#lois lane rules of reporting

[smallcloisville]

"This is a memento from my first day on the job. And a constant reminder there's only one Lois Lane."

Always follow the rules of reporting by Lois Lane 😌

[karaspal]

the girls that get it, get it. the girls that don’t, don’t.

[starsintheskyandtheeye]

Respect for the Dead

By Lois Lane and Clark Kent

1,436 words

By now most of the world has been shaken by the news.

Ghosts are real! And ghosts are in danger! The original publication written by Lois Lane can be found here but we are not here to follow that well trodden avenue of discussion.

Here at the Daily Planet we have elected to focus on speaking to the ghosts themselves, rather than debate their existence alongside our fellow papers. During the hunt for the new source of Kryptonite that sparked this discovery Lois Lane made contact with one Danny Phantom. Originally he chose to anonymous but since the outpouring of support from much of the world he has since chosen to come forward publicly.

Given that the ghostly teenager is operating as a hero similar to our own Superman much of his personal history could not be shared. What was safe to share however was very different from what this reporting team had been expecting.

We had gone in prepared to hear the story of what caused a ghost that looks like a schoolboy to lead a life of ghostly vigilantism.

What we got was sweetly sarcastic individual giving us amusing anecdotes of his start as a hero, descriptions of the stranger habits he's gained since his death, and many many tips on how to politely interact with a ghost. At our confusion (who knew there were so many different types of ghost!) Phantom went on to explain and correct several common misconceptions about ghosts. So without further ado; here are the highlights of that discussion.

We begin with what was given to us as the number one rule of human/ghost etiquette. Never ask the individual, be they glowing werewolf, ghostly lunch-lady, or undead rock star, about the circumstances of their death.

It seems simple does it not? A matter of everyday politeness, and yet that is the number one reason for communication breakdowns between ectoplasmic entities and still living humans. Fortunately for the health of the interview this reporting team did not make that mistake. Phantom did not explain the nature of the offense but did not need to. It was clear that the, until then, friendly conversation would have ended abruptly if we had gone any farther down that path.

What we were encouraged (and warned) to talk to a ghost about was their obsession. As Phantom explained, "It's what drives a ghost, why we are still here, or why we formed at all."

When asked about his own obsession Phantom laughed a bit and said, "I'm a bit young for a ghost, so I don't really have one yet, I bounce around a lot. My doctor, he's a yeti, says it's normal for me though! The options are all over the place though. I know one ghost that haunts the high school to prevent bullying, a really nice guy. Another just wants to have her music heard by the world. Unfortunately her music brainwashes people to love her so we aren't super close. Or another that is all about granting wishes, but not in a singing blue genie way, in a fairy tale way, it's a mess whenever she gets over here."

That seems to be a common theme in ghostly/human interaction. Ghosts largely mean no harm but the pursuit of their own obsessions can have devastating effects on any that stand between them and their goal. Something to keep in mind if you're ordering pizza when the Box Ghost is at large.

Hoping it wouldn't cross into the realm of ghostly faux pas we went on to ask how old Phantom is. Once again Phantom seemed somewhat awkward although no more than what seemed to be his baseline when talking to (self claimed) famous reporters, saying only, "Time works differently in the realms. It can be really weird sometimes, you'll be talking to someone that looks like a toddler only to learn that they were last in a human world during the 1400s or something."

As Phantom continued to share however, the everlasting aspect seemed to be the least interesting part of the Infinite Realms, or the Ghost Zone as the Doctors Fenton, previously mentioned as ghostly experts here, call the place where the vast majority of ghosts dwell.

Ghostly yetis practicing medicine, while certainly not the least of the inhabitants were just the start. Phantom went on to share with us a sampling of the being he has encountered in his travels, medieval women moonlighting as temperamental dragons, the very concept of time, a warden of any ghosts that cross his path, and of course the ubiquitous creepy toddler so often featured on the silver screen.

According to Phantom up until extremely recently (whether by ghostly or human terms we were unable to determine) the Infinite Realms was closed off from our own home except for the occasional haunting. Which was explained to us by the telling of what was, to Phantom, a very funny joke about pop culture influencing ghost culture as people died and brought it over with them. From this we can glean several things. That the realms of the living and the dead have never been so far apart as it would have seemed to the living. That the near future will hold many changes as major religions, governments, and the common people hear what the dead have to say as they weigh in on what respect for the dead really means. And that while many things do translate, ghostly humor is not one of them.

Although of course that may be that, despite his real age being possibly many times our own - combined, Phantom is still eternally a teenager. And a teenagers jokes are often incomprehensible to any who do not share that state.

When asked about the sudden ghostly interest in our own living Earth Phantom had this to say, "Lots of ghosts want to go to the lands of the living. Especially anyone that used to be alive themselves. And anyone that didn't is curious what the fuss is about. Earth is so different from the ghost zone but it's still where a lot of us came from. If someone gets a chance to hop through the portal they'll go, to see how things have changed, or to keep things from changing, or just to stretch their obsessions. Really it's a chance to go home, just for a little while," he said, reminding us that for all they look like aliens ghosts are just as human as you or I.

With a few caveats.

The portal Phantom spoke of is an invention by the Doctors Fenton, Ectobiologists. Up until recently Jack and Maddie Fenton had been the worlds foremost ghostly experts, building a portal to the "Ghost Zone" in order to study what up until recently had been considered to be a non-sentient classification of emotional ectoplasmic imprintation.

We spoke to the researchers after our interview with Phantom, at his request. Despite the recent evidence come to light the couple remain the foremost (living) human scientists in the field. When asked about the setback to their work they had this to say, "We were devastated of course. To learn that we won't be able to study spooks -" Jack Fenton broke off there, at an extremely well executed elbow jab from Maddie Fenton who then said. "We got an extreme tunnel vision, a hazard of obsessive science. We were told we were wrong about the existence of ghosts for so long that we forgot to check that we were correct about their nature. We look forward to pivoting to ghostly anthropology and human/ghost interaction technology."

Ultimately we did not learn any groundbreaking secrets, but then if a ghost willing to go on record ( a written record at least, our recorded transcript of the conversation was near unusable due to static) you sit down and listen. We can never anticipate what a reader will take from an article but if we could make a suggestion? In this reporting teams opinion, the balance of ghost and human realms is not unlike the inversion of a mirror. We are reflections of one another. Opposite, yes, and dangerous to one another for it, but ultimately we are all the same. After all what is a ghost but emotion and ectoplasm (according to current science)? And for all that we try to rise above it, what is a human but emotion and flesh?

Fin.

