Hey all you lovelies. Sorry it's taken so long to bring this to you all.
So, I've listened a few things regarding Superman's abilities in this story. He's not so OP that he can handle everything since a lot of the monsters in this story DO use magic, but he can handle things enough that if it really gets bad for the Sailor Scouts, he could aid them.
Short author note, I know, but I wanted to write that in.
REMINDER: For anyone curious about what inspired this story, check out the artist's Tumblr, tiggersmoke and her cute picture of Superman and Sailor Moon.
DISCLIAMER: I OWN NOTHING. Superman and Sailor Moon (and other characters) belong to their respected creators and NOT ME. Please support these characters and their official releases.
Chapter 4: Thunderstruck Dreams
Deep within the bowels of the Dark Kingdom—hidden from even the rest of the legion of monsters, a lone Queen Beryl had curiously traveled through the dark corridors of her own kingdom in search of Brainiac. As she traveled further and further into its shadowy depths, she discovered the first sign of something…off.
It began with a single metal pipe that had entwined with the corroding back surface of the wall. From then on, she had begun to see more and more forms of metallic surface appear across the hall, until the rest of the path had been completely submerged in metal; metal that was imbedded with glowing purple fixtures that surged through glass-like pipes.
It all led to an opening into a strange room. It had been made of the same metallic material as the hall, only this time, it glowed an eerie shade of purple that put even the Queen of the Dark Kingdom on edge. Of course, she wasn't one to show such emotions under any circumstances.
She walked into the room and saw the single control panel that had been placed in the center of the room. It was black and had a handprint on it.
Curious as one would be at the discovery of such an edifice in their own home, Queen Beryl placed her hand on it. Immediately the entire panel illuminated another purple glow, and the sounds of electricity and industrial mechanics began to sound off all around her. The entire room trembled, with Queen Beryl barely able to keep herself steady. She had been confused and absolutely cautious of what would happen next.
Then, just as it all started, the rumbling and sounds stopped almost instantly. She looked around for anything that could've come as a result of all the ruckus, but saw nothing…that is, until she looked up.
There, she had come face-to-face with an array of small glass orbs that floated over her head. There were dozens of them; all of different shapes and sizes. Queen Beryl had no idea what to make of them and had almost had the good sense to acquire one of them for closer inspection.
"Fascinating, aren't they?"
Queen Beryl peered over her shoulder to the owner of the room. Judging from the way he stood against the wall with his hands behind his back, he had been there the entire time. That, or he morphed from the walls as he usually did.
"What are these orbs?" She questioned.
"They are my greatest collections." Brainiac explained. "The cumulation of centuries spent, in order to acquire a vast magnitude of knowledge. Each one carries the lives, environment, and cities of a planet."
Brainiac stepped off of the wall and approached Queen Beryl as he gazed at the orbs above.
"It is a conquest that I have taken great pride in achieving. In my possession, I hold the very concept of each planet's metaphysics, their societal info structure, and so much more. Nothing they will attempt to achieve will escape me. I have absolute reign over the small piece of their world now."
He reached up to them, and on command, one slowly descended down into his grasp. He held it closely; staring into the small city inside. Queen Beryl could tell how fascinated he was over that specific sphere.
"Do you know what this one is?" Brainiac asked.
"Obviously not." Queen Beryl replied sharply.
"This orb contains the city known as Kandor." Brainiac explained. "The last remnants of the destroyed planet, Krypton."
"That was Superman's world." Queen Beryl recalled.
Brainiac nodded. He released the orb and slowly allowed it to rejoin the others above them.
"Did you know that on Kandor, a unique plant had grown on the outer land of the city." Brainiac said, "It was simply known as 'The Black Mercy'—An infectious abomination, with the sole purpose of feeding on the weak minded for sustenance. Pathetic amphibians that should have perished with the rest of Krypton…but maybe they can serve a purpose to the resurrection of your Queen."
Queen Beryl's attention through his incessant ramblings produced an intriguing gem that was worth the inquiry. "I'm listening…"
"Retrieve your subordinate Nephrite." Brainiac ordered, to Beryl's chagrin. "I predict his excavation of energy will become bountiful."
A bright and sunny Sunday morning was ripe for the need of fun and excitement in the busy district of Juban. The youth would want something more than just shopping for stuff and hanging out at cafes. They need something that would allow them to have real fun that they could remember for years to come.
And what better way to ensure such great memories then to go to Juban's newest amusement park: Dreamland.
Dreamland had it all; rides, games, food, and all the excitement of a certain other theme park with a familiar cartoon mouse. Though not as large as that park, Dreamland was the next best thing when the budget didn't look so hot. It ensured fun, magic, and that colorful aesthetic that any family would be thrilled to attend.
It was the perfect way to spend the last day in Japan for vacation. Especially for such a large family as the one that were mesmerized by all the excitement.
"Wow! This place is gigantic!" Said a young girl; African American with her black hair in two puffy pig-tails. "You think we'll see a real princess here!"
"Highly unlikely." Said a young boy; Asian with black short hair and thick-rimmed glasses. "Princesses as you see them are more of a fictional character that only exist—"
"What he means is that we'll find one if we believe hard enough." Said an older girl; Caucasian with dark brown long hair in a ponytail and a warm smile.
"A-And we'll, y'know, be able to ride all the cool rides too." Said another older boy; Hispanic with black short hair and a bit on the heavy-set side.
"Yay!" Cheered the little girl. "I wanna find the princess!"
"Now, now, we'll have all the time for that later." Said an older woman; short hair and a sweet personality. "We'll have to follow a list if we want to explore the entire area."
"Your mother's right, you all." Said an older man; particularly Asian and also on the heavier side with rugged features but a bright smile. "Do your best to stay with one another. Wouldn't want to get lost out here, okay?"
"Okay!" They all agreed.
The family continued on their merry way to enjoy the amusement park. However, two individuals were behind having a discussion of their own while they kept up with the rest of the family.
"Okay, okay, but how about this: Wonder Woman versus Harley Quinn?" Asked a boy in his early teen; black shaggy hair and on a single crutch.
"Dude, I've seen that fight. Wonder Woman all the way." Replied another boy in his early teens; black short hair under a baseball cap. "Y'know, if you're gonna ask me these kinds of versus questions, you gotta do ones I wasn't actually a part of."
"Aaah but I can't help it! I've always wanted to see them!" Said the other boy. "It's not fair that you get to actually meet the Justice League anytime you want! Can't you at least tell me one of their secret identities?"
"Naw, man, sorry. It's a strict JL code; can't give away secret identities." The boy smirked. "Plus, you'd be pretty disappointed if I told you."
"Ah-Ha! That means that they're posing as normal people, aren't they?-!" The crutch-wearing boy figured. "So, who's Batman, huh? He's gotta be some rich dude for him to have all that gear!" He then gasped. "Oh my god…Oh my god, I know who Batman is!"
"Really…?" The black-haired boy said unconvinced. "Do tell."
"Okay, here me out, man! Batman is…"
The black-haired boy eyed him with a hint of worry.
"…Bruce Wayne's roommate!"
A sigh of relief escaped, but the cap-wearing boy did his best to make it look like an exasperated sigh. "Sure, that's who it is."
"Aaaw, come on, Billy!" The boy groaned. "Just tell me!"
"Sorry, Freddie. Lips are sealed." Billy said with a wink.
The first sip of the premium mango smoothies was the first time in quite some time that Clark Kent truly felt the joys of working in reporting.
It wasn't every day that Clark could have the chance to simply enjoy himself while he reports on the latest story for the Daily Planet. However, this was a welcomed exception to the usual workload. He was out of the office and under the sun of a beautiful Sunday morning at one of Juban's newest amusement parks: Dreamland. All he needed to do was report the strange happening occurring at the park, and afterwards he was free to enjoy the rest of the day.
