6 The Coming of Mourning

(Six months earlier…)

(Shishio Makoto)

I hear the whirring of the airplane engines in the distance and a flashing light in the dawning day. The sun has touched some of the perimeter but I stand safe in the shadows of the present night with a smile upon my face. I glance at my young pupil, who shifts impatiently from one foot to the other and I widen one eye.

"You are not displaying the proper manner of a student under my tutelage," I remark.

The shifting stops, but hard eyes – brown, wildly determined eyes – are trained at the distant plane making its way in. I, too, bring my gaze back to the skies where the flashing dot has transformed into a blob of sorts. My pupil's destiny awaits. This causes me to smile – this special smile of satisfaction, although it is not my directly my personal triumph.

My hand snakes out to latch onto the supple waste of my woman and pull her towards me. Yumi – with her violet, intoxicating lips and lustrous eyes – slides her limbs against me, distracting me thoroughly. I wonder why I only met her just over four years ago – how I survived so long with a woman equally scheming as me is a wonder. I had stopped believing in blessings and angels, but she is my exception in all things. Apart from my fierce desire for revenge, I have an equally fervent need for her. It is like a never ending combustion of chemistry between us. I doubt there is another connection like ours.

As I think this, I trail a firm touch up and down her hip. I am a rage of desire now mixed with a great sense of satisfaction.

The whir of the airplane engine grows louder and the speck in the sky has grown to the definitive shape of the aircraft. The smile on my face only grows.

I see the clench of my pupil's hands and feel a rumbling chuckle grow in my chest. Soon, my child, very, very soon you shall have your revenge… and it comes closer.

(Alexander Luthor)

Something shifts inside of me as we near the landing strip in Metropolis – a mountain that I had hoped would stay put for a longer period of time had moved so that the way was clear for passing.

(The way of our destinies)

My arm tightens unconsciously around the waist of my love, my life, my everything: Chloe, now a Luthor in name. Her body shifts in slumber but she doesn't wake. Glancing down, I note that there is a small frown marring her smooth skin. I nuzzle her head lovingly, inhaling her scent – that wonderful sunflower scent; … don't you just love the way it smells? She sighs in her sleep – an action that I was planning to do. I pull away far enough to see that the frown is replaced by a relaxed smile. How peaceful she looks…

I hear the chime of bells and I glance at the clock I had ordered to be within the cabin. 5:30 am, it says in big bold lettering. Morning is slowly making its way across our path and I suddenly feel a wave of panic. But it's only morning – the dawn of a new day… but something clicks in my head – something that sounds like the locking of the door. But to what, I wonder… what is it that it bars me from?

I choose to ignore it, despite its insistent presence. The land below approaches at an alarmingly fast rate – but that is expected. Still, my free hand twitches on my lap – as if wanting to pick up the nearby intercom to tell the pilot to turn back – turn back to where reality didn't meet their fantasy – where morning never comes.

But I stop the urge – stopped for I need to have my curse that has turned into my blessing – our blessing. Remy is waiting for his father and mother-sister to come and hold his hand once again.

The sound of many doors locking in a resounding click fills my head once again and I clench my jaws together.

The tip glinted silver and red.

(Jeremy Sullivan-Luthor)

Am I holding onto oba-san's hand? Yes, it's there. Soon I will hold Chloe's and Lexie's hands. They have big palms and fingers – they make me feel safe. Their arms are big, too. They can hold me and each other, too.

I can see them in the sky. I point to oba-san – 'Look! There they are! I see them! I see them!' – I smile and show my teeth. Oba-san smiles at me when I look at her instead of the airplane. I am happy – happy that they are coming. Closer and closer they come. I can hear the vroom of the airplane, but it is still quiet. The sun is coming now. The sun is coming out.

But why am I scared? There is something here. But I don't know where it is. It's a scary thing… who is it? Closer and closer Lexie and Chloe come.

The vroom of the airplane is louder and I get more scared. Who else is here? Who else? I'm looking around; looking and looking but I don't see. I feel a scary happiness coming from somewhere – someone. Go away!

'Go away!' I scream at someone – no one at all.

Eyes wide and unseeing stared up at the ceiling.

Chloe was jarred awake by the airplane touching down upon the earth. Turning her head slightly, she eyed the clock. 5:45 am, it read in big bold letters. Lex's hand around her waist began to rub the area it was in contact with and she looked up at him with a sleepy smile. He in turn smiles back and brushes his lips against her temple.

A small cocoon-like object took shape. Inside a baby spider began to form.

The airplane began to slow and soon they were readying to get off. Through the cabin window, the morning's light shined, disabling the couple to see the airport and the people that waited for them.

(Cursed coming of morning… mourning…)

Although reluctant, the two got up, hands clasped tightly; bodies close to one another… Siamese twins, but not really. With every step closer to the exit, the stiffer they became. The hiss of the cabin doors bit into their ears and Chloe jumped slightly in reaction. As the door opened, light of morning flooded in, blinding them momentarily. A figure stepped in – an unidentifiable lithe silhouette of a figure.

The sound of their heartbeat thumped loudly in their ears. In the background, they heard Remy's desperate scream – a cry like bamboo hitting against a rock, shattering the silence. No! No! Go away! Stay away from her! The person did not heed his pleas – rather the individual drank it in along with the look of disbelief written on Lex's face.

Before the bald Luthor could voice out a protest, Chloe was wrenched out of his grip and he was upon the ground, unconscious from a blow to the head by the handle of a sword. When Chloe stared into the eyes of her captor, there was no trace of malice… just a deep sadness and a little smile.

"How have you been, Lana?" she lightly asked the other woman all in black.

Someone smiled. Another's anguished cry rang out.

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to be continued...