Oh boy, I have been wanting to comment on this chapter!
Amid all the chaos, the door opens and a half-bald man in a lab coat enters. He doesn’t look like he belongs with the rest of the frantically working personnel, and Lois is immediately suspicious. He’s not wearing a name tag.
“Who are you?”
“Uh, oh, sorry.” He looks at Superman, or what little of the hero is visible beyond the staff. He walks to her and takes her hand. “Doctor Bernard Klein. Lois Lane, right? I’ve seen your pictures.”
Bernie!
This is the doctor Superman needs, not the average General Practitioner. This is a Kryptonian, not your ordinary human being. He requires a scientist who is a Jack of all trades in the science fields.
He starts, as though he’s forgotten she’s there. “Yes, sorry. Well, we can’t make him immune to the radiation, but I started thinking, what if we can create an antibody that will stick to Kryptonite particles, and another antibody to connect with the first one, not unlike what they do for the PET scans—”
“Doctor Klein,” she says again, warningly, because he seems to have a penchant for going off on a tangent.
“Right, yes, in short: a second antibody with a lead particle on it.” Dr. Klein looks hopefully at her, as though she’s the judge of whether it’s a good idea.
She tries to understand what he’s saying, but she fails.
“Enough of them, and the lead will shield his body from Kryptonite!” His excitement is obvious.
“And you have the whatchamacallits?”
He pats his bag. “I have the antibodies here.”
“Then go! What are you waiting for?”
Yes, I know this is a big section of the story, but this is vintage Dr. Klein, always so in love with the science he forgets about everything else!
Lois is so totally outside of her understanding that she calls antibodies, whatchamacallits! But it doesn't matter as long as they work. Your writing of this scene was perfect.
Perry is silent for a few seconds. “How’s Superman doing?”
Lois swallows. “It’s bad. He… they… it’s bad.”
“Go be with him, Lois.” Perry pauses. “Let Clark know that I understand that both of you need to stay at the hospital right now.”
He hangs up.
She’s left staring at the phone, wondering what the last comment was about. Something about it doesn’t sit right.
She shakes it off.
One of the reasons Perry has been the Managing Editor of the Daily Planet for so long and does it so well is because he knows how to listen and observe. Will you expand on this thread before the story ends? Hope so.
Martha looks at Jonathan, both chocked by her admission.
“I made sure Superman was the one who went to the hospital,” Lois continues. “It wouldn’t do for Clark to show up with Kryptonite poisoning.”
“You know.” There are sudden tears in Martha’s eyes. “Oh, Lois…”
She walks to Lois, and envelopes her in a hug. Her own mother has never hugged her the way Martha does now, warm and complete and so full of love.
This is why I love Martha! Despite being in the middle of a terrible situation that no mother should ever have to experience, she is understanding and accepting of Lois knowing the secret.
Cosmic, your version of Top Copy was so much better than the original. You mentioned in Part One that it took years for you to write this, let me assure you it was well worth the wait. Thanks for tackling the material and making it shine. The emotions Clark and Lois are experiencing during this crisis are very realistic and honest.
If this story is a representative sample, we need more of your offerings on the boards.
