Part XXVIII
"We've tried everything," Freddy said, kicking cave sand at the sparkling energy web separating him from his siblings and the Thrones. "This damn force field won't budge!"
"Sivana dropped some kind of weapon back here," Shazam said, heading toward the far side of the stone dais. "Maybe if—"
He winced and flinched along with Superman and Zatanna as a hiss of static crackled through the comm devices nestled in their ears, followed by Batman's rumbling whisper.
"I have Mind's location," the detective growled low in his throat. "He—"
The sound cut off abruptly, but Superman cocked his head, his sharp eyes snapping toward a dark passage to the right of the dais.
"What?" Freddy demanded. "What is it? What just happened?"
"It's Batman," Superman said. "Seems he's found Mr. Mind."
"Or Mind found him," Shazam said worriedly, tapping at his ear. "At least, that's what it sounded like. His comm just cut out."
"Then we should go help him!" Mary said, starting for the passage.
Tawny headed her off. "You must not abandon the Thrones," the ifrit warned Mary and her brothers. "Or leave your prisoners unguarded." He looked pointedly at Sivana, Ibac, Herkimer and Kru'll at the foot of the stone steps leading to the dais, still lying unconscious and bound in Zatanna's magical chains. "Should Mind and his Monster Society drop that force field and break the Wizard's Seal, the threat they pose will spread across the multiverse. As the Wizard's Champions, it's your duty to prevent that from happening. To keep their evil contained, here."
"I'll go," Superman said, jumping into the air.
"Wait!" Zatanna held out her hand. "This isn't a physical threat. Mind is a creature of magic. If he should attack you, as he did Junior—"
"We can't just leave Batman on his own," Shazam protested, but Junior surprised him by shaking his head.
"Cap, Zatanna's right," he said somberly. "Guys, this is so not good. You don't know... That Sin-ball was one thing. And those nightmares... But this time… It was different. I was awake. It was real."
Freddy clenched his fists, his burning gaze turning from Superman to the Captain. His wide eyes and the brightly glowing lightning bolt on his chest intensified the urgency in his voice.
"I'm telling you guys, this creep is totally next-level! The way Mind got into my head… It's like, he knew everything: all the darkest, most secret things I'd crammed down deep in my heart. He trapped me in the nightmare of all nightmares, and if I hadn't remembered your name, man…"
He looked up at his brother, his face pale and pinched.
"Batman's tough – like, crazy tough," he said. "But he's not magic. And neither are you." He looked at Superman. "If that glasses worm-thing gets to either of you like he got to me, hijacks your brain, twists you into saying…saying that name…!"
Mary gripped Freddy's arm while Superman and Zatanna shared looks of deep concern. Shazam gave Freddy's shoulder a supportive squeeze and frowned, turning his gaze to Mr. Tawny.
"Tawky, what do you think?" the Captain asked. "You know more about this Mind worm than any of us. And what about that name? SABBA—"
"No, my boy!" Tawny stopped him quickly. "I'll not risk you speaking that name aloud. Not now, not here." The ifrit's cat-green eyes flashed to the shadows the torchlight threw across the Throne Room's craggy walls.
"But what is it, Mr. Tawny?" Mary asked. "What does it mean? Is it another word of power, like the Wizard's name? Or like Mr. Printwhistle's IBAC?"
"It is, my girl," Tawny said, keeping his voice low so everyone but Superman had to move closer to hear. "Only, the powers called down by this name are crueler and far more to be feared than the fiends behind the creation of Ibac. Those were men – human beings infused with hatred, malice and spite. Ivan the Terrible. Cesare Borgia. Attila the Hun. Gaius Caligula. But Mind… Mind would have had Freddy summon—"
"Demons," Zatanna whispered, her eyes hard and her expression deep and somber. "Satan, Aym, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus and Crateis. Had Junior spoken that Name, as Mind wished, their powers would have possessed, not only his form, but his connection to the Living Lightning. Perhaps, they would have destroyed his very soul."
Shazam swallowed a terrible shiver. "Holy moley…"
"Great Rao…" Superman set his jaw, sharing the Captain's horror.
"Oh, Freddy!" Mary gasped and clutched her brother's arm tighter. Freddy winced a little, but didn't try to shake her off, his features pale and deeply spooked as he began to realize just what he'd escaped…how very close he'd come to handing those Monsters access to the power of S.H.A.Z.A.M.!...
"Then," he rasped, "if Batman does say that name…"
"At this point, I doubt Mind would waste his effort corrupting so strong-willed a mortal as your detective friend," Tawny said. "Having failed with Junior, he'll be too focused on his escape. Breaking the Wizard's Seal and restoring himself to his true form."
He frowned up at where Darla, Eugene and Pedro still hung, helpless, over the Thrones, his eyes as hard as crystal.
