The New Avengers?

In the final contest for ARCs of The Shanghai Moon, SJ Rozan asked, if Bill Smith and Lydia Chin were invited to a Halloween party, what would they go as?

I answered:

I'll take a wild stab and say Lydia goes as Emma Peel. It's not how I see her or how she sees herself, but the fun of Halloween is letting your imagination run (within reason).

And I think Bill would deduce Lydia's choice of catsuit and go with the bowler and cane (sword optional) of John Steed.

UPDATE (4:30 PM): I won!

Smallville: "Identity"

While waiting to discuss a story idea with Clark, Lois and Jimmy are accosted by a mugger. Clark super-speeds to thwart the attack just as Jimmy snaps a picture. Jimmy is determined to prove the existence of a mysterious "red-and-blue blur" savior while Tess Mercer has the same need to explain the unexplained that Lex did.

Clark, of course, frets about having his "secret" exposed ("People would be jeopardy if they yadda, yadda."), but when confronted by Jimmy he is incapable of telling the slightest white lie to throw his pal off track:

Did anyone from high school have hero potential?

Any answer would have at least bought time. You may argue that Clark never lies, but in fact he's lied about his abilities all his life. Badly, yes, but he's lied.

For example, to dodge Jimmy's questions, Clark claims he has to fix a tractor, then speeds over to Chloe's, followed shortly by Jimmy.

Uh, Clark, you have a cell phone. Why not call Chloe and decide on a story to tell Jimmy without actually showing up at Chloe's in superhuman time, further confirming Jimmy's suspicions you are superhuman?

And speaking of your cell phone, when Lois called for help with a memory-reading killer, you answered. "Hello?" and flashed to her rescue. Do you really expect her later to believe you didn't get her call until it was too late?

Lois ought to know by now: She calls Clark for help and is mysteriously helped. Who else would it be?

I'm picking particularly large nits, but there were also some clever moments:

While poking around Jimmy's belongings, Clark is interrupted by Lois getting ready for her date with the memory-reader. Lois asks Clark to zip up her dress, which does quite bashfully. The scene is shown later from Lois's memory and we see she enjoyed the moment.

While waiting to meet Jimmy at the farm, Clark makes a pile of all his red and blue clothes.

Halloween Flash Fiction

Only For Good

by Gerald So

The hostages were held in a basement in Staten Island, I wrote, forced to watch either the Star Wars trilogy or Catwoman and Jack Sparrow making out on a broken treadmill.

I closed my memo pad. If Jack weren't a friend and I didn't have a crush on Catwoman, I'd have burst out laughing.

Some Halloween party.

How did I, mild-mannered reporter, end up here? I didn't want to look back, but it was better than looking at them or watching the movies, tainting their memory by association.

I met Catwoman in a Western Lit class last semester. I liked her right away. Her tall frame, clunky shoes, glasses. And everyone on the lit magazine staff noticed. Just like everyone at the Planet knows Clark loves Lois.

At the same time, it was clear to me Cat liked Jack.

Brooding over the summer, I finally asked her out last month:

Would you care to have lunch with me? Purely in the interest of fellowship and conversation.

Some pickup line. I actually felt bad for her having to turn me down.

My instinct then was to retreat to the Fortress of Solitude, but I didn't want to quit the magazine over Cat.

When Susan O'Shea invited the staff to her parents' in Staten Island, I tried to back out. I knew there'd be drinking, and drinking would lead to...this.

But both Cat and Jack said I should come.

So I did. Actually they brought me. I couldn't drive well enough to get a license, which meant I was stuck here until Jack sobered up.

I wanted to show them I could see them together and not go insane.

So much for that.

Call no woman respectable till she's dead.

It was a line from a movie I'd fallen asleep to. Black-and-white. I couldn't remember the title.

I squinted at her over my glasses, but stopped as I felt the heat behind my eyes. I tore out the page I'd begun to write, crammed it in my pocket, and tried to sleep.


###

Notes

This is the first story I wrote for Patti Abbott's Fall Flash Fiction Challenge. It was inspired by a Christmas party I attended. Moving the party to Halloween allowed me to take all manner of creative license.