More of the same
*prances in*
I bring another excerpt, this time from The Phoenix Crisis, the sequel to The Phoenix Alternative. I've been writing, honest, but it's been a bloody piecemeal of a job. Thankfully, I had a nice therapy beta session with mortongirl the other night and am all refreshed and full of writing goodness.
***
More than anything in the world, Lois hated being in the dark. She hated that everyone who worked in this hospital knew more than she did about her son's condition. She hated the medical terminology and the machines and the scribbled notes on the clipboards which meant absolutely nothing to her. She hated how people rushed in and out of those double doors without sparing her a glance to even give a hint about who they were rushing in and out of. She hated the guardedly fearful expression on Clark's face. She hated how Richard looked the same. Most of all, she hated that damned *thing* that put her baby here.
She returned empty handed only to find Richard secretively speaking on the phone. "Dr. McCoy, this is Richard White. I've been told you have a medical background with mutants."
"Mutants?" Lois mouthed. "What about mutants?"
He gave her a "don't worry about it" gesture and turned his back. Lois' eyes narrowed.
"What's going on?" she asked Clark.
He shrugged, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor. God, it was like being trapped between a cliff and a brick wall! Lois threw her hands up and settled on eavesdropping.
"I was wondering if you... that is, if you aren't too busy to..." Richard let out a quiet hiss that may have been rather profane before continuing, his sentence breaking near the end. "My son is very, very sick. Please, can you come down here to take a look at him?"
With his cell phone tucked away, Lois could finally ask questions. "Who was that?"
"Just someone I heard about while I was doing a piece," Richard threw over his shoulder as he worshipped at the coffee machine again.
Within half an hour, two new people pushed through the waiting room: one was an Asian woman with brilliantly dyed violet hair who was so put together, she made Lois feel every one of the twenty-four hours she'd spend pulling at her hair in worry. Her partner was even more fantastic: almost six feet tall and at least four feet across, his muscles packed into a custom-made suit and his whole body covered in bright blue fur.
"Ladies and gentlemen." He nodded to the doctors and nurses. "I'm Dr. McCoy of the--"
To Lois' surprise, Richard strode up to the big blue doctor and took his hand in a firm clasp. "Hank, thank God! I wasn't sure if the school could get you on such short notice."
"Erm, yes, as it happens, I was at the school." Dr. McCoy stared at him as confused as Lois felt. "I'm sorry, but have we met?"
Embarrassed by his initial enthusiasm, Richard backed off, crossing his arms. As soon as he did that, Dr. McCoy went a little grey. "Oh, my stars and garters."
Seeing a lull, Lois jumped in. "Dr. McCoy, I'm Jason's mom."
"Mrs. White, yes." Distractedly, he turned to her and bared his teeth, his two upper incisors gleaming. His dentist must be so happy about that; Lois not so much. She hoped that was a smile. "I promise you, I will do everything I can for him. My associate, Elizabeth, will be aiding me."
Elizabeth shook Lois' hand. "Elizabeth Braddock. Yes, the hair is really this colour and no, it has nothing to do with my mutation."
"Please lead the way and tell me about the boy," the doctor told the closest person in scrubs.
A doctor with the ID tag, "Cameron" gave him a file and ran through the case so far. "We would have started testing for mutation if we knew what we were looking for," she said as they disappeared into the double doors and once again, Lois was left in the dark.
Jason.
Oh, God, Jason.
She needed a cigarette. She'd run out of people to call and information to google. How the hell did you google kryptonian-human hybrids anyway? All she ever found was how popular hybrids were in turn-of-the-century zoos or essays about evolution or the different coat patterns on a liger versus a tigon.
What the hell was going on in there?
Please, give me something. Anything. Talk to me. What's happening to my baby?
Waiting was the worst part. Waiting with nothing to do but worry.
An hour passed before the double doors swung open again. Dr. McCoy lumbered out, murmuring to a sheaf of papers and a nurse who was officiously recording his words in a clipboard pad. Lois was at his side in an instant.
"Is Jason okay?" she asked. "What can we do?"