Though the attractions did sound amusing, he didn't except the offer by his boss for the fun and games once he heard of what was really going on. It turned out that the strange occurrences came from over 50 individuals suddenly disappearing in the past week since it opened. Not even the smallest trace could be discovered. To Clark, it definitely reeked of the Dark Kingdom and Nephrite.
And what better way to start, then by heading straight into the big crowd of fellow reporters who were also waiting in the lobby of Dreamland's Management office.
Clark had to push his way through the reporters who discussed the strange occurrences with one another. He had learned to never go too into discussion with other reporters. You never know what they're actually trying to pry out of you to use for their own news sites.
Just as Clark appeared at the front of the crowd, a single security officer had appeared from the elevator on the other side of the room, and quickly approached the reporters. The moment they all saw him, it only took one of the reporters to yell for the officer's attention before the crowd erupted into a frenzy of questions and camera flashes.
Clark had almost expected to see Nephrite or another one of his monster minions in disguise as the spokesperson for the management. However, he was surprise to find that it was actually just a normal human being. He looked as nervous and frantic as could be but did his best at remaining calm and collected in the face of so many reporters.
"Alright, alright! Please listen!" He yelled out. It was loud enough to stop the barrage of questions and brought out the pen and papers to jot down everything. "Let me be clear in saying that I will only be allowed to answer three questions and that is all. I have received orders from the owner of the park to keep this brief. There is far too much that is needed out of me to insure the safety of the park."
The crowd of reporters once again exploded into an array of questions that filled the entire lobby. The security guard could barely pick out which one he wanted to ask since there had been so many of them.
However, he luckily came upon a single reporter who did not call out for answers. Instead, he simply stood there; poised and with a kind enough smile that made him hard to ignore. He simply raised his pen to get the guard's attention.
"You." He pointed out.
"Hello. Clark Kent of the Juban Daily Planet. You wouldn't happen to, or someone you know, work the nightshift, do you?" Clark asked. "If so, have you witnessed any strange sightings? Anything that seemed almost…unexplainable?"
The other reporters looked at Clark with confusion. Of all the important questions, why was that the first one? Despite this, the officer answered.
"To answer your question, yes, I do work the nightshift here at Dreamland. However, I've not seen anything out of the ordinary during those hours. All is as quiet as can be."
Clark could see he had told the truth. His heartbeat was at a normal pace.
"Next question."
Once again, a roar of reporters' questions erupted again.
"You." He called towards one of the other reporters beside Clark. She introduced herself and proceeded to her question.
"There has been speculation that Dreamland is responsible for the disappearances that have occurred during the past week. Do you believe that one or a few of your fellow employees could be the culprit or culprits?"
"No. Our employees have been hand-picked based on their job qualifications and have been searched of any form of background history. Therefore, we believe that Dreamland had nothing to do with these unfortunate events."
"Maybe, but still!" One reporter yelled out loud. "Fifty of your visitors have gone missing so far! Surely that can't be a coincidence!"
"I assure you we have looked into it." He answered. "The number of people who entered the park is the same as the number who've left. None have gone missing here. That is all the questions I'm aloud to say."
Once again, the crowd became restless as they scrambled for more questions to ask. Clark knew a dead end when he saw one and took that opportunity to escape through the reporter wave that had formed.
Once he made it through, Clark proceeded out the sliding glass door and was outside to the rest of the park. He felt exhausted already as he adjusted his glasses. The little he could gather was barely enough to be considered front page worthy. Even so, he knew there was more happening then that security guard was going to let on. For the time being, he kept his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.
"Ah! Kent-san!"
Clark heard the familiar voice of a young girl run up towards him. He looked to the side of him and saw that it was the three Sailor Scouts in their weekend attire. However, he had been bombarded by the newest member, Rei, who wasted no time in coming right into his face.
"K-Kent-san! I-It's so good to see you here!" She said in a chipper tone with the reddest cheeks. "Well, then again why wouldn't you be here? You are a reporter after all and this is a new exciting amusement park!"
"W-Well, it's nice to see you three here, too." Clark said happily while putting some space between him and Rei. "I assume you three are here for the same reason as I am?"
"Uh! W-Well we're really here because we just wanted to see the fun rides!" Usagi said in an obvious scramble for an answer. "I hear this place has the best smoothies in town! Why would we be here about any weird stuff like missing people?-!"
Clark raised a brow with a subtle smirk. "I was here to write on how fun the amusement park is. I never said it was for the weird things happening around here."
"Y-You didn't? Ha ha ha, funny that, right?" She said nervously.
The other scouts and Luna sighed. Such was a habit when it came to their 'fearless' leader.
"Anyway, it seems we're all here for the same reason as you are." Luna figured. "Investigating the strange disappearances of some of the citizens of the park."
"That's right." Clark nodded. "I just had an interview with the security chief who seemed just as puzzled about it as we are. He claims that Dreamland has nothing to do with the disappearances and that no one's gone missing at all."
"Well, that doesn't make sense. There's clear proof that people have disappeared." Ami persisted. "How could the number of grieving families be lying?"
"That's what I want to get to the bottom of." Clark said, "It would be a very compelling piece for my editorial: 'The Secrets of Dreamland: Sandman's eutopia or Bogyman's poaching ground ?' Has a nice ring to it."
"Oh, I think it sounds amazing, Kent-san~" Rei said swooning. "You'd definitely make front page for sure!"
"Yes, well, I think we should first dig around and see if Dreamland is or isn't involved in the first place." Ami suggested.
"You're right." Clark agreed. "So far, what we know is that the same number of people who have gone missing are the same number that have entered. Do you think they disappeared on the way home?"
"Regardless, I find it strange that they all came here to this park before going missing." Luna noted.
It is weird…wait…" Ami realized. "…Guys, where's Usagi?"
The girls looked around for the blond girl but didn't see her anywhere around them. Immediately their hearts began to beat at the thought of one of their friends were already caught up in the strange disappearances.
"You don't have to worry about her." Clark assured them.
All three were confused, before Clark pointed towards something. Their gaze followed his finger, only for their worries to be replaced with irritation at the sight of where Usagi had ran off to.
Rather than join them on the case, she instead went off to ride the Merry-go-round with a big goofy grin on her face, and her jeering laughter echoing into their heads like a siren. While Clark found it almost amusingly adorable, the other scouts and especially Luna weren't as happy.
"Well…you gotta admire her optimism." Clark said.
"Alright, I got one; Aquaman versus The Flash."
"Flash."
"Green Lantern versus The Atom."
"Tough, but I'm gonna go with Green Lantern."
"Blue Beetle versus Black Canary."
"Ha! As if Blue B would ever be stupid enough to try. Black Canary, no question."
"Okay, smart guy, I got a big one for ya." Freddy challenged. "Shazam versus Superman."
Billy had to think about that for a moment. He only agreed to these versus questions Freddie was throwing at him to pass the time while the whole family stood in the mother of all long lines for the biggest rollercoaster in the entire park. It practically stretched for hours. But because the youngest sister, Darla, wanted to ride, the others had no choice but to agree. Both Eugene and Pedro, the two brothers, were against it due to fear of loops in the ride, but Mary, the oldest daughter, triple-dog-dared them. Billy and Freddy were unfortunately part of the dare along with the foster parents.
"Hmmm, I wanna say the obvious since there's the magic n' all, buuut…" Billy racked his head around it. "…Superman's got the powers and the experience of being a superhero down packed…crap, man I dunno."
