Hey everyone! Thank you for waiting patiently for the sequel of Injustice: Shazam's Comeback. I must admit, juggling with all the stories so far, as well as having a job in the real-world, it was a hassle. I even made a title cover for this. I hope you guys like it. I will discuss more about Billy Batson at the bottom of this chapter.
DC Universe, DC Comics and Injustice game series belongs to DC Comics Company.
KRYPTON (Many, many years ago…)
A statue being destroyed by what seems to be a falling meteorite. A young woman with pony-tailed blond hair hides behind the base of it in fear.
Many people run past the statue and the woman hides until they pass before running towards what they were running from. Above, more meteorites fall and the woman hides behind a rock. From where a meteorite lands, a bunch of Terminator-style robots appear, scanning the area. Just as one of them is about to scan the woman, the Kyrptonian army arrives and engages with them. They...don't do well, being swatted and shot. The woman uses the opportunity to run further but trips.
She looks up to see a large head-shaped ship with tentacles sticking out of it. The robots turn to approach her. She runs and they follow...until she crawls through a drainpipe, where they can't follow. We see an observatory that the woman walks up to. She heads to a balcony of the observatory and sees the city she just escaped from being sucked up and digitized by the large ship.
The ship then shoots up above the clouds, leaving the woman in absolute shock. She is Kara Zor-El, and the city was Argo, her home. The doors behind her open and in walks one of the robots, called a "Beta". But, as it's about to capture (or kill) Kara, her mother comes in with a laser gun and shoots it and other Betas in the back of their heads.
"Mother!" Kara shouted, happy and surprised to see her mother alive and well.
"Kara! Come quickly!" Her mother advised her.
Kara ran as quickly as she could while her mother shot down the betas that were chasing her daughter. Once they ran inside, they closed the doors behind them.
"Stay with me, Kara"
While they were walking down the courier, Kara was talking quickly and hysterically, "Mother, the ship-it just-Argo City's gone! Millions of people…"
"That's only the beginning-Brainiac's destabilized the planet's core. Krypton won't hold together much longer…"
That was when the room was shaking a bit due to the planet getting ready to explode. That was when they reached the next door.
"But all your research-isn't there something you can do?"
"That's why we're here"
After her mother finished putting the code in the door, it slowly opened, revealing to be a spaceship inside of the room they're getting into.
"A spaceship? That's what you've been working on?" Kara asked, a bit confused.
He mother went towards the console and started typing, "Your uncle Jor-El discovered a planet that can sustain Kryptonians, far away from Brainiac," She then activates the ship, which lowers for her daughter, "He's built a ship just like this one for your cousin, Kal."
"But Kal… He's… He's just a baby!"
"Which is why you need to protect him… Teach him our ways."
"Me teach him? What about you?" Kara was confused why her mother wanted her own daughter to teach someone all on her own on another unknown planet until realization hit her head, "No… No… No, I won't leave you!" She then started to cry out of fear and sadness, "Please, please don't make me!"
Her mother was also crying, "I can't come with you," She said before hugging her and giving her the last advice, "But you will never be alone. You belong to the House of El, Kara. A house of hope. Never forget that. Never give up hope." The two then turned around, hearing the door pounding noises, due to the betas getting closer and hitting the door in an attempt to break into the room, "Get in!" She helped her daughter get into the ship.
Kara gets into the cockpit and the window lowers. She sees the Betas entering and approaching her mother. She pounds on the glass in tears, begging her to turn around. But, as she lifts off, the Betas grab her. She winces at the G-forces until she leaves Krypton's atmosphere, then she cries at the loss of her mother, her home city and her home planet. Another ship appears on her right. Inside its cockpit is a baby; Kal-El. That's when the planet of Krypton is destroyed. Kara braces herself as the ship is rocked by debris.
"Hold on, Kara. Hold on…" Kara tells herself, trying to stay calm when two large chunks of the planet strike her ship dead-on and she spins, going a different direction from Kal-El's ship, away from Earth, "Kal! No! No, please! KAAAALLLLLLLL!"
Many years later, a gavel is heard pounding on wood. A sharp-dressed man stands before a small crowd and a group of judges.
