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CHAPTER 21 – THE RISE OF ALEX LUTHOR (AUG-2016)

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It is a beautiful morning in Rio de Janeiro. The water sparkles in the morning sun, a crowd of small dancing suns playing on the waves as they lap up to the warm sandy beaches. On a quiet, private island overlooking the bay, Aurora steps out of the beach home and basks in the morning sun.

The middle-aged Brazilian woman is still beautiful – her flawless olive-brown skin contrasts with her lily-white bikini, and her curves rival professional models. She enjoys a moment of quiet as her husband, Alex Luthor, is talking business inside on his cellphone.

But she is not a happy wife. For all of her luxuries that she could ever wish for, she has paid a high price for them. She is a trophy – a play thing for her husband and master to do with as he pleases. Her jewelry, her fancy dinners, her exquisite home – all trappings to console her choice to submit to a cruel and heartless man. She has heard the rumor that Alex was once a kind and heroic man in his youth (a long time ago!), but time and exposure to a complicated world corrupted him and made him into the megalomaniac he is today.

And she has hidden secrets from him as well. Secrets she hopes he'll never discover in his lifetime.

But now, these are better times. Alex has needed time away from New York and Lexcorp, and spending some time back home with her to enjoy the Summer Games has been therapeutic for his psyche. Alex has invested a lot of money into the success of the Olympics, and it has finally started to pay out in diamonds. Aurora can tell that he seems to have been… the good Alex she knows and loves these past few weeks.

Aurora's reverie is interrupted as Alex steps onto the veranda, wearing a bathrobe and carrying a drink in each hand. His face is calm and unreadable – a clear sign of bad news. Aurora steels herself, as this is the first sign that the bad Alex is about to return.

"I need to leave for New York City immediately," Alex Luthor begins. "Here, let's drink up and I will begin to pack my things." Alex hands Aurora a glass of ice tea.

Aurora takes the glass, unsure of Alex's actions. He is simply not himself, she thinks. She cradles the cold glass in her hands, waiting for Alex to explode again. But he doesn't.

"Why?" Aurora asks, unsure of what else to say – but worried about being too quiet and upsetting him further. She struggles to find words. "I thought you wanted to stay and watch the games." She timidly takes a sip of her tea. It's too sweet again – Alex has always made it too sweet. This time, it's worse than ever. She takes another sip, unwilling to raise a complaint when Alex is in one of his bad moods.

Alex sits down and stares out into the warm, inviting waters. He takes a sip of his iced tea, then answers without changing the direction of his gaze. "I've heard some bad news, my dear. And some of it involves you. You've been keeping a secret from me."

Aurora can feel a tightness in her throat – was it the tea? She tries to clear her throat and answers, slightly raspy now. "Oh, no, my love. What could I ever hide from you? You know everything about me."

Alex smiles. "Yes, I am well aware of your heritage as the last surviving member of your ancient tribe of Amazonian women – blessed with ancient powers to be stronger, braver, and more formidable than any mere man. I also know you've been hiding the fact that you have a child – or should I say, that we have a child? A daughter."

Aurora can hardly breathe – she's now gasping for air. Her throat feels like it is tightening up. Has she been poisoned!?

"Yes, my dearest wife," Alex answers, as if he can read her very thoughts. "Yes, I have poisoned you. You should pass out within the next minute or two, and expire within the next ten minutes, give or take. But, I wanted you to know, while you can still hear me – I'm not upset about the girl. In fact, I've known about her for some time now."

Aurora collapses to the deck, pain and panic overwhelming her senses. She is barely cognizant of Alex as he gets up and walks up to her, still talking to her as if the information he gives will provide any solace for the fact that she is dying right now. She writhes in pain, but locks eyes with Alex Luthor as he continues.

"I want you to know, my dearest Aurora, why I am killing you. It is because of her name, Aurora – you named our daughter Cassandra Sandsmark. Do you understand what that means? She is now destined to become Wonder Girl, my sworn enemy. You were supposed to have a different Amazonian girl – and I was going to introduce her to my son, Lex Luthor the Third."

Aurora's eyes widen, unable to breathe yet still able to listen to Alex explain a horrible plan to her in her final moments.

"Oh yes, Aurora," Alex continues. "I have a test-tube baby boy growing in a vat right now that I had with a now former Infinity agent. I borrowed and fertilized some of her eggs, and he should be about grown by now if the growth acceleration process worked as planned. Soon, I will use him to fertilize our daughter and I will have the ultimate grandson before the next year is out. But, since you decided to name our daughter Cassandra, I must kill her. Of course, I'll harvest her eggs first – I never waste good material – but you've sealed both your fates none-the-less."

