Part 4: LightPerry waited as the operator connected him to the Kents in Smallville, hoping he was going about this the right way. He hoped so. He took a deep breath, trying to come to terms with the fact that a man he played poker with and bossed around all the time was also the Man of Steel.
It was mind boggling to know the man who had stopped Nightfall lost fifty dollars to him at poker.
Strange didn't begin to describe it.
"Hello?" an older female voice asked.
"Hi, Martha Kent?" he asked.
"Yes, who is this?" she asked.
"This is Perry White. Your son works for me at the Daily Planet. Well, worked while it was still running."
"Oh. Oh hello. Nice to, uh, talk to you. Clark has mentioned you a number of times, of course. Nothing but good things," she said.
Perry could tell she was trying to hold it together. She must have just seen the news.
"So, uh, what can I do for you?" she asked.
"Mrs. Kent, uh, Kal-El told me to call you," he said. "And uh, I actually wanted to make sure everything was okay with the emergency Clark left to attend to late yesterday."
She was quiet for a long while. He could only hear her breathing.
"Oh, yes. I'm not sure when Clark will be able to return though," she said, her voice wobbly.
"I understand. Is there anything I can tell his friends here?" he asked, thankful she seemed to be understanding what he was doing. "They were worried."
"Yes, thank you. The bank required his signature for some legal issues, and because of the coming harvest, it couldn't wait. He is now helping Jonathon, my husband, with the new equipment that will be used on this year’s crops,” she said, growing steadier as she went.
“I’m glad things were worked out,” Perry said, before shifting the topic. "Well, I'm staying with Kal-El for the time being. We're thinking some sun will do him some good, but if you know anything that might help us. . . ."
"I know his normal temperature tends to run high."
"How high?"
"99 to 100.3 degrees," she said.
"Okay, anything else? Anything the doctors can expect?"
"The first time he was exposed he passed out and it took about a week for him to get back to his normal. That was from less than a minute. The second time, he recovered a little faster, but he was in sunlight the whole time and exposure lasted about two minutes.”
“Is there anything we should be careful about or make sure we don't do?” he asked.
“When he begins to recover, his hearing is the first thing to return and is extremely sensitive.”
“Alright, thank you,” he said, wondering if there was anything else he should ask.
"How is he?" she asked, fearing the answer.
"Better than what could have been expected. The doctors and nurses have done everything they can to tend to his wounds and such. He’s on oxygen, and they wanted to give him a transfusion, but they determined that they couldn’t so are sticking with a special saline solution to give him basic nutrients. He did eat though.”
“I wish I knew more that could help,” she said after a moment.
“It’s alright. You’ve given me a few things to tell the doctor. And I’ll play the secret source excuse, which isn’t exactly a lie,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said, unable to fully express the depth of her gratitude.
"It's the least I can do. Well, I'll let you go now, and I'll try to give you an update later if I can."
"Okay. Good night, Mr. White."
"It's Perry," he gently corrected.
"Perry."
"Good night."
O o O o O
He and Perry went way back. They met in college and although they went down different career paths, white collar versus blue, they remained close and made an excellent team, especially where it came to business.
So when Perry called stating it was an emergency and very well might be the most important thing they had ever done together, he believed him, even though he didn't understand how bringing special lamps could be so vital.
He turned toward the hospital, hoping to spot Perry before too long. Unfortunately, he had to devote his attention to maneuvering around news crews and a sea of people holding candles before stopping at the entrance of the hospital's main parking lot by an officer. Bewildered by the number of police around and the candlelight vigil that had begun to wrap itself around the hospital's property line, he rolled his window down.
"Yes, officer?" he asked.
"Joe Harding?" the officer asked.
"That's me," he said, surprised.
"May I see your ID?" the officer asked.
Joe frowned but complied. "Sure," he said, showing him.
"Thank you. Please head over to that ambulance entrance over there. They'll tell you where to go from there," the officer said. "And thank you for coming."
"Oh, no problem," he said, confused but confident he would be getting answers soon.
He rolled forward and quickly navigated to the indicated entrance, spotting his old friend with more security. Perry waved at him as he pulled over and put his truck in park.
"Perry!" he called, hopping out.
"Joe, I hope you didn't get any speeding tickets over this," Perry said goodnaturedly.
"If I did, could I bill you?" he asked.
"Joe, after this, I'll pay for whatever you like," Perry said.
Joe laughed, going to the back of the truck and opening it. "Now what is this about?" he asked, curiously glancing at the officers on either side of Perry.
"Just listened to your music, I take it?" Perry asked, unsurprised.
"Yeah, but now I'm wishing I had listened to the radio."
Perry chuckled uneasily. "Well, you remember a few months ago when you asked me if I'd be able to arrange a meeting so you could meet a certain someone?" Perry asked.
Joe blinked, instantly recalling his request to see Superman -- but that can't be what he's talking about, right?
"Well, you'll be able to do more than that today," Perry said.
"What?" Joe asked, confused as he pulled down the dolly in preparation of loading the boxed lamps onto it.
