"Shazam: Hope in the Darkness"
The characters featured in this story are the copyrighted property of DC Comics.
His eyes flashed open to the sound of something sniffling at his face. He shouted, staggering backward from the creature that woke him up. A gray, scaly snake-like beast with seven eyes stared him down. In its smile were teeth that looked like shimmering metallic spikes. Tongue after tongue licked what he could perceive to be the lips of this thing. It lunged quickly toward him and he extended his foot, kicking it into the horizon. He didn't know where it landed, nor did he really care.
Getting to his feet, Billy Batson looked down at the lightning symbol on his chest and realized he was still in his transformed state as Captain Marvel. As the defender of Fawcett City, he had spent his young life in service to the forces of good and the mighty wizard Shazam, whose name triggered the transformation. Captain Marvel was Shazam's chosen champion powered by the Wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the speed of Mercury and the courage of Achilles.
Suddenly a screeching sound emanated from behind the Earth's Mightiest Mortal. Turning to find out what made the sound, a large fist met his mouth. After sailing through the air fifty feet, Captain Marvel skipped across the dusty ground and slammed back-first against a metallic wall. He felt heat from the metal and thrown himself forward in pain. Captain Marvel looked upward to find that he'd been slammed into the rim of a gigantic machine. A dancing pillar of flame towered above him and the machine. His eyes widened as he took to the skies quickly, avoiding another punch from the mysterious assailant.
"A fire pit?" he deduced to himself, "Why am I near a…" The realization of his location struck his senses like Black Adam, Superman, Doomsday and Power Girl punching him in the stomach at the same time. It all came back to him. He looked down and saw the familiar face of the woman that brought him to Hell; the textbook definition of No Man's Land; One of the few places that even Superman was scared to travel to.
The dreaded planet Apokolips, home to the evil space god Darkseid.
The rain fell hard on Captain Marvel's white cape, bright red costume and his jet black hair. That didn't bother him all that much; he could always say the word and change back into dry clothing before the rain would soak him back down to the bone. He felt the universe was weeping for the same woman he'd weep for if he could let himself.
Jay Garrick had confronted Captain Marvel on his closeness with fellow Justice Society of America teammate Stargirl, A.K.A. Courtney Whitmore. He couldn't provide an excuse without revealing himself to the elder Flash, so he chose to quit the JSA. Courtney pleaded with him to reveal his identity to the team. But the Wisdom of Solomon forbade him from revealing a secret that he felt too many people already knew. In the end, their relationship ended bitterly, with Courtney brokenhearted and Billy alone once again.
The voice of Solomon kept saying he'd done the right thing. He wanted to see if he could fit a Vista Cruiser into the old fart's esophagus. But he always did what he was told. He was a good boy and a loyal pupil for the wizard. Black Adam tried to make him question his loyalty to Shazam, but back then it was easy to resist. He had her, and even with the responsibility to never give in to evil no matter what, it was a heavy burden made lighter by Courtney's being there with him.
Now the burden returns stronger than ever and he has no one to blame but himself. Once again, he did as he was told and things worked out fine. It wasn't like the JSA needed him anyway, right? Black Adam was in Khandaq and he was the only reason he joined the group in the first place, right? Now that it was over, or as over as anything can be in this crazy life, he returned to being Fawcett's protector.
It was, essentially, his first night back on the job and suddenly an explosive noise drew his attention toward a darkened warehouse one-hundred feet ahead of him. He lowered himself to a hover above the structure and waited to hear any other sound. Quickly, he floated over to an open skylight window and slipped inside. Normally he didn't take the Batman approach to entering buildings, but there was no sense in destroying a perfectly functioning building if there wasn't a need to.
Settling on the rafters, Captain Marvel spotted a rather robust woman loading what appeared to be guns straight out of Star Wars into a large metallic crate. The Wisdom of Solomon turned Billy's attention toward a large bright orange opening directly beneath him. It looked like an ethereal worm wiggling in mid-air. A strange WHOOSH was made whenever something passed into the maw of the dimensional wormhole. "Just one more to go," the large female said in a voice that sounded like she'd swallowed glass. Without hesitation, she began dumping the weapons into the final crate."
"I can't believe those idiot policemen thought they could keep me from bringing Darkseid back what was rightfully his. Oh well, Granny said that humans were a species of imbeciles." Once in the light, Marvel could properly make out a golden and orange uniform. The behemoth wore large boots with skull and crossbones ontop of her mask. Dark sunglasses covered her eyes, leaving only her mouth exposed, which looked human-enough.
Captain Marvel realized that the monstrous madam was making her way toward the Boom Tube and to freedom. He couldn't have that. Dropping from the rafters in a slow hover, he said, "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm going to have to see a loading permit for that."
The large lady smiled and said, "You sound like a soft spoken, nicely groomed, handsome young upstanding citizen," pulling out an object from the crate, she threw it at Captain Marvel, saying, "I HATE ya already!"
A circular module sailed towards Earth's Mightiest Mortal, exploding into an electrically charged straight-jacket that coiled around him on contact. The pain from the shock dropped him to the floor, instantly. Though it wasn't magical, the electricity surging through his body made him eager to burst free quickly.
With minor effort, Captain Marvel broke the metallic bonds, shattering them everywhere. Trying to get his bearings, he felt a boot crash into his stomach, sending him through the warehouse wall, through another warehouse and crashing into a semi truck carrier. A total distance of one hundred feet was covered in five seconds. It took less than one for Marvel to return and meet the attacker with a right cross to her jaw. The force of the blow sent her sailing backwards, her feet making small ditches at the momentum.
Captain Marvel connected with another punch to the face before his right hand was caught by the stranger. "You're good," she said, "but Stompa's better." She drove a hard kick into the hero's stomach, holding onto his hand to keep him from flying backwards. She drove another kick into his face and then head-butted Marvel onto his back.
