Chapter 75: Morality Playthings
At the CCPD, Superman and Joe met in Barry's lab to discuss the situation with Dr. Wells.
"So you think Wells has a connection to the Reverse Flash, too," Joe realized.
"Seems just about everyone does these days," Superman replied.
"Yeah. You know, there was a time when I thought he was the man in yellow. But the DNA test didn't match."
"Then is it possible he could've given the Reverse Flash his powers? Like he did with Barry?"
"Without a Particle Accelerator? Doubtful."
"Maybe not now… but what about in the future?"
Joe perked up. "What do you mean?"
"Well, we know future Flash went back in time to the night his mother was murdered. Maybe the Reverse Flash obtained his powers at some point in the future."
"That makes sense. And I can't believe I said that about time travel. But why come back now?"
"I'm not sure…" Superman lamented.
Just then, his communicator started going off, prompting him to answer.
"This is Superman, go ahead."
"Hey, it's Flash. You know that kid we were keeping an eye on? Well, child services came to take him away."
"Really? How did they know he was there?"
"Not sure. Vic's a little sparse on the details right now. Apparently, things got… heated with his dad. Look, the point is, we just found out that Billy escaped. We could use an extra set of hands trying to find him."
"Sure. I'm on my way."
"Duty calls?" Joe surmised as Superman hung up.
"Something like that," Superman replied before reaching into his belt and pulling out a watch. "Here."
"What's this?"
"It's a signal watch," Superman explained as Joe took the watch. "It emits a signal that only I can hear. Use it to call me if you have more info."
Joe nodded as Superman opened the window and flew out of it. Joe watched him fly away, chuckling as he did.
"Damn, Barr… hell of a team you have."
…
Dr. Sivana couldn't help but smile at his state of affairs. The Seven Deadly Sins on his side, and one of them possessing one of the League's own in Green Arrow. He and his allies stared down the League, malicious intent gracing their faces.
"Director Faraday," Sivana spoke. "I trust this is a suitable form of resignation."
"More than," Faraday replied, drawing his gun and opening fire on him.
The bullets, however, seemed to bounce off his body as Green Arrow fired an arrow at the gun, knocking it out of his hands. Arrow then notched another arrow and fired it at Faraday, only for Wonder Woman to step in and strike the arrow with her bracelet, shattering it before rushing forward. The sin of Wrath leaped forward and grappled with her. Green Lantern took up into the air and tried blasting at them, but Sivana and the sins quickly scattered. Pride flew upward toward GL, dodging between the blasts as it darted toward him. GL formed a shield to block Pride's strikes, quickly pushing it back against a wall before flying toward the others.
Sloth shot out some of its tentacles, which tried to wrap around J'onn. However, he quickly became intangible before flying forward, becoming solid again, and ramming right into it, cratering into a wall before turning toward Sivana himself. Sivana fired a lightning blast at J'onn, prompting him to contort his body to dodge it. He straightened out and flew at Sivana, the mad doctor doing the same. Meanwhile, Aquaman was in a slugfest against Gluttony, easily dodging the sin's attacks before retaliating with some of his own. Before he could land another blow, however, the tongue of Lust wrapped around his wrist, snagging him. Aquaman turned toward the sin, recoiling in in disgust at the sight.
"Sorry," he spoke. "You're not my type!"
He then yanked hard, causing Lust to fly forward into Gluttony and knocking them both to the ground. He then shook his arm, trying to get the drool of Lust off of him. At the same time, Arrow tried firing at his teammates, but a few stray bullets shot near him caused him to turn toward Diggle. He fired his arrow, knocking the gun out of his hands as he ran toward him.
"Try not to hurt him!" Felicity pleaded as Dig ran into the fight.
"Don't know if I can!" Diggle admitted as the two friends clashed.