"Ha! I gotcha!" Freddy jeered. "Guess the great Billy Batson doesn't have all the answers! So much for the Wisdom of Solomon."
"Hey, cut me some slack; I've never fo—I mean seen Shazam fight the Man of Steel." Billy said, making sure his family didn't hear him.
"Isn't it weird to be saying Shazam like that?" Freddy wondered.
"Naaaw. As long as I don't call out to it or yell it, I'm good." Billy assured him. "But still, I would never wanna fight Superman. He's like, the greatest superhero ever!"
"Dude, I know! I would so love to meet him one day!" Freddy gushed. "You gotta get me his autograph the next time we head to Metropolis!"
"Depends if you let me skip you for the front seat." Billy smirked.
The two continued to have their fun while they waited in the agonizing line. However, unbeknownst to Billy, trouble was just about to rear its ugly head.
"Ugh! Honestly!" Luna scolded. "Just what were you thinking, Usagi?"
Usagi held her head down in shame as the three girls and black cat sat on one of the benches just behind the Ferris wheel, while Clark leaned against the brick wall behind said bench.
"Sorry…" Usagi pouted. "I just got a little carried away…"
"Now, now, it's no trouble to enjoy ourselves just a little bit." Clark said, "It is an amusement park after all."
"Even so, this isn't a time for games." Rei said as she glared towards Usagi. "You're supposed to be a Sailor Scout. Act like it!"
The red Scout gave Usagi a hard slap on her back that pushed her right out of her chair and onto the ground. Naturally, Usagi wasn't too happy about this.
"Hey! Don't you lecture me!" She barked. "In the end, I always somehow get the job done, so butt…out?"
Just then, Usagi noticed that she was not alone. She felt something large and almost predatorial stand before her. In her absent-minded state she didn't begin to fathom just what it truly was. As her brain slowly began to connect the dots and start to work again, she realized that inches away from her face were the fanged teeth of a fully-grown lion; growling and all.
"AHH!" Usagi screamed as she jumped right behind the bench and cowered in absolute fear along with Ami, Luna, and Rei. Clark was the first to react by standing in the way of the lion to protect the girls if need be. It would've been a risk to reveal his identity to Rei and Usagi, but it was a risk he had to take.
However, what happened next took all of them by surprise.
"Welcome to Dreamland."
All five of them were taken aback by the words of a British male coming from none other than the Lion's mouth. Clark almost assumed that it was another guardian like Luna.
"It's alright. He won't bite."
Suddenly, the five were once again surprised by the arrival of another person. It was a young woman dressed in a princess-themed pink and blue dress with white long gloves. Her hair was long with curls, while her eyes were a mesmerizing shade of blue. On the top of her head was a glowing tiara, while in her gloved hand was a single ruby red apple.
"As you can guess, this lion is merely animatronic." The princess said with a soft and calming voice.
Usagi gasped in astonishment as stars filled her eyes. "I don't believe it! You're Princess Dreams!" She quickly leaped from behind the bench and practically pushed Clark out of the way. (much to Rei's chagrin) "I've always wanted to meet you! I'm such a fan~"
"W-Wait, you said that's a machine?" Ami asked equally amazed as she too came from behind the bench.
"Yes. It's operated by remote control." The princess said. "As are all the animals in the park."
To demonstrate this fact, she placed her other hand over the apple and slowly hovered it over the glowing red orb. Everyone, but Usagi (still starstruck) noticed the odd way in which she controlled it. But just as she said, more animals began to approach them. Ranging from deer, to bears, boars, tigers, and even a family of rabbits. All had gathered around them with such life like appearances.
"Wooow~ This is amazing!" Usagi said in amazement.
While she was absolutely enamored by the cute animatronic animals, Ami and Rei huddled together in sharing the same idea.
"Something's not right about this…" Rei suspected.
"I agree, but I can't quite place it…" Ami wondered.
Meanwhile Luna leaped onto Clark's shoulder to whisper: "What do you think? Can you see anything otherworldly?"
"I don't." Clark answered.
"So, their okay?"
"No, I mean I don't see anything, because I can't." Clark made clear. "Their bodies, even the princess's costume…they're all lined with lead."
"Lead?" The black cat wondered.
"Unfortunately, Kryptonians can't see or hear through lead." Clark whispered back. "As far as I could tell, I thought they were just regular animals before this Princess Dreams said otherwise."
"I see. But why would the princess and animatronic animals need to wear lead of all material?"
"That's just what I wanna know."
"Ah yes, that's right I forgot to mention."
Everyone's attention went towards the princess again.
"In one hour, there will be a show at The House of Sweets. I hope you all can come watch." She smiled politely. "I have even heard that the amazing hero of Metropolis, Superman will be there."
"He will?-!" Both Rei and Usagi exclaimed excitedly.
"He will?" Both Ami and Luna said in confusion.
"H-He will?" Clark said equally confused.
"He—what?-!"
"Yeeeah, that's what I heard." Freddy answered.
This was news to Billy as he gulped down his slushie along with Freddie at the outdoor food court. Unfortunately, Freddy was in a sour mood due to him hearing from a passerby in a wheelchair that there would be no place to put the wheelchair without fear of it being stolen. This put Freddy on edge as he didn't want to risk losing his crutch and decided to bow out of the rollercoaster. It took a lot of convincing to the rest of the family to go on without him, but it worked after a few minutes of talking it out. Billy, not wanting to leave him all alone, decided to join Freddy as the two went to get something to eat.
But now, there was a new concern for them to discuss.
"I didn't even know Superman was here…" Billy said.
"You didn't?" Freddy said attentively. "I would've thought that'd be in some kind of Justice League newsletter."
"Or maybe they didn't think to tell me about it because I'm too young to participate in adult conversations, or something." Billy grumbled.
"Maybe…hey! Wanna go look for him?" Freddy suggested.
"What? No way." Billy answered. "The last thing I wanna do is get in Superman's spotlight. He might hate me, y'know."
"Dude, Batman gets in Superman's spotlight every friggin' day. What's one more boy scout, huh?" Freddy provoked.
"Please." Billy scoffed. "You just wanna see Superman in person."
"Uh, yeah I do!" Freddy nodded while getting in Billy's face. "So, come on! Please let's go find him! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, pleeeeease?"
"Ugh! Alright!" Billy surrendered. "Jeez, we'll go find him! Just don't say I never do anything for you."
"I promise you all of my dessert for a week!" Freddy said graciously. "Now go find a bush or something and get into character!"
Billy sighed as he got up. "Yeah, yeah…"
Billy took off into the direction of the tallest trees and bushes that was out of obvious eyes. Once in the small meadow of trees and bushes, he made sure to look around for one more go before he almost decided to call out the magic word.
"Okay, here we go…Sh—hmm?"
Just then, Billy happened to look over towards his left and saw a very familiar blue suited, red cape wearing hero landing just behind the towering castle that looked like something out of Darla's picture books. Judging by the looks of him, he didn't seem to want to be seen by anyone. Of course, there was no way Billy would just let him go that easily.
"Mr. Superman! Mr. Superman!"
The Man of Steel winced at the sound of a young boy's voice. The last thing he needed was to be caught by a fan who wanted an autograph while an investigation was underway. Still, he couldn't just turn down someone who wanted to see him; especially the sound of a young child that just wanted to say hello.
He took a deep breath and put on his best smile towards the approaching lad. To his utter surprise it turned out to be the last person he would expect to see all the way out in Japan.
"B-Billy?-!" Superman said, "What're you doing here?"
"Vacation. Been planning it for months, but I should be asking you that." Billy said back. "Why're you all the way out here in Japan?"
He couldn't tell Billy about the disappearances. If the boy didn't know, it was for the better that he learned to enjoy his youth rather than continuously get involved with matters for the adults—magical powers or not.
