are from people who would misunderstand?”

Clark felt his stomach drop out. Yes, he had, but…

“Ah…” Mordru’s voice cut through his stormy thoughts. “I can understand why you wish to protect Lois Lane… but this young boy…? It seems that the ‘Scion of Krypton’ is not its last after all…”

“Jason!” Lois shouted. “No!” Her voice seemed to choke off the next moment.

Brainiac flew directly in front of Clark’s line of sight. “Imra says we must hurry.” Querl made an adjustment on his arm. “I am going to get the prison in place… if you hurry, you can still catch him by surprise.” His eyes widened in entreaty. “Please. For them.”

Brainiac 5 didn’t wait around for Clark to answer – he flew downward, toward the spires of Metropolis shining in the sun below.

Clark paused, but only for a moment. His decision made, he pointed his fist toward the upper reaches of the clouds. If it would help the other Clark, Lois, and little Jason, he had to put his mistrust aside.

As rapidly as possible, Clark pierced through the cloud cover, into the ever-thinning air. He broke through the pull of Earth’s gravity, just high enough to feel the weightlessness. Querl and Imra had assured him he would be protected up here – even Superman had assured him that he often spent time up here. He could feel the deep cold, even though he did not really feel the pain a human being would.

Clark closed his eyes.

Up here, in the deep silence of space, there was no interference from the billions of competing sounds. He could focus precisely on what Mordru was now saying.

“Those lives intended for a Red Sun's dawn
Descended from the dwellers of an icy shore…”

He opened his eyes and shot downward, pointing himself like one of Oliver’s arrows, unerring toward the target. Faster than the naked eye, he sliced through the clouds, and down toward the Daily Planet.

To Clark’s enhanced senses, however, time slowed to a crawl. He could see the scene below him. Superman was bound by glowing magical bands, his face reddened with strain. Jason floated beside him, struggling futilely. Lois thrashed on the ground with Imra, who looked as serene as ever.

Mordru, dressed in flowing purple and gold robes, had his hands raised toward his captives. His next phrase slithered through the slowed time like poisonous honey:

“At once from this existence begone…”

Where was Querl?

It didn’t matter. Clark’s job was simple: catch Mordru off-guard. The sorcerer might be very powerful, but he needed line-of-sight to cast his spells. And hopefully he wouldn’t see Clark until it was too late.

Mordru’s mouth opened to utter the final phrase of his incantation:

“Never to return for—”

Clark plowed into the sorcerer with a bang, knocking him off his feet and into one of the corner pillars on the roof.

Clark was kicked backward, as if he had touched an invisible electrical fence, crackles of magical energy shooting in all directions. But the surprise attack had worked. The magical bands vanished that instant.

Clark hovered above for just a second. Just long enough for Mordru to raise his grey head and take note of him in astonishment. “Another…?”

In a blink, Superman was out of sight, behind the building and lifting the heavy prison from behind the force field where Querl had hidden it.

“Now, Clark!” Imra shouted in his head.

Clark zoomed into Mordru again, smashing him bodily through the pillar and into the open air above the street. Brick and mortar showered everywhere, but Mordru slammed into the open maw of the container.

With a clang of metal, the opening shut, and it was surrounded with a glowing ball of energy, much like the Time Bubble they had traveled in.

“Thank you, Clark,” Superman said beside him. He didn’t look any the worse for wear, whatever the sorcerer had done to him.

Clark finally took a breath. “Are you all right?”

Superman simply nodded.

Imra floated toward them, the detritus she must have caught with telekinesis from the shattered pillar trailing in her wake. As she moved, the pillar began to reform itself and settle back to its original position.

Querl flew beside the Time Bubble, directing it to hover it mid-air above the Planet rooftop. They all joined him there, where Lois and Jason were waiting anxiously. As Superman touched down, the boy ran to him and hugged him fiercely around the legs. “Dad!” Lois quickly threw her arms around his shoulders in relief.

Setting down himself, Clark gestured at the glowing contraption. “What are you going to do with that?”

“We will send it back to the 31^st century to deal with,” Imra answered. “Once he has been removed from this time stream, things should begin to go back to normal.”

Querl added, “I will take it and be back…” He looked at Clark with wary hope. “Will you be all right here with Imra?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Querl smiled grimly. Clark’s answer would have to be enough for now. “Very well, I will return momentarily.” The Time Bubble’s portal opened, and he and the device vanished with a flash of light.

Imra took a few steps toward him, and placed a hand on his forearm. “He is deeply sorry that he deceived you, you know. And very grateful for your help.”

Clark’s arm twitched, but he didn’t pull away. “I…” Clark frowned. “I’m tired of being used for other people’s plans…”

“I understand, Clark. But your time is coming. Have faith.”