Diggle and Arrow continued trading blows, with Arrow managing to stay one step ahead of Diggle's attacks, using his bow to knock him off his feet. He tried firing an arrow at him, but Diggle quickly rolled out of the way before kicking Arrow in the leg. This caused him to go down as Dig promptly grabbed him from behind.
"Come on, Oliver, snap out of it," Diggle demanded. "You gotta fight whatever this guy's doing to you. You gotta-"
Arrow cut him off by grabbing him from behind and flipping him over and onto the ground. Pride meanwhile managed to pull itself out of the wall and looked down at the battle below. Wonder Woman picked up Sloth and chucked it aside before looking up and seeing Sivana duking it out with J'onn. Sivana got a lucky hit in and knocked J'onn to the ground. He quickly flipped around so he could land on his feet. Wonder Woman promptly stepped in and blocked the blast with her bracelets.
"Your power is impressive," Sivana commended as Wonder Woman took a step forward, fighting back against the power. "You have taken tremendous strides to present yourself as a symbol of valor for the world."
Wonder Woman continued pushing back against the power, unaware of Pride hovering over her, seemingly leering at her.
"You must feel a vast sense of personal accomplishment," Sivana continued. "Of achievement. Maybe even…" Wonder Woman finally got in close to grab him, Sivana still smirking as a result. "Pride."
Just then, Pride dove down to her, turning into mist before entering her body the same way Greed did with Green Arrow. She grunted in pain, trying to fight the sin's influence. However, it was all for naught, as Diana's eyes suddenly glowed violet before she released Sivana. J'onn looked on at this in shock.
"What have you done?" J'onn demanded.
"Merely revealed her true nature," Sivana explained as Diana turned to him.
"Diana-"
Before he could finish, Wonder Woman charged forward, plowing right into J'onn. He quickly turned intangible and phased through her. She quickly turned around as he turned solid again.
"Don't assume for a moment that your power is equal to mine," she boasted before slamming her bracelets together.
The shockwave sent J'onn flying back as Diana charged at him again. Meanwhile, Wrath tried slamming its fits down on Aquaman, but he quickly rolled out of the way and drew his trident, using it to smack the sin away and causing it to crash into a computer terminal. Just then, an arrow nailed him in the chest before going off, causing him to stumble back. He turned to see Green Arrow firing one explosive Arrow after another at him. The explosions did little more than knock him back, but he was quickly growing tired of them.
"Sorry, Arrow," he let out, aiming his trident.
Just then, Wonder Woman's lasso shot out and wrapped around the trident, pulling it out of his hands. Just as he turned to confront her, Sloth snuck up from behind and wrapped its tentacles around him, holding him in place.
"The king of the seas," Sivana mused, walking over to him. "Self-proclaimed protector of above and below. And yet… I sense something. A desire to be anywhere else, except where your duties lie. To retreat away from the world you claim to want to protect. Now, it sounds to me like a bad case of… Sloth."
Sloth then became mist and poured into Aquaman. Unfortunately, His attempts to resist were just as unsuccessful as Wonder Woman's. His eyes began glowing light blue, much to the delight of Sivana, and the horror of the others. Before the corrupted Leaguers and the remaining sins could move forward, GL formed a massive shield that held them back.
"J'onn! Dig! Take the others and get out of here!" GL demanded.
"And leave you here to get taken over by those things?!" Dig called back.
"Better me than anyone else. Especially J'onn."
J'onn paused, mulling over GL's words.
"He speaks the truth. We must flee if we are to find a way to reverse this."
He quickly scooped up Kari and flew out, with Faraday following close behind. Diggle grabbed Felicity and followed after, the latter looking back in horror as the sins and corrupted Leaguers pounded against the shield.
"We will find a way to free you, my friend," J'onn promised as they made their escape.
"Just make it fast!" GL called back as they left.
The pounding continued, with Aquaman blasting at it with his trident constantly. Finally, Wonder Woman stepped forward and brought her bracelets together again, the shock wave shattering the shield and knocking GL back. Wrath and Gluttony suddenly appeared on either side of them and held him down as Sivana stepped forward.
