Disclaimer: I do not own the DC characters
Claimer: I own my OC characters
"I always think it adds residences to a hero's mission to have some defining element of tragedy in his background, don't you?" the Joker mocked.
-This chapter is dedicated to Miles333 for the many entertaining stories she has made-
-Taken place before the Justice League expanded, before the golden age of heroes began when there were just simply heroes. One of which two powerful beings feared and hated entirely-
Fall of a Hero
Chapter One
To the Bitter End
April 3, 2002
New City Resting Grounds
The breaking thunderclaps overhead signaling the pending storm's arrival.
Groggily he made his way through the graveyard; both hands carried at his left side to protect the blood covered wound the monstrous creature gave him before defeating it. A thing spawned from the forces of dark magic nearly killing Alexander with him collapsing against a tombstone to support his battered body. Fighting such things wasn't all too different from what he was use to but three days of unending and enduring battles with other similar creatures of sort pushed Alexander with his powers to the limit. No time for rest, no time for anything. At the end of this road of suffering the man responsible for all of this gave his word he would see Amy again.
Blood escaped from the corners of Alexander's mouth, panting was his breath from the fatigue of his body. His eyes closed and weight shifted all onto the tombstone for a chance of rest that was denied him for what seemed like entirety. With painful grunts he got up fearing not being able to rise if he laid here dying for too long. A press down with his hand on the stone as if to somehow beat back the weariness and broken spirit he carried with him.
Both black covered gauntlet fists balled tightly in hopes of enduring. Lightning crackled and danced along his body. A figure being a prime example of physical prowess and strength. His black boots tattered and stained in mud over the uneasy grounds, black cape torn and ripped covering gracefully over his body with a mask of matching black outlines and storm gray mixtures to cover his head. The bold yellow bolt on his chest resting upon a black armor like covering that ended at his lower torso and sharply finishing at his shoulders. All of it, cut, grazed, and stripped of its primal state. A black plating covering his abdomen ending tainted with blood under the chest plating and a bronze belted waist. The remaining of attire, a fine storm gray, covering his muscular framed.
The majestic figure of Thunderbolt; broken.
"Alex..." he could hear her call in his head.
A memory he surmised. Like the many times the woman's voice was heard calling for him the past three days.
"Alex," her voice said with more caution.
Thunderbolt dropped his forehead on his resting fist. His breathing became gasps of air and were uncontrolled. Amy trying to contact him? But how?
"Look out!" the voice shouted in him.
Alexander's eyes shot open. He snapped his body around in an instant to see a winged creature of shadow form racing down towards him. Wings for arms that attached as far down as the thing's thighs. The creature's skin was a rough and dry like leather, but moved like paper. Its mouth hung out like a beak with pointed teeth. A few strains of hair on top with black hollowed eyes for its features. The screeched at its prey for seeing it was strong and ear pounding, enough to make them bleed.
It sprung forth its claws for the kill.
Thunderbolt followed it with his eyes carefully ducking at its first strike attempt. It flew over him and would swing around for another pass. He hovered his hand over the other bringing forth a dazzling display of his electrical power. Before long the bolts formed into a ball held in place with stains of lightning at both ends of his hands.
The flying thing made its turn in the sky and came down fast and hard towards him.
Thunderbolt waited.
It screeched and extended its claws once more for the kill.
Alexander's face turned bitter, readying to pitch like a baseball. The creature came within inches and there the ball of electricity was thrown as its foe. Too close and too fast to dodge the impact. A scream from the beast in the flash of light before torn apart.
He stood there strongly and unimpressed with the distraction. A look around to the low level groaning of something and a newly found eeriness hovering over the graveyard. Something was wrong with this place but from everything that could be seen with human eyes, Alexander saw nothing out of the ordinary. He continued forward with a stab of pain at his wounded side hindering fast progress. Never ceasing to look around for the certainty that his foe -who was still nameless to identify- wasn't done with his bag of tricks.