"Stompa?" Captain Marvel said quizzically. The name sounded familiar but he didn't remember where he heard it from. It seemed inconsequential as the Female Fury jumped into the air, with both boots aimed squarely at his chest. He put up his feet and met Stompa's feet with his own, causing a small concussive shockwave, sending Marvel through the floor and Stompa through the ceiling. Flying out of the crater at the speed of sound, he met Stompa in mid air and axe-handle smashed her head, sending her crashing through the roof and into the crate of Apokoliptian weaponry. The metallic box tipped over sending her prone onto the floor, groaning.
Captain Marvel felt confident the fight was over and decided to clean up the mess and alert the authorities. He started gathering different weapons together when he heard a strange humming noise.
"What the heck?" he said to himself as he looked at gadgets he could spend two lifetimes hopelessly trying to figure out. He heard the sound coming from behind Stompa, though still inside the crate. It was a square-box shaped doo-hickey (as he would call it) that seemed to glow in a rhythm. He hadn't quite known what to make of it until he realized with the Wisdom of Solomon.
"Oh my God! It's a bomb!"
He tried to reach for it, but Stompa's hands caught his own, preventing him from throwing the bomb away. "If I'm goin' out, I'm goin' out with a bang…and lotsa falling debris and death to follow."
Captain Marvel fought against her grip and nearly broke free when the bomb let off an eerie hissing sound.
And then…
BOOOOOM!
As his eyes went heavy from the concussive force of the blast, Captain Marvel saw the building around him crumble and disperse, propelled away from the area. He noticed that during the last couple of seconds of his fight with Stompa, that they were both dangerously close to the wormhole.
"That wasn't a worm hole!" Captain Marvel shouted, "It was a Boom Tube! Oh, my God…I'm on Apokolips!" He looked downward to the angry Stompa leaping toward him. Now he remembered where he heard the name. Kyle Rayner and Flash were whispering about how easy it was to put one over on the big "b-word." (Billy doesn't even think the b-word) To those two, Stompa was nothing but an excuse to make a fat joke.
The two boots colliding with his face let him know she was not a joke. He landed face first in the sand one-hundred feet below where he floated. Earth's Mightiest Mortal felt Stompa's knee crash into his back when she landed. He screamed in pain before she shoved his face in the dirt. "Mmmmm, smell that air," she shouted, "I love the smell of hopelessness and mindless obedience in the mornin'. Wait til Darkseid gets a look'a you!"
Darkseid!? The young hero knew the name the instant the sound of it entered his ears. The Wisdom of Solomon wasn't needed to know the horror stories Captain Marvel had been told from the Justice League. As much fun as was made of the Female furies, formidable as they are, no one joked about Darkseid. Not even Plastic Man. It was something you just did not do unless you felt like you'd lived a full and rich life.
There was no telling what Darkseid could do if he was made aware of Captain Marvel's presence. If Darkseid was as ruthless as the stories of him were told, he was every bit as power hungry as he was evil. If the Apokoliptian god somehow used his machines to siphon off the power of Shazam, it would lead to catastrophic consequences for everyone in his path. He could not let that happen.
Stompa dug her knee into the small of Marvel's back, making him grunt with his face full of sand. "With the Boom Tube signature, reinforcements will be on their way any minute now. You'll be facing the God of all Apokolips, and then we're gonna break you til you can't be broken anymore!"
With a concealed smile, he was about to take a huge gamble that he prayed to God would work. Straining to push his head upward he let out a whisper, "Shazam." A lightning bolt from seemingly nowhere struck the two combatants instantaneously. Stompa let out a shrieking scream, which might sound like an old cat with laryngitis getting its tail caught in a fan. With a light shove, Captain Marvel tossed the dazed Fury off of his body.
The gambit had paid off. Stompa's massive body was able to protect his body from the transformation process. Captain Marvel stood to his feet and let his right fist say everything he had to say to the woman who brought him into Hell. The punch sent her flying into the machine housing the enormous fire pit. She landed face first onto the sand. He heard a humming sound above him. Ducking behind the fire pit machinery, Captain Marvel spotted a hover vehicle carrying two strange looking women. He guessed them to be Mad Harriet, a green-skinned wild-woman with claws on her hands; and Lashina, a woman with long raven-colored hair and a beautiful face hidden partially by bonds.
Not wanting to draw their attention, he kept his position until they landed. Once the hovercraft had landed, he heard their screams of incredulity at Stompa's unconscious form as he sped away from the scene. Flying low to the ground, he never let his feet touch the ground so as to leave no trace of where he was heading. It wasn't as if he knew, anyway.
He sensed something. Something peculiar just now had occurred and he had no foreknowledge of it. The very second the lightning struck out of nothingness alerted him to a new, unfamiliar presence. It wasn't like lightning never struck on his home world, but this brand of bolt was different. It carried something foreign and sickening to his stomach. The lightning bolt carried hope.
Darkseid despised hope. Hope was a wishful fantasy that foolish beings use to make their lives seem significant and mean something other than serving him. All beings were made to serve Darkseid, this much he knew. Yet still, there are those who defy him needlessly. His name spread fear into the hearts of the universe. All tremble before him and rightly so. But enough about that, he thought while sipping a glass of blood. Drinking it was not nourishment for the god, but satisfaction, plus the thief had it coming. There was still his arm, leg and torso to make protein shakes for his Furies.
Tactical, communications and propaganda were run through the control room in Darkseid's Apokoliptian fortress. He would control his armies from the left wall; view Earth and a certain Kryptonian from the screen on the right. Every day it was harder and harder to stand the sight of that smug little bottom-feeding alien. From the front, sat a camera he spoke into everyday, making everyday more miserable than the last.
Lashina's semi-covered face appeared on as monitor screen behind Darkseid. "Lord Darkseid, I have news."
Darkseid took in a breath. He wasn't one to do it much, but he made sure his time spent taking that breath was well worth it. Today seemed like a worth it day to the ruler of Apokolips. "Do tell," his deep dark burning red eyes flared.
"We were to rendezvous with Stompa near the southeastern fire pit and retrieve the weapons she brought back from Earth. Upon our arrival to her location, Stompa was unconscious and there is no sign of her attacker."
