Chapter Ninety-Two
The pain was gone.
For the past two days, Pete had been in pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was as if every bone in his body was broken.
And the X-rays confirmed he was partially right.
The shaking caused by the Prometheus suit had caused multiple partial fractures throughout his entire skeleton. When he woke up in the ER, his skin felt like it was on fire, and he was diagnosed with a mild concussion.
Then, last night the nurse had given him a shot of something. Said he had been admitted into the "Madison Trial". Before Pete remembered Madison was Hamilton's fake name, the nurse had inserted the syringe deep into his vein.
Pete completely flipped out. He didn't want anything from that madman. Orderlies were called in to restrain him and tied him to the bed. The nurse came with another syringe. This time filled with a sedative.
He woke up to see Molly sitting across from him. She told him, in a real voice, not like the monotone one she had used before, that Hamilton was dead. The hospital had given him a vial of the Asclepius serum and that should quicken his recovery. Alex had found the device that would take them home and within the hour he would be released.
Molly didn't ask how he felt; it was like she knew he'd feel better. Or she didn't care.
"I didn't know," Pete said, staring intently at the thin hospital blanket.
"What?"
"I didn't know, ok? I didn't know about the…" Pete's voice trailed off and he just sighed. What was there for Pete to say? Sorry, I assumed you were just an ice queen instead of being mind-controlled by Hamilton.
"Would it have mattered?" Molly left him with that rhetorical question.
Time passed and Pete remained alone in his room. It was void of flowers and get-well cards, something his older brother had received plenty of when he had broken his leg. A nurse eventually came to release him. Pete was well enough to walk by himself to the exit where Molly was waiting in a car outside.
They were silent during the drive to the Luthor Mansion. Pete didn't have the strength to summon his anger when he saw the Luthor. He didn't know which one it was. He took in Clark's presence as well as Mr. Kent's. Besides a brief acknowledge of his presence, he was ignored.
No lectures. No reprimands. No heated stares.
Alex activated the device and they all walked through the blinding light.
It was as if they had not moved; they were in the same room as before. The group began to talk; Pete didn't pay it any attention. He showed himself out and began the walk to his house.
The night air was chilly, and Pete was without a jacket. His toe kicked a loose stone, and it rolled a few feet down the road. Pete walked over to it and threw it with all his strength. In the fading light he could see the stone succumb to gravity and return to the ground. The distance was probably a yard if not two; with the Prometheus suit he could have sent it into outer space.
The strength. The speed. The invulnerability. All of it was gone now. He was back to being nothing but the youngest of five. Even when he had been the strongest and fastest, he had ever been in his life, Pete Ross had been nothing more than a patsy.
And it had almost cost him his life.
What would his father say if he knew how his son had spent the last few weeks? Robbing banks and being seconds away from murdering someone. Pete's actions without a filter of rage and revenge seemed downright villainous. Something like a Luthor would do.
Pete's walk and brooding had taken him to the center of downtown. Walking down Main Street, he saw a bunch of soldiers smoking and laughing amongst themselves at a parked jeep.
For some reason, Pete began to imagine himself in a military uniform. Fighting for good; risking his life to defend his country. No one in his family had entered the military yet. Even if he never made it to a five-star general, it would be a higher rank than his brothers or sister had.
Besides, Pete smiled to himself, chicks dig a guy in uniform.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
The first order of business was for Clark to get checked out by Dr. Klein. Alex called Marci, sharing they had been successful in rescuing Clark. Marci met them outside the Luthor Corp plaza and rushed forward to give Clark a huge hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Hi, Marci."
"Hello. Clark. I'm so sorry for the role I played. Calling you Julian and all that."
"It's okay. You didn't know."
"Anyway, I know there's a lot of people here worried about you. So, if you're okay with it, I was thinking we could have a going away party at the mansion."
Alex gave the all clear. Marci got to work making the necessary arrangements as Clark went to get a physical done by Dr. Klein. Johnathan remained close by his son's side and watched Klein like a hawk as the doctor looked into Clark's eyes and throat.
Dr. Klein asked questions about what Hamilton had put Clark through. He glanced sideways at his dad, not wanting his father to know how he had been treated. Mr. Kent was begrudgingly convinced to wait outside as Clark shared how frequently Hamilton took his blood and the abuse from Pete. Klein jotted down notes and then brought Clark to the other part of the lab where Clark was asked to use his abilities.
"This data shows you are back to one hundred percent," Dr. Klein stated. "And you say that Clark had no heart rate?"
"A complete flatline," Alex managed to get out after being haunted by the pale images of Julian and Clark in hospital beds.
"Hmmm. I wonder." Klein disappeared through his door. He popped his head back into the room briefly to say, "Physical complete."
"Clark, I want to run something by you. I'm trying to be a better man. And, well, I was thinking…" Alex hesitated.
"What?"
"It's about Hamilton. He was another victim of Lionel. I let my anger for what he did to Julian cloud my judgement and did the same thing. He wasn't a good person…well, maybe he could have been if I hadn't behaved like Lionel…"
"Alex," Clark said, "Hamilton made his own choices."
"True. And I'm choosing to correct the wrong I did, even if it's too late. I was thinking I would hang a plaque in Level 3, commemorating the years of work Hamilton put in on Project Asclepius. And his name would be listed as the Lead Scientist on all the paperwork. That would be a good thing, right?"
"Alex, I think that's a great idea. I know I wouldn't want to be remembered for my mistakes."
"Nor I. And I've made quite a few, to say the least."
Clark playfully jabbed Alex on the shoulder. "Come on. We've got a party to get to."
