Again thanks for everyone's comments and suggestions. Here's part 5
< > around words denotes telepathic thought.
The usual disclaimers apply...
****I've made a few changes. For those of you who have already read part 5, the changes are in italics.
From part 4
Henderson said softly, "Jenni is a very, very, lucky young lady. I believe that man is the Metropolis Mutilator."
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The ride to the hospital was agonizing. He wanted to be with her now. He wouldn't be able to see her right away, at least not in the usual way, but he *still* wanted to be there now. She was already in surgery. <Dad. Dad...> Then he just put his head in his hands and said, "Jenni, oh my Jenni."
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Part 5
Dr. Bernard Klein was listening to the news. He usually tended to keep the news on in the background while he worked. Hmmm... What was that about Superman? Superman had delivered a shooting victim to the hospital? He looked up towards the room that Clark was in. He'd better still be there. I'll kick his butt. Well, maybe not. I don't want a broken foot. Clark was still there and at the present was asleep, but he was restless. He'd been restless for the last hour or so, but he was still asleep. Bernie had been hoping his sleep would be more peaceful after having medicated him.
Was someone here from an alternate universe? Another time? He hadn't been alerted to any time fluctuations from the time monitor he kept or any continuum intrusions from that monitor. Both monitors were from the future. The time monitor wasn't as precise, but the continuum monitor had always been accurate. He was thankful they had these monitors. They had been very... useful, to say the least. Now if he could just get Clark to tell him how he had obtained them. He went to the locked cabinet where both were kept. It wasn't really a cabinet but a top security safe, but he tended to call it a cabinet for some reason. He went through the procedures to open the 'cabinet'. He didn't particularly like having to prick his own finger but the safe used DNA technology and required blood. He'd rather have someone else prick his finger, but since this was so top secret, he did it himself. He double checked the equipment. All was fine.
He decided to turn the television on to try to see what was going on. It only took him a moment. There were reporters and newsmen at the hospital. They were interviewing a nurse. She was saying that the guy flew and acted like Superman, but that he definitely *wasn't* Superman. In addition to that, the pictures taken by one of The Daily Planet photographers were being shown. Was that.... Zared? Such a stern look on his face... If he hadn't been a close family friend and hadn't just seen Zared that morning, he wasn't sure he would have recognized him. The news reporter then announced that they had just learned the name of the shooting victim - Jenni Green. Wasn't that Zared's girlfriend's name? Yes, yes, he remembered. That was her name.
He looked up towards Clark's room. Bernie knew that if he awoke, he would figure out very quickly what had happened. Clark tended to listen to the news when he was awake. He nearly always had LNN or FOXX on. He mused that when Clark was his usual self, he sometimes seemed to know *everything*. He supposed that was from the hearing. And then there was the telepathy, too. In more recent years, Clark had come to more fully realize that his telepathy wasn't just limited to other Kryptonians. They had been doing some experiments to see just how much Clark could do. He shook his head. He did seem to digress sometimes. Clark was still asleep. Good. He should probably awaken him and tell him what had happened. He thought of trying to call the hospital but then thought that he didn't know how he would explain his interest. Then one of his assistants came in asking him about an experiment. Once again, Bernie got completely lost in his work.
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Clark had awoken with a start. Zared. Zared. He felt a little confused and all he could think of was going to Zared. Jenni. Jenni was hurt. What had happened? A car wreck? No, no. Something else. He turned the news on. Jenni was shot? A new super man? Zared! Was Zared ready for this? He had to go to his son. Nothing else mattered. He ripped off the heart monitor leads and began removing the tape from his IV. Suddenly Bernie was there and had both of Clark's hands in his. Clark struggled...
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A few minutes later, when the assistant had left, Bernie again thought that he should awaken Clark. He headed towards his room. Half way there, he heard one of the monitors go off. He realized that Clark had the news on. He ran the rest of the way to the room. Clark had pulled off the heart monitor and was now working on removing his IV. Bernie rushed toward him. "What do you think you're doing?" He took both of Clark's hands in his. Clark struggled and even in his weakened state could easily have removed his hands from Bernie's grip, but Bernie was saying, "Kal-El, Kal-El," and finally, "Clark!" Clark stopped and looked at Bernie. "Now listen to me..." Clark just shook his head and began to pull his hands back. "*Listen to me*!" Clark relaxed a little. "You are *not* ready to leave yet. I can imagine how you must be feeling, and I'm sorry I didn't come and awaken you as soon as I heard what happened, but you are not going anywhere." He noticed that Clark was breathing rapidly and had a very worried, if not scared look on his face. Clark started to protest. Bernie put his hand on Clark's shoulder. "Cl.. Kal, we've been friends a long time. You know I'm right." Some of 'Superman's' close friends sometimes now called him Kal, and Bernie often did so when Clark was in the lab, or more correctly, when Superman was in the lab. Clark was still looking at him very determinedly. "What are you going to do? Run off to be with Zared and then just end up passing out at the hospital or something? How would that help Zared? And how did you think you'd get out of here without being seen?"
