1102/Keep Feeling Fascination

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Keep Feeling Fascination
Date of Scene: 11 April 2020
Location: Bullpen - Daily Planet Building
Synopsis: A heart-to-heart at the Planet without an accident of some sort is not unheard of. Neither is the juggling of secret identities and the revelations thereof being interrupted by the aforementioned accidents. It's just another day at the Planet!
Cast of Characters: Terry O'Neil, Lois Lane, Clark Kent




Terry O'Neil has posed:
It has been a busy Friday, but it is finally winding down somewhat. Terry's podcast with America and his interview with Power Girl were due to hit the website this weekend, and he had miraculously managed to go a week without any serious injuries- after (according to him) getting knocked out of action during the mechanical spider attack last week, which was also the first time the rumors of the Titans returning had hit the media.

Unfortunately, it was not the Planet that broke the exclusive, but the Star- because Terry had been knocked out by a flying piece of debris and spent a few hours unconscious in an emergency room.

That was not, in fact, the truth- the truth was that he had turned into an anthropomorphic cat, saved someone's life, and then wish-teleported himself into a deserted island in the Caribbean and then passed out.

The lie was more believable.

Since then, though, Terry had been guarding the Tower and its inhabitants like a watch-dog. He had been collecting brief pieces here and there and arranging interviews as members became available, so that when the announcement that The Titans Were Back finally became an official pronouncement, the Planet would have one /very/ thorough article written from the perspective of someone who was there from day one.

It is, in fact, that precise topic that causes Terry to pause outside of Lois' demesne at the Planet in the same reverential way that ancient pilgrims approached the mysterious oracle at Delphi. There is even an offering of coffee in his hands.

"Miss Lane?" he says, trying to look casual and not like he has been anguishing about how to frame his situation over the past four hours, "Do you have a minute for me?"

Lois Lane has posed:
If there's any look Lois recognizes, it's the look of someone trying to pretend that everything is pretty great when there's something actually bugging them. She's seen it /way too much/. So the 'do you have a minute' isn't just a 'hey can you sign off on this', it's a bit more than ordering more paper for the copier or coffee filters (as the Planet hasn't totally gotten with the times and upgraded yet).

Given that she's not sure of the exact nature of the situation, she redirects them both in one of the side workrooms before shutting the door. Table, chairs, whiteboard, supplies--anything you might need for working on a story... or a potential breakdown. It could be anything at the Daily Planet.

"Okay, is it work or personal? ... or both." She adds the last on after half-a-second. That's ground she's certainly familiar with.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry whistles, "That's a... loaded question." He chuckles. Nervously. But it's that titter that tries to telegraph I Am Not Nervous At All Siree. "Speaking of loaded, is the coffee alright? I can't seem to get the right amount of strength to it ever since Gary used the coffee machines to try and make caramel frapuccinos." Which was not how you even... yeah "So I asked Barry how he got around that, and he said that sometimes he has to use three filters so that the pressure gauge doesn't- well, I mean, I had no idea these things had pressure gauges, unless he was pulling my leg,"

Terry is doing the Small Talk thing. And when Terry is doing the Small Talk thing, it's because there is a Big Talk that is struggling very hard and trying to claw its way out of the Small Talk and Having Problems. It was a figuratively horrifying scene, like an inverse birthing, or a Wonderland matrioshka doll. One thing that the small talk manages to accomplish is that it gives him momentum and, as everybody knows, momentum is something that allows people to jump across terrifying distances and onto their intended destinations. Hence a side-ramble on the pressure gauge of a Mister Coffee suddenly turns into-

"... but, Lois... did you ever fall in love with Superman?"

Lois Lane has posed:
"The one in the break room you might have to break the manual out for, it's weird. The one that's in that little corner nook where the water cooler is? That one's just a regular one. You can always get reliable coffee from that one. God, I'm going to just have to bring in my own at this rate." Lois will, too. Proper work coffee is vital. If it weren't for that sweet, sweet caffeination... well. Who knows where anyone at the Daily Planet would be.

