CL
Darkseid vs. The Justice League
Part Seven: Choice of a Champion
Starlight slowly filtered through the cracks of Bruce's parting eyelid as he wearily regained consciousness, held aloft in a man's arms…
Even in the night's darkness, he recognized the feel of the familiar blue suit, the crisp white gloves and the classic fedora worn by the man who now held him aloft. The stately Phantom Stranger was effortlessly carrying Bruce's battered body in his steady arms. And for once, the Stranger seemed to have nothing to say.
The instant surprise of his current situation painfully gave way to a sudden tidal wave of agony-laced hurt, while the cloudy remnants of shock vehemently refused to vacate from his struggling brain. It reminded Bruce of why he had suddenly blacked out in the first place, frantically tapping his watch... But did it work?!
Bruce began to speak with a mouth that was far too dry.
"…Raven?"
The voice that responded became his greatest prayers answered. A voice that absolved his sins for the gamblers debt he had no right to owe. His beautiful wife stepped forward from the darkness.
"I am here, Bruce. I could not leave you alone, my love."
Through one sideways, bleary eye, Bruce Wayne beheld the woman who had transported them… suddenly realizing just how close he had come to killing her. The large hood of her dark blue cloak had been burnt clear through. The beam from Fritz Hollmann's ultimate weapon could have been no more than an inch from her precious head…
"…Raven… are you?..."
"I am fine, my love… though I have been much closer to a Tachyon beam than I ever cared to be. My hair still feels like it belongs in the past. But your plan was successful, my love - although sadly Darkseid was merely taken aback. I watched in horror as the Needle of Fate once again materialized in his stony fist as he realized what had happened - before instantly teleporting us here.
Do not worry, stay calm, Bruce… Only a moment has passed since we appeared. We are now in the place we faced my father this morning... However, it is you I am more concerned with. You have taken far more severe injuries than I ever did... I can feel them."
"…I'll be fine…" Bruce coughed up some blood and carefully spit it towards the sands below.
"…Yes, I know you will. Because I will make sure of it. But first I must journey to the Rock of Eternity, my love. I have accepted the Wizard Adam's offer to become his Champion. But I do not wish to leave you alone like this."
"Then…I'll go… with you..."
As brave as he attempted to sound, Bruce knew damned well he didn't have a leg to stand on... literally. His right leg and various ribs were snapped beyond the shadow of a doubt. The very instant the emerald concussion beams of the Manhunters had slammed into him from above, he had felt his right femur buckle and snap. The ribs had popped like matchsticks as he lay helpless upon the ground. And his breathing was far too shallow to argue with Raven right now…
"I must go alone, my brave love. Only a Wizard and their chosen Champion may enter the Rock of Eternity at this moment. There are sacred laws that even you may not break. The Wizard Adam has already departed, his twenty-four hours have passed - but not before I agreed to become his Champion. You are to remain under the care of the Phantom Stranger - at home - until I return. Do you understand, my stubborn husband?"
"…The others?"
"They fight on. The remaining Guardians have returned and now battle the Manhunters above. Without their constant beams, our friends battle Darkseid below." She peered at him longingly with violet eyes. "I must go, my love. You have done enough... rest. I am their only Hope."
"I know…"
Raven kissed him very gently on his forehead, while they suddenly disappeared in a cloud of black smoke – as its darkness enveloped him, Bruce wondered if he may be blacking out again…. until Bruce and the Phantom Stranger found themselves alone in Bruce's bedroom once the smoke had dissipated.
Stepping towards the bed, the Phantom Stranger lowered the acting President onto its soft blankets, with Bruce finally letting go of the disquieting groan he had bravely held within for Raven's sake. The Phantom Stranger nodded in appreciation at his charge upon his bed.
"No other living mortal could have done what you did, man of Gotham."
Bruce coughed blood once again while the hot steel rake scraped over the insides of his lungs. He was in a bad way… taking quick and short breaths even to speak. But he was happy to be stationary now - if nothing else.