Clark was wary. "Zared isn't the only child I have that has super powers."
"Yes. And they are very worried about you. I doubt you'd get any help leaving. Everyone wants you well."
Clark had a stubborn but resigned look on his face. He was pouting, but just lay back against the elevated head of the bed.
Bernie began checking to see what damage Clark had done to his IV. "Well, at least you didn't manage to pull your IV out before I caught you." He reattached the heart monitor to Clark's chest. "Now, how much do you know?"
"I know Jenni's been shot and that my son has made a public appearance."
"Have you tried to contact Zared?"
"Yes, but he doesn't seem to be 'listening' again. I think he may have tried to contact me while I was asleep, though."
"Hmm... You have been restless. I suppose that would explain that. Well, I can tell you what I know and what's been on the news. I'm sure there is a lot more to it, though. I considered calling the hospital, but I didn't quite know how I would explain why it was any of my business. Now. Jenni and Zared were at a house out in the country. Jenni was shot and Zared brought her to the hospital. It seems his superhero career has started earlier than anyone expected."
Clark nodded. That wasn't much more than he already knew, but he now realized that Bernie was right. He wasn't in any shape to leave, and it was very unlikely he could even have gotten there. He dropped his head into his hands. He took a deep breath, sighing. "She's pregnant, you know."
"Pregnant? How far along? She needs to get into the lab pronto!"
"I don't know how far along she is. Zared didn't either when he spoke to me this morning. And... I know she needs to see you." He looked up. "Now I need to find out more about what's going on. Give me a phone. And, Bernie... When are you going to allow me to have full access to the sun? I would *really* like to get out of here." He knew Bernie's theories but he really needed to get out of here.
Bernie hadn't felt that Clark should have full access to the sun yet because he had been running a fever and had an infection. Because of the infection, he needed antibiotics. He also needed pain medications. Oral medications were useless in Clark's case, so there was no way to give Clark antibiotics or other medications unless they were given intramuscularly or by IV. And that couldn't happen unless Clark had been weakened by kryptonite. If he had full exposure to the sun, his skin would again become completely invulnerable. He would still have the fever and the infection, though, and then would not be able to receive medications that he needed to get better. Therefore, in order to get the medications he needed, he would have to be exposed to kryptonite. A vicious circle. And so to prevented repeated kryptonite exposures, it was best that he just not be allowed full exposure to the sun until his fever was gone and the infection had cleared. Bernie's studies and the information that they now had learned from Clark's spaceship supported this position. "Kal, we've talked about this. Unless the fever is gone and your labs are back to normal, you'll have to wait. You've helped with the studies and information that support this, so you know I'm right. Remember, after all, that exposure to kryptonite is what ultimately saved your life when you had that very nasty virus. You didn't get better until the fever was gone. The studies I've done, that *both* of us have done, have shown that your fever would not have broken unless for the kryptonite. You still need medications and if your invulnerability completely returns that can't happen. Just try to remember that you *are* healing much faster than a human would. And you haven't had a fever since early this morning, so maybe we'll be able to let you have full sun exposure soon."
"I know, Bernie. It's just so hard. You have kids. You know how it is. I just want to go to Zared. It's also frustrating because this hasn't happened with previous kryptonite exposures."
"While this probably isn't the worst exposure you have had, it is the most unusual. Even the times when kryptonite has broken your skin, you never lost so much blood, had so many internal injuries, or had a fever. So that's why it's different this time."
Clark just sighed, "I know Bernie. I know. I just..." Then somewhat agonizingly, "He's my son..." He shook his head a little and had tears in his eyes.
From his seat beside Clark, Bernie patted his leg. "I know, Kal. I know. I'll get the phone for you."
Shari, one of the nurses, poked her head in then. Clark and Bernie both looked up. "Umm... Police Chief Henderson is here and is insisting that he speak with you." She looked toward Clark. Clark nodded. She looked at Bernie for confirmation.
"Yes, Shari, let him in." She turned to leave. He looked back to Clark. "Well, let's hope he has some answers for you."
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By the time Zared got to the hospital, he realized his dad must be in a medicated sleep, because he wasn't responding to him. He would try again later. He flatly refused to be seen in the ER. He knew that couldn't happen. Jenni's father, Danny had already been informed of the situation and was in the surgical waiting room. What would Zared say to him? Zared entered the waiting room and sat down.