"Hooboy. This is one of those conversations." She moves, taking a seat before she feels the need to even start the conversation. "First off, /everyone/ fell in love with Superman. Who couldn't? He was an icon. He swooped in, he saved the day, he was heroic and handsome. He was inspirational. To not fall in love with Superman would have been surprising." She looks at him carefully. "So... I'm getting that you're trying to explain things in a weird way. Something about loving a superhero?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry hehs, "Superman came around when I was eight years old," he says, "I don't think I crushed on him as much as I saw him as a sort of... I don't know. Fairy Godmother type, always there, always protecting. And by the time I'd start thinking of anything remotely like crushes, I was..."

He trails off, and then looks up at Lois. "You evaded the question." He smiles, despite his obvious perturbance, "And you judoed me into it. Man, you're good... but... I asked for a reason. Because yeah, it's about that. It's about that very specific /that/."

He rests his elbows on his knees. "I mean, I know you're seeing Clark now and all... but I Just thought. You know. Superman would always come to the rescue. I am sure you probably got tired of people speculating. But right now I feel I am getting put in a trap by my own stupidity. And I just realized I am being as clear as mud... and I'm wasting your time!" He buries his face in his hands, flustered.

Lois Lane has posed:
"I'm a reporter, Terry, I've spent years judoing people into talking about themselves." Lois does avoid the question for as long as she can, not because she want to avoid it as much as she wants to try and get him to open up. Given that he doesn't seem to quite be opening up enough, she turns her chair to face him a little more.

"Sure, I was in love with Superman. He saved me dozens of times, like some kind of guardian angel. Being able to call for help in the direst and have it there every time? Sure. You get someone scooping you up in that fireman's carry while your adrenaline is racing from you nearly dying and you don't develop some kind of feelings? I certainly wouldn't find them a credible source."

She leans on the table with one arm. "Sure, people speculated. We were never a thing, but people thought about it plenty. Pretty sure Superman never made it a thing because he didn't want to put me in danger. He was a pretty big target and I don't think he ever felt right dragging someone else into that." She nudges him with her foot. "So stop stressing out and just be clear about it. Superheroes, romance, I've got some pretty good opinions on all of that. You're talking to a professional in these things." She offers him a grin. She's only /kind of/ joking there.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry's face emerges from behind his hands and exhales. "I see what you mean. I admit, I had a... very different experience from that. My knight in shining armor tried to save me and accidentally got me shot." He chuckles, and relaxes a little. "But still. Lois, this is getting heavy. I mean... I'm supposed to report on the story, not /be/ the story. So what kind of position I'm in right now, where I am no longer just a pair of eyes witnessing things and reporting to the public, but I have a vested emotional interest in one of the fricking Titans?"

He leans back on his chair, and takes a deep breath, "Because it's going to come out, if my relationship with Gar actually gets serious. It's going to come out that the cub reporter who broke the story was also dating one of the Titans. And then what is that going to do to my rep? Or the paper's rep? Wouldn't that be considered a conflict of interest? Wouldn't that relationship cast anything I write about the Titans under a huge question about ethics?"

Lois Lane has posed:
There's a small nod as Lois assesses the situation. "Here's the thing, Terry. A conflict of interest implies that you're somehow making the situation beneficial to either you or them. Being a good reporter doesn't mean you're completely detatched from the story. Sure, when it's possible to write yourself out of the story you do if it keeps things from being too complicated. So let me narrow this down a bit for you."

She leans in closer, giving him a stern look. "No one is going to give a second thought to you, or the paper, if you write an article talking about the Titans and you tell the truth. The only way your romantic feelings are going to be an issue is if you're using it to gain something personally or to cover up something for them or... that sort of thing." She shakes her head. "You're worrying about it too much. You're not writing editorials for the Daily Bugle and saying whatever positive or negative about whomever you please because you can. You're writing the facts about a situation and some people that you just happen to have a vested interest in."