"He's been testing the waters up until now, Captain," the ifrit said grimly. "Getting a feel for what makes each of you tick. But his assault on your Junior Lieutenant… That was planned, and very serious. Based on what Freddy's told us, I fear Mind may have intended to use him to create a Seventh—"
A distant shrieking, fluttering sound echoed from the passage. Tawny and the Leaguers straightened, alert and tense.
"What's that?" Mary exclaimed.
"Sounds like Mind's freed some minor demons," Tawny said with a growl, morphing into a tiger and baring his sharp teeth. "So, that slimy worm's decided to show his face at last. Well, awakening a few winged bodyguards won't save him. Not this time."
A flapping swarm of snarling shadows flooded the room, swooping low over their heads. The demons' long tails were razor sharp, their howling mouths full of fangs. Keeping focused, the Leaguers took up defensive positions, Mary and Zatanna guarding their unconscious prisoners while Shazam, Junior and Superman blocked the demons' access to the great hall, where the Eye of Sin glittered and gleamed in its alcove.
"Esiar dleihs!" Zatanna shouted, crossing her fists at the wrist. Several of the dive-bombing demons slammed into her magic shield and scattered, spitting and hissing as they spiraled up and around the high ceiling. There, the malevolent creatures perched among the craggy rocks like massive bats, flexing leathery wings as they nipped and fought for position.
But, they were only the vanguard of a terrible procession. Three figures followed in their wake, lurching and listing like broken marionettes, their postures slouched and heads lolling.
"No…oh, no!" Mary gasped, her hands pressed to her mouth. "Cap, it's Rosa and Victor!"
"And Batman," Superman said, watching warily as the three figures moved to stand in front of the dais like a human shield.
Mary bit at her knuckle. "They look like they're unconscious."
"Or dead," Junior said bitterly, but Zatanna shook her head.
"No, to reanimate the dead would take an entirely different kind of energy. Mary's right, they're unconscious and unaware – locked in dreams of terror. In that state, if they see us at all, they'd see us as monsters."
"Mind's doing this," Shazam snarled, arcs of energy crackling between his fingers as he angrily clenched his fists. "He's controlling them, making them march around like puppets!"
"Try to stay back," Zatanna warned. "If we get too close, they may try to fight."
"This isn't right," Junior said, lifting into the air. "Rosa and Victor aren't even part of this! Where the hell is that creepy maggot? If he thinks he can get away with—"
Something flashed from the passage. A pulse of energy smacked over them like a wave and Freddy crashed to the ground, unable to speak, move or even blink. The others seemed to have frozen too, able only to follow with their eyes as the force field surrounding the Thrones vanished with a flickering shimmer and Rosa, Victor and Batman stepped up onto the dais, making way for another figure - this one large and looming with brightly glowing eyes.
"Mr. Atom," Tawny managed to growl, his striped tail twitching despite the powerful field holding the team in place. "I should have known you and your spineless boss would be too cowardly to confront the Champion face to face without resorting to cheap tricks."
"Champion? Champion, my molted exoskeleton!" Mind's amplified voice scoffed from the robot's shoulder. "All I see here are that has-been Wizard's washed-up talent scout and his menagerie of helpless human monkeys. Kryptonian humanoids included." The little worm sneered smarmily at Superman, frozen in a fighting pose.
"Haw haw, hee hee!" the caterpillar laughed. "At last, Mr. Atom, there's nothing to stand between me and my freedom! Not to mention, my rightful place as Ruler of the Multiverse! Quickly, take me to my Throne!"
The giant robot moved toward the semi-circle of Seven Thrones, bending low before Shazam's central throne before straightening to take the throne where Eugene usually sat. Mind wriggled and squirmed on the central throne's broad stone seat, cackling with wicked glee.
"Atom, what are you doing sitting when we have a multiverse to conquer!" he cried, using his mental powers to revive his unconscious Monster Society. "Go unbind our captive friends. It's time for all of us to unlock the true power of this dismal Rock!"
"Right away," Atom acknowledged, leaving his ray gun-looking device by the Thrones as he tromped down the stairs. There, he broke the groaning Monsters' chains as easily as snapping popsicle sticks - all except Stanley Printwhistle's, whose transformation back into Ibac burst his chains before the robot could reach him.
"No!" Shazam cried out with effort, lightning arcing around his bulging, straining muscles. Closing his eyes, he took a breath and—
Whatever force held his team in place shattered like candy glass. Horrified, the Monsters sped up the stairs to grab the Thrones, but the Captain immediately sped after them.
"Curses!" Mind yelped, his smarmy confidence slipping right off his face. "That ifrit's protective shield is still in place – I can't get a grip on this brat's measly mind! But, perhaps I don't have to…"
Freddy had barely climbed to his feet when he found himself zipping after the Captain with Mary beside him. Each of them grabbed hold of their brother by the shoulders, the arms, holding him back with the strength of Hercules as he struggled to break free without hurting them. Freddy tried to shout, to stop himself, but his mind wasn't the one in control.
