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Lionel Luther paced back and forth in the hospital corridor, his steps heavy, his mind adrift in a never-ending whirl of thoughts. The hospital wasn't luxurious, but a modest medical center associated with treating the poor and criminals. He'd chosen it through an old acquaintance and managed to secure a good discount.
But his wife, Letitia, wasn't happy about giving birth there. She wanted a safer, more private hospital, but Lionel's logic prevailed. They had to save money for the child's future, and there was no time to postpone the birth.
Lionel sat on a small bench, staring at the pale wall, his anxiety and fear of the future palpable. He feared his son would be a useless replica of his own father, just another burden, and that all his efforts would have been in vain.
He wondered why he'd decided to marry and have children. Was it love, or just a calculated move?
Then he imagined Letitia's face, the woman who had left everything behind, who had emigrated from her country to America for him, sacrificing her comfort and personal happiness to stand by his side. Her eyes were sparkling, and a wide smile had spread across her lips when she learned she was pregnant—a smile meant only for him, expressing hope and confidence that tomorrow would be better.
He reached up to stroke his hair, which had once been blond, but was now dry and brittle with exhaustion. As he did so, a strand of hair fell into his hand, and he felt a pang of pain that reminded him of the changes that had taken place in his life and his wife's.
A mixture of love, fear, and responsibility. His greatest fear was that his boss would discover his absence from work, but he hoped the boss would be somewhat lenient; he was only twenty, and this was his first child.
The door to the room opened, and Lionel was jolted from his reverie by the sight of the doctor calling his name.
"Congratulations, Mr. Luther! The delivery was successful, and God has blessed you with a son."
A warm smile spread across his face as he carefully took the baby in his arms, observing every small detail and innocent features—features he hadn't imagined would have such a profound impact on him because of his wife. He felt a warmth in his heart.
"This is my son!" Lionel murmured, his only thought now being how to be a different kind of father than the one who had abandoned him and his mother, how to protect this child from the harshness of the world, and raise him to be a strong person who would reach the top.
He asked about his wife, still holding the baby in his arms:
"How is Leticia?"
"She's fine," the doctor replied calmly, "but she needs rest. It was a difficult birth; it was her first, and she endured it bravely."
Lionel thanked the doctor, who took the baby again to examine him and make sure everything was alright, but then suddenly remembered an important question he hadn't asked Lionel.
"What will you name your son?"
He looked at the child wrapped in the white blanket, at his tiny face, then at the ceiling, and finally smiled slowly, as if his choice would determine the future of this little being.
"Alexander… Alexander Lionel Luther."
But Lionel didn't notice the nurses' anxiety.
After the doctor left, the nurses were alone with him in the neonatal intensive care unit.
"Doctor… are you going to tell him now?" one of the nurses said in a low, almost trembling voice.
The doctor looked at her in surprise as he placed the baby in the incubator. "Tell him what?" he asked.
The nurse hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "That his son… died, and then came back to life."
The nurses exchanged worried, horrified glances. Just minutes before, when the baby had been taken out for the first time, he had been completely dead.
No pulse, no breathing, no sign of life.
But suddenly—when everyone had lost hope—the baby came back to life.
He opened his eyes, looked around with a shocked expression, unlike the expression of a newborn, and then, after a few moments… he fell asleep.
The doctor sighed deeply, then said firmly, "Listen to me carefully. This is rare, but not impossible. There are documented cases like this. The baby is alive and well now, and there's no reason to tell anyone anything that might create unnecessary panic. Forget what happened."
He then left the room, leaving the nurses looking at the baby in the incubator with a complex mix of fear and bewilderment. Moments later, they came out one by one.
No one knew who they were talking about…
He was listening intently.
Yes.
Alexander Luther…
Or rather, the spirit that had taken possession of his body.
The newborn opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling with a complex gaze, a look impossible for a child this age.
Who am I?
I am not a child… I feel as though I have lived a whole life, but I remember nothing of it.
When he first opened his eyes and found himself in the doctor's arms, he acted swiftly and decisively:
He acted like a normal child.
His mind was working at an extraordinary speed, analyzing everything around him in moments.
I am a newborn baby… but I possess an extraordinary mind. I am certain of it.
He began observing his surroundings, connecting the dots in a way that would baffle even the most skilled scientists and investigators.
The technology here is relatively old… This isn't my world.
Either I'm in another world, or I'm on Earth but in a previous era…
He paused, then arrived at a logical conclusion:
The seventies… or the eighties.
English… America, without a doubt.
And my name… Alexander Luther.
When he first heard the name, a distinct figure formed in his mind—a character from the DC Universe.
Wait… had she possessed his body?
The person who came to mind was the archenemy of the most powerful superhero and the smartest man on Earth.
Lex Luthor.
Suddenly, a jumble of memories flooded his mind: comics, live-action movies, animated series…
Perhaps I'd seen them in my previous life.
But not all of them.
It seems I preferred anime and manga… and placed comics in a lower rank.
That's all he could remember about his previous life.
Was he an otaku? Someone isolated from society, preoccupied with his own well-being?
He began to feel exhausted.
This is a child's body… his mind shouldn't be working this hard.
Yet, he didn't know that what had happened to him—birth, death, and then rebirth—and his incarnation in a child's body…
had changed the destiny of this entire world.
The young genius fell into a deep sleep,
unaware that the world he was born into…
was destined to perish.