"Now you heard what happened earlier today?" Perry asked as he and the officers quickly helped unload the four lamps.
"With that slimeball, Luthor?" he asked with the dolly now full and ready to go.
"Yeah."
"Knew there was more to him than what was seen. What the heck did that monster do?" Joe asked, gathering he had done something horrendous with how Perry was talking.
"Somehow the man got ahold of a material that can hurt Superman. I won't go into specifics, but I will say taking a swan dive off the balcony was too good for him."
"Well, I imagine his landing was pleasant compared to how his eternity will be," Joe guessed.
"I suspect so. Well, I called you for the full spectrum sunlamps because the doctors are hoping it'll help Superman recover."
"Wow. All of this makes a lot of sense now," he said, trying to digest the fact something had hurt Superman enough for him to need the hospital.
He hadn't even needed help after taking on Nightfall twice - well, he was gone for a few days, but still.
He walked beside Perry while guiding the dolly, trying not to feel too intimidated by the escort of police and the dull hum of activity through the hospital. Coming to a hall junction, a doctor joined them.
"Hello, Mr. Harding, thank you for driving all this way," the doctor said, holding the hall door open that led to a different section of the hospital. "I'm Dr. Carson, Superman's physician."
"Hello. And I'm happy to help, especially now that I know who I'm helping," he said.
They went down the hall and entered an elevator, passing several sentries. There was no other word for it. Joe had never seen so many serious armed men in one place before.
"Is there anything I should ask maintenance to bring to the room for the lamps?" the doctor asked.
"I just need a few wall outlets. I have everything else," he said.
"Very good."
"I wasn't sure how many watts you needed so brought a range," Joe added.
"Alright. I'd like to start with the lowest first and go from there. I don't want to overwhelm his system, " Carson said, leading the way.
"Alright, just know that each lamp can emit more concentrated light than the sun at the maximum setting. The sun's whole light spectrum is there, so precautions should be taken. There's no cosmic radiation, of course, but the lamps produce everything from infra-red to ultraviolet light, just like the sun at midday, so it can cause sunburns and hurt our eyes."
Carson nodded. "Understood."
They walked for a moment in silence.
"So, uh, how bad is it?" Joe asked, although as soon as he asked he wondered if it was even appropriate to ask. Probably not, but Carson still answered.
"There's no point sugar coating it. He's in critical condition with a number of lacerations and puncture wounds, on top of suffering from radiation poisoning. If you help us in the room, rest assured the radioactive material is gone now and doesn't affect us as it does him even if it was still there. However, if you would rather assemble the lamps in the side room for whatever reason and show one of us how to operate the lamps, we can do that," Carson proposed.
"I can help in the room. I assume you want to do this sooner rather than later, and teaching someone else, though easy, would still require time," Joe said.
"Yes. The sooner he gets this light, the better," he answered plainly before taking a breath. "I think it goes without saying that what you learn and see here today cannot leave this building."
"Of course," Joe said, mentally gearing himself up as they slowed their approach to a door with two police on either side.
Carson entered first and Joe maneuvered the dolly with practiced ease after him even though he was extremely nervous.
Joe couldn’t help but stare as his eyes fell upon the form on the bed at the far wall.
He didn’t look like Superman.
He couldn’t be Superman!
He was motionless, and his skin looked more grey than tannish-pink on his left side, while his right was angry red, as if horribly sunburned. A blanket and sheet covered him from mid-chest down. His face was covered by an oxygen mask and an IV bag was suspended above his bed with its line ending at the crook of his left arm. His arms and hands were heavily wrapped and there was a long cut Joe could see on his cheek, held closed by butterfly bandaids. He appeared to be asleep and the beep-beep of the heart monitor, which sounded abnormally fast, echoed through the room. Joe barely noticed the nurse by the bed as Carson approached the being who should have been the strongest man on Earth.
“Superman? Superman can you wake up?” Carson gently asked, placing his hand on the Kryptonian’s bare shoulder.
Superman stirred and slowly opened his eyes. Joe averted his gaze, unsure how to feel about seeing the god-among-them so vulnerable.
“Mr. Harding?” Carson asked.
“Yes, doctor?” he asked, straightening.
Carson motioned him to come beside him.
“Superman, this is Mr. Harding. He brought the lamps and is going to set them up,” Carson said. “We’re going to try the lamps now. Alright?” Carson asked.
“'Kay,” Superman mumbled in reply.
“Okay. Mr. Harding?” Carson said, “Please place the first lamp here.”
Joe set to work with the aid of Perry, opening the box and assembling the equipment as quickly as he could. A few other nurses came in while he and Perry worked, handing out sunglasses and sunscreen to them all. Fifteen minutes later, the first lamp was up and they were all ready - sunglasses and all.
Joe sent up a prayer for this to work as they hoped.
“I’m going to lower the bedding, alright?” Carson warned Superman, easing the white cloth and light blue blanket down to the hero's waist.
Joe busied himself with double checking the settings of the lamp, but the monitoring lines, bruises and bloody dressings stood out so blatantly it was impossible to miss or ignore, even from the corner of his eye.
