Chapter One

Was he awake? He couldn’t tell. It was roaring, but fuzzy, as if he was hearing it through cotton. Cotton stuffed into his ears, mouth, eyes, throat. He opened his eyes slowly, disoriented. He remembered Helen clinking champagne glasses, toasting their future. Where was Helen? He blinked and wobbled to his feet. Why wouldn’t they work? He couldn’t seem to get his arms to cooperate either, and he stumbled, grabbing onto the overhead compartment. He couldn’t tell if the lurching was in him our outside of him, but when the floor suddenly dipped to the right, he decided it was a bit of both. He faltered forward, barely registering the oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling, and pounded on the captain’s door. He swung it open and looked with unseeing eyes at the empty seats, the ripped wiring, and the utter lack of Helen. Then he saw the sea, rushing upwards as he was rushing downwards, gleaming dull gray, and his soul screamed out in agony and betrayal.

“Well, I think we’ll have to dispense with the usual luring you into wishing bit given the circumstances, don’t you think?”

Lex Luthor whirled around. Standing in front of him was a woman he’d never seen before, if she could be called a woman. Purplish veins crisscrossed her face, with deep gouges along her nose and mottling across her face. She rolled her eyes and waved her hand faintly. Suddenly the plane stopped, frozen in space. Things halted their fall from cabinets and the spray whipping the windows gelled like drops of glue. His mouth dropped up and he managed a strangled, “Erhgh…”

The thing smiled brightly. “Well, we should get down to business. I’m Anyanka the patron saint of scorned women.”

He blinked and tilted his bald head to look briefly at his crotch before flicking his confused gaze back her way. She giggled.

“Sorry, I guess I’ll have to change that. People are doing so much more of their own retribution these days; we vengeance demons have to broaden our horizons. It’s awful, really, but what can I do? D’Hoffryn says I gotta take scorned men too.” She shrugged. “So here I am.” She smiled a bit, predatory, and stepped closer. “Though I have to say you’re a fine catch. All that rage and hate; it’s delicious. I could feel you thousands of miles away and came as soon as I could. Your call was irresistible.”

He blinked and shook his head slightly to clear it. “I’m sorry, did you say demon?”

Anyanka frowned a bit. She shook her head slightly and her demon visage melted away to that of a beautiful young woman, honey colored hair falling to her shoulders in slight curls. “Only sometimes. I was human again for a while, but I should have known better.” She teared up slightly and flopped down on a slightly off-kilter leather coach seat. She gestured to the one opposite her and Lex gingerly sat down.

Lex wondered how someone so beautiful could be so… frightening. Two faces of the same person… at least she showed both up front. No mysteries there, no sneaking, no lying, no secrets. How refreshing. Half convinced he’d gone mad, Lex had already decided that whatever this person was, talking to her was a far sight better than plummeting to his watery grave. Not that it would be too much of a stretch given his mental state. Rage and despair coursed through him, leaving tingles of anguish along his skin, skittering like lightening. Never did he think Helen capable of such actions. It went a long way to explaining a few things, however. The monies she accepted from her father, the secret research, the envelope she handed Lionel before the wedding. It was all too much, he couldn’t think straight. He rubbed his hands over his bald pate and motioned for her to continue.

“I spend a thousand plus years wreaking vengeance on unfaithful men, and when I’m human? Poof, I’m all oh, yes, let’s get engaged so you can leave me at the altar! Brilliant thinking, Anya. He’s like any man, got what he wanted and ditched me at the first publicly humiliating opportunity. Not only am I deprived of orgasms but then this psycho witch tried to kill me and the rest of her friends when she destroyed my shop. My money got all wounded and my investments have really taken a hit recently. My life sucks.”

“At least he ditched you before the wedding. My finance went through with it only to kill me in a plane crash and inherit everything.” He dropped his head forward, leaning heavily on his knees.

Anya rested her hand on his arm. “I know; that’s why I’m here. I’m here to make everything better…” He looked up finally, the dim light falling into eyes colder than the waters below.

“And how do you think you’ll do that? I think I’m crashing into the ocean, unless I’m wrong.”

She smiled, and while retaining her human visage, he could see the wildness in the set of her teeth. “Well, Lex, I’m like the fairy godmother of bad ideas. You wish, I dish. Whatever your heart desires to happen to Helen, I can make it so.” She leaned forward until her face was mere inches from his.

Lex brought his hand to her cheek. “What an interesting proposition. Anything you say?”

“Anything.”

He ran his fingers through her loose curls, fiddling with the ends of her hair. “Do you really think just one wish would do it? To take revenge for all the wrongs from both Helen and my father? All the years… all the pain.” He looked deep into her and she shivered.

“Hallie usually handles the family dynamic, but I think I can make an exception. And one wish does sound awfully weak, considering. It’s really against the rules, but I like a good challenge. I think you’ll make an excellent client.” She touched his fingers with her own, gently as if sliding over air.

He took a deep breath, the tumultuous emotions swirling around him eased, chilling into a sliver of ice where his heart used to be. “So, you exact vengeance professionally? With magic?” She nodded, her eyes never leaving his. “How do you feel about Kansas?”

She grinned again, the feral grin of someone with nothing left to lose, and winked. “Sounds just fine to me.”


~Fin~

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