Aurora is now weak, the fight going out of her. She is losing consciousness, still wondering if her fate is real, or if this is just another one of Alex Luthor's tricks. She claws at her throat, praying to all the Gods she has ever known for divine help in her hour of need.

Alex turns to walk back into the beach house. "I will see to it that your things are taken care of. Goodbye, Aurora – consider this our divorce." And with that, Alex Luthor walks back into the house, leaving Aurora sprawled out on the veranda as if she had only decided to take a nap in the morning sun.

-XXX-

Within days, Alex Luthor arrives in New Your City. He is given a tour of the decimation that was once the 62nd floor of Lexcorp Tower. He shakes his head – years of work are now down the drain, but at least his most special projects are still safe and sound. He is briefed on the nature of the attack, and goes up to the penthouse at the top of the building to initiate his contingency plan.

Alex Luthor enters the Sanctum, his rage burning white hot under his famous "Luthor Cool" exterior. He is carrying a plastic bag and a folder with some papers in it – a document that he has spent months preparing and reviewing. Today, after all that has happened, is the day he has to finally put it to use.

Alex Luthor approaches the stand where Fazz's bottle resides. Her familiar unearthly voice greets him. "Good afternoon, Alex Luthor. You seem to be in a chipper mood – did you see what happened on one of the floors below? My my, what a mess."

"I'm in no mood to talk to you, Fazz. Except, of course, to finally ask for my third and final wish."

The snarky Fazz goes all quiet in her bottle, then speaks. "So – finally, you are ready for your third wish. You remember the rules to your wishes that Trigon gave you, do you not?"

Alex Luthor chuckes a dry, fake chuckle. "Of course, Fazz. I never forgot them. Not in all these years."

A sigh comes out of the bottle. "So, what do you decide to wish for? I will do what I can to fulfill it."

Luthor takes in a deep breath and drops the folder with the document within it onto the stand right beside the bottle. "My third and final wish is written on these documents I have in front of you. Make it true."

There is an odd laugh from the bottle. "My, this is irregular. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, Fazz, I do indeed." Alex returns, barely hiding his displeasure. "Would you like me to read it aloud for you, or can you read it for yourself?"

"No, no," Fazz replies, now sounding annoyed. "I can use my magic to read it. Just give me a moment..."

Alex Luthor stands, waiting.

Fazz speaks up again. "Are you absolutely sure about this, Alex? It may take me some time to read this all through. Are you quite sure you want to wait? Maybe you can just give me the short version?"

Alex Luthor quietly sits and removes the contents of the plastic bag: two large, fresh apples, and an energy drink. He takes a large bite out of one of the apples, savoring the smug look he must have right now towards Fazz. "No, Fazz. My wish has been made. I packed a lunch – I'll wait here for your response."

Fazz betrays some discomfort in her voice. "OK. I now have a magical copy of your papers in the bottle with me. Let's see what you wrote for me..."

Silence engulfs the room for a minute. Then, there is a slight, muffled sound coming from the bottle. Alex Luthor smiles a large, Cheshire-like grin at the sound of Fazz weeping – she cannot get around fulfilling the intent of his wish this time, and this last wish is a whopper! And this time, Alex Luthor will have it his way!

-XXX-

It is a gorgeous sunshine at the North Pole this time of year. The snow glistens, almost blinding the helicopter pilot as he sets down on the iceburg. Only a few miles away is a restored L.S.S. Red Tornado, the boat that brought Alex Luthor to the top of the world over the course of two weeks.

The chopper sets down on the ice at Luthor's command. The pilot cuts the engine, and allows the excited Alex Luthor to get out. He is dumbfounded to see what his employer is doing.

Alex Luthor brandishes an odd device – perhaps a metal detector? And then he starts to walk about the surface of the ice. As he paces about, he shows some excitement in his step, then rushes to a spot about two hundred feet from the chopper before stopping suddenly. He waves to the pilot and points down into the ice.

The pilot moves out to meet him. Alex Luthor is almost beside himself with excitement.

"That little imp really did it. It's here. Tell the crew to dig here."

"What's down there, Boss?" The Infinity pilot asks, trying to put together the words he'll need to say over the comm to get his boss's wishes correct.

"Why, the answer to all my problems, pilot." Alex returns, beaming with excitement. "Down there is the means by which a man may become a God on Earth."

TO BE CONTINUED!

(COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2016 – CHAPTER 22: THE RISE OF VENGEANCE)