“I have been trying to…” Clark trailed off as he caught sight again of Superman, Lois and Jason. They seemed so strong in the face of this danger… would he ever have that? Could he set his own course, and have that kind of support as well…?

Lois noticed him looking over toward them. “Thank you, Clark. I think I see a ‘Super’ future for you yet.” She winked.

“Uh, I…” Clark rubbed the back of his head with his palm, suddenly flustered. “Thanks,” he finally managed.

“You’ll get there,” Superman assured him.

Clark didn’t respond aloud. Would he? For years he had been fighting fate, fighting taking a larger role in the world. Did he even want to? But being around this Super-family was making him re-think everything.

In another flash of light, the Time Bubble was back. Querl stepped out of the contraption, looking relieved. “It is done.”

“And the time stream has stabilized?” Imra asked from beside him, removing her hand from his arm.

Querl brought up the display, and nodded. “Yes… all except for a couple of loose ends.”

“What loose ends?” Clark asked in concern.

“The biggest? You must return to your own dimension, to minimize any damage your presence here has caused.”

“I see…” Clark answered with a touch of sadness. He had so many more things he would have liked to ask… If only he’d realized how short the time was… He turned toward Superman and his family. “I guess this is goodbye.”

“Take care.” Superman strode over and clapped him on the shoulder.

Lois came over as well, standing on tiptoe to plant a small kiss on his cheek. “Goodbye. Wouldn’t want to keep you from my double, now would we?” Clark tried not to blush.

“Bye, Clark!” Jason hugged him around the waist. “I’ll miss you!”

Clark smiled, mussing the boy’s hair. “I’ll miss you, too. Don’t forget me, okay?”

Querl and Imra gave each other another unreadable look. “Uh… we must be going.” Querl gestured into the pod. “After you?”

Clark waved with a bittersweet smile as he stepped in. Querl followed him, and moved over to the control panel. But Imra was not with him.

Clark’s eyebrows drew together. “Where’s Saturn Girl…?”

He turned toward the doorway, and she stepped through. “Here I am, Clark. Shall we go?”

As the Time Bubble disappeared, the violet light dimmed from Superman, Lois and Jason’s eyes.

They looked into each other’s faces in confusion. Jason was the first to speak. “Oh, Dad! You’re back!”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Part 8 – TBC

Cooking With Superman, Part 4

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:09:26 GMT

I continue my civic duty by bringing you the latest kimonos_house:

Much more fun geeky goodness at kimonostownhouse.com!

My nominations for the 2008 SMFA

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:20:06 GMT

I'm sure most of my Supes fandom pals have already seen the results ALL over their f-page, but here is the list of my nominations, just in case:

Long Past Time:

Not-So-Random Acts of Kindness:

The Packing List:

Kiss Me:

The Suitcase:

Words Fail:

Impressions (co-authored with jenn_1):
(for Richard/Lana)

(in general)

Umbra et Lumens:

And then:

Thank you so much to all of you who nominated me for awards! This is way more than I would have thought even had a chance. I don't think I'll win in most of those categories - honestly, the competition is very stiff. But it just continues to confirm to me what an awesome fandom this is!

Please vote sometime in the next few weeks, regardless of who you eventually choose! *hugs*

Dr. Horrible Air Dates Announced!

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:31:21 GMT

YAY!

(More info from doctorhorrible.net:)

Creator Joss Whedon has announced the “air” dates for Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. The episodes will air on the official website drhorrible.com as follows:

Part 1 - Tuesday July 15
Part 2 - Thursday July 17
Part 3 - Saturday July 19

These episodes will “air” online only until July 20.

Following that they will be made available for download at a “nominal fee” and in the near future available to buy on a very special DVD “with the finest and bravest extras in all the land”.

Now it’s time to spread the word far and wide to all the corners of the interweb. Grab some banners from the official site (or visit the promotional page on this site) and post them everywhere you go - and be sure to cover those places people wouldn’t normally hear about this.

This is your chance to play a part in changing the face of the entertainment industry forever.

Joss Whedon: “[Do] What you always do, peeps! What you’re already doing. Spread the word. Rock some banners, widgets, diggs… let people know who wouldn’t ordinarily know. It wouldn’t hurt if this really was an event. Good for the business, good for the community – communitIES: Hollywood, internet, artists around the world, comic-book fans, musical fans (and even the rather vocal community of people who hate both but will still dig on this). Proving we can turn Dr Horrible into a viable economic proposition as well as an awesome goof will only inspire more people to lay themselves out in the same way. It’s time for the dissemination of the artistic process. Create more for less. You are the ones that can make that happen.”