Darkseid and High Father of New Genesis had entered into an agreement many years ago. If Darkseid were to make an overt attempt to rule the Earth, he would face the wrath of High Father and his New Genesis warriors. He specifically reminded Granny Goodness, his loyal henchman, not to go mucking around on Earth in retrieving the weaponry. He would reprimand her later for the foolishness of sending that oversized oaf Stompa. "Take Stompa to her quarters and let her sleep it off. When she wakes, bring her to me at once. Now, leave my sight, I must speak with Granny."
With a bow, Lashina said, "As you command, Lord." Her face vanished from the monitor immediately.
Darkseid activated a second monitor with a thought and Granny Goodness was displayed shoving a man's face in what appeared to be slop. Upon noticing her master, Granny threw the hopeless man aside and said, "My Liege! How may I pay my tribute to you, Great Darkseid?"
"Granny Goodness, report to my throne room. NOW," bellowed the dark god.
"Instantaneously, my lord," she replied with a forced smile. Darkseid's tone and grim facial expression let it be known that he was displeased with her.
The monitor flickered off, and Darkseid turned his gaze toward the skies of Apokolips, sipping his drink before it coagulated. His attention, at least until Granny arrived, would focus on the strange sensation he's felt since that suspicious lightning bolt he saw in the horizon.
Hours had passed since leaving the Furies holding Stompa's unconscious body. Flying low to the ground, Captain Marvel tried to slow his mind down to think. He kept his flight speed low, so he wouldn't leave tracks in the sand. Looking around for a place to hide, he couldn't help but feel the hopelessness and desperation coming from the entire planet. It seemed like invasive empathy, as if Apokolips forced you to feel horrible. He almost felt like crying as he let his mind swallow the entirety of this impossible situation.
Stranded on a hostile alien planet, renowned for its cruel, vicious master, he had no way to contact help. Surely, Darkseid maintained a tight web around his kingdom for outgoing transmissions. Equally risky and dangerous would be simply flying off planet to New Genesis. With high-tech air cruisers, and the constant sky patrolling that he (and especially Solomon) expected from a dictator like Darkseid, an aerial escape would prove futile. Even if he escaped the planet successfully, he had no idea where to start looking for New Genesis.
But one thing Solomon wouldn't shut his yap about was the consequences of capture. It was apparent that the dark lord of Apokolips would eventually discover his presence and try to detain him. It had been his experience that evil men in power thirst for one thing above all else: more power. Captain Marvel tried not to think too much about Darkseid being able to brainwash him into becoming his pawn. A worse scenario brought up by Solomon was Darkseid siphoning away his powers, leaving him completely helpless.
"Shut up!" Captain Marvel said in futility, knowing Solomon would do no such thing. If only he could afford to turn into Billy and stop the voices from pounding in his head about how much trouble he was in. He wished the being through which he received wisdom would give him a way out. He was processing plans in his mind when he heard voices up ahead.
He broke from his concentrated stare to notice a floating caravan was ahead. People in collars huddled together in a mechanical cart while a slender yet brutish figure drove the cart. He wore a gigantic metallic helmet and straps over his chest. He looked toward the horizon and said, "You should be proud. Today, you get to work in our Lord's sewage plant. Perhaps, if you are fortunate you can process the feces of the Furies or maybe even Granny Goodness herself!"
Despite the wind, Captain Marvel could make out what he said. It was detestable, making them clean up other people's waste. With such advanced technology, Billy could only figure that Darkseid has such plants to discourage and undermine the people's will. Solomon's voice screamed for him to move on, but Billy blocked him out and flew straight toward the convoy.
With blinding speed, he snatched one prisoner after another out of the convoy without so much as a sound alerting the driver. When the driver turned around and shouted, "What the New Genesis?!" the cart stopped immediately, throwing him forward. He rolled onto the sand, sprawling onto his face.
Captain Marvel hovered over the cruel convoy driver and said, "These people aren't going anywhere except home."
The driver pulled a small stick out of his belt. With the push of a button, a red bolt of energy sparked, forming the shape of a mace. "You just made the biggest mistake of what's left of your life!" As the brute rushed him, Captain Marvel could hear Solomon screaming his concurrence. He dodged swipe after swipe of the energy mace then caught the driver by the wrist and hoisted him off the ground. Spinning like a whirlwind, Captain Marvel flings the driver into the horizon, disappearing without a trace except the fading screams and curses.
Once again, the only sound he was left with was the desert wind and Solomon's ranting grating his brain. Captain Marvel smirked; he'd prevented those citizens from being fed to the fires of Darkseid's empirical industry.
Then why did they keep walking in the direction of the factory?
"Wait! Stop!" he pleaded, flying toward a slender, disheveled man, "You don't have to go to the factory! You're free! Go home!"
"Don't want to. Darkseid says work, we work," the man said, pressing forward through the sands.
"But you don't have to! I've set you free!"
"Free? What kind of word is that?"
"You know, where you can do whatever you want! Anything you want! Go home, see your family,
"I don't know free…I know Darkseid."
Captain Marvel snatched the man by the scruff of his neck and held him into place. The disbelief on his own face bounced off the puzzlement of the stranger's. "I'm telling you, you don't have to go there. You're free to do as you so choose. You are the master of your own fate."
"You must be someone from that place of legend…yes…New Genesis...You want hope? Go there. All we have here is Darkseid and we are proud to serve our lord and master."
"But he's a tyrant! A despot! He revels in the slaughter of those who oppose him. Darkseid is an enemy to every living thing that is free!"
"Free. You keep using that word, strange one. I do not know that word. I know only Darkseid. Those other words…Tyrant, Despot, are they affronts to Lord Darkseid?! I'll see you burn in the fire pits!" The man lashed out, swinging his arms in futility against the invulnerable chest of the World's Mightiest Mortal. He couldn't bring himself to stop the blows.
This was insane. How could any being willingly choose to live under the heel of a mad god? How someone could become so despondent and full of despair yet chooses to serve a master as hideous and sadistic as Darkseid? Maybe that was it. Maybe these poor people weren't given a choice. Perhaps it was beaten out of them when they were born.
If you're born into a world of slavery, servitude, hopelessness and darkness…how would one react when confronted with its exact opposite? With fear? Hatred? Dread? Is it really innate in every living being to be free or is it where we're brought up and can it be taught to those who have never known freedom?