The doctor slowly reached out a hand--paw?-- and patted her shoulder. His hand was heavy but warm and Lois couldn't help but get an impression of a gigantic teddy bear especially when he spoke in that rumbling voice. "Jason is all right for now, Mrs. White."
"Lane," she corrected automatically.
"My apologies." He waved to a door behind the nurses' station. "Dr. Cameron has been kind enough to lend me her room for a moment. If you'd like to step in?" He looked up at Richard and Clark, obviously unsure of whom else to invite.
"I'll go and, uh, water your plants," Clark stuttered. "Um, if you need anything..."
"We'll call," Richard said. His lips moved a little afterward but Lois couldn't catch the words.
Lois accepted the proffered seat in the office. Richard stood uncertainly near the chair, made movements to sit, straightened then finally sat down with a short growl. The doctor went around the other side of the table, took one look at the tiny swivel chair, and opted to stand.
"As I said before, my name is Henry McCoy," he said, his voice still a low-pitched rumbling, but with a soothing note. "I specialise in mutant genetics as well as emergency medicine."
"My son's not a mutant," Lois said. Then, realising her blunt wording might not go over well with the nice mutant doctor, she added, "It's not a bad thing; I just know he isn't. Jason's problem is... something different."
He looked at her, his blue eyes searching. "I would like to add that as a doctor, I can promise you complete confidentiality. As you can probably surmise, I have acted as a physician mainly to mutant patients, many of whom do not want to be outed as such. Whatever you tell me, I will not tell a soul."
Lois bit her lip. It wasn't her secret to tell. Even though their relationship had fallen apart, she'd promised Superman that she'd keep Jason's paternity a secret to keep their son safe. But now that very secret was threatening his life.
Oh God, her baby.
Lois opened her mouth--
"I'm his father."
-- and closed it again, in shock. Papers flew and picture frames shivered as Superman zipped into the tiny room, his stature making it appear even smaller. Lois might have imagined it but the cape seemed to reach out to her, briefly caressing her shoulder before it settled heavily down his shoulders.
To his credit, McCoy only blinked. "I see." He adjusted his glasses and sat back. "Oh, I see indeed. This does complicate matters quite a bit."
I bring another excerpt, this time from The Phoenix Crisis, the sequel to The Phoenix Alternative. I've been writing, honest, but it's been a bloody piecemeal of a job. Thankfully, I had a nice therapy beta session with mortongirl the other night and am all refreshed and full of writing goodness.
***
More than anything in the world, Lois hated being in the dark. She hated that everyone who worked in this hospital knew more than she did about her son's condition. She hated the medical terminology and the machines and the scribbled notes on the clipboards which meant absolutely nothing to her. She hated how people rushed in and out of those double doors without sparing her a glance to even give a hint about who they were rushing in and out of. She hated the guardedly fearful expression on Clark's face. She hated how Richard looked the same. Most of all, she hated that damned *thing* that put her baby here.
She returned empty handed only to find Richard secretively speaking on the phone. "Dr. McCoy, this is Richard White. I've been told you have a medical background with mutants."
"Mutants?" Lois mouthed. "What about mutants?"
He gave her a "don't worry about it" gesture and turned his back. Lois' eyes narrowed.
"What's going on?" she asked Clark.
He shrugged, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor. God, it was like being trapped between a cliff and a brick wall! Lois threw her hands up and settled on eavesdropping.
"I was wondering if you... that is, if you aren't too busy to..." Richard let out a quiet hiss that may have been rather profane before continuing, his sentence breaking near the end. "My son is very, very sick. Please, can you come down here to take a look at him?"
With his cell phone tucked away, Lois could finally ask questions. "Who was that?"
"Just someone I heard about while I was doing a piece," Richard threw over his shoulder as he worshipped at the coffee machine again.
Within half an hour, two new people pushed through the waiting room: one was an Asian woman with brilliantly dyed violet hair who was so put together, she made Lois feel every one of the twenty-four hours she'd spend pulling at her hair in worry. Her partner was even more fantastic: almost six feet tall and at least four feet across, his muscles packed into a custom-made suit and his whole body covered in bright blue fur.
