Part 7: DiversionIt was the following day when Superman finally opened his eyes.
"Good to see you awake, son," Perry said, sitting beside the bed.
Superman looked down at himself and was astonished to find he was completely healed. He held up his hands and looked at his palms, expecting to find the burn scars, but he found nothing.
All of the pink scars that had been scattered across his body were gone and there was no evidence whatsoever that they had ever been there. He looked up to find Perry and Dr. Price smiling at him as the sunlight from the window continued to pour onto his skin.
"What time is it?" he asked, sitting up. He knew he had been asleep for a while, but had no idea for how long.
"1:15 pm," Price said.
"I've been asleep for a whole day?" he asked, surprised.
"Two days. It's Wednesday," Perry said.
"Soon after you fell asleep in the sunlight, Dr. Carson determined you had actually gone into a coma. Don't worry, we think it's something normal to your physiology because, as you can see, it sped along your healing a great deal," Price explained.
"Why didn't I do it sooner?" Superman asked.
"You might have been too weak before, or maybe you needed real sunlight or perhaps a combination therein. The nurses were barely able to keep up with replacing the I.V. bags for a bit there, and then it teetered off. It was only about fifteen minutes ago when your body pushed out the needle," he said, pointing to his elbow.
Superman looked down at his arm to see the needle was indeed gone, before his focus quickly shifted to the corner of the room to a police officer.
"Did something happen while I was out?" he asked, wondering why the cop wasn't in the hall.
The doctor looked grim and Perry sighed.
"There were a few threats made on your life early Tuesday. Two arrests have been made, but no one has breached beyond security," Perry said.
Superman groaned and shook his head, unable to think of anything to say. With that, Price decided to move on to a different topic.
"Dr. Carson will be here later today, along with Inspector Henderson," Price said. "In the meantime, how do you feel?"
"A lot better. There's no pain at all," he said, amazed.
"And your powers?" Price asked.
Superman closed his eyes and concentrated for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"No. Nothing yet," he said with a frown.
"That's alright. You've made a lot more progress than we could have imagined when you first came in and Dr. Carson and I suspect it takes a great deal of stored energy for your powers to actually manifest," Price said. "So we'll continue having you soak up rays as much as possible and wait."
"Should I stay here though? I don't want to cause any more problems I imagine I have already caused to the hospital," Superman asked, concerned.
"Some plans have been discussed, but we're hopeful you'll be well enough before too long. Try not to worry about it. The Superman Foundation has provided funds to cover the security and more for the hospital,” Price assured.
“Oh, good,” Superman said, relaxing.
“Doctor, could I talk to Superman privately?” Perry asked after a moment, also glancing at the officer. “Shouldn't be more than twenty minutes.”
“Of course,” Price said, who motioned for the officer to follow.
“Mr. White?” Superman asked, clearly a little confused as the door closed behind the officer.
Perry reached under his chair and retrieved a large package he had brought with him the day before when Superman had been unconscious.
“What’s this?” Superman asked, taking the bag and opening it.
He immediately saw bright red fabric, neatly folded within.
“I felt it necessary to go ahead and retrieve it for you,” Perry said, meeting his eyes.
Superman slowly pulled his folded uniform from the bag. The bold yellow S on the front.
“How?” he asked, bewildered. But then he stilled. “You know.”
Perry nodded. “Since after you told me to call the Kents.”
Superman placed his hand on his forehead.
“I’ve kept Mr. and Mrs. Kent updated,” he said, deciding to not outright say anything that could reveal his identity, just in case. He put his hand on Clark's shoulder reassuringly. "You have nothing to worry about." Perry then pulled him into a brief hug.
“Thank you,” Clark said, before pulling back.
Perry, like any southern gentleman, swiftly but smoothly moved on as he cleared his throat.
"Well, since we still have time, I have news. Good news first. The Planet is coming back. Mr. Stern is the new owner of the Daily Planet and rebuilding will begin next week."
"That's excellent news!" Clark beamed. "But what's the bad news?"
"I think it's more disturbing than good or bad. A few days ago, I tasked Jimmy to figure out how Luthor might have gotten the Kryptonite and he learned that the samples sent to the geological society after that whole Trask fiasco had been 'destroyed' a few months ago."
