Chapter Text
Metropolis General Hospital
8am
“Eric.”
Eric lifted his head up. He had fallen asleep, his head resting on the metal railing of Mia’s hospital bed, his hand in hers.
He slowly sat up and saw John standing over him, John’s hand rested gently on his shoulder.
“You awake?” John asked.
Eric nodded his head and sat up straight in the chair and yawned to clear his mind. “What time is it?” he finally asked.
“A little after 8 in the morning,” John said.
Eric looked at Mia’s face. The respirator pushed air into her lungs with a strange mechanical noise. Her heart monitor beeped rhythmically. The beeps became further and further apart as her heart rate fell. Lower and lower until the pacemaker jolted it back up into a healthier rate.
“Any change?” Eric asked.
“No. The doctor should be coming in during his rounds in a bit, we’ll know better then, Can you do me a favor?”
“What?” Eric asked.
John pulled out his wallet and handed Eric a twenty dollar bill. “Go down to the cafeteria and get me the largest coffee they sell and bring it up to me. Get yourself whatever you want too.”
Eric stood up and stretched. “Just coffee? Want anything else?”
“No. My head is killing me. I need some caffeine but can’t leave in case the doctor comes early.”
Eric took the money. He reached out and squeezed Mia’s hand. “I’ll be right back,” he said to her. He took a deep breath, turned and walked out of the room.
The ICU, where the hospital had taken Mia after getting her stable enough to move from the ER, was on the 9th floor. The cafeteria was on the ground floor. Eric found the elevators and descended. Upon arrival he navigated the maze like hallways to the cafeteria.
Eric poured coffee into the largest to-go cup available. He didn’t know if John wanted cream or sugar so he grabbed a couple packets of each. He then grabbed a cinnamon donut and a bottle of orange juice for himself.
He paid and carried the items to a nearby counter where condiments, straws and other to-go items sat. He took a folding cardboard drink carrier for the trip back up to the ICU.
As he prepared to leave he noticed everyone else in the cafeteria was huddled in front of a TV that was hanging on the wall.
What happened now? Eric wondered. His father once remarked that if America had a ‘days since the last awful thing’ chart, our number would always be at zero. Eric hated to ever agree with his father. He hated even more when it seemed like his dad was right.
No time to think about that. I need to get this back up to John .
Eric uneventfully made his way back up to the 9th floor. He stepped back into Mia’s room. Something was wrong. John sat in the chair next to Mia holding her hand, his head resting on the metal bar. He sagged in the chair, his shoulders drooped. Isaac was also in the room, standing in the corner.
Eric stood in the doorway unmoving. His eyes staring straight ahead. Isaac walked over and took the drink carrier from Eric and placed it on a table. He then guided Eric into the room.
Isaac placed his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “Kid. Eric. I’m sorry. The doctor just left.” Issac took a deep breath and finally said, “They’re taking her off life support.”
Eric felt tears in his eyes. “No. She’s gonna be...” He rushed over to her side, opposite where John sat and took her hand. He waited while her pulse slowed and then dropped into superspeed. At the moment where the shock went through her chest, Eric reached out, unknowing and uncaring how this could work, only that it did. Her entire body was dark red and what had before been a dim light was now almost gone. As if only a single candle remained, flickering weakly. Waiting to be blown out by the slightest breeze.
When Eric came out of superspeed he found himself kneeling on the floor. “She. She has to be ok,’ he said to the floor.
Isaac came over and helped him to his feet. Eric gripped the railing on Mia’s bed to steady himself. He could feel the metal giving way as his grip crushed it.
This can’t be happening!
He watched and waited until her heart rate slowed to the requisite point and took her hand to connect his life with hers. During the brief discharge of electricity, he could feel the poison inside her during that millisecond of time
I took something from Clark. There must be a reason I can see this inside her. Maybe. Maybe I can take this from her too.
He waited until her heart slowed enough to trigger the pacemaker. It seemed to be taking too long. And then it was time and it was happening much too fast.
Eric dropped into superspeed. When the shock hit he could see the red of the poison. He held it in his mind. Wanting more than anything to take it away. To save her.
He could feel it moving into him before he even realized it was happening. It felt like his lungs might explode. As he pulled the last of it out, with his last conscious thought he pushed a sliver of that sun in his chest into her. Hoping to give that tiny candle just a little more light.
Then it was over. Eric fell backwards onto the floor.
Isaac rushed over. Eric’s skin burned in a deep crimson, His mouth was wide open as he gasped, unable to pull air into his lungs. Isaac looked at Mia, who’s own skin was back to normal, albeit pale. “John,” Isaac called.