"Ah, the Emerald Knight. What might your scruple be?"
"Well I do doze off during bad-guy speeches," GL remarked. "That might earn me some demerits."
Sivana chuckled. "Amusing, but no. I sense something else. Like Aquaman, a desire to forsake your duty for something else." He suddenly perked up. "Or rather… someone?"
GL's face hardened, giving Sivana all the clues he needed.
"That's it, isn't it? Your own personal affections supersede your so-called duty. You're insatiable need for passion. For the companionship of the opposite sex. For… Lust."
He stepped aside and allowed Lust to step forward, its tongue slithering out like a snake. GL recoiled as the monster turned to mist and entered into him. GL tried to fight the control grabbing his head and crying out in pain as he attempted to keep the evil presence at bay. However, like the others, the sin's power won out. His eyes began glowing blue as he got to his feet.
"Excellent," he mused. "But the Martian got away."
"There are other heroes," Sivana reassured. "Once Wrath and Gluttony have found their homes, we will begin our work."
"Then let us hurry," "Wonder Woman" demanded. "It won't be long before they alert the others and we lose the element of surprise."
"Of course," Sivana replied, gesturing outside.
The sin-possessed Leaguers all started to head out. As they did, the lust-possessed Green Lantern began eying the pride-possessed Wonder Woman. Something, she quickly took notice of.
"What?!" she demanded.
"The form you've chosen is… quite fetching. Particularly in the areas that-"
Wonder Woman cut him off by grabbing him by the throat.
"Leer at me again, and I promise this body will be your last."
She then chucked him through the window, causing him to crash through it and collide with a car on the street. As he pulled himself out though, a twisted smile still graced his face.
"She wants me."
…
Meanwhile, the transformed Billy leaped from rooftop to rooftop, fuming to himself about everything that had happened.
"Can't believe it," he said to himself. "Get superpowers, get to hang with League, and I still can't catch a break. Stupid child services, stupid rotten luck, and stupid Shazam."
Almost as immediately as he recognized his mistake, lighting shot down and struck him, reverting him back to his normal form mid-air.
"Uh oh," he let out before falling toward the street below.
Just then, something grabbed him by the back of his shirt, causing him to stop mid-air. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing that it was Superman who caught him.
"Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Superman?"
Superman flew down to the street, placing Billy safely down on the ground.
"You alright?"
"Yeah… you're not gonna take me back to child services, are you?"
"We'll figure that out in time. For now, I am curious as to where you think you're gonna go?"
"Not sure. Maybe head to Vegas or something. Could put on a heck of a lightning show."
"Sounds like a waste of your talents," Superman remarked.
Billy's face fell. "Maybe, but at least I won't have anyone screwing me over."
"I don't think Flash and Cyborg purposefully meant to hurt you."
"Yeah… sure."
Before Superman could respond, his comm started going off.
"Go ahead," Superman answered.
"Just checking in," Flash called. "How's everything?"
"Fine. Found our friend. He's still pretty hesitant about coming back with us."
"Understandable. Just keep talking to him, and-"
"Superman," J'onn suddenly interrupted. "it is J'onn. We have an emergency situation."
"Is everything alright?"
"I would not risk going into detail at the risk of our comms being monitored."
…
"Monitored?" Superman asked as J'onn listened from a DEO Mobile Command Center. "What's going on, J'onn?"
"It is too much to explain right now. Just find a place to meet us."
"What about the kid?" Flash asked.
"Kid?
"Long story, but there's a kid who got superpowers from a Wizard."
J'onn went wide-eyed, turning to Kari and the others in concern.
"I cannot go into details right now, but it is imperative that the child is protected at all costs."
…
"I'll keep an eye on him," Superman promised. "Flash, Cyborg, you two meet with J'onn."
"Roger that," Flash replied before signing off.
"Now then," Superman spoke, turning to Billy. "What to do about you?"
