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good!!! ppms
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All's Fair in Love...
Chapter 4:
So what’s the big emergency Clark?” Laura prodded as Martha offered the metahuman family friend a cold bottle of water. Lois wasn’t convinced that Laura was telling the truth about being ‘in the neighborhood’, as she viewed the gifted teen with skepticism.
“No emergency, Laura. We were just wondering if you and Tim would care to come up to Smallville for the Harvest Fair.” Clark explained patiently. Kara sat next to her new, unusual friend. “Oh! I thought that there was a massive crime wave out here in Podunk that you needed my help with.” Laura risked a glance at Lois, whom she viewed as a rival for Clark’s affection.
Lois cocked her head, and waited for an explanation. “Uh…who wants some cake?” Martha offered, trying to diffuse the awkward situation. “That’d be me.” Laura accepted, as Kara helped her aunt distribute the homemade chocolate cake that she’d made earlier in the day.
“Anyway, my mom is planning to give a good political speech at the fair, and besides that, we all wanted to volunteer to help with the setup, sales, and clean up of the fair displays.” Clark informed her. “Kara is defending her Miss Creamed Corn title…” Laura snickered, interrupting him.
“What?” Kara was wondering whether she should take offense at Laura’s chuckle. “Nothing! I just can’t picture K Girl up on stage strutting her stuff.” Kara decided that her new friend was just deriding her for fun. “You’re just jealous, because I have a title and you don’t.” Kara sniped playfully. “Pu-lease, if I entered that contest, I’d win.” Laura needled the alien beauty.
“Really?” Kara’s eyes narrowed. Fearing a super powered catfight, Clark intervened. “You know, Laura, if you put your swimsuit where your mouth is, you could always enter the contest yourself.” He instigated in fun. “Are you daring me, Clarkie?” Laura snorted.
Lois took a brief exception to Laura’s use of one of her early nicknames for Clark. Kara reddened. “Now listen, the contest is specifically for charity.” Martha pointed out sternly. “If you girls are going to fight and argue about the contest, then don’t enter it.” She relished her role as mother figure, again.
The girls finished the cake, and considered the contest. “What do you say, K Girl? You want to both enter the contest? We have to play fair, though.” Laura taunted playfully. “Let’s do it!” Kara gave her friend a high five, causing a brief shockwave within the still air of the farmhouse.
“Did you feel that?” Lois asked no one in particular. “Feel what?” Martha and Clark chorused warily. “Nothing. It just seemed like a brief earthquake tremor.” Lois said. “I don’t expect any earthquakes in Smallville, Lois.” Martha said smoothly. “Whatever.” Lois said nervously, glancing around.
“Great!” Laura smiled broadly. “I’ll give Tim a yell. He’d probably want to come up. I need to get him out of his house more. The boy’s glued to his computer system. Which reminds me, Clark, can I see you a second outside?” Clark gulped, unsure of what Laura was up to. He shrugged as Lois and Kara exchanged glances, and Martha shook her head.
Clark followed Laura out into the front yard. “What’s up?” He asked worriedly. “You haven’t told Lois the truth, yet?” She began without preamble. “Well, no. It just seems like a bad idea at the moment.” Clark defended. “You realize that if you continue to stack lie on top of lie again, you’ll lose her like you did Lana.” Laura was never one to beat around the bush.
“I’ll tell her when I’m ready.” Clark said stubbornly. “If at all.” Laura folded her arms across her bare midsection. “What do you mean ‘if at all’?” Clark sighed with disdain. “We’ve learned time and time again that my secret puts people in danger. People that I love, care about…even strangers off the street.” Laura considered his dilemma, remembering that it mirrored her own.
“What do you think of a dual identity?” Laura asked point blank. “I’d been considering it.” Clark admitted. “I’d have to live half of my life as a lie, while keeping the other half separate.” Laura nodded. “I’ve made up my mind, Clark.” She announced. “I’m doing just that. Laura Lake slash Gold Wing is born. Oliver Queen’s doing it, Kara could do it…I’m going to make it work.”
