Superman: Man of Tomorrow

Failure

Chapter 19

Failure

Smallville Hospital

Clark rode with Lana in the ambulance to the hospital. His body was shaking, he didn't know what just happened. Did his friends die? Will Lana be alright? There were so many questions that had to be answered. Paramedics sat next to him and inserted an IV into Lana's arm. Lana also had an oxygen mask on and was unconscious.

The ambulance soon arrived at the emergency room and the paramedics rushed her inside. Lights shined in Clark's eyes, that made it harder for him to see. They rushed her to the operating room and kept the oxygen mask on her face. Clark was forced to wait outside. Soon enough, both Lana's and Clark's parents showed up.

"Clark are you alright?" Martha asked as she arrived. Clark was important to her, she couldn't bare losing him.

"I'm fine Ma, but Lana..." Clark couldn't finished his sentence, instead he put his hands over his eyes. "It's my fault, I could've stopped the debris from falling on her, I could've saved her."

"Lana's a strong girl, Clark." Lana's father tried to say. He knew about Clark's abilities, "It's not your fault Clark, know that."

"I didn't react fast enough, I should've protected her!" Clark shouted. Jonathan brought Clark outside.

"Son, you need to calm down. You're not thinking right." Jonathan informed his son. Jonathan had his hands on Clark's shoulders.

"I am thinking right Pa! I have these powers! I should've used them! You heard Jor-El! He sent me here to protect earth and it's people! I failed!" Clark cried.

"Clark... You're going to fail a few times. You're going to get knocked down, people are going to get hurt. It's just apart of life. But it's what you do after you fail that truly matters, what you do after someone gets hurt that makes you who you truly are." Jonathan explained.

"But this isn't just someone Pa! It's Lana! My best friend!" Clark cried, "I couldn't save her!"

"People close to you are going to get hurt son, it happened to all of us. You just need to overcome that pain." Jonathan replied while hugging Clark.

"I just wanted to save her Pa..." Clark stated still balling.

"I know, Clark, I know." Jonathan comforted Clark.

Two Hours Later

Clark, Jonathan, Martha, and Lana's parents were waiting outside the operating room. Suddenly, the doors bursted open and a doctor walked out.

"She'll live." The doctor told everyone. "But she'll be paralyzed for life." Lana's mother started crying and Lana's father held her, "I'll give you all a moment..."

Clark walked away but stumbled against the wall. He failed, he truly did fail. The worst part is, is that he couldn't save his best friend...