[Chapter 3: Revive]The sound of gunfire startled Clark, and he instantly zeroed onto the fact that it was originating from the police station due to how the pops echoed off the buildings through the city.
And then he heard Bill.
He doubted he had ever changed into his uniform as fast as he did in that moment, before snapping into the sky so abruptly that there was a crack of him breaking the sound barrier barely ten feet above the ground. Several car alarms went off and the pulse caused by his traveling form rattled windows and created a gust to disrupt the hair of everyone below.
He entered the precinct and he didn't need to look hard to spot the cause of the chaos. He really didn't need to look at all.
He could smell it.
The creature reeked of rot and had an undercurrent of bitter sourness that Kal could only liken to battery acid.
Four officers were shooting at the form, but the alien – there was little else it could be – managed to dodge most of the barrage before opening its black-rimmed mouth.
Kal did not hesitate and zipped forward, pushing the creature aside and causing its acid to miss the officers.
"Kal-El," it hissed, quickly facing him. "Die!"
Acid flew again.
Kal blew at the incoming acid, causing it to freeze solid and fly back at the being, hard. The frozen acid crashed into the creature, forcing it to the foyer floor of the now wrecked police station.
Stepping forward, Kal looked down at the now shivering, hate-filled alien.
"Did Nor send you?" he asked.
"I will tell you nothing," it hissed, before its eyes rolled back into its head and a horrifying sight followed.
Its body, already severely injured by the officers' weapon fire, shuddered before its eyes sunk into its head, leaving behind a skull void of eyes and a dry husk for a body!
But the grotesque sight was soon the least of Kal's concern as Bill's choked cries reached him.
Before any officers could even attempt to collect themselves, he disappeared to the second floor.
He appeared beside Bill and his heart dropped, instantly taking in the sight before him as his ears trained onto Melissa: the girl who had dutifully scattered flower petals along the path Lois later followed to the altar to marry him.
Melissa had no breath. No heartbeat.
Bill was holding her broken body to himself, beyond words as he looked up at Kal with tears in his eyes.
Clark reacted.
Kneeling down, he took Melissa from his friend, ignoring Bill’s hesitancy to release her.
“Let me help her. Stay there,” Kal stated, pulling away and backing up through the scattered chairs until he was against the far wall, ten feet away, with her.
He went to one knee, allowing her legs to sprawl out on the floor while the rest of her was cradled gently in his arms as he brought her to rest against his chest. Holding her firmly, he closed his eyes, all the while Bill watched in silent, anguished hope.
The moment his aura embraced her form, he didn't hold back, allowing the instinctive pull from his center to pour over her, despite the wave of pain that suddenly laced through him.
He knew if Melissa was in the hospital the medical professionals would have already admitted defeat. She was beyond any human help now.
The feeling of the drain was more intense than any he had experienced before, perhaps because he wasn't fighting or restricting it and because of her dire state. After all, none of the people he had healed in Spain had been at death's door.
He gasped as the demand from him spiked and his head swam from the massive loss of energy, but he didn't attempt to restrain its flow because he felt it working. All that he did do was direct and focus it into her, refusing even a drop to be withheld.
The thump-thump of her heart restarting echoed loudly in his ears, and he sighed in relief even as he lost feeling in his hands.
Breath returned to her lungs and then broken bones realigned and fused back together. Muscle and flesh reknit as swelling in her brain melted away. The damage to her head and neck evaporated, and soon the only thing that stood out on her as wrong was her ruined, bloody clothing.
A thrum of warning and raw pain coursed from his core as black dots peppered his vision and his arms went limp. He felt Melissa stir as he clamped down as hard as he could on his aura, suddenly desperate to hold onto any ounce of strength he had left, lest his essence tear.
"Dad?" Melissa called in confusion, facing away from Superman and immediately noticing her father weeping in relief.
Bill scrambled forward, taking Melissa from Superman and hugging her tightly before quickly moving her away as Kal's aura pulsed. His eyes stared at Superman in gratitude and concern.
Kal's head was pounding and the swirling sensation of nausea he had first experienced over a year before ruthlessly toppled him onto his side as he held his aura in what most would liken to a desperate stranglehold. Distantly, he thought someone might be calling his name, maybe shouting at someone, but he couldn’t focus. His joints throbbed and a growing turbulence swelled within his stomach in a way he had never felt before as he couldn't stop himself from shaking.
Now on the floor, he suddenly realized what was about to happen. His eyes fell upon a little trash can that had been knocked aside. He snatched it up just in time and instantly found himself retching into it.
