Lex Luthor Discovers the Lamp and Incarnates Ovyah

Lex Luthor hated the desert.

Hated it. He was at heart an urban predator -- sitting at the seat of society, pulling strings and pushing agendas. An untamed wilderness was just a cheap source of lumber or other resources, as far as he was concerned.

But sometimes, a project needed the personal touch. And in this case, that meant going to a desert. Which isn't to say he was going to be uncomfortable.

"The drone's almost back to the surface," Mercy said, working the control panel off to the side. Lex was sipping a cappuccino and watching her. They were in a mobile dome, purple and green with the Lexcorp logo emblazoned on it, sitting over a sand-pile that had built up and covered a cave over the course of thousands of years. A cave Lex had learned about from an ancient cuneiform tablet that most people dismissed as a hoax -- it depicted a lamp of a style that wouldn't exist for millennia after the tablet was carved, which suggested it was an elaborate hoax.

Lex Luthor wasn't just anyone. He knew that sometimes the most impossible things were the most likely. For proof, he just needed to look at his arch-nemesis. So he'd sent out feelers. Scanned. Explored. And found evidence of a cave that matched the description, buried deep in the sands. The dome settled over it, concealing the tunneling that drones had done. Remote units had unsealed the ancient cave. More than one had been destroyed by traps. There was the stink of magic in the place, and untold wealth.

Lex didn't care about gold or gems. He cared about the battered brass oil lamp that was too old to exist. And now one of the drones had found it, and was bringing it to the surface. Which meant he was watching for guardians. Two or three had awoken already, but while ancient mystic scorpion-men might have horrified sword wielding thieves, it turned out they were to high powered rifle shots.

Still, it paid to be careful.

"And… the drone is up on the receiving level," Mercy said. "No immediate pursuit."

"Seal the hatch and launch multiple delayed charges," Lex said. "Three minute timers. Collapse the sand-tunnel. For that matter, send two to the cave entrance and try to collapse that, too. If they're going to continue to try and pursue us, let them work for it." He smiled. "As soon as you launch, move the dome. I want to be five hundred yards away before the detonation, and then I want to put as many miles as possible between us and the cave."

"You got it, boss." Mercy pushed a few more buttons. With a rumble, Lex felt the dome begin to move. There was a shudder as the air conditioning turned up automatically -- it was harder to cool the dome when it was in motion.

"Excellent." Lex finished his cappuccino. "Clear the lower level of personnel, and disable all monitoring. I'm going down there."

"Cle-- Boss… I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Excuse me? You think something, Mercy?" Lex stood, and started for the lift. "That's a pleasant change, isn't it? No monitors, Mercy. And clear the deck."

"...yes sir," Mercy muttered. Lex smiled. He supposed demeaning Mercy would eventually get boring, but so far it hadn't lost its luster.

Lex stepped out onto the deck, checking his watch. It could detect no signals, and glancing at the cameras he could see they were disabled. The plating down here was thick with sand from the desert, and the air was dry enough to thicken his nose painfully. It was at least twenty degrees warmer, too. Lex adjusted his tie, but otherwise didn't react.

The drone was sitting on the floor near the sealed hatch. He walked over to it, looking it up and down. With a slight smile, he took out a long circuit key which he slid into place, turning it and activating the system.

The drone's top hatch opened, and an inner receptacle rose up and opened. Inside, a filthy, battered brass lamp lay. Just as anachronistic as the tablet had promised.

And the tablet had promised much, much more.

Lex slipped a silk handkerchief out. Slowly, he reached over to the lamp.

There was a new rumble beneath his feet, and the echo of booms like thunder, or cannons. The charges going off, sealing the cave and the sand tunnel. Next, a series of sweepers would be deployed. Inside of an hour, both the dig site and the tracks of the dome would be swept away so completely that no one would ever know where it had been.

Lex smiled more, and began to rub the silk against the metal… cleaning it. It wouldn't take much--

There was a rumble, and the lamp seemed to burst into polychromatic fire and smoke, swirling up and all around the chamber, before it collapsed back into a figure. It was a woman -- five foot eight, lush in form… slightly sharp features on olive skin. Dark eyes, dark hair, but shimmering with colors as the light hit it, wearing a tight green and black teddy, with matching gloves and stockings over heels. "Rroooough," she moaned. "Free!" Her eyes focused on Lex. "And with the best possible man to thank for it."

"Free?" Lex asked, smiling slightly. "Free of the lamp, maybe. But if the legends are correct--"

"Oh, let me be clear," the woman said, walking -- flowing -- towards Lex. "I am yours. You are my Master, now and forever. Freedom doesn't mean I've stopped being what I am."

"And what are you, exactly?" Lex's smile grew. "I know the legend, but those can be full of so many holes...."

"Oh, but of course." She chuckled -- low and lulling, like a rattlesnake's rattle. "I was once the Princess Ovyah, from another universe aeons ago. Cursed by a faithless husband to be an eternal djinn of lust, only to have that 'curse' be a blessing for all time. I exist to be found by powerful masters and made into what they need."

"So this form, your attitude, your demeanor…"

"Are what you would have me be."

"And you will grant my wishes?"

"I will grant your every desire. So long as it involves desire." Ovyah laughed again. "I can do anything at all, so long as it has lust at its core."

"And just how many wishes do I get for my trouble?"

"Oh, Master," Ovyah said, her smile coy. "I'm not stingy with my power. There is no limit to the wishes I can grant."

Lex smiled more broadly, looking her up and down. "And you feel those same desires?"

"Master? I am made of desire."

Lex chuckled, walking around behind her. He slipped his arms around her, and pulled her back against him. Ovyah gasped, arching and pressing her buttocks back into his hips, feeling him harden. "So if I'm creative… there is absolutely no limit to what you can do for me?" he asked.

"No limit at all… Master."

"Let's find out if that's true, shall we?"