Birthday fic: Next in Line, 1/1 (Spider-Man comicverse)

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:59:18 GMT

Title: Next in Line
Author: htbthomas
Fandom: Spider-Man comicverse, post-unmasking, pre-Civil War
Characters: Peter Parker, Anna Watson
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,612 words
Betas: van_el, mark_clark
Summary: When Peter Parker unmasked in front of national television, he sort of forgot to warn everyone…

Author’s Note: A birthday fic for liliaeth, who asked for one of the reactions that “Marvel didn't think was important enough to show.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Package in hand, Peter landed lightly in an alley near one of the post offices several blocks from Stark Tower. He walked to the place where the entrance to the alley met the sidewalk, and peered around the corner…

…and sighed in relief. Hardly anyone around. He shifted the Iron Spider costume into civilian clothing and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

It had only been a week since his press conference, where he had revealed to the world that he, Peter Parker, was Spider-Man. And that he had been since he was sixteen years old.

Needless to say, press interest in him was still quite high, and the only way to get in and out of the Tower without being barraged with questions was through the roof access.

The stealth setting on the new costume didn’t hurt, either.

Peter walked with a bit of a spring in his step toward the post office at the end of the block, shifting his package to the other arm.

He could still hear Jarvis’ voice in his ears, stopping him as he headed for the roof. “Sir, you needn’t bother. I or my staff would be happy to perform this service for you.”

“That’s okay, Jarvis,” he answered. “There are some things a man has to do for himself.”

To tell the truth, it was nice to get out of that place. He was tired of being cooped up inside – going out on missions didn’t count. He wanted to breathe the peculiar New York air, walk among his fellow man….

He actually began to whistle lightly, attracting a couple of eyes from less cheerful fellow citizens. One of them screwed up his face as he looked, eyes widening in recognition…

Peter yanked his Mets cap from his pocket and pulled it over his head. Way to keep a low profile, Parker, he chided himself. Geez. Then he waved jauntily and pretended like he had every right to be there, which he did. The man shrugged and kept on his way after a half-hearted return wave.

Well, maybe this won’t be so—

His good humor suddenly disappeared as he got to the doorway. The line was long, doubling back a couple of times before ending very close to the entrance.

Maybe he should just go back to the Tower and get the staff to mail it anyway… But there was one tiny problem with that.

He’d have to go back to the Tower.

Sighing, he pushed through the doorway and took his place in the long line. It was a good measure of how stir-crazy he was that he was willing to stand here.

Still, he wouldn’t complain if he got called on by the team, or his spider-sense warned him of an emergency.

Peter inched his way forward in line, feeling sufficiently anonymous. Really, a post office line was one of the best places to stay inconspicuous. No one would make eye contact with you, let alone start up a conversation.

After about ten minutes, he had moved a grand total of ten feet. Amusement park rides went faster than this. At least, what he remembered from his youth. Nothing was quite as much a thrill as web-swinging through the canyons of skyscrapers here in the Big Apple.

He felt his cell phone vibrate, and he lifted it to check the display: MJ. “Hey, hon,” he said after flipping it open. “What’s up?”

“What are you doing? I called the Tower after my rehearsal to see if you wanted to brave the paparazzi to get a coffee… but you’re already out?”

“Yeah, got stir crazy. Decided to return those CDs.” Up ahead, an older woman turned her head toward him, frowning. But then she turned back toward the counter as the line moved forward. Peter hadn’t gotten a close look at her face, but her portly shape seemed familiar somehow…

He took a step forward, too. “You couldn’t have asked… never mind.” He could almost hear her shake her head. “How far are you from the theater? Close enough to meet?”

“I’m not far from Penn Station. You wanna meet at the Coffee Bean across the street?”

The white-haired woman turned again just as MJ was responding. “Sounds good. Think you can get there in a half an hour?” She looked straight at him, and he froze.

MJ’s Aunt Anna!

“Oh, crap! Anna!” he muttered into the receiver. “Gotta go – meet you there.” He closed the phone and shifted quickly to hide behind the man in front of him, while he decided what to do.

The day after the press conference, the Tower switchboard had been overwhelmed with calls, and poor May and MJ had both taken turns calming down Anna later. Why hadn’t they told her? Wasn’t she like a mother to Mary Jane? Wasn’t she May’s oldest friend? Hadn’t she witnessed Mary Jane and Peter’s wedding?

But he’d been out of the building when she called. And with this and that, he’d totally forgotten to call her back. He drew a hand over his face.

Stepping out a little, he saw that she was still trying to get a good look at him. He waved sheepishly.

“Peter? Is that you?” she stage whispered, and the whole line turned in his direction.

He simply nodded, ducking his head a bit more under his ball cap.

“Well, why don’t you come up and join me in line?” she called cheerfully, a touch too cheerfully. “I’m sure that these people won’t mind….” She trailed off at several pointedly annoyed looks.

Peter tried to gesture that she should move ahead – the line was moving on without her – and that they could talk later.