"Destroyed?" Clark asked, disbelieving.
"Apparently it had been 'misfiled' and 'accidentally disposed of'. No accusations of theft were made, so no police report. It all remained internal and categorized as a mistake," Perry explained.
"Convenient," he said sarcastically.
"Quite. Well, Jimmy got ahold of the names in the 'accident' and gave all the information to Henderson. Right now, Henderson is focused on making sure all of the Kryptonite has been accounted for since, fortunately, there was a record of the initial weight and that appears legit," Perry continued before sighing. "Henderson hasn't found all of it yet, but they found that Luthor had put some of it in his boots and had been in the process of making a few bullets."
"The boots? The boots he kicked me with?" he asked, automatically bracing his recently healed side.
"Yes. He also had a broach with it. Henderson has been extremely thorough, and anything that is heavy or may be leadlined, they're taking apart and checking. That's how they found the bullet mold."
"I've never been relieved that someone is no longer here, but I am now," Clark breathed.
"I understand, son. I actually have darker thoughts concerning that monster, but I won't entertain them further.”
“So what’s the full story on the threats?” Clark asked, sensing the doctor had not been totally upfront with him.
“From what Henderson has said, it might be best to have you out of here before too much longer. The DoD is antsy, according to him."
Clark frowned.
"The hospital, of course, doesn't want to pressure you and wants to avoid any bad PR, so that's why Price didn't go into detail about the threats," Perry warned.
"How serious are they really?"
"Some threats have been from foreign extremist groups, but the domestic loonies are who Henderson is most concerned about."
"I need to leave. I could be putting people in danger," Clark stated.
"Let's wait until Henderson arrives before doing anything though, alright?" Perry said, though he agreed with Clark.
Clark nodded as the doctor knocked on the door.
O o O o O
Henderson sighed. His men were beginning to jump at shadows, and the DoD wasn’t much better as far as he could see. The fear of something happening was beginning to become just as dangerous as something actually happening. For that reason alone, he was eager to move Superman to a different location - now that they had enough men and a viable plan to do so.
“Inspector,” the officer by the door greeted. “The doctors are already inside.”
“Thanks,” he said, entering.
Henderson blinked when he found Superman seated on the edge of his hospital bed already wearing his red and blue uniform, boots and all.
“Superman!”
“Hello, Inspector,” Superman said, smiling.
“Feeling much better I take it? Super yet?” Henderson asked, trying not to get too hopeful.
“Uh, no, not yet, unfortunately. I think I'm close though,” Superman said. "I’m feeling much better. All my injuries are gone. I think I might be feeling human," he said with a hesitant shrug and smile.
“That’s still excellent. I actually came in the hopes of talking you into going to a different location to finish recovering, but it looks like I won’t need to convince you,” Henderson said, glancing at Perry, Dr. Carson, and Dr. Price.
“No, no convincing needed. The hospital has done more for me than I could have ever asked for and considering the security risks that are mounting, it's better if I go," Superman said, standing up.
"Alright. Well, we have a plan, so now that I know--”
Henderson immediately stopped as Superman flinched and turned to the right, bringing his hands up to his ears.
“Superman?” Dr. Carson asked.
Superman shook his head, silently asking for a moment.
He closed his eyes, grimace still on his face, but then his expression changed.
“Bomb in ER. Distraction to rush this side,” he said, before his form abruptly blurred and air was sucked in to fill the void left behind.
O o O o O
The noise rammed into his skull without warning, but despite the jolt of pain he was grateful. His powers were returning! But then his relief vanished when the reason his super hearing had been triggered became clear.
‘Okay, run in and chuck it. Then get out of there,’ a voice said. The voice was muffled by the sound of a running engine.
‘Right. Thirty seconds,’ another voice said, pumping himself up.
”Superman?”He shook his head, pleading for silence as he focused his hearing.
‘Once the ER blows--’ the voice prompted.
‘You all will storm the wing where Superman is,’ the second voice finished as the screech of brakes sounded and the slam of car doors followed. ‘Help! My arm!’ the same voice cried hysterically.
“Bomb in ER,” Superman stated, looking at Henderson. “Distraction to rush this side.”