"It's…complicated." Superman answered, "I've…pretty much been called by the people of Japan…to do a job. Reporting job! Boring, and all that."
"Really?" Billy said skeptically. "Then why the Super suit, huh? I read the news, and you're a big thing here. And when did you start promoting for theme parks? Didn't you say the Justice League doesn't do advertising?"
"W-Well…apparently they sort of forced it onto me." Superman said nervously. "Plus, I didn't want to disappoint the kids. And to answer the first question; crime isn't just a thing in America. Robbers and criminals need to be stopped here as well."
"Uh huh." Billy said with suspicion.
"Listen, I'm just here as Superman for a minor appearance and that's all. Trust me, there's nothing dangerous here that would require you to say your magic word."
Billy was ever the suspicious young boy. He looked Superman dead in his eyes for even the smallest hint of doubt. Superman stood his ground and did not waver. He fell for this trick once before with Billy Batson, and he promised to not fall for it again.
"Hmmm…alright." Billy shrugged. "But you gotta promise you'll give me something autographed for my brother, Freddy. Got it?"
"Yeah, definitely." Superman nodded. "See ya inside."
Billy smiled with a child-like innocence while he waved Superman off as he entered through the back doors. Once those doors closed, Billy's kid-like smile fell to one of mischievous intent.
"For a dude with a secret identity, you sure are an open book, Mr. Superman." Billy said to himself. "Something else is going on here…maybe Freddy knows something."
Billy ran back through the trees and jumped from out of them, back towards the food court with haste in his steps. He couldn't wait to see the look on Freddy's face when he told him that Superman was gonna autograph something for him. Knowing Freddy, Billy assumed he'd even settle for a cup being signed by the Man of Steel himself. He had just approached the food court and towards the table the two boys sat at.
"Freddy! Freddy! You won't believe who I…huh?"
Just as he got there, Billy realized right away that Freddy was nowhere to be seen. What worried him the most was what had been left of him leaning on the table; his crutch, along with half of his hot dog and his half empty slushie.
"Freddy?" Billy called. "Freddy? Where are you?-! Freddy?-! Oh God, Freddy where are you, man?-!"
Immediately Billy went into panic mode as he desperately looked around for any sign of his foster brother. He knew Freddy couldn't have gone far since he left his crutch behind. Someone must've taken him or worse. He began to imagine the sad and tearful looks on the family's faces. The sounds of Darla's cries cut deep into his heart. He was afraid that the family would blame him for the loss of one of their foster kids. Despite them never having it in their hearts to hate any of their kids, Billy couldn't handle the possibility. He also couldn't live with himself if he didn't find Freddy. He needed to find his brother.
Just then, he noticed something that was on the table. It turned out to be a small cupcake with sprinkles and a single candle.
"A cupcake?" Billy said in confusion.
He didn't bother to touch it but examined it thoroughly. It wasn't much, but it gave him enough of a hint to figure out where to look first.
"The House of Sweets." Billy said heatedly.
The last-minute announcements for The House of Sweets rang across the intercoms across the park. One could imagine it to be the perfect gathering place for loads of people. However, Luna pictured it as the perfect spot for multiple people to suspiciously go missing. It was too much curiosity for the black cat to ignore. It was what brought her to stand just before the closed doors of the candy-themed castle.
"Luna!"
The black cat looked over to see both Usagi and Rei join her side.
"Hey, where'd Ami go?" Usagi asked.
"She's already inside, along with Superman." Luna answered.
"So, he really is here." Rei said with a tinge of excitement. "A shame Kent-san had to miss him."
"Y-Yeah, a real shame…" Luna said with a side-eyed glance.
"Hey, excuse me!"
Just as Usagi turned towards the voice, she was harshly shoved to the side by a boy that looked just about their age. He paid them no mind and continued to run towards the entrance of the House of Sweets. He opened the door and slipped right in as it closed right behind him.
"Ouch…" Usagi groaned while rubbing her shoulder. "What a jerk! Why not watch where you're going, buddy!"
"Well he certainly seemed in a hurry." Luna figured.
"Guess he wanted to see the House of Sweets too." Usagi said, "What do you think Rei…? Rei?"
Usagi looked towards the raven-haired scout; she wore a very troubled look on her face while she stared at the candy-themed castle. This, in turn, made Usagi equally concerned.
"This castle…I'm getting a very bad vibe off of it." Rei said. "And that boy…there was something off about him as well."
"What? You think he's a monster?" Usagi wondered.
"Not sure, but…I just don't like the feeling I'm getting from it all."
Inside the magnificent castle called the House of Sweets, there lied a beautifully leveled, white marble room of flowers and other fairy tale-themed odysseys. There were tables filled with sweets from cakes, to ice cream, and even candies, while the toys were plenty and expensive enough to be found in most toy stores. At the center of the room was a spiraling staircase that lead to the roof of the entire room. Many of the guest were amazed by all that there was to offer while enjoying the confectionery sweets.
However, not everyone was taken by the cuteness and dreamy atmosphere, as Ami cautiously looked around for anything out of the ordinary. She felt almost helpless while being in the middle of everything that could go wrong. So far, all of the fantasy seemed too good to be true. For one thing, no amusement park would simply allow their guest to enjoy such a vast amount of food and entertainment for free. There wasn't even someone watching who entered into the House of Sweets like a security guard. Despite that, Ami did feel some manner of composure knowing that Superman was present in the castle.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, Billy Batson had been searching desperately for Freddy among the swarm of guest that were all pigging out on sweets and smelling the flowers. He only hoped he could find his brother before the rest of his family reached the end of the line for the rollercoaster.
"Hello everyone. May I have your attention, please?"
Just then, a soft voice spoke from the center stage through a microphone. Everyone's attention was centered on to none other than the pink-dressed Princess Dreams. In her hands was a rather large box that she had to hold under her free arm.
"Welcome everyone to my House of Sweets." She greeted. "Please enjoy the food and scenery as we start the show."
The crowd of people all clapped and cheered for the princess, while Ami was still on the cautious side.
Billy, on the other hand, decided to get a little rambunctious and decided to climb the spiraling staircase in order to get a bird's eye view of the crowd in the hopes of finding Freddy.
"Now, before we begin, I would first like to introduce the guest of honor." The princess said, "For quite some time, he has been the perfect definition of a hero; defending not only the city of Metropolis, but the entire world from our greatest threats. There is no one I'm more grateful to have as a visitor then the hero who inspires hope in us all. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would love for you all to give a round of applause to the Man of Steel himself: Superman!"
The crowd roared with applause and hurrah the moment they saw the man of the hour appear from behind the red curtains and took to center stage with the princess. He smiled that million-dollar smile of his as he waved to the gleeful men, women, and children.
Ami decided to at least clap for Superman's appearance to take away some of the suspicion.
Billy was too preoccupied with trying to find Freddy from above the staircase.
"Thank you." Superman said, "Thank you, everyone. Thank you." Finally, the crowd died down long enough for Superman to speak into his own microphone. "Thank you, Dreamland guest and Juban residents alike. It is such an honor to be welcomed here with open arms and bright smiles. Y'know, flying across the skies and seeing the world from above is great, but the moments I've had spending time with the citizens of every city I visit; including Juban—those are the sights that can never be forgotten."
The crowd erupted into applause once again as Superman smiled and nodded. He happened to notice Ami in the crowd and nodded towards her—assuring the Sailor scout that he was present in case anything happened. Ami returned the nod, feeling a little better about the situation.
Once the clapping settled, Princess Dreams spoke up once more. "In honor of Superman giving some of his precious time, we here at Dreamland would like to present to you a small token of our gratitude."
