Mightiest Mortals #11

Tanghal Tower,
The Plaza
The sounds that echoed down the apartment corridor chilled the hearts of the police officers, even as they raced towards that very source. The cracking of wood, the angry roar of some unearthly beast, and the sickeningly wet thumps of a body, all of it filled the ears and imaginations of those present.

The front door and the wall surrounding it exploded into large splinters and pieces of wood and plaster as the massive form of Sabbac filled the hallway. His powerful hand clutched the right knee of Freddy Freeman, and the youngster’s body was covered in blood and dust. It hung limply, like a broken doll in the hands of the demonic being now staring with baleful yellow eyes at the police.

“Fr-freeze!” said the leader of the tactical unit, shaking within his body armor, eyes staring in horror behind the Plexiglas visor at the monster and his victim. “Police! Fawcett Police, you’re…you’re under arrest!”

Sabbac’s eyes narrowed, the massive brow furrowed and he growled in anger as he dropped Freddy to the ground. “You brave, stupid sack of meat!” Sabbac snapped as he slowly strode toward the police, casually ignoring the weapons pointed at him. “I have had enough of this silly game! I did all this for my brother! My brother! And he turned on me, just like everyone else ever did! So the Devil can take his stupid game and shove it!” He reached the first of the police, the squad leader, as guns blazed out dozens of deadly lead pellets, all of which cracked and thudded uselessly against the furious powerhouse. “Blood will run instead! This whole city will burn and bleed!” His hand reached out and gripped the helmeted head of the leader, and with casual ease, crushed the resilient ceramic and then the durable bone. “Your bravery has earned you the honor of being the first to feel my fury!”

“Fall back! Fall back!” cried out the second-in-command as Sabbac reached out to swat a second officer, hurling him through a wall in a cry of pain. The firing continued until they reached the stairwell and began to run pell-mell away from the brute.

Sabbac glanced back toward the still form of Freddy Freeman and shook his head. “This deal, this power, this game…it was all for you, Freddy! For our family! You stupid twerp! You always had to listen to that goody-goody cousin of yours though, didn’t you? Well, when you see him, tell him I send my regards!” With that, Sabbac crouched and hurled straight up, smashing through the floors above and tearing through the roof to begin his rampage.

Across the street, at the observation post, a police officer was desperately calling into headquarters, trying to explain what he could, staring at his monitor in disbelief at the scene he’d just witnessed.

“He’s gone berserk, Chief!” the cop said as he reached Henry Kitchens. “He’s gone completely loco! We need more men, we need more firepower! He just ignored our weapons, just…ignored them!”

Kitchens listened grimly to the report, hands clutched in white-knuckled fists. “Understood, son. You close up shop and get out of there. You’re not geared up for this. Get out of there, and back to your precinct. You did good, son. You did the best you could.”

Kitchens turned to the dispatcher, face strained as he tried to maintain some level of professional calm. “Order the rest of our tactical units into the area, and try to cordon off a ten block radius around that building. All SWAT teams are to gear up with the heaviest firepower we’ve got, and no one, no one, is to get near this monster on purpose. Clear out the civilians, contact the mayor about calling the governor…” he took a deep breath and then closed his eyes for the last order, “and find me Captain Marvel sooner than possible!”

Shazam's Cavern,
Beneath Fawcett City
Captain Marvel and Shazam stared into the flames, witnessing the beginning of Sabbac’s rampage, the Captain’s eyes filled with shock. “Holy Moley! What’s just happened? That’s not part of the game, is it?”

“No, Captain Marvel, it is not,” Shazam said sadly. “It’s clear Timothy Karnes had another agenda for accepting Ahriman’s deal. That’s beside the point now though. Three men have already died at his hands, you must return and stop his rampage.”

“Freddy’s not dead yet,” Captain Marvel replied as he narrowed his eyes and stared closer into the flames. “I’ll save him. You just stay here and keep that fire going, Wizard! I’ll be right back!”

Shazam watched the red blur disappear down the tunnel before he could speak, and shook his head. “Captain…your duties,” he whispered softly, worried.