She sits back in her chair. "You're /fine/ Terry. Sure, people wondered about Superman and the fact that I did happen to be his favorite reporter... but none of my articles about Superman could be disputed. They were the truth."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
And here comes the very core of what's bothering him. But he has to be careful. "Well... okay. I just worry because I don't want to hurt Gar or the Titans, and certainly not the paper." He nods slowly, as if he were absorbing what Lois said. And then he frowns. "Okay, I had a question. Let's pretend that tomorrow you find out that, say, Clark is secretly..." he throws a dart at random, "Green Lantern, we'll go with Green Lantern. And he wrote a lot about the Justice League. Should he have omitted any and all mentions of Green Lantern in his article to remain ethical? If he hadn't, how would you re-evaluate his work with the new knowledge?"

Lois Lane has posed:
"You're once again talking about the truth. So, as in your example, say Clark writes about Green Lantern and the Justice League. Is Green Lantern relevant to the story? Sure. Why would you write out a key player in a story? It's not /who/ you write about, Terry, it's what and how. If Clark writes an article about Green Lantern talking about how Green Lantern stopped a bank robbery, there's nothing wrong with it. If Clark was writing about how heroic and amazing Green Lantern was... that's where your ethics come into question."

Lois, while still facing him, leans further back into her chair. "For the most part, always make sure that the relevant players are addressed in the article. Don't exclude yourself or someone else unless it makes sense to. Don't put opinions in unless it's an editorial or opinion piece. You follow these rules, you're fine. If you have to boil it down to one thing, remember to ask yourself, 'Am I or is anyone in this story getting any additional benefit because of what I'm writing?' and then consider from there."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry nods once again. "Okay... I understand. See, this is important. And I'd rather not blow it... which is why I came to you. I want you to know that not for one minute do I take any of this," he gestures vaguely, supposedly to encompass the Planet- he certainly can't mean the workroom, "for granted. I know you're busy and you've got your finger on the pulse of a lot of things, so... I'm super grateful that you've been... you know. Caring. Kind." Terry's level of eloquence is inversely proportional to how embarrassed he might feel, or how much he may be trying to talk about his emotions. "I've heard nightmare stories from other positions and other interns. Okay, mostly from Bugle interns, but still-" he smiles a little more, "The potential for life-endangering situations is compensated by that. I feel I could trust you with just about anything."

Lois Lane has posed:
"I'm touched that you feel that way. I like to think I'm the kind of person that anyone could trust. And, you know, I like the interns. I like coffee when I need it and it saves me from doing paperwork... and don't let Clark do it, either. If you see him with a stack of paperwork you just take that right out of his hands. He does /not/ know how to say no to Perry."

Lois gives him a small smile. "You're doing well. Don't stress yourself out. And if you really feel like you're crossing your wires and somehow polluting a piece, pass it off to someone you trust. There's a reason there's a whole team here. Team up with another intern, maybe."

Clark Kent has posed:
Perhaps right on cue, through the workroom door... there is Kent. With a stack of papers and folders on his forearms, chin attempting to pin the top folder from sliding as he walks past.

And the disaster is coming; he's headed for tripping over a wastepaper basket jutting out from someone's desk.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"There's a thought. Teaming up with another intern." He pauses, scratching his chin and then giving Lois a mischievous glance, "Like Gary. He'd be great for the Titans piece, don't you think?" he asks and waits for her reaction, because being worried doesn't mean you are also not capable of a little teasing.

Then he grows pensive again. Lois Lane. Superman trusted Lois. Wouldn't revealing his secret to her make sense? Wouldn't she be able to then judge how deep he was going down that rabbit hole? The idea had merit.

Yes. Perhaps it was the most logical thing to do here. He takes a breath and begins, "There /is/ something I'd like to tell y-" Terry suddenly spins around to face the door as Kent comes in, and his words turn into "oooo!"

Imagine the slow motion as it happens. Terry O'Neil jumping from his seat and trying to get to Clark before he makes contact with the waste basket. Imagine, also, the fact that Terry's feet had been tucked under him, and so the tip of his right shoe was behind the one of the legs of the rolling chair. With these things in mind, it will make sense why, instead of being a ginger train of elegance, faster than a speeding bullet, arriving to prevent a catastrophe, Terry essentially bolts from his chair and then goes down hard with a *thud*, kissing the floor.