He shook his head and let the man go. Captain Marvel ran a hand over his face, finding that he's left marks in the sand. Not only that, he disrupted a caravan of workers from their post. Undoubtedly, Darkseid will be alerted of the delay and send some of his Furies to investigate and take it out of the hides of the men who didn't report to work on time. There was nothing to be done about that now. Solomon kept reminding him his job wasn't to save the people of Apokolips…but to leave immediately before facing its master's wrath.
Three large silhouettes appeared from above him. He turned to face his attacker and found three women floating on separate circular discs. Two of the women's faces smiled with aplomb. The third, a face he'd met once before, seemed to snarl at the sight of him. Stompa, Mad Harriet, and Lashina circled him, cutting off every escape route. The slender whip-wielder said, "Look girls…Fresh meat."
"Soon to be dead meat," Stompa said, slamming her fists togerher.
Mad Harriet cackled, "He reminds me of the Kryptonian beefcake…this should be fun!"
Captain Marvel had to think fast. Going up meant a pursuit, which meant aerial reinforcements and he wasn't prepared to fight the entire Apokolips armada. Without a second to lose, he began to spin in place, like a drill, burying himself into the sand, vanishing beneath the dunes. The Furies watched the trail Captain Marvel left in his wake from drilling underneath the sand. As they followed him, Stompa said, "Should I go and get him now?"
Lashina replied, "Now Stompa, you know you should always let your man think he has you fooled. It's easier to surprise him that way."
"I don't wanna surprise him, I wanna use his head as a toilet!" the large Fury shouted.
"Don't worry, hehehehehe," Mad Harriet said, "it's more fun when you play with your food first."
Darkseid heard Granny Goodness come into the room with a boisterous, "My Lord, what may I do to better your day?"
The stone-faced ruler of Apokolips kept his eyes peeled out into the horizon with his hands behind his back. As if meditating on the battle engaged in the deserts of his kingdom planet. "Granny," he bellowed, "Could you tell me how it is possible that Captain Marvel, an earthman of little consequence, wound up on my planet?"
Granny knelt in her master's presence and kept her head lowered. She said, "From what I could ascertain from Stompa, my liege, she said he had been interrupted by him while retrieving the weapons caches from the earth town, Fawcett City. Purely by chance this insignificant whelp enters your glorious kingdom, O great and powerful Darkseid."
"No matter; whatever power he possesses, I possess a thousand-fold. He means nothing in the grand scheme of things. I have watched him on Earth. He's a child who possesses the powers of their gods. His strength matches Superman's but still he is no match for me. And without the kryptonian's other abilities, he is even less of a challenge. The female furies will show the boy that Apokolips is the home of the one true god."
"Yes, Lord Darkseid," Granny said with a sinister smile, "Have any of the other Earth heroes come to find him?"
"I do not believe they even know he is gone," Darkseid replied with a small laugh, "let alone to dreaded Apokolips."
"Then he is alone. A mere earth child in a devil's playground; he must be so frightened it is mouth watering."
Darkseid's smile grew wider as he replied, "When the lightning struck, it carried something foreign to this planet. Something I've tried to stamp out with each passing generation. I had grown to believe that I was successful in terminating it entirely from the populace."
"What is it, master?"
"Hope. It brings hope. Therefore, he brings hope. He must be annihilated before anyone begins to realize that there are more ways to live than under my glorious rule."
"The Furies are on seek and capture, shall I upgrade it to destroy?"
"No, Granny," Darkseid replied, "I want the expressed pleasure of strangling the hope out of Captain Marvel with my bare hands. Hope is the poison of the weak and the foolish. As much as having a man of his talents as my pawn, the risk of recidivism is too great. I will deal with him myself. Contact Lashina, I have explicit instructions for her."
Captain Marvel didn't know how low he was underground, but figured he gave the Furies the slip and kept a steady speed. The problem was, he had no idea where he was going. Maybe he should've stuck around and fought the Furies at the point they found him. As soon as he escaped them he had to find a way into the palace so he could grab a boom tube controller and get off planet at the most.
Solomon went to scream at him at how stupid Billy has been this entire situation. Trying to rescue the workers only alerted Darkseid's minions to his exact whereabouts. He still couldn't stop thinking about the man he talked to. It seemed impossible to believe that anyone could tolerate being under the heels of a mad god. He couldn't believe it, in fact, dammit, he refused to believe it. Everyone wants to be free. Free choice is an inherent right in every being and no one, not even Darkseid, had the right to take it away. He'd find a way off the planet…but he'd return to free the people from the rule of the sadistic tyrant, one way or another.
Lashina tapped on an earpiece and said, "Yes Granny. Orders from Lord Darkseid? Of course." Stompa and Mad Harriet looked on puzzled, but still trailing the sand trail Captain Marvel left behind. "It shall be done, Granny," the lead Fury mumbled. Catching up to the others, she shouted, "Change of plans, Furies, our orders from Darkseid himself. We are to rough up the Captain then let him win."
"Lord Darkseid wants us to WHAT?!" Stompa screamed.
Mad Harriet cackles but her eyebrow quirked up as she said, "Far be it for me to question Almighty Darkseid, but…"
"If 'why' or 'how come' are the next words from your lips, Mad Harriet, I will tell Darkseid."
The green savage woman replied, "Now that's just childish."
"You have your orders. Furies! Attack!" the leader screamed to her subordinates.
Stompa raised her disc into the air, several hundred feet above the ground, tracking the moving mound of dirt perfectly. "This is for that shock you gave me, pretty boy!" Using her superhuman leg strength as a boost, the yellow and orange clad Fury propelled herself up and forward, extending her legs, aiming for the mound. Her large body whistled through the air like a crashing F-16 heading for land.
The sand exploded upon impact, leaving a crater. As Lashina and Mad Harriet looked on trying to find either Stompa or Captain Marvel, they heard booming noises underneath their floating discs.
