Disclaimer: Well, here is the FINAL chapter of the story… in the year 2016. Ha, I scared you, didn't I?
In all seriousness, my heart and prayers go out to the loved ones of George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, all of who passed away at ages 53, 60 and 83 respectively. May they all Rest in Peace.
Chapter XV
With a trio of Parademons flanking behind him, Kalibak stormed along the dungeons toward Thor's cell. With his battle club in hand and a scowl on his face, Kalibak had the darkest of intentions in mind for the Asgardian. He stopped at the door to the cell and motioned a Parademon to the door with a single nod of his head. The Parademon opened the door and Kalibak pushed passed the beast, clutching the battle club in his hand. Kalibak growled at what he saw; the shackles were still there, but Thor was gone somehow. Something tapped on his shoulder and Kalibak, thinking one of the otherwise stupid Parademons was pulling a trick on him, turned around. He received a hard punch in the face… from Thor.
Kalibak was knocked to the ground and dropped his club, while the Parademons shrieked at Thor. Thor motioned them to him and they immediately charged. The first of the Parademons swiped at Thor with its talons, and Thor quickly countered and throttled it with a series of heavy-handed blows before kicking it away. Another Parademon lunged at Thor, and he lowered his position to flip it over his head with ease. The third Parademon tried to swipe at Thor, but Thor dodged and parried every swipe while landing his own hard strike. Then he took the beast's arm and spun around into the other two, causing all of them to fall over each other.
Kalibak was up to a knee when Thor stood over him and wondered, "How did you break free of those shackles?"
Thor grabbed Kalibak by the neck of his uniform and replied coldly replied, "You underestimate the power of the God of Thunder. Now… where is my hammer?"
Mjornir remained where Darkseid's scientists, still embedded in the stone from which no one could lift it, had been studied it. A heavy boom was suddenly heard from outside the lab and the doors swung open. Thor was there with an angry glare on his face. He reached out his hand and in an instant, Mjornir rumbled from stone and through the jar, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. The hammer reached Thor's hand and a rumble of thunder could be heard seemingly within the entire citadel.
The Parademons on guard in the lab lunged at Thor. Thor hammered the first of them and sent into the far wall. The second of the Parademons took a few wild swipes at Thor and missed each one of them, and Thor hammered it stray down into the floor. He hoisted it up from the floor and threw backward over his shoulder where it crashed into the ceiling. Thor spun his hammer and launched into the air, slamming through the ceiling and into the next floor.
On the next floor, Thor found a series of Mother Boxes and took one of them before continuing up through the ceiling to the next floor and the next. He made to the top floor, Darkseid's chamber. It was there that Thor encountered Darkseid himself, and Doctor Doom was there as well. More of Darkseid's Parademon lunged at Thor and Thor easily bashed them out of his way while storming toward Darkseid and Doom. Darkseid and Doom appeared to be hardly impressed by Thor's actions.
"It would seem you'd broken free of your shackles, Asgardian." Darkseid said.
"Perhaps you've underestimated me as I did you, Darkseid. I don't normally make the same mistake twice." Thor replied.
"You cannot hope to defeat me alone." Darkseid claimed.
"I won't be alone." Thor said and activated the Mother Box.
A Boom Tube opened beside Thor just as Kalibak and a Parademon arrived in the chamber. Thor immediately bolted into the portal and vanished from sight, while an enraged Kalibak lunged forward toward the open portal. The portal closed just second before Kalibak could jump through it, and he ended planting his face into the floor instead. Kalibak looked toward Darkseid and saw the narrow gaze from his eyes and, knowing that look all too well, Kalibak slunk away. While Darkseid appeared nonplussed, Doctor Doom turned to him.
Darkseid allowed Thor to escape from Apokolips and he didn't even lift a finger to act on it. Was Darkseid a complete fool to do so? Was he so arrogant that he failed to understand such a folly? Doom thought otherwise. Darkseid had to have some kind of plan in mind to so casually sit by and watch Thor escape right in front of him. Those were the two primary notions that Doctor Doom got from this turn of events; either Darkseid was a fool or he had a plan in mind and wasn't talking. Doom hated not knowing.
Steve had ridden in fancy, high-priced cars before, usually with Tony and about half a dozen supermodels. This time was like those times, except that Steve was riding in the backseat sitting opposite of Bruce Wayne. Alfred was in the front seat driving as he directed the car around the next corner and onward. Steve looked out the window at Gotham City. It looked very different in the afternoon from it did at night. There were hundred of pedestrians going about their business, traversing the sometimes busy streets just to cross over to the other side. A few times, Steve noticed some people confronting others for reason he couldn't begin to fathom, but Bruce barely gave them any thought. In fact, Bruce hadn't said a single word since leaving Wayne Manor.