"Mary? Freddy, what are you doing!" the Captain exclaimed. "Let go!"
"It's not them, Cap! It's Mind," Zatanna said, holding out one hand while she reached for her fallen top hat with the other. "Esaeler mmmph!"
The magician clawed at her mouth, her throat, but it was as if her voice had been paralyzed. She turned her wide eyes to Superman who again stood frozen as a statue, his own eyes conveying his furious frustration as the Monster Society's members each took seat on the Shazam Family's Thrones. Beside him, Tawny growled low in his throat but the snarling tiger couldn't do much more than lash his tail.
"Hurry up, you fools!" Mind snapped at his team in a strained voice. "I can't keep controlling all of them for much longer. Not in this form!"
Sivana smirked. "Ha! Not so all-powerful are you," he taunted, and Mind glared.
"Mr. Atom," he ordered. "The gags!"
The towering robot stood again, reaching up to pull the gags from the faces of the captive Shazam kids. Slowly, groggily, they opened their eyes…and Tawny roared in horror as a terrible realization dawned.
"Captain!" the tiger cried. "Remember Francesca's warning! You mustn't let your siblings speak the Wizard's Name!"
"Holy moley..." Shazam gasped, coming to the same realization as Mr. Tawny. "Darla!" he shouted, redoubling his efforts to break free of Freddy and Mary's titanium-like grasp. "Eugene! Pedro!" The big man struggled up one step, then another, dragging Freddy and Mary behind him like a pair of trailing anchors. "Guys, you have to listen to me! You have to hear—"
"Oh, but they can't hear you, Captain," Mind said from his perch on Shazam's Throne, his insectoid mandibles clicking. "They only hear me. And I say…"
"SHAZAM!"
The captive Shazam kids spoke in unison, calling down a triple stream of lightning. It poured in like a blinding waterfall, forcing the Captain to shield his eyes. Helpless to stop it, the Leaguers and Tawny were forced to watch as the scaffolding holding the Shazam kids caught and channeled the streaming energy, focusing it all on Mister Mind.
For a brief moment, Billy caught himself worrying that the little caterpillar would fry to death, caught in such an intense deluge of magical energy.
Then, Mind's tiny form began to grow.
He kept growing, a dark spreading blot within the heart of the electrical storm sparking and crackling around the Throne. As he grew, his form began to change, morphing from a worm-like larva to a full-grown Hyperfly, his armored exoskeleton, serrated jaws, and expansive wings impressive enough to intimidate Godzilla back into the sea.
Reaching out, the massive insect captured the remaining lightning in his pincers. Rolling the energy into a ball, he hurled it at the floor just in front of the Thrones - causing the stone to crack. A terrible rumble shook the Rock from the inside out, making the demons above them shriek and flap to avoid falling dust and chunks of rock. The shaking only got worse as the crack began to widen, the stone floor collapsing to reveal a giant glowing pool in the center of the dais.
"Behold!" Mind crowed, his once-tinny voice now a thundering boom. "The Wizard's Seal is broken! We now have access to the Wizard's portal - his direct link to the Orrery of Worlds! At last! The Magic Lands are ours!"
"Not if we can help it!" Shazam cried, flying at the monstrous Hyperfly with a powerful punch. Superman tackled Mr. Atom while Mary, Freddy, Tawny and Zatanna took on Ibac, Herkimer and Kru'll.
"But - no! It's not possible!" Sivana shrieked, diving behind his throne to avoid the exploding batarang Batman had tossed in his direction while guiding the bewildered Victor and Rosa to a safer location. "How did you break free of Mind's control!"
"Guess he lost his grip on us when he leveled up," Freddy said, dodging Herkimer's scaly tail before landing another punch.
"ENOUGH!" Mind roared, fighting to catch the Captain in his insectoid pincers without success, too distracted by Cap's lighting-quick attacks to find his focus. "Demons! To my defense! Swat this bothersome monkey like the pest he is!"
"I think you've got that wrong, Mind. It's flies that get swatted!" Shazam said, firing another barrage of punches at the Hyperfly's armored exoskeleton that could have cracked the Hoover Dam. Mind bellowed and swiped at him again.
While the Monsters and Leaguers fought, a horde of flapping demons descended into the fray - notably more of them, and more varieties, than before. A trio of Djinn surrounded Tawny, taunting and teasing. A blue demon with glowing eyes set its sights on Superman, tempting and threatening as it fought to possess the powerful Kryptonian, while Zatanna found herself caught in the long, painfully barbed ink-black hair of a yokai monster, seeking to devour her.
Sivana crawled further back, hoping to hide among the shadows...only to feel his wicked heart swell when he caught the gleam of something metallic at the far end of the dais.
