Hippolyta stood in front of her mirror, waiting for contact.
Half a world away, she was known as the Queen of the Amazons. Here, she was little more than Helen Prince, mother of Diana. She and her daughter had lived in the United States for the past two years, hiding their true identities from the world.
They had initially moved to Coast City, in California—the beaches reminded them of home—but they soon decided to move to Metropolis, centered at the heart of the country.
The mirror in front of her suddenly rippled, as though it were made of water. Slowly, as the ripples smoothed out again, the image of a young woman appeared in the glass. She was medium height, with blonde-red hair, and wore light clothes of white linen.
"Alexa," Hippolyta said with a smile.
"My queen," Alexa said, bowing. Her voice was gentle and youthful. She was one of the youngest Amazons, and did not possess the war-hardened cynicism of her older sisters.
"What news from home?"
"Your people miss you, my queen. But aside from that, we are doing quite well."
"I am glad to hear it."
Alexa smiled once more, but this time with a tinge of... something. Something Hippolyta didn't quite recognize.
"What troubles you?" Hippolyta asked.
"My queen, I... the oracle..." Alexa was struggling to find the right words. Hippolyta was beginning to worry. "What of the oracles?" she asked.
"The oracles report that... that Circe has left her prison."
Hippolyta's eyes went wide with shock. "What?!? How?! She was imprisoned in the Pit of Eternal Torment! I sent her there myself!"
"Yes, my queen, but her crimes were against only you. The gods have granted her parole, provided that she... well, leaves you alone."
Hippolyta thought in silence for a moment. "...Does this arrangement include all of the Amazons as well?"
Alexa slowly shook her head. "No."
Hippolyta clenched her fists and shut her eyes in anger.
Alexa tried to reassure her. "My queen, worry not for us. We are not entirely defenseless here, after all."
Hippolyta gave Alexa a slight smile. "No, I suppose not."
Another thought sprang to her mind, however, and that smile quickly faded.
"What about my daughter?"
Alexa's smile faded as well. "No. She is not protected." Before Hippolyta could react, Alexa spoke up again. "However, if I may, your highness... you and Diana are perfectly hidden in man's world. No one outside of this island knows where you are. Since you are now immune to her magic, any spell Circe might use to find you will fail. And I doubt she even knows that Diana exists, since your daughter was not yet born when Circe was imprisoned."
Hippolyta smiled at Alexa. The young Amazon always had her head in a book, and was far wiser than her age would have granted her.
"Let us hope you are right," Hippolyta said calmly. "But now I must go. My daughter is bringing a boy home for dinner."
Alexa's confused expression was the last thing Hippolyta saw in the mirror before shutting it off.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Lex's Choice
Lex was becoming more and more uneasy each time he entered his father's office. He used to find it exciting: the clever business deals, the hostile takeovers, the corporate espionage... it was thrilling.
Now, however, it was simply frightening. Blackmail, theft, threats, and murder.
It had always been this way, of course. But Lionel had only recently begun to allow his son to know of it.
Lex had always heard whispers of rumors about Luthorcorp's secretly evil reputation, but he'd always assumed that those rumors were merely exaggerated or falsified information. After all, what large corporation wasn't suspected of being a stronghold of pure evil?
"Then we have a deal?"
"Yes, Mr. Luthor."
"Very well. I'll expect your men at the docks at seven thirty, and no later."
The other man nodded.
Lex walked in the door at the back of the office in just enough time to see a short, middle-aged man stand up from Lionel's desk and begin to walk away. Lex managed to catch a good glimpse of him: he was foreign—as his thick accent made clear—with a heavily wrinkled face and deep shadowed eyes.
Lex waited until the man left before speaking to his father. "Dad, was that... Vilmos Egans?"
Surprised, Lionel smiled at his son. "Yes, yes that was. I didn't know you were so... politically aware."
Lex wasn't flattered. "I'm in a world politics class in school. It's not hard to recognize him of all people. He's the Regent of Kaznia!"
Seeing his Lex's reaction, Lionel became a bit more serious. "What's your point, son?"
"The U.S. and Kaznia have a trade embargo right now. We're not supposed to be making deals with them. So what's going on here?"
Lionel's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you want to know, son?"
Lex rolled his eyes and turned around to walk away. "I don't know if I do..."
Lionel got up and walked over to his son. Gently grabbing him by the arm, he turned him around and looked deeply into his eyes. "Son, listen to me. Laws are made by those in power. The rest of the world may not know it, but we are those people. We may not have been elected to any office, but we control this city. Its citizens can either follow our lead or get in our way. For their sake, I hope they choose to follow."
Lionel's voice deepened just a little, the way it always did when he was about to use some kind of powerful metaphor.
"You can either choose to be a servant or a master in this world; it's your choice."