Danny handed him a soda which Zared gratefully accepted. He quietly said, "What happened, Zared?"
Zared told him everything that had occurred. Then they both sat there quietly not saying anything until the surgeon walked in. They both looked hopeful.
He nodded to both of them, "She is in serious condition, but she is a very lucky lady. If not for that super man..." He just shook his head. "She had a lacerated spleen that we were able to repair. We also repaired a few liver lacerations. Unfortunately, her left kidney was badly damaged and we had to remove it. Incredibly, she had no intestinal damage, and I don't know how, it's a miracle, but the baby seems to be fine."
Zared thought that probably had a lot to do with the Kryptonian-Human baby she was carrying. The baby. He had neglected to tell Danny of the pregnancy.
The doctor was then paged and needed to leave. "You can see her in a bit." He then strode off.
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Police Chief Henderson was shown to Superman's room. He was taken aback at how pale the superhero was. He also seemed to have lost weight. He was a little shaky. He heard Dr. Klein saying something about pain medication.
"No, no, Bernie. I really don't need anything."
"I think you do. I'm the doctor, here, remember?"
Clark just nodded. Even though he was in pain, he was having a hard time admitting it right now. "Just don't put me 'out of it', okay?"
Bernie nodded. "Hadn't planned on it." Bernie gave Clark some pain medication then sat down. Henderson just raised an eyebrow at him. Bernie had no intention of leaving Clark right now. He gave Clark a look that said so.
"I was hoping to speak with Superman alone."
"Superman, as you can tell by looking at him, has been and still is quite ill. You wanna talk to him, you're doing it with me here."
Henderson looked from Superman to Dr. Klein. "Well, I guess..." Superman nodded at him. He pulled up a chair beside the bed. "Well, I wanted to tell you that we found the man that shot you. He.."
Clark looked at him with a slight frown, saying, "Okay. Fine. Now tell me about Ms. Green... and Mr. Kent."
He was a little surprised by Superman's impatient interruption, but said, "Oh, yes, I suppose you would want to know about Clark Kent's son's involvement in this." He began telling him of what had happened at the scene of the shooting. Near the middle of his tale, he said, "It seems someone flew Ms. Green to the hospital. Someone wearing the same symbol you wear on your uniform. You know anything about that?" He was looking at Superman with a raised eyebrow. Superman just looked at him steadily. Henderson couldn't read his look, but it was obvious he wasn't going to give him an answer. "Well, uh... Anyway, Mr. Kent knocked the shooter out. When officers searched the man, they found kryptonite bullets. As soon as we do some ballistic testing, we will turn them over to you. We want to make sure he is punished for shooting you. It also appears this man is the Metropolis Mutilator. He told Mr. Kent that he had to have Ms. Green's hair."
With that, Clark shuddered. Henderson wouldn't have thought it possible, but the superhero became even paler. Except for the murders that had occurred since Clark was injured, he knew of the full details concerning the Mutilator cases. He ran his hand back through his hair, softly saying, "Oh, Jenni...." He shook his head.
Henderson said, "Jenni.. Oh, yes, you would probably call her that..." He gave Clark a slightly sly look
Clark had often wondered if Henderson knew about him. If he did, though, he didn't let on - at least usually. Clark just continued looking at him. The only thing that could have betrayed what he was thinking was a couple of quick blinks.
Henderson had his suspicions and every so often would 'test' Clark or Superman. He didn't notice anything unusual today, though. He continued with his previous statement, "...because of your friendship with Clark." Clark nodded slightly. "We don't know who this man is. He won't tell us. He will be fine, but he does have a concussion, so we have put our interrogation off for now. We have hypothesized that he shot you because you may have saved one of the victims. Remember that brunette you took to the hospital? The one who had been shot? We think she may have been one of his intended victims. We will have to wait for ballistic testing to be sure, though."
Clark shook his head. "Ummm.... I'm not sure. I save so many people." After Henderson told Clark the girl's name, he said, "Yes, I remember her, now. Didn't she give a description of the man?"
"Yes, when he gets out of the hospital and is in jail, we will see if she can identify him." Henderson looked up like he had just remembered something. "You know, when that guy was in the ambulance, he kept saying God had stopped him again." He shook his head. "Doesn't make any sense, does it?"
Clark thought that somehow seemed familiar, but he just couldn't quite remember. He shook his head no. He was too worried about Jenni and Zared to think about that right now. "I appreciate you telling me all this, but what I really want to know is how Jenni Green is doing." He looked at Henderson expectantly.