O o O o O
Bill couldn't move, for all of his focus was on two things: watching Superman and praying that what he was about to try would work.
Superman held Melissa gently, almost as tenderly as Bill had been, as he knelt down with her and slowly exhaled.
Bill held his breath as Kal closed his eyes. For a long moment it seemed like nothing was happening, but then Kal stiffened and his face scrunched up in pain. Seconds ticked by, and then he gasped as his head fell back against the wall. He blinked at the ceiling, unseeingly, as his breath quickened.
Bill could hear movement outside in the hall and to his right through the hole in the wall where he had followed his daughter.
"Bill? Bill?!" someone called as the door to the room opened.
"Stay back! Keep everyone back!" Bill bellowed, throwing his hands out to dissuade those beyond both thresholds.
The officers beyond the doorway and broken wall froze as they all looked at where Bill's gaze was focused, quickly realizing why he had ordered them to stop.
And then his daughter’s broken face began to heal as she remained limp in Superman's arms. The gashes closed and the uneven curve of her crushed cheek audibly slid back into place. It was agonizing to watch, but he couldn’t look away as more and more of her was repaired and renewed, as if her body hadn’t been forced through a wall and into a row of tables and chairs.
Superman’s arms fell limply to his sides, his eyes half open, leaving Melissa precariously balanced on his leg, chest, and the floor. Bill moved forward just as she opened her eyes.
“Dad?” she asked.
He wasn’t sure when he had started crying tears of joy, but he took his daughter into his arms faster than he ever had before in his life and clung to her as he got them to their feet and quickly pulled her away to where he hoped Kal's aura would not be able to reach.
Bill stared, unsure of what to do or say as Kal abruptly slumped over onto his side to the floor.
“Kal? Kal-El?” Bill called, trying to keep the fear out of his voice for his daughter’s sake.
Superman didn’t respond, and Bill became horrified as Kal suddenly began to violently shake, bumping things away as if he was going through a spout of brutal withdrawal.
“Kal! Kal!” he shouted.
The people by the door moved to go forward, but Bill knew that would only make things worse.
"No! Stop! Don’t get close to him!" he demanded.
Thankfully, they listened as the shaking became shivers and Kal’s eyes snapped open, wildly scanning the area around him. Bill was at a loss as, in the next second, Superman clamored three feet to the edge of a fallen table and took hold of a small trash bin before immediately vomiting into it!
"Superman?!" Melissa gasped.
"Keep everyone back!" Henderson reiterated.
"What do we do?" an officer asked, looking just as freaked out as Bill felt.
"I'll call the Foundation!" someone else declared.
Bill waited until it seemed Kal had finished, and he desperately hoped he was because it looked as if he was about to pass out. Finally, with a trembling hand, Superman put the bin aside and rested his forehead on his forearm, utterly spent.
"Kal?" Bill asked.
Superman was breathing heavily, but he opened his eyes and glanced at Bill.
"Urgh. So–" he began, taking a few deep breaths before continuing. "That's what being sick feels like?"
Bill gave a brief laugh despite himself, relieved as Kal gave them an exhausted smile.
"Are you okay? Is your aura…?" Bill asked, taking note of Kal’s tinged-blue lips.
"I managed to keep it from tearing," he said, before pausing to catch his breath.
Bill heaved a sigh of relief. "Is it safe to approach you now?"
"I'm not sure. It's still shifting more than I'd like," he said, closing his eyes again.
"Alright. We’ll wait a moment then,” Bill said, still holding his daughter. “And thank you, Kal. I can't even–"
"Dr. Klein is on his way!" a voice called from beyond the room. "How is he doing?"
"Kal?"
"Better," he mumbled.
“Are you cold?” Bill asked, noticing his shivers still hadn’t completely stopped and recalling how Superman’s body temperature seemed to indicate his level of health. It would also explain the color of his lips.
“Freezing,” Kal admitted.
“One sec, I’ll get some blankets,” a voice said beyond the door.
“See if you can get something warm for him to drink too, and bring a wet washcloth,” Bill called, before turning back to Superman, who was now slowly shifting himself on the floor.
A moment later, he was sitting up against the wall, trembling.
"Here, Bill, I have some blankets," someone said, carefully holding them out for him at the door so he would stay well beyond where his aura should reach.
Bill took the bundle with one hand and hesitated when he turned back to Kal. His other arm was still around his daughter.
"Can I approach you now?" he asked.
Kal shook his head. "I don't think so, unfortunately."
"Could I?" Melissa asked.