“Are you sure? I mean you’re so young.” Clark reasoned. “Newsflash, Clark. I’m eighteen now, and capable of making my own decisions. Besides, I don’t really have a choice. I’ve learned that my condition, the ingestion of Loracite, is irreversible, as far as I know. I intend to use my gifts. Are you going to use yours…Mr. Red and Blue Blur?” She playfully kissed Clark on the cheek.
Clark reddened. “I’ll need a nickname.” He joked. “We’ll work on it.” Laura smirked. “I named myself Gold Wing after my father’s favorite Harley Davidson motorcycle. It’s in honor and remembrance of him and my mother. They used to go riding all the time together.”
“You know I love to go fast. Don’t think and don’t wink, because I’ll be gone in a blink. See ya!” Laura zipped back to Falcon Claw to gather Tim and make plans. Clark laughed, shaking his head, and wandered back into the house. “Where’s your protégé and admirer?” Lois quipped. “Laura was on her way back home, she’ll be back tomorrow with her friend.” Clark replied.
Kara sighed happily, knowing that she’d be able to keep her new friends by her side eventually. She still wished that she’d made friends on her own without Clark and Lois’s help. Still it was a start…
Chloe phoned next, and talked to Lois for a while. “Yeah Chlo’ see if you can talk Jimbo into photo duty at the Harvest Fair. Remember it’s for charity and free of charge.” Lois explained. “I know he’ll do it…but it’s just like, you know, we can’t live by charity alone.” Chloe said somberly.
“I wish Perry would give him some really good photo shoots to do.” Lois nodded. “I can talk to Perry, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll listen as I bend his ear.” Lois offered. Later that day, Chloe drove out to the Kent Farm and stopped in for a visit. “Martha! It’s been forever!” Chloe hugged Mrs. Kent.
Clark went over the plans for the Harvest Fair that they’d made so far. Tomorrow, he would start assembling the booths. Lois again fantasized about a tan and sweaty Clark Kent. One particular event stood out as bizarre in Chloe’s mind after Lois had gone upstairs to freshen up, she scoffed:
“Are you telling me that the two most powerful girls on the planet are entering a contest to see who can be considered most vapid?” Clark frowned. “It’s just for charity, Chloe.” Martha listened calmly. “I suppose it could be looked at as an exercise in teamwork and good sportsmanship.” She rationalized as Clark agreed.
“Isn’t that a little like sitting on a keg of gunpowder and playing with matches?” Chloe questioned. “I don’t think anything that dramatic will happen.” Clark dismissed her concerns.
Back in sleepy little Falcon Claw, Nebraska, Laura and Tim sat comfortably on a swing outside of Laura’s Aunt Wanda’s ranch house. “The great Clark Kent is finally going to put his extensive abilities to good use?” he questioned.
Laura nodded, frowning. “It’s been hard for him to decide. I mean he’s not like us, you know. It was a no-brainer for me to become Gold Wing.”
“There’s a whole world of trouble out there waiting for me to kick its ass!” Laura mustered some bravado. Tim was thrilled that his amazing best friend had decided to use her powers for good. “What do we want to do for this worthy event?” Tim asked.
“I’m entering a beauty contest for promotional money.” Tim’s eyes lit up. “Relax Tim-ster.” She joked. “I know it’s not the best use of a young superhero’s time. I’m going up against Kara Kent, all in good fun of course.” Tim nodded. “A bevy of beauteous babes would certainly raise a good amount of financial interest. I take it the audience places a friendly wager on which vixen is victorious.”
“Yes, it’s more or less legalized gambling, like a horserace, card game, or even Bingo Night.” Laura added. “There are three winners: a Creamed Corn Queen and two ladies of her court. A girl is pronounced the winner by tallying up the votes that she brought in. Each patron votes with a dollar for adults, fifty cents for teens and other underlings.”
“Seems fair enough.” Tim judged. “If you lose, you won’t challenge our fair-haired alien girlfriend to a fight to the death, would you?” Laura laughed. “No. Besides, what if I do win? I’m sure Kara won’t mind. I mean she won last year’s contest already.”