Anna’s lips compressed in frustration. She knew he was right, but she didn’t like it. And she was too close to the counter to give up her spot now. So she gestured back her consent with a pointed look of her own, one that clearly said, You owe me an explanation, young man. He felt about twelve years old.

She turned away from him and suddenly smiled at the business woman in line directly behind her. “It’s funny who you end up running into when you’re in town, isn’t it?”

The woman did nothing more than grunt, but it was enough for Anna.

“Take my nephew-in-law back there… I haven’t seen him for months, not since the holidays, and I just happen to see him here?”

The woman smiled tightly. Anna was holding up the line again. She let out a little “oh” and moved forward. “Anyway, it would be nice if he called every once in a while. He has this really dangerous job. I mean, I get all my news from his aunt…” She looked back at Peter, who shied away. “…or from television, for goodness sakes.”

Peter knew she was mad… but wow.

“Oh?” the woman asked, suddenly more interested.

Peter tensed. If Anna spilled his identity in this crowded post office, he’d have to get out of there in a hurry, CDs – and explanations – be damned.

“Yes, he’s…” She paused. “A firefighter. I saw him on the news the other day giving a statement.”

“You must be proud,” the woman said politely, not quite as interested.

“Oh, I am. I just wish—”

She was interrupted by a shout. “Next!” She startled and hurried up to the open attendant with a friendly farewell to the business woman.

When she was finished, she gestured that she would wait for him by the exit. The time seemed to drag by excruciatingly slowly…

His package paid for and sent, Peter walked slowly to where Anna waited. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand.

“Not here, okay? Too many people.”

She closed her mouth, and nodded. With a hand to the small of her back, he guided her out to the street, gesturing for her to walk alongside him.

“You know, Peter…” she began as they walked. “I can understand why May didn’t tell me, even Mary Jane. It wasn’t their secret to tell.” She placed a hand on his arm, and stopped. He halted to look down at her. “I thought we were closer than that.”

Her hurt eyes pierced him. But the answer was easy to give. “Aunt Anna, you don’t know how many people I’ve wanted to tell over the years… the truth is, knowing made most people’s lives more complicated. I didn’t want that for you.”

He started walking again, and she trailed him. “But we’re family…”

“Aunt May is like my mother and she only found out a little while ago. And I still worried constantly about her the whole time – that something from this other life of mine would spill over and harm her…” He shuddered. “But we’re in a better place now. Tony really made that all possible for us.”

“I still don’t understand how you could have been Sp – lived this life – without any of us even guessing…”

They had reached the corner. On the other side of the crosswalk was the Coffee Bean… and MJ, waiting by the door. When she saw who was walking with him she started to cross, but he held a hand up for her to wait.

“You want the whole story?”

She looked over and waved at her niece, but spoke to Peter. “From you.”

“It’s going to take a while…”

She smiled. “Where else does an old lady have to go on a Thursday afternoon?”

The light turned green, and he put an arm around her shoulder. “Then come on. Do you like this place? They have a great bottomless cup of coffee.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Is it your birthday soon? Request a ficlet!

Birthday Fic: Fair Play, 1/1 (Superman Returns)

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:33:02 GMT

Title: Fair Play
Author: htbthomas
Fandom: Superman Returns
Characters: Lois, Jason, Clark
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,676 words
Betas: van_el, mark_clark
Summary: “Jason,” Lois was telling him. “These carnival games are rigged. You’d just be wasting another dollar. Don’t you want some cotton candy or something instead?”

Author’s Note: A birthday fic for alphielj.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Pleeeeeease, Mom! One more try!”

Clark immediately turned toward the source of his son’s voice, shifting in mid-air. He didn’t spend even a second deciding to fly toward Jason… his summer reading list could wait.

“Jason,” Lois was telling him. “These carnival games are rigged. You’d just be wasting another dollar. Don’t you want some cotton candy or something instead?”

“I know I can hit it if I just try again!”

Clark grinned. He loved those games, too. He could still remember the Smallville County Fair. How he had wanted to win that big stuffed teddy bear for Lana…

“Kiddo, even if you hit the balloon dead-center, they fix it so it’ll bounce right off! You should jus—”

At that moment, her cell phone shrilled in her handbag. Clark could hear her dig for the phone as he touched down in an alley a block from the parking lot where the carnival was set up. He swiftly changed into a set of casual clothes, and strode toward the grounds.

“Hello?” Lois was saying. In the distance, X-raying through the crowd, he could see her guide Jason with one hand away from the games area and balance her cell phone on her ear. “Oh? What did you hear?”

Clark was now close enough to see them without any special vision. Jason was still looking back toward the stalls with longing while Lois talked on the phone. This was the sort of thing they should be doing together. He needed to tell Lois the truth about himself, and soon. With Richard out of the picture now, what was he waiting for?

