Disclaimer: Not mine.
Rating: T
Notes: deepest apologies for the belated update. Exams and a contribution to the promotion of Ausxip's annual charity auction took all my time.
Chapter 27 "Minds set on purpose"
Metropolis. Emil Hamilton's office.
Clark didn't remember running out of the facility. His mind didn't recall taking off to see where he was either. As he entered Emil's office through the window, leaving a mess of shattered glass on the floor, all he knew was that he had to get there, take Emil and whatever he needed, and be back with Lois.
Lois and the baby were all that mattered.
"Emil?" Clark focused his x-ray vision and saw the man rushing to meet him.
"Clark, what's-?" He stopped slightly when he saw the glass fragments on the floor, and a lack of apology on Clark's face. It was deadly serious.
"She's breech, Emil, we need your help."
It took Emil a second to realize he was talking about Lois. Not longer to have his stomach in knots. More than a decade working under stressful and dire situations to have a well trained mind and the common sense to keep calm despite how he felt, and analyzed the situation. First thing, avoid useless questions. If Clark could have moved her, he would have. "Is there anything we don't need to take with us?" Emil walked to the clinic's OR, and started gathering a few things he figured he should add to the emergency kit he had prepared in order to be ready to assist Lois in any circumstance, place and date.
"Get any surgical equipment you need," said Clark.
Emil nodded and ran over the mental list of all the things he'd need. "Vitals?"
Clark followed him, taking every object the doctor gave him. "Both hearts steady under the circumstances, Lois' slightly quick. The baby's followed the patterns you've taught me, but-"
"How long?"
"I don't know," said Clark quietly. "I didn't have my powers until-"
"That's ok, it doesn't matter." No point in making Clark nervous or guilty. Or rising alarms where there were none. Emil grabbed the enforced blades he'd designed in case Lois' dermis developed some kind of defense mechanism he hadn't counted on, and considered quickly asking Clark to take a stretcher. "Should we take one?," he finally asked.
"No," said Clark. "It's one of Lex's facilities."
"Then that's all we need," he said looking at the equipment held in Clark's arms and hands.
Clark nodded and left with it. While he waited for him to return, Emil prepared himself mentally. The equipment he'd given Clark, and he knew the Kryptonian was aware of it, included anything needed to perform a C-section. Emil wasn't taking any chances, nor would he wait for a natural birth that had no guarantee of success.
OOO
Outside Luthor's facility.
Bruce was already waiting outside the batplane when Helena and Diana got out of the amazon's transport. "Oliver?," he asked.
"Secured," answered Diana.
Bruce considered their situation. "What's Dinah's condition?"
"Trying to figure out if anything doesn't hurt," said Helena already surveying their surroundings. "Come on, Bruce, whatever you've got planned there's no time to l-"
"We take Dinah with us," he interrupted. "She'll be safer."
"You think Oliver will free himself and harm her?," asked Diana.
No. Helena understood. "He thinks she'll just ignore any order we've given her and limp herself inside that place regardless of her injuries."
"Oh." Of course she would.
"Getting Dinah with us will be the only way we can make sure she'll be alright," added Bruce.
A tiny smile edged Diana's lips, her fondness of Dinah well known inside the Justice League. "I'll go get her."
"No need." Ignoring the eye-rolling from Helena, Dinah carefully stepped outside the plane, soon finding herself supported by two strong yet gentle arms. Not fighting the help offered, Dinah leaned on Diana a little. "Ollie's out, let's go."
"Do we have a plan, Bruce?" asked Helena.
"We go inside, we fix everything, we leave."
Right. Of course.
OOO
Unknown location.
"Beavers?"
"They're cool," she said as she shrugged.
"Chloe, beavers are…"
Chloe forced herself to follow the conversation she'd set up, the shallowest she could make up to try and get Lois' mind off her current situation. Pain and strain were getting a toll on her, and her body was bearing tension beyond what it should at that moment. "They are cute. And they bend water."
"'Bend' water?," came the skeptical question.
"Yeah, like dams. You know," she said mischievously, "changing the course of the flow."
Lois chuckled at the 'I know your little secret' revelation. "Chris told you?"