Coming Soon!

Keep an eye out for top ten tips on ghostly interaction and interviews with the Justice League on diplomatic efforts with GHOSTLY ROYALTY!!

[superman-the-secret-third-thing]

Crazy Things that happened to Golden/Silver/Bronze Age Superman that he just shrugged off

-He's a clone of a clone and the original Superman died years ago.

-The universe is an infinite time loop, once the big bang occurs it happens again. He has lived through his childhood and early adulthood twice.

-He can't die of old age so if he wants to die he'll have to kill himself.

-He's indirectly responsible for a nuclear apocalypse that laid a planet completely barren, but doesn't remember it because it happened in a time bubble where he was turned back into a baby and sent on his way to earth.

-He's partially responsible for Kandor getting bottled- he went back in time and tried to organize an effort to evacuate the planet, but he forgot to check the name of the city he was in, so their entire fleet got sucked up by Brainiac.

-He cries uncontrollably on his birthday, not because of Krypton's destruction, but because Kryptonians have a tradition of being sad on their birthdays. He hypnotized himself to forget this for some reason.

-He's doomed to be haunted by a white woman with double initials. He once tried to go back in time and not encounter Lois, only to encounter an even crazier bitch who tried to attack him to expose his identity.

-Despite having a rule against killing, he accidentally built a fully sapient and self-aware robot as a teen and killed it without mercy while it begged for it's life.

-Wizards are real

-He attempted to prevent the assassination of Abraham Lincoln but failed, watching John Wilkes Booth shoot the president while he stood frozen.

-His eyes rolled so far back into his head he looked at his own brain.

-A clone of himself, identical in every way except for his super powers committed suicide via gunshot.

-Mxyzptlk made a fake wife and son for Superman and acted like Mxy had just removed the memory of his marriage instead of just making them up wholeheartedly. He turned out to be the kid but the wife was a fully sapient magical construct who dies on the floor.

-Bizarro is the Christian devil, the Yeti and Mary Shelly's inspiration for Frankenstein

-A mob wanted to make superman guilty of murder, so they resurrected a guy from the dead for ten hours, so he can get superman to punch him at the exact right time to fall dead again. He got hit by a car so plan B was Boxing Match + Suicide capsule

-The Kryptonians once built an exact duplicate of Krypton as a decoy to distract space pirates who wanted to rob the planet. Superman found it, an unknowingly activated the booby trap, killing every sentient robot duplicate, including his parents. He didn't know that they were fake at the time.

-If you smash a potted tibetan plant over your skill at a right angle, you can see exactly one hour into the future

-Superman robots explode f they hear a language that isn't English.

-John Corben, Metallo and Bruce Wayne, Batman look exactly like him.

-His love interests always have LL initials. Lyla Lerrol (Kryptonian Actress), Lois Lane (Human Reporter), Lana Lang (Smallville Resident), Lori Lemaris (Mermaid telepath) and Lahla (Thorone Dissenter)

I'll post if I can think of more.

[suzukiblu]

WIP WEDNESDAY GAME

Slimmed-down post/rules, but originally taken from @/kedreeva.

It’s WIP Wednesday! No specific theme this week, just a few random picks either suggested or inspired by Ko-fi peeps and a couple dealer's choice picks that I've been vibin' with for the past week or so but haven't really had as much dedicated time to focus on as I've wanted.

Here’s how it works:

I will post the file names of five WIPs, and will also post a snippet of new content from one of them to get the ball rolling.

Send me an ask with the name of one of the listed WIPs and I will write you a minimum of three sentences in that WIP in response!

Multiple requests are fine, but please send them in separate asks. Just a little easier for me to fill them that way, and also easier for people to read through the WIP tags smoothly later.

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

WIP names:

the one where Kon's soulmark isn't fake (( chrono || non-chrono ))

Circe makes everything worse (( chrono || non-chrono ))

the one where Clark is trans and Kon is not (( chrono || non-chrono ))

mirror mirror (( chrono || non-chrono ))

interdimensional whoring for Timkon (( chrono || non-chrono ))

snippet from “the one where Kon's soulmark isn't fake”:

He really doesn’t wanna let Superman down, though. Not even over, like, stupid little shit like that. Like–he doesn’t wanna disappoint him, he means. 

Which, yeah, Superman probably wouldn’t really care if some random-ass mouthy fuck of a reporter working for a shitty media company got decked on live TV by his actual favorite mouthy fuck of a reporter, just . . . it’s not really, like–all that Super, if Superboy just lets it happen. Just . . . yeah. Bad form or whatever, he doesn’t know. 

. . . also, probably thinking the memes would be funny is not all that “Super” either, considering. Though they definitely would. Like . . . just objectively, okay? Superman can’t be disappointed in him for just thinking that Lois Lane decking an asshole who works for assholes on live TV and the inevitable internet response to that would be funny. Because it would just be so fucking funny, seriously. 

Definitely there’d be some choice reaction gifs to mine, if nothing else.

[holy-obsession-batman]

How to know a Rogue from an urban legend in Gotham

See, Metropolis guys have it easy: to know whether the latest alien robot is real or if your buddy is pulling your leg, you just gotta pull out today’s Daily Planet, and look for any article by Lois Lane, Superman’s girlfriend, or by Clark Kent, Superman’s girlfriend’s husband.

Why do Metropolitans even need to know about their Rogues anyway, aside from a misplaced curiosity. What are they gonna do, get crushed under buildings knowing the truth? Ridiculous.

For Gothamites, being up to date on the Rogue gallery is what make the difference between going home sane (or as sane as a Gothamite gets), and clawing your own eyes out before jumping into the river because you didn’t have a rebreather for the latest strain of fear toxin.

And since the Gotham Gazette’s most brilliant reporter occasionally dates the local billionaire and not the local vigilante, the Gazette gets exclusives on the latest of Bruce Wayne’s adoptions or ski trip gone wrong instead of the latest of Batman’s opponents.

(Not that Gothamites would trade stories about Brucie Wayne for any other, even Batman related. The Batman may be Gotham’s Knight, but the Waynes are royalty.)

Anyway, in Gotham, shit goes down at night—as it should: there’s no need for all the nonsense during working hours—in the dark. There is no such a thing as an eyewitness. Sure, you saw something. Thought you saw something. But how much of it was you seeing and how much you persuading yourself you saw it? How much of it is chemically-induced hallucinations? How much of you making shit up rather than admitting to having been beaten up by Batman’s freshest, youngest brat?

Every information about capes and rogues in Gotham has a little flavor of gossip and conspiracy theory, you see.