"In my years of fighting crime, I've learned one truth… that every villain is the hero of his own story," The man known as Bruce Wayne said, as he starts talking about a former friend of his and his actions over the last number of years…, "Superman was no exception. The Joker drugged him. Tricked him into killing his pregnant wife, Lois. And made him trigger the bomb that nuked Metropolis. So when Superman killed the Joker, I understood why. We all did. But once that line was crossed, there was no going back. He gave himself and the Justice League a new mandate. Stop all crime before it happens, by any means necessary. But he couldn't see his good intentions were leading him down a path of tyranny and evil. That's how our greatest hero became our greatest threat…"
...
Gotham City (Several years ago…)
Batman and Robin are flying towards Arkham Asylum, in the Batwing, to stop Superman from releasing prisoners and sending them to either more secure places, or worse, their deaths.
"So what if Superman's pulling criminals out of Arkham?" Robin asked, "They're the worst of the worst."
"He's going to KILL them, Damian" Batman answered, only for Robin to silently chuckle.
"Sounds like justice to me"
"Killing people isn't justice! Superman can't see that. He's grieving. He needs time to heal."
"Yeah, and what if it had been Gotham?! If Joker had killed me, your own son?" When Batman didn't answer, Robin had a smirk on his face before leaning back down onto his seat, "Thought you'd say that."
Suddenly, the Batplane loses control. It engages auto-pilot, which would take them back to the Batcave. Robin tried to override but it wasn't working, "It's not responding. We're being taken back to the Batcave!"
"Prepare to eject!"
Batman engages the eject button, which pulls them out of the plane. They both fly towards Arkham using their capes. However, they only were able to make it halfway towards the Empire Theater because Cyborg, using Boom tubes, teleports himself into the place where Batman and Robin were detected. He aims his cannon towards them before trying to shoot them. While he missed them, Robin loses control and lands onto a building. Batman then lands nearby Cyborg.
"A warning shot, Cyborg?" The Dark Knight asked.
"I won't hurt you unless I have to." Cyborg answered in a surprisingly hostile tone.
"You're gonna have to."
"My friends were in Metropolis, Batman! Starfire, Beast Boy, Bart Allen… gone... We do this, that never happens again."
"You're right to be angry. But it's not a blank check. And the Justice League isn't a death squad"
The both of them then started to fight each other. While Cyborg's technology is impressive, Batman's gadgets were too much for the half-man, half-machine dude. The Dark Knight then knocks him out cold.
"You don't see it yet, but Superman's wrong…" He said to the defeated Cyborg, before looking at his son who was walking towards him while clutching onto his stomach, "Your glider skills need work"
"Yeah, I'm fine… Thanks for asking." Robin said in a sarcastic tone.
"Let's go"
Both take out their bat-ropes and move further towards Arkham.
Arkham Asylum - Front Gates
Both of them reach Arkham Asylum and tackle the guards guarding the gate. The inside guard looks around to see what's going on...and Batman kicks the gate in his face. The two then take care of other guards. Batman punches one guard repeatedly in the head, then checks his pulse.
"So you won't kill, but you're fine with traumatic brain injuries." Robin replied.
"Secure the loading docks" Batman said, ignoring what his partner/son just said and went to the other side while Robin went in the other direction to where the loading docks were.
Batman continues to walk forward until Wonder Woman appears when she opens the entrance and walks towards the gate.
Here to help, Bruce?" She asked while kicking the gate with brute force.
"Yes, to keep you and Clark from making a terrible mistake." Batman states.
"None of us wanted this. But the Joker forced our hand. Metropolis changed the world. Now we have to change with it."
"Not like this…"
"Of all people, I thought you would understand!"
The two then fight, but the dark knight overcomes the amazon warrior. Once he did, he used the Lasso of Truth against her, "I need you to tell me the truth. Where is he?"
Wonder Woman tries to free herself, but not even she can resist the power of her own lasso, "Cell Block C," She then struggles again while trying to convince her former ally, "You can't turn your back on him! He needs you!"
"That's why I came," Batman states as he drops the lasso and heads into Arkham to find Superman in Cellblock C.
...
Arkham Asylum - Cellblock C
All of the Prisoners in the Asylum were moving in lines. They're unaware of the place they're being taken to. That was when one of them stepped out of line, walked up to the doctor and tossed his notepad to the ground.
