Superman: The Ark of Krypton
By
Jason Richard
Kara didn't feel like going down there. She couldn't handle Earth reporters right now. A STAR Labs scientist had gone down to talk to them and reassure them that everything was fine, dodging as many questions as possible. It was honestly hard to listen to. She could just imagine herself staring down tose microphones and people asking questions and found herself feeling nauseous. She honestly believed she'd rather fight more Apokolips agents.
So she waited.
…
In the laboratory where Superman lay unconscious, the scientists, led by Doctor Eliza Danvers, tried their best to help him. His eyes were badly burned, and didn't seem to be healing, even with his powers. They needed a way to siphon the kryptonite energy from his body. Unfortunately, in order to attach a siphon to him, they'd need to break his skin.
"If we use red sun energy," said Eliza. "And drain his powers, it may just make things worse. Can we get a small one and focus it on a small area?"
Fortunately, they did have something like that, a prototype that Edward Lytener had made before his final product. It was small enough that they could narrow it to a single area of skin, draining the power from that area without draining his completely. They were able to hook Superman up to some tubes connected to a machine. By taking small amounts out at a time and spinning them through a centrifuge, they were able to separate the toxic elements in his blood from the rest, putting the clean blood back inside.
That still meant that some irradiated blood was left behind, and he would need a transfusion to replace it. Fortunately, they has a potential donor.
…
Kara sat there, blood flowing out of her arm and into her cousin. They had managed to remove most of the radiation, so this was all that was left. It didn't take long, but Kara was grateful she could help. Once that was done, she went outside again. Now, all she could do was wait.
Superman's eyes were still covered in bandages. Those still weren't healing properly, which concerned her Eliza greatly, as well as everyone else, but there didn't seem to be anything they could do about it.
And in the meantime, the news media were still outside demanding answers and trying to get in. They'd have to tell the truth eventually, but for now, the scientists kept putting it off.
…
After an hour, Doctor Eliza Danvers came to see Kara with the final news.
"So he's started healing for the most part," said Eliza as Kara sat in the hallway.
"For the most part?" asked Kara.
"His eyes," said Eliza. "He used his heat vision while under the effects of Kryptonite. I'm sure you've noticed the effects of kryptonite on yourself."
"Right," said Kara. "Using your powers makes it worse."
"Well, Unfortunately, he was exposed to more kryptonite radiation than ever. The reaction when he used his heat vision severely damaged his eyes, and they aren't healing like the rest of his body. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Superman has gone blind."
Kara hadn't expected that. It was like the floor had fallen out from beneath her, and she'd lost the power to fly. Would Superman still be able to protect the Earth like this? The thought of one of them going blind hadn't even occurred to her.
"Isn't there something we can do?" Kara asked.
"I'm afraid not," said Eliza. "But not all hope his lost. The cells in his eyes do appear to be regenerating, but they're doing so at the rate of a normal human. We're hoping that when they heal enough, his powers will kick in there and he'll be able to heal them again.
"But," said Kara. "You're not sure if that will happen or not."
"At this stage," said Eliza, sighing. "We can't be certain of anything. Alien biology, after all."
Kara took a deep breath and said, "Alright. Thank you. Anyway…I'd like to be there when he wakes up."
Eliza nodded and said, "I'm sure he'd appreciate that."