Page 39 of The Not So Super Hero

B ailey planned to call Zane after work, but would going to do that far sooner than he expected.

At the end of his shift, Darcie rushed to switch the TV on.

Whispers broke out through the café. All eyes stared at the news report.

Bailey couldn’t even hear what the reporter was saying when he saw a familiar sight that made him go short of breath.

Blurry footage revealed a dark mist rising into the sky.

Bailey had seen it before, knew the movements and thus knew exactly who that belonged to.

Only bits and pieces of the report slowly flowed into Bailey’s chaotic thoughts.

Civilian attacked. Rebirth involved. Police on the move.

“Bailey, where are you going?” Darcie called after him when he darted out the door.

Bailey’s hands shook furiously while running to his vehicle. His keys jingled in his grasp when he tried to unlock the car door. The phone that he now had trapped between his shoulder and ear went straight to voicemail, no matter how much he tried to call Zane.

“Damn it, pick up!” he hollered, ripping open his car door after several failed attempts.

He wasn’t sure why he was trying to call or what made him think Zane would answer.

If it really was him who was attacked, then he probably wasn’t in any condition to answer or couldn’t.

He froze at the thought of Zane’s condition.

The last time he used his powers caused some serious damage.

Based on the little footage Bailey saw, Zane was even stronger than before.

What if it made him even worse? That tacked on to being attacked…

Bailey slammed his foot into the gas pedal, peeling out of the parking lot with screeching tires that left billows of smoke behind him.

Calling wasn’t doing anything. Bailey threw his phone into the passenger seat.

His heart raced on the drive to Zane’s apartment.

He hoped Zane would be there. Bailey would run to Zane’s room, knock on the door, and he would answer in a pair of sweats and fake annoyance.

Nothing would be wrong. Everything was going to be ok. Bailey prayed that would happen.

His prayers weren’t answered. There was no response when Bailey arrived. No matter how much he banged on the door or called Zane’s name, no one opened the door.

Bailey ran back to his car to try calling again. When it went to voicemail, he let out a panicked cry followed by heavy breaths that left his legs shaking.

“How the fuck am I supposed to know which hospital he’s at?

!” Bailey screamed, wondering if he should have watched the news more.

He doubted they would announce it, but maybe Darcie heard?

Bailey called her, but the girl claimed there was no mention of who the civilian was or what hospital they were at.

Though the news claimed they were being treated for injuries at the E.R.

That didn’t calm Bailey in the least. The Emergency Room?

The name itself told people something was wrong.

It had emergency in the name! What injuries did he have, life-threatening ones?

Was he in critical condition? How long would he be there?

How was Bailey going to visit him? Which hospital was he being treated at?

What made Bailey think Zane wanted him to visit?

Unsure of how to proceed, Bailey sat in his vehicle gripping his phone like he expected Zane to call.

When that never happened, he searched for the nearest hospitals on his phone.

With shaking hands, Bailey retrieved a notebook from his backpack to scribble addresses and numbers.

He would call every hospital to ask if Zane was there, though he wasn’t sure if they would answer, or if they were even aware of Zane’s identity yet.

After the second failed call to the hospitals, Bailey’s phone went off. His heart almost burst from his chest in a mixture of fear and excitement. He didn’t bother to look at the caller I.D. before answering quickly, “Zane!”

“Hello, Bailey. This is Chris Walker.”

“Are you calling about Zane? Is he ok? Are you with him? Where is—"

“One question at a time,” Chris spoke calmly. “Zane is at Ruby Hospital. Do you know where that is?”

Bailey nodded until he realized Chris couldn’t see him, so he responded with a quick yes.

“Good, why don’t you come on up here?”

Chris hadn’t answered Bailey’s most important question, though. Completely ignoring Chris’ request, Bailey asked the thing that was bugging him most, “Is Zane ok?”

Chris hesitating to answer made tears brim at the edge of Bailey’s eyes. He forgot how to breathe.

“He’s... he will be fine,” Chris responded, although his voice gave off the indication that it still wasn’t good. “Honestly, Zane hasn’t used his mutation in such a long time that it took more of a toll on him than we could have expected. He’s in surgery now.”

