Chapter 8 – Of Proposals & Paris
Grant Forest. Near the gates to the Kingdom of Mars
A magenta eyed witch regards the J'onzz castle enviously. "Soon my treacherous children you will pay for your blasphemy and vice! Soon you will be cleansed. I will not be merciful but I will be quick!" She mutters to herself. Looking down at her gnarled and twisted leg she hatches a plot to overthrow the king.
2 weeks later. Cat Grant's Penthouse.
Lillian Luthor paces back and forth frazzled and holding a vile in her gloved hands. "Kitty you don't want this, once you take it he owns you until you have fulfilled his 'favor'. I have 10 hours to return it – please, give Lena a bit more time!" "You have an awful lot of faith in a daughter that you have tried to kill more than once." "Oh please if I wanted her dead she would be dead within the hour! I only toy with her life on occasion to ensure she lives up to her potential! I doted too much on Lex and look where he ended up? Bested by that slack jawed lackey Clark Kent and in an insane asylum... One of the most brilliant minds on the planet in a padded cage!" Her eyes flash with anger, sadness and loss. "She has 5 hours, Kara seems to be okay at the moment, but that could change at any time." Lillian breathes a sigh of relief. She puts the vile in a metal padded brief case. She picks up the phone and dials a number she hasn't used in years. "Did you get my parcel?" "Hello to you too mother..."
2 weeks earlier. The D.E.O – Alex's Office
Alex still couldn't believe that she was going to a Desert Moon concert in Paris or that Lena knew her! Alex had a crush on Desert Moon ever since Maggie had introduced her to her music. Maggie... Alex's heart twinges slightly. She had seen her yesterday from afar at a crime scene. Images of Maggie's petite yet imposing frame invade Alex's mind. Alex puts her head in her hands and takes a deep breath. A familiar smell envelops her before she feels a comforting hand on her shoulder. Alex smiles.
"Are you okay?" Alex turns in her chair to meet warm emerald eyes. "Lena." Lena's brow wrinkles with concern. "I'm fine" Alex says in response to her look. Lena glares at her in response but says nothing. "No need to go subzero on me P.A.L!" Alex puts her hands up in surrender - Lena raises an eyebrow. "It stands for Perfectly Awesome Lena - remember? Though right now your silent act is kind of annoying..." Lena laughs. "PAL eh? Alright well you are a Moonie so it stands to reason that you're a bit off..." Alex pokes her playfully in response. "So your plane or mine?" Alex says playfully, Lena can't help but laugh. "Obviously mine! There will be champagne, and no sign of sweaty service men!" "Hey! Don't talk about my boys like that, you know we have a sent free policy!"
Lena shakes her head at Alex's earnestness. Taking her hand Lena leads them out the door, Alex disregards the looks they get as they leave the facility. "I wonder about you sometimes..." Lena begins. "Do you?" Alex says flirtatiously. Lena laughs at her exaggerated tone and pokes her playfully. "Yes I do, you're always out in the field dealing with dangerous alien threats, and I wonder when you have time to actually live..." Lena says turning towards Alex as her armored, chauffeured car takes them to a private airfield. Alex eyes darken and images of Sunday mornings in bed with Maggie flood her mind. Alex closes her eyes, and turns toward the window away from Lena. "Living is overrated..."
Library, J'onzz Castle – Kingdom of Mars
Princess Kara gives the Chancellor a lethal glare. "What have you done with my sister? She hasn't been seen in two full days!? By Rao if you have harmed or disgraced her - " "What will you do Counselor? Send one of your maids to give me a lashing?" Kara recoils as if she has been struck. Recovering, she clinches her jaw resolutely as she advances on the Chancellor. "If you are responsible for the slightest harm to my sister by the blood of Rao I will sli - " "Kara!"
They both turn to find Alexandra in the doorway wearing a thick fur cape. She shakes some snow off the hood before resting it near the fire. Kara rushes into her arms. "I thought she had - " Kara stutters tears flowing openly on Alexandra's shoulder. "I am well my sister, hush now, I am well." Kara tightens her grasp on her sister as she remembers Alexandra being gravely wounded in the Argo wars two years ago. "You said you would never leave without saying good bye again" Kara whispers. Alexandra hugs her back. "You are right, forgive me?" Kara nods no. Alexandra laughs, "well I guess you don't want the present I brought you then?" "Present? What present?" Kara says releasing her. Alexandra smiles. "It may or may not be a wild feline, perhaps you should check your rooms." Kara's eyes widen with delight, and she rushes out of the room without a word.