The World's Mightiest Mortal never knew what had hit him. He felt the sharp pain in his back, and the force of being driven deeper underground by the impact. He felt his cape being pulled, and then fingers clutching at his hair. He'd figured it was Stompa who was wrapping her arm around his neck, trying to choke the life out of him. With instinct, he propelled himself upward or the direction he perceived as upward.
They exploded out of the ground and Stompa's grip tightened around his throat. He spun around in a whirlwind, then turning back downward, drilling into the ground. Her grip held tightly as he came back out and then drilled back downward. Captain Marvel slammed himself and Stompa into the ground repeatedly and with increased speed. Over and over again, the impact slowly loosened the woman warrior's grip. He felt Stompa drop away from him completely when he resurfaced.
Lashina hurled a tendril at the hero. Raising a hand to block it and wrap it around his wrist, he jerked her off the disc and swung her into Mad Harriet, knocking them both into the dunes. The cackling Fury spit out sand as she looked up at Captain Marvel, saying, "Are you sure we're letting him win?"
"Shut up and fight," the leader replied. The green skinned madwoman pulled out her energy claws and leapt into the air, slashing at the superhero. After ducking one slash and blocking another, he felt the blades slash his uniform at his right shoulder. She wrapped her legs around his waist and went to stab him in the lungs. He caught her by the wrists and held her off. Lashina twirled a pair of electrical strands at him, but he spun around using Mad Harriet as a shield, making her scream and convulse violently. He felt the charges surge through him, but it didn't hurt him nearly as much as it hurt her.
He shoved her off, burying her deep into the sand on impact. It would take her a while to climb out. Lashina went to wrap her coils around him once more but Captain Marvel flipped through the air and slammed his legs directly onto the lead Fury's shoulders, pushing her body down into the sand until only her neck and head were exposed. "This is embarrassing," she said.
"I'm only going to ask you this once," he said, kneeling down and leaning into her face. He hadn't expected anyone from Apokolips to be this pretty. If he ever said that to Big Barda, she'd have his head on her wall and his pelt on her floor.
"The palace is to the northeast of here. You cannot miss it."
"How did you know…"
"Come, now," Lashina scoffed, "You know my lord's palace contains the technology you seek to return to Earth. Little boy lost trying to run home to mommy and daddy?"
A scowl painted itself all over Captain Marvel's usually cheery face. He bent over, his legs spread, and began to claw sand away one powerful scoop at a time, burying her head in the desert. With all three Furies down, the World's Mightiest Mortal took to the sky and sped off northeast, toward what he considered the only place in this Godforsaken world that could help him get home.
"My plan is working perfectly, of course," Darkseid muttered, holding a blood-filled grail in his hand.
"My lord," Granny said. Pausing to choose her words carefully, she finally said, "Why did you tell the Furies to let Captain Marvel win? He soundly thrashed them."
The dark god of Apokolips put the cup to his lips and took the slightest of sips. Gazing into the contents of the glass, he said, "If I am to prepare myself to crush the hope within the boy, I must whet my appetite for it first. It's been so long since I've had the opportunity to destroy such a pure, unbridled sensation. I must savor it. The defeat of my Furies was unavoidable. He is far too formidable an opponent to be taken by them. It is yet another reason why I should be the one to crush him.
"The Furies will consider it not their fault he defeated them, that they will be spared my hand for following orders. However, I will remind them that they are supposed to be my greatest warriors and for losing the battle, even on purpose, they will face my merciless wrath. But not before the boy captain."
"Once again, you've proven why you are the lord of Apokolips," Granny said with a hearty laugh.
"Now leave me, and summon all my subjects," Darkseid said with his eyes now fixated on the approaching Captain Marvel.
"It will take a little time," Granny replied.
"Do not worry. I will provide you with ample time before the dear youngling can make his appearance." Granny left the room in haste. The master of dark hellish Apokolips walked calmly over toward a control panel. With a press of a button he spoke out, "Parademons, southwestern perimeter, destroy intruder." With another light sip of his drink, he smiled. "Yes, that should keep him busy for long enough."
Captain Marvel, in a red and white streak blazed a path directly toward the main palace of Darkseid. Inside was the technology that could send him home, along with the dark lord himself. It didn't warm his heart to know that he began blocking out Solomon's continued ranting and raving. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand. He was facing an impossible situation, but one he couldn't very well avoid. Darkseid knew he was there and would undoubtedly be searching for him.
Subconsciously Billy suggested ideas like hiding among the people as either himself or in disguised champion form. But Solomon burned into his mind that Darkseid's minions would see right through him, and it was far too dangerous to transform into Billy Batson, even to evade capture.
From the directly ahead, he saw what looked like a floating barrier, dark yet narrow in comparison to the palace. Upon closer inspection, the barrier was composed of menacing looking men wearing green jumpsuits with golden goggles and wings. He had heard stories of them, from Flash when talking with Hal Jordan. They were parademons, lower minions and foot soldiers of the Apokolips god. They always attacked in packs, looking to overwhelm their prey and use sheer numbers to defeat their enemies. Captain Marvel estimated it looked like there were at least five hundred. On their master's orders, they'd follow the Big Red Cheese anywhere. He was going to have to beat them all.
The first hundred of the monstrous barricade swarmed to greet Shazam's champion. He increased speed and plowed through them before being grabbed by the collar and yanked downward. He lashed out with a mighty backhand, sending four of them into the ground. From their expressions, you couldn't tell that anything happened. That was the sick part of Darkseid's parademons they were trained to be especially vicious and to disregard pain. It made them damn tough to beat, even for the most powerful of Earth's heroes.
For every spinning kick, roundhouse punch, head-butt and throw Captain Marvel dished out, more were coming all the time. Looking at the rest of the parademon greeting committee he found that successively, the rest of the group was making their way toward the fight. The first hundred was a buffer to slow him down while the rest would slowly pour in and overwhelm him. Probably a learned tactic built into them from training, for the Parademons were relatively without free will, like every other miserable creature on Apokolips.
Captain Marvel head-butted a parademon, sending him crashing into another five. He side kicked another one, making it crash into four more of its brethren. He'd feel them biting against his flesh and ripping his cape and costume. It was a waste of time fighting them like that. He curled into himself and let them swarm over him, tearing at his clothes and flesh before using all of his strength to explode free, sending the foes scattering.
