Thanks Dandette for once again proofreading :D
Part 25 - Mahatma
11 pm California time; 2 am Metropolis time
It was really hot. Not too hot for him, but to be honest, he wanted an ice cream cone, and silently promised himself one as soon as he had taken care of these flames.Flames…
They were everywhere, engulfing the trees, creating smoke and ash that rivaled the darkness of the night, clouding out the moon.
Firemen were doing their best to hold them back, but once they thought they had some control, they would lose it again.
He landed beside a few of them, once again coming before the raging fire which could only be compared to a demon.
He breathed deep, taking the hot dry air into his lungs, condensing the air, compacting it for an instant before quickly breathing out.
The area before him frosted over, the wood cracking slightly from the sudden temperature shift. The roar of fire was instantly silenced, just a soft angry-like hiss resounding throughout, before that too was no more.
He lifted off into the air, his eyes going to the next closest blaze, doing this over and over again.
He actually wanted a drink of water, the moisture in the air non-existent, his throat a little upset with him for demanding so much in such a small span of time.
There were now just small collections of fires, all in the complete control of the firefighters.
He landed in what had been made the center of the firefighting crews.
They were going in shifts, making sure no one was out there too long. Water jugs were lined up under and on a table, plastic cups stacked to the side. Fire trucks were of course there as well, fire axes and shovels off their hooks, now in the hands of those clearing the frosted trees, making sure no hidden pockets of fire had been missed.
Superman made his way to the table of blessed water and grabbed a cup, following the actions of a fireman in front of him.
The young man kept his hand on the button to release the water from the large orange dirty jug, knowing someone was behind him who probably was also wanting some water.
A cup held by an ash-covered hand was placed under the spout, and so Caleb, the young fireman, pressed the button, filling the cup.
His eyes trailed along the cup holder's hand, his eyes pausing curiously at the tight blue, slightly blackened, cloth that covered this person's wrist. He followed it, surprised to find that this material was all that was covering this man's arms.
"Thanks."
The man's voice was kind, but slightly husky; clearly this man was in need of this water.
Caleb looked up at to find a very dirty, but rather happy looking, Superman. He watched in amazement as Superman lifted the cup and quickly drained it.
Caleb was at a loss for words as Superman simply smiled. Before Caleb could collect himself enough to speak, the fire chief came up behind Superman, slapping the hero's back with his fat hand.
The fire chief was a friendly goofball who just happened to know how to take out fires. He was never intimidated by anyone. He had once met the president and pretty much treated him with the same friendliness he had just shown to Superman, though he had to hold back a little bit—the Secret Service and all.
Superman was taken by surprise for a moment as he turned to see who had just batted him one on the back with a force that would have made a man without superpowers stagger forward.
"Superman! Great to finally meet you!"
The fire chief grabbed Superman's empty hand and shook it, clasping it tightly; Caleb couldn't help but notice how surprised Superman looked.
"Uh, thank you sir," he managed to get out before the man went forward placing a hand on his shoulder, arm across his back, making them both turn to Caleb.
"Ah, I see you've met Caleb, my up and coming right hand man." The bold man paused for a moment, as if showing off his pride and joy.
Superman took advantage of the pause and extended his hand out for the young man to shake, which Caleb took happily.
"Hello Caleb."
"He's my boy, a fine fireman." The chief continued before pausing again, looking at Superman for a moment, taking a really good look at him. He then looked down to Superman's hand which was still holding the plastic cup.
"Ah, you must be very thirsty after all of this. Here!"
He released him, grabbed the cup, and at a speed that could be mistaken as Superman's, he refilled the cup to the rim and gave it back to Superman.
"I think you need this more than any of us. Seeing all that ice and frost, I'm surprised you haven't tired yourself out. And I don't know how far this blaze would have gone if it hadn't been for you, so drink up. If fire starts back up again in the future, hopefully very far future, we want you to be healthy."