She placed the mic down and presented the large box to Superman. He graciously took it and looked down at it with anticipation.
"Please, open it." The princess said.
He had hoped to wait until he was alone to open it, but with everyone also waiting to see what it was, Superman figured he might as well give it a look see.
He opened the box, and…
"Whoa!" Rei yelped.
"What? What is it?" Usagi asked, startled by Rei's cry.
"I-I'm not sure…! I-I just felt a huge negative energy just envelop the castle."
"I knew something wasn't right about this castle!" Luna suspected. "This isn't good, Ami and Superman are in there!"
"B-But Ami should be okay with Superman, right?" Usagi reminded them. "He's Superman, after all."
"Regardless, staying here won't give us anything to work with." Rei proposed. "We gotta get in there!"
Rei ran right towards the double doors with Usagi and Luna right behind her. She took hold of the door handles and pulled hard. Despite using all her strength, she couldn't even so much as make them budge an inch.
"Ugh! It's no use!" Rei fussed.
"Oh no! Ami! Superman!" Usagi cried loudly. "Rei, what're we gonna do?-!"
"Well what we're not gonna do is sit here and cry about it like you do everything else." Rei said bitterly.
"B-But Ami…and Superman…!"
"I never said I wasn't worried."
"Really, 'cause it's hard to tell!" Usagi pouted. "Ami's my friend. You don't even care about her anyway. All you're worried about is seeing Superman rescue you out of a tree or something."
"You don't know a thing about me!"
"Will you both shut up and transform already! We're wasting time!" Luna exclaimed.
"Fine!" Both sighed before calling out. "Moon/Mars Prism Power! Make Up!"
In, what took only a mere second to do, both of the girls transformed—Usagi from her fingers, and Rei from her pen.
Both of their entire body were overtaken in a shade of pure light that made their original clothes vanish. The golden brooch on Usagi's chest flashed for a moment, while Rei was consumed by flames. They both appeared in white leotards with the sailor's collars, themed neckbands, ear rings, and ribbons on their chest. On both of their arms were white long gloves, and hot red boots for Usagi, while heels appeared on Rei. Flowing around their waist were pleated, miniskirts with big ribbon behind them. And finally, on their foreheads were golden tiaras, with red gems in the buns of Usagi's pigtails.
With that, the two had become the Sailor Scouts known as 'Sailor Moon' and 'Sailor Mars'.
"Fire Soul!" Sailor Mars called out.
From her clasped hands shot out a concentrated blast of pure fire that was able to burst through the double doors without fail. Through the billowed smoke, the three ran into the castle and into the long hallway of diamond incrusted walls.
"Remember, we're on a mission here so don't get easily distracted!" Mars warned.
"Ugh! I know! You don't have to boss me around!" Sailor Moon shouted back.
The two continued down the seemingly long hallway until they could see a large room open up to them. Once through the entry way, the Sailor Scouts were shocked to discover what awaited them. The room of sweets and flowers had been erased and was left as nothing more but an empty husk of its former glory. The walls were a shabby white, while the ground was concrete. The spiral staircase was a simple design while the only real source of light were the small openings above the walls.
There, lying on the ground were the poor souls of men, women, and even children who were tricked into going into the House of Sweets; all unconscious. There even seemed to be even more people than they had anticipated. Both scouts assumed they were the other people who went missing people who disappeared weeks ago. Among them, Sailor Moon and Mars saw their third scout who was asleep right along with them.
At that exact moment on the other side of the room, Billy had been able to escape the similar fate as the rest of the guest and had come down from the swirling staircase. He looked around in horror of the many sleeping bodies all across the floor.
It didn't take him long to find the one he had been looking for.
"Freddy!" Billy whispered loudly.
He ran right towards the unconscious young man and fell to his knees to get a better look at him. For some reason, Freddy actually looked…peaceful. As if he were having the best dream he had ever experienced.
"Freddy…! Hey Freddy!" Billy whispered while he shook him. No response. "Come on, Freddy! If you're asleep forever, mom's gonna kill me!"
"Ami!" Sailor Moon called as they ran over to her.
Billy peered over towards the sight of two girls approaching the pile of sleeping people. What earned a raised brow was the peculiar outfits the two girls wore. They were sailor uniforms but way too revealing for modesty. In all honesty, Billy couldn't turn his gaze away from their legs but forced himself to keep focus.
The two Scouts kneeled down the check on their teammate. They were fortunate to see that Ami had just about came to the moment she heard their voices.
"Ugh…Usagi?" Ami groaned. She had begun to sit up. "Rei…Luna…"
"Ami! Thank goodness you're okay!" Usagi graciously said with tears in her eyes.
"W-What happened…?" She said at first. Just then, all the memories of what had transpired earlier had begun to come back to her. "Wait…! That's right! Superman!"
Ami rose back to her feet and looked towards the center stage. She was horrified right along with the Sailor scouts and Luna at what she saw.
There, standing at the stage as still as a statue, was the Man of Steel. However, he was…smiling. But not just any smile, but one that was in sheer bliss. His eyes seemed to stare into nothingness. What stood out the most on him was the strange plant-like thing that had been strapped onto his chest. It had sharp thorns that poked out of the dark rose buds, while thorn vines wrapped around his body.
"Oh no…!" Luna gasped. "That's…! That's a Black Mercy!"
"A what?" Rei questioned.
"Black Mercy. Those damned things use to grow in the fields of my home world." Luna explained. "They're parasitic plants that create dreams of a person's perfect life by tapping into the pleasure centers of one's brain."
"Really? That's sounds kinda nice." Usagi said optimistically.
"Oh, yeah its nice until it starts to feed on your energy and slowly kill you!" Luna exclaimed. "We need to get it off of him right now!"
"I am afraid I cannot allow that."
The scouts looked up towards the sound of a familiar woman's voice rain down before them. They were taken aback by the sight of it; a fully-grown humanoid puppet dressed in a red and black dress and withering white hair. On her head was a decrepit tiara, while her arms were gloved in black; holding a ruby red apple.
"Wait! Is that Princess Dreams?-!" Usagi gasped in horror. "What happened to her?-!"
"Hello." The puppet woman said, "I am the monster, Murido. Pleased to meet you." It gave them a courteous bow.
"O-Oh…please to meet you too." Usagi replied.
"Guess Princess Dreams is more of a nightmare after all." Rei said.
"Then we'll defeat her together." Ami joined as she pulled out her Scout's pen.
"Mercury Prism Power! Make Up!"
The pen glowed as her body was enveloped in an almost watery spiral of ribbons. they had completely covered her from head to toe, before releasing her in a small spark of light. What was left on her was a white leotard with the sailor's collar, a themed neckband, ear rings, and a ribbon on her chest. On her arms were white long gloves, and her feet wore long heeled boots. Flowing around her waist was a pleated, miniskirt with a big ribbon behind it. And finally, to appear on her forehead was a blue gem that formed into her golden tiara.
She had become the heroine known as 'Sailor Mercury'.
"The apple is the source of her power!" Ami confirmed. "We'll need to attack that first!"
The other two Scouts nodded and were just about to go after the puppet. Murido was also prepared to subdue them with its mouth unhinged, until…
"Hey! Puppet lady!"
Both the girls and Murido's attention went towards the sudden appearance of the same boy that shoved Usagi out of the way to enter the House of Sweets. He had thrown his hat down to reveal his black short hair, while his eyes were burning with rage.
"I dunno what weird game is going on here, or…" Billy took one look at the girls; eyeing them up and down and raising an eyebrow with a judgmental stare. "…why those girls are dressed like something out of an anime…"
"Hey/Hey/Hey!" the three of them exclaimed while blushing red and pulling down at the skirts.