When it’s just about the usual Rogues, hearsay does the job well enough. The problem is new, up and coming rogues. Because so much shit happens weekly in the City, how to make the difference between a proper rogue and inflated rumors?

So the Gothamites found a simple rule. One recognizes a rogue at their instinct to organize a showdown with Batman. Batman always beat the rogue and send them to Arkham. Hence, if they are registered on Arkham Asylum’s database, the rogue exists, else it’s an urban legend. (or a failure who quit before making it. the result is the same: not worth remembering.) Exemple. Killer Croc: legit. Sewer Kraken: urban legend.

(And if they went through the cycle of Arkham breakout and recapture at least once, you can call them a Rogue, capital R. Then it’s worth learning their name.)

You will note that there has never been a recorded registration of a Batman in Arkham. Hence, Batman is a urban legend.

What about the Robins? Robin is a belief, a faith, the shrine you choose to dedicate your hope to is your business and entirely subjective go away

(Masterlist)

[radioactive-earthshine]

Ohhhh. WIP Wednesday tagged by @dio-icarticaae!!

Rules: post an excerpt from your most recent WIP then tag a bunch of people.

Here is an excerpt from my "Lois exposes Rex" fic which I have rewritten.... twice.

Roxy chuckled, it was a soft little noise. “Don’t worry Ms. Lane, I’m not backing out of this. Honestly, I think my dad needs to feel some real heat that he can’t buy, cheat, or luck his way out of.” The buttons on the briefcase snapped open as Roxy dug into it and pulled out several stacks of bundled paper, separated by paper clips, vanilla folders, and staples. “Here, this is all of it. All of his expenditure reports from the last five years, every single email, directive, contract, and message I took down while working as his assistant and co-owner of Leech Enterprises.” 

I guess I'll tag @cer-rata, @fire-fira, @peacerisendove and @jellyfishjuliet if you want to do it!

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

A Dish Best Served Cold

by MorbidRobin The good guys always win.  That's usually the rule of the universe. They arrive just in time to save the day, save their loved ones, their family.  But bad things do happen to good people... Even if you're Superman, let alone Clark Kent. AKA: Superman pulls a John Wick and hunts the Joker in different universes. And kidnaps the Red Hood. Words: 1732, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 2 of Morality Is A Privilege Fandoms: Injustice: Gods Among Us, Batman: Death in the Family (Movie 2020), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Categories: Gen Characters: Clark Kent, Jason Todd, Krypto the Superdog (DCU), Joker (DCU), Original Clark Kent/Lois Lane Child(ren), Tim Drake (DCU), Duke Thomas, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Martha Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Stephanie Brown, Barbara Gordon, Bruce Wayne Relationships: Clark Kent/Lois Lane, Clark Kent & Jason Todd, Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent & Krypto the Superdog, Clark Kent & Lois Lane & Original Character(s), Clark Kent & The Joker Additional Tags: Dimension Travel, Revenge, Clark Kent is Superman, Clark Kent Needs a Hug, POV Clark Kent, Mentioned Jonathan "Pa" Kent and Martha Kent, Jonathan "Pa" Kent and Martha Kent Live, Clark Kent is Not Superman, Bruce Wayne Knows Clark Kent is Superman, Hurt Clark Kent, Lex Luthor Knows Clark Kent is Superman, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Crack Treated Seriously, Mental Breakdown, Morally Ambiguous Character, Jason Todd Has Issues, Anti-hero Clark Kent, Dead Joker (DCU), Jason Todd Kills Joker (DCU), Clark Kent Kills Joker, Superman Kills Joker So Many Times, Joker is dead in every dimension, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Resurrected Jason Todd, Jason Todd Deserves Happiness, Clark Kent deserves better than being slow paid reporter while his pa dies, Clark Kent Being an Idiot, Clark Kent Being an Asshole, Clark Kent is So Done, Clark Kent is a Ray of Sunshine, Depending on the dimension, Jason Todd is So Done, no beta we die like the joker, Arkham Asylum, Not Canon Compliant, Out of Character, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dark Clark Kent, Duke Thomas is Signal, Tim Drake is Red Robin (DCU), Stephanie Brown is Spoiler, Barbara Gordon is not in a wheelchair, Dead Lex Luthor, Scarecrow's Fear Toxin (DCU), Joker Venom (DCU) via https://ift.tt/P2LFaIi

[jor-elsemissary]

Of the Fourth Kind pt4

————

“It has been one month since the mysterious disappearances of U.S. Senator Martha Kent and founder of LuthorCorp and billionaire, Lionel Luthor, from Senator Kent’s farmhouse in Smallville, Kansas. Federal and local authorities have been unable to make headway on the investigation, receiving no ransom demand from the person or persons responsible for the disappearance. The investigation is now focusing on Lionel Luthor and his relationship with Senator Kent…”

“Turn that off,” Lex Luthor demanded from where he sat in the Talon with a coffee and bagel in front of him, neither of which he has yet to touch. Across from him was Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and beside him Chloe Sullivan. He watched as Lana Lang took the remote from behind the counter and changed the channel to a movie.

“They’re just covering what they’ve been told,” Clark defended a little, but he too was irritated by the broadcast. He has been unable to find his mother or Lex’s father since they were taken. The authorities had ruled out alien abduction for the simple fact that the government’s stance was that aliens didn’t exist even though they had one right in their backyard helping people. Then again he hadn’t revealed that he was from another world. As far as the world was concerned, Superman was just an extremely powerful meta-human.

He had discussed it with Lois and although she was excited at the idea of interviewing Superman and revealing that tidbit about him, she felt that now was not the right time considering. “Superman may end up taking the blame for the abductions and all other abductions, Clark,” she had told him. “Best that the authorities focus on your mother and Lionel than on you.”

She had been right, of course, and he loved her for her insight into situations.

“How has your investigation been going?” Lex addressed Chloe beside him and she nursed the coffee in her hands.

“No where but in circles,” she answered with pursed lips and a light scowl. She then reached down into her carry-all and produced a folder which she laid out in the middle of the table for everyone to see. “Sifting through the scores of stories that exist on alien abductions, I did manage to find two that described the aliens having claws. One even described the thick blood that was found at the farm.”

Lex lifted up the file and looked through the information. He saw sketches of Greys that looked far different from the typical short, big-brained and skinny aliens that Hollywood and a lot of other stories depicted them as. These sketches made them look almost reptilian. “What did these people have to say?”

Chloe reached for a page and held it up, “That they had been taken in the middle of the night. They spoke about experiments being done on them, one of them claimed he woke up in the middle of being dissected by three of them.”