"Doc, what are they gonna do with us? Where are we going?" He asked. When the doctor didn't answer, he grabbed hold of the doctor forcefully as a hostage, "I ain't goin' nowhere till you tell me what's happening!"
"Get back in line!" One person said, coming out of the opened door and through the way, with all the prisoners moving out of his way in fear, "Now."
The prisoner let go of the doctor out of fear and went back in line. Before the Man of Steel can do anything else, The Dark Knight breaks through the rooftop glass of Cellblock C and confronts him.
"Two minutes." Superman signals everyone to leave him and his 'friend' alone because he knew why Batman was here.
"You're better than this, Clark." Batman told him.
"These inmates are irredeemable. They're thieves. Rapists. Murderers! Like the Joker!" Superman declares, "That's the problem with fighting for truth and justice. The battle never ends."
"And executing them will end it?" He questioned, "First Joker, now this… When does it stop?"
"When there's no more crime. When people can live without fear. We want the same thing, Bruce…" The man in the red cape tried to sway him into understanding why he was doing it.
"I wanted to kill my parents' murderer! I could have," the bat admits, as he does understand why his friend was doing and that he could've done the same thing if it meant saving everyone's lives from harm. However, while he was talking, his son/partner was watching him and Superman through a wall, "But that's not the life they wanted for me. And it's not the life Lois would want for you."
The mention of his deceased wife made the Kryptonian very angry as his eyes started turning red, "Don't you put that on me," He said angrily, firming his fist, when suddenly he lost his power. Reason - Batman was holding a red sun grenade which incapacitates Superman, "A red solar grenade?"
"To dull your powers," he reasoned, "You need to stop. Take time to grieve… Before it's too late."
"You wouldn't…"
Of course, the bat didn't want to… But he had to. He gently let go of the grenade, which exploded and sent both of them in different directions.
"No!" Robin shouted as he saw Superman weaken and his father ready to fight.
"You're supposed to be my friend…" Superman spoke in a soft angry tone.
"Which is why I have to stop you." Batman declares, getting ready to fight his former friend.
Between the power pill The Dark Knight took and the grenade weakening The Man of Steel's powers, they were both equal. It was a close fight, but Batman was able to take Superman down… However, he sees no happiness in his victory.
"I'm sorry, Clark…" Batman said in a sorrowful tone. He then takes out and brings a kryptonite powered lasso to tie Superman with.
"G-Get away from me…" Superman said, still in pain. That was when someone took both of their attention.
"Look who I found," Robin declares, bringing out someone with them and placing a knife next to his neck, "Victor Zsasz. Psychopath… How many women have you killed?"
"H-hundred twenty-one." Victor states in a proud tone while hesitating to speak due to the knife next to his neck.
"A hundred and twenty one. Huh. Sounds incorrigible to me."
"Robin! Let him go!" Batman orders him.
"You'd rather fight your friends than the real problem." Robin replies, ignoring his father's order to let the inmate go.
"I'm warning you, son…"
"SON?!" Robin screamed in anger before breaking and knocking Victor's knee, "You didn't raise me. The League of Assassins did." He slits the inmate Victor's throat, killing him, which shocked both Batman and Superman, "Problem solved… Who's next?"
"Dammit, Damian!" Batman yelled, getting angry and started walking up to him, "This is a line we do not cross." That was when Robin kicked him aside, away from him and Superman. Batman feels ashamed and betrayed by his own son.
"Then stay on your side, Batman!" Robin declares, "I'll be on Superman's."
The two former partners fought each other. Both of them both had power pills and the same training, but the father had more experience, which helped him defeat his son. However, much like his last fight with Superman, he also doesn't find any happiness in this one either.
"Damian, I…" Batman tried to say, approaching him while filled with remorse, "I-I never meant to…"
Robin stood up from his defeat and glared at his father, "You coward. We are at war with these animals! You think you're better than him?!" He asked while pointing at Superman. When Batman turned his back, he got even more angry, "You let the Joker came on killing. You couldn't save Lois Lane, Jason Todd, or anyone!"
The Dark Knight got a bit emotional upon hearing those names. He wanted to save Lois and Jason, but he wasn't there to stop Joker from doing the deeds. That was when he turned around again, to see Superman calming Robin down.
"That's enough… Let's go."
"But the inmates-." Robin tried to protest.
"Not today."