Before Billy could answer, his stomach began to growl.
"Uh… can we talk about it over something to eat? I haven't had a bite in a while."
"Lucky for you, I know just the spot," Superman promised with a smile.
…
Meanwhile, Cyborg slowly made his way down the street, fuming to himself about his dad. It didn't take long before Flash came running up to him, quickly catching up.
"Vic, hey," Flash spoke as he slowed his pace. "Come on, talk to me."
"Nothin' to talk about."
"Obviously, that's not true."
"Just drop it, Barry," Cyborg insisted.
He stormed away, Flash running in front of him to cut him off.
"Look, I get something's going on with you and your dad, but not talking about it isn't gonna make it any easier."
"Let's just get to J'onn and deal with whatever he's got going on. That okay with you?"
Flash took a breath, about to answer. Before he could though, a beam of green energy hit the both of them, knocking them back. They rolled on the ground before coming to a stop, slowly looking up to see the possessed members of the League standing before them with Sivana close behind.
"What the…" Cyborg let out in shock.
"GL… guys, what are you doing?" Flash asked in disbelief.
"Taking what is ours," Aquaman spoke, lazily lumbering forward and aiming his trident at the two.
The two quickly moved out of the way of the blast before it could hit. Wonder Woman quickly darted toward Flash and swung her shield at him. He did his best to dodge and evade the swings as best he could. With one massive sprint, She darted forward and smacked him across the face. GL quickly formed a slab to catch Flash that summoned many restraints for his arms and legs as Sivana stepped forward.
"I can sense much about you," he mused as he stepped forward. "Having so much in life, yet still, you desire more. A discontentment swells within your very being. Such dissatisfaction. Such unnecessary want. Such… Gluttony."
Mist then shot out of Sivana's face and entered right into Flash's. Flash could feel the sin's presence within him and tried to fight against it, but its influence was just too strong. Finally, Flash's eyes opened, glowing orange as GL released him. He then ran toward Cyborg as he kept fighting against Aquaman. He began running around Cyborg, punching him at high speed.
"Yow!" Cyborg let out as the fits became more and more persistent. "Flash, what are you doing?!"
Having had enough, he opened a Boom Tube in front of Flash, which sent him into a car across the street. He collided with the car hard before falling to the ground. Cyborg then summoned his sonic cannon and tried to aim it at Sivana, only for Wonder Woman to speed in front of him and block the blast. Cyborg continued firing, only for Wonder Woman to deflect every blast. Just then, one of Arrow's arrows hit the cannon. It exploded, knocking Cyborg into a nearby hot dog cart. Sivana rushed forward, grabbed him by the ankle, and threw him across the street. He collided with a car, denting it hard as Aquaman nonchalantly fired his trident at the car, causing it to explode and Cyborg to go flying. He hit the ground hard, with Wonder Woman placing her boot on top of him to keep him down as Sivana approached him.
"Your sin is the most outward of all," he mused, kneeling to get closer to him. "Your anger and hatred speak volumes. Your resentment toward others and your desire for retribution against them is astonishing. Never have I felt such anger. Such fury. Such… Wrath."
Another batch of mist flew into Cyborg without warning. He cried out in pain as the sin's influence overcame him. After a moment, Cyborg's human eye opened, flashing just as red as his robotic one. Wonder Woman got off of him so he could get up, fully taken over by the sin's power.
"It appears we have a full collective," Sivana commented. "Now, for the champion."
"The memories of this being was in contact with another champion called 'Superman'," the possessed Flash relayed. "He mentioned a boy gaining powers from a Wizard."
"The champion," Sivana realized before turning to Cyborg. "Can you find him?"
"Yes," Cyborg confirmed as he clenched his fist. "We will find him and tear him apart limb from limb."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Wonder Woman demanded. "I do not have all day to stand around and wait."
"Well then," Sivana spoke before walking off.
