Superman Movieverse Forum

Chapter Nine

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Chloe rubbed her eyes as she waited for her coffee to kick in. It was past midnight and she was still browsing the internet looking for more information on nanites, she had no doubt Lois, Richard and Dr. Higgins were doing the same (Although she really hoped someone had told Lois to get some rest) but she couldn’t sleep and she needed to do something.

…still largely hypothetical…A swarm of benevolent nanites could increase our quality of life immensely… she read, snorting softly, “I wish.” She muttered, continuing to browse the websites. …nano-robots intended for use in medicine are posited to be non-replicating, as replication would needlessly increase device complexity and reduce reliability. She frowned and noted that particular sentence down on the pad next to her laptop, hoping it was true.

She rubbed her eyes which were starting to itch from staring at the screen for so long. Her vision started to blur slightly and she closed the lid with a sigh before getting up to get a cup of coffee, planning to return to the search in a few minutes when she could actually read the words.

But someone else had other ideas, “Aunty Chloe?” Skye asked softly, startling her.

“Hey, sweetie,” she said, turning to look at the girl standing in the doorway, still in her pyjamas, “can’t you sleep?”

Skye shook her head, hugging her small teddy bear closer, “I miss Daddy and Jason,” She said quietly. Chloe didn’t know what to say so she just knelt down and held out her arms, Skye ran into them hugging her tightly, “Did Mommy call?” She asked, her voice muffled in Chloe’s shoulder, “Are Daddy and Jason coming home soon?”

Chloe had a brief moment of indecision, she didn’t want to lie to the girl but she also didn’t want to explain that, yes Lois had called and they did know what was wrong but had no clue how to fix it. She compromised, “Yes, she called to say they’re still working very hard to make them better, okay?”

“Okay,” Skye nodded, pulling away and looking at the TV which was currently muted but still showed headlines reading Superman’s condition still unknown, hospital refusing to comment. “Can I stay up with you and watch the news?” She asked, “I don’t have to go to school tomorrow,” She turned to Chloe hopefully.

Chloe sighed, “Sure, kiddo,” she agreed, seeing it would be hopeless to send her back to bed, “I could use some company.” If she was lucky Skye would fall asleep on the couch and she could continue her search for information.

Chloe’s plan worked with Skye falling asleep as she curled up beside her Aunt however Chloe never go the chance to implement the second part of her plan as she decided to rest her eyes for a moment but found herself being woken a few hours later by the shrill ringing of her cell phone.

Skye barely stirred as Chloe got up, annoyed at herself for having slept so long when Clark needed her. The phone stopped mid-ring as Chloe picked it up and raised it to her ear, “Hello, Chloe Sullivan speaking,” She said with false cheer.

“Chloe? Good,” A gruff voice barked on the other end, “I need you in here ASAP.”

“Good morning to you too, Chief,” She replied, “Why are you calling so early?”

“Early?” Perry sounded confused, “It’s almost 8 o’clock, where are you?”

“I- are you sure?” Chloe asked, looking at the clock in shock and realising he was right, she had overslept.

“Of course I’m sure,” He replied sharply, “Now, look, I need you in my office as fast as humanly possible, alright?”

“Sure,” Chloe nodded, walking over to Skye and shaking her gently, “What’s the emergency?”

“There’s a man here claiming he’s got hard proof that Superman has a son.”

Chloe froze, “Let me guess,” she said angrily, shooing Skye into the bathroom, “Dr. Trevor Marlin.”

“Yes,” Perry answered grimly, not sounding at all surprised, “now, I know Lois and Richard are still at the hospital and I don't want to worry them more so you’re going to have come in and help. This may be the biggest news story of the year but the Kents are the nicest family I’ve ever known and I’ll be damned if the Daily Planet’s going to help ruin their lives.”

“I’m on my way,” Chloe replied. It was only after she had hung up that a part of Perry’s speech registered in her mind, she stared down at the phone in shock. Had he just said what she thought he did?

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Lois turned sleepily, stretching an arm out to the other side of the bed to feel for her husband, hoping he hadn’t had to dash off on an early-morning rescue and they could spend a lazy morning in bed for once. But her arm was stopped suddenly by a cold hard wall and the groaning of springs beneath her definitely didn’t come from her own bed.