"Well, last I heard she was still in surgery. That's all I know." He paused. "You never did tell me what you know about this other 'super man'." He could tell that Superman knew something. He pushed, "Well?"
Clark looked steadily at Henderson trying to decide how much to tell him. He knew Henderson wouldn't let him get by without giving him some type of an answer. He simply said, "He's Kryptonian. That's all I'll say. I'd appreciate it if you keep that to yourself for now."
Henderson nodded. "Yes, I will. Is he related to you? He did have the same symbol on his chest."
Clark twisted his mouth a little. "Does it matter?" Then he winced, holding his abdomen.
Bernie stood, saying, "Police Chief Henderson, Superman needs rest. You've already been here too long." He walked toward the door as if to usher Henderson out.
Henderson stood. "No, Superman. It doesn't matter at all. Get better." He walked out the door wondering if the new 'super man' could possibly be Superman's son.
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The doctor had left them and Danny was looking at Zared expectantly.
Zared had his head down. He should have known the doctor would say something. He just didn't think. He was just so overwhelmed. Danny was looking at him waiting for him to say something. And Danny was impatient. Zared felt a great deal of anger coming from him.
Zared said quietly, "I'm sorry Danny. I should have told you. I'm just feeling so overwhelmed, that I... just forgot. I'm sorry. We had planned on telling you this evening."
Danny sighed heavily. "I've suspected, but I guess I didn't want to believe my baby.. my little girl...my..." He was choking on his words. He looked at Zared. He was angry. This was Zared's fault. His baby would never had let something like this happen. Did Zared force her? She had been very anxious lately. Maybe that was why she had been anxious. Yes, Zared must have forced her. He was a very strong young man, after all. And where was Zared when she was shot? Why hadn't Zared gotten shot, too? He liked Zared for the most part but had often thought that he wasn't good enough for Jenni. And now Zared had let his baby get hurt. Yes, he was very, very angry.
Zared's head was still down. He was surprised. After Danny spoke, he knew Danny's thoughts. He occasionally knew what Jenni was thinking, but he thought that was because of their relationship. This was something entirely new. Surely his dad would have told him if the telepathy extended to humans, wouldn't he? But then Zared was pretty skittish about the telepathic 'thingy', so maybe his dad didn't want him to be overwhelmed. He'd have to have a talk with his dad about that, but right now, he had to talk to Danny. What ever was he to say? He swallowed hard, then looked up at Danny, deciding to try to ignore what he'd been thinking.
"How did you know? Why did you suspect?" He found he wasn't able to ignore what Danny had thought. Not at all. He felt like he really wanted to find a hole to crawl in.
"Zared, I work in the medical field as a nurse, remember? I've been around other pregnant women, too. She's been sick just a bit too much lately." He gave Zared a very unhappy look. "How far along is she?"
"I don't know for sure. She has missed three periods and I think it's close to four, now."
Danny's eye's widened. "Oh, my. No, I wouldn't have thought she was that far along. I guess I've been working too much. I've only noticed in the last two months or so. So what are the two of you going to do?" Danny's thoughts were still on the vile side. Why did you let my baby get hurt? Why not you? Why?
"Get married," Zared said authoritatively. Danny just raised his eyebrows as if he thought that was unlikely to happen.
"We'll see. It's unlikely the baby will survive. That *would* be best." He seemed emotionless. Danny's thoughts were grim. I hope the baby dies. Then I will remove Zared from Jenni's life.
Zared's anxiety had greatly increased. He noticed his hands were shaking. He knew Danny would be upset, but he didn't expect these hateful thoughts or his seemingly unemotionless reaction concerning the baby. He was close to tears again. He realized that Jenni was right about what she had said about her dad. He *was* furious.
Danny looked at Zared, saying, "I haven't eaten. I'm going to the cafeteria." He didn't ask if Zared wanted anything. He just turned and left.
Zared was devastated.
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After Henderson left, Bernie put the head of Clark's bed down and began to examine him. Clark again winced in pain.
"Mmm... Bernie. That really hurts." He was in more discomfort than he had been in a couple of days.
"Yes, I'm aware of that. You have been under too much stress today. I hope you aren't bleeding again."
"Oh, Bernie, no. Oh, no. I need to know what's going on. I can't... I..."
"Zared still not responding to your calls?"
"No. He's not."
"I'll see what I can find out. In the mean time, we will do another scan on you, and I'll call one of the surgeons to come back to the lab to see you."
Clark just looked at Bernie with a rather depressed look. "Oh, I hope, I..."
Bernie said, "Now just calm down. You don't need to get more upset. Okay?"
Clark lay back and tried to relax. He tried to contact Zared, but Zared still wasn't answerimg.
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