Captain Marvel flew quickly from the remaining parademons, who gave chase along with the rest of the army. He pulled into the upper atmosphere and dipped back down, slamming into a dozen before breaking away from the group. Two more parademons break rank to tackle the hero. They are met instead with a sweeping right cross, knocking them both away. Five more parademons managed to catch him by surprise, wrapping themselves around his body.
Through the commotion, Captain Marvel spotted a giant statue of Darkseid and begins to speed directly into it, breaking through it immediately, scraping them all off in the process. He took off his cape and swooped down to a fire pit. Captain Marvel scooped his cape up and swung fireballs in the direction of an oncoming group of parademons, incinerating them. Suddenly, he noticed the battalion stopped. Putting his cape back on, they slowly began to draw back into the palace.
Captain Marvel looked around to see if anyone else was arriving to deal with him. Darkseid's forces had a very good chance of subduing him and it made no sense to retreat unless it was under direct orders. But why would Darkseid do that? Did he want him to get in closer?
A lone figure stood on a balcony, catching the superhero's eye. Upon recognition of the figure, Solomon tried to forbid Captain Marvel from pushing forward. He flew closer toward the balcony, the urge to fly out into space and taking his chances sounding more and more appealing to him by the minute. Captain Marvel landed on the balcony, staring directly at the ruler of the hellish planet on which he was trapped.
"Welcome to Apokolips, Captain Marvel," Darkseid said, his stone-like face cracking a slight smile. "I hope you have enjoyed your stay."
The dark god towered over Shazam's chosen champion by a couple of feet, but the hero didn't back down an inch, despite Solomon's screams to flee. With a sharp breath, Marvel said, "I can't really say with any honesty that I have. Place looks like Hell."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Darkseid replied with a wide used-car salesman grin on his gray, stone like face. "I sensed your entrance to my world, Captain. The lightning that carries your power also carries a notion that is an embodiment of everything I detest about the mortal condition. Hope. It spreads through the Earth species like a cancer, infesting every single individual. Here on Apokolips, it's purged through fire, subjugation and the application of my will."
Folding his arms and putting on a brave face, Shazam's champion said, "Sounds to me like you have something against free will."
The dark god smirked and arched his brow. "Hardly," he said, "I find free will a liberating and essential part of existence. But only a being such as I am capable to fully appreciate it. The intricacies of cause and effect; the complex consequences of one's actions; all I find working inexorably toward an inevitable result: My ultimate victory."
"Okay, Mr. 'Resistance is futile.' What do I have to do to get home?"
"Not mocking me is an excellent first step."
"I really don't want to stay here any longer than I have to."
"You will stay as long as I allow you to and not one nanosecond longer or shorter. If my position on free will isn't clear enough for you, I would be more than eager to have it demonstrated to you by scale. Come with me."
Captain Marvel floated along while Darkseid stood on a metallic disc platform. They suspended themselves several stories over a large crowd of people. The hero could see the looks on the faces of the citizens. Darkseid's slaves, his workers, his cattle; anything he wanted them to be. He had to stifle the sickness he felt deep in the pit of his stomach. Their emaciated, worn, dirty faces were burning into his mind and would never leave for years to come, of that he was sure.
"People of Apokolips," Darkseid shouted, with his hands outstretched, "I come to you bearing you good news. I relinquish my hold over all of you!"
The people began to show signs of bewilderment. Uncertainty, disbelief streamed across their faces. Their anxious eyes lied on their master, as he uttered his next words, "Behold, I bring you a new savior. A new god to usher in a prosperous new order: Captain Marvel!" The crowd seemed still too shocked to respond.
The hero looked over to the mad despot and said, "What kind of game is this?"
Darkseid shrugged, saying, "No game. If you wish to leave, you must take all of my subjects with you of their own free will."
"You really expect me to believe you'd just let all of these people go?"
"What you have here is an opportunity to see if free will and hope are inherent in every individual as your species is oft to claim. If you manage to convince them to leave, I will allow them to do so with my word that no harm will come upon them for choosing so.
"But you would eliminate your entire workforce?"
"Parademons can be replicated and made to do work as well as fight or even repopulate the citizenry. I have waited centuries for my plans to come to fruition and if all that time has taught me anything, it's to learn to be flexible when necessary. Go, Captain. Speak to your people." Darkseid said with an evil smile so disturbing, it would've struck fear into the devil's heart. Captain Marvel knew it was too good to be true; it didn't take Solomon's rants to convince him of that. However, he would kick himself if he passed up the opportunity to help these poor souls. He would play the dark god's game, if it was indeed the only way to get home.
"People of Apokolips," Shazam's champion said, "You needn't worry about your future. I…uh…I want you to know I will take care of you. I will work out a deal with High Father, and see if I can't allow you to stay on New Genesis. I believe that me as well as Earth's other heroes will be glad to aid you in setting up your own democracy, to allow you to live in freedom. You would have the ability to govern yourselves. I know this is a frightening prospect since many of you do not have the concept of freedom but I am willing to be the one to teach you. To save you from this monster's reign of terror if only you would rise up and give voice to your will. What say you?"
The crowd fell silent like a graveyard. Their faces were plain, despite their beaten, malformed, malnourished appearance. No emotion seemed to be shown in their eyes except when a little child looked directly at Captain Marvel. The hero gazed into the child's eyes, which looked cold and empty. "Hail Darkseid!" the little boy shouted. The crowd quickly joined in bursts of chants, "HAIL DARKSEID!" "LORD DARKSEID!" "DARKSEID IS OUR MASTER!"
His eyes grew wide. It was impossible. No one could be so devoid of hope, so completely lacking in sense of free will that they would willingly subject themselves to the whim of a man whose sole purpose is the remaking of the universe. Solomon had no words. His point was proved for him. Billy should've left when he had the chance.
"It seems I win the wager," Darkseid said. He floated down directly behind Captain Marvel. "Foolish boy, do you see now? Free will is not for uneducated dullards like those teeming masses below us. There is no hope, nor free will. There is only DARKSEID."
