Hope

14 - aftermath

The hero flew over the lively city, it being lit up in every corner, even at the latest hours on a weeknight. He had Alex held close to his chest, her limp body fitting perfectly in his arms as her head fell back over his upper arm. Finally, he landed in the cornfield in front of his mother's house. He was far away from the city, which was always good for someone like him, that couldn't afford all the attention, especially in the state he was in at the moment. He knelt down, Alex draped along his lap. She was unconscious, but could wake up at any form of pain or distress. Clark knew he had to help the deep wounds before she bled out. At least stabilize the stab wound that has already lost enough blood. He could use the heat from his eyes, but the more he examined her wounds, he started to realize that it was too late for that.

Clark had to take this woman to the hospital. How? How could he take her in the shape he was in? He had already saved the world before, and everyone knew what he looked like, so carrying his beloved to the medical help couldn't be such a problem. Clark sighed to himself and bounced off the ground again, causing the dirt around where he was once standing to spray out in clouds. He flew above the city again, descending with ease in front of the hospital closest to her apartment, which obviously caught some eyes.

"Look! Look up! It's superman!" People shouted below as he landed on his feet, carrying Alexandra in, through the glass doors that someone held open for him, which he thanked with a nod. Ignoring stares, not because he couldn't care, but because all Clark could even think about at that moment was the safety of the woman in his arms.

"She needs your help." Clark said, desperation tracing his voice as he spoke to the nearest nurse.

   "What happened?" She asked as Clark loaded Alex on the rolling bed.

"She was a victim of a kidnapping."

   "Do you know her name?"

"Alex. Alex Parrish."

   "We can help her."

"Thank you."

With that, he watched as they rolled her away before suddenly walking away from the crowd and flying himself away, where he could both; change and be normal, as well as get the opportunity to think about everything that happened tonight. Everything came to the surface— Lois betrayed him. For what? Revenge? Personal information? Was she under some kind of influence? That, he'll never know, and part of Clark didn't want to ask at all, even if he could, being afraid that the answer would be none of those circumstances, that she was completely sane and had this coming for her all along. He landed back in the same cornfield gently, walking over to the quaint home that belonged to his parents and dog. Kent knew she was asleep, but made his way inside anyway, for a pair of fresh clothes.
Once changed, Clark walked out and peacefully made his way back to his apartment, where he would wait until morning, so he could visit Alex in the hospital.

The next morning, Clark's pristine, blue eyes slowly opened, his vision clearing up to see that he was on his couch, his laptop on the coffee table, dead from being used all night long. He sat up and rubbed his tired eyes before standing and making his way to his room, for a change of clothes. Clark was going to meet Alex today, and make sure she was okay. He changed into something more casual, not forgetting to put his glasses on, as his disguise. Kent finally took his keys and made his way down to the busy streets of Metropolis, to his car, and then drove to the hospital in which he admitted Alex the night before. Walking in casually, he checked himself in at the front desk, without attracting too much attention to himself, and then followed the nurse to the room where they kept his lover. Casually walking in, he saw that she was awake, letting the nurses remove needles and bandages from her wounds to replace them with clean ones.

As soon as she noticed someone standing in the doorway out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head and smiled brightly at the sight.

"Clark!" She breathed in relief, her eyes lighting up like Christmas. Clark chuckled and walked in, the nurses finishing up and giving the two of them space. He knelt down, being quite tall, so he could be closer to her, and held a hand out, to be caught by one of Alex's. He turned her hand, making her palm face him as he traced the lines inside. Alex watched quietly, appreciating the delicate touch by the strongest man in the world.

Suddenly, a sniffle broke the silence they had. Clark lifted his head to see Alex, a tear rolling down her cheek, with pain in her eyes that was practically flooded with tears. He swiftly moved closer and wiped the tear from her cheek, pressing his forehead on top of hers.

"I'm so sorry, Clark..." she choked out, making him frown in confusion.

   "For what?"

"I killed her... I killed Lois.."

Clark stared at her with a frown, his expression softening as her sniffles turned into soft sobs. He was beating herself up for defending herself. He wrapped his arms around her and shushed her,

"Alex... Alex.. it's okay. She would have killed you.." he whispered, closing his eyes as the sobs soon ceased. Alex sighed, using her palm to wipe away the tears that were sitting on her cheeks, taking in one last sniffle. She wasn't normally a very emotional person, but anyone would cry in guilt if they stabbed someone to death, watching them whither away into a limp corpse in a matter of seconds. It haunted her. The dead eyes, the fear in them as the blade pierced her chest, realizing that these would be her last minutes on the earth. Having been in the FBI for a long time, most would think Alex is used to the idea of death and murder, but she had never done it to anyone herself. Not this way. Not when it was someone she knew, her boyfriend knew. It was different. She didn't even want to ask about Luther. The man could be dead, but she didn't want to know— she wanted to forget about that night for now, and then maybe later speak about it again.

Parrish was released from the hospital shortly after, when the doctor gave her a pain killer for the stab wound. Clark drove her home, following her into her apartment. She went straight to the kitchen and fixed herself some coffee, making some for him as well as he sat down on the couch.

"So... what now?" Alex asked, approaching her boyfriend with a mug and handing it to him before she settled down next to him.

   "I.. I don't know. He's still alive.. but what am I supposed to do? Kill him? Give him what he wants?"

"Clark— you know it's not just going to stop there, right? He clearly wants you weakened. He's not going to stop at just that.."

"There's only one way to find out."