Lex frowned at his father. He was confused. He knew, somewhere, that what his father was saying was wrong. But he also recognized an element of truth.
Lionel wasn't done. "Life, death, it doesn't matter. No one's life should matter to you but your own and those of the ones you love. Everyone lives and everyone dies; no one can change that. The one thing we can control in this world is our legacy; what mark we leave during our short time here."
Lionel gave Lex a genuinely caring look. Despite his twisted beliefs, he really did care about his son's future.
"Son, you need to decide—right now—what you will become. Will you become a 'humanitarian', working at a homeless shelter, spending your life treating the rotten wounds of humanity? Or will you become a conqueror; a leader? What will history say of your exploits? What is the true destiny of Lex Luthor?"
Lex's eyes brightened a little. His destiny. it sounded so... powerful.
Power wasn't something he was used to. Even though his father was one of the four richest men in the world, Lex didn't really have much in the way of responsibilities. Everything was always handled for him; he didn't have much say in anything that really mattered. But to have the ability to change his own destiny—to shape his own life into whatever he wanted—that was something he didn't realize he craved so deeply.
"You can help me, you know," Lionel said. "I was a boy of a mere fifteen years old living on the streets when I began to build the beginnings of Luthorcorp; you have far more resources at your disposal. So, will you follow in my footsteps?"
Lex took a moment to think about what his father was saying. He was, essentially, being handed all the power in the world.
He smiled.
"Okay, dad."
Now, however, it was simply frightening. Blackmail, theft, threats, and murder.
It had always been this way, of course. But Lionel had only recently begun to allow his son to know of it.
Lex had always heard whispers of rumors about Luthorcorp's secretly evil reputation, but he'd always assumed that those rumors were merely exaggerated or falsified information. After all, what large corporation wasn't suspected of being a stronghold of pure evil?
"Then we have a deal?"
"Yes, Mr. Luthor."
"Very well. I'll expect your men at the docks at seven thirty, and no later."
The other man nodded.
Lex walked in the door at the back of the office in just enough time to see a short, middle-aged man stand up from Lionel's desk and begin to walk away. Lex managed to catch a good glimpse of him: he was foreign—as his thick accent made clear—with a heavily wrinkled face and deep shadowed eyes.
Lex waited until the man left before speaking to his father. "Dad, was that... Vilmos Egans?"
Surprised, Lionel smiled at his son. "Yes, yes that was. I didn't know you were so... politically aware."
Lex wasn't flattered. "I'm in a world politics class in school. It's not hard to recognize him of all people. He's the Regent of Kaznia!"
Seeing his Lex's reaction, Lionel became a bit more serious. "What's your point, son?"
"The U.S. and Kaznia have a trade embargo right now. We're not supposed to be making deals with them. So what's going on here?"
Lionel's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you want to know, son?"
Lex rolled his eyes and turned around to walk away. "I don't know if I do..."
Lionel got up and walked over to his son. Gently grabbing him by the arm, he turned him around and looked deeply into his eyes. "Son, listen to me. Laws are made by those in power. The rest of the world may not know it, but we are those people. We may not have been elected to any office, but we control this city. Its citizens can either follow our lead or get in our way. For their sake, I hope they choose to follow."
Lionel's voice deepened just a little, the way it always did when he was about to use some kind of powerful metaphor.
"You can either choose to be a servant or a master in this world; it's your choice."
Lex frowned at his father. He was confused. He knew, somewhere, that what his father was saying was wrong. But he also recognized an element of truth.
Lionel wasn't done. "Life, death, it doesn't matter. No one's life should matter to you but your own and those of the ones you love. Everyone lives and everyone dies; no one can change that. The one thing we can control in this world is our legacy; what mark we leave during our short time here."
Lionel gave Lex a genuinely caring look. Despite his twisted beliefs, he really did care about his son's future.
"Son, you need to decide—right now—what you will become. Will you become a 'humanitarian', working at a homeless shelter, spending your life treating the rotten wounds of humanity? Or will you become a conqueror; a leader? What will history say of your exploits? What is the true destiny of Lex Luthor?"
Lex's eyes brightened a little. His destiny. it sounded so... powerful.
Power wasn't something he was used to. Even though his father was one of the four richest men in the world, Lex didn't really have much in the way of responsibilities. Everything was always handled for him; he didn't have much say in anything that really mattered. But to have the ability to change his own destiny—to shape his own life into whatever he wanted—that was something he didn't realize he craved so deeply.
"You can help me, you know," Lionel said. "I was a boy of a mere fifteen years old living on the streets when I began to build the beginnings of Luthorcorp; you have far more resources at your disposal. So, will you follow in my footsteps?"
Lex took a moment to think about what his father was saying. He was, essentially, being handed all the power in the world.
He smiled.
"Okay, dad."
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