John ran over to stand over Eric's prone body, he then looked back at his sister. Her eyes fluttered open. She started to struggle against the ventilator. John leaned over her so she could see his face. “It’s ok. You're in the hospital. I’m here.”
“John!” Isaac shouted. On the floor Eric seemed to be in a seizure. His body spasmed uncontrollably in superspeed.
“Eric, it’s ok. I’m here.” Isaac called to him.
Eric couldn’t hear him over the cacophony of noises assaulting his ears. He could hear every sound in the ICU, all at the same time. He was deafened by the din. He couldn’t see anything either as his x-ray vision was turned all the way up. He could see the sky through the roof and when his head spasmed to look down, he couldn’t see the floor he was laying on. It was as if he lay on an invisible barrier over a deep open pit.
Isaac couldn’t get through to him. John saw that Eric could be seen from the doorway. He focused his ring and surrounded Eric in a green bubble and moved him over to the far corner of the room and placed him on a long couch-like bench that doubled as a sleeping area for family members. Eric flailed against the bubble.
“Damn he’s strong,” John said as he tried to maintain concentration as Eric continued to spasm, repeatedly striking the bubble with his flailing limbs.
“I’m hoping his healing will burn this out of his system before anyone comes in,” Isaac said.
As if on cue, Eric began to relax and his skin color returned to normal. John dropped the bubble. Eric lay on the couch-bed unconscious. Isaac laid his hands on Eric’s chest apprehensive.
As he felt Eric’s breathing as his chest rose and fell, Isaac stood up and audibly blew out his breath in relief.
A doctor walked in, a clipboard in his hand. “Mr. Stewart, I’m here to go over comfort care for Mia.”
“Doc,” John smiled. “The drugs. It’s gone. She’s awake.”
He frowned. He didn’t need to deal with delusional families. He looked at Mia, “I’m sorry Mr. Stewart but that’s not pos…” He saw Mia’s eyes were open and she seemed to be watching him. Her normal color had returned. The deep crimson was gone.
He pulled out a flashlight and shined it in Mia’s eyes. Not only did her pupils contract but she flinched from the bright light.
“Ms. Dearden. Are you awake? Blink twice for yes.”
Two slow blinks.
“Do you know where you are? One blink for no, two for yes.”
One blink.
“You’re in Metropolis General. You overdosed and we’ve been treating you.”
John leaned over Mia. “Hey sis. Sorry for my scary looking face. But I’m here. I’ll never leave you again.” As she looked up at him her eyes teared. She blinked twice. John took her hand in his.
The doctor smiled, “I guess we will still be stopping life support after all. Just not for the reason we anticipated.” He stepped out of the room and waved over the nurse in charge of the unit.
The nurse came over. “Yes doctor?”
“We need to have someone in this room almost constantly. The patient came though.”
The nurse stepped into the room. There’s no way!
But she couldn’t argue with her eyes. The patient was awake and could use her eyes to answer yes and know questions with the man standing over her.
She turned to the doctor. “How?”
He answered. “I have no idea. But we live for moments like these. They’re so few and far between. We’ll need to stop the drugs carefully so they’re removal doesn't do anything adverse. With her conscious and aware, I’ll remove the respirator first.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her myself.” She smiled. A miracle. We won’t waste this chance.
A few hours later Eric awoke to the sound of a cell phone ringing.
“Stanzler.” Isaac answered.
Eric slowly sat up, his face contorted in pain. He placed his hands on his temples. His head hurt horribly.
“Vinnie, slow down,” Isaac said to the man on the other end of the phone. “What’s on tv?”
“What!” Isaac exclaimed. He grabbed the remote attached to Mia’s bed controls and turned the tv in the room on. He clicked it to a local channel.
A man in a police uniform was speaking into a cluster of microphones. He said, “Metropolis PD has found and freed two of the hostages. We are still looking for the other two. The news crew is being evaluated at Metropolis General Hospital. They are understandably shaken but appear to be otherwise ok. Let me assure everyone that Metropolis PD will find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Thank you.”
With that the man walked off stage.
That was Commissioner David Corporon at his news conference this morning about the hostage crisis. The police are asking the public to call this hotline if they have any information. A phone number appeared at the bottom of the screen. Again this is the video that was broadcast early this morning. Please be aware, this footage is disturbing.