"Ladies and gentlemen." He nodded to the doctors and nurses. "I'm Dr. McCoy of the--"
To Lois' surprise, Richard strode up to the big blue doctor and took his hand in a firm clasp. "Hank, thank God! I wasn't sure if the school could get you on such short notice."
"Erm, yes, as it happens, I was at the school." Dr. McCoy stared at him as confused as Lois felt. "I'm sorry, but have we met?"
Embarrassed by his initial enthusiasm, Richard backed off, crossing his arms. As soon as he did that, Dr. McCoy went a little grey. "Oh, my stars and garters."
Seeing a lull, Lois jumped in. "Dr. McCoy, I'm Jason's mom."
"Mrs. White, yes." Distractedly, he turned to her and bared his teeth, his two upper incisors gleaming. His dentist must be so happy about that; Lois not so much. She hoped that was a smile. "I promise you, I will do everything I can for him. My associate, Elizabeth, will be aiding me."
Elizabeth shook Lois' hand. "Elizabeth Braddock. Yes, the hair is really this colour and no, it has nothing to do with my mutation."
"Please lead the way and tell me about the boy," the doctor told the closest person in scrubs.
A doctor with the ID tag, "Cameron" gave him a file and ran through the case so far. "We would have started testing for mutation if we knew what we were looking for," she said as they disappeared into the double doors and once again, Lois was left in the dark.
Jason.
Oh, God, Jason.
She needed a cigarette. She'd run out of people to call and information to google. How the hell did you google kryptonian-human hybrids anyway? All she ever found was how popular hybrids were in turn-of-the-century zoos or essays about evolution or the different coat patterns on a liger versus a tigon.
What the hell was going on in there?
Please, give me something. Anything. Talk to me. What's happening to my baby?
Waiting was the worst part. Waiting with nothing to do but worry.
An hour passed before the double doors swung open again. Dr. McCoy lumbered out, murmuring to a sheaf of papers and a nurse who was officiously recording his words in a clipboard pad. Lois was at his side in an instant.
"Is Jason okay?" she asked. "What can we do?"
The doctor slowly reached out a hand--paw?-- and patted her shoulder. His hand was heavy but warm and Lois couldn't help but get an impression of a gigantic teddy bear especially when he spoke in that rumbling voice. "Jason is all right for now, Mrs. White."
"Lane," she corrected automatically.
"My apologies." He waved to a door behind the nurses' station. "Dr. Cameron has been kind enough to lend me her room for a moment. If you'd like to step in?" He looked up at Richard and Clark, obviously unsure of whom else to invite.
"I'll go and, uh, water your plants," Clark stuttered. "Um, if you need anything..."
"We'll call," Richard said. His lips moved a little afterward but Lois couldn't catch the words.
Lois accepted the proffered seat in the office. Richard stood uncertainly near the chair, made movements to sit, straightened then finally sat down with a short growl. The doctor went around the other side of the table, took one look at the tiny swivel chair, and opted to stand.
"As I said before, my name is Henry McCoy," he said, his voice still a low-pitched rumbling, but with a soothing note. "I specialise in mutant genetics as well as emergency medicine."
"My son's not a mutant," Lois said. Then, realising her blunt wording might not go over well with the nice mutant doctor, she added, "It's not a bad thing; I just know he isn't. Jason's problem is... something different."
He looked at her, his blue eyes searching. "I would like to add that as a doctor, I can promise you complete confidentiality. As you can probably surmise, I have acted as a physician mainly to mutant patients, many of whom do not want to be outed as such. Whatever you tell me, I will not tell a soul."
Lois bit her lip. It wasn't her secret to tell. Even though their relationship had fallen apart, she'd promised Superman that she'd keep Jason's paternity a secret to keep their son safe. But now that very secret was threatening his life.
Oh God, her baby.
Lois opened her mouth--
"I'm his father."
-- and closed it again, in shock. Papers flew and picture frames shivered as Superman zipped into the tiny room, his stature making it appear even smaller. Lois might have imagined it but the cape seemed to reach out to her, briefly caressing her shoulder before it settled heavily down his shoulders.
To his credit, McCoy only blinked. "I see." He adjusted his glasses and sat back. "Oh, I see indeed. This does complicate matters quite a bit."