[Chapter 6: Renewed]The news crews gathered beyond the yellow tape, fifty yards from the property of the chemical plant. They had arrived soon after the hazmat vans and could make out the plant’s employees lining up as white tents went up in record time. Trucks with tanks of water and other equipment pulled up, and soon over a hundred people were being decontaminated, but most eyes were on the figure standing just off the main tent.
Superman.
“We are coming to you, live, from Solcore Chemical Plant, and as you can see behind me,” the reporter began, speaking in Polish and motioning to the area beyond him, “The situation has thankfully stabilized. We have been told Superman prevented several thousand-gallon tanks from exploding and contaminating the entire surrounding region with toxic fumes, but his presence is still required. Right now, he is projecting his aura and preventing the employees of Solcore from being harmed by the chemicals currently covering them. So, if you were wondering why Superman is still here, that is why. As most of us know, Superman can project his aura and provide protection to those within it against harm, including from fire and projectiles. It is now clear that this also includes protection against toxic chemicals.”
The reporter stepped aside, allowing the camera to zoom in and focus on two men in hazmat suits talking with Superman as a few vans left the premises. It appeared that most if not all of the employees were now finished with the decontamination process.
The reporter smiled as he was about to comment further, but before he could, a strange pulse of power surged across them. The cameras flickered but remained filming.
Shouts of exclamations immediately saturated the area as Superman flinched violently.
The men in the hazmat suits leapt back and motioned everyone to move away. No one knew what was happening, but the power, the thick heaviness in the air emanating from Superman’s form, urged everyone to pull back.
He looked up as he remained standing, his back arching in what was undoubtedly overwhelming pain.
And then he screamed, the air shaking, as his whole frame, to the shock of all, began to emit a soft yellow light. It grew brighter and brighter, and his aura continued to expand.
O o O o O
Like everyone he worked with, Jakub hoped he would never actually have to answer a serious real-world call. For years he had been on the critical response hazmat team and had answered several false alarms and a handful of minor chemical spills, but there hadn't ever been anything catastrophic or a call classified as a code three let alone an incident with a potential of becoming a code 5.
A code 5 was the most severe, presenting a dire threat to human life with a vast environmental impact. When the call had come in, notifying them an internal leak at the city's chemical plant was a code 3 and had a substantial risk to breach containment - a nice way of saying explode - Jakub had prayed to anyone listening that it would not get to that point because that would make it a code 5.
They arrived at the plant soon after being informed that an explosion had occurred within the plant but that it hadn't cascaded as they had feared, due to Superman’s timely intervention. However, the people within the plant had been contaminated by the highly volatile chemicals released and were in need of immediate attention.
Jakub and his team geared themselves up for handling fatalities, as the chemicals involved in the incident didn’t require much exposure to become lethal, and they were being told the company's employees were covered in it!
But they quickly determined the reality was both more serious and yet far less.
The employees were certainly covered in the toxic film, but, thanks to Superman’s aura, they were not affected by it. Somehow, this projection of power was providing them with literal, lifesaving protection.
Jakub would never forget how it felt entering the 'protected zone'. It was startling at first, especially when he realized exactly what he was feeling. Through his hazmat suit and pulsing across his skin was Superman’s calm confidence and dense power. His aura. This, this, was what was protecting over a hundred contaminated individuals from succumbing to the chemical against their skin. Somehow, this energy was preventing the poison from being absorbed.
Pushing aside his astonishment because he had a job to do, Jakub and his team got to work and he was pleased by how quickly they put up the tents and began processing people. Of course, seeing Superman standing in visible concentration was an unparalleled motivator.
All of them knew this sort of feat was not easy, even for the Man of Steel, and, with the added complication of the solar storm, they wanted Superman to be able to leave if he needed to. He would not be able to leave if there were still people depending on his aura of protection.
Fortunately, in far less time than Jakub had expected, the last contaminated employee was almost done and would soon be loaded up on the last van to be taken to the nearest makeshift hospital for observation. With that set, Jakub had the task of informing Superman he would need to be decontaminated as well.
“We’re almost done, Superman,” Jakub said, wrapping himself with a blanket of professionalism that had served him well many times in the past. “I am going to have to ask you to be decontaminated as well, though, before you leave when everyone else is clear. And I’m afraid your uniform will have to be destroyed. This compound is just not safe.”
“I had expected that,” Kal said pragmatically, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. “This stuff is pretty nasty.”
Jakub nodded as Alek, one of Jakub's team members, approached. “Okay, we’re all set and everyone who went through decontamination has left for– Superman?"
Jakub turned his eyes back to Superman just as he felt the famous aura abruptly shift.
And then it
exploded.Pure power rushed out from Superman’s form like a tidal wave, humming over Jakub's skin like hundreds of bumblebees.
Jakub grabbed Alek and pulled him away. He didn't know what was happening but he felt it was best to get out of there.