The possessed heroes made their way down the street. Just then, Flash doubled back to the trashed hot dog cart and scarfed down dog after dog before running to catch up with the others.
…
Back at STAR Labs, Harrison Wells was going over some files on a computer when Silas came storming into the room.
"Harrison!" Silas called out.
"Silas," Wells replied, turning around to speak face to face. "What seems to be the problem?"
"The problem is that you twisted my words to my son's face."
"I wasn't trying to paint you in a negative light."
"You went behind my back, and because of you, Victor won't even speak to me."
"I am truly sorry about that," Wells replied, almost in a monotone tone.
Silas took note of that tone and became more enraged. "No, you're not… you don't even care. Did you ever?"
"Of course I did, Silas, but right now, greater developments have taken precedence. Barry's powers have begun to evolve and right now, not to take in strays."
"And what about Victor?"
"I can only hope that you two will make amends. Perhaps the time away will grant him some peace of mind."
"Dr. Wells… I have always known you to be… somewhat detached. But never so callous."
"It is…" Dr. Wells addressed, taking off his glasses to speak more frankly. "Merely a matter of knowing your priorities."
Silas paused, taking in all that Wells had said. Finally, he knew what he had to do.
"You're right."
Silas then removed his STAR Labs ID and handed it to Harrison. Harrison took it in genuine surprise.
"Silas… don't do this."
"I've already let my work separate me from my son once before. I am not letting that happen again. Goodbye, Dr. Wells."
With that Silas turned and left, leaving Wells to sit there, looking down at his badge in contemplation.
…
Meanwhile, Superman took Billy to the Ace O'Clubs Bar and Grill, a restaurant in the slums run by Superman's friend, Bibbo Bibbowski. After a few minutes, Bibbo returned with burgers and fries for both of them.
"There ya go," Bibbo told them, placing the food on the table.
"Thanks, Bibbo," Superman replied. "How much do I owe ya?"
"Hey, after all the times you've pulled my butt out of trouble, it's on the house."
"Well, at least let me tip you," Superman insisted, slipping a twenty out of his suit. "Can't let quality service go unrewarded."
Bibbo chuckled, taking the money. "Superman, you're a real pal!"
Superman smiled as Bibbo walked off. Billy didn't waste a second before digging into the food. Superman chuckled at the sight.
"Might wanna slow down, kid. Don't wanna forget to breathe."
"Sorry," Billy replied, his mouth full of food. "This stuff is real good."
"Yeah, Bibbo's a heck of a chef. You'd never believe he bought this place with a discarded lotto ticket."
"Cool…" Billy replied before swallowing his food. "You think he's hiring?"
"Why? Looking for a job?"
"Sure. Why not? Kid's gotta eat, right?"
Superman paused a moment before putting down his food. "Look, Billy. I know CPS isn't ideal, but I can't let you just go back on the street."
"I can take care of myself," Billy insisted, messing with a fry. "Especially now that I have superpowers."
"I have no doubt you can, but I think the Wizard intended you to do more with your powers than just take care of yourself."
Billy sighed. "Yeah… well, it's not like I asked for it. He just dumped these powers on me. Just jerking me around… just like everyone else…"
Superman noticed the sorrow in Billy's voice on that last note. "How long have you been in the Foster system?"
"... about since I was nine. I never knew my dad, so it was just me and my mom. It was good… until she got sick. She tried getting better, but…"
"I'm sorry," Superman consoled. "I can only imagine how hard that must have been."
"You know, it's funny. Even when it got hard for her, she always did her best to take care of us. She always used to say 'Be good, and good will follow'."
"Sounds like good advice."
"Yeah… but I was good when she passed away, I was good at every foster home I went to, and I was good when I got to hang with Victory and Flash at STAR Labs. I think I've finally figured out my problem. Being good is no good for me."
"It seems that way sometimes," Superman admitted, sitting up. "But that's only because good is hard. Bad is always easy."