The Man of Steel picked up the former boy wonder and flew into the air, getting out of Arkham while carrying Batman's former partner. Batman then looked down at Zsasz's dead body. He was filled with remorse and grief. He knew that Zsasz killed plenty of innocents, but does this mean he deserved to die?
Ever since the incident, during the next five years, Superman virtually eliminates crime on Earth and establishes absolute power and control through his regime, the One Earth Government, taking like-minded superheroes and villains as his generals with himself acting as High Councilor. With the massive armies of the regime, his lover Wonder Woman's Amazons, and his best friend Lex Luthor both financing and supplying weapons and advanced technology, Kal-El is able to achieve total peace through force.
Anyone who attempts to resist is swiftly murdered, a fate that befell his world's Green Arrow and several supervillains, prompting Batman to begin an Insurgency against Kal-El's rule. In response, Superman ousts Bruce's identity, seizing his assets and even sways his son, Damian, who already despised his father and agreed with Superman's methods, to his side, but not before Damian accidentally kills Dick Grayson and steals his identity as Nightwing (later revealed, Dick Grayson/Deadwing gave him his Nightwing-suit as a gift). He also trapped the remaining Teen Titans in the Phantom Zone, destroyed most of the Green Lanterns, battled and killed the Gods that were invading the Earth, and killed several other heroes and villains like Kalibak, Martian Manhunter, Ganthet, Mogo, Hercules, Parasite, Jason Bard, Hawkman and Batwoman.
However, unknown to Superman, there were a few who started having doubts of the Regime's "heroic" doings such as Lex Luthor, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, Victor Stone and Billy Batson.
While Lex Luthor did joined the Regime from the start, he also supported Batman's Insurgency from the shadows.
The Flash only joined the Regime with pure intentions, something even Iris West, Joe West and Wally West understand. However, considering that Barry didn't stand up to Superman when the Man of Steel attacked Mitchell Davies (aka Galaxor) and accidentally killed King Shark when he was trying to protect his friends from the Regime members, Iris stopped talking to him. While Joe and Wally were more forgiving than her, even they started avoiding Barry all together.
Green Lantern, just like The Flash, joined the Regime with good intentions. His wife Carol Ferris and his family understood that and weren't angry at him. However, they admit that they were started to get afraid everything he puts on the ring. Thus, he decides to stop putting the ring on for awhile, much to their reliefs. However, upon the battle against the Green Lanterns who were invading the Earth to capture Superman, as well as Ganthet taking away his ring (which also caused both his and Carol's deaths), he had to use the Sinestro ring in order to save their lives. A shame that he would later use that power for evil...
Cyborg joined the Regime because of what happen to his teammates; Beast Boy and Bart Allen (aka Kid Flash). He later finds out that Starfire and the other Teen Titans were gone, making only him and Raven the only Teen Titans left alive.
Shazam, much like The Flash and Green Lantern, joined the Regime with good intentions, which his family understood. Even when things went from bad to worse, his family could never hate him because they loved him so much.
However, only a few of them (besides the bald scientist) took its hard lesson before changing for the better…
Well, what did you guys think of the beginning? Did y'all like it or what? Haha! Hope so, because I'll be writing more of this soon!
Also, before I leave, I must confirm once more that from the last chapter in the last story and in this story, Billy Batson will be an adult (about 20 years old). I also confirming that there will be Shazam x Harley Quinn here, but I'm going to take things slow for them. If you guys have any suggestions for them, I'd love to hear them from the Reviews or in my PM.
The next few chapters will show how Billy Batson is doing during the events of the Injustice 2 Comics. Speaking of which, I might have to read the Injustice prequel Comics and the Injustice 2 Comics again so I have better understanding of what to do. However, if you guys have any suggestions of what he should do while everyone is away in the Injustice 2 Comic events, I'd love to see them on either the Reviews or in my PMs.
Speaking of which, how many villains should I add for either the Society or the Regime? It can be Superman villain, Shazam villain, Wonder Woman villain, any kind of villain. I'm ready to see some suggestions from either in the Reviews or in my PM. I would love to hear him. I might even add it in my story.
Oh, before I forget, hope you guys look at the title cover, because Shazam isn't going to be the only main hero in this story!
Thank you guys for reading, and I'll see y'all next time in the next chapter.
Read, review, comment and God Bless Y'all!