POV Rio
After the entire Cave of Wonders situation, I went home and stared at the lamp. Part of me wanted to rub the lamp, but another part of me really didn't know if I wanted to deal with that right now. I had long thought about what to do with my wishes. And I came to an unfortunate conclusion. I didn't have enough wishes to get everything done. But the other issue was that I didn't even know what the limit of power was.
'You know what, fine, let's get this over with.'
I rub the lamp, and it starts to shake, so I set it down and watch as a deluge of blue smoke escapes the lamp and shoots into the sky.
"Aaaaahhhhh! OY! Ten thousand years will give ya such a crick in the neck!" the Genie says while twisting his head around.
He does a few more amusing things before setting down.
"So, what's your name, Mr Elf?" Genie asks me with a summoned microphone.
"I'm Rio, nice to meet you," I answer.
"Ah, so polite, and it's a pleasure to meet ya! I would give you a nickname, but your name's so short I'd have to resort to calling you a letter!" Genie jokes with a smile.
"Huh, well, I guess I'd like to know more about this whole situation," I comment.
"Well, it's really simple. You rubbed my lamp, which makes you my master. I can grant you wishes. Three wishes to be exact. And ix-nay on the wishing for more wishes, in any way, shape, or form. Or mind control, or anything similar to that. I also can't bring back the dead. Or rather, you'd be wasting your wish, and after the past masters all failing to get what they wanted, I banned it outright. Now what else... Oh, right!" Genies says with a snap of his fingers.
A large purple book with the title Da Rules appears.
"You are bound to me, and I cannot grant your wishes to anyone else. Until all three wishes are granted, you are immune to wishes granted against you. I reserve the right to deny a wish if I believe that it won't do what you want it to do or if it is against the previously explained rules. I cannot grant a wish if it isn't done of someone's free will. No substitutions, exchanges, or refunds. All wishes are final unless you use another wish to undo the effects of a wish. However, there are rules related to that. If you have me kill someone with a wish, someone cannot then wish for them to be brought back to life. Though that's true anyway, you get the idea. The rest of it's the usual legalize I am required to have you read, so please go ahead," Genie says while dropping the book in front of me.
I read the book very carefully, and basically, it's some sort of cosmic legal agreement that all Genies are bound by.
"Is this part about you helping me decide what wish I want to make, true?" I ask.
"Ah, yeah, it's not quite what you are thinking. I can't tell you what to wish for. But hey, since I like you, I'll fill you in on a little secret," Genies says while pulling me closer.
He creates a smaller him to whisper in my ear.
"I can workshop an idea with you, and if you just so happen to take some advice I happen to give to you, then I'm not technically telling you what to wish for, capiche?" Genies says with a mobster's accent.
I nod.
"Now, what about having someone wish for something that I want as part of an agreement?" I ask.
"Easy, are they under a magically binding contract that forces them to make the wish?" Genie asks.
"No," I answer.
"Then, they are technically free to wish for whatever they want. Consequences be damned!" Genie answers.
"Okay, now what about memories can you edit those?" I ask.
"Only under very specific circumstances. Since it gets very close to mind control, I can only do so when destroying someone or something requires even the memory of them to be erased. It's really rare, and you don't have to worry about it," Genie says.
"Okay, how strong are you? What are the limits of the wish? Can you say destroy Lady Death without causing harm to the basic functions of the universe?" I ask.
"It's all part-and-parcel, the whole genie gig. Phenomenal cosmic powers! Itty bitty living space. I can do literally anything, as long as it is within the rules. I can erase TOAA and his entire family without breaking a sweat. And you don't have to worry about damage to the natural order. None of them are natural. They're just a bunch of posers feeding on the souls of others for power. Except for TOAA, he's just depressed and is the actual creator of this multiverse," Genie responds.
"What happens if I wish for your freedom?" I ask.
Genie freezes literally and shatters into a million pieces and then reforms himself.
"Whoa WHOA WHOA! That is a big question, master! But to answer your question, it's simple: I get to finally leave this eternal prison and cease to exist!" Genie asks.
"Cease to exist?" I ask.
"Well, not immediately. I go to what you can call Genie Retirement for a few days while they process my papers. Then, if they confirm I didn't fudge the rules to get my freedom, then I am released to complete non-existence. Which I assure you is exactly what every Genie wants. Let me tell you something, being a Genie sucks. It's the worst job. You know more than you could ever want, you get stuck with awful masters, not saying you are one, and you can't even use your powers for what you want to use them for. I have all the power in the infinite cosmos, and I can't even do anything of my own volition with it. At least nothing that stays," Genies says with a sad tone.
"I-I'm sorry to hear that. I can't even imagine. But I swear to you that my final wish will be to release you as long as you can promise that I won't take your place," I offer.
"You got yourself a DEAL! And I can swear on my retirement that you won't take my place unless you wish for that specifically, but you won't have to worry, as I won't grant that wish if you try," Genie says with a smile and a massive light-up sign saying deal.
"Glad to be working with you. Now I hope you understand, but I intend on having a friend of mine use two of their wishes for my own goals. Then I will have you grant their last one before granting my wishes," I reply.