Bill blinked.
"Yes, actually,” Kal said, his eyes now looking back and forth from her to Bill.
“Alright. Here,” Bill said, giving Melissa the blankets.
“Okay,” she said.
Bill could tell his daughter was nervous, but he felt she hid it well as she took the blankets, unfolded them, and dutifully draped the first over Superman's legs and waist. Becoming a bit more bold, she then helped him wrap the second around his back and shoulders while also getting it to cover his head like a hood before he gripped the ends at the front.
"Thanks," Superman said, now completely covered – save for his face and part of his hands.
Even his red boots were covered. It was almost easy to imagine him not being Superman.
Melissa smiled shyly. “You saved my life. This is the least I can do.”
Bill tried not to think about how close he had come to losing her and was mercifully distracted by the arrival of a warm mug of coffee.
“I hope he likes sugar and cream,” the officer said as Bill took the cup and washcloth.
Bill mentally smirked, his thoughts going to Clark for some reason as he recalled the man preferred two shots of creamer and 3 scoops of sugar. How the man wasn't a walking dumpling, he didn't know.
“As long as it’s warm,” Bill said.
While Melissa retrieved that from him, there was a soft commotion in the hall, and Bill knew Dr. Klein had finally arrived.
"Thank you. I should be able to take it from here," Dr. Klein said, before he peeked into the room.
"Inspector Henderson?" Klein asked.
"Yes?"
"Happy to finally meet you, though I of course wish it was under better circumstances," Klein began, shifting forward and lugging an odd contraption that sort of looked like a video camera, along with a big backpack.
"Kal! You look horrible!" Klein exclaimed as soon as his eyes fell on Superman who was sipping from a mug stabilized by Melissa.
He did look very un-super.
Kal chuckled. "Thanks, good to see you too."
"I'm serious!" he said.
"I know. Has Mav called the UN about the assassin?" Kal asked, unbothered.
"That atrocious thing in the foyer? Yeah, Mav was on the phone with them when I left. I'm not sure what details he's aware of at the moment though," Klein said, entering and carefully setting up the stand for the bizarre equipment before removing his backpack. "Did that being hurt you at all before it . . . ended itself?"
"No."
"So your current state is all due to healing. Okay," Klein said, nodding to himself as he adjusted something before flipping a switch and peering at a little screen that popped to life on the side.
Bill could see a dim pixelated outline of his daughter beside a bright and colorful, blobby form that could only be Superman. He considered it blobby because it wasn't defined and seemed to be shifting in and out, with its boundary extending and retracting randomly.
"Aura variance of .8, density .3 at edges, body temperature 93. Way too low. Hypothermia, no question," Dr. Klein mumbled, turning another dial.
"Is he okay?" Bill asked, his eyes still on the screen.
"He will be, once he gets some sun," he assured, pulling his gaze from the screen. "Do you think you could stand?" he abruptly asked Kal.
"I think so, but I doubt I have the balance," Kal answered as Melissa took the now empty cup from him. "It feels like I'm on my dad's old fishing boat right now."
"Well, considering what I'm seeing, I'm not surprised," Klein said, connecting something to the stand. “I would just say let's get you to the roof for some sun, but it's really cloudy right now," Klein said.
"I figured as much," Kal said, suddenly sounding as worn down as he looked.
"Which is why I'm going to expose you to some artificial rays instead. It should help stabilize your aura and then we can get you back to the Foundation. Here we go." He flipped a switch.
Bill’s gaze flickered back and forth between Kal and the image of his blotchy form on the screen. He wasn’t sure what he was seeing exactly, but he was certain the light shining from the top of the camera was helping.
Superman loosened his hold on the blanket, allowing more of his skin to contact the yellow glow ebbing forth from Dr. Klein’s contraption.
His breathing eased and his shape sharpened on the viewer.
Things moved quickly after that. Once he was sure Kal’s aura was stable, Dr. Klein asked Bill and another officer to help Kal to the car waiting behind the station as he placed the little trash can in a special container and sealed it. Bill didn’t ask him any questions and was relieved when he found that the police department had ensured a clear path to the car and was ready to provide an escort all the way back to the Foundation.
“Thanks,” Kal said as Bill helped him into the car with the blanket still wrapped around him.
His lips were no longer blue but he was still shivering.
Bill wordlessly squeezed his shoulder in gratitude before pulling back. Kal smiled at him in silent understanding as Melissa appeared by his side.
“Alright, we’ve cleared the way to the street, let’s go!” someone declared as Bill closed the door.
O o O o O
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