The screen cut away to a young brunette woman in what appeared to be a darkened warehouse. She stood crying. A man held a gun to her head, his face obscured by a black ski mask Off camera, a panicked voice shouted. “We’re broadcasting. Please. Don’t kill us.”
Eric recognized the young woman who was being held at gunpoint. He jumped to his feet but the room spun and he placed his hand on the wall to keep himself from falling.
The man holding the gun asked, “Are we live?”
The panicked man pleaded. “Yes. We’re broadcasting live. Don’t…”
The man with the gun pushed the woman off camera with the point of the gun. He then centered himself in the shot.
“This is a message for the thing that calls itself Eric Summers. You’ve taken too many lives. We’re done hunting you. Instead we’re going to the town where you grew up. We’re going to find anyone you might have cared for.”
Eric felt the walls closing in. They’re never going to stop!
“I think you’re a coward. Not human enough to care. But if I’m wrong, come to your hometown. Be at the place where you threw away your humanity by 1pm today. For every hour you’re late, someone will die.”
Eric stumbled backwards and sat down on the couch. His head slumped forward.
Isaac heard Eric moving and rushed over. “Eric, are you ok?”
“Candice,” Eric said, his voice almost a whisper.
“Who?” Isaac asked.
Eric held his aching head in his hands. “Isaac, please tell me I hallucinated the tv.”
“I wish I could, kid.”
“I know the girl they held at gunpoint. I helped her and her friend.” Eric clenched his hands into fists. “She was nice to me. Didn’t see me as a freak. And now…”
A hoarse whispering voice called. “Eric.”
Eric’s breath caught and he opened his eyes wide. The TV news program was forgotten. Mia’s bed was reclined in a half sitting position. Her eyes were open and she didn’t have that tube in her mouth.
He was at her side. He didn’t remember getting up from the bench. “You’re awake. You’re…ok?.”
She smiled up at him weakly. Her rasping voice said, “I hear it’s because of you.” She frowned, her brows furrowed in concern. She coughed to clear her throat but kept coughing. John was there with a cup of water. She carefully sipped from the straw.
Finally her voice returned in between breaths she said.. “Eric. The news. What are you going to do?”
“They have Candice. I don’t know who else they took. Maybe my parents. Or Holly or someone else they thought was my friend.” Eric shook his head. “It doesn’t matter who. Even if they were complete strangers, I’d still be going.” He closed his eyes and held onto the bedside railing. “I’ll save her and everyone else. I won’t let anyone die because of me.”
Eric felt her hand cover his. “Remember you…owe me …favor?” Mia asked in between slow and weak breaths.
Eric thought back to the archery by the barn. It seemed like a lifetime ago instead of just two days. “I remember,” he said.
She squeezed his hand with what little strength she had. “I’m…calling it in. Save yourself too. No matter…what…live.”
He smiled. “You were right to tell me I should’ve been afraid of that favor.” He shook his head as he talked. “I can’t promise that. No one can. I will promise this, however, I won’t try to...I won’t give up like that ever again.” His voice lost its hesitancy. “I’m done being scared of everything.” He placed his other hand on top of hers. “I’m done being scared of myself.”
Eric knelt down so they could look eye to eye. “I’m going to be brave like my friend Mia.” He frowned. “It might be awhile before I can see you again. I don’t want them to know about you when you're stuck here in the hospital.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. “You’re my friend. And I love you.”
She smiled at his words. “Keep…your promise!”
“I will.”
Eric turned and walked out of the room. Isaac followed. “Eric,” he said, “It’s almost noon. We’ll never make it to Smallville by 1.”
Eric turned and faced his only other friend in the world. “ We won’t. But I will.”
Isaac opened his mouth to protest, but Eric held up his hand. “I need you to stay here and keep her safe. And to keep yourself safe too. If they find out the only two people in the world I truly care for are here.” Eric blew out a frustrated sigh. “They’ll come for you both.”
Isaac gritted his teeth. “Call me after. I need to know you’re ok.”
Eric nodded his head and walked away. As he made his way back to the elevators found with his x-ray vision the locked doorway to the roof. A small amount of force later and the lock gave way. As he stood on the roof he felt the wind whipping around as he tried to figure out which way to go. He decided on the general direction by looking at the sun.
He ran forward and pushed off the roof. His body rocketed upwards. He soared higher and higher. His path arced through some low level clouds.
Faster! He thought. Faster!
Boom.
People on the street looked up at the noise. Not sure what it could have been. They saw nothing except a few birds flying toward the nearby park and a jet plane headed toward the airport. In a few moments the sound of Eric’s sonic boom would be forgotten entirely.