Superman stared back at this man for a time before shaking himself and taking a drink from his now filled cup. Oh, he definitely had needed a second helping of water; he could feel the cool water going down his throat, banishing the arid desert it had been close to becoming.
"Well Superman, thanks again for the help, but I'm sure you're needed elsewhere. We can take it from here," the hyper chief said, now slapping his son on the back.
- - -
7 am Metropolis time
Lois woke by alarm clock, the radio blaring unintelligible words into her ears. She was about to slam her hand on the snooze button and was even thinking about snatching it and slamming it against the wall, and if she weren't so gosh dang tired she probably would have, but the news report coming in woke her up immediately.
'While Metropolis has been sleeping, Superman has been busy.'
Lois sat up, turning up the volume of her radio.
'At 2 am local time, 11 pm California time, Superman was taking out forest fires on the west coast. After he had taken care of that, he was called out to sea by a mayday hail from a cruiseliner. The ship had been damaged somehow, and at this time the cause is believed to be improper maintenance. Four hours later he got the liner to dock in Hawaii. He had single-handedly pushed the liner—by himself, and in the dark no less, it being 1 am where he was. Utterly amazing…'
Lois got up, smiling to herself.
That man on the radio was right.
Clark was amazing.
I wonder if he'll beat me to work? Lois thought to herself as the man on the radio continued.
'…Superman is currently working in China. An earthquake measuring a 6.3 on the Richter scale occurred while he was in Hawaii, so he went to help soon after making sure the liner was secure.'
I guess I'll beat him today.
- - -Hubei Province, 8 pm China time; 7 am Metropolis time
Superman looked across the damaged town.It could have been a lot worse, but it was still bad.
Some of the roads had separated, being cut and now uneven, earthen scars.
Rescue crews were everywhere, lights being directed towards where they were working, trying to clear debris as to get to those potentially trapped underneath.
'Mahatma!' one of them shouted (meaning 'The Great Soul').
Superman quickly went to the head rescuer who was atop some rubble, pointing to another pile.
This dialect of Chinese took Superman a little concentration to understand. He'd have to remember to come up here later as to learn it fluently.
He adjusted his mindset, and, x-raying the pile of concrete and metal, he answered back in Chinese.
"I see three people, two are breathing…I don't know about the other one."
He landed near the head rescuer and began to lift the fallen concrete wall.
.
.
Time seemed to be nonexistent as he continued lifting wall after wall and beam after beam.
He would never admit it to anyone, but he was getting tired…
- - -
10 am Metropolis time
Lois hung up the phone with STAR Labs, finally being told they were ready to talk to her about the 'ultimate power source' since they had gotten it two days ago. She and Clark had both been trying to talk with the scientists for a while, but were told they would need to wait because they were making sure it was 'safe'.
As to what the potentially 'unsafe' thing was that they were trying to make 'safe' or make sure was 'safe' the scientists didn't say, but finally, they were ready. The only problem now was that Clark was not there to join her.
Ah well, it'll probably just be a filler story anyways…Lois told herself, glancing to the screen that was still showing clips of Superman helping in China, big spot lights aimed on the rescue sites.
It had been just nearly a week after Superman's press conference, and the media had finally cooled down. They had stirred up again when Superman had given a file over to the Mayor to give to the press. Lois knew what it had contained, Clark having run it past her before giving it to Donovan.It was a little vague, but if it contained all of what Price had documented, most of it would have been impossible to understand by the average person anyways.
Lois told Perry Clark was out with a source, though, if the China thing went any longer, she'd have to think up something else.
She gathered her things and grabbed her purse, giving a last glance to the closest screen above her, before going to STAR Labs.
- - -
Saint General Hospital
May looked under the microscope again, unable to believe what she was seeing, unable to even begin to understand.How is this possible? she asked herself, peering deeper into the blood sample.
The number of red blood cells had increased.
Could it be possible that she somehow had misplaced—no…what she was looking at was real.