Her eyes snapped open and the hard grey of a hospital on-call room greeted her. She closed her eyes and covered them with her hands as the memories of the previous two days came crashing down on her.

Clark wasn’t out on some before breakfast rescue, he was two floors up fighting for his life with their son.

The clock on the wall told her it was 9.04am and her eyes widened as she struggled to get up. How on Earth had she slept so late when Clark needed her? How had she even managed to sleep at all? She thought back but she couldn’t recall ever coming into the on-call room herself.

“Richard,” She all but snarled as she heaved herself up and waddled towards the door to find her traitorous friend.

She frowned as she noticed a restroom across the hall and her body registered the weight of the triplets on her bladder. She decided she could deal with Richard after she dealt with more pressing matters.

The restroom was mercifully empty but the water from the taps was positively freezing, she hurriedly turned the hot tap on high but as she waited for the water to warm up slightly she glanced up and caught sight of herself in the mirror.

She looked completely unrecognisable, there was really no other way to put it. Her usually neat hair was a frizzy cloud framing her pale face, there were bags under her eyes and her mouth seemed to be almost permanently turned down at the corners. She couldn’t remember the last time she had smiled, had it really only been two days ago the she had turned on the TV to see her husband being rushed to hospital?

She didn’t realise how long she’d been standing there until there was a sharp kick in to ribs from the inside. She blinked and shook her head, bringing herself to her senses, “Okay,” She assured the three tiny children inside her, “I’m going.” She washed her hands, splashed some water on her face and ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to make herself look at least a bit presentable.

The door creaked open and a nurse peered around the corner, “Are you Lois?” She asked. Lois nodded. “Well, there’s a man out her looking for you,” She informed her before disappearing.

Lois took one last look at herself in the mirror before shuffling out to join Richard in the hall. She had been ready to pounce on him and demand an explanation of why she had woken up in an on-call room but he looked even worse than she had and her anger disappeared completely only to be replaced with intense worry. “Damn hormones,” she muttered to herself before looking up at him, “You don’t look so good,” she smiled, trying to sound joking but not quite managing it.

“Neither do you.” He shot back, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards slightly before he became serious again. “Lois, you were practically asleep on your feet last night and Dr. Higgins and I am both worried, not only about you but also about the triplets. Dr. Heath is waiting upstairs for your check up.”

“No,” Lois turned in the opposite direction to the one Richard indicated, “I need to go upstairs and help Clark and Jason.”

“Lois,” Richard darted in front of her, barring her way, “you’ve been through a lot of stress in the last two days, not to mention you and the babies have been exposed to a virus that could seriously harm them, we need to see if they're alright.”

Lois meet his gaze with a steely glare of her own, “I need to help my family.” She tried to move past him but he blocked her way again.

“These babies are you family!” He cried, drawing a few strange looks from passers-by. He lowered his voice, “Lois how much can you really do for Clark and Jason anyway? You’re not a doctor, you’re a journalist. Now look, there is a whole team of doctors and scientists up there searching for a cure and the best thing that you can do is make sure they have something to wake up to, okay?”

Lois didn’t say anything, not trusting herself to speak in case she burst into tears. Richard sighed and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Lois, I care about Clark and the kids as well, but right now we need to go find out if the triplets are okay.”

“What if they’re not?” Lois whispered, finally voicing a fear that had plagued her since she had first stepped into the hospital, “What if something’s wrong and-” She stopped, unable to continue. She didn't know if she would survive finding out something was wrong with the triplets as well.

Richard didn’t say anything, only drawing her into a strong embrace. Lois just stood there and allowed him to comfort her, a small part of her mind remembering why she had fallen for him all those years ago when Clark had disappeared the first time. She pushed the thought away and tried to gather her courage, pulling away from Richard. “Let’s go,” she nodded, “you’re right, we need to give them something good to wake up to.” And with that she lead the way towards Dr. Heath’s office, determined that if she couldn't help her husband directly she would at least take care of their children.

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