“How did they escape?” Lois asked. She had the folder in her hands now and examining the images and reports with a curiosity Clark has only seen on her when she’s pursuing a story.

“They didn’t.”

“They let them go?” Lex raised an eyebrow.

“Allegedly,” Chloe pointed to a paragraph in the report. “The guy who was dissected claimed he had been dumped in the middle of a forest in Boulder, Colorado. Naked and scared shitless. A local tavern took him in when he stumbled onto their doorstep. No one could talk to him and if they tried to touch him, he would get hysterical and scream. A waitress claimed he kept staring out the window he was huddled by as if whatever had terrorized him was waiting outside.”

“The report says he had been taken while on a hunting trip with his best friend. The authorities thought he murdered his friend out in the forest and used an alien abduction as a coverup?” Lois handed the folder over to Clark so he could look into it. “His friend showed up a few days later telling the same story and in the same state of dress and mind.”

“The other story is similar,” Clark noted as he skimmed through the paragraphs. “Taken in the middle of the night in their home, no power and the phone was dead. They were also found by a group of campers wandering in the middle of a forest in Colorado, naked and hysterical.”

“So they dump their victims in the forest in Colorado,” Lex observed dryly. “I wonder why?”

“No one around to witness their arrival?” Chloe suggested.

“But why Colorado? Does it say if it was near Boulder like the other one?” Lex watched as Clark sifted through the papers on that particular story and shook his head. “Its a possible connection. If these are true stories, then we should visit the town and see what else we can learn.”

“You think there might be more victims there and people just don’t realize it?” Lois frowned.

Chloe took back the folder and added, “If anything, it seems to be a dumping ground for these aliens. If they plan on returning Senator Kent and Mister Luthor, then that is where they will go.”

“I’ll have my jet ready, we can go together,” Lex offered as he started to stand.

“Lois and I will hang around here for a few days more, see what else we can learn from Chloe’s investigation and then head out to Colorado,” Clark suggested smoothly. The truth was, he could get to Colorado a lot faster as Superman than he could as Clark. “Lois could maybe send Superman in that direction to help?”

“Hey, its not like I have him on speed-dial,” Lois protested bemusedly.

“Yes you do.” Clark teased.

Lex raised a brow at them both and then shook his head, “Fine. Chloe and I can go then. Just don’t tarry too long here and miss finding your mother in Colorado.”

“We won’t,” he promised and then watched as the billionaire left. Clark turned to Chloe and leaned forward against the table, “What else did you learn that you weren’t going to share with Lex?”

Chloe sighed, “I spoke to J’onn and he says he knows of the aliens that took your mother. According to our resident martian, they are apex predators that prey on lesser developed species. They will spend decades studying the potential food source before they invade and cull our numbers.”

“That sounds like a nightmare,” Lois commented, glancing at her husband a little concerned. “Does that mean…”

Her cousin shrugged in reply, “J’onn doesn’t think a culling happened. If one had, it would be all over the news. Not even the governments of the world would be able to hide it. Senator Kent and Mister Luthor were probably taken simply for study.”

“Even worse,” Clark murmured and closed his eyes. He could only imagine what the aliens were doing to his mother. He’s seen enough alien movies to know that it wasn’t going to be pleasant. He didn’t care for Lionel, but even he wouldn’t wish that upon the man no matter how much he may hate him or what he’s done. “Did J’onn say where we could find them?”

She shook her head unhappily in reply, “He suspects they’re somewhere in orbit or near orbit of Earth or the Moon. He became aware of them several years ago and had tried to look for their main ship, but they are a species capable of cloaking and space is really huge.”

“A needle in a hay stack,” Lois pursed her lips in frustration. “So Boulder, Colorado and these cases are our only clues.”

“Let’s just hope that these aliens return them alive.” Clark looks worriedly at the file folder, his hands clenching anxiously at the helplessness he feels. Even after a month, he still blames himself for what had happened. He knows that if he had been there instead of in Metropolis with Lois, the aliens would not have succeeded in taking anyone that night.

“I should get back to the Planet to see if anything else turned up in my inquiries before I meet Lex at the airport,” Chloe stands up and gathers the papers and her carry-all. “If we find them first, you two will be the first to know.”

“Thanks, Chloe,” Clark watched her go and then felt Lois take him by the hand. He looks to her curiously and saw the concerned look she had for him. “I’m alright.”

“Are you?”

He nodded.

Lois leaned in and rested her head against his shoulder, “We’ll find them.”

“I hope so.”

“We will.”

—————

It was freezing in the massive chamber. His teeth chattered while he ascended further into the depths in search of Martha Kent. So far he had been unsuccessful in locating the pod she was in. He had discovered a pattern though while peeling back the gelatinous substance and staring at the faces of each person being held captive.

The aliens were not particular in who they had taken. He identified a number of ethnic groups slumbering in the pods, of varying ages and genders. The further down he went, the more emaciated the people got. He wasn’t sure how significant that was or how long these people had been here to reach that state of health, but if it was a pattern then that meant Martha had to be somewhere above him instead.

So that was why he decided to climb back up toward where his pod had been and restart his search from there.

But as he kept opening pods and finding complete strangers, one after another, he had begun to lose hope in ever finding the red-haired woman. Lionel paused by an empty pod, refusing to look inside knowing that it was occupied with a corpse. He took a deep breath and harshly coughed, his lungs still irritated by whatever gas was in the atmosphere.

He was feeling light-headed and knew that he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. He was tempted to rip open a pod and borrow the breathing tube of an occupant, but that would leave them to suffocate inside the pod and die. The ruthless part of his mind reasoned that the person was going to die anyway, slowly emaciating to death if the aliens didn’t kill them outright.

Lionel hissed in a breath at the dark thoughts. It had been a long time since he had considered sacrificing a pawn for his own personal gain. That was how much Martha had been able to influence him, to change the way he viewed people and treated them. He was still ruthless and Machiavellian in practice, it was what he knew best and modeled his life and business around.

These days, he realized, he operated with one thought in mind and that was making Martha proud of him. It was that impulsive desire that kept him from tearing out the breathing tube of any of the people trapped here. She would not want him to harm these people in search of her. They did not ask for what was happening to them and could not fight back like he was able to right now.

“Martha,” he murmured into the dark expanse above him. “The things you make me do…” He reached out for the wall and continued to climb toward the next illuminated pod. His hands dug into the substance and tore it apart to pull it away from the face hidden underneath. He almost shouted in triumph as the unconscious and beautiful visage of Martha Kent greeted him. “Thank you, Lord!” He praised to a God he hadn’t believed in for ages.