"About how did Lois show him all her favorite tv shows and even rewatched them with him?" She snorted. "He beamed with pride all around the place. He breathes, dreams and eats what you say and do, honey," she said in a gentler tone as she saw Lois tensing again, at another contraction came it's way.
"He's such a soft- softy."
A pang of pain hit Chloe, the image of the blade entering his guts vivid, as it would be for a long time, despite she had to do it. "He's such a great boy, Lo," she said as she let her body support Lois' and rubbed her lower back in an effort to ease her pain.
Lois swallowed back a scream at the insane pressure her body was being subjected to. "Trying not to push is getting really hard, Chlo."
"I am sure Clark's coming with Emil, sweetie, just hang in there."
"Easy for you t—to say." A jolt of pain caught her unaware. "Oh fuck!," she hissed.
"I know I'm not the one in labor, but you're nailing your fingers on my arms right now, empathizing with your pain is getting kind of easy."
"No need to wait any longer. Miss Lane."
Chloe raised her head and saw Emil entering the room and kneeling, offering his arm to Lois. "Ready when you are, Lois," he gently said.
Still eyes closed and going through the contraction, Lois nodded and held onto Chloe.
"Clark told me you were in need of one of these," he said to Chloe. He made a little motion with his head and Chloe saw a prosthetic leg past his shoulder. "New prototype. Oliver wanted it to be a surprise but like I said, Clark said you'd need it now."
Chloe waited patiently for Lois to be the one to tell her when she'd be able to move. "Thanks I-" Then her mind drifted back to her other concerns. "Do you know anything about the rest? Ollie, Dinah?"
Emil knew nothing. When Clark had returned with him he'd just asked him about a spare leg for Chloe and had took him flying as fast as he could while carrying a body and not being able to protect it with his cape. Which now he could see for what it was being used. "Let's just take one trouble at a time, shall we?"
Lois, exhausted and drained, decided it was a good idea. "Right, because this baby is demanding an open door right about now. Where's-"
As if on cue, Clark entered. "I'm here, Lois, I'm here."
"You were quick," she said with tired eyes.
Clark smiled and kneeled by her side, arms ready to pick her, to what Lois helped putting her arms around his neck and held on to him, leaning until her head rested on his chest. Clark kissed her on the top of her head and carefully stood up with her. "Let's go meet this baby, ok?" he whispered as he felt her body cling on to him.
Emil, to whom Clark had first taken to the nearest room he could find in which performing anything he needed, stood up as well and led the way. "I'll go get everything ready."
Clark nodded to him and turned his attention to Lois. "Where's Chris?," he asked.
"He was just outside a couple of minutes ago. Kept telling us to hang on, that he was watching from outside."
"He's not there?" Chloe tried to sound casual, but her eyes, looking at Clark, spoke otherwise.
"What in the freaking heaven was that boy thinking?," protested Lois.
Chloe fastened the leg at a quicker pace, all alarms calling her to find Chris before he had done something drastic as she tried to figure out an excuse to keep Lois from more stress. As much as they could, anyway. "Maybe he's…checking the perimeter," she finally said.
"Damn boy, Clark, why does he have to be like me? Dammit!"
"I'll go get him, Lois, you focus on yourself," said Chloe, half focused on how well the new leg adapted to the stump. She made a mental note to thank Emil later. And Oliver. Because she would have the chance to thank him, darnit.
"Sure, go ahead, and while you're at it, try not to get yourself killed and tell that kid of mine to fucking stop worrying me when I'm in labor with another one. Minus the 'fucking' part," she warned. "And drag him back by the hair if you must, what the hell was he thinking?"
"He was worried about you, Lois, but he'll be alright." He must. He had located Chris' heart, and it was beating, that much he could tell. But now he needed to take Lois to the operating room they'd set up, and calm her down as top priority. "You know Chris can take care of himself." Lois and the baby's heartbeats were now constantly monitored through his hearing. "How are you feeling?"
"Scared as hell counts?," she said weakly.
"It'll be over soon," reassured Clark, not really knowing who he was trying to calm, him or her.
"At least next time you take me flying I won't be this heavy."
"Not sure. I might have to take you both."
Once inside the room, the nearest where he'd found a stretcher, Clark gently placed Lois on it. Her face looked exhausted and he smiled in sympathy.