A human figured seen in the distance.
"You there!" Thunderbolt halted. He stared for a moment at the person masked in shadow and distance to see any details. He pointed to him, instantly knowing something wasn't right. "Show yourself!"
The person obeyed, saying nothing in return.
Alexander's eyes looked on with horror of a childhood frightening to see the shadows lifting to a rotten walking corpse. Animated somehow by the mystical aura floated around it, but magic's involvement mattered little. A dead man was walking towards him. Fear immobilized all sort of rational thinking and movement until instincts made for backing away from the undead thing that drew closer. Thunder from above shouted and obscured the sloshing sound of undead feet from the right.
"Dahh!" Thunderbolt shouted and backed away with a hiss. He grabbed at his right arm and the wounds made there by the clawed fingernails of another undead being. Flesh around the wound felt as if bubbling under the skin and burning to some sort of infection. His powers subsided the effects within a few more moments but staining Alexander's mind of the undead's touch.
The smell of rotten flesh attacked Alexander's senses with an awful foulness. It had no eyes left, various parts of skin flesh remained with tattered clothing over its inconceivably moving body. It moaned the song of the dead and made for another attacking swipe. A charging bolt of lightning was released at the dead thing shattering its head like glass. The corpse fell down to the ground dead...again. Another bolt was sent to the other undead person impacting its midsection.
It kept coming.
Another charge was made ready, but it was delayed in firing as the sounds of the ground breaking grabbed at Alexander's attention. He looked around him, dread in both eyes at the sight of the impossible happening. They climbed out, new and old corpses of the grave all moving towards him with moaning songs.
A need to keep them distant, Alexander zapped the closest one, destroying its head. His body readied in a combat pose with his fists discharging electricity from them. The first wave came from the sides. A welcome to them with attacking elbows, enough force to the face that knocked their putrid domes right off. Nothing survived the impacted of his charged fists with fallen corpses building up around. He sweat and inwardly pleaded for these things to go away.
Still they came and clawed at Thunderbolt, forcefully cringing and falling back to such simple injuries. The random scraps ate at him, burned under his skin, and became too great of an annoyance to fight with any effectiveness to an already tried body. The hordes unrelentingly crowded him, cutting and scraping with their claws. Strong against his weakened state, grabbing and holding him from making any fatal attacks. The things were after blood, aiming for more than wounds on the surface. Biting and digging with nail and tooth against the durable skin of the man. An old fear realized that crippled Alexander in thinking clearly. They were trying to eat him alive. One found the wound at Thunderbolt's side and dug its fingers in. Eyes grew widely and a shouting cry of pain to the attack of his wound. Alexander wriggled and pulled with every effort to pry the thing from his insides.
His arms were stretched out and hinder him were being pulled back slowly. All Alexander needed was one good shot to get this thing off. No amount of remaining strength proved fruitful in quickening the efforts. The wound grew bigger with the rotten fingers pushing deeper. Eyes caved in to endure with water filtering from them. He didn't notice the static feeling at his fingertips as his whole body grew cold. Not until the crackle and stirring sounds of his electric buildup could he take notice. The pain surrounding him was absent and in its place a sinking wave all collapsing in on itself.
First instincts warned to fight against the unknown crushing feel; not sure if he was commanding it but nothing could give effort in resistance. It wasn't something felt since the first manifestation of Alexander's electrical powers many years ago in youth. Overwhelmed already, there was no choice but to embrace its hold and to do so felt good. A peace came with the energy built up that obscured all the world for but an instant.
Seconds and it no longer could be contained. Eyes shot open and a burst of electrical rage emerged freely from him. His undead restrainers, directly being fed direct electricity from the mere touching of Thunderbolt instantly combusted into pieces. The power unleashed was out of his control. With a growl he was free and a shout of rage carried with the wave of electrical force, fleeing from the summoner. The undead aggressors moaned with an electrical cry before bursting; a same fate of the many undead things caught by the wave.