He began tearing at the gel until he had enough of it removed to expose Martha’s upper half. Carefully he tucked an arm underneath her and lifted her up. “Martha,” he called to her, one hand wiping away at the fluid to try and clear her eyes and nostrils. He didn’t know what had allowed him to wake up or what was keeping the people asleep, but he was desperate to get her to awaken that he was willing to try anything.

Needing a reprieve from the foul atmosphere his lungs protested against, he decided to see if maybe removing the breathing tube would be enough to encourage her back to consciousness. Slowly he removed the organic looking thing until it slid out of her mouth with a pop. He stuck it into his own mouth while he sluiced away the fluids pooling around her lips.

“Come on, please wake up,” he begged around the tube. He could already feel the heavy weight of struggling to breath lift from his chest, but the burning pain still remained and that had him worried. “Martha…”

Lionel held onto her with one arm around her chest while he stroked at her face. He didn’t know what he would do if she did not regain consciousness. Carrying her in the weightless environment won’t be a problem until he encountered an area with gravity, but it would be awkward and harder to defend her should they come across any of the aliens.

He needed her to wake up, not just for practical reasons but also for his own peace of mind.

Desperate and afraid, he pulled her closer and rested his brow against her own. He fought against the urge to give in to his fears and cry, but a quiet sob escaped him anyway. “Martha, please,” he murmured in a quiet whisper.

He didn’t know what he was going to should he lose her, that was how important she had become in his life. He sucked in a breath at the epiphany of their relationship, the realization of how he felt about this farmer’s widow. He knew he had deeply cared for her, even had been willing to commit suicide to protect her from a deranged man even though he had told himself that he had done it to protect Clark.

He had admitted to himself that he had wanted her, wanted her approval and trust, wanted her to love him like she had Jonathan. But, up until now, he had denied himself the very idea that he was in love with her. He had liked and respected her as a person and as a woman, and for the longest time that was how he thought he had felt for her.

If he was honest with himself, truly honest, he was in love with Martha Kent and had been for a very long time.

“Martha…” Lionel stroked the side of her face again before pulling the tube out of his mouth to return it to her. He had no way of intubating her again, but he had no intention of leaving her behind to suffer at the hands of these aliens or to die. He decided that he would stay here with her until she either woke up or they killed him.

He closed his eyes and held onto the woman he was clearly in love with. His body shuddered against the cold and he instinctively tightened his arms around Martha to keep her warm. He focused on her breathing, the only sign that she was still alive. It was the change in her breathing that brought him a relief he hadn’t realized he so desperately needed to feel.

Lionel pulled back enough to look down at her and listened as she took deeper breathes. He could see her eyes moving under the lids and knew she was waking up from whatever drug induced slumber they had her in. “Martha,” he called to her, his palm pressed against the side of her face.

He smiled widely when he saw her eyes flutter open, overjoyed that she was alive and now awake. “Li… Lionel?” Martha called his name in confusion and he wiped away more of the thick fluid she had been encased in. She started to look around and he saw the horror of their situation settle in.

Martha began to thrash in his arms and he held onto her steadfast. “It’s alright,” he whispered into her ear softly and reassuringly.

“Lionel…”

He gave her a smile he didn’t quite feel, but knew it would help calm her. She relaxed in his arms but he could tell she was still tense and ready to flee the moment they were in danger again.

“I’m here,” he says to her. Martha weakly reached up with one of her arms and wrapped it around his shoulders as tight as she could. The drugs they used must still be keeping her weak.

She rested her head against his chest, “Thank you.”

“For?”

“For finding me.”

“Always.”

[fickle-tiction]

How about Lois Lane tickling Bruce at the knee?

Could be during an interview or while he's standing around in public?