“Shouldn’t this be an opportunity for Gold Wing as well?” Tim hinted. “How so? I don’t want the fair display to be about me, it’s for the local businesses.” Laura was puzzled. “True, and your humility is admirable, but we should get the Gold Wing persona out there. Perhaps you could enjoy the same success as the Legendary Red and Blue Blur?” Tim proposed.
“We could try it, I suppose.” Laura said cautiously. “What did you have in mind?” Tim rubbed his hands together anxiously, and got up from the swing, pacing rapidly across the porch. “Now, hear me out…don’t take my head off!” Tim qualified. Laura’s eyes narrowed. “What is squirming around in that super intellect mind of yours, Tim? Why do I think that I’ll regret asking?”
“Suppose we have the Gold Wing accessible to the public?” Tim wavered. “How accessible? It’s a little early for autograph sessions and book signings.” Laura said sarcastically. “I was thinking about…a kissing booth.” Tim closed his eyes, fearing that Laura’s gaze would melt him.
“Tim! No!” Laura protested loudly. “Why would I want every hick and starry eyed farm boy slobbering all over me?” Tim opened one eye carefully. “It’s not that big a deal, my maven of mischief.” He argued. “Statistically speaking, the transmission of any infectious disease by casual contact is infinitesimal.”
“Great! Now I feel much better!” Laura fumed. “What makes you think that anyone would pay to kiss me, since I can’t even find a date for senior prom, and I offered to pay for the bid?” Tim brushed her criticism off.
“You forget that the recently reclusive Laura Lake was never popular in school. Nor was I, of course. Yet the Gold Wing is a woman of mystery. In full costume, partially masked, I guarantee that you’d bring in a ton of money for charity.” Tim prodded. “Fine. Let me think about that.” Laura sighed.
“Here’s the way I see it, my angel of destruction,” Tim continued his sales pitch. “We charge a dollar per kiss for our hormone driven teen boy populace, two dollars per kiss for adults, and five dollars per photo with the Gold Wing. It’s a promotion that can’t fail.”
“All of the money goes to charity, Tim.” Laura demanded. “I will bring my entire arsenal of lipstick, and my mouth stays closed.” Tim shook her hand. “Agreed. That in itself will be a miracle among miracles.” He muttered. “Tim! Enhanced hearing, remember?” Laura berated him, pointing to her ear.
Tim reddened. “My apologies, Mistress of Mayhem.” Laura sneered. “I can’t believe that you’re willing to pimp me out! Tim, you are truly evil. What if nobody shows up? I have to sit there like an idiot? I still have to put Laura Lake in the beauty contest.”
“Trust me, there will be a long line across the Fairgrounds to view the mysterious Gold Wing, kisses or not!” Tim exaggerated. “We’ll see. I hope that we at least raise some money for charities.” Laura reasoned. “What other events occur at this cornfield celebration?” Tim queried.
“There’s Karaoke, or should I say Kara-oke?” Laura quipped. “I suppose I can stand an all out assault on my eardrums.” Tim commented, adding: “You don’t suppose the alien wonder girl can sing?” Laura shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s been adapting to life on Earth quickly.”
“Speaking of which, is there to be a talent contest during this antiquated ritual of female exploitation?” Tim inquired. “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask Clark. There’s a swimsuit contest, evening gown walkabout, a brief speech on something we’re interested in, and possibly a dance routine.” Laura ticked off the contest sections on her thin fingers.
“It sounds reasonably entertaining.” Tim remarked. “What subject would you pick for your verbal thesis?” Laura winked. “I’ll speak to the evils of having a genius best friend who constantly instigates me to do strange things.” Tim put his hand over his heart. “Your words are like daggers…” he dramatically overacted. “Do you see any tears?” Laura sniped playfully.
Metropolis Bay:
On a warm early fall day, a young woman lays on a man made beach along Metropolis Bay. She’s relaxing on a lawn chair, catching some rays, and reading the latest edition of the Daily Planet. The bikini clad teen smiles broadly as she recalls a time not so long ago.