Captain Marvel's face crunched together with a snarl as he turned to meet Darkseid's face directly. He met with Darkseid's fist instead. It sent him flying downward directly into the crowd. The impact of his body hitting caused a shockwave which scattered the people violently about. He got up slowly, holding his jaw. He'd never been hit so hard before by anyone, even Superman. The citizens then shouted out at him indiscernibly. The Fawcett City defender couldn't shake the ringing in his ears long enough to see that the crowd swarmed toward him.
"Kill the outsider!" "Rip his guts out!" "Feed him to Darkseid!" screamed the varied denizens of the mob. While men and women ripped and tore at his clothes, children would laugh and spit upon him. The superhero was still reeling from the sucker punch, but did not attack. After all, it wasn't their fault, they had been brainwashed through countless centuries by this evil, despicable, dictator. Darkseid would sacrifice every one of them in an instant for the chance at total domination. He wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it, if he slept, the bastard.
Captain Marvel held in his contempt, even while they spit and cursed upon him. Their fists bounced right off his invulnerable skin, but the damage within his spirit weighed on him heavily. These people turned down a chance at freedom just to be at the mercy of a madman. "WHAT KIND OF WORLD IS THIS?!" he said, exploding from the crowd, shoving them away as he took to the air.
"This is my world," Darkseid replied, with his red eyes glowing and a scowl you could melt titanium with, "and you are not welcome here."
With a blinding burst of speed, Shazam's champion slammed his shoulder into the mad god's stomach, driving the wind out of him. They streaked across the sky, crashing into the main palace. Captain Marvel stopped, letting Darkseid crash through a computer console, shattering it into shredded metal and ripped live wires. He drove rapid and repeated right and left crosses against his foe's granite slab of a face. It felt like if he was Billy punching a block of ice. It hurt his fists about as much as he imagined it hurt Darkseid's ugly mug.
The evil god kicked into the hero's gut, propelling him onto his back. He drew his fist like a hammer bearing down onto him. Captain Marvel rolled out of the way, letting it hit nothing but floor. He held down the dark blue gloved fist with both of his hands and drove a side kick into Darkseid's face. After another two kicks, the Apokolips dictator raised his hand, scooping up his opponent and slamming him into the ceiling, putting him through several levels. He leaped and climbed his way up the holes in the damaged floors until he reached the level Captain Marvel landed on.
"Hope is a commodity for the weak," Darkseid said, "They think that there must be a way to improve their bleak surroundings. That there is a path, however wide or narrow to salvation." He blocked a punch from the hero and followed it with an uppercut in his stomach. Head-butting Captain Marvel to the floor, he continued, "When it comes to me, compliance and total surrender is the only road to salvation. Only through Darkseid will your life achieve any purpose. After all, there is no greater purpose in this flawed, chaotic universe than that of aiding me to finding the Anti-Life equation and putting everything under my glorious, infallible control."
Captain Marvel reached down and pulled Darkseid's leg from under him, tripping him up. Spinning very quickly in a whirlwind effect, he lauched the Apokolips dictator crashing through support pillars, rooms, stopping the momentum in a radiation room by clutching the floor with his fingers. The structure above them was buckling slowly. A mach-1 propelled right jab delivered into Darkseid's face didn't help. The shockwaves of each blow rang out with violent degradation. The impacts of the punches each fighter threw brought the palace closer and closer to tumbling down.
"You're wrong, Darkseid," Captain Marvel grunted out as he blocked a punch and countered with a right cross, "There is a greater purpose, and I serve it! I give my life for it! My all, every day! I protect my family, my friends, and strangers on the street! I have to protect them from guys like you!"
The mad god caught Captain Marvel's fist then pulled him in, driving his knee into the gut of the hero repeatedly, doubling him over. A final knee into his jaw left Marvel on his back again. Darkseid walked over and put his foot ontop of the hero's face, slowly crushing it against the floor. "Fool. After all this you still suggest the hope that you can save your kind from my dominion? You're even more pathetic than the kryptonian."
As Darkseid pressed his foot against the skull of Shazam's champion, he began to smile. He said, "His place is where you now reside; beneath my foot like the disrespectful heretical vermin that he is. Unlike him, however, you have no heat vision with which to try and remove my foot from your face. So what will you do, Captain?"
Through a grunt, Captain Marvel muttered out, "Improvise." He brought his hands together and then slammed them against the floor, making it buckle, crumbling from underneath the strength of Marvel's blow and Darkseid's pressure of his foot on his face. They collapsed through another several floors, landing in a large room with massive windows overlooking the layout of the main city. A stone throne sat alone against the biggest window. They crumbled to the floor in a heap of violence and debris.
Captain Marvel groaned, trying to get to his feet. Darkseid met him with a sharp kick to his face, sending him flying into the far wall. As his body slid down, the ruler of Apokolips clutched the young hero's face and repeatedly slammed his head into the wall. Letting him slide down onto the floor, he drove his knee hard against his opponent's face, nearly knocking him out.
Marvel's face was covered in dust. His mouth was torn and bleeding. Darkseid stared at his prone foe with and smiled. "I grow weary of you and your kind, Captain," he said, looking down his nose at Marvel, "Coming to Apokolips without invitation, attacking my people, my army, my palace; worst of all, physically confronting me, daring to strike me like I'm some common villain to be dealt with by fisticuffs. All these affronts on me and you do it while hiding behind Highfather's precious protection. You are a honey covered nudist poking a starving bear with a ham sandwich; in essence, an idiot begging to be eaten whole by the beast."
"Okay," Captain Marvel said, pushing himself to his feet, "that made absolutely no sense whatsoever."
Darkseid gritted his teeth and swung down his fist. The hero caught the blow then swung it around Darkseid's back, twisting his arm. Marvel was met with a reverse head-butt to the face and a flip to the ground on his back. Darkseid stood triumphantly at the head of the fallen Captain Marvel. He reached down and closed his right hand around the throat of Shazam's champion. His eyes bulged in his sockets and face turned sickeningly red from the pressure of the hold.