Ooo I've never written Lois before so I will prob butcher her but it's okay since it's only a 3 sentence thing (have i ever in my life followed the rules for these things?) thanks for the challenge!

~~~

"I'd hold my tongue if I were you, Mr. Wayne." Lois whispered, her hand appearing out of nowhere to slip under his suit jacket and rest on his side, fingers sliding over the silky material of his shirt as they sought out the rich laughter she's heard so much about.

Bruce's left eyebrow rose of its own accord as Lois Lane snuck up behind him while he was teasing Clark and--was she trying to tickle him? It seems Clark's been talking about him to his friends, and Bruce didn't know if he should be flattered or if he should murder him. Unfortunately for him (fortunately for his boyfriend and his best friend) they were at a gala and Bruce had a part to play so his face split into a smile and he squirmed away from the tickling fingers.

"Ms. Lane." Bruce gasped, obnoxious Brucie person coming out to play, lest anyone around them become suspicious. "There was a time I would have loved to have your hands all over me." Lois narrowed her eyes at that, pinching his side hand and causing Bruce to suck in air between his teeth. His eyes were sparkling though, they both knew he deserved that. "But I'm trying out this monogamy thing." He pitched his voice low, as though he didn't want anyone around them to hear such an embarrassing fact.

"Oh?" Lois asked, hands trying to go back in for another strike. Bruce was lazily blocking her attempts, seemingly oblivious to Clark lurking behind him ready to strike. "And how's that working out?"

Lois knew exactly how that was working out. He was stupidly in love with sunshine personified, but he had a reputation to maintain and he couldn't possibly say that in public. "Well, it seems he's been divulging my deepest darkest secrets to reporters, so not gre-HEEEE--Clark!!"

Clark took the opportunity to hug Bruce from behind and tickle quick fingers over his stomach. He had to show Lois how it was really done, where Bruce couldn't control his reactions no matter how hard he tried as he desperately tried to tamp down on his laughter. The people closest to their group were looking on in amusement, and if this wound up in one of the gossip rags Bruce might actually kill him, so Clark let him go after he got a solid laugh out of him. It didn't take long.

[thefrostqueen]

In Superman II (1980) Lois literally jumps out of a window at the Daily Planet in an attempt to prove Clark is Superman. Everyone going “That’s not something she’d do” are so brainwashed by Snyder that they forget how feisty and crazy the real Lois Lane is. She HAS and DOES do insane things like that and it is so incredibly in character of her lol. She did not become a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter by being subdued and rule following.

People are seriously complaining about Lois jumping off the roof to prove Clark is Superman? She's been doing that for decades! That's her go to move! Lois Lane has always been unhinged, that's what makes her great. Y'all are like 'give me a weirdo woman, give me a real freak", then a piece of media accurately portrays a CLASSIC weirdo and y'all call her toxic or whatever. It's called being dedicated to finding the truth and having no chill. Just admit you can only accept women (esp woc) being slightly spunky and awkward and will turn against them the second they get a little interesting and fucked up. If y'all can't appreciate that Lois is a freak, you don't deserve her. More for me.

[superman-the-secret-third-thing]

Radio Superman is Lizard-Brained

I'm not listening to it all- since there's so much of it, but I listened to first thirty or so episodes and plan on listening to further highlights such as "The Clan of the Fiery Cross" which irl directly lead to the KKK's loss of power in the US.

The show started in 1940, and differs greatly from the comics of the time:

Krypton is on the other side of the sun.

Superman can fly from the beginning.

Most importantly- Superman gestated in the pod and arrived in the US as a fully grown man.

The last one- the lack of Kents or any human experience have lead to some strange moments.

Superman feels an urge to help people he can't explain, and his first action is rescuing a boy named Jimmy and his grandfather from a car crash. They react predictably- screaming for him to let go. He presumably rolls his eyes at the ungrateful fellows and drops them less gently than intended. They calm down, thank him, and ask him if they can do anything. He asks for two things- how to find more people to save and to keep his existence a secret.

Pointing him towards the Daily Planet, he presumably steals clothing from someone along the way. He walks in through the front door, heads to Perry White's office, gives him a firm handshake and asks for a job as reporter-

White says no, who the hell are you you have no experience and Clark interrupts him to ask if he gets the story on a nearby train robbery will he get the job. White questions how he heard about that (he'd been on the phone), and Clark flawlessly ignores him with his super-hearing (a running gag in the series). The editor sighs and says, "Sure kid, whatever."

He walks into the hallway, establishes a repetoire with Lois Lane who is surprised at the sudden application, but offers him directions to the train station. He gives her his thanks, bows, and then leaps out the window. Lois screams in horror (because it looks like he committed suicide) and it spends a minute with her in hysterics before cutting to him on the train.

Clark does shenanigans on the train, and sits back down with a sigh of relief, only to be confronted by the conductor, who notes his lack of ticket and becomes angry, accusing him of being a stowaway and intending to toss him in the jail.

Clark, nervous, realizing that he's broken a rule and doesn't want trouble, just insists that he be thrown off the train. Just out the window, throw me out the window, its fine, i've been a bad boy.

The conductor, previously angry, now concerned, tries to wrestle the strange man to prevent him from committing suicide- but loses his grip and the strange man is suddenly gone.

This all happens in the first couple of episodes.

There's more stuff, like he continually forgets that humans need to breathe air.

Being a terrible liar...

Criminal: "Worry not, Mr. Reporter. We're gonna leave you here, in this steel-plated, concrete room....forever! Hahaha!"

Clark: "Oh, okay."

Criminal: "..."

Clark (realizing something): "Oh no! I'm gonna die in here because I need to breathe human air with my human lungs, and my human arms can't get through all this metal and concrete."

Criminal: (eyebrow raised, closes the door.)

Clark puts on his Superman face and laughs jubilantly as he digs through the concrete wall, bragging about how thin the metal walls are- but....Clark. There's a door right there. Just take the door!

It's surprising how funny it is, and there's more interesting stuff. Many things originated in radio canon which then were quietly inserted into comics continuity.

The comics called it The Daily Star, not the Daily Planet.

Superman can fly- he couldn't in the comics at the time.

The Editor was someone named Thomas, and was retconned into Perry.

Most amusingly, Kryptonite was invented to give Bud Hollyer (Superman's VA) a holiday.

Jimmy Olson.

[suzukiblu]

WIP WEDNESDAY GAME

Taken from @kedreeva.

It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog of this post (so people can find you in the notes) or new thread (w/ rules attached) if you want to play on your own, post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to play!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event or gift fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. I’ll be searching the reblogs to find people to send asks to!

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

file names:

the one where Kon's soulmark isn't fake

feral Kon and liger pups

Krypton lives and Kara did not sign up for this

you're a real Katch, girl

Tim + clonecest

snippet from “the one where Kon's soulmark isn't fake”:

Anyway, then Steel catches them, so that's pretty helpful. 

"Thanks, man," Superboy manages past the painful kryptonite-induced weakness and nausea, and Steel sets them both down all nice and neat on the sidewalk. 