“Uh, lowest setting first, correct?” Joe asked.
“Yes, thank you," Carson said.
"Ready," Joe said, hand on the dial.
Superman gave a slight nod of his head and Carson motioned a 'go-ahead' to Joe as those nearest the bed all moved back.
Joe turned the dial, keeping his eyes on Carson in case he needed to quickly turn the light back off.
The light shined onto Superman and immediately his breath hitched, as if he had just been dumped into a bucket of ice water. Joe was about to turn the light back off, but Carson motioned to wait.
After a few seconds, Superman relaxed.
"How are you feeling?" Carson asked.
"Pain is fading," Superman whispered.
"Slowly increase the intensity," Carson told Joe.
Joe did so, and the effect was instant. The fast beeps of the heart monitor slowed and the pained wheeze from the mask softened.
"I'll get the other lamps up," Joe said as Perry was already opening the next box.
They worked quickly, bolstered by the small signs of recovery they could already see in Superman. His breathing had continued to ease and it was clear the pain he was in was far less than before.
By the time the next lamp was ready, the redness of his skin was beginning to fade. Eager to see further improvement, they quickly turned on the second lamp.
"Look!" one of the nurses said, pointing at the cut on his cheek ever so slowly closing up before their eyes.
"Barb, start removing the bandages from his hands and arms," Carson said, while lifting up the sheet and blanket from his feet and legs, leaving just his waist and upper thighs covered.
Barb did so, slowly revealing a plethora of cuts, burns, and gashes. It was meticulous work, and Superman winced in pain throughout the process, but then the exposed wounds too began to close and heal under the light -- although far more slowly than the cut on his cheek. One would have to watch very carefully to observe the change in real time, but it was easy to notice a change when looking back at it after half an hour of doing something else.
"That's amazing," Joe said, looking up while setting up the third lamp near the foot of the bed.
"Feels amazing," Superman whispered.
"Do you want more light, or is this level good?" Carson asked. "I don't want to overwhelm your system."
"More please."
Carson nodded and indicated to Joe to direct the third light primarily on his legs. He turned the light on.
"Once his arms are healed, remove the bandages on his legs. Hopefully the wounds on his side will be closed enough for us to uncover them next."
Barb and the other nurse by the bed nodded as they got to work. Bloody gauze was discarded and Joe quickly looked away, not wanting to risk seeing an injury that may make him particularly queasy. What he had already seen had been bad enough, if he was honest, although seeing injuries heal like that had more than made up for any prior unease.
"Doctor?" a nurse asked, noticing Carson's attention had shifted.
He was looking at the I.V. bag.
Instead of the typical 'drip-drip-drip' of fluid from the bag into the line, it was a hard solid stream, as if the fluid was being tightly squeezed or sucked from the bag.
Somehow, Superman's body was actively pulling the solution into his veins.
"We need more R.L. bags. This one will likely be empty in the next five minutes," Carson said, hurriedly preparing the I.V. ports as one of the nurses quickly retrieved what was needed.
The room was getting warm and they were beginning to perspire, but they didn't care as Superman's condition continued to improve.
With all four lamps on and I.V. bags full two hours after they had started, they pulled back and accepted that all they could do now was wait. As they waited, Joe took a moment to show the nurses how to operate the lamps. It wasn't difficult but there were some differences important to know about between the models.
"How long does it typically take for you to recover after exposure?” Dr. Carson inquired, even though Perry had given him some information about it hours earlier.
“Depends,” he said, seeing no harm in being honest and answering through the oxygen mask. “First time, I immediately passed out - was just near it for less than a minute. Took me a week to get back to normal. The second time I was able to recover faster, but I was exposed while in sunlight. This is only the fourth time I’ve encountered it.”
He closed his eyes with a grimace.
“Pain?” Dr. Carson asked.
“Twinges,” Superman admitted.
“Healing can be painful,” Dr. Carson said gently. “And considering your healing has accelerated, some discomfort is to be expected. But let me know if it gets worse or doesn’t fade.”
Superman nodded.
“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep if we get something to cover your eyes?” Carson asked.
“I think I could fall asleep right now,” Superman said, smiling tiredly.
Carson chuckled. “Alright, go on and sleep.”
“I’ll update Clark and the others, alright?” Perry said. “And you were right, Clark is fine. He’s with his parents. Had to sign important bank papers and is now helping his father with some farm equipment in time for the harvest.”
Superman blinked. “Oh, okay. That’s good. Thanks.” He then focused on Joe, lightly lifting his hand which was still healing from the radiation burns. “And thank you, Mr. Harding.”
"No thanks is necessary, Superman,” Joe said, unable to completely hide his embarrassment intermingled with the pride at being thanked by Superman. “I'm honored I'm able to help you. Not including Nightfall, a number of my family and friends owe their lives to you," he said, causing Superman to smile. “Good night, Superman.”
With that, Perry and the others left as Barb remained to replace the bags on the I.V. line again.
O o O o O
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