The car rounded another corner and travel along an empty street before it pulled to a stop near an abandoned theater. Alfred turned the engine before exiting the driver's side. He was in no hurry to open the back door for Master Bruce. Master Bruce; Steve wasn't exactly keen on the title. In fact, he wasn't keen on Alfred addressing him as Master Steven. He understood the need to be formal but he'd long become accosted to being addressed as Cap or Capt. Rogers or even the 100 Year Old Fossil… Clint's idea of a bad joke.
Bruce stepped out of the open door, taking a long, grayish package with him and walked off without uttering a single word. Steve managed to sneak a peak toward where Bruce was walking. It looked to be a dimly lit alleyway just to the far end of the theater and Bruce stopped briefly. After a moment of observing, he disappeared into the alley. Stepping out of the car from the opposite side, Steve looked at the marquee sign, which read in bold letters: MONARCH THEATER. The place had to have some sort of significance for someone like Bruce Wayne to walk into an alley alone.
Steve looked to Alfred and asked, "What's so special about this place?"
Alfred turned to face Steve and said in his usual, formal tone, "Master Bruce would be somewhat disinclined to have me divulge the particular significance of this establishment."
"But it is significant. Bruce wouldn't walk into that alley otherwise," Steve discerned, and Alfred simply gave a slight nod. "He lost someone."
Alfred removed his chuffer's hat and faced Steve. "Thomas and Martha Wayne were considered to be the shining light in an otherwise bleak time in Gotham City. Master Bruce was only 8 years old when… they were taken from him."
"They were murdered, and I'm guessing Bruce saw the whole thing happen right in front of him." Steve determined, and Alfred nodded again.
Steve wasn't about to ask any more questions. He started walking up to the alley that Bruce had entered, while Alfred made no effort to stop him. Stopping just at the entrance, Steve looked up at an old street sign that read: CRIME ALLEY. Somehow, that sounded appropriate. Steve looked into the alley itself. It was like any other alley; dark and uninviting with the very possibility of a random thug lurking in the shadows waiting for a victim. Steve walked into the alley, bringing his shield to bear in case of an ambush.
Rounding the corner, Steve looked ahead toward a lone light and a figure standing like a statue. He knew it was Bruce, and he still had the long grayish package. Steve watched as Bruce opened the package and pulled out a pair of roses of considerable quality. Bruce laid the roses on the ground and placed one hand beside them while bowing his head down. Steve began to move closer but at a very slow pace, being careful not to disturb Bruce. Bruce tilted his head slightly to glimpse Steve before he returned to his moment of silence. In respect, Steve said nothing and simply stood by until Bruce finally stood up without looking at Steve.
"My mother and father were murdered here." he said.
"Alfred told me about it. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Steve said.
Bruce looked at Steve and started walking, passing by and saying, "I'm over it."
"Clearly. Is this why you so often stand apart from the rest your friends?" Steve asked, and Bruce stopped barely a few feet away.
Without turning, Bruce stated, "Being from an alternate Earth, I don't expect you to fully understand my reasons."
"I might understand better than you think, Bruce."
Bruce turned this time and coldly asked, "Did you lose your parents the same way that I did? Were you made to watch as a desperate crook gunned them down?"
"No, but I've been in a war. I've had to watch good men and women die all around me. A lot of those good men and women were my friends."
"Have you killed, Captain?" Bruce asked.
Steve wasn't surprised that Bruce asked such a question. "Yeah, but only with good reason and only when there was no other choice."
Bruce narrowed his eyes and slowly approached Steve until they were face to face. "There's always a choice but there's never a good reason to kill. If you don't understand that than you and I are nothing alike."
With that, Bruce stormed away for the end of the alley. It wasn't long before he suddenly received a call from the Watchtower. "Batman, it's Cyborg."
"What is it, Cyborg?" Bruce asked, drawing Steve's attention in the process.
"The instruments are picking up a Boom Tube opening in Gotham. It might be Darkseid or one of his lieutenants making an entrance." Cyborg explained.
"I'll investigate. Notify the rest of the League." Bruce said a rushed out of the alley.
Steve called out, "Bruce, what's going on? Bruce!?"