"All out of… my hands… now…"
"This is not so, my young friend. Raven will return far sooner than she would like… She will require your help once again… Do no not question why, son of Fate. We shall patiently await her return while I regale you with tales of another man, much like yourself…"
The Phantom Stranger placed his hand softly upon Bruce's shoulder, which felt awkward until Bruce realized that his pain was miraculously subsiding. His body relaxed and his breathing calmed. But how?!
The Phantom Stranger smiled.
"Over the past two thousand years, I have learned a little of the ways of magic. Not a fraction of what your wife shall learn to be sure, but at least enough to ease the sorrow of a brave hero. A hero who saved this poor world when he gave his heart entirely to Trigon's daughter...
Truly Bruce Wayne, the dark-fated Raven was never born to be the saviour of this world… Instead, she was born to destroy it. Foretold from the days of old, Raven is… was the literal Second Coming… Conceived upon this world by Trigon, but not born upon it, never to have laid eyes upon the lands of her mother until she returned as its dark destroyer, lit by the fires of world's end at the side of her laughing father.
But I now recognize that there has been an unseen hand amongst the stars of Fate which has carefully altered that prophecy of old, allowing the spirit of Hope to be reborn into Raven. To allow that dark soul a chance to love!… But who could have made it so? This is a question that weighs heavily upon me… It is as though Raven's own bitter prophecy has been turned against Darkseid's Prophecy of Stone... A prophecy of destruction pitted against a prophecy of oppression. And it has been you that have allowed such a miracle of Fate to happen, Bruce Wayne.
You lighten my own spirit. To know men as you still exist… Even as Fate worked endlessly to twist your saddened heart to stone, you still loved her. You still loved humanity… Had I but loved so well… Had I but taken the consoling hand of my own wife or dearest friends during my own darkest hour…
Regrettably, I know far too well of the sorrow held in your heart, Man of Gotham. This Stranger before you was also once a proud father… but it was my infant son who was snatched from his mother's wailing arms by the cruel soldiers of Herod. Like your Richard, my own infant son also died a warrior's death... a wailing babe cast before the spears of the Mad King's soldiers.
His only crime was to be born in Bethlehem… at the time of a Saviour.
… Yes my friend, I too have lost a son. I have known that pain and wandered those darkened corridors much farther than you have ever known. And unlike you, I became hopelessly lost, having accepted the unseen hand of Wrath to guide my mortal soul to the end of those black catacombs... until I stumbled into Hell itself.
Led to the darkest chamber, a place of madness, terror and fire… and it was there that I allowed these very hands to commit the unforgivable sin… to pierce the Saviour as He lay dying upon the cross, cursing Him for what was done in His name to my only son…
At Golgotha, my mad scheme was realized and my own fate was sealed.
I bribed the Centurions, giving them all my worldly possessions to become a soldier, for that one single day, to take their garb and a long Roman spear so that I may be present at His last moment and complete my madness. To have my final revenge for what I had wrongly believed that He had done to my own son… Lashing out against the one who was innocent of all such crimes. In blindest rage, I had wounded the helpless Savior for Herod's murder of my son, giving Him the fifth of the Holy Wounds…
You must know me as Stranger no longer, Bruce Wayne… It is Longinus who now stands before you. A Jew who became a Centurion for one day so that he could condemn his immortal soul, at the tip of a spear.
So that I could be forever cursed by His next words... To become a wandering spirit throughout the world of men until I could repent that sin when He appeared once more - and earn my final rest. Five words which have haunted me for two thousand years…
Tarry til I come again.
And oh, how I have tarried, my friend.
I am not a God, I am simply a man blown by the whims of Fate across the plains of eternity. I have struggled to prevent others from blindly stumbling into the dark corridors as I once did. But you, Bruce Wayne... I would carry a man like you to the ends of Hell so that your feet never knew its taint. You are the best of us and the worst of us. You have warmed yourself by the fires of Hatred, but have also chased the stars of Love. You have stood bravely before the Furies and kneeled before the damned. And you alone saw the spirit of Hope when the world seemed lost.
You cast off lives of dreams to face the nightmare for all of us. You stood firm against mightiest evil, rallying the hearts of brave heroes to stand against the chains of vengeance and tyranny. You have been scarred by Gods, but your soul burns brighter for it. And you graciously denied the greatest gift of power that was ever offered to man when you knew of a woman who was more worthy.