“Hey, let me make some arrangements and I’ll call you back. How long can you wait there?” Lois frowned. “Oh, come on, I’ll make it worth your while…”

Clark sidled up beside them, waving goofily to get her attention. “Uh, hi, Lois. Jason. Lovely day for this, isn’t it?”

Lois turned to him with annoyance, which turned to surprise when she realized who it was. “Oh! Clark!” She spoke into the phone again. “Hang on a sec.” She covered the speaker with a hand.

“Hi!” Jason said enthusiastically. “Do you like carnivals, too?”

“Love them!”

“Oh, my God, Clark.” Lois said, an edge of panic in her voice. “You have no idea how glad I am you showed up. I’ve got to meet with a source before he takes off. It’s only a few blocks over, but I can’t take Jason along…”

“Oh, of course, I’d be happy to, Lois. Y-You don’t even have to ask.”

“Yay!” Jason did a little jump in the air.

“You’re a life saver! I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She bent down to kiss the top of Jason’s head. “Be good for Clark, okay?”

“I will!” Jason was already eying the Balloon Darts booth.

Lois waved and sped off, her heels clicking rapidly against the pavement.

“So,” Clark began, already knowing the answer, “What do you want to do?”

“Can we play the games?” He started toward the booth without making sure Clark was following. Clark chuckled and caught up easily.

Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar. “Three darts, please,” he asked, placing the dollar on the scratched-up counter.

“Ya sure ya wanna have another go?” the carnie asked with a sly wink. A shock of blond hair stuck out in all directions from under his baseball cap. “Ya gotta hit two of ‘em to win the big prize.”

“Yes,” Jason answered with determination. Picking up the first dart, he aimed carefully and tossed it with a strong flick of his wrist.

The dart thunked into the board a centimeter from one of the balloons.

“Aw, good try, kid! Ya got two more chances!”

Jason picked up another dart without reacting. He aimed and threw again, this time with even more power.

This dart caught the balloon just right and it popped with a satisfying crack.

“Yes…” Jason said.

“Great job!” Clark clapped him on the shoulder. “You just need one more!”

“I know I’ll get it this time,” he agreed, picking up the last one. He lifted the dart, closed one eye, and threw it…

It bounced right off one of the balloons, just as Lois had warned. The sound of the dart thwacking against the ground made Jason’s shoulders slump in defeat.

“Better luck next time, kid.” The carnie turned toward the passers-by and shouted, “Try your luck! Pop two balloons and get a prize!”

Clark put an arm around his shoulder and led Jason a distance away. “I’m sorry, Jason, I guess you can’t win them all.”

“But it should have popped that last one! Why didn’t it work?” Jason frowned in frustration, his expression an exact duplicate of Lois’ when she was worrying at a problem.

“Well, maybe it was just bad luck…?” He knelt down beside him. “You want to ride the Dragon Coaster to get your mind off of it?”

“Well…” he said, a light coming on in his eyes. “Mom said that the games were ‘rigged.’ What does that mean?”

“It means that they try to cheat you by making the game harder. It’s not fair, but people do it all the time,” Clark explained, his voice sad.

“But, how? It’s just balloons and darts! Do they have trick ones or something?” He frowned again. “Can you… you know…” He made a gesture with two fingers going outward from his eyes. “…look?”

Clark’s eyebrows rose. Jason knew? How much did he know? “Look?”

“With your…” He lowered his voice. “…X-ray vision. If they’re cheating, shouldn’t someone do something about it?”

“Huh,” Clark huffed. Well, check one revelation off his mental list. They were going to have to have a talk, and soon. “Well, sure. Give me a moment.”

Clark turned toward the booth, noting several details. The balloons were only half-inflated… the dart tips were completely dulled… and the counter was too far back for a fair throw, especially for a little boy.

“I think I see how they’re doing it.”

“Are you going to bust them?” Jason said excitedly.

“I’m not sure that the police would take us seriously, Jason.”

“Oh…” Jason’s excitement deflated like the balloons. “So they’re just going to get away with it?”

Clark looked into his son’s eyes, feeling every bit of his disappointment. Even though this would seem small to Jason later, right now it probably felt like Clark had when he learned Luthor had walked out of prison.

“Probably…” A thought came to him just then, and along with it, a smile. “But I bet we can win you that prize, yet.”

“Oh?” Jason’s eyes lit up, but then he paused. “But I’m out of money!”

“I can spot you a dollar or two. Come on.”

They stepped up to the counter once again, and Jason placed the dollar Clark had given him on the counter.

“You don’t give up, do ya?” the carnie grinned, his tanned face rippling into a dozen tiny wrinkles. “But I admire a man with determination. Here you go.”