There was no time.
He bolted before they could respond, praying he would make it in time. He hadn't been sure he would be able to move at super speed, but he had decided to try anyway. Thankfully, enough of his powers had returned to allow him to move faster than human, but he was certainly not back to full. Maintaining his speed was difficult, and he soon wanted to stop to catch his breath, but the moment he saw the gun, he knew he couldn't.
O o O
Mr. Teal was waiting to be seen for an x-ray in the ER. At first he wasn't sure if the hospital was still seeing patients considering Superman was there, but he was relieved and pleasantly surprised to learn only the far west wing of the hospital was cordoned off, along with the area for the ongoing vigil on the opposite side of the hospital property. Everything else was as close as it could possibly be to being normal, although security all around was very high. Well, he couldn't fault them for that and was just happy that he wouldn't have to go all the way to the hospital downtown.
He was pretty sure he had broken his fingers, but considering the condition of a few individuals around him he couldn't complain. Especially when compared to a young man with a backpack who had just rushed into the ER. His arm was bleeding profusely and it was obvious that he needed help. It was a wonder the guy hadn't already passed out!
Nurses hurried to help him, but then he did something that made no sense. As soon as he was on his way to get treatment, he chucked his backpack as far as he could deeper into the hospital and then turned to run, pushing a nurse flat on her back!
Alarm bells rung in Teal's heart alongside a spike of anger at the sight. Why would someone gushing blood rush into the hospital only to throw a bag and turn to flee?
Teal got up as he spotted a distant security guard moving as well, but he was closer to the running man. He moved and managed to grab him as a bag of fake blood dropped onto the floor from the man's sleeve, but before Teal could bring him down, he was suddenly staring down the barrel of a gun!
Was this it? Was he going to die right here? Why did he have to get involved?
And then the back of a hand with a vibrant blue sleeve appeared just beyond his nose just as. . . .
Bang!Teal leapt back as the owner of the hand that had just caught a bullet merely gave a grunt before closing his fingers over the barrel and squeezed.
“Superman!” Teal gasped as the sound of giving metal met his ears.
Superman was livid and didn’t respond to him, instead, he yanked the gun from the man’s grasp and then ran down the hall toward where the bag had been thrown.
O o O
Superman scooped up the black backpack from the floor as he dropped the ruined gun, ignoring the astonished stares from the people around as well as the pain blossoming out from his palm. He took a deep breath, knowing he was in no condition to contain a bomb blast and he couldn't risk accidently setting it off while trying to disarm it. His only option was to get it far enough away before it blew. Which meant there was only one thing to do.
Superman moved again the next second, blurring before human eyes and reappearing outside, beyond the entryway with the backpack. Breathing heavily, he pushed himself harder, knowing every second counted. He leapt up.
Unfortunately, instead of turning into a red and blue streak into the sky as most were accustomed to seeing (and what he was attempting), he instead landed on his feet with a heavy thud, back onto the sidewalk.
He couldn't fly yet.
Biting back a curse, he did the only thing he could think of. Bending his knees, and with both hands under the cursed pack, he hurled it up as hard as he could. His strength propelled it up like a rocket, but the effort threw him off balance. He stumbled backward onto a bench just off the walkway to the hospital, but he didn't care. Now sitting on the bench, his eyes remained focused on the black pack, praying it would keep going.
Everyone within view was either staring at him or watching the bag soar higher and higher.
It went above the trees and then above the buildings, streaking so far above their heads that it was soon a spec in the sky.
Roughly fifteen seconds after he had thrown it, it exploded, it's boom sounding like a distant crack of thunder as it turned into an expanding dark cloud.
Superman closed his eyes in relief, oblivious to the gathering crowd as he took a moment to just rest.
The sun felt so good, and being outside after four days in a hospital room. . . . Even though the lamps and sun had been wonderful in the hospital, there was certainly something to getting sun out in open air. He basked in the light and slouched further on the bench.
He allowed his hearing to wander, hoping Henderson and his men were already taking care of the group that was supposed to move in after the ‘distraction’.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to try too hard to pick up Henderson’s voice.
'Read ‘em their rights!' he ordered. 'Any word on where Superman is?'