Alexandra turns her gaze to the Chancellor who is sitting at the edge of a table in the corner of the room. Alexandra smiles brightly, "Don't worry I have a gift for you as well Chancellor!" The General retrieves a heavy leather bound journal from the inner pocket of her cloak. Intrigued, the Chancellor approaches, resting the journal on the tea table, the General waits for the Chancellor's reaction.
"The Book of Infinite Cures and Curses Volume I – I thought I saw the last edition of this burned two years ago!" The Chancellor says with awe. She handles the book with reverence and care. Turning to page 2 in the red section:
A song of Solace & Sincerity - cure for rare poisons and mild degrees of madness.
Materials:
4 bowls made of sacred crystal rock
1 lb of dried jasmine flower
1 lb Fresh juniper leaves
2 blue crystal balls (lunar variety)
2 pink quartz balls (Argo variety)
Tears of a young virgin or a truly virtuous woman
Method:
Separate all ingredients into 4 parts. Place 1 part of the ingredient mixture in each bowl. Use each crystal & quartz ball to grind the ingredients into a fine paste. Note each ball must be used in the grinding of ingredients and must be paired with the same bowl...
Song:
When Kings set round the table, and Queens come riding in, then power be to the people, and Love shall rein again.
The Chancellor's hand is gripping the General's forearm as she reads the cure. "Fascinating" the Chancellor whispers. "You must allow me to make a copy of this!" The General nods. "No, I can not. Only the heirs to the house and their spouses are permitted to make copies." The Chancellor turns to her eyes shining. "Marry me then?" The General laughs. "Already the knowledge has gone to your head?" "General you will find no better match than me, I share your religion, I am from an esteemed family and also share a ferocious devotion for those whom I love." The General is taken aback by the Chancellor's sincerity. "You have bathed me according to The Book of Virtues and trusted me with your most cherished secret, so I am already bound to you – marriage would be a mere formality..."
The General runs a hand nervously through her hair and begins to pace. "If we do this it will cause a war. Martians will not be ruled by the house of Luthor! This is madness, if you want to share my bed you are welcome to, but no more talk of matrimonial unions!" The General stops pacing, the Chancellor is once more perched on the edge of the corner table, "Come here General."
Alexandra hesitates for a moment then walks over to join the Chancellor. Sitting down next to her Alexandra waits silently. The firm pressure of the Chancellor's hand holding her own is a comfort Alexandra doesn't expect. "Your kingdom is safe with me, but most importantly your heart is too. Navigating all of this will be difficult, but I assure you worth while." The Chancellor places a delicate kiss on her cheek and leaves her to brood in silence.
2 weeks earlier. Paris. Noon.
Alex wakes as the wheels touchdown at Charles De Gaule Airport. Lena has her feet up and is typing furiously on her laptop. Lena looks up from her laptop. "Morning sleepy head" she says warmly. Alex is enchanted by the sight of Lena in her glasses and lounge wear. "Did you sleep well?" Lena asks turning her attention back to her laptop. Alex yawns in response. "Yep, I feel like I could go for a run." Lena looks up briefly and smiles. "Well the hotel has a full gym so..." Alex unhooks her seat belt and walks over to take a seat next to Lena.
On Lena's laptop screen are four windows. One is a simulation of the cure for Kara, the next financial charts, the third a German newspaper, and the forth a report that Lena is in the midst of finishing. "Multitasking as usual I see" Alex says smiling. "Oh please, I'm relaxing, if I was working I would have at least ten screens open!" Alex shakes her head in disbelief. "Okay there P.A.L" Lena continues to type "And what does P.A.L stand for again?" Alex blushes slightly. "You know what it means!" Lena gives her a sultry look over the top of her glasses, "Do I?"
Alex squeezes her hand and smiles innocently. "So when is the concert?" Lena shakes her head and chuckles. "20 heurs, but it's best to get there early. We'll have lunch, then you can have a nap. I won't be attending the concert because I have a few things to take care of, but we can go riding tomorrow if you like." Alex's smile morphs into a comical frown. "But can't you stay for the concert?" Alex says giving Lena her best puppy dog eyes. Lena giggles, "I'll be back by tomorrow, I promise you won't even know I'm gone..."
Hours later. Lena Luthor's Laboratory – Berlin Germany.
"So it worked?" Lena says as she walks into her lab to meet Karsh Abdullah's warm gaze. "See for yourself" Karsh says replaying the footage of the experiment. On screen Lena can see that each quartz bowl has one quartz sphere inside it. The bowls are arranged in a cross like pattern, each sphere begins to float as the test area is flooded with sound. Lena zooms in to read the hertz meter. "This could be the missing piece we've been looking for..."