She glances around the sparsely populated beach, to make sure that no one is watching. The co-ed concentrates on a small hill of sand near her gym bag. The sand begins to swirl and change form. Images of a cow, a pig, and a horse are quickly created, each about six inches high.
A final image swirls into existence. It’s of a man about a foot tall. She narrows her eyes focusing on the sandy creations. Through sheer force of will, the images turn to glass, and not just ordinary glass, colorful stained glass. The man’s image is red and blue, but has no detail in the face.
Smiling at her creations, the girl smashes the animal images back into glistening, sandy dust She leaves the image of the man alone, and it spins, as she mentally adds detail to it. The image of the man is fully colored and three-dimensional, still faceless but solid.
She adds a pair of white and gold wings to the red and blue creation. Satisfied with her level of control of the elements, she slowly deconstructs the man image, until it returns to the glistening, sandy dust from which it came. She glances around again, confident that no one’s seen her.
The young woman returns to her newspaper, and soon spies a small advertisement near the section’s end. ‘Smallville Harvest Fair Begins Today at Dusk’ read the headline. She continues to absorb the details, and decides to return to her old stomping grounds.
The co-ed mentally focuses on her half empty bottle of water. Suddenly, the bottle rises into the air, and she allows it to pour out across her bare midriff, cooling the growing sunburn. The bottle returns to the sand, and disappears within it.
More…Comment
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WOOHOO!!! Totally awesome!!!! I love it!!Comment
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I love it! Update soonComment
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who is the young woman?????
great!!!
ppmsComment
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Teaser
Hola Latingirl!
You'll just have to wait and see until my next update (soon) who the young woman is. She's the first of a few 'older characters' from previous Smallville seasons, that i'm bringing back.
thanks for reading
gardy1Comment
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Further Info
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for reading.
I've been getting requests for more info on Laura Lake, here's the link to her origin story:
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I think it's Amy, from "Shimmer"Comment
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Laura Lake Adventures
Hi Latingirl,
Thanks for reading. Have you checked out my Beyond Smallville: Gold Wing story yet? It gives more detail about Laura Lake. In fact i'm updating the thread today.
I also have a few new story arcs featuring Laura on the way, including a new crossover with Clark, Chloe and some other familiar characters. Enjoy!
You catch all that, lauraforever? I'm going to try some new updates during our next short hiatus from Smallville, and as always, thanks for your interest.
gardy1Comment
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Loud and clear, buddy!Comment
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New Clois!
Hi everyone,
I have a new thread that Clois fans may enjoy, it's located in the "Other Pairings" section.
Here's the link:
It also features my take on a certain Amazon Princess we love...
thanks
gardy1Comment
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All's Fair In Love...
Chapter 5:
After Lois, Kara, and Martha went to bed, Clark sped out to the fairgrounds and began assembling all of the display booths for the Harvest Fair. The flatbed trucks had been parked and secured nearby. Many local lumber companies and the ubiquitous LuthorCorp had donated supplies and materials.
Clark removed the strapping from the wooden planks, and grabbed a few boxes of nails. He began to quickly assemble the rows upon rows of display booth beneath the moonlit, starry, night sky. It was just after midnight, and his plan was to simply build as much as he could and head back to the couch.
He pounded nail after nail into the boards with the palm of his hand, securing the pieces together and quickly checking his crafting with a level. The booths would be all painted white and brown to begin with, and the townspeople who volunteered could customize each booth later on that morning.
The fair was due to open at dusk, this being a Friday, a good amount of the folk were off of work, or had requested vacation days to help out with the promotional fair. They planned to run the Harvest Fair through late Sunday night, catching the people attending church services in the process.
Many tourists from outlying areas would attend the fair as well, thereby helping the local motel, coffeehouse, and dining business’s economies. The tourists would begin arriving about midday.
Even city folk from Metropolis looked forward to getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city, to check out the popular local fair. That was where the real money would come from.