Office of the District Attorney,
Swayze Circle
Susan Kent Barr was waiting for the phone to be answered. She continued to stare at her computer screen, at the file delivered to her by Bulletman only twenty minutes earlier, and shook her head and struggled to deal with all the revelations of the day. She was tired, and she was strained, and her head started to hurt a little.

“Farley here,” came the voice over the telephone, and Susan sighed softly, rubbing her temple with her other hand.

“Detective, it’s Susan,” she answered. “It’s done, governor’s been alerted and is issuing a stay, with a dismissal to follow an accounting of the new evidence. My office will back such a ruling. What’s up on your end?”

“Good to hear, Mrs. Kent,” Farley answered. “I’m in an alley in the Tangles, with some cops, we’re putting the so-called “Murder Prophet” in custody. Bulletman beat us here, apparently, and had him caught for us. We’re also rounding up several of his ‘bum cult’.”

“Can’t wait to read that report,” Susan said wryly, rolling her eyes up. “Any sign of this…Bulletman?”

“I think I saw him heading out of the area as we approached the arrest site,” Farley reported. “We’re getting a general alert from headquarters, a rampage with Sabbac. It might be he’s headed to help out.”

Susan just stared ahead, her eyes remaining on the computer screen, but not really seeing anything. She’d read the autopsy reports on those murdered by Sabbac in the past. She felt ice water fill her veins, and she broke out in a cold sweat. “Okay. Thanks for the head’s up. Where’s this rampage?”

“The Plaza, specifically in the area of Dalshaw Avenue,” Farley reported back as the sound of a car starting up indicated he was leaving the area. “You’re not going…” He stared at the cell phone in his hand as a dial tone interrupted him and he shook his head. “What the hell does she think she’s going to do?”

Ibac's residence,
The Terrace
“This is better than I could have hoped for,” Ibac said with a cruel smile. He listened to the police scanners, and to the various informants filling his office and smacked a thick, meaty fist into the palm of his other hand. “Sabbac’s gone out of control. Do you know what that means, people?”

“No, sir,” answered the lean and anxious man named Kano. “What does it mean?”

Ibac turned around to look at the gathering of hoodlums and gave another dull thwack of his hands. “It means that Sabbac’s network is leaderless, directionless. And the police are much, much too busy trying to stop his rampage. This means that we send everyone we have out, and we hit every one of the enemy’s locations. Hard. As hard as possible. Anyone who doesn’t immediately throw in with us gets thrown out in the morning garbage. Understood?”

“You bet, Boss Ibac,” a burly brute named Gibbons answered with a nod. “It’ll be our pleasure.”

“Then get going,” Ibac snapped. “I’ll expect regular reports through the night. Avoid any and all police, and let them deal with Sabbac.”

“And Captain Marvel?” Kano asked nervously.

“If he pokes his head out, either I or Sabbac will snap it off for him, I’m sure.” He reached down for a glass of sherry and sipped at it between chuckles.

Coletta Square,
The Plaza
The blocks surrounding the initial battle were deserted, dark and quiet under the late night skies. The police had done their jobs, and people had been evacuated, and they’d done their best to avoid battling Sabbac. But fires and smoke and the sounds of torn brick and mortar echoed throughout this section of the city as Sabbac slowly made his way toward the police cordon. He reveled in the fear he caused, he reveled in the destruction, and he deliberately marched through buildings and over cars to inspire even greater amounts of dread. Anticipation gnawed at the ring of heavily armed police as they knew that Sabbac was inexorably headed toward them.

Then, with a roar and gust of wind, a scarlet blur hurtled through the skies into the evacuation zone, and a cry of hope and relief went up. Captain Marvel streaked into the area, face determined, eyes staring straight ahead, no sign of slowing down, no sign of fear or hesitation as fists rose into the air and cheered him forward. Sabbac stared up into the skies as he heard the noises, and steeled himself for the battle to come. Captain Marvel would be his greatest triumph, and a fitting gravestone for the tomb that will be the Fawcett’s rubble, he thought and growled.

