"Holy Moly!"
Captain Marvel's eyes grew wide as he fully took in the remains of the S.T.A.R. Labs security detail.
Following Superman's lead into the front lobby, the world's mightiest mortal quickly sobered up as the gravitas of the situation hit him like a wrecking ball.
At least four security guards were sprawled out on the floor, each one either unconscious or close to it.
The front desk had been nearly split in two, with the surrounding walls and ceiling showing the destructive aftereffects of the Parasite's entrance.
Taking a knee next to one of a guard barely stirring, Superman quickly scanned his body for any broken bones or other internal injuries, and upon finding none, turned back towards the cautiously approaching hero Billy Batson.
"We need to get these people to safety, now," Kal-El informed Captain Marvel, before turning back towards the prone man. "Do you think you can-?"
Before Superman could even finish his sentence, a sudden gust of wind caressed his face courtesy of a crimson blur suddenly dashing right in front of him and disappearing with the body.
Within seconds, the same blur danced circles around the lobby while at the same time carrying every single guard outside to a safe distance.
By the time the Man of Steel had risen back up to his feet, Captain Marvel had reappeared in front of him.
"Done," he beamed confidently, his hands on his hips in a heroic pose.
"Showoff," Superman smirked at him, before advancing towards the locked entrance.
A slight blush adorned Billy Batson's cheeks as Superman reared back his fist at the protective metal doors and then-
BAM! The double doors flew off their hinges at the exact nanosecond that his fist made contact.
As they skidded noisily across the chrome corridor, the Kryptonian quickly scanned the passageway for danger before starting forward.
Two ceiling lights flickered on and off, illuminating the metallic hallway in an eerie crimson glow as the two powerhouses made their way through.
"Quick word of advice, Captain..." Superman's eyes continued scanning through the walls before resting their piercing gaze on Batson.
"Keep your distance if you can help it, but if not, attack and subdue with caution. Do not, under any circumstances, underestimate him."
"Yes sir," the magical hero nodded, even saluting the founding member of the League.
"You know you don't have to call me 'sir,' right?" Superman reminded him bemusedly.
Still saluting, Batson quickly replied with a courteous "Understood, sir."
Stopping at the second set of metal doors at the end of the hallway, a determined Superman wedged his fingers through an opening at the middle and pried the doors open.
The ghastly scene unveiled before them reminded Billy Batson of some of those scary old alien movies that he and his Uncle Dudley watched.
"Well, used to watch." Amending his thought, he made a mental note to himself as his eyes adjusted to the ominous atmosphere permeating around them.
Giving the visibly anxious hero a reassuring nod, Superman ventured further utilizing his X-Ray Vision to scan for suspicious activity while Billy observed the destroyed remnants of the once lively and fully operational lab.
Scientific equipment, computer monitors, and display screens used to study metahumans were now little more than malfunctioning heaps of metal, the occasional electric spark emitting from their now destroyed exteriors.
Broken test tubes and lab documents littered the floor, with the ceiling above with its flickering lights and hanging rebar faring little better.
Superhuman ears pricking in the direction of a nearby dripping noise, the Man of Steel cautiously divulged from the main path leaving the magical hero to continue on his own.
Walking along a lab counter, Captain Marvel raised a quizzical eyebrow as he came across several stasis chambers lined up against other.
Consisting of various shapes and sizes, they were virtually untouched from the Parasite's rampage.
Passing the first two containers, Batson squinted his eyes at the third, human-sized chamber that housed a seemingly masculine figure within it.
Obscured by a dense, white liquid enveloping the entire container, the human specimen was crouched up against the reinforced glass, his face hidden from the magical champion.
The now curious Captain Marvel gave the glass an experimental tap, utilizing just a fraction of Achilles' strength to provoke a reaction.
Seconds later, the figure remained motionless, oblivious to his presence.
Frowning slightly, he nevertheless moved on to the final one.
Much smaller than the others, this chamber resembled a mason jar more than anything else.
Propped up on a counter, the specimen contained within sported a much more serpentine, yet strangely familiar shape for the caped champion.
Bending down slightly to get a better look at it, he started to tap on the glass before the creature became aware of his presence.
No more than a few inches long, it, at least from a distance, resembled an Earthworm at its most larval stage.
However, Billy Batson knew better than that.
Bladed limbs, horned antenna, a green underbelly, and yellow piercing eyes all pointed to something he knew all too well.
"Wormy, is that you?" Batson grinned, his boyish grin spreading from cheek to cheek as the alien orgasm fixed its enthralling pupils upon him.
Its hypnotizing effect apparently negated by the properties embedded within the holding liquid, the invader from Venus referred to by Freddy Freeman as Mr. Mind could only stare menacingly at the general direction of his enthusiastic voice.
"So, this is where they took you after you sent those crocodile people after me, huh?" Batson remarked, allowing himself a brief chuckle at the alien's expense.
"You know, after all that nonsense you tried to pull last week, I hope this little timeout teaches you a valuable lesson," he scolded the alien worm, wagging his finger at it disapprovingly before continuing on, "I mean really dude, mind control? At least, like, ask people for permission first. The way you did it, my friend, was just plain rude. But…"
Sighing, Batson further reprimanded his telekinetic nemesis, "You have some time to think about what you did and reflect. And when I come back here next time, I expect a full apology from you, okay Wormy? Now, I want you to nod your head yes."
Mr. Mind did not nod his head yes.
Smirking, Captain was just about to say something else when a mischievous thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Looking both ways to make sure nobody was looking, Batson held both hands up to his ears and blew a mocking raspberry at the contained creature.
"Captain."
Tearing himself away from the malevolent Mr. Mind, Batson stood back up and directed his immediate attention to the lab examination table the Man of Steel was now situated at.
Just out of his periphery, however, the humanoid mass in the center stasis chamber began to stir.
Examining a test tube holder still on the counter, Superman had taken a knee to better analyze a broken test tube with its crimson contents now leaking onto the floor.
Picking up the broken glass, Superman narrowed his eyes at the taped label before looking up at Shazam's champion.
"We have a problem," he told the magical hero grimly, holding up the broken shard so that Captain Marvel could make out the name scribbled across it.
Black Canary.
"This S.T.A.R. Labs had blood samples of almost the whole League," he explained, rising up to his feet. "That's what Parasite was after here."
Captain Marvel's eyes immediately widened in shock, but before he could verbalize any of it a faint cracking sound from his left caught his attention.
Returning back to the human-sized chamber, he raised a quizzical eyebrow as visible cracks began to show up all across its surface.
"Uh…. Superman, think you might want to take a look at this," Batson called towards him, a hint of worry in his voice as he continued examining the black mass of humanoid flesh coming back to life.
"You see something?"
"More like someone." Tracing the growing cracks with one hand, he was about to lean in for a better look when the humanoid mass suddenly lifted up his head to meet him halfway.
His eyes were a black abyss of depravity, with only a bleak modicum of yellow sprinkled within them.
However, his mouth told an entirely different story.
Lips curling into an almost demonic grin, Captain Marvel only had a split second to react before Parasite opened his mouth, and unleashed hell on earth.
Author's Note: First of all, hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
Secondly and most importantly, I'd like to apologize for the delay on this story. Unfortunately this Fall, I was blindsided by college and all the "lovely" projects/essays that it entails. As a result, I had to click pause on my creative writing and focus purely on my studies. Again, apologies to all those who have been waiting these past few months for an update.
The good news, is that I'm back now and will do my best to get this story finished by around the beginning of January. In the meantime, any feedback is very much appreciated and thanks so much for reading! :)