In their mad dash for cover, a concussive force plowed into them as a pain-filled cry echoed forth.
Jakub looked back as Alek stumbled into him.
Superman’s whole form was glowing. And he was only becoming brighter as he screamed.
O o O o O
Mateo looked up at his grandmother.
It was strange to play outside without needing to worry about protecting his scars from the sun, because he now had no scars.
A few months before, in the study headed by the UN, Superman had healed the scars that had covered nearly 80% of his body. And now he was playing with a few other children at the park, including Maria Ruiz, who had been healed that day as well.
"It's almost time for dinner, Mateo," Grandma Roma told him.
"Okay, if the power is back on, can Maria come over to play tomorrow?" he asked.
"We'll see," Grandma Roma said, smiling over at them as Mr. and Mrs. Ruiz smiled back. “Come now, it’s–”
Awareness swayed.
He felt weightless and yet heavier than the biggest boulder as emotion not his own surged from his center.
Mateo gasped loudly as Maria gave a startled cry. Immediately, they looked at each other in alarm.
“Mateo, what’s wrong?” Roma asked.
Mateo placed his hand over his heart with a frown. “I . . . I think I feel Superman. Something’s wrong,” Mateo managed as Maria nodded, looking scared.
“Superman?” Mr. Ruiz asked as Maria hurried over and hugged him.
“I feel him. He’s . . . scared? Wait! Whoa!” Mateo suddenly shouted, his eyes wide.
“Mateo?” Roma asked again, worried.
“I don’t know, but something is happening!” Mateo reiterated. “It feels . . . really strong!”
“Come on, maybe the power is back on at our place and we can check the news,” Mr. Ruiz proposed, picking up his daughter and ignoring the other families who were now staring in concern. “At the very least, we can check the radio.”
"We should call the Foundation," Mrs. Ruiz added.
Roma nodded in agreement.
O o O o O
“Jonathan!” Martha screamed.
They all felt Clark’s spike of confusion and shock before it was overwhelmed by pure power, but what had caused Martha to shout out was what she was seeing on the television.
Clark's distant form was enveloped by yellow light as his pain-filled cry echoed forth. And then he crumpled forward, catching himself with a glowing hand as his other frantically yanked off his eyepatch.
O o O o O
Superman fell forward, catching himself with his right hand on the ground as his left threw off his eye patch. He gasped, unable to form words. But his shock, alarm, and fear rang loudly through his aura.
He felt energy condense behind his eyes and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop it.
/Stay back!/ he mentally shouted, his message easily reaching everyone in the immediate area.
A red hot glow overtook his right eye as a searing white beacon emitted from his left.
The left eye that was blind.
Everyone was beyond action now, frozen in the moment, as two beams, one red, one white, blazed forth, straight down in front of his knees onto the pavement.
The pavement blasted apart and soon melted and began to boil, but before it could spread, he exhaled, releasing a stream of ice breath. A frosty, molten mess of tar, steam, and gravel formed, taking in the red and white beams from his eyes and the pale blue from his breath. For a long moment, the only thing anyone could hear was the hiss of quelled heat as his powers continued to cancel each other out, safely contained in a bizarre, three-foot pool.
Finally, the glow from his frame began to fade, and the power from his eyes bled away, utterly spent. He closed his eyes.
Trembling and out of breath, he bowed his head into his hands and pulled back, still on his knees.
/Clark! Kal?! Are you okay?/ Lois’ voice called out to him.
/I’m . . . I’m okay,/ he replied, still heaving in breaths of air as he became aware of an odd tingling around and behind his left, blind eye. /I need a moment./
Tentatively, he lowered his hands and opened his eyes, unsure of what might happen. Was it over?
But when he saw . . . when he saw from
both eyes. . . .
He gasped in wonder, immediately lifting his gaze, taking in the depth of color and detail he had almost forgotten he had been capable of seeing before Ta’peel had all but killed his left eye.
He took in the evening horizon above the Polish city, the hues in the sky like a sheet of blue and white marble amid a backdrop of teasing stars he could just barely make out above the distant mountain range. With both eyes working in tandem, working together as they should, the breadth of beauty left him breathless.
Gone was the mass of blurs and endless haze from his left eye, and in its place was the marvel that could view creation. Sight.
He released a relieved, tearful, and grateful laugh.
“Superman?”
He heard and felt the hazmat pair he had been speaking to earlier slowly approach.
“Are you okay?” the older one asked.
“Yes,” he answered, before standing up.
He slowly turned to them, the eye patch the world had grown accustomed to seeing now crumpled at his feet as he looked at them with both of his dark brown eyes. He smiled at them as everyone who could see him stilled.
“Y-your eye. . . . You can . . . see?” the first asked.
“Yes. It healed,” Superman said, in just as much disbelief.
O o O o O
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