"…but you better tell me how to wake up my brother, or else!" Billy threatened Murido.
The puppet let out a very robotic laugh that gave everyone an unusual chill down their spines. "Your brother? I'm afraid he is currently within the dream world. As are all the other people that have come to the House of Sweets."
She snapped her finger and out of the shadows of strange aura-like portals, a bunch of the animatronic animals appeared. From bears, to bunnies, and deers of the like. All of them gathered around Murido.
"Aw, it's the cute animals again." Usagi cooed.
However, that cuteness factor was suddenly thrown out the window once the animals began to shake violently. Their backs had spewed black muck that ripped out of their bodies into individual beings made of sheer dark magic. They morphed until they had solidified into strange marionettes armed with axes and other bladed weapons. Their outfits looked very similar to old porcelain dolls.
"Ah! O-Okay, its not cute anymore!" Usagi said fearfully.
"Big deal!" Billy shouted. "This is your last warning. Wake. Up. Freddy?"
Once again, Murido let out her robotic laugh. What followed was the creepiest morbid grin that could form on the puppet with piercing eyes. "Your so-called Freddy is now a victim to the dreams. And soon, so…will…YOU."
That was the wrong answer in Billy's case. His anger rose as his fist tightened. He had no time to play games with this monster. Either she would tell him how to wake Freddy up, or he would have to beat it out of her. Luckily he knew just the right word for the job.
He pulled out a phone with a pair of earphones and put them in. The girls and even Murido were confused as to what he was doing in the middle of a fight. He flipped through something on it until he nodded to the right one.
"Okay! You asked for—aw, crap. Hold on." Billy said while flipping through his phone again. "Not the right one…nope…naw…damn clickbait vids…ah! Here it is! Thunderstruck!"
He put the phone back in his pocket, as the song he was looking for played at full blast in his headphones.
"Now you asked for it, Pinocchio!"
Billy took in a deep breath before he called out the name in an echoing yell:
"SHAZAM!"
Just then, out of seemingly nowhere from above, a burst of lighting had shot down from above, and hit Billy dead and center. The burst of light had created dust that surrounded the boy and made the girls cover their eyes for a moment. When they had been able to see, and the smoke had finally settled, they were…shocked at what they found was there.
Standing in the place of the boy, glowing with sparks of lighting around his body, was a tall muscular man in his late 30's with black short hair, and glowing light brown eyes. His outfit was a full-body red suit with golden gauntlets, boots and a belt that all seemed to have small glowing lines to them. Flowing behind him was a white cape that reached the back of his knees and a hood over his short black hair. Emblazoned on his chest was a golden lightning bolt that sparked with power.
Needless to say, the girls were at a loss for words.
Murido's grin suddenly fell into one of equal shock as the girls. Nonetheless, she sent her marionette minions after him first. The creatures ran at Shazam with blades in hand.
"Gimme that thunder, Brian!" Shazam said with smirk on his face.
Shazam simply jammed to the music as he ran at them with electrically charged hands and ripped his way through each and every one of them with ease. Every punch he threw was another bolt of lightning that slashed through the marionettes like paper. Not one of their weapons could even touch the Man in red as they were electrocuted the moment they got so much as an inch of him. Even from above, bolts of lightning destroyed some of them, while Shazam had a grand time in punching through them.
From the Sailor Scouts point of view, it was like a light show of flashing lightning.
"W-Who is this guy?-!" Usagi questioned.
"N-No idea…!" Ami said, "Luna?"
"I recognize this power…" Luna said, "No doubt…this is the power of the powerful wizard, Shazam…!"
"Who?" Rei wondered.
"Many centuries ago, there was a great wizard who would visit the Moon Kingdom. He aided us in many battles, including the great battle of the Silver Millennium. But…this can't be him! He was already old and grey when he aided us…unless…"
"Unless what?" Usagi anxiously asked.
"Unless…" Luna's face reveled in realization. "…he gave his power to someone else…to that boy!"
Back in the heat of the battle, Shazam had dealt with the last goon and was face-to-face with the puppet master herself.
"Now, it's your turn, queenie." Shazam said.
Murido backed away a step from the approaching man of lightning. She only had one last resort left. "Perhaps it is time for you to sleep."
She opened her mouth wide, and from it spewed out a hazy red gas that enveloped Shazam's entire body.
"Oh no! That's the same gas that was used to put me and the others to sleep!" Ami said.
The red smoke had completely submerged Shazam until he could no longer be seen in it. Naturally the princess believed she had won the fight…but she was gravely mistaken.
"Sorry, lady, but it's not my bedtime."
Suddenly, a blast of lightning had erupted from the red smoke and dissipated it in seconds. In its wake was an orb of pure lightning that circled the man in red like a force field.
Murido was at a loss for words with her mouth agape.
"Now where was I? Oh yeah, kickin' your sorry butt!" Shazam smirked.
Murido was just about to try and escape. However, before she could do a thing, Shazam had suddenly appeared right in front of her in a burst of light with his fist charged up in an electric current.
"Suck on this." He said with a cocky grin.
Shazam brought the fist right into the puppet's jaw like a crack of lightning. His punch had practically slammed right into the puppet with all the force and sound of thunder as a burst of light had exploded from the sheer impact alone. Throwing his all into it, Shazam sent the puppet woman flying across the room and blasting right into the wall with a giant burning crater formed in her wake. The puppet itself had been reduced to a smoldering burnt crisp. Its dress was on fire while the remains of its hair began to melt away. Its eye practically hung from its eyelid while what was left of her arms were burnt away stubs.
Naturally, it had turned to dust in the wind like all the other monsters.
"And that's how we do it in Fawcett cit—aw crap! I forgot to ask how to wake these people up! Aw maaan!" Shazam groaned.
While Billy got annoyed at his careless mistake, the Sailor Scouts and Luna were visibly stunned. This man alone with the infused lighting of a wizard, had been able to dominate a fight that would take a hefty amount of time for them to accomplish.
"Well…I guess that's it, huh?" Rei figured.
"That…was…AWESOME!" Usagi cheered.
She ran towards the red-suited man with a glimmer in her eyes. The other Scouts tried to stop her, but she was already too mesmerized by Shazam's very aura.
"That was amazing, Mr. Lightning guy!" Usagi said excitedly. "The way you beat those minions and punched that puppet monster in the face was unbelievable! Are you really that boy who turned into this?-!"
"Oh, no, I, uh *ahem* I mean, it was nothing." Shazam bragged clearing and deepening his voice. "Just a little bit of lightning from Zeus, and the strength of Hercules."
"So, you're the one who Shazam passed down his power to." Luna said as she and the other scouts also joined them, "I never imagined it would fall into the hands of a young boy. Then again, if these girls can have such powers, I guess so can anyone."
"Oh, wow! A talking cat!" Shazam said in amazement. "And thanks, but I just kind of accidently got 'em. No biggie~"
"It's a little more than just a 'no biggie'…" Ami stated. "You just displayed electrokinesis mixed with enhanced physical strength. I can't believe something as fictional as wizards actually exist."
"Well, if you think I'm cool, you should meet this lady named Zatana who—"
"Hey!" Rei spoke up. "As much as you guys seem enamored by the guy in red tights, may I remind you all of the two big problems here?"
Just then, they all remembered the more serious problems that had to be taken care of; specifically, the unconscious people lying scattered across the ground, and of course the boy in blue who was still controlled by Black Mercy.
"Oh right! Supes is still under that thing." Shazam said, "Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to know how to wake these people up do you?"
"It's the apple." Luna pointed towards. "If we destroy that, then theoretically, the people should wake up again.