"--ow."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois gives Terry a blank look at the suggestion of Gary. It's her 'I am not amused' look. The one all interns must learn to fear. Naturally, that means an intern should be running, but in Terry's case he's busy being a case of roadkill in the Clarkmobile rapid approach. She, on the other hand, doesn't make any move to get up until she's certain all parties are no longer in motion.

"Are we all good here?" She finally moves, getting up from her chair and heading over to give Terry a hand first. "Glad I wasn't sitting a little closer in that direction..."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark halted of course, when Terry goes collapsing onto the floor. The halt is a different problem than tripping over the trash can, he just loses the top five or so folders in a shower of papers fluttering down all over the intern now sprawling underfoot.

So it is now Terry, who appears to have sprung out of the meeting room onto the floor at Clark's feet, only to get showered in a mix of papers and folders.

"Ack!" Clark says, unaware of the trashcan it appears, and moves to set the stack of folders still in his possession on a desk, immediately dropping to a knee by Terry, one hand reaching out and hovering hear the young man's shoulder. "Are you all right?" He glances up at Lois, brows together, concerned. And not caring about the papers at all while there's a possible injury.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry carefully tries to roll over onto his back, as well as the papers and folders without causing too much damage to them. The first thing he touches is his nose, and is relieved to find that it isn't broken. His lip does have a cut, but that's nowhere near as hard to fix as a broken nose. He picks off a folder from himself and says "I'm... fine, except I seem to have gotten collated."

It is rather fitting that he approached Lois as one would an oracle, and know he finds himself postrated before her as she walks over to him. He accepts Lois' hand and slowly gets to his feet, again rather terrified of stepping or tearing any of the papers or files, "I'm so sorry- I was trying to prevent a catastrophe and it seems that I became it instead," he smiles sheepishly.

Lois Lane has posed:
"You had lovely intentions, Terry," Lois says, helping him up to his feet. "And I'm certain Clark is grateful for the attempt. Besides, paper can be recovered, interns are actually a valuable resource, as it turns out." She looks between Terry and Clark, then touches on what Terry just said, her face lighting up.

"Take your own advice. Don't be so caught up trying to prevent a catastrophe that you become one instead."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Prevent a catastrophe?" Clark asks cluelessly, echoing. Did he still not see the trash can? Maybe not! "Lois is right, though -- papers we can, um, pick up and sort out," Clark agrees, in his mind, often uncertain way. He stays kneeling, starting to gather his poor strewn papers up, using his free hand to push his glasses up his nose a little bit.

"Do you need some ice?" Clark definitely knows where the ice and first aid supplies are. By proxy, so does Lois....

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"That's kind of the story of my life these days, isn't it?" Terry replies to Lois' encapsulation of his entire quandary. He starts helping Clark with the papers, trying to help gather some.

And here is where something strange happens- perhaps it is too quick for Lois to notice, but Clark might see that, as Terry reaches his hand absent-mindedly in the direction of a folder that is too far away to actually be picked up, there is a very thin tendril of light emanating from a finger tip. Purple light. The folder it touches /scoots/ over and into his reach. He doesn't seem to notice he did this, as he's adding to his first comment: "I guess in one way or another I tend to assume things will go to hell if I'm not super... super careful."

Having gathered a sizable amount of pages, he frowns, "Ice- yeah, I'll probably need some. Can't bleed all over the paper..."

Of course, now that Clark was here, he felt more doubtful about his original decision to bring the cat out of the bag to Lois. It wasn't that he didn't think Clark seemed trustworthy, but an extra presence made him more antsy about proceeding.

"I was thinking, you know, if you ever can spare the time, I'd like to see if I could shadow you," he says to Clark, "Probably on one of the days where all the coffee machines are in working order," or else Lois wouldn't get her coffee, and then there would be a gnashing and wailing of teeth across the land.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois moves fully to the general vicinity of the two, then she offers Clark an amused grin. "That would probably be a good idea, given the fact that Terry's proclivities lead him towards danger like a magnet the way mine do. You've got enough of a sense of when to get out of danger that maybe I wouldn't hear about him taking a sick day from..." Here, she looks to Terry. "What was it, spider robots or something?"