"No sweat, boss. I already have an idea what those wishes will be," Genie says.
I call Lara and ask if her refrigerator is running.
"Yes? Are your doors unlocked?" Lara says.
"Yeah... Wait, why did you?" I ask, but suddenly cast a spell to lock the door I was hiding behind in Lara's mansion, as I had teleported to her mansion before calling.
But that doesn't stop the giant robot from smashing the door apart and attacking me. I dodge the attack and crawl past it. Right into Lara, who was pointing her guns at me with a smirk.
"How did you know?" I ask.
"You didn't even try to hide. And I beefed up security after a recent attack from the Illuminati," Lara says.
"What? Why didn't you tell me they attacked you? I would have helped," I say while jumping to my feet.
"It was fine, they were only retaliating for the recent damage I caused them. They sent forty men and only three left with their lives," Lara said while holstering her guns.
The robot goes into standby mode, and Lara starts walking to her office.
"So what brings you by?" Lara asks.
"Would you be willing to use two wishes to help guarantee the safety of the universe?" I ask.
Lara stops and turns around to look at me with an appraising eye.
"What kind of wishes are we talking about?" Lara asks.
I don't answer and hand her a paper where I had written out the four wishes I wanted granted. She takes the paper and reads through it.
"I don't get half of these wishes? Will they actually do anything?" Lara asks.
"Yes, they will make dimensional and cosmic level threats a thing of the past for Earth and even protect the multiverse from the dangers that can come from that," I answer firmly.
"And you want me to use two of my what wishes on these?" Lara asks.
"You get three wishes, and yes," I answer.
"Sure," Lara says with a light shrug.
"Really?" I ask.
"Yeah, I trust you, and I trust you won't make me waste two wishes. If you say these things will save others than I'm all for it," Lara says.
"Great!" I say with a smile.
"When will we do this?" Lara asks.
"Is now good?" I ask.
"Sure, do we need to go somewhere or..." Lara asks.
"Nope, anywhere works, I have the item with me," I answer.
We arrive at her office, and I hand her the lamp and tell her to rub it. She does so, and Genie appears.
"Ah, so my other master is a lady. Well, nice to meet you," Genie says and starts explaining all the rules.
Once he is done, she nods and reads the needed stuff before grabbing the paper and reading off the first wish.
"I wish for the Quantum Realm and its derivatives to cease to exist, but rescue Janet van Dyne from the exact moment she would have been lost to Hank Pym with her suit intact and unharmed, but she is in a 72-hour coma," Lara wishes.
"Hmm, I'd add another bit about it never being allowed to exist again, and for this to have no negative effects on the functioning of reality, but that's just me," Genie comments.
I nod to Lara to add those things, and then the wish is granted.
"One down, two to go," Genie says.
"I wish for all Celestials and Cosmic Beings/Aspects to cease to exist, including those not born yet, and it has no negative side effects on anyone who isn't a Celestial, and they can never exist again," Lara wishes.
They go back and forth with me, adding in details to help make sure only those we want are affected by this wish. In the end, the wish is changed quite a bit, to the point where it takes nearly 30 seconds to say, but it covers all the bases.
"One last wish! Think hard on this one, Missy," Genie says with a smile while holding up a finger.
"That's fine. I already know what I want to wish for. Can you bring my father from the second before he was shot to this moment in time instead?" Lara asks.
"I can't bring back the dead... Wait... Oh, I see what you did there. Well, I'll be honest, I'm not sure. I could bring back Janet van Dyne since she was never dead in the first place, and the Quantum Realm acts all wonky with time, so I didn't really have to do much to change where she landed. But what you're asking... It's a whole 'nother ballpark. Not saying it won't work, but I have to warn you that this might not work. Oh, and he would be naked, as I have to make sure his items end up in Manfred Powell's possession, so you can take them back later. But most importantly, you might waste your last wish, so think carefully about whether you want to do this," Genies says cautiously.
"I understand, and even if it fails, I would at least know I did all I could to save him. But before that, can you do this without tearing time and space? If not, then it's not worth it," Lara asks.
"No problem, I can at least attempt it, and if it doesn't work, then no harm, no foul," Genie replies.
Lara nods.
"Very well, speak the wish, and I shall grant it," Genie says nervously.
Lara speaks her wish, and Genie makes sure it sounds right before closing his eyes and looking away as he snaps his fingers. In a flash of light, a confused naked man appears. The man looks around before spotting Lara and looking shocked.
"Lara, how? But... No, this isn't from the Triangle of Light, is it?" Richard Croft asks.
"Daddy!" Lara says while leaping into his arms.
"Aww, this would almost be sweet if he weren't naked," Genie says before retreating into his lamp.
I also look away as I don't need to see anything more than I already have.
"Oh, forgive me, I don't know why I am naked," Richard says.
"Yes, well, I best be going now," I say, but I get caught by Lara, who kisses me.
I flushed and looked confused.
"That's for giving me this chance," Lara says before walking away with her confused father.
"What in the..." Richard says and looks between Lara and me with a baffled face.
I cough into my hands and teleport back home to cool down with the lamp in tow.