"Alrighty then, weird talking cat! You girls get these people up. I'll see if I can wake the big guy." Shazam suggested.
"Alright!" Usagi nodded.
The Scouts broke off towards the apple that laid on the ground next to the smoldering ash mess of Murido's remains. The apple had only been damaged minorly but was otherwise still in good condition. Usagi picked it up and to examine if there were any buttons or electronic buttons that could open it, but it actually did feel like a regular ordinary apple.
Usagi tossed it up into the air and took her tiara off of her forehead. Once again it glowed that heavenly bright light.
"Moon Tiara! Action!" Sailor Moon called out.
With another toss, she threw her tiara straight at the apple. The red orb broke apart into pieces and disintegrated into dust as the pieces fell.
"Well, that's that." Usagi confirmed, putting her tiara back on.
"You guys! Look!"
The girls turned around and saw the hundreds of people that were asleep began to groan as they slowly regained their consciousness. One by one, they all slowly got back onto their feet; tired, but alive nonetheless.
"Thank goodness…" Usagi sighed in relief.
"Now all we need to do is worry about—"
"Uh, girls!"
Ami was interrupted by the call of Shazam, who had difficulty pulling the Black Mercy off of the Man of Steel. Even going so far as to use both arms and a leg on Superman's thigh just to get some momentum.
"Since you did a good job saving them, mind giving me a hand?-!"
The girls all agreed and ran to Shazam's aid. They all got a good grip onto the Black Mercy and began to pull hard. Despite their best efforts, as expected, the devilish plant did not budge an inch off of Superman's chest.
"Damn! It just…! Won't…! Budge!" Rei strained.
"Hey…! Aren't you supposed to possess the strength of Hercules or something?-!" Ami reminded.
"Yeah, well this thing's packin' a lot more then Hercules right now!" Shazam exclaimed.
"It's the Black Mercy. Its grip is far too strong to remove." Luna said in a panic. "We need to get that thing off of him now before it eats away his energy to its last drop!"
"Easier said than done!" Usagi cried. "It's practically super glued onto him!"
Finally, all four of them gave up while they caught their breaths. Even with Sailor scouts combined strength and Shazam's power, it was not enough to remove the Black Mercy. They feared that Superman would remain in such a paralyzed state until his very life is slowly seeped away.
"I could burn it off of him." Rei suggested.
"No, it won't matter." Luna said, "The Black Mercy is near indestructible to all forms of elemental power. At your levels now, it won't even make a dent in it."
"Damn…Can't believe this happened to you again, Supes…" Shazam groaned at first.
However, it didn't take long for the lightbulb to signal in his head with the Wisdom of Solomon coursing through his skull.
"Maybe not any elemental power…but what about the godly kind?" Shazam realized.
The man in red ran right behind the paralyzed Superman and wrapped both arms around his entire body. He bent at the knees and proceeded to lift him up into the air with the Black Mercy facing the sky.
"You girls might wanna back up for this!" Shazam warned.
The Sailor Scouts and Luna did just that by jumping off of the stage. Meanwhile, Shazam held on tight, closed his eyes, and howled with a thunderous echo:
"SHAZAM!"
Just as it happened before, from almost out of nowhere above, a blinding bolt of lightning shot down onto the stage in the direct path of Shazam and Superman. The blast was able to shake the entire castle and cause a tremor of thunder in its wake. The girls along with the crowd of groggy people had to cover their eyes to avoid the dust from hitting them.
Moments had passed and finally the smoke had cleared away. Usagi and the Scouts were able to look back at the stage. To their surprise, something had fallen off of it and onto the ground in front of them; a bunt, riving creature that let out high pitched squeals of pain. It certainly made Usagi jump behind Rei.
The girls looked up at the stage and saw two figures emerge from the billow of smoke. A wave of jubilance washed over them all the moment they saw the big red 'S' peek from the thick fog and with it the Man of Steel himself, accompanied by Shazam.
The crowd of people behind the girls exploded into cheers and applause—if anything from the simple fact that Superman had graced them with his presence while also saving them from whatever befell them.
"Y-You're back!" Usagi said so happily that she was moved to tears. She let her emotions move her into jumping onto stage and hugging Superman as tight as she could while sobbing into his chest. "I-I-I thought you were gonna be killed, and…! And you were gonna…! Don't scare us like that ever again!"
Superman was moved that Usagi would cry this much from him possibly dying. He looked at the others who were equally relieved that he was alright, before looking down at Usagi with an assured pat on her blond head.
"I'm sorry I made you worry, Usagi…" Superman said, "But don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."
Usagi looked up at Superman with tearful eyes and snot in her nose. "P-Promise…?"
"Yes, of course." Superman smiled. "I'm here to help you be a great hero after all. And my job's not done."
Hearing that was enough to put a smile on Usagi's face. "Good…"
"Sooo, how long are you gonna be wrapped around him like that?"
Rei brought up a good point, as Usagi quickly realized what she had been doing. She even heard Shazam give a wolf whistle. Immediately she went red in the face and removed herself off of him with a nervous laugh. "S-Sorry, about that!"
"Good. Now then…" Rei took that opportunity to jump onto the stage as well and wrap her arms around Superman's bicep. "…I was the most worried that you'd be stuck the way you were~ luckily Ami and I were here to help our bumbling teammate."
"O-Oh, well—"
"W-What?-! I am not bumbling!" Usagi exclaimed, before wearing a snide grin. "At least I'm not the one trying to butter up Superman like his groupie. Unlike some people I know. Right, Superman?"
"Now I wouldn't say—"
"At least groupies don't gorge themselves with snacks all the time!" Rei shot back. "You're Sailor suit's lookin' a little tight around the waist there."
This was the match that set off another argument between the girls that at least got Superman free of Rei's clutches. While the two argued with Ami acting as the referee to the spout and the rest of the crowd making their way out of the castle, Superman used that opportunity to approach Shazam with a hand of gratitude. "Thank you, Billy. Looks like you're the big hero today."
"Me? Uh, I-I mean, of course. Anytime." Shazam said proudly as he shook his hand. "And you said you didn't need me."
"Well, clearly I was wrong." Superman smiled. "You really pulled me out of a difficult situation. Y'know, that's the second time I've had that plant on me?"
"Yeah, I heard. But hey, at least you had good dreams in there."
"Yeah, I guess…" Superman shrugged.
"Bi—Shazam!"
The man in red looked down from center stage. To his greatest relief, he saw his brother, Freddy, with an arm wrapped around one of the victims who was humble enough to offer a hand to him. Despite the obvious exhaustion on his face, Freddy seemed to have been alright.
"Freddy!" Shazam called out. He leaped from the stage and ran right up to the boy. He practically snatched him from the other person and held Freddy with a big and awfully tight embrace. It was enough to knock the breath out of Freddy.
"Augh! Okay…! Okay, can barely breathe here!" Freddy squawked.
"Oh, crap! Sorry." Billy chuckled as he eased up on the hug. "I'm just glad your little nap wasn't permanent."
"Forget that, I outa smack you! I was having the best dream of my life!" Freddy said, "I dreamt I had powers, I could fly, and I could shoot rockets from my hands!"
"Heh, whatever you say, Shazam Jr." Billy smirked.
"Screw you." Freddy sighed.
"Freddy was it?"
Freddy's eyes went wide the second he saw Superman approach the two of them. He could barely form any kind of coherent word and was left mumbling like a buffoon. It took a small tap on his cheek from Billy to snap him back to normal.
"Y-You're S-Superman! THE Superman!" Freddy exclaimed. "I-I can't believe it!"
"It's nice to finally meet you." Superman smiled with a hand out, "Billy's told me all about you."