Clark's face was an open book. "That bad, huh?," she asked.
"You look beautiful, I'm just sorry you're in so much pain. But that'll be over soon."
"Indeed." Emil, just arrived, was already pulling a syringe out from the bag he'd given Clark. "Give Miss Epidural a hi."
"But-" All kinds of concerns came to Lois' mind.
"Just calling it epidural out of habit. It's a special one manufactured for this occasion and including the possibility of a C-section delivery. Clark, sit her up and uncover her back." Clark obeyed and held Lois as he followed Emil's instructions. The doctor set the needle in position and let it get the local anesthetic inside. "Both you, your hernia and your daughter will be alright."
A sudden silence filled the room. Predictably, it was Lois who broke it. "It's a girl?"
"Um…" Emil found the patterns of the white floor increasingly interesting.
Lois' eyes searched for Clark. "We're having a baby girl?"
"I'm sorry, I-"
"Clark, a girl!" A smile shone on her face.
"Anasthetic's already working," Emil mouthed to Clark. "Perfect timing."
Lois hugged Clark. "A girl, Clark, it's…it's really happening, we-"
He kissed her. "I know." He set her back down. "Listen, I have to get back for Chloe and Chris. I'll be back in a minute."
"Go, Clark, I'll get everything ready," said Emil.
Clark nodded and left, found Chloe already standing outside. "You're quick. This-"
Chloe turned her head at the sound of his voice and alarmed extended her arm. "Clark, stay there!," she whispered.
Chloe was walking on the opposite direction, and soon Clark saw a pair of boots on the floor. He knew those boots. He had bought those boots. "Chris!"
"Clark, n-"
No time. Clark hadn't seen the kryptonite blade half inserted on Chris' chest, and he fell on the floor in pain. Chloe was already kneeling, looking for the scabbard. "Dammit, Chris, you hang in there!"
His voice was hardly audible. "It came ag—again, Chloe, I—I want to kill them s—so badly, I-"
"Where is it, Chris, where'd you put the scabbard?"
Clark tried to get up, confused by what was going on, disoriented by the kryptonite and focused on finding who had stabbed the boy. Then Chloe's question hit him. He had stabbed himself.
"If I k—kill you it all-it will g—go away, I-"
"He was shot with whatever they hit Isabel and Ollie, Clark." Chloe searched the floor, and finally found the black metal scabbard under Chris' left thigh. "Kryptonite keeps him grounded. Your son took it to the letter." Half furious, half worried to death, Chloe took the blade out and quickly put in inside the scabbard. Chris let out a ragged cry as the blade went out his body and convulsed, being quickly held by Chloe. "Chris, you hang in there with me, or God help me you'll know what does the Sullivan wrath mean." She held the boy firmly until he stopped moving, but kept breathing.
Chris was weak, and confused, He thought he had heard Chloe threaten him, and had known she'd meant him. Then the ground left his back and it started moving, the pool of blood walking on the other direction. Took him a moment to realize he had been lifted, and a bright red, blue and yellow crest was looking at him. "Am I dead?"
"No son. You're safe now."
Clark walked with him tightly in his arms followed by Chloe.
"I still w—want to kill you."
Clark held his breath and kept quiet. Soon he felt the wound starting to close. Slowly due to the abuse he'd allowed on his body, but steady. "You won't. I won't let you."
"Are you mad at me for wanting to kill you?"
"I am mad at you, Chris. For wanting to kill yourself before harming me or Lois or your little sister. And also very proud." So very proud.
"But I do still want to, and—wait, you said sister?"
Clark smiled. "It slipped Emil's mouth."
"And he's still alive?"
"Anasthetics. The room's over there. Chris, I'll stay with you, make sure you're safe. Chloe, go to Lois and- Chloe?" Chloe was right behind him, looking into the room they'd just passed, frozen. "Chloe, what's wrong?"
"The room's door is open." Chris struggled faintly. He had no strength, and Clark's seemed to be fully returned. There seemed to be no way of escaping. "She left Lex Luthor in there, I'd bet," he spoke with a mind that he knew wasn't his. Chloe's anguished face confirmed Chris' words. A part of him was sickened by his own words, but the rest couldn't help them. "Lex is free, Dad. You're all dead."
OOOOO