"This can't be possible…" she once again muttered to herself.
- - -
STAR Labs
Lois followed the man in the white lab coat and entered a large clean white room.
There was one other man in the room, standing by a table with a large solid looking metal box on the table beside him.
"Miss Lane, we are really excited to finally present this to the world. This will be known publicly later this week, and though we are still a long way from perfecting this energy for mass consumption, I am certain that in a few years we will. I am Dr. Jonus, and as I am sure you know, this is my assistant, Dr. Klim," the man beside the table introduced, placing a hand on the box.
"An energy source, Dr. Jonus?" Lois asked, actually becoming curious.
"Yes."
"What is it?" Lois asked as Jonus beckoned her closer.
The assistant stepped beside her as Jonus lifted the heavy looking lid, slowly revealing what was contained within.
Lois couldn't help but gasp at its beauty, the way the light reflected and bent off and around it, how the green gem-like look of it seemed to give off a light all its own.
"It is a type of crystal, a meteorite. It gives off a unique radiation."
"Radiation!?" Lois nearly shouted, suddenly wanting to slam down the lid.
"It's alright Miss Lane. It is perfectly harmless. We have tested it multiple times, and its radiation is just as harmless to us as gentle rays of sunlight. We double-checked earlier this week, which is why we couldn't see you then. Sure, you probably wouldn't want to bask it in for hours, but if you did, all that you would get would be a kind of sun burn, for this can be compared to alpha radiation, which can be stopped by a sheet of paper."
"Then why the heavy box?" Lois asked suspiciously.
"As I told you, this can be compared to alpha radiation, I didn't say that it was just like it."
"Okay then, but still, why the heavy box?"
"This is a radioactive material Miss Lane, and like all radioactive materials, it must be held in what the government deems is necessary, just in case. For instance, we don't know if it could affect some other kind of radioactive material and then suddenly become no longer safe."
"Oh, alright, I suppose that makes sense. What is this box made of?"
"Lead."
Lois jotted some notes down, still not completely sure if she liked the idea of being in the same room with this 'harmless' stuff.
"So what kind of things do you expect to be able to do with this…uh, crystal?"
"We can harness this radiation. It is pure and appears to be everlasting."
"'Everlasting?'" Lois asked, looking at the large green crystal for a moment before looking back to Dr. Jonus.
"It may not be everlasting, but it definitely can last a long time. Its decay is extremely slow, and its release of the special radiation is constant."
"So how much energy would you say this sample of crystal would give?""This sample alone? It could meet Metropolis' energy needs for a decade at the least, probably far longer…"
Lois could not believe this chunk of crystal could really do this. Sure, it was a little bigger than a basket ball, and did give of an odd sort of light, but to be able to provide clean, harmless, and long lasting energy just as the doctor had said?
Lois was skeptical.
"I am sure you are having trouble believing this, but trust us Miss Lane, the future of energy is here. In this box before you is a thing that will change the world."
- - -
5 am Hubei Province time; 4 pm Metropolis time
Superman felt a hand land on his shoulder. He had lost count of how many people had done that, and though he never would openly admit it, the human contact was greatly appreciated.
He looked up from peering through a collection of broken and disjoined wood before him.
"Anyone under there?" a short dusty man asked, his eyes as sad as the man's he was looking at.
"Thankfully no," Superman answered.
"We think we found some people over there," he said, giving a pat on the dusty cape before pointing over his shoulder.
"Alright, Ping." Superman lifted himself out of the pit he was in, and helped the man climb over some rubble before following him to where some people had gathered.
"There, our search dogs indicated this area. Superman?" They looked to Superman who was staring into the pile, through the remains of a building that was once a grand structure of heritage and history.
"Stand back, I see them," he stated, the people around stepping back, not needing to be told twice.
Superman placed his hands under the slab of stone and concrete, and lifted it up gently.
Shouts from below were suddenly heard.
'We're here!'
'Down here!'
'Hurry!'