"Any time, kid," he says as he breaks the bolted-in kryptonite off Lois Lane's chest with an armored hand, then tears off into the sky with it, presumably to deal with a certain delusional idiot. Superboy figures he'll leave him to it and just make sure the pretty lady is okay, given the active involvement of kryptonite in the whole situation. 

He looks at Lois Lane and opens his mouth to ask if she's alright, and she shrugs out of the broken straps that are all that's left of the bomb harness now that Steel's gotten at it. 

The front of her blouse is torn right over her heart, and Superboy can see the bright blue swirl of her soulmark through the damage. 

It really pops, he thinks distantly. 

"You're staring, kid," Lois Lane says dubiously, putting a hand over her exposed mark, and Superboy jolts in mortification. 

"Sorry!" he blurts, looking away quick. Well–now he knows who's on the other end of Superman's soulmark, he guesses. And it's not like it's a surprise who it is. A lot of people have suspected that Lois Lane and Superman are soulmates, after all, especially since he died and everyone found out he definitely had one. 

Though the confirmation of that fact does kinda make Superboy wonder what's going on with Clark Kent, now. He thought he and Lois Lane were engaged or something. Or like–maybe they're married by now? He doesn't actually know. He doesn't, like, make a habit of keeping up on the relationship status of random Daily Planet reporters. 

Although he guesses Lois Lane doesn't count as "random", considering. 

"Sorry," he mutters again. "I won't, like–tell. Obviously. I mean it's not–like, obviously you'd be Superman's soulmate but I won't actually–" 

"It's not Superman," Lois Lane says shortly, still covering her chest kind of . . . protectively, maybe? And Superboy . . . frowns. 

"What?" he says.

[fancoloredglasses]

[RERUN] Crisis on Infinite Earths, Issue 5: “Worlds in Limbo” (Didn’t the series end last issue?)

[All images are owned by DC Comics. Please don’t sue me.]

PREVIOUSLY ON…

A wave of anti-matter (involuntarily heralded by a being known as Pariah) is destroying universes, to the point that only a handful remain. However, he has managed to save Lady Quark, one of the ruling family on Earth-6.

A being known as the Monitor and his assistant Lyla (AKA Harbinger) are working to save those that are left. The Monitor has also recruited the sole survivor of Earth-3’s universe, Alexander Luthor, who is made of matter and anti-matter.

As this happens, Psycho Pirate, the Flash, and the Red Tornado are taken by the being responsible. The being has recruited Psycho Pirate and compromised Harbinger, ordering her to kill the Monitor as the anti-matter consumes the universes containing Earths 1 and 2!

…or did it? I mean, we are continuing the story, after all. If you would like to read this issue, it (along with the rest of the series) has been collected in graphic novel form and is available (or can be ordered) at your favorite comic shop, bookstore, or online retailer…or on Read Comic Online.

[Quick head count on what remains: Now only Earth-4 (containing the Charleton heroes), Earth-S (containing the Fawcett heroes), and Earth-X (containing the Quality heroes) remain.]

Lyla laments that she killed the Monitor, but then a recording starts from the Monitor laying out that Lyla’s killing him was part of his plan (you know, most people would plan on their survival being integral to their plan succeeding…) and that the two universes were contained within his body’s energies, slowly merging into one universe (note that Earths 4, S, and X are still at the Big Bad’s mercies), but the merging is unstable and could destroy them both unless they act quickly (with Alexander Luthor’s help)

Speaking of the Big Bad, he apparently plans to use the Red Tornado and Psycho Pirate to shape the new Universe (wait, wasn’t New Universe a Marvel line?)

(Thanks to Marvel Database)

As Earths 1 and 2 continue to merge (I’m gonna call them Earth-Merged for now), time is also merging, as dinosaurs, members of the Continental Army, aliens visiting the Legion of Super Heroes museum, and neanderthals are all in modern Metropolis.

Sounds like a typical Thursday.

Meanwhile, Harbinger, Alexander, and Pariah have assembled the bulk of the heroes of Earth-Merged on the Monitor’s satellite to explain what is happening. There are those who don’t believe them, but Earth-2′s Superman (I’ll just call him Kal-L, otherwise it will get too confusing) proposes that everyone be sent back to assess the danger and decide whether to become involved.

Meanwhile, on Oa (home to the Guardians of the Universe and the now-destroyed Central Power Battery of the Green Lantern Corps), a large group of (powerless) Green Lanterns arrive to see the Guardians being held in stasis. Before they can act, the stasis beam explodes, catching the Lanterns in the blast!

Back on Earth-Merged, Lois Lane, reporter for WGBS (who, during the early 80s, apparently had a deal with the Daily Planet to share reporters) was about the be attacked by a sabre-tooth tiger, but is (naturally) saved by Superman…

…only it’s Kal-L instead of “her” Superman. Superman and Kal-L tell the viewers at home what’s happening.

Meanwhile, the Big Bad is changing Red Tornado into…something else (he doesn’t specify) as Psycho Pirate plays with Flash’s fears…

Suddenly, a storm more powerful than any of DC’s sorcerers can handle threatens Earth-Merged. Dr. Fate suggests everyone use their spells together. They succeed, and it turns out to be the Red Tornado.

During the storm, Wildcat’s legs are shattered to the point that he’ll never walk again.

Somehow, this is enough to tip the scales to the point that everyone is on board to save Earth-Merged. However, the Monitor’s satellite is attacked as they plan their next move.

At this point, the Flash manages to shrug off Psycho-Pirate’s fear attack enough to goad the Big Bad into revealing himself.

He calls himself “The Monitor”, but everyone from this point on calls him the Anti-Monitor (because he’s from the anti-matter universe)

Meanwhile, on Earth-X, the Anti-Monitor has begun his assault. (we can only assume Earth-S and Earth-4 are also being attacked)

WILL the final three universes survive?

CAN the Flash escape?

WAS buying these comic companies a colossal waste of money?

These answers and more will be answered next issue!

[enigmaris]

Lois writes the article. The Justice League freaks out. Investigations are done, meetings are held. In the mean time, a suspected connection between ghosts and the lazurus pits means that there is a very specific person who wants a one on one with Phantom even though all of the heroes agreed to not approach phantom until the anti ecto acts are gone. Jason never follows the rules anyway:

“Daniel Phantom, do not even think about it.”

Her tone of voice made every bone in his body yearn to turn invisible immediately, Lois jumped up trying to catch him. Danny grinned and got ready to fly away, a game of tag would keep Lois from questioning him! Right before Danny’s plan could commence, the sound of Lois's phone ringing cut it off. Danny froze as Lois pulled out her phone and looked at the screen.

“It’s Batman. Wonder what he could possibly need.”

Danny let himself fly all the way to the ceiling, until his back was pushed up against it. He looked down as Lois answered her phone, helpfully putting it on speaker.

“You’re on speaker Bats, what can Lois Lane and her plucky new intern do for you?”

“Intern?” A voice Danny didn’t know answered back. “I thought Superman was the only one for you. I guess you move fast, Lois.”

“Nightwing.” Lois said. “What are you doing calling from Batman’s phone?”

“If B didn’t want me to use his phone, he should have called you himself. You know how he is, Lois. Won’t ever ask for help unless he’s about to die and not even then.” Nightwing snarked back. “Gotham’s got a bit of a supernatural concern that I think I need a consult from your intern for.”

Danny tilted his head, not moving closer to Lois when she looked up at him.

“What sort of concern? I’ll pass along your message if it's interesting enough. My intern’s got enough on his plate getting me coffee to watch after you birds.”