He handed over the three darts, but Clark picked up one and examined it in the afternoon sunlight. “Uh… are these darts special in any way…?”

“Special?” the carnie frowned. “Nah, just your plain old darts. They’re the only ones we’ve got, though.” He added in a less jovial tone, “And no refunds.”

As the man spoke, Clark trained a razor-thin line of heat vision on the end of the dart, super-heating it. “Oh, well, I don’t really know much about darts, anyway. Here you go, Jason.”

He took it and aimed with his usual concentration. With a toss, the dart soared into the air…

And glanced the side of one of the balloons. But the balloon popped with a loud bang anyway.

“Yay!” Jason shouted, ignoring the carnie’s frown.

“Wonderful shot!” Clark enthused.

“I think it’s because you touched it, Clark. Do it again!”

“O-Okay.” He lifted the next one up and singed the end of it as well, pretending to pass it back and forth like a magician. Handing it to Jason, he declared, “Abracadabra!”

Jason giggled and tossed it.

But he had not been as careful. It sailed across the stall and punched into the board. Clark hoped the worker would not notice the thin trail of smoke emanating from the place where the dart was sticking.

“Ah…” the carnie sighed, satisfied that Clark hadn’t tainted his game. “Better luck on the last one.”

“I didn’t aim it good enough, Clark. Can you pick it up one more time?”

“Sure,” he said with a wink. “Nothing fancy this time.” He lifted it, seeming to peer into the colored end. Once the end was heated again, he gave the dart back.

Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, aimed, threw…

In slow motion, Clark could see the dart veering slightly to the left. If it continued on this course, it would just miss one of the balloons. He blew very lightly, changing the dart’s path…

POP!

The balloon spattered against the board.

Jason leaped into the air and pumped his fist. “I did it!”

“Ya sure did,” the carnie said, impressed. “Quite an arm there. Well… which one do ya want?” he asked, gesturing to the row of prizes.

Jason didn’t hesitate. “That one.”

Two chili dogs, a large coke and a funnel cake later, Lois strode up to them, looking satisfied. “Well, that was totally worth it. We’ve got a juicy bit of news to add to the city council article, Clark.” She sat beside them on the bench. “What did you guys do, except pig out?” she asked, pointing to their pile of trash.

“I won this!” Jason reached behind them and held out a huge plush toy for Lois to see. “Isn’t it awesome?”

Lois shared a look with Clark. As her eyebrow rose, he shrugged helplessly. She laughed, taking the three-foot tall Batman doll into her lap, and tweaked its pointy ear. “Totally awesome.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N 2: Make sure to click on the YouTube video in the summary above - it's very interesting to see how the different cons work. :)

Is it your birthday soon? Request a ficlet!

Smallville/Superman Returns/LoSH crossover: Scion, 6/?

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:59:02 GMT

Title: Scion, 6/?
Author: htbthomas
Fandom: Smallville/Superman Returns/Legion of Superheroes crossover. Mostly set in the Smallville universe, with a few comics/toonverse touches.
Rating: PG
Word Count: Part 6: 2,112 words
Betas: van_el, mark_clark
Summary: Chloe, Clark and Lois encounter a strange visitor… from another dimension.

Author’s Note: I couldn’t come up with a better way to differentiate between the Clarks than “Younger Clark” / “Older Clark”. Forgive?

Previously: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Older Clark pushed his glasses up his nose and huffed in surprise. “Uh… no. Jor-El certainly never mentioned anything like this. But then—” He stopped to look over at his son, Jason. “Jor-El has been known to be wrong on occasion…” He reached over to ruffle Jason’s hair.

“On occasion?” Lois scoffed, raising an eyebrow.

Older Clark shrugged. Younger Clark glanced between the two older reporters. “I know he’s my… our… father, but he’s been nothing but trouble for me,” he offered.

Lois gestured to him with an expression of triumph. “See? What have I been saying for years?”

Older Clark shook his head, as if this were an argument they’d had a million times. “Anyway, what exactly is going on? Where are you from?” He looked down his glasses at Younger Clark. “And how can you be me?”

“If you’ll permit me,” Querl answered for everyone, a touch of pride in his voice. “I can answer all of your questions. Is there a place where we can confer – privately?”

A few minutes later, they were all in the conference room. Even though they were enclosed with glass on three sides, no one so much as bothered them. Older Clark listened intensely to the explanation of what had happened, and why they were here, asking a few questions about dimensions and time travel along the way. Lois asked several pointed questions herself, neither one willing to trust the information at face value.

Strangely enough, Younger Clark felt relieved. He was still not sure whether Querl and Imra could be trusted or whether this was some sort of elaborate set-up.