In other worlds, you are a hero beyond measure. But here, as a broken man, you are greater still.
Yes Bruce Wayne, I will follow you…"
Was there a tear in the Stranger's eye... it was hard to tell through the shadows.
"You are… Longinus?..."
"I am."
"Is Raven… really… the second… coming?"
"No longer… She could have been, but that dark destiny has been averted. It was your love that saved her from such a cruel Fate when you chose to remain with her. And also thanks to you my friend, she is about to become the Earth's mightiest mortal, a champion of mankind."
"… We need… a hero… like that."
"Yes… Yes we do. Now rest… She shall return for us soon. You must help her realize her greatest destiny yet."
As she traveling across the expanse of the entire Universe, Raven hated to leave Bruce alone in his critical condition… but there was no choice. As bad her true love was, he would still fare better than the Guardians and their new friends who now battled Darkseid if she did not help them. If all of them were to survive to the dawn, they desperately needed a Champion now.
She had been genuinely surprised to see the Phantom Stranger as she had teleported after Bruce's Tachyon beam gambit, and then to watch him gently pick up her unconscious husband from the sands in the darkness of Kahndaq. The Stranger's emotions had always been plain to her… a sense of great tragedy with a passionate desire for righteousness. This was a man longing for redemption. Raven was never sure about his exact role in this great battle, but she had always regarded him as a foreign ally. For now, she had to leave Bruce within the hands of the mysterious Stranger.
The journey to the Rock of Eternity was a far one, as far as even Yggdrasil itself, but she was adept at navigating the dark dimensions. She had to focus on the task at hand – to become Champion and to face Darkseid. Raven suddenly appeared upon the granite halls of the Rock of Eternity in a cloud of dark smoke. The echoing voice of the Wizard Adam greeted her from far beyond.
"Welcome Raven Wayne. Welcome to the Rock of Eternity."
Raven glanced around at her new, mysterious surroundings… everything had been carved from one enormous stone, as though she were in a deep cavern at the heart of a mountain. Ancient torches lined the wall in stone brackets, while a strange white flame danced around them, providing strange illuminating to the stark hall. The place was cold and barren.
To her left against the cavern's wall were large, hideous statues of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. Each grotesque caricature was at least twelve feet high, imbedded with the negative feelings it represented. Each bore its title at its base… Pride, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Selfishness, Laziness, Injustice. Each was lit with the same white fire, casting strange and ominous shadows among the stony features above.
As she strode forward, she saw that seated near the end of the great cavern, high upon a throne of carved stone, was the robed Wizard Adam. She couldn't help but notice that a massive cube of granite was precariously suspended above his head by a single, slim cord… Catching her glancing eye, he replied.
"A reminder, my dear… of the delicate balance between good and evil. It is only my noble intentions which keep this rock suspended above me. If the light of my heart should ever be weighted by the seven deadly enemies, it shall come crashing down upon this fool head."
"That's… unfair, Adam."
"Unfair?!" Adam could only laugh. "Certainly not, Raven Wayne. What is unfair is that one such as I should even be given this chance at redemption. After all my grievous mortal sins and the countless souls I have wronged in the name of the those seven atrocities beside you… would those who have suffered by my hands call this unfair?"
"They may… Shall you be judged by my actions, Adam?"
"Of course. Life itself shall be judged by your actions. You will be blessed with powers beyond mortal comprehension, but remember… mighty strides must always humbly follow the path of the righteous. Never falter or you shall fall."
"Will you guide me when I am Champion, Adam?"
"Yes, but whether you find it a blessing or curse remains to be seen… I was blessed with the wisdom of Zehuti and cursed with the carnal cravings of Min! The gifts of an empire do not buy even one bushel of true love, my dear. This I know…"
"…What do I need to do, Adam?"