Superman plopped the stone aside, lifting up the next piece of rubble, the people below shouting louder, as if afraid their rescuers would for some reason desert them.
The rescuers around Superman got their equipment ready to help, knowing full well the people trapped were most likely injured.
Superman finally made an opening, lowering himself into the hole. The people above clamored forward, their lights focused where Superman had just disappeared into.
Clark knew what he needed to do. For the people trapped to be able to get out of this pocket of rubble, which had saved them from being crushed, he would need to lift the beam and part of the ceiling which now blocked their path to the outside.
For him to prevent this pocket of mercy from turning into a tomb, he would need to lift and hold its only support.
"Hello?" he shouted as loudly as he dared.
"Yes?! We're here! Please get us out!"
"Alright, I will." He peered though that which he was about to lift. "None of you are pinned, you can all move correct?" he asked.
"Yes, we can get out! Though my wife will need to be carried, but I can carry her."
"Alright. I'm going to lift this wall up, and when I do I need you to go around me and up through the opening behind me as quickly as you can. You all got that?"
He could see the looks on their faces through the heavy beam and wall, and though they had doubts of what they were hearing, at this point they were willing to do anything a voice from the world above them would say.
"We got it!" one shouted as the man who answered before lifted the woman.
Clark gave a silent count to three, gripping the dry cold wall and beam, and began to lift.
He could hear metal and wood sliding against one another, the moan of the beam in his hands and of the large fallen pillar above his head. He could hear the panicked breathing of the people from beyond the wall and from above him, but the pounding of their hearts were louder still.
He continued to lift it, his fingers indenting the rock and wood until finally he had managed to balance and hold the beam and part of the wall on his shoulder, his legs in a strong braced stance.
The people trapped were still for a moment, marveling at the sight before them: a man, silhouetted in shaded twilight, light trickling down from the opening beyond him.
"Come, the rescuers will pull you up…" he managed to say, gripping tighter onto the heavy beam.
Without another word they went out, quickly moving under the beam he was holding up, and to the rescuers who were waiting with bated breath.
.
.
The short dusty rescuer, Ping, grabbed onto the hand that stretched up from out of the small opening Superman had made, and with the help of his fellow rescuers, he heaved him up out of the darkness.
They had watched as the pile shifted and groaned, all afraid it was going to fall in on itself, but then it had stilled, and they just hoped it would stay that way.
They quickly then lifted the next person out, the woman, soon followed by her husband.
"Was there anyone else?"
"Only that man who's holding up the beam," the first man said, staring in disbelief at the hole he had just been lifted out of. Ping was going to say more, but he was suddenly interrupted.
A loud resounding CRACK! suddenly thundered from below as a sickening sound of creaking echoed around them from the rubble before them.
"Get BACK!" he shouted as the people around quickly scrambled, pulling back, unsure of what exactly was going to give way.
The debris before them, like a dying animal, seemed to breathe its last breath before suddenly collapsing, giving a muffled boom as it shook the earth around them.
People gave alarmed shouts, the rescuers waving civilians back while others beckoned for other rescuers to move forward, toward the rubble that now covered their hero.
.
.
Clark felt the loud crack before he heard it, and when he did, he knew what was coming.
The next thing he felt was something hard and solid slam onto his head and back.
The pillar which had been resting on the beam he had been holding had snapped, and from that, everything fell.
Everything above him swallowed up the space around him. Dust, wood, stone and metal came crashing down upon him. His strength could do nothing to stop it, for he had nothing strong enough to lift or hold the rubble with as it now settled upon him.
He opened his eyes when the debris became silent, the only sounds now from the people above; they were afraid and worried, some barking orders.
Even with his super-vision it was dark. The air was saturated with soot and dust, and had his lungs been those of a human's he would have been coughing. He took inventory of himself, feeling the crushing weight on him. The cracked stone pillar was across his back, and the wooden beam he had been holding was on the side of his neck, his cheek flat on the ground beneath him.