Surgery? Bailey brushed his fingers beneath his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose while that word sunk in. He hated it. His stomach sank. The news shouldn’t have been surprising, though. Bailey already knew Zane was in the Emergency Room.

“I’ll uh... I’ll be up...” Bailey hung up, tossed his phone, and sped to the hospital.

Many laws were likely broken, but he had priorities.

If he had driven slower, he probably would have gone mad from fear and concern.

His brain couldn’t stop conjuring the worst-case scenario, that Zane wouldn’t make it out of surgery.

At the hospital, Bailey followed the signs pointing to the waiting room that Chris stated he was.

A pair of double doors led into the waiting room.

Bailey hesitated to answer, peering through a window in the door.

Chris stood inside in the room's corner with a man in a crisp blue uniform. Bailey couldn’t make out the words on the name tag.

“You lied,” the stranger said, heaving a long breath, then waving a handful of paper around. “On a federal form, on an investigation, do you even realize you could get fired for this?”

Chris snorted. “And if I had told the truth, what would have happened? What the hell do you think would have happened to Zane?”

Bailey’s interest was piqued even more at the mention of Zane. He had no idea what they were talking about, yet even more secrets and questions were brought up. Bailey wondered when they would end, if ever.

“He was only sixteen. He deserved the chance of a normal life,” Chris argued, holding out his arms, then throwing them against his side and seeming confused why he was being scolded. “So of course I fucking lied. Do you think Zane would have gotten the chance of a normal life if I didn’t?”

“I understand, Chris, truly, I do. You got attached to the kid, but you put his and anyone involved with his life in danger. Rebirth is after him and for damn good reason, from what I can see.” The stranger waved the paperwork in his hand through the air, catching Chris’ gaze that narrowed on it before looking away with a huff.

“I have to report this. You know that, don’t you?

Try to show some regret. It may save your career. ”

Bailey furrowed his brow, wondering what the hell Chris lied about that had to do with Zane and why it would get him fired.

“I don’t regret what I did,” Chris said sternly. “You should be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting it.”

The stranger scowled, his mouth opening to argue, but it was put on hold by Bailey falling through the doors from a push behind him. A nurse stared behind him, hands clutching the cart that had hit him.

“I’m so sorry!” The nurse apologized, rushing into the waiting room to help Bailey up.

Smiling sheepishly, Bailey passed the officers a nervous glance. Their narrowed gazes stated they suspected he overheard something.

“Are you ok?” the nurse asked. Bailey assured her he was fine. After another embarrassed apology, the nurse scurried off, leaving Bailey in the tense waiting room.

“We’ll discuss this further at another time,” the man said, then stormed out.

Frowning, Bailey faced Chris. He had his silent attention fixated on Bailey.

Clearing his throat, he attempted to speak, but he squeaked instead.

He wanted to ask about Zane, how he was doing, what his injuries were, and how severe the situation was.

At the same time, he wanted to know what the hell Chris was talking about because it would likely help unravel the puzzle that was Zane’s past.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Zane just yet,” Chris finally spoke, his attention shifting to the doors leading to the surgery rooms. “He will be fine, though. Give him a few days of bed rest and he’ll be annoying the hell out of both of us like usual.”

Bailey wanted to argue against that. Even if Zane was a mutant, he had been attacked, was in surgery and needed more than “a few days” especially when neither of them knew what was wrong.

What if it was more serious? Chris had to be wondering the same thing.

The tension in his shoulders and solemn look in his eyes said as much.

Chris was scared too and just trying to be calm.

Bailey had to do the same, or he was going to lose himself.

“You should sit down. Seems there are a couple of things to discuss.” Chris gestured to the empty chairs lining the walls. He took one of the seats, patting the open one next to him for Bailey to join him.

Looking to the Emergency Room doors, Bailey’s heart ached. Wondering how Zane was doing behind those doors, hoping he would be ok, it was bringing on a headache that he was sure would only get worse. Sighing, he sat next to Chris.