Captain Marvel never wavered, never averted his eyes from his target for a moment. Instead, he hurtled past Sabbac and into the ruined hulk of the building the villain had come from. He quickly sought out and found his best friend, Freddy Freeman, and gingerly lifted him into his powerful arms, and then hurtled up into the air, following the same trail out that Sabbac had left behind, and the police stared up into the skies helplessly, hearts sinking and spirits heavy as Captain Marvel fled the scene, and Sabbac continued his steady march, chuckling more wickedly then ever now.

“Don’t worry, fellas,” came a different voice as another figure landed from the skies. Bulletman stepped up to the edge of the cordon and looked into the area. “The Captain’s up to something vital about this, I just know it. In the meantime, Bulletman’s here to help. I’ll just see what I can do to even the odds.”

The police stared at this newcomer, unsure of what to make of his words, of his appearance. At the same time, James Barr stared out from behind the red visor that hid his upper face, searching the area for Susan. Murder Prophet had warned him that his wife would die at Sabbac’s hands, and he was right about the monster’s rampage. But there was no sign of Susan, not out along the cordon and not in the area itself. He let out a sigh of relief and prepared to enter the cordoned area.

“Bulletman, is it?” asked the officer in charge. “Listen, don’t do it. He’ll tear you apart. We appreciate the help, but right now, best we can do is try and hold this perimeter, and hold out for the National Guard, or one of the heavy hitters. You say Marvel’s coming back? What’s he up to?”

Bulletman couldn’t be sure. Even with his enhanced brain power, why Captain Marvel was leaving the area carrying some injured teen-ager didn’t make sense. But he trusted the hero, and replied, “No idea. But it’s only gonna help, I know it. As for the heavy hitters, well…let’s see how I stack up.” He put a hand on the officer’s shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. “We all have to start somewhere, after all.” With that, James Barr lifted up into the air and charged into the battlefield.

Fawcett Point Lighthouse,
Seaside
The northern waterfront of Fawcett City left many of the citizens distinctly uncomfortable. It was a place for tourists, not residents. Hotels, beaches, restaurants, gift shops and other tourist traps led many residents to remain away from the Seaside ward.

One of those who didn’t mind was Lance Gallant, owner and CEO of Gallant Amusements. Many of these tourist traps belonged to his company, and this had made him quite wealthy. Wealthy enough to buy and restore an old, abandoned lighthouse a couple of decades back, and make it into his own home. For going on ten years now, he’d grown more and more reclusive, unwilling to interact with the living or the dead. He wanted to continue aging, and leave the former and become the latter, and be done with the world. Lance Gallant had done many good things over the decades, and he felt he’d earned his seclusion, and his ultimate and impending permanent rest.

His twin brother Michael disagreed. Most likely, this was because Michael was the latter, and really wanted to be the former. The only way for Michael to live now though, was to convince his twin brother Lance to make the motion. To take the action. To touch the birthmark and make it happen. They disagreed bitterly over the last couple of decades, and especially since the Red Skies ten years back, over Lance’s refusal to do this. This simple action, that allowed both men to do such great things in history.

This time though, as the radio blared the news, the rampage, as KWHZ reporters kept up the litany of the battle, and announced the disappearance of Captain Marvel and the appearance of Bulletman, things were different.

”You can’t let this continue, Lance,” Michael said as he floated in the ether next to his brother, staring in desperation. “We gotta stop this!”

Lance Gallant stood up, and gently slipped out of the silk robe he wore. He hung it on a nearby stand and nodded his head. He was stooped now, his hair gray and vanishing, his cheeks sunk and eyes gray with age. He was dusty and dry and old, but he somehow stood tall despite stooped shoulders, and he nodded grimly. “This is home, Michael. You’re right. We don’t let home suffer.”

He rolled up the sleeve of his simple white shirt and looked at the brown, t-shaped birthmark on his inside forearm. It was wrinkled and dotted with age spots, but it shone clearly to his old eyes. “We always do what we can to make a good home,” Lance said once more and his other hand clapped over the birthmark.

Michael felt the rush of ethereal energy that swallowed him into his brother and they merged. The shoulders straightened and grew broad. The chest swelled, limbs thickened, blond hair spread over a face growing smooth and vibrant. Blue eyes shimmered and the young body brimmed with power.
“Hang in there, Bulletman,” the animated figure spoke in a rich, deep voice, “Captain Triumph is on his way to help!”