He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself not to panic, forcing himself to simply breathe, and to listen…
- - -
4:33 pm Metropolis time; 5:33 am Hubei Province time
Lois had turned in the article about the crystal soon after she had gotten back to the Planet. It was already in the evening edition of the paper, and being read by people of Metropolis, though the main story was about Superman working diligently in China.
She was ready to go home when she looked to one of the TV's above her, nearly all of the news channels televising the rescues in China.
She shot her eyes to one screen in particular as the reporter came just into view.
'Behind me is one of the many buildings destroyed by today's earthquake. Superman, who has been assisting in rescue efforts since last night, is currently allowing several survivors to escape by supporting the remains of this tem—'
A man then leapt from the pile and shouted something that Lois could only assume was either 'RUN!!!' or 'GET BACK!!!' because he was shouting it in Chinese.
Lois and all in the newsroom watched in horror as a large pile of rubble began to shift, the people clamoring to get away, doing so just in time before…
CRASH!
People were yelling, and some of the rescuers immediately started shouting out orders.
The pile quickly settled, rescuers quickly clearing the area as more of them in yellow jackets and orange helmets ran to the site.
Lois slumped back into her chair. Like many of the people in the newsroom, she wasn't going anywhere now.
She watched the screen as the one who had shouted the warning lifted his hands for silence…
- - -
Clark could hear at least a dozen people moving somewhere above him, but suddenly they became quiet. He then heard one of them coming closer. Clark wasn't sure, but it sounded like he was slowly crawling up the pile.
"Mahatma! Mahatma!"
Clark flipped the switch in his mind over to Chinese.
"Superman! Can you hear me? If you can, tap something or shout!"
Well, tapping was out of the question, he was afraid to move. It wasn't because he couldn't, it was because he shouldn't. He didn't know how unstable the pile was and didn't want to risk hurting someone—though, if he admitted it to himself, his back was a little sore now.
"Ping!"
He hadn't been loud enough, for Ping kept on calling him.
"PING!"
He heard Ping and several other people gasp.
I guess they heard me…Clark thought.
"We're sending for more help!"
"NO! I—I think I can get out."
"What?!"
"I can get out! Just tell everyone to get back!"
Ping must have heard him because the next thing Clark knew was that Ping had moved off and started shouting to all who could hear.
"EVERYONE GET BACK! HE TOLD ME HE'S GOING TO GET HIMSELF OUT!"
Ok…now I just have to do what I said I was going to do… Clark muttered as he shifted slightly under the heavy mass of broken building.
.
.
Ping turned back around as they all heard the grinding stone and snapping wood.
The people all watched as the pile trembled until, finally, a filthy figure emerged out from the top of it.
Ping ran to the figure who was pulling himself up from the rubble. Ping carefully made his way up, taking care of possible dislodging.
Before he got to the top he looked up to find the man waiting to take his hand and to help him stand.
Ping took hold of his hand, and in an effortless movement, Superman raised him up to stand beside him.
The two of them looked down to the people and rescuers below who were divided between joyful tears and thankful laughter.
- - -
It was midnight in Metropolis by the time Clark had flown into its air space.
Clark had continued west after leaving China just before day break, deciding to drop in on the Italian chef he had helped out a few weeks earlier by blowing out a fire in his kitchen.
The chef was ecstatic to see him again, fixing him lasagna, which Superman paid for despite the chef's urging not to.
Clark smiled to himself.
Today had been a good day. Though it had been hard, it had been worth it.
Clark was almost home, so close to his awaiting bed, when he heard an alarm.
He was tempted to just let the police get this one, but the location of it instantly made him change course.
It was STAR Labs.
He heard the police on their radios saying that the intruders were armed and dangerous. That only made him fly faster, despite the fact that all he really wanted was to fall down upon his bed for some well-earned rest.
Just one more, then bed, he told himself as he made a sonic boom sound across the city.
- - -
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