"That's easy for you to say. I mean, you're Superman! You never have to worry about anything!"
Superman chuckled in response. "I wish that were true, but I go up against threats that are more powerful than me all the time. But I still do what's right, not because it's easy, but because it's right. Anyone can be good when it's easy, but when the going gets tough when it seems nearly impossible, that's when it really matters."
Billy paused, mulling over what Superman had told him. "You really believe that?"
Superman smiled. "I really do."
Superman then happened to glance outside, seeing Cyborg standing across the street, seemingly glaring at him.
"Victor, is everything alright?" he called. "What did J'onn want?"
Cyborg said nothing, much to the confusion of both Superman and Billy.
"Victor?"
Instead of saying anything, Cyborg just activated his sonic cannon and aimed it at the restaurant. Both Superman and Billy went wide-eyed at the sight.
"Get down!" Superman called out before tackling him to the ground.
Cyborg fired a blast, blowing a massive hole in the side of the building. As the smoke cleared, Superman picked himself up, seeing Billy safe on the ground.
"Stay here," Superman told him before flying off.
Billy pulled himself from his hiding place so he could peek out and see what was happening. Cyborg tried aiming his sonic cannon at Superman but he just sped over and grabbed his arm, aiming it upward as it went off.
"Victor, snap out of it!" Superman insisted. "What's gotten into-"
Before he could finish, Wonder Woman's lasso shot out and wrapped around him. He was suddenly pulled back, flying toward Wonder Woman so she could kick him in the chest. This sent him flying a distance before he spun around and landed on his feet, skidding to a stop. He looked up at Wonder Woman, about to bring her bracelets together for her signature attack. Thinking fast, Superman sped forward and grabbed her wrists before they could collide, using all his strength to keep them apart.
"Diana, what's going on?" Superman pleaded. "This isn't you!"
Wonder Woman responded by headbutting Superman, causing him to stagger back. Superman responded by taking a massive breath before exhaling it right at Wonder Woman, sending her flying back.
"Now, who's done this to you?" Superman demanded.
"You have no idea the power you're up against, 'hero'," Wonder Woman taunted.
Before Superman could continue, a blast from Aquaman's trident nailed him in the chest, knocking him off his feet. He flew right into a car, which was then hit by one of Arrow's explosive arrows. It went off, creating a blast that sent Superman flying. As Superman stabilized himself, he suddenly felt several rocks nailing him at high speed. He looked down and saw Flash grabbing pieces of debris and chucking them at him. He quickly used his heat vision to destroy the debris before flying in, grabbing Flash, and pinning him down.
"I don't wanna hurt you, Flash," Superman insisted. "But I do need some answers."
Just then, several green chains flew in and nailed Superman in the face, they continued striking him for a few moments before wrapping around him. Superman struggled before looking up, seeing a sly smile on Green Lantern's face. He then slammed Superman onto the ground, still bound in chains as he heard someone chuckling. He looked up to see Sivana flying down to the ground, smiling at the display before him.
"The so-called Superman. Humanity's greatest hero. Supposedly a symbol of hope and justice… pathetic."
"I take it you're the one behind all this," Superman deduced.
"Dr. Sivana, at your service. Now… where is the champion?"
"... I don't know what you're talking about."
"I know he is here. Tell me where he is."
"Not gonna happen."
"Then…" he raised a hand, surging with magic energy. "You will be the first."
He fired a blast at Superman, causing him to cry out in pain as the magical energy coursed through him. All the possessed leaguers gathered around him, watching in sadistic glee at Superman's suffering. However, just when it seemed all would be lost, a shout rang through the night.
"SHAZAM!"
Sivana felt small arms around his middle, and then lightning struck. The energy knocked him back, causing him to collide with Green Lantern and breaking his focus, allowing Superman to break free of the energy chains. As Sivana picked himself up, Billy's heroic persona stood tall, surging with his magical energy as a proud smile graced his face.
"Heard you were looking for me."