Clark had completed a few dozen booths when his superior hearing picked up the sound of an approaching pickup. He gazed in that direction until the truck came into view. It was only one light colored pickup with a solitary driver.
The pickup turned onto the thoroughfare and slowly passed the recently assembled display booths. Clark zipped away into the shadows to observe.
The pickup stopped near the front of the thoroughfare, where Clark had assembled four booths across from each other. A woman hopped out, turned her truck off, and popped open its tailgate.
She located a wheelbarrow and rolled it to the back of the pickup. The girl struggled, dragging a big bag of something from the flatbed, and slit it open, pouring material into the wheelbarrow.
Clark wanted to assist her, but chose to observe for a bit more time, in case something odd came up. The girl rolled the wheelbarrow to a booth and dumped its contents onto the ground beside it, subsequently repeating the procedure. Clark sped in closer for a better look.
His intention was to contact the girl without startling her. He picked up a hammer and some nails to provide a cover for his being out there, allegedly alone in the middle of the night. Clark began to approach her slowly. The girl rolled the wheelbarrow back to where she’d gotten it.
She secured her pickup, and returned to the pile near the booth. The girl stretched her arms out wide, and rotated them. Clark’s eyes widened, as the material began to swirl up from the pile in fist sized amounts, hanging before her in the air. He stopped a good distance from her.
The girl clenched her fists, and the material began to coalesce. Clark’s mouth opened. A meteor freak? He silently mused. The material began to change from a powdery form into a solid! It separated into two circulating pieces, burst briefly into flame, and solidified.
A few seconds later, two rotating solid objects still hung in midair, the flames went out, and the objects picked up a glossy shine and the moonlight glistened off of them. Clark tried to identify the shapes…coffee mugs? He guessed. The mugs flew under their own power onto a shelf within the booth.
Clark had to find out what was going on before she’d started her bizarre ritual again. “Hi there!” He said loudly from a short distance. “Up a little early for the fair, aren’t you?” Clark walked towards her slowly, carrying the hammer and nails, and leveler.
The girl whirled to face him, striking a defensive posture. “Don’t worry. I’m out here working as well…I get more done…” He began lamely.
Clark identified the material as sand, and then glanced at the girl’s face. “Clark? Clark Kent?” She began warily. “Yes…how…?” Clark was within a few feet of her. “Maddie! Maddie Van Horn?” he asked, in shock. The teen was a few years older than he’d remembered.
“Yes, its me.” Maddie smiled nervously. “Now its Maddie Jameson. I had my name legally changed when I turned eighteen. I wanted to keep my father’s shame buried in my past. My grandmother approved, and signed over my father’s limited estate to me.” The young woman rambled.
“I’d give you a hug…” Maddie said cheerfully. “Oh yeah! Sorry!” Clark put his items on the booth’s counter, and Maddie quickly hugged him. “How are you doing? I assume that you’re the Red and Blue Blur?” Maddie always was pretty smart. She’d been infatuated with Clark at one time.
“Uh…yeah…I just wanted to get out and help…” Clark stammered. “What have you been up to?” He rapidly changed the subject. “I’m a student at Metropolis University, majoring in the Liberal Arts Program. I’ve been using my abilities as constructively as possible. Check out the control.” Maddie boasted. She made a fist and lifted it upward.
A softball sized group of sand crystals hopped into the air, spinning slowly. It began to heat up, flame briefly, and coalesced into a type of implement. After a few seconds it spun into a ceramic, stained glass juice pitcher. A couple of more seconds passed, and the pitcher became multicolored.
It cooled and floated over to the shelf landing beside the mugs. “It’s beautiful!” Clark praised. “What can I say? You inspired me.” Maddie flirted, causing Clark to redden. “You might like this.” She went through the same procedure, this time recreating the twelve-inch high, faceless man, dressed in red and blue. “I was thinking about you the other day…”Comment
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Totally awesome! Glass-breaking girl Maddie! Woohoo! AWESOME new chapter, buddy!Comment
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