She looks between the two. "Stay there, I'm gonna go grab that ice." She moves to head in the direction of the break room, but not before she passes close to Clark and plants a kiss on his cheek. She looks proud of her accomplishment, then continues to go retrieve the supplies.

Clark Kent has posed:
If Clark caught the bit of light he doesn't make any fanfare of it, and it isn't as if Terry were staring at him to catch a curious reaction anyway. "Thank you very much, but I've got these, tend to your injury," Clark suggests kindly to Terry as he accepts the stack from the intern, adding to the others he's gathered. He'll reorder them on destination - after all, he might drop them again...

Clark looks up and orients to Lois as she gives a kiss to his cheek, but there's just a softened smile as she passes by him, watching her go, then looking back to Terry. "Shadow? Sure, we can do something like that," Clark agrees, without hesitation. He doesn't mind teaching.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"They /were/ mechanical spiders, yeah. But what got me was flying debris. I think it was a car door. Or part of one. I don't remember that part, only what I was told- I have now learned that because your brain gets all rattled by the impact, your brain kind of BSODs and you usually don't remember the moment before impact." Terry O'Neil, walking useless triviapedia.

Terry grabs a tissue from the tissue box on the table and holds it up to his lip so that he's not dripping all over, letting Clark deal with the papers. As he waits for Lois, he grins, "That would be pretty cool. You and Miss Lane have done so much good work, I'd really appreciate the chance of learning from you too. And you have all of the self-preservation instincts that apparently where handed out when I was asleep under the table. April's words, not mine."

Lois Lane has posed:
It's not long before Lois returns with the ice (nicely in an ice pack) and the first aid kit just in case it's needed. She waltzes up to the two, offering forth the supplies like they're the golden manna from heaven. "Oh, right. I met your cousin's roommate, Terry. Still haven't met your cousin, but I managed to snag her roommate for some time. She's certainly just as interesting as people made her out to be."

The ice is passed over and she peeks in the kit for something useful. "I feel like I ended up hanging out with her more than anything. She's got some great insight into things." She looks to Clark, making sure he understands what she's referencing. "His cousin's roommate is Harley Quinn. I thought I'd poke my nose in since it seems someone's passing out pardons over in Gotham."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Some of it is just knowing where not to stand," Clark offers as advice. He considers Terry's hands, about to remark about the odd little light that he may have seen, but Lois came back, and Clark lets that go for right now, as the young man might not appreciate a big audience related to it. It can wait.

"Cousin's roommate," Clark echoes questioningly. That's a bit of a strange descriptor. But then... ah. That's why. "Harley Quinn? That does sound worth looking into, but Gotham news already may be all over it..." And Clark stays out of Gotham whenever possible. Well, Superman does. For ... reasons. Though less important with Superman being dead. "I can ask around a little with my contacts in Gotham."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yeah, I need to get better at learning where not to stand. Though not knowing where not to stand is how I ended up bumping into Gar, so maybe it's not all that bad," He says, and thanks Lois for the ice pack. He doesn't smile, because he now has an ice pack pressed to the lip. "Oh, Harl is fantastic. You know, when I first met her, I thought she was April's friend Vanessa? She's a sex worker and April speaks the world of her. Well, I walk in on Ape's apartment- she's in New Yorkm not Gotham," he adds for Clark's benefit, "And there's Harley Quinn. Except, I think to myself, no way that's HQ, she's back in Arkham. I mean, yeah, April /did/ interview her for her podcast," because the entire O'Neil family has a penchant for being curious and sticking their noses where it doesn't belong. His mother's a private detective, his cousin is a news reporter, and his grandmother- if you believe what their hometown said- was pretty much the rural equivalent of the KGB, and the sheer amount of dirt she accumulated during her long existence might have just been enough to terraform Mars.