Jack C. Weston Transportation Center,
The Plaza
“Come on, let's go,” Mary Bromfield said as she grabbed her friend's hand and dragged her behind several of the large, decorative columns littering the terminal lobby. “The cops are way over there, now's our chance!” She dashed for the exit, and out onto the Fawcett streets.

“You're still going?” Lori Zechlin asked in disbelief as she stumbled after her friend. “I like ducking the cops as much as anyone, but they're here to keep people from walking into a war zone!”

“And where there's monsters and super-villains, there's Captain Marvel, right, Lori? And that's what we came to the Fawcett for, right, Lori?” Mary answered as she hurried along the sidewalks, red and blue flashes mixing in with the bright floodlights that marked the cordon and location of the confrontation with Sabbac.

“I'm fine with seeing the Big Red Cheese, and letting you flaunt meeting him and all, but Mare, it's the monster part I'm not so keen on running into.”

“But Cap will be there, so we'll be fine!” Mary stopped and looked at her friend, holding Lori's hands and giving a bright, cheery smile. “Thanks for coming along, Lori, I appreciate it. If you want to duck out though, I understand. But I have to do this!” Mary's fingers gave Lori's hands a squeeze of excitement, before she turned around and started out for the battle scene again.

“But why?” Lori called after her friend, and then started to run after her, exasperated. She felt her heart race, and licked her lips nervously, but Mary was her friend, even if she was kind of nerdy. She felt her skin prickling as they got closer and closer, and could hear the sounds of destruction. Lori knew why she wanted to see Captain Marvel, despite all her derision of the hero, but she couldn't understand this sudden imperative in Mary.

“I...because he's...there's...” She stopped short and Lori bumped into her and made the two girls giggle nervously. “I don't know. I have to though. Maybe I'll figure it out when we see him.”

Just as the two girls were about to start their trek again, the upper section of a lamp post came skittering down the street near where they stood, small shards of stone and metal raining down around them. They looked at each other and held hands tightly as they began a slower, more careful creeping toward the fight. Then there was a distant roar and scream of pain, and the girls glanced at each other, realizing how close they'd gotten to their destination, before peering around the corner.

Back in the
Chamber of Shazam
The wizard watched with spectral eyes as Captain Marvel reappeared. The Captain landed next to the brazier, staring across the dancing flames at Shazam, and never once looked away from him. He had no guilt over what he’d done, as he laid the still body of Freddy on the ground.

“You have left them, abandoned them,” Shazam said sadly, settling onto the thick stone throne, and staring down on his champion.

“No I haven’t, Wizard,” Captain Marvel answered in a certain voice. “You gifted me with the Wisdom of Solomon, and it’s pretty clear to that wisdom that Sabbac is only half the problem. And the obvious half. If he’s quit the game, that means Ibac will also seize the moment, and I can’t stop both of them. I need help, and that’s where Freddy comes in.”

Shazam let a smile cross his face, buried beneath his long white beard. He nodded and relaxed visibly. “This isn’t just a selfish act, then?”

“Of course it is, Wizard,” Captain Marvel countered. “I won’t lie. I want Freddy to live. But being selfish and being smart don’t have to be at cross purposes. Freddy’s a good kid, with a good heart. He’s in this position because he opposed Tim and his temptations, and left himself open for Sabbac’s anger. So I need you to give him the magic word too. To save his life.”

“I can’t,” the Wizard answered sadly. “I am a spirit. I can return to guide and counsel you, but the spell is beyond me. That’s left only to one other now, amongst the humans.”

“Who?” Captain Marvel stepped up to Shazam, his eyes imploring the aged ghost. “Who can do it?”

“You can, Captain Marvel,” Shazam answered. “You know the spell. Your wisdom knows how to access it. You must choose to bestow your power on this mortal. If you truly feel he is the person who can be trusted with it. Because once granted…it can’t be undone. Not my spell. Not my word.”

Captain Marvel turned back to Freddy and heard him give a quiet, soft whimper. He returned and knelt next to Freddy, holding his hand. “Freddy? Can you hear me?”