Thunderbolt dropped to his knee with an exasperating cry. The wave dissipated as fast as it appeared but left the air saturated with a charge. He cradled his side with both hands and saw a finger now severed from its owner was still impaling the wound. He removed it with a painful grunt that followed an erratic breathing pattern. Every part of his body shook with a static numbness to his exhaustion.
The song of the dead continued by those that remained.
A device removed from his belt and a press of a button the controller sprung open. He aimed the green laser at the undead creatures and an adjustment to the controls.
Targets set in.
From the skies it came; the sound of a powerful engine crossing the threshold of sound. It fell to the horizon and charged in full throttle. The undead unaware of the threat continued forward and before in range of Thunderbolt, a volley of laser energy cannon fire pulverized them. Alexander gazed above the fierce explosions to the Storm Rider craft flying as well as if it were manned. Its continuous firepower drew a line of cooking corpses between Thunderbolt and still moving undead.
A half made salute to the inanimate craft for the help before he painfully took to his feet. The sight was taken in with relief along with a cold stare. A sigh given for the rest of whom Thunderbolt refused to call in. All it would take was a single press of the control to signal his distress and they would be at his side in a heartbeat. In his condition, the temptation was there. But as he stared at the horrendous sight of the walking dead behind the fires, his choice was already made and grounded. Whatever it was Thunderbolt was dealing with, had under its will the control of such dark magic beyond any encountered in a single being. More powerful than what any could the Storm Rider, the rest of his team was not expendable.
Distance was made without incident and darkness further enveloped the hills. There was no certainty of being on the right path anymore. Fatigue took its toll and getting one foot in front of the other became a task to accomplish. He thoughts turned to Amy and of her capture. It wasn't even sure anymore if she was still alive. Was there still even a chance of fighting to save her?
Not until a coming into view lamppost was seen did he think much of getting any further. He stopped to stare a bit before moving for it. Something to give him a badly needed charge, a fighting chance. He couldn't fly to the thunderstorm above in state he was in. Much too weak for that against the already uncertainty as to a sudden charge from a lightening bolt was survivable right now.
A chuckle to the dumb luck of finding the post and the many more following it. A step taken and on something oddly that stopped Thunderbolt. Solid yet oddly soft. Leather like in feeling and warm. Lowly a growling was heard in response. Alexander gasped already too late as the thing underneath his boot sprung loose. It whipped out and coiled around his arms and waist section as a snake would to its prey. Before long he was in the air as the tail tightened in on him.
"Grrugh...errr. Long-tailed demon!" Thunderbolt struggled to break free.
The creature revealed itself, a four legged thing that looked like a scimitar from the Greek history books. Of a dry and leather red skin burning to the touch. Its sharp black claws on its hands and hoofs breaking the ground with its weight. The eyes stared with an evil glow, something most minds of children were prone to conceiving in their terrors. A pointy edged face with horns on top and darkness surrounding it. A thing of evil Thunderbolt was all to familiar with facing.
It sniveled looking at Alexander. Drool escaping with it displaying its fangs and growls.
"Grugahhh!" The tail tightened around.
Eyes closed to unwilling endure. He pushed outward with his arms to relieve some pressure but not enough to counter the squeeze. The lashing of the tail's end forced one eye to curiously open and to Alexander's horror the spear tip end of the tail was aiming for him. In a flash it stabbed through the right shoulder, cutting through skin, muscle, and bone to the other side. His shout unmatched to the very sound of the thunder above. He fell limp-headed as the mere pain forced death upon him. The demon pleased with itself of the deed gave one last squeeze that received nothing in reply to before flinging its prey clear across the open grounds of the graveyard. The tail-end was ripped out from Thunderbolt's body by the gesture and allowed blood to flow freely from it.
He hit something. Something metal and forced him to the ground. The demon's roar of pride and victory from the distance awakened Alexander to reveal the lite ground from the light above. The sheer stupidity of a brainless brute demon and luck of the ages. A roll to the side to face the base of the pole, a movement the demon hear and saw with vengeful cries. It knew what Thunderbolt was doing peeling back the metal to get at the wires.