"But I think to myself, you know, what are the odds? And since I hadn't met Vanessa, I assumed it was Vanessa, because April's interview with Harley got picked up by all sorts of sites and went viral, and I assumed that clients were... you know, requesting Harley Quinn themed stuff." He shrugs. "So there I am, talking to her as if she's Vanessa, and we get to talking about Harley and about what if she wants to go legit and rehabilitate and all that, and I say that I think she should go and talk to Wonder Woman because there's no-one on earth who is as compassionate as her, and he'd totally help Harley."

He shrugs, "And the next day she goes and does that, and that's when I realized holy crap, that WAS Harley Quinn. As Miss Lane says, she's got a lot of interesting insight. And she, along with two others who will remain nameless," the redhead throws Lois a side-eye and a wink, "sort of became fairy godmothers in the absolute catastrophe that is my relationships issue." A pause, and then as an after thought he says "And then Harley gave me a diamond-encrusted speedo to give as a gift to the guy I liked, so... you never really know what you're gonna get with Harley."

Lois Lane has posed:
"I suggest not standing in the wrong place on /purpose/. Caution is advised. I'm taking a bit more of that lately." Lois flashes a smile in Clark's direction, but she's distracted by the /weirdness/ of Harley Quinn to the actual story that's there. Reporter Lois has tapped into the ring.

"Funny thing is, Harley Quinn isn't the only person who suddenly got pardoned in Arkham. I interviewed Clayface once when he was in there. It wasn't great, but... it was enough that he remembered me. When he got out, he just casually snuck right into the Planet by pretending to be Gary. He wanted a favor, just wanted some contacts thrown in his direction, and he traded a favor and a name in exchange. So, if there's some reason we need an actor who can pretend to be anyone I've got that card in my deck now. But he quietly gave me the name Waller, he didn't particularly want to talk about her at all or give any info on her. It's all I've got, but it might be worth checking with your Gotham contacts in case there's something there."

Clark Kent has posed:
That is a lot of information from Intern Terry! Clark listens to all of it with a tilt to his head and a vague smile. He certainly listens well, in his unassuming way: Clark's info-gathering technique is often just being aware of what's going on, non-intrusively. He adds his papers back onto the big stack, then seems to think better of it and makes TWO shorter stacks. He picks up the first one. It can be two safer trips.

"Sure, I can do that, Lois," Clark agrees. He lifts his papers, struggling a bit with the weight or awkwardness or both. "Keep my research papers safe while I'm gone," he asks of them, taking stack #1 over to the other side of the Planet, briefly disappearing into one of the other workrooms.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"See, THAT is interesting, because..." Terry taps his chin, setting his recaller on 'recall' while holding up the ice pack to his lips. "Yep, I remember now. "Waller. I haven't heard of the name, but if this is the same person that pardoned Harley... then I know a little. Harley described the moments after she was released from Arkham. Got picked up in a black limo by a woman. African-american, heavyset by Harley's description. Mole on her neck, apparently?" There are some details that are unnecessary, but recalling the conversation as it happened helps.

"Oh yeah. This woman recruited Harley for some sort of spy program on behalf of the American government. Or, at least, that's what she said to her in the limo."

He pauses, "She also told her something about a bomb in her brain, but I don't know if that's true or that's Harley exaggerating. This was at April's place just as Harl had moved in with her. Gar was with me. He didn't say much, I think Harley's... Harleyness shocked him into mostly silence." Which was a rare sight in and of itself.

"So, is intern scoop useful? And if so, mind if I beg off half an hour early?" He gives her a grin, "I thought I could take Gar to a fancy restaurant." He pauses. He remembers how much Gar eats. He remembers what his paycheck is like "To a restaurant."

Lois Lane has posed:
"That's good information, Terry. Sounds like we've at least got something there. Not sure how much we want to dig, but we've got a start if we /do/ want to dig. Government stuff tends to get a little hairy sometimes," Lois points out before she looks toward Terry as his suggestion of dinner with Gar.

"Yeah, take the time off. Tell Gar I said hi. Don't get yourself in trouble before then either. Or else."