"This unexpected development turned out exactly as I had planned," Darkseid said with a grim smile, "Hope, pure and unbridled, dying by my hand. All is as it should be, Captain Marvel. I win; you lose…Hope dies."
His breath fading, Shazam's champion struggled to fight his way free. He tried to say the wizard's name, but his gags and gasps were the only sounds he could make. The mad god muttered, "You have something to say, Captain? How quaint. I guess this is the point where you'd like me to say, 'Have you any last words?' and you call out the wizard's name, blasting me with the lightning that carries your power. Is that it?" Captain Marvel shook his head as much as he could in his current position, piquing Darkseid's interest. He said, "Really? Then what, pray tell, ARE your last words, whelp?"
Darkseid brought his face in close to hear the hero's final words. What he received was Captain Marvel driving his knees hard into the top of Darkseid's head. With the grip loosened, Captain Marvel rolled out of reach, struggling for breath. "You want some…last…words?" said the World's Mightest Mortal, "Here's some." He brought his hands together and swung them, axe handle-smashing into Darkseid's face, staggering him. Captain Marvel blocked a right cross and followed up with a head-butt and a knee to the stomach.
"Hope thrives in darkness; it's where it is the strongest," he continued, crashing a right cross into the jaw of the Apokoliptian god, "It's easy to be hopeful and cheerful when you're surrounded by its benefits in the sunlight every day. But the purest form is the kind that flourishes under the grimmest of circumstances. It's no wonder you spend countless days driving out people's wills and their sense of freedom. I believe even in the desolate, hope is there, even in…"
"SILENCE!" Darkseid screamed, letting loose with beams from his eyes. They were called The Omega Effect. They moved on his whim, chasing down his target and were capable of transporting or destroying any target it hit. Few have ever evaded them.
Captain Marvel never knew what hit him; the beams swerved behind and hit deep into his back, forcing him directly into a backhand from Darkseid. His body plowed through the window behind the throne, into the court yard, where the citizens gathered. They saw his body plummet a hundred feet downward. Tremors followed his impact on the ground, frightening many.
The god of Apokolips floated over his people, using his telekinetic power. Taking sharp breaths from the blows dealt to him during the fight, he landed directly over the prone body of Shazam's champion. Granny Goodness shoved her way through the crowd, "Make way, dogs, make way!" Reaching her master, she said, "Lord, again, you are victorious!"
"Again, and always," Darkseid said with a sneer, "He put up a valiant effort, but once again, hope is crushed under my heel."
"What shall you do with him, my lord?" Granny giggled, smacking her lips together, "Shall we make a fillet out of him? Feed him to the Parademons?"
"No, Granny. I want you to fasten him into shackles and parade him around the citizenry as a reminder of what happens to those who oppose almighty Darkseid."
Opening his eyes, unbeknownst to the dark lord and his henchwoman, Captain Marvel said, "Can I say something? SHAZAM!" Lightning spilled down before Granny or Darkseid could move out of the way. They both howled, the bolt burning to the touch and shocking them violently. The crowd screamed in fear, scurrying away like rats. Granny Goodness fell unconscious while Darkseid struggled to stay on his feet. Captain Marvel twirled around with super-sonic speed then unleashed a haymaker directly into Darkseid's face. The force of the punch propelled Darkseid through the walls of his palace yet again.
While he had the opportunity, Captain Marvel snatched up Granny Goodness and lightly slapped her cheek. "Wake up, you," he said. The minute she came to, he knocked away her weapon and said, "Set your Mother Box to send me to Earth, the exact position where I left. Now!"
With a smirk, she replied, "And if I don't, lambchop?"
"Then I call it down again and this time you won't have Darkseid taking the brunt. Got it, pumpkin?"
"Earth, you say?" Granny muttered, picking up a square-shaped metallic box and pressing several buttons on it. "It's set."
"Good," Captain Marvel said, seeing Darkseid's glowing red eyes, knowing what coming next. He hurled the large grotesque woman into him, knocking them both over. With the press of a button, a boom tube exploded in the air above Captain Marvel. Without any hesitation, he flew straight into it.
Darkseid tossed Granny off of him and saw the boom tube vanish as quickly as it had appeared. He knew where Captain Marvel had gone. Back to Earth, a planet under the protection of New Genesis, which meant it was off limits. His anger seethed over, boiling like water on a stove for too long. He reached out and snatched Granny Goodness by her hair and held her up, looking down at her fearful, trembling face.
"Granny," Darkseid said, "Congratulations. You've just become my new stress reliever."
Captain Marvel flew out of the boom tube, accelerating out of the wormhole like a bat out of hell. To him, it was pretty close to going through hell and getting in a fistfight with Lucifer himself. He stopped to notice the scene he left was now cordoned off by yellow police tape. Officers and detectives of Fawcett City's finest stared in surprise at their hero's arrival, as well as his unkempt and worn-down appearance. Rather than stand there and explain himself, he tipped his index and middle fingers to them and said, "Uh, Goodnight, gentlemen." He took off into the lightly drizzling night sky. After a few minutes of flying around and feeling the drops cool on his skin, he landed on the roof of the Whiz radio building, where he worked as Billy Batson, young radio newscaster.
The experience would forever be ingrained into his mind; as well as all of the people mindlessly serving that madman. Black Adam, though definitely a villain, wasn't trying to subjugate the people of Khandaq through brainwashing, torture and poverty. He merely wished to restore it to its former glory and do right by his people (though doing right meant doing some very wrong things which Adam had no problem doing.)
Captain Marvel breathed in deep. The air wasn't putrid with the stench of the depressing, the dark, and the nightmarish. The dread melted away bit by bit as he felt tiny droplets of rain on his face. Yelling out, "SHAZAM!" sent the lightning bolt down once more. This time, it transformed Captain Marvel into 16-year old Billy Batson. The wounds and bruises disappeared instantaneously.
The gods favored him that day, and he most definitely never wanted to set foot on Apokolips ever again. Hope was all around him on Earth; for a better tomorrow, for a brighter day, for sometime in the future when tyrants like Darkseid will be deposed and defeated forever.
The End.