Steve bolted after Bruce and found him jumping into his car. Roughly a few minutes later, Batman emerged from the other side and grappled up to the room of a nearby building. Overshooting the roof, Batman spread his cape wide like an actual bat and glided out of sight. On the ground, Steve looked at Alfred as continued to maintain his stoic demeanor. Alfred then walked to the rear of the car and opened the truck. Inside, Steve was surprised to find his uniform, originally thinking he'd left it back at Wayne Manor. He assumed Alfred had placed it in the trunk without Bruce knowing, and he gave Steve a slight smirk, which Steve returned before setting about suiting up.
People near the epicenter of the Boom Tube ran for their lives as the huge, burly man with the hammer emerged in a state of confusion. The Boom Tube closed behind him and he looked back at where was open moments ago. Trying to get his head together, Thor looked around at the groups of Gotham citizens trying to get as far away from him as possible. Soon enough, Thor could hear the sound of sirens approaching from the east and a group of police cars arrived. The Gotham Police emerged from the vehicles. Commissioner James Gordon was one of the men coming out of his car. Detective Harvey Bullock emerged from the other side. Every officer had his or her side arms trained at Thor while Gordon began to communicate through a megaphone.
"What the hell's this guy wearing, Jim?" Bullock asked.
"No idea," Gordon replied before he addressed the new arrival. "This is Commissioner Gordon of the Gotham City Police Department. Put that hammer down, get on your knees and place your hands behind your head."
"Where are my allies? Where are my fellow Avengers?" Thor demanded.
Bullock looked at Gordon and asked, "What the hell's an Avenger?"
Gordon ignored Bullock rhetorical question and spoke into the megaphone, "I repeat; put that hammer down, get on your knees and put your hands behind you head."
"You want me to put the hammer down?" Thor said and he suddenly charged forward.
"OPEN FIRE!" Gordon shouted.
The police fired on Thor as he rushed forward, using Mjornir to deflect the bullets. He stopped for no more than a second and raised the hammer toward the sky. A bolt of lightning shot down and struck the hammer before Thor aimed the head toward the group of squad cars. The lightning struck the nearest car, but the officers nearest to it managed to get clear before it exploded. Thor was struck by a few bullet from Gordon and Bullock and he unleashed a lightning bolt on their car. Bullock and Gordon managed to get away before the explosion, but Gordon was knocked down by the shockwave.
Thor called more lightning down and pointed his hammer toward another of car, and this time, Gordon was too close to move in time. Suddenly, Batman appeared, grabbed and leapt clear of the explosion. Batman dropped Gordon where Bullock and most of the officers had regrouped.
"Batman!" Gordon said in surprise.
"So is this guy one of yours, Bats?" Bullock coldly asked.
Ignoring Bullock, Batman said, "Get your men out of here, Jim. I'll handle this." Batman grappled away before Gordon could protest.
Batman reached the top of a streetlight above a noticing Thor. "What sort of creature are you?"
Providing no reply, Batman threw a trio of Baterangs at Thor and they landed at his feet. As Thor looked dumbfounded at Batman, the Baterangs exploded and a cloud of smoke burst forth. Thor was unfazed by the smoked and marched forward, just in time to see the soles of Batman's boots strike him in the chest. Thor was pushed back a step, and Batman immediately started landed hard strikes to his face. The strikes barely registered to Thor and he caught one of Batman's fist before hoisting him up.
Batman landed another punch to Thor's face, but it was really a distraction to apply explosive gel to Thor's armor. Using his feet, Batman kicked away from Thor just before the gel exploded and stunned Thor, and then Batman fired his grapple gun. The line attached to Thor's arm and Batman pulled on the line for all he was worth. Thor looked at line and then at Batman. A befuddled but slightly amused look permeated his face before he pulled hard on the line, pulling Batman along with it. Thor swung his hammer, but Batman reacted quickly when he hopped over Thor's shoulders.
Still in midair, Batman threw two Baterangs. Thor batted one of them away and then batted the second, which exploded in his face. Batman landed across from Thor and prepared another set of Baterangs, but then he saw the lighting bolt come down. The smoke cleared and Thor had Mjornir held high and taking in the lightning. Thor thrust the hammer forward and the lightning jolted straight at Batman, who managed to grapple clear of the lightning. Another lighting bolt came and Batman grappled away again, but another bolt suddenly knocked out of the air.
Batman fell to the ground hard, while Thor raised Mjornir into the air again and summoned another lightning bolt. Thor thrust the hammer forward and the lightning shot forth. Batman had no time to move before the lightning appeared to vaporize him. Thor pulled his hammer back to see the results but instead of seeing the charred remains of Batman, he saw the familiar star-spangled motif of Captain America's shield. Soon after, Captain America emerged from the rubble with an astonished Batman looking at him.