Freddy looked up at Captain Marvel and gave a weak smile. His hand flexed a little, but couldn’t return the hero’s grip. “Guess…I bit off more…than I can chew, huh? Billy…it doesn’t hurt all…that much right now. So it’s okay. Go get him. Stop him…please. For me.”

“It’s going to be okay, Freddy,” Captain Marvel answered. “You’re going to live. I’m going to save your life, and we’re both going back to put a stop to Sabbac. Just say my name.” He paused and thought back to the first time he’d heard words like that.

Billy Batson had stumbled into this chamber, past the statues of the Seven Deadly Sins, and to see the then-living Wizard, Shazam. He saw the flaming words on the stone pillar next to the wizard, writing out Shazam, and revealing the six great figures who would grant him his powers. He didn’t believe it, not even after the Wizard insisted he speak his name.

“William Batson, speak my name! And fight for truth, fight for what is right!” The Wizard fairly shouted, the air electric, the words charged with his magic.

“Frederick Freeman, speak my name!” Captain Marvel insisted to the teen-ager laying on the ground, gasping and broken and bleeding.

“NO!” rang out a new voice. At first there was no form attached to the voice, but slowly two figures did appear. Christopher Freeman stood next to a portly man, with a bald head and wrapped in robes similar to, but differently worn, Shazam’s. “I can not permit this.”

“Keeper, I wondered if you would appear,” Shazam said as he stood and walked to the spirit guide.

“You knew I would, Shazam,” Mister Keeper said. “I can’t allow this. I can’t. Christopher should be alive, and Freddy should be dead. That somehow, this young man fell prey to the demonic Sabbac in place of Frederick Freeman changes nothing now. If Christopher must remain dead, then so must that young boy.” He nodded toward Freddy, dispassionately ignoring the glare from Captain Marvel. “That’s the way of the universe, Shazam, and you know it as well as I do. I can, and will, prevent the spell if I need to.”

Shazam stared over at Captain Marvel, who continued to glare at Mister Keeper, and Christopher walked over to Freddy and knelt next to him. “Billy? Is Freddy…?”

“Kit, it’s me, I’m Captain Marvel,” the hero answered. “And yes, he’s still alive, and yes, the word can save his life.”

“Do it.” Kit stood up and returned to Mister Keeper, rolling the sleeves up his arms. “I won’t let you do this. I won’t let you stop the spell. I don’t care. Yeah, I hate that I’m dead, but damn it, I won’t let you kill my cousin! I just won’t! If you want to try, I’ll stop you!”

Mister Keeper just gazed serenely at Shazam and then looked back at Kit Freeman’s determined look, and smiled.

Wilford Boulevard,
The Plaza
“Time for a nap, Sabbac,” Bulletman announced as he charged in at the fiendish villain. He let loose with a powerful blow to the jaw, causing Sabbac’s head to snap to one side briefly. “You go no further in this rampage.”

“You are no threat to me,” Sabbac growled. “Any other day, I’d let you run. Today, you just die.”

“Tough words from a guy who’s not even trying to throw down in return,” Bulletman retorted, feeling his hand throbbing dully from where he’d punched him. He floated back and snatched up a broken streetlamp instead, spinning in place and bringing the heavy metal down to collide with Sabbac.

Prepared for the blow, Sabbac stood there as the pole snapped in half. The brow furrowed, the red skin seemed to darken and shimmer and his body shook with rage. He opened his mouth and Bulletman prepared for whatever taunt or jibe the villain would speak.

Instead, gouts of sulfurous red fire lanced out, and cascaded over Bulletman, his chest receiving the brunt of the super-heated flame and causing him to scream in agony as clothing burned away and skin blistered. Bulletman crashed into the ground in a heap, and gasped in agony, and his enhanced brain power realized a sudden truth.

“Yes, Bulletman,” Sabbac snarled with a cruel grin, sharp teeth on display, muscle-laden body looming over the weakened hero. He could see the realization in the hero’s eyes, and chuckled, low and harsh, like gravel crushed against glass. “You sense it. You know it. Today, you die. I hope others salute your bravery, because me…I’m just gonna laugh.”