"Stop where you are, you big red cheese!" he cried, brandishing the weapon he'd found as he climbed to his feet.
"Don't be a fool, Sivana!" the Captain called back without pausing his efforts to distract Mister Mind. "If you shoot me, what's to stop Mind from controlling you? From exerting his control over the entire multiverse? Do you really think this massive fly would let a human monkey have a slice of his pie?"
"Don't listen to this brat!" the Hyperfly shouted. "Shoot, Sivana! Shoot him now!"
Sivana wasn't sure whether he raised the gun by his own will or Mind's, but when he pulled the trigger and watched the Suspendium bubble start to form around the Wizard's chosen Champion, he frankly couldn't care.
Realizing his plight - and the plight of the multiverse should he and the Justice League fail to contain Mister Mind - Shazam's thoughts turned to the Wizard, desperately hoping Zatanna had been right, that the spirit of old S.H.A.Z.A.M.! could still be called in times of great need. In the instant before the Suspendium bubble closed, sealing him inside, the Captain released a call for help from the very depths of his soul.
"S.H.A.Z.A.M.!"
The lightning he called down stunned the demons and momentarily blinded his friends. Grabbing their brief opportunity, Mind and his Monster Society grabbed their weapons and leaped into the Wizard's scrying pool, vanishing through the mystical portal with a BOOM! that shook more rocks and dust from the cavern's high ceiling.
Zatanna let out a frustrated cry and intoned a spell that cast a light only a fraction of the brilliance of the Captain's lightning. Still, it was enough to chase the disoriented demons out of the Throne Room back into the shadowed passages. That - and Mr. Tawny, who ran roaring after the larger demons, monsters and djinn like an enormous striped watchdog.
"Captain...!" the magician gasped, staring at the form trapped motionless within the Suspendium bubble. Superman joined her, his brow knit in concerned confusion. "By Rao! What did they do to him? My god - Freddy! Mary! Is that you?"
"Huh?" Freddy said, woozily rubbing the spots from his eyes as he slowly sat up. "What do you—? Oh, shit!" He grimaced, looking down at himself and seeing, not a caped hero, but a fourteen-year-old kid in jeans and sneakers. Mary, making a similar discovery at her end, hurried to kneel by his side.
"Oh god... Oh, Freddy," she gasped. "Freddy, are you OK? Oh god, I don't see anything around here we could use as a crutch... Oh my - and where's Mr. Tawny?"
"Explanations can come later," Batman stated, bending down to lift Freddy into his arms. "Right now, we need information. And back-up. Zatanna, do you know how to get us back to the Watchtower?"
"This scrying pool is connected to the Orrery of Worlds," Zatanna said, gesturing to the glowing circle Mind had opened at the center of the dais. "We should be able to use it to get home."
"Do it," Batman said. "Mary, see to Rosa, Victor and the kids. I managed to cut them down from that scaffolding. They're confused but unhurt. Superman—"
"I've got the Captain," Superman said, lifting the unsettlingly solid Suspendium bubble with some effort. "But Batman, he's been transformed into a child, just like Mary and Freddy. Even if we manage to get him out of this...whatever this substance is... Do you think there's any way to restore him to—"
"There isn't time to talk about this now," Batman said curtly. "Mind is out there and we need a plan. Zatanna, are you ready with that portal?"
"I think so," Zatanna said. "This magic is extremely strong... It's unlike anything I've encountered before. Well, apart from the Captain himself."
Batman grunted, his mouth a thin line as he frowned at the small, still figure trapped within the Suspendium bubble. "Just tell us what to do."
Zatanna nodded and took a sharp breath, holding her hat securely to her head. "OK, everyone. Follow me!" she said, climbing to the edge of the scrying pool then jumping straight in.
To Be Continued...
References Include - Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil, by Jeff Smith; Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder, by Judd Winick and Joshua Middleton; Justice League Action; Batman The Brave and the Bold; Justice League/Justice League Unlimited; Shazam! (1981); Shazam! A Celebration of 75 Years; The Complete Original Monster Society of Evil; The Shazam! Archives, Vol. 1-4; Justice League Dark: Apokolips War; Shazam! (movie); Justice, by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger; The Multiversity, by Grant Morrison; Shazam! Volume 1, by Geoff Johns; Shazam! #1-15.
Hi everyone! Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. My New Year's Resolution this year is to try to be more organized with my writing. To that end, I set up a planner with a rotating schedule-type plan that should (if it works out) allow me to keep posting new fanfic chapters while working on my original story drafts (and everything else. LOL!). My January goal is to write up and post a new chapter for Skin Deep III and the next chapter of this story too, so wish me luck! Happy 2021! :D!
Thanks so much for reading! Stay tuned for more, and please let me know what you think! :D
