The Untold Tale of the Rebel Son of Krypton
AN: The next story from me was supposed to be a Wars of the Roses historical romance, but as with ay writing bug, a Krypton storybug bit me without notice. I present to you then a tale I've started to call, "The Untold Tale of the Rebel Son of Krypton."
Part 1
Without you, I am a ship without a sail, adrift in a cold, endless sea.
Long after Smallville, after Lex Luthor has emerged the head of LexCorp. As with all filthy rich businessmen, Lex had had his share of quirks and eccentricities. The most famous of these began when he was a mere high school student in one of his several boarding schools, when he started collection of mint baseball cards, cars, then planes, and then of women. His women proved to be his most popular pastime. Lex Luthor loved them tall, slender, and luxurious.
And then all of sudden, Lex seemed to have lost all interest in these. It was the same year that a Metropolis hero emerged. Once Superman's photos started gracing the front page of various newspapers, Lex Luthor turned his fascination on the Man of Steel. It was unnatural, to say the least. Like a man possessed, Lex Luthor researched on all that Superman did. What seemed to be fanaticism to others had turned out to be extreme curiosity that eventually, to the amazement of Lex Luthor himself, hatred.
It was then feeding to this unhealthy preoccupation of his that Lex Luthor turned away from his microscopes and to telescopes surveying the sky. On a cold lonely night, Lex's eyes glinted in excitement at the sight of a quick sparkle then a blaze across the sky. To his sharp estimation, an object from space, having been traveling so fast that it glowed with heat, entered the atmosphere. If his calculation of trajectory was correct, he knew where it landed. Lex Luthor then made his way to the cornfields of Smallville, Kansas.
In the same vicinity two decades ago, a meteor shower killed dozens of residents in the hamlet, and turned a sickly boy into... Lex was ever sure what exactly, but he had certainly changed. He was then on the lookout for that object that landed. From a distance he saw smoke floating from some stalks. He approached the object that quickly cooled, if the atmosphere around him was any indication. When he peered through the stalks, Lex grinned. It was a great find, he knew. On the ground, half buried in a crater it had itself created upon impact, was a silvery grey spherical object that had a fixed orbit. On the surface were creases and dents that told of a treacherous journey in space. Lex reached out for it carefully, in case it was stlll hot. After checking for himself that it was of acceptable temperature, he smoothed his hand over it. At his touch, foreign characters on the surface revealed themselves. They were familiar only because of his long preoccupation with all artifacts relating to Superman.
Lex read the characters on the metal. The last character was common, and he had seen it in many artifacts. It was the name of the planet, he knew--Krypton. The other two roughly translated to 'document' and 'partition.' With the insignia stamped below the name, Lex could only read them as RECORDS BUREAU KRYPTON. It contained government files, and thus worth a lot to Superman. Before he could open it, an image appeared beside the lock that asked for authorized access. He picked it up and took it with him to his car.
He placed his hand on top of the lock and with a click, the voice spoke in a dozen different tongues before Lex heard, "Assessing native dialect. Earth. English. Welcome Lex-ar. What do you wish to perform?"
"I want to know what this is," Lex said slowly, still caught unaware.
The darkness of his car was swallowed by sudden brightness when a small holographic image shot up. It was of a beautiful young woman wearing a long white dress. She was pale, with full pink lips and hair the color of fire. "This is a case of a thought-projection disc, Lex-ar. I'm hurt that you do not know. These are your thoughts immortalized."
He frowned at the words. He had never before heard of thought projection discs, and the hologram read it in his reaction.
"In Krypton, momentous occasions and events are recorded in these discs, to be kept in the Records Bureau for the sake of other generations. You have deemed it fit to record memories into these discs."
Lex accepted that it was a smart idea. If it were a possibility, then it would save so much. If this were a technology available on Earth, he was certain the oldest families and the brilliant minds would make good use of it. He placed the thought on a parking lot in his brain so that he could tweak it as a future LexCorp innovation." And you?"
The holographic woman smiled and bowed her head. He could see her cheeks flushed with delight. "I'm your representation of the memories you want preserved."
"I don't doubt that," Lex agreed. "I would surely remember you."
This time, the holographic woman looked up at him. As small as she was that she would be able to stand on his palm, the wealth of emotion in her eyes was so intense that he could read her so clearly. "Would that it were true."
"What do you mean?" Lex whispered.
"You were more brilliant then yourself," she answered. "Lex-ar, do you want me to play?"
"What will you play for me?"
The holographic woman sat on top of the sphere on which she stood, preparing herself for a long stationary period. "I will show you the story that you made certain you will see. I've started calling it, The Untold Tale of the Rebel Son of Krypton."
"Quite melodramatic, isn't it?"
"All of Krypton's children either perished with the planet or were saved not by their own will but because it was not made possible for them to stay on Krypton as it exploded."
"And this rebel son?" Lex prompted.
"You," clarified the hologram, "escaped."
He sighed and knew that this would take time and energy. Besides, if he were to find out how it all worked, he needed to be where no one else would see what she was doing. "Then since it seems like we need the entire night, you should start when we get home."
"As you wish. Lex-ar, call me Caelie Van-el."
At the name, Lex scratched his eyebrow. It would be just like him, if he was this Lex-ar to name the very representation of his precious memories after a woman from the House of El.
tbc
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