The galloping hoofs hurried quickly towards him. Thunderbolt had only seconds; ripping at the wires and feeding its severed end into his palm. Ecstasy to the body and exhilaration to the resurfacing power. Nerves regained stillness, muscle contractions receding, and a heart return to normal speed pumps.
"Thank you," spoken soothingly. A blessing thanked with the wounds of the side and shoulder closing in on themselves with the rapid healing effect. Energy was being restored.
The bellow cries and the break in hoof charge drew Thunderbolt's attention with a snap. In the air he saw the creature diving down, legs first to crush him. The left arm came up, cackled with sparks to the power buildup. The power let loose had a draw back on Alexander's limb as the beam of great electrical light shot its way to the demon. The bright light blinded the beast before scalping its very head right off it. The headless corpse fell to the ground and began to bubble with its rapid disintegration.
Thunderbolt remained still with heavy breaths to the demand of his body. The attack was costly and burned out all the lamppost's power flow. The dizziness brought on by the fatigue fled with the power boost, but Thunderbolt's body still felt several tons heavy when moving. A fraction of power, enough for a quick flight into the air. Risky to a point of death as he went up, but odds already stacked against him in the fight for Amy were worth the sudden charge. The fight wouldn't last long if some sort of power was regained in his body. Cold rusted in to his ascent and the thunder boomed louder than his ears cared for. A violent storm that generated fear growing closer to it. Nonetheless Alexander had to try. His body needed rest but his powers needed a massive recharge.
He stopped not far away from the clouds to not dare entering them. Exhaling the last of his seconds thoughts about it, Thunderbolt extended his arms outward and began shifting the charge around him. The static field made his skin tingle and the air itchy. A posing charge to attract the attention of a thing with the same potent power of an atom bomb. A back-build rumbling, to signal Alexander. His plan was working. It took his mind several seconds to register the first hit and because the charge around him remained intact, the thunderstorm struck again and again. It poured around until the summoner of the energy disturbance was hit.
"Ahhhhh!" came his scream to the bolt that hit. His teeth clamped together with to somehow bite down on the pain. A painful feeding that sent him hurling to the ground. Old memories renewed to the burned feelings of battling his nemesis.
He hated the heat.
A hand on his chest as he returned to his feet to the rapid beating heart; an amazement to have survived the gamble. Recent wounds were agreeably sealed and powers nearly to a full restoration of energy further complimented Alexander's determination. A rush to the tired body for the fight as he stepped out his small created creator.
The growl of a new unnatural thing carried swiftly to his ears. It moved fast against the mud, wildly growing closer. Both fists powered up and illuminated the surrounding grounds. Battle ready and with a turn of the heel to face every angle around for the echoing sound of the beast's approach. Eyes searched far and wide, from side to side to locate it from under the mask of the storm. The roar was loud and upon Thunderbolt just as he turned to the heaven's. The beast was a furry thing with razor claws jabbing out for him and fangs dripping for a kill. It lashed out and ribbed away at Alexander's mask. A part of his face revealed as a strain of sandy brown hair was ripped away from the strike to him.
Two charged fists came at both sides of the creature's ribs forcing out a dog-like injured whine before falling to the ground in a roll. Thunderbolt circled with his lightning fists drawn for combat. He couldn't believe with his own breath at what he was seeing. A dog creature in the shape of a man whose name dared not drawn to mind for fear of confirming its realism. A drawn back hand in thunderous charge as Thunderbolt readied to smite the beast.
The growling returned and Alexander's eyes snapped to as another snarling brute of claws and teeth attacked him. He was on the ground before he knew and defenseless as a paw struck down clean in Thunderbolt's face. Sensation of the body nonexistent as he grunted to the attack before vision turned to darkness and Alexander's mind drifted unconscious.