"Forgive an old man's prattling, young one… You will have many opportunities to learn a great deal of what not to do as a Champion from me. Now... to be imbued with the aspects of six Gods, you need only speak the magic word and choose those six Gods. But remember, you must champion mankind in the names of those Gods, not Champion the Gods themselves. You must choose your Gods with one restriction, Raven. It is decreed - that out of respect to the first Wizard - who was named Shazam - all Champions must choose Gods who represent a letter of his sacred name. Let me explain... For myself, being a man of ancient Egypt, I chose…
The stamina of Shu
The swiftness of Heru
The strength of Amon
The wisdom of Zehuti
The power of Aton
The courage of Mehen
You see... A God's name for each sacred letter. By saying our magic word 'Shazam' you will invoke your chosen Gods and then transform from a mortal into a divine Champion! Magic lightning will crack from the skies above and allow you to become Earth's mightiest hero... And let us hope you bear that title better than I. The names you choose need not be Gods you worship, of course. But they should be Gods that are close to your own heart, who shall serve your cause as protector. As well, there are many different names for Gods which leaves countless possibilities... Even among my own chosen Gods, Zehuti was also called Thoth by some.
Think long and hard on your decision, Raven Wayne. Power not balanced by wisdom shall only yield in disaster. While apocalypse may seem at the gate, a hasty decision shall only unlatch that door. Ask of me any questions you wish."
"May I choose Goddesses?"
"Of course. Gods and Goddesses are one and the same."
As the new Wizard watched Raven, he had not expected such a quick look of resolution. He had expected his Champion to weigh a thousand pros and cons against the abilities that could be granted. He had been prepared to answer a hundred questions regarding divinity and the various names of the Gods. Truly, he had not expected Raven's choice to be rendered immediately…
"Then I choose the Five Inversions and Metron."
The Wizard sat astonished, stroking his chin, contemplative before considering his reply…
"Aye, the names are correct… But what aspects shall you be granted from these Gods when you speak the magic word, Raven?"
Again, Raven only had to ponder for a second.
"Let me be granted…
The power of Selene
The magic of Hecate
The favour of Ananke
The sight of Zareah
The sense of Abraxas
The wisdom of Metron"
The Wizard could only smile and then sigh…
"Truly, you shall be a Champion like no other! But alas, the bitter weave of destiny has been cruel to your selection, Raven Wayne. Each of these Gods are suspended by Needles of Fate upon the crucifixes of Maltus, slaves of the Great Oppressor. They can not heed your call when you need them most."
"Shall I have the power to free them as Champion?"
"As Champion… yes. But as you are… no. And until they are able to grant you their divine powers, you will not become a Champion… Do you wish to reconsider your choice of Gods? There are many other Gods..."
"No… There must be a way, Adam! Please… I need your guidance!"
"Aye... There is a way…" Adam stared at her steadily. "…there is a mortal man who may free these chosen Gods. A man not bound to the fabric of the Weave, a hero of all worlds able to free the destinies of others…. I believe you know this man well."
Bruce.
Yes, she knew this man better then he even knew himself. The man who was Fate's chosen, the man who had saved her soul from her own dark destiny with nothing more than the absolute devotion he held for her. The broken and shattered man she had left behind in Gotham to rest while she sought to save them.
But could she ask more of him now?...
Bruce had asked her to risk their lives so that she may become Champion, but to do so, could she now ask him to do the same?...
"Let us hope that the Gods have mercy upon me for what I must ask of my husband, Wizard."
Author's Note:
Lots of great guesses as to who Raven would select as her Gods… but I've been setting that one up for awhile. What you may not be aware of is that I invented Zareah and Abraxas thirty chapters ago specifically to fit into the whole SHAZAM acronym. For such a silly reason to be created, they've actually turned out quite well! I'm proud of my twin Goddesses of the Seen and Unseen and their back-story.
And while I normally try not to mix Fanfic with religion, the whole idea of the Phantom Stranger as the Wandering Jew/Longinus was just too good not to use. Again, it is never my intention to offend those who are religious or those who are much more aware of Christian history than I am. To be fair, Longinus was venerated as a Saint only centuries later and the Centurion who pierced Christ's side was unnamed in the Gospels. And that's a great origin for the Phantom Stranger!
Next chapter: Poor Bruce and Raven (along with the Phantom Stranger) head back to Maltus to visit Trigon!