So he simply sat back and watched, answering questions when asked, but otherwise staying out of the conversation. Lois and Clark were particularly fascinating to watch. He spoke with such authority, yet was incredibly self-effacing as well. She was full of fire, quick with the hard-hitting questions, and completely protective of Jason. And though the situation was extremely serious, the two of them kept up an affectionate banter to break the tension.

During the course of the discussion, it became clear that Lois and Clark were a team – in reporting, in parenting, and in marriage. Lois supported him in his superhero duties – not just standing on the sidelines, but doing her best as a reporter to help him without attracting attention.

When he imagined himself and his own Lois in these roles, he felt a strange sort of disconnect. Was this really what the future had in store for them?

“Another version of me really went with you to the future?” Older Clark asked in amazement, leaning forward on his elbows.

“You can just stop those gears turning right now,” Lois chided, annoyed. “I lost you for five whole years, and that was bad enough. There’s no way you’re going a thousand years into the future.”

Older Clark teased her, “But if time isn’t a fac—”

“I’m afraid time is a factor now.” Querl brought up a holographic display above his arm. “If you look at the timeline plotted here on this chart, you can see a comparison of the calculations before…” He pointed to a set of lines on the screen. “…and after… we returned Jason to this dimension.” The two sets coalesced into one. “Though the timestream seems more stable to a point, it seems to unravel right here without intervention.” He pointed to a place where the lines suddenly shot off the edges of the chart. “And the fluctuations are so severe that I can’t precisely pinpoint when it will happen.”

Younger Clark sat up from the armchair in alarm, breaking his role as observer. “I thought you said that bringing both of us back would fix that?”

“I said, ‘without intervention.’ Based on your answers,” Querl nodded at Older Clark. “I believe I have determined a plan.”

“Just now?” Lois asked, disbelieving.

“My processors allow me to run several routines simultaneously…”

“Modesty is not part of Querl’s programming,” Imra added, winking at Lois.

Lois gave a short laugh.

“Mordru is an extremely powerful sorcerer, but he has a few weaknesses,” Querl continued, ignoring the ladies’ exchange. “An airless container will render him powerless.”

“But if he’s so powerful, how can we possibly trap him?” Younger Clark asked.

Querl smiled slowly, a very human-like expression on his alien face, and looked him directly in the eyes. “This is why we brought you along.”

- - - - -

“You want me to what?!” Younger Clark peered over the edge of the Daily Planet’s roof, a feeling of vertigo washing over him.

Lois and Jason were with Imra, who was preparing the container. She hoped to hide it from Mordru until it was too late. But in order to ensnare the sorcerer, the two Clarks would need to work together to trap him in his prison at super-speed.

But no one had ever mentioned this part of the plan… until now. Knowing that Querl and Older Clark were standing behind him made it worse. Especially with his doppelganger dressed in his primary-colored spandex.

“To fly at super-speed,” Querl repeated.

“Um…” Clark turned around and looked down at his feet. “That’s not going to be possible.”

Querl and Superman waited curiously.

“I can’t fly,” he answered quietly.

Querl looked troubled and began to tap again on his arm input. “I seem to have conflicting information about that…”

“You really don’t fly?” Superman asked. “How old are you? About...”

“Twenty-one,” Clark answered with a frown.

“Hmm. I was about fifteen…” He quickly added, “But the first time was completely by accident.” He smiled, remembering. “It was more like ‘didn’t hit the ground.’ I fell through the top of the barn. Controlled flight came a bit later.”

“Well, I have flown before, but I can’t remember how…” He broke off, embarrassed. He suddenly wished he’d listened to Kara when she tried to teach him. “It’s complicated.”

Querl reached into his belt and drew something out of it. “Here. Use this.” In the center of his upturned palm was a golden ring with the Legion emblem.

Clark regarded the ring warily. “What does it do?”

“This.” Querl lifted his hand to show his matching ring, and he began to rise into the air, slowing to hover about four feet in the air. “It’s a ‘flight ring.’ One of my inventions.” He floated back downward and placed the ring between his fingers to hold out toward Clark. “Please. Give it a try.”

A ring? To fly? “All right…” Taking the ring carefully, he slid it onto the index finger of his right hand. “Now what?”

Querl lifted his hands, fingertips pointing toward the sky. “Simply… fly.”

Clark lifted his hands in a similar manner, feeling absolutely ridiculous. Nothing happened. “Still not flying.”

“Try imagining your feet lifting from the ground,” Superman suggested.

Clark sighed, closing his eyes. He tried to visualize floating from the ground, lifting into the air. He opened his eyes… and stumbled a few inches back to the concrete of the roof.

“You were doing it!” Superman encouraged.

“Barely,” Clark added with a wry grimace.

“Try again. This time with your eyes open.”

Clark lifted his arms again, and tried to will himself upward. He could feel a slight tug, but otherwise he remained frustratingly non-airborne.