“Fair enough.” Nightwing allowed. “We think one of our own is ecto-contaminated. To be entirely fair we all might be a bit, not that we’ve gotten our hands on a GIW scanner. The real concern is with Red Hood though. I know your report said that ecto-contamination is harmless but Red Hood has had some interesting side effects since he took a bath in some glowing green goop.”

“A bath?” Danny asked, his voice echoing out from the ceiling.

There was a pause on the other end of the call before Nightwing spoke again.

“Yes. A bath. Do the words Lazurus Pit mean anything to you, Miss Lane’s Intern?”

“Never heard of it.” Danny said, trying not to let himself sound ashamed by it. “But I don’t like the name. Sounds spooky.”

“Aren’t you a spook?”

“Different kind of spook.” Danny defended.

“Well. We think it might actually be the same sort of spook actually. The Lazurus Pits are pools of glowing green liquid, no one knows where they came from. There are a dozen or so dotted around the planet. If a sick or dying person goes into it, they are healed sometimes with side effects. If a healthy person goes in, they die.” Nightwing said. “Sometimes if people go into, they don’t come out again.”

Danny... might actually know what those are. Huh.

“What kind of side effects?”

"Homicidal rage. Memory loss. Temporary increased strength. Glowing eyes.”

“Okay. And how long has Red Hood being dealing with this?”

“On and off for about five years.” Nightwing answered.

“I might actually know what’s going on.” Danny said. “But I’d have to see him. I’m not like a ghost doctor or anything, but if it's what I think it is, then I can fix it for sure.”

“Fix it?” Another voice from the phone asked.

Danny could hear a scuffle over the phone as two people wrestled for it. He exchanged looks with Lois until the second voice seemed to get the phone under his control completely.

“What do you mean by fix it?” the second voice demanded.

“Erm. Who is this?”

“Red Hood. Who the fuck else?”

“I don’t know who has access to Batman’s phone dude, chill.”

“Don’t tell me to chill. Tell me what you mean by fix it.”

"Dude. I have ice powers I absolutely can tell you to chill.” Danny shot back making Lois snort.

"Start. Talking.”

“He wasn’t kidding about the anger issues huh?” Danny asked Lois instead of answering. Danny grinned when he heard a growl over the phone. “Look. Red Hood. I don’t know if it is what I think it is. I need to see you in person before I can tell you anymore. Do you know how many glowing green goops there are in the universe?”

“Do you?” Nightwing asked, voice muffled as he was further from the phone. Danny listened as Red Hood told Nightwing to ‘shut the fuck up’ with a hiss.

"I’ll send Lane an address in Gotham. Meet me there in an hour.” Red Hood instructed.

“How do you know I’m free in an hour? I’m a busy intern you know. You’re not being very polite.”

Danny could hear the teeth grinding on the other end. He grinned as Red Hood took in a deep breath through his nose.

“Can we please meet in an hour?” Red Hood asked.

“Yeah sure. I’ll fly by.”

“Now what do we say to people who do nice things for us?” Lois asked. “Especially poor lowly interns who have an entire branch of the government hunting them?”

“Would you like me to blow up a GIW base for you?” Red Hood asked.

"Hood no!” Nightwing shouted.

“Hood yes.” Hood said.

The two vigilantes started arguing with each other, so Lois just rolled her eyes and ended the call.

If Lois Lane had a nickle for every time she had to help an overpowered boy from the midwest with the power of journalism, she'd have two nickles. Which isn't a lot but its weird that its happened twice.

Danny watched as Lois pulled out her phone and pulled up a recording app.

“What are you doing?”

“You came to a journalist and are surprised to get an interview?” She asked him, her tone clearly joking. “What you’ve given me here is great kid, but newspaper clippings and copies of federal laws don’t get the public’s attention. I need a story, Phantom’s the story.”

“I’m not Phantom.”

Lois looked at him, less than impressed. Slowly, she turned the screen of her computer until it was visible to both of them. There, in full clarity, was a front-page story from his hometown newspaper. ‘Danny Phantom saves Bus Full of Children!’ and there was a picture of him in his ghost form, his face crystal clear on her screen.

"Phantom’s a ghost. I’m just a dumb kid.” Danny tried again.

Lois pinched the bridge of her nose with her right hand and muttered to herself.

“Why do all you midwestern boys have the same schtick?”

“I’m sorry?” Danny said, unsure if he should be apologizing or not.

“Changing your last name from Fenton to Phantom does not a secret identity make kid. It might work for most civilians, but anyone familiar with the hero game will clock you from a mile away.”

“I’m not Phantom.”

“Sure, kid. But I’m sure you have a way for me to interview him, right? Because I want to talk to him before I do anything else about your town.”

Danny hugged himself and looked down at his knees.

“Is it really that bad?”

“Not the worst I’ve seen. Wonder Woman’s is paper thin. I'm pretty sure most people in DC know who she is outside of the cape and just don’t say anything because she scares them.”

Danny snorted involuntarily at that, looking back up at the woman.

“What’s going on in your town, Phantom? Why come to a journalist and not the Justice League?”

“The Anti-Ecto Acts got passed like a year ago. They state that only being that produces or contains ectoplasm above a certain amount is considered non-sapient and is to be turned over to the government for disposal.” Danny said. “I put the whole thing in there for you to read, but it's long. Amity Park has a lot of ectoplasm in it. It's seeped into the air and water. Normal human people have it in them now. At first, those agents were just firing at me whenever I finished a ghost fight. I could deal with that. Their aim is terrible anyway. But then they figured out that humans can become contaminated with ectoplasm. They decided that meant the entire town was under their jurisdiction. They've decided that means that no one in town counts as human anymore, that we don’t have rights, that they’re doing us a favor by not just exterminating the entire town like the law says.”

Danny leaned forward, putting his hands on the desk in front of Lois Lane. He looked right into her bright eyes and spoke seriously.

“When it was just ghosts under attack, I didn’t think anyone would care. I’ve tried calling the Justice League for help, but they’ve brushed me off. People need to know what’s happening. Anyone can become ecto-contaminated. You just have to be in the right place at the wrong time. It’s not right what’s happening to Amity, Miss Lane. I came to you because if anyone could get the world to listen, to believe, then it's got to be you.”

And Lois Lane smiled. It was a proud, eager smile. The kind of smile Danny had seen on Sam right after she convinced the school to serve a vegan lunch. He barely held back from shivering.

“Well then, Mr. Phantom.” Lois said, before tapping onto the recording app on her phone and starting a recording. “Let’s begin.”

[professionalnooneatall]

I had an idea for a #Superman

story where he couldn’t use his powers, probably should take place earlier in his carrier when he’s not certain of some things. He KNOWS the “world of cardboard” rule but doesn’t know a lot more. Key scenes/plot points:

Clark gets an email from Marisol Kinkade-Rivera and it mentions Red Blueberries in some innocuous text, plus it mentions some sports stats. Clark is on the sports desk and those are all wrong. They ARE grid coordinates. For Corto Maltese. Lois is on her way there

Kinkade-Rivera DOESN'T KNOW Clark is Superman, and she's Expecting Clark, so he's not going to just show up; it makes more sense to him to maintain his human identity to meet with her, so he does fly down, but takes off the suit and has to find a normal way to meet her

Scene 6 or so, they that whole “dunk your head in a bucket” thing, and Clark isn’t sure if he can drown, but he can’t just use his powers, his suit is in his bag, d’oh! So he takes it… scene 9 the leader of the faction is Marisol. Dun dun DUUUUN. Lois in interviewing.

Another leader of another faction, Marisol’s father. Dun dun DUUUUN

and he SURE as shit can't do any Superman shit in front of Lois Lane, let alone to extremely newsworthy people. The fact that Clark is a journalist is one of his major points of control; he knows it'll get reported.