'Yes sir. He's sitting on the bench outside the ER. He just threw the bomb into the sky. It exploded well above everything,' someone answered.
'Okay, I'm heading over,' Henderson said.
Superman smiled, concluding they had apprehended the remaining men and the danger was over.
“Superman?"
He opened his eyes and turned toward the very young voice that had spoken and was surprised to find a little boy sitting on the bench with his mother less than a foot from him. They were both staring at him excitedly but also uncertainly.
Superman blinked. Had they been sitting there the whole time?
"Hello," he greeted, straightening up. "May I continue sitting here?"
The boy giggled and scooted closer to him, unbothered by the people watching.
"Yeah!" the boy said, suddenly confident. He held out his hand. "I'm Joseph."
"Hello, Joseph," Superman said, amused as he gently shook his tiny hand as his mother tenderly watched.
"Ow, that looks like it hurts," the boy said, pointing at Superman's palm after they pulled their hands back.
Superman looked down and found a circular bruise at the center of his hand, thanks to the bullet. It was already healing, but he decided to angle it directly into the sunlight and was happy when it instantly healed.
"Whoa, that was awesome!" the boy shouted, leaning closer to him, though suddenly with concern. "So are you okay now?"
"For the most part, yes," Superman said reassuringly.
"My grandma cried when she learned you were in the hospital," Joseph informed him matter of factly. "She even had us all pray for you."
"Joseph," his mother interrupted, quite embarrassed and looking at Superman apologetically.
"Well she did," Joseph pointed out. "But now that you're mostly better, she'll be happy, just like I am now," he explained.
Superman smiled, touched by the boy's innocent nature.
“Superman?”
He looked up to find Henderson accompanied by two officers.
“Inspector,” Superman said, standing up and instantly getting a better appreciation for how many people were gathering to try to see him, even from a distance. For good or ill, news crews were also present and more were arriving.
Hospital security had done a good job keeping the front area clear, in preparation of allowing officers and crime scene investigators enter the hospital, but they couldn’t stop people from gathering beyond the perimeter they had hastily made, and they were still guiding people out of the area as well.
He looked back to Joseph and his mother and smiled warmly.
"It was nice talking to you, Joseph, and please tell your grandma I appreciate those prayers. Ma'am, whatever you're doing with him, you're doing fine," he said with a parting wave.
The young mother beamed as Joseph waved back proudly.
Superman turned back to Henderson, feeling better than he had in a while.
“I've just squared things away. The vehicle here is set to take you to an undisclosed location," Henderson said, motioning to the SUV just now approaching.
"Thank you," he said, before glancing at the gathered assembly of onlookers and extremely hopeful news anchors.
Henderson smirked and made an expression that could only mean 'up to you' as he stepped aside.
Deciding it was for the best, he went to the edge of the sidewalk and before the makeshift assembly, causing many to gasp in excited surprise as he raised a hand for silence. The press scrambled with their microphones.
"I didn't intend to make such an impromptu public statement, but I see no point in holding off," he began, speaking loudly as all the cameras in range focused on him. He glanced back at the hospital and smiled before facing them all again. "First, I am eternally grateful for the care I received by the first responders and by the people here. I am not exaggerating at all when I say they saved my life. Second, I am thankful for all the well wishes and prayers sent for me and the donations made to the Superman Foundation. The outpouring of support has been . . ." His voice became suspiciously gritty for a split second before he cleared his throat. "It means a lot to me. More than I can ever say. Thank you."
There were some cheers before silence reigned again.
"I will finish my recuperation at an undisclosed location, as I'm sure at least some of you saw that I can't fly yet. By the way, if anyone has a recording of that, I want a copy," he said seriously before cracking a smile.
The crowd roared with approval before falling quiet once more.
"Anyway, I hope to be back to my normal self by next week. Until then, my Foundation will continue to give updates as appropriate. Good evening,” he said before turning to Henderson.
Henderson led him to the SUV as the crowd pulled back and began chanting, "SUPERMAN! SUPERMAN!"
Meanwhile, the press attempted to throw out a few questions but they were soon swallowed up by the enthusiasm around them and simply gave into the moment and joined in the celebration of seeing a much healthier Superman head out.
O o O o O
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