“I usually just use one fist, pointed in the direction I want to go.” Superman demonstrated, lifting into the air.

Clark shrugged, and tried to imitate his older self, pointing his right fist toward the sky. He noticed the spire of a neighboring building. Maybe if I aim for that…

All of a sudden, he was rising into the air. “Whoa!” he shouted in startlement, and he began to careen toward the left…

“Watch out!” Superman called out.

But it was too late. With a clang that echoed into the late afternoon air he slammed… right into the side of the Planet globe. Romania would never be the same.

But somehow he ricocheted upward, barely missing one of the pillars before finding himself in the open air between buildings… the street fifty stories below. His stomach dropped out.

But he felt a steadying hand on his arm, and saw Querl flying beside him.

“Where’s…?”

“Welding the base of the globe, he will join us soon.” Querl started to fly faster, moving ahead of Clark. “Your form is good, now we need to increase your speed.”

Superman settled in beside Clark. “It’s a lot like super-speed running. You—” He paused for a moment. “You can do that, right?”

“Yes,” Clark answered tightly, trying to keep all his concentration on staying airborne.

“Then, just… go!” Superman shot forward in a blur of color, knocking Clark back in his wake.

“Showoff,” Clark murmured. Then he realized that he was simply floating steadily in the air, not falling, not wavering. “Huh.”

Clark placed his fist out in front again, not willing to be left behind. Think fast thoughts. Think fast thoughts, he chanted in his mind like a mantra. He began to move again, and it felt as if he were getting faster… the wind plastered his hair back from his face, and the clouds of the upper atmosphere seemed to be getting closer and closer…

Clark punched through a cumulus cloud, whooping in triumph. But he didn’t stop. This was fun!

Superman was suddenly beside him again, flanking him on the right. He smiled in approval. Clark didn’t quite know how to take that. He felt proud, but yet also condescended to at the same time.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this.” Clark put on a little more speed.

“Do you want to see how fast you can go?” Superman asked. “See if you can keep up.” With that, Superman shot forward.

Why that… Clark pressed his lips together, and tried to go as fast as possible. The blue and red ahead of him seemed like a tiny speck that wasn’t really getting any larger.

Is he trying to lose me or something? I thought we were working together!

He could feel a flare of anger in his belly, and a determination not to be beaten. The clouds blurred into a white smear below him.

Power coursed through him as he shot across the sky – and opened a doorway in his mind.

He remembered.

Remembered what it was like to launch into the clouds like a rocket, to zip across time zones, to race an airplane. He felt as if he could circle the globe in an instant.

Or simply… catch himself.

A moment later, he was a hand’s grasp away from Superman’s boot. His older self turned to look at him with a surprised smile. He opened his mouth—

“CLAAARK!!”

The shout pierced both of their eardrums. Clark flinched, his flight halted.

But Superman simply whispered, “Lois…” before swiftly diving earthward.

Clark made to follow him, his heart clenching in fear, but Querl was suddenly in his face.

“No! We cannot just rush in – what if it is a trap? Imra! Can you read me?” A holographic image of Imra appeared above Querl’s flight ring. “What’s going on?”

Her voice, distant and tinny, accompanied her faint image. “It’s Mordru! You’ve got to come as quickly as you can. He’s not after Jason! It’s Cl—” Her transmission was cut off.

“What happened!”

“He must have taken her ring – I hope it was not also her life…” He turned and began to fly upward rapidly. “We must put our portion of the plan into action. We must trust that, between Superman and Imra, they can keep him occupied long enough.”

Clark followed, pulse racing. Although he had not known them long, he could not imagine losing any of them. He tuned his super-hearing on Imra far below – it was probably the only way to determine what kind of danger they were in…

“Mordru – leave now!” Imra was commanding. “Your presence here is a danger to everyone in this timeline – including yourself!”

A deep, sinister sounding voice answered her. “I think you overstate the danger… at least to myself…” Mordru chuckled. “I am immortal, and invincible, even from a metahuman such as you. And hiding will not help you – I will easily find you with the proper spell.”

A quieter voice, sounding almost like a whispered prayer, faintly came next, “Saturn Girl, can he really find us?”

‘Saturn Girl’? Clark had never thought to ask if they used superhero codenames. Obviously, Jason had.

“He may…” she whispered back to him. “But don’t worry. Your dad, Clark and Brainiac 5’s plan is a good one.”

Clark’s flight upward shuddered to a stop.

'Brainiac 5'? I’m working with a…

…BrainIAC?!

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Next: Part 7

Visited States map

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:18:29 GMT

Here's my map (stolen from alphielj and babettew54):

create your own visited states map

I have people on my f-list who live in my blank areas. This must be corrected, don't you think? ;D