"Captain?" Thor said in surprise.
"Stand down, Thor." Captain America said, but before Thor could respond, a sonic boom was heard.
Superman flew into view and rammed right into Thor, taking the Asgardian down hard and causing him to drop his hammer. Thor rose up and Superman immediately started pummeling him back. Thor managed to land a single punch that pushed Superman back before summoning the hammer back to him. The hammer landed in his hand and he swung hard, cracking Superman in the jaw and sending him to the ground. Thor charged forward and leapt into the air with Mjornir reared back behind his head. Superman rolled out of the way just as the hammer hit the ground and he retaliated with heat vision.
Thor blocked the heat vision with Mjornir before he hit Superman with lightning, further pushing him back. Thor began to move in and prepared to hammer Superman. He nearly did before Captain America rushed in and blocked the hammer strike with his shield. The resultant bang shook the entire area. Thor pulled back and Captain America backed away, unknowingly allowing Superman to use his freeze breath to subdue Thor. Before Superman could finish, the just arriving Iron Man blasted him from behind. Superman recovered and moved to take Iron Man, but Captain America got in between them.
"Everyone stop, NOW!" shouted the Avenger, and Iron Man and Superman halted their assault.
Thor finally halted his attack once he realized that he was among friends. "Stark, it's good of you to finally arrive."
"Yeah well, we couldn't possibly find the heart to replace you on the team. But it is good to see, buddy." Iron Man said.
Batman approached the group of seemingly mismatched heroes with a trio of Baterangs in his hand. "I assume you're Thor."
"And I assume you're… something otherworldly." Thor said, and Batman narrowed his eyes.
"It's okay, Thor. Batman and Superman are the heroes of this Earth. We can trust them." Captain America said.
"Whether we can trust your team remains to be seen, and there're question that need to be answered," Batman bluntly said and contacted Cyborg on the Watchtower. "Cyborg, lock on to are position and teleport us to the Watchtower."
"Got it, Batman." Cyborg replied.
Thor immediately asked Captain America, "What about Romanoff? Is she alright?"
"She's fine. We're going to see her now." Cap stated.
"Excellent. I need to apologize to her for my actions." Thor admitted.
Iron Man replied, "Good luck with that, big guy. Romanoff is notoriously hard to please."
Darkseid examined the shackles that held Thor in his cell, while Doctor Doom walked in without making any noise. "The Asgardian is stronger than I imagined." Darkseid said with a low tone.
"That is what transpires when you underestimate a worthy foe. But you already knew that when Thor confronted us before his escape. You are a fool for allowing Thor to escape." Doctor Doom stated, but Darkseid didn't flinch.
"Choose you next words, Doom, for they might be the last words spoken." Darkseid threatened.
"Your empty threats hold no sway over me, Darkseid. But if you cannot accept even the slightest responsibility for you lack of action, then maybe it's time Apokolips received a new ruler."
Darkseid finally turned his gaze to Doctor Doom. Then he reached forward and grabbed Doom by the cloak before pinning against the wall. The impact seemed to shake the citadel. Darkseid lifted Doom higher off the floor while keeping him pinned against the wall, but Doom was nonchalant and never took his eyes off of Darkseid. Aside from his fiery red eyes, Darkseid should no emotion at all. But Doom knew that he'd touched a nerve. Darkseid then crack a slight smirk and set Doom down. Without another word, Darkseid left the cell. Doom narrowed his eyes and looked at the shackles, mentally noting the ease with which Thor escaped.
Then it finally occurred to him. Well played, Darkseid.
Author's Note: That's it for the last chapter in 2016.
Thor returns and reunites with his fellow Avengers, but why does it feel like something's off? (Please don't speculate)
I had some concerns over how to properly do the Thor/Batman fight because I wanted to avoid making a similar mistake like the Wonder Woman/Black Widow fight.
Just so I'm clear for those of you who might be confused, Thor's hammer is enchanted with magic and, as we all know, Superman has a weakness to magic.
I also originally intended to have Batman and Captain America work together against Two-Face but opted against it because I didn't want to take away from the main story. At least Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock make a cameo appearance.
Anyway, drop me a few reviews and I'll see you in 2017. Happy New Year!
In Memory of
George Michael
1963-2016
Carrie Fisher
1956-2016
Debbie Reynolds
1932-2016