Third Time's a Charm
"Welcome, darling Charm, into the world," a deep, almost kind voice said. Charm opened her deep blue eyes and looked around her. She was standing in a white pod in a metallic room filled with other pods. In front of her was a tall man who had an air of authority, an emotionless red-haired woman, and a blue man with long pointed ears and horns. She blinked and tilted her head slightly. "My child, you have so much to learn," the man said almost caringly, "I am your father, Lex Luthor, and this is Mercy, your teacher." Luthor held out his hand to help her out of the pod. "Come with me, and I shall teach you about this world, what's wrong with it, and how you can fix it." Charm stared at his hand for a few seconds, then warily reached out and took it.
Charm lay on the ground with her arms over her head. "Please, Mercy, stop!" she cried. Mercy only continued to fire at her. "Your enemies won't stop shooting at you because you ask them to 'pretty please'." Charm moved her arms away and attempted to use her laser vision to cut off Mercy's gun-hand. Mercy shot her in the eyes. She screamed and flew upward, rubbing her eyes. She opened them again to fire, only to have bullets pelted at her face. She was covered with tiny bruises. She flew in low to just rip the gun off, but Mercy slapped her with it, sending her right into the wall. Mercy switched to a laser and continually fired at her until her boss said, "Alright, Mercy, I think that's enough for today." He walked across the training room to the hole in the floor and wall, where Charm was curled up into fetal position. Her black hair was singed and her clothes were cut here and there. Scorch marks covered her hands and face along with scratches and scrapes. Her eyes were red with irritation. "Charm," he said almost compassionately, "Can you tell me where you went wrong?" Charm blinked rapidly, trying to see clearly. "I don't know, Sir," she whimpered, "I didn't want to hurt Mercy, I thought I could maybe disarm her-," "And that," he interrupted, "Is where you went wrong. Your enemies aren't going to sit there and wait for you to decide how you're going to take them out. You have to have a plan before you even know you're going to be fighting that day. And to top that, you asked Mercy to stop. As if you could pout and beg your enemies to not hurt you," his voice hinted venom and distain, "this was a disappointing day, Charm. The Light was ready to give you a mission, but you have failed your test. You must never show kindness or compassion or mercy to your enemies. Is that understood?" Charm nodded weakly. "Good," he smiled a cold, fake smile, "Why don't you get cleaned up? Lois Lane and Clark Kent are coming for dinner to interview us for the front page." Charm nodded and stood shakily. She knew the cover-story was her parents had been friends of Luthor. When her parents died in a plane crash, he adopted her to raise her as his own. She snuck outside and flew up until she was close enough to the sun for it to affect her healing process. A good fifteen minute soak and she was back to normal. She flew back down to earth and took a shower. She changed into a black dress shirt, dark wash blue jeans, and black converse. She brushed her short black hair out of her face and put on makeup. She looked at herself in the mirror and thought, This is so stupid, pretending to be a mere child. This is why I've become soft, acting like a kind girl instead of the weapon of mass destruction that I am. 'You will never be a real person, so you will never require emotions. Emotion is what is wrong with the world. Emotion is the main reason why only I am able to see the error that is Superman. You will one day remove that error, that blemish, and you, Charm, shall replace him and be the world's savior from that tyrant, parading around like a hero.' That was a lot to expect from someone only a week old, but Charm wanted more than anything to fulfill Luthor's wishes. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and smiled. Forget all that, she thought, right now, I am Chloe Marks-Luthor, cheerful, shy, kind Chloe. Everything Charm isn't, I am. She walked out of her room and into the dining hall. "-And here she is," Luthor said, gesturing to her. A tall woman with long black hair and kind eyes smiled at her. Then, the man turned. He seemed mild, humble, and kind. But there was no doubt in her mind, this man, Clark Kent, was Superman.