"Really?-! Ah, man! I-I just wanna say it is an honor to meet you sir!" Freddy grinned while excitedly shaking his hand. "I mean I just can't believe I get to actually meet you in person and everything I don't know I can say this but you're definitely the best superhero out of all of the justice league of course not saying they're all weak or anything but out of all of them you're my most favorite of them all is your suit bullet proof or is it really just you how do manage fighting with a cape does the symbol on your chest also mean Superman or just hope where do you usually go when not in the fortress of solitude—"
"Okaaay! That's enough questions, Freddy!" Shazam said through gritted teeth, before turning to Superman again. "We gotta get going. Our parents would flip if we're not back at the food court."
"Aw, crap! You're right! We gotta go, Superman!" Freddy hurried. "It was nice meeting you in person!"
"Likewise." Superman nodded.
"Later, Supes!" Shazam waved. "See ya at the next League meeting!"
With that, Shazam hoisted Freddy onto his shoulder, and took off from the group, through one of the opened windows.
Superman saw him off; proud of how far Billy had come. To think he started off as a boy having a hard time with his powers, to the bonified hero of Fawcett city. Still, there was much he had to learn if he wants to really make a difference, but Clark believed he would get there eventually. Maybe even sooner.
At that moment, he couldn't help but look back at the Sailor Scouts who were still in a heated argument with Rei and Usagi, while Ami and Luna were trying to stop them. Clark truly believed that the children will end up being the next big heroes of the new generation. It was up to him and the rest of the League to hopefully be the best example for them.
Freddy and Billy (now back to normal) were able to find the tables they sat at, with Freddy's crutch right where he left it. He was fortunate enough that no one had taken it.
"Man, what a day." Freddy sighed. "Too bad I missed most of the action. And now that I realize it, I didn't even get anything autographed from the big man himself! Lame…"
"Don't be so sure." Billy said. "Check it out."
Billy nodded towards Freddy's crutch. Once they got close enough to it, Freddy could see some kind of black marking on it. Upon closer inspection, they were words written in black ink. Billy sat Freddy down as he read what the words said:
To my greatest fan,
Always be your own symbol of hope.
-Superman.
Freddy's eyes went wide. His heart beat so hard that he had to hold his chest. Through his heavy breathing, he could barely say, "H-He…! Th-th-this…! I…!"
"Relax, Freddy—breathe." Billy laughed.
Freddy caught his breath, and was left with the biggest, widest grin Billy had ever seen on him. "Dude…! I'm never ever letting go of this crutch for as long as I—well, okay I'll technically always need this, but NOW I'm definitely not letting go of this particular crutch!"
Freddy immediately got up with the help of his crutch and came over to Billy's side. He bent over and wrapped an arm around Billy in a warm embrace. "Thanks, man." Freddy said to him.
Billy returned the hug with a light pat on the back. He didn't want to get all mushy over something as small as him getting an autograph for Freddy, but at least he could feel good about it on the inside.
"Well, now. What's this?"
Freddy and Billy looked back to see the rest of the family had finally come off of the rollercoaster. They noticed that Eugene and their dad were flushed with pale faces as if they were ready to heave. Meanwhile Darla was shaking with excitement. Only Mary and their mom looked normal.
"I'm guessing the rollercoaster was fun?" Freddy asked.
"Meh, it was alright." Mary shrugged.
"Are you kidding?-! It was AMAZING!" Darla exclaimed.
"It would've been more fun with you to on it." Their mother said, "Are you sure you two don't wanna ride on it? Since Eugene and your father need a bit of a breather right now."
"Y-Yeah…!" Their father groaned. "You guys could go, we'll watch your stuff for you."
Billy looked at Freddy, who looked back at him. Both mulled it over for a moment and nodded before turning back to the family.
"Nah, that's alright." Freddy waved off.
"Yeah, trust us; I think we've had enough excitement for one day." Billy smiled.
The day had slowly drawn to a close for Dreamland with the setting sun in the horizon. Due to the people having no memory of what had happened to them and no proof of any foul play from the monster of the week, Dreamland faced no repercussions for the disappearances and it was simply a factor of fatigue that spread through out the guest. At least, that was what Clark would write in his article.
With that being said, Clark returned to his usual disguise as he walked along side Usagi and the girls towards the exit along with a few of the other guest who were still around.
"Well, this has been an ordeal…" Ami sighed.
"Yeah, I'll say!" Usagi said giddily while eating an ice cream cone. "We got to go to an amusement park, beat another monster, save a bunch of people, and best of all we got to meet another superhero like Superman! I still can't believe he's our age and gets to transform into such a strong guy with lightning!"
"Yeah, he was pretty cool, but nothing beats my boy, Superman." Rei smiled while also eating ice cream, "N-Not that I'm saying he's the best guy around or anything, Kent-san!"
"Of course…" Clark said humbly. "But I don't think I'll ever be able to compare to those two."
"Yeah, speaking of which, where did you go, Kent-san?" Usagi asked.
"Me? W-Well I thought maybe I could look around for more information on the missing people's case." Clark lied. "Just minor reporting stuff and all."
"Whatever…" Usagi shrugged off. Just then she happened to peer over towards Rei and saw something about her ice cream that riled her up again. "Hey, how come your ice cream cone's so much bigger than mine?"
"'Cause I don't scarf mine down like its going out of style." Rei sassed.
"What?-! Just for that, gimme your cone!" Usagi yelled.
"Ha! You'd have to catch me first!" Rei teased.
And just like that, the two were at it again with their banter as Usagi went chasing after Rei towards the exit. Ami sighed and had no choice but to follow them to break up the inevitable screaming match they'd have afterwards.
Clark was a tad bit amused at their free spirits. It reminded him of how he and Jimmy use to be a while back. Thinking of it now, he missed back home at the Daily Planet in Metropolis. Hell, he missed back home in Smallville with his mother. He wanted to make a point to visit her soon. After, of course, he stops Brainiac and the Dark Kingdom.
"By the way…" Clark looked down and saw Luna walk alongside him. "…Shazam mentioned that you experienced the Black Mercy once before, didn't you?"
Just remembering that awful parasite was enough to sour Clark's mood. "Yes. A while back. It was during my birthday. A tyrant on a floating arena called Warworld came into my fortress and used the Black Mercy in incapacitate me. I was lucky my friends were there to break me free."
"It seems history repeats itself today." Luna smiled.
"I suppose." Clark nodded.
"They say the Black mercy lets you see your perfect life. So…what did you see?"
Clark recalled it all. What he had seen and what happened in the dream. He smiled down towards Luna and said, "Nothing special. Just a life on Krypton where it didn't end; a what if."
"I see." Luna said.
The black cat ran ahead of Clark towards the girls who were beginning their heated arguments. Clark was left alone…alone to think about the dream of the Black Mercy.
Or in Clark's opinion—the nightmare of the Black Mercy.
For the truth was that he saw something…awful. He didn't know whether it were a dream, a what if scenario, or worse…a vision of what was to come. He saw the decay of the world around him, Metropolis reduced to absolute rubble within the smog of a clouded disarray. The Daily Planet's planet had been thrown to the ground, cars crushed into pieces, the streets ran with destruction and blood. Fires erupted from different buildings all around.
He saw the remaining civilians grovel and bow down to the lone individual who levitated over them like a god descended from the skies. Though his suit was slightly dark, the emblem on his chest and his menacing red glowing eyes were all too familiar.
The emblem…it was the house of El. The symbol of hope…now used for oppression.
Clark saw himself. However, it was not as a symbol of truth and justice…but something more horrid.
He had become a new symbol…the symbol of Injustice.
Clark could only wish it to simply be a what if dream, but…he just didn't know.